Tecnologia de Tubos Expansíveis para Perfuração

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Expandable Tubular
Technology: A Year of 
Dri l l ing Case Histories
32
MAY 2001
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Expandable Tubular
Technology: A Year of 
Dri l l ing Case Histories
Solid expandable tubulars (SET’s)
have been installed in both openhole
and cased-hole wellbores during the
past year. The basic concept under-
lying expandable-tubular technolo-
gy is a mechanical expansion device
that is propelled through downhole
tubulars by hydraulic pressure. The
expansion cone or mandrel expands
the tubulars in a plastic deforma-
tion process known as cold draw-
ing. In drilling applications, a spe-
cially-designed liner hanger con-
serves hole size by eliminating the
need for a conventional liner hang-
er/liner hanger packer and provides
a superior pressure seal. In cased
wells, expandable casing can be
used to repair existing casing with
minimal decrease in wellbore
inside diameter.
Expansion System Operation
The underlying concept of expand-
able casing is cold-working steel tubu-
lars to the required size downhole. An
expansion cone or mandrel is used to
permanently mechanically deform the
pipe. The cone is moved through the
tubular by a differential hydraulic
pressure across the cone or by a direct
mechanical pull or push force. The
differential pressure is pumped
through an inner string connected to
the cone and the mechanical force is
applied by either raising or lowering
the inner string. The progress of the
cone through the tubular deforms the
steel beyond its elastic yield limit into
the plastic deformation region while
keeping stresses below ultimate yield.
Expansions greater than 20% have
been accomplished. Most applications
of 41/4 to 133/8-in. tubulars have
required expansions less than 20%.
At the bottom of the SET system is
a canister known as the “launcher”
that contains the expansion cone.
The launcher is constructed of thin-
wall high-strength steel that has a
thinner wall thickness than the
expandable casing. Because the
launcher has a thinner wall and its
outside diameter is the same as the
drift of the previous casing string, it
can be tripped into the hole through
the previous casing string. The differ-
ence in wall thickness of the launch-
er and the elastomer-coated hanger
joint allows the expanding pipe to be
sealed or “clad” to the previous cas-
ing string.
Three expandable products, open-
hole and cased-hole liner systems and
an expandable liner hanger, have been
developed. The full-length paper pre-
sents case histories and lessons
learned for the expandable openhole
liner system.
Expandable Openhole Liners
The expandable openhole liner sys-
tem is used to overcome operational
challenges associated with borehole
instability, pore pressure/fracture gra-
dient issues, and salt or subsalt forma-
tion effects. The system is run through
existing casing or liner and is expand-
ed from the bottom up. When the
expansion cone reaches the overlap
between the expandable openhole
liner and the existing pipe string, the
cone expands a special hanger joint to
provide a permanent seal between the
two strings. Fig. 1 shows installation
steps for the expandable openhole
liner system.
Although expandable products are
unique and interesting in concept,
they have little value if cost-effective
applications cannot be realized from
their development and deployment.
Currently, certain critical wells cannot
be drilled to their objectives without
SET technology.
Applications
Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Shelf. The
objective of the first commercial use of
SET technology was to lower cost by
decreasing casing and hole sizes com-
pared with conventional technology.
Before the offshore installation, a full-
scale system test was performed in a
test well onshore. This complete sys-
tem test provided training for the crews
that were to install the system offshore
and provided confidence that the sys-
tem would perform as designed. The
test resulted in a design change to the
float shoe assembly to provide more
efficient drillout with the mill assembly
as well as determined optimum pump
rate for liner expansion.
The 95/8-in. casing string originally
comprised 53.5-lbm/ft casing joints.
To allow the 75/8-in. by 95/8-in. hanger
joint expansion to maintain the drift
diameter of the expanded liner, the
well design was changed so that the
bottom four joints were 47.0 lbm/ft.
Cement volume was planned such
that the top of the cement would be at
the base of the 95/8-in casing after the
75/8-in. by 95/8-in. SET liner was
expanded. A 985-ft length of 75/8-in.
by 95/8-in. SET liner was run on a
31/2-in. by 5-in. tapered inner string to
13,131 ft measured depth (MD). The
well was circulated and cement was
pumped followed by the latchdown
plug. Once the latchdown plug land-
ed, the expansion process took
approximately 4.5 hours with pressure
averaging 4,000 psi. Liner length
shortened to 946 ft, placing the top of
the SET at 12,185 ft MD. Below the
SET liner an 81/2-in.-diameter enlarged
hole was drilled through the depleted
sands and a conventional 7-in. pro-
duction liner was run. The well was
drilled to total depth (TD) as planned.
GOM Deep Water. The objective of
this first deepwater installation was to
overcome low drilling margins. The
installation was performed in the
Mississippi Canyon in 5,400 ft of water.
