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+--- Thread: Wahoo Suspended (/showthread.php?tid=7069)
RE: Wahoo Suspended - Tree - 07-14-2014
Eoin O'Cinneide 14 July 2014 09:40 GMT
Higher-than-expected pressure and gas entering the wellbore has forced InterOil to call a halt to drilling at a wildcat in Papua New Guinea.
The Wahoo-1 well on PPL474 in Gulf Province unexpectedly struck gas well above its target zone, with hydrocarbons now believed to be entering the wellbore..
RE: Wahoo Suspended - CesiumFormate - 07-14-2014
'johnwgrant' pid='46928' datel Wrote:So, how does InterOil deal with this 'problem'? Bigger/different rig to continue drilling? Drill a new well a small distance away but engineer it differently? Thoughts?
My guess is that they did not have the proper drilling fluids on the rig site to give them the mud weight they needed to safely drill ahead. They will have to consider using cesium and potassim formate which is very expensive, but cheap compared to lost time. They will have to use a cesium/potassium formate blend which needs to be shipped out of Singapore. It is the only product that will give them significant mud weight without additives such as barite to weight up the mud. Barite thickens the drilling fluid and increases the chances of stuck pipe. I alerted my former colleagues in the CF business after the AGM when I heard about their drilling issues. It turns out that Oil Search is using formates in PNG.
CF
RE: Wahoo Suspended - jft310 - 07-14-2014
Pressure is a good thing. PET stated early the pressure was from water or gas. We now know it's gas.
Further I believe the pressure at Elk/Antelope was 3000 psi from my memory and that's makes this well 4500 psi which is a monster .
RE: Wahoo Suspended - vidon - 07-14-2014
I suggest you google Cabot Specialty Fluids. Found this in their presentation
"Cesium Formate brine has been used by TOTAL in 34 well constructions in 8 deep well gas fields
In period 1999-2010"
So our partners have had success using C/F in their recent past. Article is informative about cost/benefits of using this fluid.
RE: Wahoo Suspended - Palm - 07-14-2014
'CesiumFormate' pid='46930' datel Wrote:
'johnwgrant' pid='46928' datel Wrote:So, how does InterOil deal with this 'problem'? Bigger/different rig to continue drilling? Drill a new well a small distance away but engineer it differently? Thoughts?
My guess is that they did not have the proper drilling fluids on the rig site to give them the mud weight they needed to safely drill ahead. They will have to consider using cesium and potassim formate which is very expensive, but cheap compared to lost time. They will have to use a cesium/potassium formate blend which needs to be shipped out of Singapore. It is the only product that will give them significant mud weight without additives such as barite to weight up the mud. Barite thickens the drilling fluid and increases the chances of stuck pipe. I alerted my former colleagues in the CF business after the AGM when I heard about their drilling issues. It turns out that Oil Search is using formates in PNG.
CF
Thanks CF. I know you have a little knowledge of all this from your history. 
RE: Wahoo Suspended - CesiumFormate - 07-15-2014
'Palm' pid='46938' datel Wrote:
'CesiumFormate' pid='46930' datel Wrote:
'johnwgrant' pid='46928' datel Wrote:So, how does InterOil deal with this 'problem'? Bigger/different rig to continue drilling? Drill a new well a small distance away but engineer it differently? Thoughts?
My guess is that they did not have the proper drilling fluids on the rig site to give them the mud weight they needed to safely drill ahead. They will have to consider using cesium and potassim formate which is very expensive, but cheap compared to lost time. They will have to use a cesium/potassium formate blend which needs to be shipped out of Singapore. It is the only product that will give them significant mud weight without additives such as barite to weight up the mud. Barite thickens the drilling fluid and increases the chances of stuck pipe. I alerted my former colleagues in the CF business after the AGM when I heard about their drilling issues. It turns out that Oil Search is using formates in PNG.
CF
Thanks CF. I know you have a little knowledge of all this from your history.
Yes, enough to be dangerous! I built the plant at the mine site where the pollucite (cesium ore) is mined. This is a classic use case. It is mostly used in deep North Sea wells.
CF
RE: Wahoo Suspended - johnwgrant - 07-15-2014
BTW, what are "normal" pressures you would anticipate drilling into a reservoir about 5 to 6 thousand feet deep ?
RE: Wahoo Suspended - Northoil - 07-15-2014
Gas or water doesn't matter. It's a closed hydrodynamic system and everything in the reservoir and cap rock is in pressure contact. It's a good thing anyway. What you hope for in a gas reservoir is a "pressure depletion" drive, which is like air out of a balloon. Recovery factors approach 90%. If a "water-drive", water comes in and flushes out the gas as it's extracted. The pressure stays about the same, so you can leave behing a lot of high-pressure gas trapped in little pockets. Recovery factors are in the 30-40% range.
What you have is a young, plastic, clayey shale which is "de-watering" as it matures (we're talking geologic time here, not instantaneous) and the water has no place to go. Thereby creating the extra (over-)pressure. I defer to the drillers on the mud composition, but Singapore is the supply center for most supplies anyway, be it barite or watchamacalllit. For sure they will plan a different casing program. It's a tough, expensive grind from here on.
RE: Wahoo Suspended - Getitrt2 - 07-15-2014
Hession statement on Wahoo on website:
From the Chief Executive Officer
Wahoo Suspended, but Encouraging
We have suspended Wahoo-1, one of three wells we have been drilling in our licences. This does not mean success or failure. We are, however, encouraged by what we have learned.
We expected high pressures based on data from the few wells that have been drilled in the region. We encountered pressures beyond the range of any other well in the area. Drilling ahead would have posed an unacceptable safety risk. Our first priority is the safety of our people and on that we will not compromise.
In exploration, we need three ingredients for success: an effective seal or cap rock that stops hydrocarbons leaking out of the reservoir; evidence of a working hydrocarbon system, sometimes called the source rock or kitchen where the hydrocarbons are made; and a reservoir, or rock that contains the hydrocarbons.
We know we have two of the three ingredients at Wahoo-1. The one we have not yet proved is whether we have a reservoir and this is where we will have to be patient. Our drilling and engineering teams and expert advisers will now consider options for Wahoo.
Dr. Michael Hession
RE: Wahoo Suspended - sydbod - 07-15-2014
'johnwgrant' pid='46942' datel Wrote:BTW, what are "normal" pressures you would anticipate drilling into a reservoir about 5 to 6 thousand feet deep ?
If we are just talking about natural water pressure then for every 2ft of height we expect an increase of about 1psi, so 6000ft would give a water pressure of around 3000psi. At that depth anything above 3000psi is a preasurised zone that can even be caused by underghround water migration from higher mountainous regions. No materr what the cause, at least it is pressurising gas from somewhere, so that is a good sign.