Schlumberger continues to lead in new down-hole tools, technology

Implications

Katie Mazerov, Contributing Editor, reported in the January-February issue on an interview with Ian Falconer, marketing and technology manager for Schlumberger’s Drilling and measurements unit. What were the key challenges facing the industry today. Falconer’s reply was that in exploration, the idea is to obtain information. For mature fields, the challenge is to maximize performance from the old wells in the 70% of our fields in production for over 35 years. Finally, efficiently exploiting unconventional oil and gas resources primarily in North America. For exploration, Schlumberger is making significant progress in the use of real time logging-while-drilling seismic waves to reduce structural uncertainty. In mature fields, a trend toward longer reach well taxes existing mud-pump telemetry. For unconventional resources, accurate well placement requires ever more sophisticated rotary steerables. The industry is looking for even better understanding of possible reservoirs.

Analysis

In the interview, Ian Falconer cited the example of extremely long extended reach wells in the Al Shaheen unconventional oil field offshore Qatar. Before the development of horizontal drilling, fields like Al Shaheen were not economic. Although covering an immense area, the pay zone is relatively thin. By accurately steering the bottom hole assembly which can be located several miles away from the drill site wells with long horizontal producing sections become commercial. Al Shaheen oil field has been developed using a radial geometry. The long horizontal sections seen in plan view look like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. The latest steering technology in Al Shaheen uses the hot-out-of-the-research lab system called “wired pipe” to telemetrically transmit real time data from the bit to the surface. Wired drill pipe contains coaxial cables that run the length of the string. The signal is reinforced at each tool joint by an induction coil. Wired pipe replaces an often distorted mud-pump telemetric signal with an amplified signal that is pure and undistorted. This is what the petroleum engineer needs to design a completion from which will obtain maximum production from the well. This new technology is so successful that Schlumberger and NationalOilwellVarco (NOV) recently set up a joint venture company to manufacture wired pipe. In exploration, Schlumberger continues to improve the capability of its density measurement device that does not require a radioactive source. For many years the neutron capture tool with a radioactive element was the standard for obtaining density measurements. The problem arose with this tool on those not too infrequent incidents when it became lost in the hole due to a twist off in the bottom hole assembly. Trying to sidetrack such a tool so that drilling could continue introduced the risk of destroying the radioactive container; dangerously contaminating the mud stream and requiring the abandonment of both well and rig. In the Hassi R’Mel natural gas field in Algeria, such an incident happened in the early 1970s. The device contained radio-cesium with an 80 year half-life . The Schlumberger engineer begged the tool pusher not to drill it up. But the tool pusher, not comprehending the gravity of the consequences, drilled it up anyway. It is a story too long for this commentary. A non-radioactive tool removes this hazard. Today, all of the 35 year old and older oil fields are candidates for redevelopment. The old wells must be predrilled horizontally or abandoned. New wells need the best technology available. New water or gas injection wells require accurate placement for maximum sweep efficiency. Without constant development of new tools, it will be impossible to provide inexpensive hydrocarbons to an ever-expanding market. Today’s slowdown will be seen as a mere blip in the drive to faster drilling and better completions. Time and oil field technology march on in lockstep.