magazine JUNE 2006 VOL.8 NO.

Unconventional Hydrocarbons: Novel Approaches

Canada: capitalizing on
conventional/unconventional
plays

MPD: more productive

drilling

expecting more
from top-drive casing

wellbore imaging
with EarthView

into Africa through

well screen expansion

production optimization:
today, tomorrow
and beyond

inhabiting the deep with

subsea flowline testing

casing exits for CBM

Cut costs. Not corners.
When our clients demanded a faster, safer and heavy oil. In fact, we’ve now run over
and more reliable casing exit system for 1,000 installations, 85% as single trips, all
re-entry; we delivered the new single-trip without incident.
QuickCut™ system.
It’s just another example of how all of our
As the name suggests, it cuts milling time solutions are designed around your needs.
by up to 50% and possession time to around
So whichever way you cut it, there’s no better
27 hours. Saving you time and money. But it’s
casing exit system.
not just the added performance you’ll notice.
To find out more visit www.weatherford.com
Consistent and persistent.
or contact your Weatherford or former
Whatever your needs, we’ll be there for you.
Precision Energy Services representative.
QuickCut is a highly versatile solution -
effective in 80% of wells - including coal All Around You.
bed methane, unconventional hydrocarbons

Drilling | Evaluation | Completion | Production | Intervention

© 2006 Weatherford International Ltd. All rights reserved. Incorporates proprietary and patented Weatherford technology.
 magazine contents
foreword
Unconventional Hydrocarbons:
Producing the Previously Unproducible 2

in focus
Spotlight on Canada 3

drilling
MPD: More Productive Drilling 7
Expecting More from Top-Drive Casing 10

evaluation
Your View: EarthView 12

completion
Into Africa: A Triple-Win Expansion 14

production
Production Optimization:
Providing Better Answers Today, Tomorrow and Beyond 16
Inhabiting the Deep with Subsea Flowline Testing 19

intervention
Putting a Twist on Tradition: Casing Exit Technology for CBM 21

EEP update
Embedding Excellence in Our Culture 23

around the clock

Trade Shows and Seminars 25

A publication of Weatherford International Ltd.

Vol. 8, No. 2
Weatherford’s W Magazine is published by Weatherford International Ltd. Please direct all correspondence regarding this publication,
including reprint requests, to Amanda Gatell, 713.386.8988 or amanda.gatell@weatherford.com.

Editor-in-Chief Contributors
Christine McGee, Vice President, Marketing Egill Abrahamsen, Ron Barker, Brant Bennion, Doyle Boutwell, Scott Campbell,
Lee Colley, Tracy Cummins, Linda Day, Bob Gaspar, Don Hannegan,
Managing Editor
Wes Heiskell, Roberto Huertas, Sharon Ives, Espen Johansen, Tor Kragas,
Christine Welsh, Corporate Communications Manager
Frank Mathews, Matt McCaffrey, Dharmesh Mehta, Patti Meyer, Ken Miller,
Business Editors Keith Morley, Omid Noori, Laurence Ormerod, Adam Pasicznyk,
Gary Aaron, Marketing Manager Maarten Propper, Paul Radzinski, Travis Robertson, Bill Rouse, Karl Sakocius,
Steve Bell, Marketing Manager Ossama Sehsah, Dave Shaw, Adrian Steiner, Alan Sweeney, Rick Von Flatern,
Angie Gunden, Marketing Manager Gretchen Weis, Darren Wiltse.
Graham Makin, Director, Technical Marketing
Layout and Design
Pat Wright, Manager, Content Development
Eleanor Shanks, Senior Graphic Designer

Production
Anthony Drago, Production Manager
Jan Stafford, Art Director
june 2006 1
 Unconventional Hydrocarbons:
Producing the Previously Unproducible
Lee Colley, President, Completion & Production Systems

The quest for unconventional This article also discusses how we are drawing on our
hydrocarbons, which include heavy oil, experience in older coal fields in the United States to
coalbed methane (CBM), deep sour provide solutions that save time and reduce CAPEX
gas and tight gas sands, is on the investments from CBM assets in Canada.
upswing, thanks to strong oil prices and Your View: EarthView, on Page 12, explains EarthView,
the evermore pressing need to exploit Weatherford’s portfolio of versatile, high-quality wellbore
additional reserves for rapidly growing global imaging capabilities that can be tailored to our clients’
energy demands. specific applications, ultimately helping them economically
In the past, however, two factors have made our clients optimize reservoir recovery in both routine and challenging
somewhat wary of fully embracing unconventional plays: environments. In particular, EarthView can provide the
1) the majority of these reserves are trapped in best answer to certain questions while drilling
challenging environments; and 2) the costs associated unconventional resources, such as in CBM wells.
with producing—and often transporting—them are high. Putting a Twist on Tradition: Casing Exit Technology for
Weatherford has solutions for both of these challenges. On CBM, on Page 21, details how we have proved that use
the former, we’ve been a leader in adapting technologies of conventional re-entry technology, in partnership with
for unconventional environments for more than 30 years. horizontal underbalanced drilling and multilateral-well
The difference is that now we can offer a value-adding architecture, can produce a step-change in CBM
portfolio of products and services spanning the drilling economics and boost production by as much as 20 times
through abandonment phases of a well. On the latter, our the yield in vertical wells.
growth in the past five years means we can better The best news is that these are just a few examples of
leverage our size to minimize costs to realize economies how our services and products can be used for
of scale for ourselves and for you, our clients. unconventional applications. Other articles included in this
This issue of W Magazine contains several examples of issue, such as Production Optimization: Providing Better
Weatherford’s expanded capabilities in action: Answers Today, Tomorrow and Beyond and Expecting
Spotlight on Canada, on Page 3, provides a closer look at More from Top-Drive Casing, do not focus exclusively on
Weatherford’s successes in unconventional plays in the unconventional applications. But these offerings, along
Canadian Foothills, from our roots in the heavy-oil basins with many others, are part of our single-source, integrated
of Alberta to our recent success using electromagnetic portfolio of options designed to ultimately help you
measurement-while-drilling (EM MWD) technology for economically produce the previously “unproducible.”
superior geosteering during CBM directional drilling. We hope you enjoy this issue.

Unconventional Gas Technology Solutions

Drilling Controlled Pressure Drilling Reduces NPT, mitigates drilling hazards, prevents formation damage
Directional Drilling Services Provide horizontal well placement in thin coal seams
Casing Exits Construct maximum reservoir contact junctions

Evaluation CompactTM Logging Offers high-quality, economic formation evaluation

GeoScience Informs development planning through interpretation and analysis
Imaging Yields better reservoir description

Completion Multilaterals Provides low-cost high reservoir contact

Fracturing Enables extraction
Production Flowback Optimizes post-frac cleanup

Production Production Optimization Minimizes OPEX, maximizes production and recovery

Artificial Lift Enables production

2 magazine
Spotlight on Canada
As the world’s third-largest producer of natural gas and ninth-largest producer of oil, Canada
is home to some of the largest hydrocarbon reserves on earth. Whether the target is
conventional oil and gas or unconventional plays, such as coalbed methane, heavy oil or tar
sands, most of the reserves are trapped in extremely challenging environments both onshore
and offshore. W Magazine takes a close look at Weatherford’s successes in Canada.

The maturing of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin portfolio offers the right technologies to help unlock key
has lead to increasing levels of drilling and completion unconventional sources of oil and gas in that country
activity as operators seek new ways to capitalize on and around the globe.
higher oil and natural gas prices. The demand in the
region for both conventional oilfield services and
Deep, Sour Gas:
Rocky Mountain Foothills
emerging technologies is unprecedented.
“The
The challenge to replace reserves has The Rocky Mountain Foothills of
Weatherford
made locating and harvesting wireline team has western Alberta are known for high-
hydrocarbons from environments that become highly adept pressure, deep, sour-gas reservoirs.
heretofore were not considered at coaxing open-hole These fields can be very prolific
commercially attractive a priority quality logging response producers, with hydrogen sulfide
across the industry. through cemented contents of 30 percent or more.
casing, using Drilling challenges are further
The industry continues to challenge the
rigless logging complicated because many Foothills
Canadian oilfield service sector to take a
equipment.” wells must penetrate hard rock from start
lead role in developing new technology and
to finish and often encounter tectonically
equipment that can meet ever-changing surface
induced folding and faulting of the earth’s crust,
and subsurface demands while still “watching the
which can lead to well-path control challenges.
pennies” to reduce operator costs and improve the
economics of crude oil and natural gas production. Bottomhole pressures can exceed 10,000 PSI (69 MPa)
These objectives are fundamental to Weatherford’s core in the Foothills, requiring high-pressure surface
culture—and have been for three decades. equipment capable of handling 15,000 PSI (103 MPa)
or more. Weatherford provides a range of products and
To meet the particular challenges of unconventional
services to meet high-pressure, sour-gas applications.
plays, today’s operators are looking for fit-for-purpose
Other key offerings include the supply of sour-service
solutions. Combining its wide range of
downhole drilling equipment, including specialized
traditional products and services
bottomhole assembles, drillpipe and more.
with the highly specialized
In addition, the company brings extensive experience in
technologies made available
controlled pressure drilling for both enhanced well-control
through last year’s
purposes and performance drilling applications. Operating
acquisition of Precision
companies can now efficiently drill wells that previously
Energy Services,
were extremely difficult, if not impossible, to drill.
Weatherford places as a
top-tier service provider Another important distinction in Weatherford’s deep-well
throughout Canada. service offering is its slim, corrosion-resistant liners. Exotic
Today the company’s alloys are combined with years of high-end liner design

