Success in onshore fracking has caused a downturn in offshore oil and gas activities, which need to become more efficient to compete. Advancements in platform automation technology and robust remote monitoring and operation can be combined with lower cost offshore mono-pod NUIs (normally unmanned installations) to make offshore more competitive. Oilfield Innovations have new technology that can substantially strengthen conductor jackets supporting minimal facility mono pod NUIs to support the next stage of offshore development.
Oilfield Innovations' patented method of increasing the bending strength and pressure bearing capacity of large diameter conductors can be used in many oil and gas well applications. The method drives a ribbed inner conductor into an outer conductor to provide metal-to-metal contact that, effectively, creates a single conductor with double the wall thickness. The technology is available and simple so it can be readily applied with a short period of time.
Oilfield Innovations' patented method transfers stresses through ribs or struts so that two or more conductors can share hoop stresses to increase both the bending and pressure bearing capacity of the pipe-in-pipe arrangement. Such operations can be carried out by various offshore means including a drilling rig that can immediately drill wells after setting the large diameter high strength conductor.
Mono-Pod minimum facility Normally Unmanned Installations (NUIs) are an ideal offshore application for high strength conductors that are large enough to drill multiple wells that share the same conductor. Additionally, the mono pod jacket can be used as a large vertical separator with all or part of the vertical separator located down hole depending upon necessary temperatures for flow assurance.
Larger diameter higher strength conductors are also applicable to wells where numerous casing strings reduce the final tubing size below the desired diameter. For example, as shown in the above deep water comparison, starting with a 42 and 36 inch conductors the 30 inch casing can be taken to depth that allows a subsequent 26 inch liner and 20 inch casing to be set where 16 inch casing would be conventionally set. Increasing the initial well diameters, where it is relatively easy to drill, allows a 7" completion to be installed and, thus, maximise production, whereas the maximum diameter of a conventional completions would be a tapered 4 1/2 inch by 5 1/2 inch tubing string.
Drilling top hole section onshore can be difficult and protecting ground water formations is critical. Larger diameter conductor can however provide significant costs savings because multiple wells can be drilled through a single conductor to eliminate rig moves. Also, minimising the number of ground water formation penetrations using a higher conductor pressure rating, which can withstand fracking pressures, can improve well economics through efficiency gains.
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