Rotation by Reciprocation Casing-Landing Technology

Abstract

This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper SPE 172144, “Rotation by Reciprocation Casing-Landing Technology,” by R. Gosselin and T. Montgomery, Longhorn Casing Tools; A. Muriby, SPE, and Moataz Yussef, Wildcat Oilfield Services; and S. Karrani and A. Khamis, Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company, prepared for the 2014 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, 10–13 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed. With the innovation of extended-reach and directional drilling, running casing and liner strings has become increasingly difficult. Not much has been done to address the challenges, which include ledges and obstructions, washouts, swelling shale, bridging, high doglegs, difficult well profiles, fill on bottom, and well collapse. To overcome the challenges, a new product line was developed as a way to facilitate casing operations, especially for long horizontal strings, production strings, and intermediate casing strings. Introduction The technology can rotate independently from the casing when encountering obstructions and hanging. The rotation is performed by reciprocating the casing through 3- to 5-ft strokes that cause the tool shoe to act as a bit and ream. It drills off the obstruction and guides the casing string through ledges, tight swollen sections, and doglegs, allowing effective removal of fill and debris from below the casing/liner shoe to land at the intended total depth (TD). The technology comprises two main components: the tool body, which is made similar to the casing grade being run, and the internal mechanism, which is made from industrial-grade aluminum alloy for the mandrels and bronze components for the bit, both of which lend strength and durability to the tool while facilitating a smooth clean drillout with a standard polycrystalline-diamond-compact (PDC) bit. Technology Concept The tool provides rotation at the end of the casing string by reciprocating the casing string rather than by rotating the string at surface. It uses a very small amount of hydraulic pressure, provided by the mud pump, to enable the removal of fill by penetrating through it and circulating it out. Also, it provides deflection of the casing shoe to bypass ledges. The tool has a fixed helical mandrel connecting to the casing string, so the lower tool body is able to rotate. Only 21 psi of internal hydraulic pressure is needed to extend the lower tool body along the mandrel into an open position. By applying this pressure, the mechanism at the lower assembly of the tool rotates and extends into an open position. By setting weight on the tool, the lower assembly moves up along the mandrel, causing right-hand rotation on the lower assembly by lowering the casing string. The tool is effectively torque neutral, causing no torsional torque transmitted up the casing string.