Percussion hammers and bits are key to successful air drilling operations.

june 2006 3
 “We can draw on
experience to help the industry address the extremely our significant artificial-
difficult operating conditions typical in the Foothills. lift experience both from
conventional and unconventional
Coalbed Methane Fields: wells, such as the older coal
South Central Alberta fields in the U.S., to provide the
right solutions to ultimately
The plains of Alberta hold a huge treasure of natural
reduce CAPEX and OPEX while
gas, locked underground in coal seams. The National
increasing water production to
Energy Board of Canada estimates more than 75 trillion
help improve overall returns
cubic feet of recoverable methane from the Western from CBM assets.”
Canada Sedimentary Basin. About US$2 billion is
estimated to be spent to drill and develop coalbed
methane (CBM) fields in Canada in 2006, with that
number expected to grow significantly in the next three
to five years. observes Travis Robertson, vice president of the
Canadian region. “The Weatherford wireline team has
While most of the CBM wells drilled to date in this region
become highly adept at coaxing open-hole logging
are shallow and dry, dewatering is expected to become
evaluation through cemented casing, using ‘rigless’
a factor in many of the new CBM plays. Traditionally,
logging equipment.”
CBM economics are challenging at best. The
shallow targets require several hundred vertical Coalbed dewatering provides significant challenges, as
wells before production flow delivers abrasive coal particles are often produced as the water
profitable returns. The deeper targets column is drawn off. When it comes to understanding
require multilateral horizontal wells solids and gas handling, reservoir dynamics and
designed to facilitate water removal. pumping applications, Weatherford is the only company
providing technologies across all forms of lift.
Weatherford has been drilling and
Weatherford’s progressing cavity pump can assist with
completing CBM wells in the United
dewatering operations and offers excellent solids
States and Canada for several
handling, including coal, shale and sand. The company’s
decades. The company recently
CBM-ESP® electric submersible pump was specifically
introduced a step-change in CBM
designed for CBM applications. It features a tapered
economics in Canada by applying
pump and special intake screen and incorporates three
proven technology in new ways. The
types of gas shrouding for more efficient production.
results have been stellar—especially in
In addition Weatherford uses its VSH2TM hydraulic
the deeper, wet coal applications.
reciprocating pumping unit (“the mini”) as a cost-
Combining its world-class expertise in
effective way to operate reciprocating rod pumping
multilateral horizontal wells, Weatherford has
systems and to accelerate the dewatering process so
delivered up to 20-fold increases in production. (See
that operators can advance more quickly to the gas
related story on Page 21.)
production stage.
Keeping the horizontal wellbores within the often thin
“Weatherford offers total solutions, no matter what the
coal seams can be a major challenge. Weatherford’s
CBM challenge,” explains Darren Wiltse, director of
electromagnetic measurement-while-drilling (EM MWD)
technical services for the Completion & Production
technology provides annular pressure, oriented gamma
Systems division in Canada. “CBM initiatives are growing
ray resistivity measurements for superior geosteering
exponentially in Canada. We can draw on our significant
during CBM directional drilling.
artificial-lift experience both from conventional and
With such a high demand for drilling rigs in the industry unconventional wells, such as the older coal fields in the
over the last few years, operators tend to prefer logging U.S., to provide the right solutions to ultimately reduce
shallow-gas and CBM development wells after the wells CAPEX and OPEX while increasing water production to
are cased and the drilling rig has been released, help improve overall returns from CBM assets.”

4 magazine
Heavy Oil and Tar Sands: continuous measurement signals for the more precise
Alberta and Saskatchewan wellbore placement needed for SAGD wells. While not
new technology, EM LWD offers a cost-effective means
As production of conventional oil continues to decline
of providing well location and logging data. In addition,
around the world, more attention is turning to the heavy-
unique antennae technology provides extended-range
oil and tar sands opportunities in northern Canada. Heavy
EM transmission for fields where EM-related depth
oils tend to have very high viscosities, which inhibit
limitations exist.
wellbore flow during production. Tar sands, or bitumen,
are found in shallower formations and often have the SAGD brings many challenges to the completion and
consistency of shoe polish. In the case of many heavy- production side of oilfield operations. Typically, producing
oil and tar sand deposits, thermal steam stimulation is SAGD wells deliver high-temperature, multiphase flow,
often employed to reduce viscosity so that the oil can be which includes oil, gas and water, sand, fluids with
produced efficiently. varying viscosities, and fluids near phase change (for
example, hot water flashing to steam). A producing SAGD
Heavy-oil and tar sands production relies on many of the
well requires an artificial-lift system with variable producing
same drilling, completion and production technologies
rates, operability at low reservoir pressure and installation
and techniques that are applied to conventional reserves.
at high inclination angles (nearing 90°). The challenge
But the E&P operator developing a heavy-oil field has some
has been to come up with one system that would
unique technical challenges to address, such as high
effectively perform in such a severe application.
temperatures associated with thermal recovery, lifting of
high-viscosity crude, sand control, produced water and Weatherford developed a new lifting system called the
solids management, and environmental stewardship. hydraulic gas pump (HGP). Not only can it effectively
operate in these severe conditions, but the HGP also
A significant proportion of Weatherford’s Canadian
offers unique features that truly set it apart
business involves heavy oil and tar sands. With more
from other artificial-lift systems. One
than 30 years of heavy-oil and tar sands experience,
key feature is that the HGP
Weatherford is set apart from other service providers
operates by using the energy
working in thermal oil recovery.
from the high-pressure
“Roughly 80 percent of bitumen-grade tar sands must natural gas that is
be recovered using wells versus mining extraction inherent to any SAGD
technology,” Robertson explains. “We’ve been drawing facility in Canada.
on our directional drilling expertise to assist our clients in The HGP borrows
the use of cyclic steam stimulation and steam-assisted the gas
gravity drainage [SAGD] since these processes began in temporarily to
the mid-80s.” SAGD requires careful spacing of well enable one pump
pairs to as close as 15 ft (4.5 m) from one another. cycle and then
Steam is injected into the upper well, heating the returns all of the
hydrocarbons so that they drain into the lower well for gas to the steam
pumping to the surface. generation facility,
where it is consumed
The well equipment for thermal operations must be
to manufacture steam.
capable of performing in high-temperature environments,
The cycle then repeats.
and Weatherford has a comprehensive offering of high-
performance equipment to handle the challenges of SAGD “In essence,” says Wiltse, “it
and other thermally assisted production operations. does not cost anything to operate
this pump.”
Weatherford was among the first to use EM data
transmission integrated with positive-pulse transmission Another differentiator is that the HGP has an infinite
within the same set of logging tools. The company’s turndown ratio, meaning that it can pump the high
logging-while-drilling (LWD) and MWD tools provide volumes available in a new producing SAGD well

june 2006 5
 (for example, 6,300 BFPD); the same system can follow currently producing in Canada, approximately 20,000
the natural decline of a producing well to 0 BFPD. rely on Weatherford’s PCP technology. For directional or
horizontally drilled wells, Weatherford’s PCP systems also
“No other artificial-lift system commercially available
include the COROD® continuous sucker-rod component.
today can do that,” says Wiltse. “It really is game-
The COROD sucker rod dramatically reduces the
changing technology.”
mechanical wear rate between sucker rod and tubing
In one recent installation, the HGP replaced a competing while transmitting torque required to operate the PCP.
system at the same 1,700-ft (518-m) depth and 60° The combination of Weatherford’s PCP systems with the
inclination, with the expectation that the pump would COROD sucker rod substantially outperforms competing
mirror the 786-BFPD performance of the previous systems that use conventional sucker-rod technology.
system. Weatherford’s HGP exceeded performance by
more than 20 percent, pumping more than 945 BFPD. Engineering Expertise,
Fit-for-Purpose Solutions
Traditional liner packers have rubber elastomer seals that
can be destroyed by the liner expansion and contraction Unconventional plays are exactly that: unconventional.
that typically occurs during thermal heavy-oil operations. Successful development of oil and gas in these unique
Weatherford’s response is the MetalForm liner-top
TM environments—whether CBM, conventional heavy oil or
packer, designed especially for use in SAGD wells. The tar sands—leads operators to continually push the
MetalForm packer forms a metal-to-metal barrier to sand operating envelope to ultimately reduce capital and
production, between the liner and the intermediate casing, operating expenditures.
without elastomers, providing extended performance Weatherford is working closely with its clients toward
through many thermal expansion and contraction cycles. this end. Driven by innovation to use both new products
For traditional heavy-oil production, Weatherford was one and services and conventional methods with a twist, the
of the first to develop progressing cavity pumps (PCPs) company is helping clients realize the full production
back in the 1980s. Of the 30,000 or more heavy-oil wells potential of the world’s most challenging reservoirs.

6 magazine
MPD: More Productive Drilling
Managed pressure drilling controls downhole pressure to cut nonproductive time and
reach reservoirs that might otherwise remain untapped.