This article is a synopsis of paper
SPE/IADC 67770, “Solid Expandable
Tubular Technology: A Year of Case
Histories in the Drilling Environment,”
by Kenneth K. Dupal, SPE, Shell
Deepwater Development Inc.; Donald
B. Campo, Shell E&P Technology;
John E. Lofton, Chevron Petroleum
Technology Co.; Don Weisinger, BP
plc; R. Lance Cook, SPE, Michael D.
Bullock, Thomas P. Grant, SPE, and
Patrick L. York, SPE, Enventure
Global Technology LLC, originally pre-
sented at the 2001 SPE/IADC Drilling
Conference, Amsterdam, 27 February–
1 March.
34
MAY 2001
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The design called for a 75/8-in. by
97/8-in. SET liner system. This instal-
lation was not successful but the
lessons learned from the failure led to
modifications that enhanced reliabili-
ty of this SET system.
The previous casing string of
97/8-in. 62.8 lbm/ft was set at 11,999 ft
and the next hole section was drilled
with a bicenter bit to provide a 97/8-in.
hole to install the 75/8-in. SET liner.
The 2,095-ft 75/8-in. liner was run to
13,791 ft with a tapered string of
drillpipe. Four tight spots were
encountered requiring reciprocation
and circulation to pass through. 
The planned cementing program
was pumped and the latchdown plug
displaced to the shoe and seated.
Pressure was increased and expansion
operations were started. Average
propagation pressure was 3,800 psi
with a pump rate of 3/4 bbl/min. At
12,598 ft, pressure dropped to
1,100 psi and lack of returns indicated
pumping into the formation. A con-
nection at 12,604 ft was expanded
immediately before the pressure loss.
The inner string was lowered until the
expansion cone set down on the next
connector at 12,636 ft. The cone was
pulled back up to the expansion face
at 12,598 ft and the liner mechanical-
ly expanded to 12,565 ft. A drop in
string weight indicated the liner had
parted, leaving 1,200 ft of liner below
the part. The cone was left on the
expansion face while the rest of the
inner string was pulled to the liner top
to ensure no cement was above the
top of the liner. This also allowed the
cement time to set so another attempt
could be made to mechanically
expand the rest of the liner. 
A coiled-tubing unit was rigged up
and 11/2-in. coiled tubing was run
inside the inner string. The end of the
tubing could not pass the end of the
cone assembly. When pulled out of
the hole, the bottom of the coiled-tub-
ing tool string had markings on it
indicating it had set down on metal.
The outside of the tool string was cov-
ered with what appeared to be gumbo.
The drillstring was backed off just
above the expansion cone assembly. A
mechanical casing cutter was run and
the unexpanded section ofthe 75/8-in.
liner was cut. A casing spear fished
the liner and expanded hanger out of
the hole. A total of 569 ft of 75/8-in.
unexpanded liner was recovered from
the well. Sidetrack operations were
initiated and drilling operations con-
tinued to the objective.
South Texas Case History. The
objective of the McAllen Ranch 106
installation was to isolate several
pressure-depleted sands and mini-
mize hole-size reduction to TD. This
installation was the first in a series of
field trials to test the technology in a
lower-risk environment before imple-
mentation in higher-cost areas. The
installation was not successful but
lessons learned from
the failure led to modi-
fications that enhanced
reliability of SET sys-
tems in differentially
stuck conditions.
A detailed analysis of
the log data showed sev-
eral highly depleted
intervals. The expand-
able liner became stuck
while reciprocating and
circulating before
cementing. Differential
sticking occurs when
pipe becomes embedded
in the filter cake oppo-
site a permeable zone
and is held in place by
the difference between
hydrostatic pressure and
formation pressure.
Expanding a liner
through a section that
is differentially stuck
dramatically changes the stress condi-
tions created by the expansion cone
and can cause pipe damage and even
rupture the expansion face. To expand
steel pipe beyond its elastic limit, it is
necessary to maintain a uniform hoop
stress distribution on the expansion
cone face. If the pressure differential is
large, the liner cannot be freed.
Geometrical constraints can cause
severe bending in the bottomhole
assembly (BHA) and apply a large
additional rotational moment to the
expansion cone. This moment causes
hoop stress concentrations on the
expansion face, loss of displacement
control, and can cause liner rupture.
Modifications were made to the stan-
dard BHA to reduce the risk of becom-
ing stuck and enable expansion
through the stuck interval without
causing hoop stress concentrations.
GOM Ultradeep Water. The objective
of this installation in 7,790-ft water
depth was to overcome low drilling
margins without sacrificing hole size. A
16-in. 84-lbm/ft casing string was set at
11,760 ft and the next hole section was
drilled with a bicenter bit to provide a
171/2-in. hole to install the 133/8-in.
SET liner. The 1,186-ft expandable
openhole liner was made up in
8 hours. The liner was run to 12,647 ft
with 51/2-in. drillstring. Two tight
Fig. 1—Installation sequence for expandable openhole liner system.
