Paula Dittrick
Senior Staff Writer
HOUSTON, May 2 -- Nexen Petroleum USA Inc. installed 6,867 ft of an openhole solid expandable tubular (SET) system in Aspen oil field on Green Canyon Block 243 off Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico, the company said May 2 at the Offshore Technology Conference.
Enventure Global Technology provided the system that was installed Mar. 25 in what company officials called a world record for a SET system. Aspen 1 is in 3,143 ft of water.
Don Schultz, Nexen deepwater drilling manager, said the project involved a "tremendous technological advantage" that he expects other operators will use in the deepwater gulf in the future.
Nexen planned to drill through depleted sands at its producing Aspen project to 24,000 ft, but the first sidetrack to the original wellbore took an influx at 20,000 ft.
To preserve production of 5,000 b/d, Nexen wanted to maximize hole size for a second sidetrack and chose a SET system to reach 24,000 ft with a 7 in. flush-joint liner. Expandable tubulars enabled Nexen to isolate depleted zones and attain the hole size.
Enventure said the project involve specialty pipe and 191 expandable liner joints with threaded connections. A high-capacity launcher was built and run through the pipe, expanding the liner connections and the pipe at the same time.
Schultz said the SET system greatly reduced mechanical risks.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