“Drilling the conventional way with an open-to-the- Four Variations of MPD

atmosphere mud-return system is like boiling rice in a Almost 50 percent of drilling hazards relate to pressure
pot with the lid off,” says Don Hannegan, Weatherford’s and wellbore instability, and in most cases MPD can help.
functional director of Managed Pressure Drilling. “You There are four basic ways to deploy MPD, which are
have limited control over how fast and well it cooks, and highlighted below.
you’re in danger of it boiling over and making a mess. With
MPD can cut nonproductive rig time related to lost
managed pressure drilling [MPD], the rotating control
circulation, kick, nuisance gas zones and differential
device [RCD] above the blowout preventer [BOP] converts
sticking; increase the ROP and extend bit life; enable
the entire drilling and mud-return system into a pressure
access to reservoirs previously thought to be undrillable;
vessel that you can control very exactly. There’s minimal
reduce the number of casing strings and in some cases
risk of blowouts or harmful gases on the rig floor. Why
deepen casing set points; and decrease health, safety
would you want to do it any other way?”
and environmental (HSE) risks.
At the March 2006 SPE/IADC Managed Pressure Drilling
& Underbalanced Operations Conference & Exhibition, in
Galveston, Texas, just about everyone agreed. Both
operators and regulators extolled the many virtues of
MPD, including dramatic reduction of nonproductive
time (NPT).

In one case, for example, a jackup rig offshore Angola

was having serious problems drilling through a fractured
carbonate reservoir with a low bottomhole pressure (4.7
to 5.5 ppg equivalent mud weight), a situation
complicated by up to 2 percent hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in
the returning gas. The rig was forced to abandon one
well when mud losses reached 1,400 bbl per hour. And
drilling another well to just 1,400 ft (427 m) would require
Nearly 50 percent of drilling hazards relate to pressure and wellbore
35 days.
instability. MPD helps improve several of these situations, including lost
Switching to the pressurized mudcap drilling (PMCD), circulation, kicks and stuck pipe.
variation of MPD cut drilling time to just 3.5 days for 770 ft
Pressurized mudcap drilling (PMCD) is used whenever
(235 m), a rate of penetration (ROP) of 220 ft (67 m)—
mud losses indicate fractures, caverns or other mud-
rather than 40 ft (12 m)—per day.
stealing formation defects. In PMCD, heavy, viscous
PMCD also allowed the
mud is pumped down the annulus, where it acts as a
well to reach total depth
“We’ve been cap on the well and prevents any fluids from escaping.
and prevented any
talking about the Drilling then continues using a lightweight “sacrificial”
advantages of this H2S from being
drilling fluid like seawater. With the lighter fluid, drilling
approach to drilling for brought to the
goes faster, and fluid and cuttings end up trapped
almost a decade, and the surface.
beneath the surface in the fracture or cavern, solving
industry is now seeing
disposal problems and preventing dangerous gases
the value. MPD will play
from reaching the surface. In many cases the cuttings
a big part in wells of
the future. It’s and drilling fluid also help stabilize the formation.
unstoppable.”
june 2006 7
 Constant bottomhole pressure (CBHP) drilling is used
when the fracture gradient approximates the pore
pressure of a formation. This type of narrow pressure
window has always been problematic because, when
pumping ceases (for example, when connections are
made), the frictional fluid-movement component of
pressure drops to zero. To compensate for this drop and
prevent possible blowout, the mud weight must be
maintained higher than ideal—often dangerously close to
the fracture gradient. When pumping resumes and the
frictional component kicks in again, the sudden pressure
kick can be strong enough to fracture the formation and
cause mud loss—the infamous kick-loss cycle.

Using a closed and pressurizable system, MPD can

prevent the kick-loss cycle by maintaining a constant
pressure on the formation, regardless of whether the
drilling mud is moving. Because narrow windows tend to
occur in deep (and very expensive) wells, CBHP MPD
can be worth millions of dollars. In fact, in the Gulf of
Mexico, Weatherford recently performed a job for
Pemex using the CBHP technique on a deviated well.
The goal was to drill the well without total circulation
In PMCD, viscous mud pumped down the annulus seals the formation, loss, as experienced on previous wells in this field, while
which can then be drilled with a sacrificial fluid. Fluid and cuttings remain
reducing drilling time. As a result of close collaboration
trapped subsurface. (Illustration courtesy of Signa Engineering.)
between Weatherford and the operator and use of the

One glowing example of PMCD success is the work of CBHP technique, the operator’s drilling time was

Santos offshore Indonesia, in an area where one well out reduced by 83 percent, with operational savings of

of every five had previously ended with near total loss of US$1 million.

drilling mud and disastrous financial consequences. To On an MPD application in the Wild River area of western
solve the problem, Santos prepared Transocean’s Sedco Canada, Weatherford helped an operator realize an ROP
601 semi-submersible rig with a surface BOP in the increase of 250 percent and an overall cost saving of 18
moonpool area to practice PMCD. Weatherford’s percent for the relevant section of drilling as compared
RiserCap RCD, which employs flexible mud-return lines
®
to wells previously drilled offset wells. In addition, the
to accommodate the motion of a floating rig, was well was cased and cemented in a near-balanced state,
mounted atop the BOP annular. thereby avoiding formation damage while achieving the

This first application of MPD with a surface BOP on a operator’s “best” cement job to date in the area.

deepwater rig proved extremely successful, and the Dual-gradient MPD can allow effective drilling into deep
Sedco 601 has now drilled more offshore wells in formations with low fracture gradients. The intention is
surface BOP mode than any other rig in the industry. not to reduce the bottomhole pressure to a level of

“Santos rigs up the equipment and pays Weatherford a underbalance (that is, lower than the formation pore

standby rate,” says Hannegan. “If they hit a cavernous pressure) but to avoid a situation of gross overbalance

formation and begin to experience severe mud losses, because of the weight of mud in the annular column—

they bring the equipment on line, switch to PMCD mode, an overbalance that can fracture the formation. With

and complete the well. Although drilling into cavernous dual-gradient MPD, a parasite string or concentric

voids has occurred only on one well in five, having the casing is used to inject a light fluid (such as nitrogen,

MPD equipment there is very cost-effective insurance.” mud with glass beads or less-dense liquid) into the

8 magazine
annulus. On a deepwater rig, the rig’s existing marine “Three of the most significant regulatory agencies—the
riser booster pump line can be used as a conduit to Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority, the U.S.
inject a light liquid or inert gas into the marine riser. As Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management
this light fluid rises, it takes the heavy mud along with it, Service, and the Alberta Energy Utilities Board—attended
reducing the total weight. the Galveston conference in March,” says Hannegan,

In essence, says Hannegan, you are tricking the wellbore “and they all were enthusiastic about the HSE potential of

hydraulics into “thinking” that the rig is closer than it MPD. And we had directors of the upstream technology

actually is by removing some of the hydrostatic head groups from some of the majors saying that this is the

pressure otherwise caused by heavy mud and cuttings way all wells should be drilled.

in the annulus returns. Therefore, the application of dual- “Although it has been only in the past several years that
gradient technology is destined to offer the greatest this litany of techniques has been recognized by the
benefits to deepwater drilling, where the hydraulic head onshore and offshore industry as a technology within
pressure associated with a tall marine riser has a itself and labeled MPD we’ve been talking about the
tendency to grossly overbalance many normally advantages of this approach to drilling for almost a
pressured zones and hydrocarbon reservoirs. Beyond decade,” says Hannegan, “and the industry is now
the obvious well control implications, such “underground seeing the value. MPD will play a big part in wells of the
blowouts” increase drilling NPT and mud cost. Invasive future. It’s unstoppable.”
mud and cuttings damage to the porosity of a pay zone
can significantly reduce the ultimate productivity of the
well over its life.

Health, safety and environmental (HSE) MPD may

ultimately be the largest market for MPD technology.

Reactive Versus Proactive

As noted in a recently published article, one can take a reactive or

proactive approach to MPD.1 With a reactive approach, the well is
designed for conventional drilling, but MPD equipment is ready to react to
unexpected pressure changes. The cost to the drilling program to practice reactive MPD
may be likened to the cost of insurance. Just tool up and be prepared to react safely and
more efficiently to downhole surprises. This explains in part why a growing number of
underwriters are requiring that closed and pressurizable mud-return systems be used on land
drilling programs they insure. It also gives operators a good opportunity to familiarize
themselves with basic MPD operations. The Santos/Sedco case illustrates an excellent use of
the reactive approach.

Proactive MPD is used throughout the drilling process—an approach that offers several
advantages: pressure can be closely controlled throughout drilling to minimize formation damage
and skin; there is less worry about unanticipated kicks because the mud-return system is always
under tight control; there are reduced risks for potentially harmful releases of H2S or other gases to
the atmosphere and therefore less risk of health and safety incidents; drilling proceeds faster, and
bits last longer because lighter-weight fluids are used; narrow pore-pressure/fracture-gradient
windows can be successfully and quickly negotiated; differential sticking can be avoided; and NPT
can be minimized throughout the drilling process.

1
G.H. Medley and P.B.B. Reynolds, “Distinct variations of managed pressure drilling exhibit application potential,” World Oil, February 2006

june 2006 9
 Expecting More from Top-Drive Casing
Weatherford’s new OverDriveTM top-drive casing running and drilling system, including
the TorkDriveTM Heavy-Duty and Modular tools, is taking tubular running to a new level.