(To Page 77)
77
for gas monitoring, lag calculation
and sample collection, land Rig-up,
Rig-down. Requires 2 years of expe-
rience in the job offered or as a Site
Engineer. Apply at the Texas
Workforce Commission, Houston,
Texas, or send résumé to 1117
Trinity, Room 424T, Austin, Texas
78701, JO# TX1101979. AD paid
by an Equal Opportunity Employer.
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Department of Petroleum
Engineering
School of Earth Sciences
65 Green Earth Sciences Building
Stanford, CA 94305-2220
March 23, 2001
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Postdoctoral research position in
multi-phase flow in porous media
General Information
The Department of Petroleum
Engineering at Stanford University
seeks applicants for a postdoctoral
fellow to perform research in
multi-phase flow in porous media.
The selected applicant will conduct
experimental and theoretical
research into aspects of gas injec-
tion as an enhanced oil recovery
method. Current experimental
interests in the group include two-
and three-phase flow in porous
media, compositional changes dur-
ing multiphase flow, and diffusion
in carbon dioxide hydrates related
to carbon sequestration. Can-
didates should have a good back-
ground in petroleum or chemical
engineering, and/or chemistry and
physics, and significant laboratory
experience. Applicants should have
earned their Ph.D. within the last
three years.
Application Procedure
Applicants should submit curricu-
lum vitae and the names and
address of three references to:
Dean Franklin M. Orr, Jr.
School of Earth Sciences
Stanford University
Mitchell Building, Suite 101
397 Panama Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-2210
Closing Date May 15, 2001
Stanford University is an Equal
Employment Opportunity/Affirma-
tive Action Employer
Petroleum engineer (BSPE, OU &
MBA, SMU) seeks position with U.S.
company. 20+ years of broad reservoir,
production, and drilling experience in
Gulf Coast onshore and offshore,
Midcontinent, and Rocky Mountain
areas with concentration on reservoir,
exploitation, acquisitions, divestiture,
and analysis for financing last 10+
years. Expert in use of ARIES. E-mail:
tbrucep@ix.netcom.com. Code 921
Drilling, completions, and workover
engineer wants ideal job. Ideal job
would be 60% office work and 40%
field supervision. Office work would
be well designs, contract negotiation,
and workover and completion pro-
grams. Field work could be relief
supervisor or inspector. Most recent
experience was in Gulf of Mexico.
Looking for work in Oklahoma. Have
18 years’ oil industry experience with
major oil and service companies.
Have been a roughneck, field engi-
neer, drilling engineer, drilling super-
visor and engineering supervisor.
Petroleum engineering degree.
Registered Professional Engineer.
Code 920
Russian speaking petroleum engineer
with 25+ years’ experience in pe-
troleum engineering is seeking a con-
tract position with an oil company
working in Russia to coordinate
preparation, submittal, and ap-
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on hydrocarbon recovery factors,
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Code 918
spots were encountered while running
the liner. The liner was washed down
to 12,684 ft, 16 ft above TD. 
Expansion operations were started
using the mud pumps and top drive
with an initial propagation pressure of
1,800 psi at 2.25 bbl/min. Expansion
operations continued in stands using
85 to 100% of the liner weight on the
hook load. There was no indication of
differential sticking during expansion
across the sands. Propagation pressure
increased when entering the 16-in.
casing and additional force was
required when expanding through the
two 16-in. in-line centralizers posi-
tioned at 11,690 and 11,639 ft. All
seven elastomer sections were appar-
ent while expanding the hanger joint.
The liner top was tested to 1,000 psi
for 10 minutes and again for 30 min-
utes while pulling out of the hole. An
additional 15-minute test at 2,000 psi
was performed before the liner shoe
squeeze operation. 
A milling assembly milled out the
shoe assembly in 11.5 hours. The
mills were pulled to 12,480 ft and a
cement squeeze operation performed.
Once the successful squeeze was com-
pleted, the milling assembly was
pulled out of the hole and a drilling
assembly containing a 131/2-in. by
171/2-in. bicenter bit was run to drill
the next hole section.
Conclusions
During the past year, SET’s have made
the leap from conception to an
enabling technology in the drilling
environment. Solid expandable open-
hole liners were first used to solve a
pore-pressure/fracture-gradient drilling
challenge in the GOM in November
1999. Since then, use of SET’s has pro-
vided a cost-effective solution for a
variety of drilling challenges. A year of
applications have provided learning
opportunities in both engineering and
deployment of SET systems. This
information has improved the systems
and resulted in a more robust and cost-
effective product.
MAY 2001
JPTJPT
Please read the full-length paper for
additional detail, illustrations, and ref-
erences. The paper from which the
synopsis has been taken has not been
peer reviewed.
Expandable Tubular . . .
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