New system completely manages sand

RBG Ltd. launched its Advanced Sand Management services to more than 100 guests at its Technology & Innovation Day in Dyce, Aberdeen. The company developed its modular suite of equipment to provide a complete sand management service ranging from quantifying sand volume build-up in production vessels, through clean-up using innovative sand wash tanks and safe overboard disposal of the cleaned sand in line with environmental standards (<1% oil-in-solids).

www.rbgltd.com

Set-cement technology seals microleaks

Schlumberger announced the availability of its FUTUR active set-cement technology that automatically seals microleaks in a cement sheath. Pumped and placed as part of any primary cementing operation, the active components of the FUTUR cement system remain dormant until exposed to hydrocarbons, such as those seeping through cracks or microannulae in the cement sheath. Upon activation by contact with hydrocarbons, the FUTUR cement sheath will self-repair without intervention. This prevents the annular migration of fluids behind the casing between zones or the sustained casing pressure (SCP) at surface.

This technology can be mixed and pumped as a lead or tail system during any primary cement job. The properties of this system compare to conventional cements allowing the use of standard cementing equipment. The system seals microscale leaks caused by subsidence, pressure/temperature cycling or tectonic activity. The reaction within the matrix to the exposure to hydrocarbons is spontaneous and is completed rapidly. The system retains its reactivity over time, and will continue to seal any subsequent leaks that may occur over the well’s productive life, or even after abandonment.

www.slb.com/futur

Casing running tool saves rig time

BJ Tubular Services introduced its Casing Running Tool 500 (CRT 500), a top drive casing running tool that improves the safety and efficiency of casing running operations. The system is intended for use on highly deviated and long reach wells to save rig time enhancing success rates when dealing with these applications. According to the company, a key advantage of the CRT 500 is its ability to rotate and reciprocate the casing string while simultaneously filling and circulating mud through the tool within the safety parameters of its 500-ton weight capability, which is essential for handling heavier string weights that are now commonplace in the industry. The remotely operated system also makes it possible to run casing by drawing upon power supplied by the rig’s top drive.

This tool completed a custom casing running operation on a highly deviated, extended reach well for a major operator in the Gulf of Mexico. Depleted zones in the field had caused production casing to become stuck and unable to reach total depth. In the past, liners would have been used to reach total depth. BJ ran 13,000 ft (3,965 m) of production casing through a depleted zone. The system was used to rotate the casing off the slips to break loose of differential sticking. It required 25,000 ft-lbs of surface torque to break the casing free, which occurred on every joint, from the depleted zones to total depth. The tool saved between four and five days — nearly US $1 million — of rig time, which would have been otherwise been spent picking up smaller drill pipe, cleaning out the rat hole below the depleted zone, and running, cementing and testing the liner.

www.bjservices.com