Develop, change, progress. Each of these words Automatic weight compensation prevents thread
describes phases of an evolution. Truly evolving technology damage. One of the many critical moments during casing
in the tubular running business means building expertise operations occurs when one joint of casing is being mated
based on a steady track record of carefully implemented to another. The potential for thread damage is enormous.
improvements to current methodology over a significant In response, Weatherford has incorporated a weight
period of time. The OverDrive system is indeed an compensator into the TorkDrive tools that essentially
evolutionary step forward in casing running and drilling neutralizes the weight load. An integral part of the upper
technology that could only have come from a company assembly of the tools, the compensator system has a
that has been in the business of running casing for more vertical displacement in both upper and lower positions.
than 50 years. Movement is balanced through cylinders and well-
“Weatherford is the global leader in casing running,” says balanced pressure controls.
Tracy Cummins, global product champion of OverDrive “With our compensator you can actually break out the
systems. “We continue to invest heavily in research and casing connection and lift the joint out with the
development of new ideas, and we have three global compensator instead of the block,” says Doyle Boutwell,
engineering and manufacturing service centers that global product service line manager for Weatherford’s
design and manufacture nearly all of our own casing Tubular Running Services. “Without a compensator, it is
running equipment. Our new remotely controlled OverDrive extremely difficult for the driller to accomplish this with
system increases safety and efficiency by combining many the block without damaging the casing threads”
conventional casing tools into one and removing
Fill-up and circulating valve mitigates environmental
personnel from hazardous areas.”
and safety risks. Using conventional running tools, the
The arrival of this next-generation system could not have crew must fill each joint of casing with drilling fluid as it is
come at a better time. With so much of the low-hanging being lowered into the slips, which can cause pressure
fruit already harvested, operators today are seeking to buildup and may lead to environmental and safety risks.
leverage technology to recover reserves once thought Weatherford’s OverDrive system addresses these issues
economically unreachable. One major operator has let it with a unique integral fill-up and circulating valve that
be widely known that drilling with casing and directional allows the tool operator to open and close the annulus in
drilling with casing will be some of the prime the pipe and vent the compressed air without spillage.
technologies in that quest. Likewise, Weatherford’s own Unlike other solutions to the problem, the TorkDrive tool
operator survey found these technologies ranked just never has to be moved from its set position.
behind managed pressure drilling on operators’ lists of
Interlock prevents injury and dropped strings. One of
some of the most important new offshore technologies.
the most common accidents during casing operations
Standing Out from the Crowd occurs when crews mistakenly release the slips before the
weight of the pipe is transferred to the elevators. Preventing
The OverDrive system is made up of several distinct
such a potential catastrophe is the job of what the
components, the main ones being the TorkDrive Heavy-
industry generally refers to as “interlocks.” Weatherford’s
Duty and Modular tools, which are mounted directly to the
patented TorkDrive interlock system addresses the
rig’s top drive for making up and breaking out casing.
unique “third parameter” associated with the application
Some of the most important features and capabilities
of top-drive makeup systems.
separating the system from the rest of the field include
weight compensation; filling and circulating; safety “Interlock is a big concern in the industry,” says Cummins.
interlocks; JAM joint analyzed makeup system with the
®
“Without integrated safety interlocks there is a real risk of
new TorkSub; and experienced personnel. dropping pipe and injuring personnel. We feel we have

10 magazine
 “One of the
most critical
elements of the system
is our experienced addressed every distributed forces along the pipe and reduced fatigue
personnel. Our people are potential for within all areas of the running tool.
definitely a key part of the
unplanned events “When you get into higher string loads, it becomes more
system and one big reason
with respect to the new critical,” says Egill Abrahamsen, global product service
why clients can expect
OverDrive system.” line manager for Mechanized Rig Systems. “With this
more from us today
and tomorrow.” To compensate for this design clients can be confident that they are not going to
third parameter, as Boutwell damage the pipe. It spreads the load evenly among all of
calls it, when the TorkDrive tool the grapples and avoids high load concentrations at any
begins to lift the casing string after the joint is fully made part of the gripping system.” Egill continues, “The result
up, its weight compensators must be fully stroked out, is less die penetration, even force distribution and less
which can only happen if the compensators are bearing damage to the pipe.”
the full weight of the casing below, before the slips can Additional differentiators signal new level of
be opened. technological progress. Additional differentiators of the
TorkSub, JAM system ensure correct makeup. OverDrive system include its load and torque capacities,
Accurate torque-turn monitoring is a major concern of its ability to drill and/or ream with the casing string, and
operators and one of the greatest challenges to all top- the method of attachment of the TorkDrive tool to the
drive casing makeup providers in the industry. Of all the top drive.
unique OverDrive system features, Weatherford developers With the addition of Weatherford’s DrillShoeTM drilling
believe that the most dramatic is the TorkSub, which assembly and the ability to simultaneously reciprocate,
provides the torque signal to the Weatherford JAM circulate and rotate the casing string, the OverDrive
(torque monitoring and display) computer during casing system enables operators to drill and/or ream with the
connection makeup and is built into the main drive casing string. This accelerates the drilling process, lowers
mandrel of the TorkDrive tool. This feature provides, for drilling costs and reduces the chance of unplanned
the first time, a means of monitoring the torque output of events, such as differential sticking or well control issues.
a top-drive casing makeup tool independently from the
Finally, the TorkDrive tool is attached to the quill rather
top drive. Competitive systems rely instead on torque
than the bails of the top drive so that the rotation speeds
and turn signals from the control system of the top drive.
essential to drilling-with-casing operations (up to 100 RPM)
Future development will include control of the torque
can be achieved.
output of the top drive during connection makeup.

“In our own testing we have identified that reliance on

Building on Experience
the top-drive control system for torque monitoring and
control can be very inaccurate for making up API and Such innovations are the results of more than lab
premium threaded casing,” says Boutwell. “The TorkSub work. Fixing problems requires matching
enables Weatherford to eliminate from the torque and recognition with opportunities—a skill that can
turn measurement operation the entire top drive and only come with experience. It is why developers
control system.” of the OverDrive system count personnel as an
Gripping design prevents pipe damage. The design of integral part of the system.
conventional casing gripping tools (spider/elevator slips) “One of the most critical elements of the system
can cause most of the load to be imparted into the lower is our experienced personnel,” says Frank
portion of the slips body, increasing the chance for slips Mathews, vice president of Tubular Running
crushing or pipe scarring under heavy loads. Services. “We are involved in the planning and not
The TorkDrive external gripping tool incorporates multiple just the running of the job, and we have more
grapples in horizontal rows along the inside diameter of than 50 years of experience running strings. Our
the tool to provide the gripping for torque makeup and people are definitely a key part of the system and
hoisting capability. The TorkDrive tool has corrected the one big reason why clients can expect more from
problem inherent in conventional slips by placing a load us today and tomorrow.”
shoulder beneath each grapple. The results are evenly

june 2006 11
 Your View: EarthView
Weatherford’s wellbore imaging capability is arguably more robust and versatile than
any other in the industry. But the technology is only one part of an overall global service.

In discussing Weatherford’s EarthView, it is tempting to the most innovative design of its kind in the industry.
focus on individual sensors; however, to fully grasp The OMI has effectively logged oil-based wells in
Weatherford’s wellbore imaging offering for geological various geographic locations and geologic conditions
applications, it is important to view imaging as a complete (see sidebar).
service rather than as a collection of disparate tools, says Imaging tools are the best answer to certain geological
formation evaluation business manager, Paul Radzinski. questions while drilling unconventional resources, such
“It’s about the service, giving the client what he needs, as in coalbed methane wells. In at least one application,
when he needs it, for his particular application,” he says. steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), they are the
only answer. SAGD requires the drilling of two parallel
Service Talk
horizontal wellbores. The shallower one carries steam
One technology that draws plenty of attention is the
that is injected into the formation to drive heavy oil to the
Oil-based Micro Imager (OMI), a version of the patented
deeper wellbore. But if a clastic shale is located between
HMI™ high-resolution micro imager that Radzinski calls
the two wellbores, the system will fail because that type
of shale is impermeable to steam.
This HMI log example shows a channel “If you happen to have that shale around your wellbore,
sand with cross bedding interrupted by SAGD will not work; and the only way to tell whether
scoured surfaces.
you have a clastic shale around is with an imaging tool
like the HMI system,” says Radzinski. “In this instance
Weatherford can run an imaging tool on wireline, in
memory or with a tractor or coiled tubing.

“We use wireline tools in wells already drilled to acquire

detailed petrophysical data as well as other information
for deciding the placement of future wellbores,”
Radzinski continues. “With LWD [logging-while-drilling]
tools—as we are doing often in the North Sea and
Middle East now—we use the image obtained while we
are drilling to better geosteer the wellbore for optimal
reservoir drainage.”

The OMI and HMI technologies, as well as the ultrasonic

micro imager (UMI), are electric wireline tools. Two
others, Weatherford’s AZD™ azimuthal density and
SAGR™ spectral azimuthal gamma ray tools, are LWD
tools, which means they are conveyed on drillpipe. The
recent development of the Compact™ micro imager
(CMI) tool will provide a high-resolution image in
boreholes smaller than 6 in. CMI also provides the
capability to log in difficult wells and replaces standard
drillpipe-conveyed wireline image logs.

