By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 7 -- The US Department of Energy has reported a new method for producing stranded heavy oil that offers an alternative for inhibiting sand and fines production in oil wells and eliminates conventional perforating and gravel packing.
The Teleperfs technology was funded by a small business innovation research grant managed by DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory. It was developed as a joint industry venture with input from an industry group comprising BP PLC, Chevron Corp., ENI SPA, Baker Oil Tools, and Katy, Tex.-based Completion Concepts Inc., which is commercializing the technology.
A one-step well completion technology, Teleperfs uses a prefabricated, hydraulic telescope inserted around the wall of a well liner assembly. It uses drilling pressures to perforate the face of the formation and anchor the well liner in place. Cementing of the well allows entry ports for formation fluids. An organic acid, installed in manufacturing, is inserted into the sand surrounding the Teleperfs, dissolving residue around the device and resulting in a continuous fluid-producing formation.
A full-scale field test last year will be followed this year by a test in a Chevron-Texaco injection well in Alaska.