Statoil planned to drill a reentry well from one of its 42-slot offshore platforms in the Statfjord Field, one of the largest and oldest fields on the North Sea continental shelf. Slot recovery had become challenging in this environment because of close-proximity wells and hole cleaning issues related to mud system limitations.
In this specific well, Statoil expected severe packoffs because of cement agitation in the 40-m rathole, located below the 9 5/8-in casing shoe. Statoil needed an RSS capable of managing these conditions and efficiently drilling the 8 1/2-in section on target.
After modeling the dynamic downhole conditions of the Statfjord Field using VIRTUAL HYDRAULICS™ drilling fluid simulation software, SLB experts recommended drilling the well with PowerDrive Orbit RSS and WARP fluids technology. This fluid contains micronized weighting material to improve hole cleaning and requires a high flow rate of 2.3–2.35 m3/min, which can cause standpipe pressure to exceed the limitations of conventional RSSs. Unlike a conventional RSS, the PowerDrive Orbit RSS is designed with metal-to-metal seals on the bias unit that expand the tool’s flow rate window.
To avoid nearby wellbores and ensure sufficient hole cleaning, SLB conducted collar rpm surveys rather than pump cycling. The collar rpm cessation surveys were coupled with magnetic ranging technology to allow Statoil to drill close to an offset producing well at a minimum separation factor of 0.18 and a center-to-center distance of 34 m [111 ft]. Statoil drilled the 950-m section according to plan and in one run.
Despite experiencing stick/slip severity of 90%–100% in the first 475 m of the section, the PowerDrive Orbit RSS drilled the reentry well on target. As a result of the durability demonstrated on this job, Statoil plans to use the PowerDrive Orbit RSS in other reentry wells in this field.