While drilling, a limited amount of the data captured is

conveyed to the surface in real time and is available as

12 magazine
 “Log
interpretation is
a slow, manual
process that requires a
trained human eye. The
software is brilliant and an image, on periodic updates, posted to a secure client Web site as
works really well, but with location, that the work progresses. The same dedicated expert, says
geology you can’t just is sufficient for Jonkers, will work on creating the final product, usually
enter data into a such drilling available to the client in one to one and one-half days
computer, push a applications as after receiving the data.
button and get the geosteering or “How quickly the interpretation is finalized depends on
answer out.” checking wellbore the complexity of the well,” he says. “Also, the longer
stability. the interval, the more work it involves; and it is more
For instance, when the operator of a North Sea or less an exponential increase. And sometimes the
horizontal well planned to follow a dipping reservoir with client needs more specialized analysis, which can take
dip uncertainty of ±2°, the asset team was able to view up to three full days of work in some cases.”
azimuthal density in real time and make course Weatherford’s EarthView is continually evolving and today
correction changes while drilling. With this capability the can deliver to operators information about their wells in
team successfully completed the well objectives without amounts and of a quality unimagined just a few years
the expense of geologic sidetracks. The produced ago. When combined with the power of Weatherford’s
image also showed that the well crossed a fault plane GeoScience technical excellence centers and the experts
and encountered dip change in the adjacent fault block. who man them, the results are formation evaluation
But once the tool is retrieved, between 100 and 150 MB capabilities as strong as any in the industry.
of data per file are sent from the field, via satellite,
through a high-speed communication system to one of
the company’s GeoScience centers in Houston or
Calgary. And that is when the detailed formation OMI System Hits the
evaluation interpretation comes in. Target Zone in the Foothills

The Western Canadian Foothills is a geologically

GeoScience Excellence:
complex area, dominated by an overthrust belt.
The Other Half of the Equation
Concerns about wellbore stability and swelling clays
The data are then loaded into proprietary software to
mean oil-based invert drilling fluids are preferred.
generate a preliminary picture of the wellbore within an
Detailed structural information is crucial to operators
hour. From that point, says Jos Jonkers, global manager
chasing targets, and traditional water-based
of Weatherford’s formation evaluation, a geologist
imagers cannot work in these environments;
interprets the data, incrementally refining them to
however, the OMI system, with a knife-based
account for such things as logging speed corrections, to
electrode design and an industry-leading 1/4-in.
put the well on proper depth and to start identifying
vertical resolution, allows accurate delineation of
such geological features as bedding planes, fractures
stratigraphic as well as structural information.
and faults. In February 2006 the Calgary center alone
In one case a traditional one-button-per-pad, oil-
generated 82 final EarthView interpretations.
based scratcher dipmeter was logged to obtain
‘’Log interpretation is a slow, manual process that
accurate dip information. The OMI also was
requires a trained human eye,” says Jonkers. “The
logged and, with eight times more information
software is brilliant and works really well, but with
compared to the dipmeter, accurately resolved a
geology you can’t just enter data into a computer, push
thrust fault near total depth that was ambiguous
a button and get the answer out.”
from the results of the dipmeter. The operator
When the data set is time critical, the center dedicates whipstocked the well, based on information
an expert to that particular job to get the correct answer provided by the OMI, and went from missing the
to the client right away. Operators anxious to acquire target to hitting a sizable gas find.
evermore refined data as they are developed receive

june 2006 13
 Into Africa: A Triple-Win Expansion
With so much oil and gas activity happening outside traditional oilfield regions, service companies
must reside outside their traditional comfort zones. To address this challenge, Weatherford is now
extending its commitment to fostering economic improvement in developing regions with a new
full-service well screen manufacturing facility in Luanda, Angola.

Moving beyond established oilfield plays can be daunting. The rules of

doing business outside traditional oilfield regions can give pause to the most
experienced service and operating companies. Ultimately, what continues
to drive companies to these undeveloped regions are the tremendous
potential finds and reserves of oil and natural gas.
With an already robust global infrastructure and an impressive track record
of technical expertise, Weatherford is poised for the challenge. Today’s
focus: Luanda, Angola.
“Ultimately the true beneficiaries of this plant will be the Angolan people,”
says Bill Rouse, Weatherford vice president and director of the Well Screen
global business unit. “Angola has an entire generation of people who have
not known anything but war and internal revolution. Now that the country
has stabilized, we’re helping provide an opportunity for Angolans to acquire
jobs, learn new skills and benefit from the oil production taking place offshore.”
“The Angolan plant will also benefit our clients,” Rouse continues. “They’ll
have much greater flexibility in making completion decisions because we’ll
be able to respond to changes without having to consider long ocean
transit times.”
The photometric inspection system glides above
Ken Miller, Weatherford’s global product line manager for well screens, this well screen and measures every slot to ensure
notes that the Angola plant is one of the first true manufacturing facilities that the screen meets tolerance requirements.
anywhere in West Africa.
“In the past, companies satisfied requirements for local content by
assembling pre-manufactured parts in country,” he says. “We will be
manufacturing from beginning to end—the entire process—with a goal of
250 screens per month. The well screens being used in West Africa are the
most engineering-intensive and quality-sensitive products we make because
of the nature of the deepwater subsea completions there, and that’s the
level of quality we’ll be producing.”

Preparing the Angolan Team

As this article goes to press, Weatherford’s new Angolan engineering and
management team is being assembled and is undergoing training at the
company’s well screen manufacturing facilities in Houston and Dublin.
Within a few months, the team will return to Angola, where, along with
expatriate Weatherford employees, they will train the local plant workforce.

“By the beginning of 2007, the Angolan plant will manufacture the same
high-quality products that we now manufacture in Houston, Dublin and
Singapore,” says Rouse. “And ultimately everyone working for our Angolan
plant will be Angolan.”

14 magazine
Quality in Every Slot

Weatherford’s new PMI photometric inspection system offers dramatic improvements in quality verification.

Today at the Houston well screen manufacturing facility, clients will not see technicians staring at well screens
through a microscope. Rather, they will see Weatherford’s automated PMI system measuring each and every well
screen slot four times faster than before. Gliding slowly above the screen, the PMI system uses a sophisticated
digital camera and computer system, with a resolution of 1 micron per pixel, to measure each gap, ensuring that
required tolerances are met and mapping the exact statistical distribution of the gaps.

Screens typically have 3,000 to 5,000 slots each, and the conventional way of controlling quality has been to
measure a statistically valid portion of the slots, using a microscope.

“Those techniques are generally valid,” says Bill Rouse, “but they don’t take into consideration special-cause
variations that might go unchecked. So there’s always the potential to run a screen in the hole with slots that are
out of tolerance. The PMI system all but eliminates the chance of that happening.

“Everywhere we manufacture screens that require the exacting tolerances needed for deepwater, subsea,
extended-reach completions, we will provide this level of inspection,” Rouse continues. “That includes our
operations in Houston, Ireland, Singapore—and Angola.”

This portion of the Screen Data Report shows the statistical distribution of well screen gaps. This report shows average gap equaling 0.0099,
with a lower limit of 0.0085 and an upper limit of 0.012. Standard deviation was 0.0007, which was significantly better than required.

Local Engagement Goes Beyond the “We were already the major player in Angola, and we knew
New Facility’s Employees the market; so market analysis wasn’t an issue,” Rouse
says. “The challenge was finding local partners with the skill
The majority of the Angolan company making
sets and the financial wherewithal to be valuable
Weatherford well screens is owned by Weatherford’s two
contributors to the enterprise. The final step is clearing
Angolan joint-venture partners (Constroff, currently in
bureaucratic hurdles for establishing the business as an
import/export/logistics, and Praemium, currently in
Angolan company making Weatherford products and with
import/export/resale), both well respected local business
Weatherford maintaining full operational control. Once we’re
ventures. The Angolan national oil company, Sonangol, acts
running and people see what we’re able to achieve, we
as concessionaire for the operation, promoting it to the
think there will be a tremendous influx of industry moving
international oil companies operating in Angolan waters.
into Angola. And that will benefit everyone.”
Putting all the pieces together for a successful venture was
a significant challenge that started about one and one-
half years ago.

june 2006 15
 Production Optimization: Providing Better
Answers Today, Tomorrow and Beyond
While the industry talks about intelligent fields and production optimization, Weatherford
has been doing these things—effectively—for clients around the world. A man who has
been there offers some key insights.

Start with 1,000+ aging sucker-rod wells in the Cymric field of Chevron’s
San Joachim Valley business unit back in 1997. Over the previous two
years, annual well failure rates here had doubled from 15 percent to 30
percent. To stem the tide of costs, Chevron installed pump-off controllers
(POCs) and optimization software at each well. Failure rates dropped
back to 15 percent.

