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Current 'Doghouse' News/Views.

With exploration due to commence in both Faeroes and White Zones in the North East Atlantic and in deepwater off the East Coast of Canada in Flemish pass blocks.

There will certainly be some North Atlantic interest to see what these wells may discover and what future business/drilling impact may be required in further years.

West Africa and Gulf of Mexico certainly continue to grow rapidly on the deepwater discovery fronts. Indeed with industry project's now reaching testing and appraisal stages. Overcoming the 'water column' hazard is perhaps the major hurdle that drillers must overcome to meet deepwater development drilling and field life management demands.

As with any new technology application essential design principles must however apply. i.e.

Design philosophies

It is essential that implications of philosophies selected, on both technical, and commercial premise are understood and agreed by all parties concerned from project onset. Key design philosophies are;

Risk and loss control management

The importance of Risk management and Loss control (i.e. people, process, profit, and production) must not be understated as to how important this is to meet all requirements and needs for a deepwater drilling & completion development.

Flexibility in operation

Operational drilling & completion flexibility is desirable as field data may be incomplete and often based on extrapolation of discrete well test results. Too high a flexibility will however result in increased costs. Requirements for operational flexibility may include:

• Ability to run alternative casing and completion schemes.
• Conversion of individual wells from oil producers to water injectors
• Ability to produce from selected zones within the reservoir

Redundancy vs. simplicity

A principle design philosophy for subsea drilling and completion systems is to achieve reliability through simplicity, rather than through extensive redundancy.

Cost efficiency vs. safety/ environment

The objective is to reach a balanced design philosophy with consideration to all aspects. To reach this balance one has to establish criteria for ranking alternative solutions.

Control functions

What needs to be remotely controlled in completion and subsea designs? What can be locally operated by Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), through surface control systems? A design philosophy leaning towards extensive remote control tends to give a complex completion & subsea system with error sources, but will on the other hand provide better operational flexibility.

Automation

The endless pursuit of more automation also challenges (what are now smaller in number) drilling and completion crews to an unacceptable extent. Simplicity and reliability must be the driving mechanisms in automation of drilling and completion equipment. Anything that can be done to simplify machinery and automation so that it is more readily understood must be seen as beneficial. "Complex drilling and completion systems should not be acceptable for subsea equipment - period".

Inspection maintenance and repair (IMR)

Access to a completion and subsea system influences the design, construction inspection and maintenance philosophies. Unlike surface conditions that have less constraints. Accessibility in deepwater may depend on the availability of intervention equipment, environmental conditions, water depth and the facilities on the surface support vessel.

Access to the completion & subsea system may however be required during installation and for interventions through the operating life of the field.

Subsea production and completions systems in water depths >1000ft must be accessed by ROVs or Remotely Operated Tools (ROTs), well tractors, wireline, slickline, coiled tubing intervention etc.

The use of robotics can increases the complexity of the subsea equipment. Inspection can be carried out using video or downhole cameras mounted on wellbore running tools or a free swimming ROV for subsurface facilities.

The above must therefore be duly considered, and there are today instances, where we in the doghouse believe that such fundaments have not been properly addressed that will result in often great expense and operating loss to the operators in question.

Its simple, due process and key design essentials must be properly integrated into the reality of what the technology and application MUST DELIVER e.g.

1 Overcoming the water column (riserless, dual gradient drilling systems)
2 Phased development
3 Multiphase flow
4 Temporary productions systems
5 Improved wellhead design
6 Floater options
7 Mid water termination
8 Better reservoir definition
9 Use of existing infrastructure
10 Special materials (e.g. composite risers)
11 Environmental conditions
12 Leasing production systems rather than purchasing
13 Standardisation of systems to perfect them for a 1000-3000ft water depth.

That's it from the doghouse for this qtr.

Check out Deepwater and other well operations training available on-line at www.nexttraining.net

Drilling discussion forum can be viewed at www.coolboard.com and by searching for Oil and gas drilling operations.

Regards, From the Kingdom Doghouse. 2nd Qtr 2001.