But in 2001 the newly formed ChevronTexaco wanted more: With a

compelling need to standardize data and well management across the
company, ChevronTexaco management envisioned a solution that would
unite automation technology, real-time well surveillance and historical
well data. This Well Services Management capability, they expected,
would reduce well service time, drive down costs and evaluate and
manage failures in light of historical data. This would be a true life-of-well
information system (LOWIS). With Weatherford and its production
optimization group, eProduction Solutions, they have made it happen.
Cymric field annual well failure rates. Failures rose to 0.3 (30
By 2006 all seven fields of the entire San Joachim business unit were percent) in 1995–1997, before action was first taken; fell to
live on the system; well failure rates in Cymric had dropped to 10 percent, 0.15 (15 percent) with the addition of POCs; then improved to
another 33 percent improvement; and the business unit was realizing 0.1 (10 percent) after adoption of the LOWIS system in 2002.

savings of US$6 million annually. More important, fields in the Mid-

Continent and Gulf of Mexico were adapting LOWIS to suit their
business units, a remarkable achievement given that the two business
units encompass wells that differ dramatically from the sucker-rod wells of
the San Joachim Valley. Today Weatherford’s commitment to production
optimization covers more than 100,000 wells, about 10 percent of the
world’s total. “Ongoing
“Many people think of Weatherford as a nuts-and-bolts company,” says involvement and
support are crucial.
Laurence Ormerod, vice president of solutions architecture for
You have to make sure that
Weatherford’s Production Optimization group. “So they’re often surprised
people’s issues get fixed on
when they find out the extent of the integrated solutions we can provide
a daily basis; but, more
for production optimization. I think this is one of our strengths—that we’re
important, you’ve got to
pragmatic. We work from the ground up instead of the blue sky down.” be thinking about what
can be done next. That’s
The Only Workable Approach
what keeps the
From his experience as CEO of Edinburgh Petroleum Services (acquired enthusiasm up.”
by Weatherford in 2004) and from documenting the Chevron case
history in a recent SPE paper1, Ormerod is an expert on what works.

1
L. Ormerod, SPE, Weatherford; H. Sardoff, SPE, J. Wilkinson, SPE, and B. Erlendson, Chevron; B. Cox, SPE, and G. Stephenson, SPE, Weatherford,
“Real-Time Field Surveillance and Well Services Management in a Large Mature Onshore Field: Case Study,” SPE paper 99949, 2006.

16 magazine
 “People like to think in terms of technology,” Ormerod You can’t forget that it takes ongoing support to keep
says, “but the real issues are about managing change, all the lights glowing.”
managing people, documenting processes so that you Ormerod explains that the pre-automation business
know what it is you are trying to do, and making sure process is the basis only for the initial automated system;
the data are reliable because ‘garbage in, garbage out’ the automated system then opens windows for improving
definitely applies. You also have to develop the business the business process; and the improved business
case—state the benefits you think you’ll get and then process creates opportunities to enhance the system—a
quantify and measure those benefits.” back-and-forth scenario that ideally never stops.
Chevron and Weatherford succeeded. They first
established a comprehensive vision that would include
Real Time to Long Term
everything from well surveillance, failure analysis and The LOWIS system is remarkable for the fact that it can
work-plan services to scorecard reporting. They created simulate and optimize well services for the vast network
a project team with the full backing of senior of sucker-rod wells in the San Joachim Valley, the various
management and the necessary resources for a long- types of Mid-Continent wells (waterflood, plunger-lift,
term effort. Before automating anything, the team submersible pump, gas-lift and even free-flowing wells),
mapped all business processes to standardize them and offshore gas-lift and free-flowing wells in the Gulf of
across fields; then mapped LOWIS software functions to Mexico. It also handles a variety of well intervention
the business processes; then built detailed process flow processes, from simple pump changes and sand
diagrams; and finally began developing the software cleanouts to the multimillion-dollar major rig workovers
solution to match the way the work was done. found offshore.

“Suppliers tend to walk in with a pat solution and say But even LOWIS handles only part of the overall
‘for X dollars we can automate this for you,’” says production optimization challenge: the optimization and
Ormerod. “Then they walk away, and a year later management of weekly, monthly and yearly well service.
everyone has gone back to their spreadsheets. Our What about real-time optimization of the field and the
approach is to say ‘We envision that this system could production network on a daily basis? And what about
save you (the client) this much on an ongoing basis, strategic optimization of the production system over its
and it will cost you this much on an ongoing basis.’ entire life cycle?

North America
28,000 Africa and Europe
2,000 Middle East Far East
3,000 2,000

South America
5,000

Wells under Weatherford optimization june 2006 17

 The company’s solutions for production optimization
Production Profile focus on 1) ReO® software, which optimizes the
Cash Flow Profile
production network of pipelines, separators, pumps, etc.
Explore
Appraise for current operations; 2) ReO ForecastTM, which takes a
Phases Construct
Develop
long-term strategic view of how the production network
Plateau
Decline
will change as the field ages by linking with subsurface
Reserves-Uncertainties Abandon
Business models; 3) i-DO® (intelligent daily operations software),
Concerns ROCE
Capex which optimizes daily operations by interfacing directly
Production
to downhole and surface well-control equipment; and
Op Costs
Environment 4) LOWIS, which is a weekly, monthly and yearly well
Weatherford Development Planning
Solution Reservoir Management maintenance system. The goal of Weatherford’s solutions
Areas Daily Production Opt architecture is to ensure that all of these software solutions
Operations
work in concert.

The field life cycle, showing the business concerns at each phase and AIM, Gain, Sustain
the particular areas where Weatherford can help.
“Weatherford does not attempt to be all things to all
clients,” Ormerod says. “Our real strength is that we
Weatherford has solutions for these too, as shown in the understand the hardware down the well and in the field
Production Profile figure above. and the services that are needed. And we focus on
Cash Flow Profile

The lines at the

® ®
PANSYSTEM WELLFLO MatBal ReO ReO Forecast
top of this figure show the cash flow andi-DO
TM ® TM ®
solutions architecture, not software architecture. We
Explore
Appraise
production profile over the life cycle, as the field moves don’t tear a couple of pages out of the catalog and
Phases Development
Construct
Planning Develop
3 3 3 3 3 say ‘you need one of these and one of those’ when we
through the phases of exploration, appraisal, construction,
Plateau

Business
Reservoir
development,
Management
Reserves-Uncertainties 3
production,
Decline
3 3
decline and eventual
Abandon 3 talk to clients. We want to recognize where they are in
Concerns ROCE
abandonment.
Daily The primary business concerns differ for the production life cycle and what kind of solutions will
Capex
Production
Optimization
each phase. EarlyProduction
3 3
phases focus on the uncertainties of
3 add value.”
Op Costs

Weatherford
theOperations
reserves, the return on capital expended
Development Planning
LOWIS (ROCE) and
Environment The process starts with Asset Inspection Methodology
Solution capitalReservoir
expenditures.
Management Later the emphasis shifts to (AIM) to define and prioritize asset opportunities and
Areas Daily Production Opt
maximizing production. When the field starts to decline, build a business case for implementation. During the
Operations
the emphasis shifts again to minimizing operating costs. Gain phase, the business development team consults on
The Weatherford solution areas at the bottom show where business process definition and builds well and surface
Weatherford has software and consulting services that network models to increase production and cut costs.
can help. The table below gives more detail. The benefits achieved here fund the Sustain phase,
which focuses on implementing new production
optimization technology, fine-tuning business processes

PANSYSTEM ®
WELLFLO ®
MatBal TM
ReO ®
ReO Forecast TM
i-DO ®
and related systems, and working with the client to
sustain profitability over the entire life of the asset.
Development
Planning 3 3 3 3 3 “It’s about figuring out what the problem is, bringing all
Reservoir
Management 3 3 3 3 the pieces together in an integrated manner, and
Daily
delivering the service and support that’s required to
Production
Optimization 3 3 3
make sure that the benefits keep coming after the initial
Operations
L O W I S system goes in,” says Ormerod. “It may not sound sexy,
Weatherford software and consulting solutions are designed to fit with but it’s very high value. We know because we’ve been
four phases of a field’s life cycle. there, done that!”

18 magazine
Inhabiting the Deep with Subsea Flowline Testing
SM
Weatherford’s SPCS subsea pipeline commissioning service, featuring the DenizenTM remote
subsea flooding and testing unit, conducts the world’s deepest infield flowline hydrotests.

In the pre-commissioning business, reducing the Denizen unit is lowered to the seafloor and connected to
requirement for costly and complex equipment is pivotal to the flowline, using hot stabs. The unit is operated
success. Finding ways to reduce work hours and the need remotely from the surface and uses the hydraulic circuitry
for expensive DPII support vessels is the ultimate goal of of the ROV to control pump speed. Once in place, the
the pipeline contractor. Adding to the challenge is the Denizen unit can introduce fluids and hydrostatically test
need to perform these tasks at water depths exceeding and dewater pipelines. Pre-commissioning data are
6,000 ft (1,830 m) while remotely controlling the whole collated by a data logger and relayed in real time through
operation from the surface. For most companies, these the ROV to the surface. For contingency purposes, the
prospects are daunting. data logger is equipped with a memory backup.
However, that is not the case for
Saving Pipe-Lay Barge and Crew Costs
Weatherford’s Pipeline &
“Our SPCS
Specialty Services (P&SS) “Because of the hydrostatic forces in deep water,
service has a marked
advantage in that it allows group, which recently conventional pre-commissioning requires the use of
the pre-commissioning completed its fourth expensive downlines, such as coiled tubing or flexible hose.
contractor to work world-record infield As a result an enormous amount of hydraulic horsepower
independently from costly flowline hydrotest in is required to inject fluid or nitrogen into the pipeline from
installation or support an ultra-deepwater the surface,” says Alan Sweeney, P&SS global product line
vessels. The work can be project in the Gulf of manager. “Moving pigs and hydrotesting such systems
performed from a much Mexico. These record- from the surface is a very complex process, requiring
smaller ROV support setting tests were all large vessels and a huge amount of equipment.”
vessel.”
conducted with a Denizen He notes that, as operators move into deeper and deeper
unit, a component of the waters, the requisite larger equipment spreads, downlines
SPCS™ subsea pipeline commissioning and crews make pre-commissioning work increasingly
system, in water depths up to 6,200 ft (1,890 m) and costly. The Denizen unit avoids the expense and
pressures exceeding 15,000 PSI (103 MPa) absolute. complexity of a large DPII support vessel with a large
Featuring a pumping package connected to the base equipment spread and downline to perform
plate of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the patented pre-commissioning operations.

Valkyrie Adds New Dimensions to Deepwater Service

The acquisition of Valkyrie Commissioning Services, Inc. made

Weatherford’s P&SS the unchallenged world leader in deepwater
pipeline pre-commissioning services. Valkyrie gives Weatherford
the talents of the world’s most experienced ultra-deepwater
authorities. Working with Valkyrie’s patented Denizen remote
subsea flooding and testing unit, these experts have performed
far more ultra-deepwater wet-end to wet-end jobs than anyone
else. The combination of P&SS and Valkyrie expertise and
technology significantly strengthens Weatherford’s capability to
provide a full portfolio of pre-commissioning services associated
with onshore and offshore pipelines, umbilicals, topside
construction and petrochemical plants.

june 2006 19
 “Our SPCS service has a marked safely than is possible with a conventional
advantage in that it allows the pre- downline. This advantage helps avoid
commissioning contractor to work costly weather-related suspension of
independently from costly installation or pre-commissioning operations. Given the
The Denizen unit can be deployed to the seabed
support vessels. The work can be unpredictable nature of weather offshore,
and hooked up within three hours, saving clients up
performed from a much smaller ROV the ROV can disconnect the Denizen unit to a day at either side of one pipeline system.
support vessel,” says Sweeney. from the pipeline and recover it to the

Hand in hand with cost savings go time surface in an expedient manner. The data

savings. Deploying and hooking up a logger, with a 72-hour battery life, can be
left connected to the pipeline and used to
downline can take up to 24 hours. The Success:
Denizen unit can be deployed to the continually monitor pressure and A Matter of Records
seabed and hooked up within three hours, temperature until the weather subsides.
The world’s deepest infield flowline
saving clients up to a day at either side of During weather delays, any recorded
hydrotests are the latest in a string
one pipeline system. data may be relayed to the surface once
of record-setting performances by
In addition, hydrotest fluids are injected at the Denizen unit has been reconnected
Weatherford’s P&SS team:
subsea temperature; therefore the to the pipeline.
• World’s deepest pipeline
stabilization period for the hydrotest
Going Onward and pre-commissioning from shore
becomes negligible, which offers significant
Downward—to 9,000 ft • World’s deepest and longest
time savings.
Weatherford clients derive many benefits flowline loop
Keeping People from the SPCS service and the Denizen • World’s deepest hose deployment
Away from Hazards unit, including for pre-commissioning

Working thousands of feet below, the • reduced support vessel size and • World’s deepest drillpipe
Denizen unit keeps everyone safely away crew costs; deployment for pre-commissioning
from high-pressure hazards posed by • reduced time and costs through easier • World’s deepest deployment of
equipment spreads on the surface. and faster mobilization/demobilization; free-standing coiled tubing

“One of the biggest concerns in deep • fewer delays and less risk exposure with
water is that, as wellhead pressures greater weather workability;
increase, the pipeline hydrostatic test • enhanced safety with high-pressure
pressure can range anywhere from 10,000 connections near the seabed;
A Global Offering
to 15,000 PSI [69 to 103 MPa],” says • reduced mechanical downtime with less
Sweeney. “Using coiled tubing or flexible equipment and complexity. Upstream and downstream,
hose with a working pressure of 15,000 PSI
These advantages were some of the onshore and offshore, P&SS is a
from a vessel that is pitching and rolling
reasons Weatherford’s P&SS has been global provider of services that span
subjects the downline to a lot of fatigue.”
awarded work on the Independence the entire life cycle of pipelines,
He adds that the greatest amount of deepwater subsea flowlines project in the flowlines and process facilities.
fatigue is at the surface, where it poses Gulf of Mexico. The Denizen unit is From construction to operation,
safety risks to personnel. scheduled for use in wet-end to wet-end maintenance and rehabilitation,
hydrotesting operations, working at the decommissioning/abandonment—
Weathering the Storm whatever the need, Weatherford’s
unprecedented depth of 9,000 ft (2,743 m)
The effect of rough seas on the Denizen and at pressures up to 14,500 PSI P&SS can provide any service or
unit is not nearly as dramatic as it is on (100 MPa) absolute. Weatherford package of services anywhere in
downlines. The tether management system anticipates a new world record. The client the world with the industry’s
on an ROV provides some freedom of anticipates success with safer operations, largest inventory of pipeline and
movement such that the support vessel simpler logistics and considerable time process equipment.
can remain on station more easily and and cost savings.

20 magazine
Putting a Twist on Tradition:
Casing Exit Technology for CBM
“Old school” re-entry systems used in “new school” coalbed methane applications,
proven to increase production twenty-fold, produce a step-change in CBM economics.

Drilling for natural gas in coal seams has been an industry Weatherford brings
“We certainly
practice for more than 20 years; however, traditional more than 20
aren’t the only player
top-down methods of extracting gas from coalbeds years of
in CBM, but we believe
have proved themselves neither particularly efficient nor experience Weatherford is among the
very profitable. Typically an operator must drill hundreds and first to package tools,
of vertical wells over a large footprint and produce from technology processes and experienced
complex infrastructure and gathering lines on a five- leadership in field management together
year-plus time horizon before seeing a reasonable rate horizontal and into a comprehensive, total
of return from coalbed methane (CBM) fields. underbalanced oilfield services approach
drilling for for CBM exploration
Despite the economic challenges, the ultimate payoff is
conventional and production.”
huge. Worldwide reserves of CBM gas are estimated to
be anywhere from 3,500 to 9,500 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), reservoirs to its

with an estimated 750 to 900 Tcf in North America alone. offerings in the CBM world,

With gas prices rising over the past few years, the where very narrow coal seams demand precise

industry has turned attention back to this unconventional placement of lateral lines. With more than 10,000 casing

source of methane production. exits and multilateral installations worldwide, Weatherford

is known for fast, accurate casing exits and the ability to
The challenge? Capture greater production volumes while
“thread the needle” in directional drilling.
reducing capital expenditures, thus improving the overall
profitability of CBM economics. A Total Oilfield Services Approach

The Good News As a result, Weatherford is leading a whole new drive in

CBM drilling and development in Canada, with additional
Weatherford has proved that use of conventional re-entry
projects in the U.S., the U.K., Australia and China.
technology, in partnership with horizontal underbalanced
drilling and multilateral well architecture, can produce a “CBM has been managed traditionally from a mining

step-change in CBM economics. Combining these extraction mind-set,” Barker observes. “We certainly aren’t

traditional technologies has been proven to boost CBM the only player in CBM, but we believe Weatherford is

production by as much as 20 times the production yield among the first to package tools, processes and

of vertical wells because one or two coal-seam lateral experienced field management together into a

wells can provide reservoir exposure equal to, or greater comprehensive, total oilfield services approach for CBM

than, that of at least eight 80-acre or sixteen 40-acre exploration and production.”

vertical wells. The company combines global leadership in directional

“Successful CBM economics are all about drainage,” and underbalanced drilling, artificial lift, completion

observes Ron Barker, global product line manager for technology, cased-hole wireline technology and extensive

Weatherford’s Casing Exits and Multilaterals product line. experience into a complete CBM service capability, using

“Horizontal drilling and casing exits are not new simplistic, field-proven tools available from more than

technologies, but they allow you to get outside the 150 service locations around the world.

wellbore to reach neighboring reservoir pockets. In CBM Horizontal, underbalanced drilling and casing exit
applications these tools have become a means for technologies create more extensive multilateral CBM
accessing greater pay.” gathering systems and require fewer pumps, with up to

june 2006 21
 15,000 ft (4,572 m) of coal exposure per well, per seam. capabilities, reduces average milling time by 40 percent
This approach results in less costly access for quicker while also reducing rathole drilling time in hard-to-drill
coalbed dewatering and higher gas flow rates, with no formations. The QuickCut system offers a variety of
need for costly fracture stimulation. Using these proven mechanical, hydraulic and integral packer anchor options
techniques also reduces environmental impact by for extended reach in tough-to-drill formations. With more
reducing the number of roads, surface locations and than 1,000 installations worldwide, the QuickCut system
wellheads needed. Capital expenditures are greatly has been proven to reduce well possession time to
reduced by eliminating top-down drilling costs, reducing improve installation costs.
the number of flow lines and wellheads, and shaving
artificial lift costs. Planning + Consistency = Results
Weatherford’s casing exit and multilateral systems are the “Over the years, Weatherford has maintained a historic
results of clients’ requests for simplicity—in reducing well performance tracking database on our milling technology,
costs and risk exposure, as well as improving productivity which allows us to fine-tune our approach and deliver the
and accelerating cash flow. With a success rate of more most precise, consistent milling performance in the
than 94 percent in retrieving thousands of whipstocks industry. It’s definitely one of our competitive advantages,”
through primary retrieval means, Weatherford helps reduce Barker explains.
fishing expenditures that can really impact well economics. Planning is the ultimate key to successful re-entry
The company’s fully retrievable casing exit technologies, projects and improved CBM project economics.
with zonal isolation, provide full-bore access to the Weatherford works with clients to develop optimal well
parent bore for smooth passage of bottomhole assemblies designs and drilling and completion programs. Helping
and artificial lift and completion products. clients meet their goals means providing them with real
Weatherford’s new-generation, single-trip hydraulic results—and ultimately improving the net present value
QuickCutTM casing exit system, with rapid-penetration of their CBM assets.

Real Results: QuickPack™ Casing Exit System

Drives Down Development Costs While
Maximizing Reservoir Contact

Weatherford’s QuickPack casing exit system has been installed in

66 wells, providing 181 laterals (versus 181 individual wellbores) to
depths ranging between 3,215 and 4,429 ft (980 to 1,350 m) for a
number of clients in the Mannville CBM fields of Fort Assinaboine,
Alberta, Canada.

The well types were CBM, deviated full-bore 6 1/4-in. multilateral

producers, completed with 4 1/2-in. slotted liners anchored by
ACP™ annulus casing packers. The modular, simple design of
the QuickPack system reduced supply-chain constrains while
increasing manufacturing mobility. The critical path time to install
the initial junction and remove hardware improved from 28.5 hours
to less than 20 hours per installation, helping to drive down well costs
and significantly reduce client capital spending.

22 magazine
Embedding Excellence in Our Culture
Over the past three years, Weatherford’s Enterprise Excellence Process
has been migrating from a concept to a culture.

Keith Morley, Vice President, Enterprise Excellence and Chief Safety Officer

In his initial announcement of Weatherford’s Enterprise

Excellence Process (EEP), in February of 2003, Bernard
J. Duroc-Danner, Chairman, President and CEO,
communicated his goal by asking management to “reset
objectives that will cause quality in the workplace,
demonstrate a clear understanding of the relationship between
quality and performance, and provide the knowledge to establish and
maintain effective improvements in our day-to-day jobs” and asking all
employees to “renew your commitment to excellence and our quality
processes.” Our objectives were set.

Where Are We Now?

Three years ago we started fulfilling this goal by developing the initial
framework and process documentation. This step included creating our
excellence policy, expectations and guidelines materials and was
followed by our excellence training courses and implementation and
roll-out activities, such as setting up Enterprise Excellence improvement
teams (EEITs), corrective action teams (CATs) and various
communications processes.

We then progressed to developing and implementing uniform systems

and tools, including a quality management system (QMS) template; the
Weatherford Performance Tracking System (WPTS); the new personnel
competency and learning management systems; and new, documented
global standards, operating procedures and work instructions.

Many of these implementation steps are ongoing, and it will be some

time before the entire organization will have fully adopted every element;
however, at all levels we are continuously improving the way we do our
business, the way we think and the way we act.

An Excellence Culture Takes Root

Our migration to a culture of excellence is reflected in many activities
that have become part of our normal business practices; that is, part
of the “One Weatherford” way of life across our global organization.
For example, in our U.S. operations, more than 120 locations have
implemented the QMS during the past 18 months. The system is based
on our uniform template, and audits demonstrate a high degree of
compliance in almost all locations.

Through our standard process of continuous improvement (including

employee empowerment to recommend process changes), the quality

june 2006 23
 management teams, operations, EEITs and CATs are
continuously coordinating and implementing corrective
action steps. The QMS and the associated culture
change have significantly reduced non-conformances
and increased delivery assurance to our clients.

Making the Commitment,

One Continent at a Time
In our Latin American region, the culture of excellence
has become an integral part of daily activities. Employees
recently recommended that a team-building exercise
would enhance working relationships among different
disciplines and functions within the company. As a US$300,000 per year and significantly improved
result, the EEIT decided to use a bowling tournament as throughput and delivery performance.
the team-building event. Many employees and their In our Middle East/North Africa region, and specifically
families participated in the practice and qualifying in Oman, management has focused Excellence training
events, and eventually 68 employees competed in the to develop and sustain an error-free culture from a
Enterprise Excellence Cup. health, safety, security and environmental (HSSE)
To quote the Weatherford Latin America newsletter, “this perspective. From November 2004 to December 2005,
activity’s primary purpose was to increase exposure and taking a One Weatherford approach, the region
familiarity of the employees with our Excellence process established a single HSSE management system across
as a work culture and to make it an integral part of the all product lines. Combining the new system with clearly
daily life.” The positive outcomes were obvious, as one demonstrated management commitment, region
employee expressed: “The improved rapport among all management undertook aggressive communication of
employees and the drive to improve on-the-job its expectations and the processes that were to be used
responsibilities were the most important achievements to achieve its goals. Supported by SafeStart training,
from this event.” including a special focus on hand and finger safety and
various preventative techniques (such as hazard
In Asia Pacific the regional team adopted the
identification and register building, near-miss and non-
Processes Model Worksheet techniques to analyze the
conformance investigation and corrective action
average invoice cycle time and to determine what could
implementation, and a renewed focus on defensive
be done to reduce day’s sales outstanding (DSOs),
driving and journey management), Oman managed to
which improved cash management. The CAT that was
achieve its error-free HSSE objective in 2005. In
formed made measurement analysis and improvement
recognition they received two external awards in 2005:
recommendations—which included controls, check-
the Petroleum Directorate of Oman (PDO) Chairman’s
sheets and process improvement steps that were
Award for Excellence and the British Safety Council
required—to the EEIT. After implementation, the average
(International) Award for Safety.
invoice cycle time was reduced by 75 percent, and
DSOs were reduced by 54 percent. Moving the Process Forward
In Canada the inflatable products manufacturing facility Results so far demonstrate significant progress toward
team has aggressively incorporated many of the our ultimate goal—excellence in everything we do. Our
Excellence improvement processes into daily work business practices and our individual and team interactions
processes. Focusing on continuous improvement and instinctively employ Excellence techniques as part of our
permanent elimination of non-conformances through normal course of business. This way of thinking has
rigorous root-cause analysis and corrective actions, become subconscious for us; it is now embedded in
management has measured a reduction in non- Weatherford’s culture—our culture of excellence.
conformances that has decreased costs by more than

24 magazine
All Around You
In recent years, Weatherford has expanded its offering through technology
development and strategic acquisitions. That’s why we repeatedly hear
“I didn’t know you did all that.” To help you gain a better understanding of
our total offerings, we have created a corporate capabilities brochure that
encompasses all of the Weatherford product families and services.

To order a copy, please contact Amanda Gatell at

amanda.gatell@weatherford.com.

2006 Weatherford Trade Show Schedule—July through December

Dates Event Location

Sept. 11–13 Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference & Exhibition (APOGCE) Adelaide, Australia
Sept. 11–14 Rio Oil & Gas Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Sept. 24–27 SPE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (ATCE) San Antonio, Texas
Oct. 3–6 SPE Russian Technical Conference & Exhibition Moscow, Russia
Oct. 16–18 SPE/IADC Indian Drilling Technology Conference & Exhibition Mumbai, India
Nov. 5–8 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC) Abu Dhabi, UAE
Nov. 13–15 IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology Conference (APDT) Bangkok, Thailand
Nov. 25–29 International Algeria Oil & Gas Exhibition (ALOGE) Oran, Algeria
Nov. 28–30 Deep Offshore Technology Conference & Exhibition (DOT) Houston, Texas
Dec. 5–7 International Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition China (IOGCEC) Beijing, China

Artificial Lift Training Hycal Seminar Series

As the only company offering all Hosted by Gulf Publishing, Hycal’s Reservoir Optimization
forms of artificial lift systems, Seminar Series helps clients in the exploration,
Weatherford hosts a general artificial development and production segments of the industry
lift course for its clients. Hosted by learn more about reservoir characteristics, fluid flow in
James Lea, this 3 1/2-day course is porous media and reservoir fluid phase behavior to gain
designed to give attendees a thorough introduction to a better understanding of reservoir performance. These
the theory behind all forms of artificial lift. The course two-hour seminars are ideal for novice to experienced
introduces the concepts used by our engineers in geoscientists and reservoir and production engineers
evaluating the best form of lift for specific applications. seeking new ways to optimize production.

Upcoming Courses Upcoming Course

July 25–28 and October 24–27 Fall 2006 (date to be announced)

Location: Weatherford Technology & Training Center, World Oil Reservoir Optimization Seminar
Houston, Texas Understanding and Diagnosing Injectivity Issues
Presenters: Weatherford technical experts Location: Marriott Westchase, Houston, Texas
Registration: www.weatherford.com/training Presenter: Brant Bennion, PhD
Registration: Jeanna Kozelsky, jeanna.kozelsky@gulfpub.com

june 2006 25
Weatherford International Ltd. Weatherford products and services are subject to the Company’s standard terms and conditions,
available on request or at www.weatherford.com. For more information, contact an authorized
515 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 600
Weatherford representative. Unless noted otherwise, trademarks and service marks herein are
Houston, Texas 77027 USA the property of Weatherford. Specifications are subject to change without notice.
Phone: 713-693-4000
© 2006 Weatherford. All rights reserved.