Though maximizing production is paramount across the industry, market conditions have forced operators to look more closely at ways to increase returns in existing wells. From workovers and cleanouts to well rejuvenation, coiled tubing (CT) offers powerful and diverse well intervention capabilities designed to optimize production.
However, in terms of equipment and capabilities, CT has changed very little in the last two decades despite increasing challenges presented by deeper, longer wells and more complex reservoirs. In fact, the perception that CT carries too much risk without certain reward may prevent many operators from fully utilizing CT and from benefiting from its ability to help extend profitable production rates when used effectively.
Understanding that perception, Baker Hughes is focused on minimizing uncertainty, which is the greatest problem facing CT applications. As an industry, too often we are required to go into a well blind or, at best, with an extremely limited view of existing downhole issues. In that scenario, we can’t always know if we are doing the right thing in the right place.
Advancing clarity downhole
To increase certainty and give CT operators a better sense of what is going on at the bottom of the well, the company is developing advanced downhole telemetry systems, visualization software and downhole modeling with real-time feedback.
On the modeling front, new real-time field-operated modeling software accurately simulates CT jobs. The software incorporates real-time data to update the model during deployment, giving operators a clearer sense of what is going on in the well and enabling them to sidestep potential problems.
Prior to this real-time feedback from the infield simulator, operators did not always have all of the information needed to make immediate and effective adjustments on the fly. In many cases, they may have been forced to pull the entire string out of hole, investigate the problem, make necessary changes and redeploy—a costly and inefficient process.
Based on pressure and weight readings, for example, the real-time model lets the operator know if the CT string is advancing as planned or if the operation has exceeded any preset safe operating limits. The operator can then slow down, ease weight off the string, change pump rates or perform a number of other adjustments to ensure application success.
Further efficiency improvements are afforded with intelligent CT services that combine downhole power delivery with real-time data collection. Downhole power vastly expands the suite of applications available in CT and enables efficient bottomhole assembly (BHA) changes without adding downtime. In addition to precise depth, pressure and temperature data, videos and images are available from state-of-the-art cameras, helping the operator clearly observe well conditions before and after interventions.
Further efficiency improvements
In addition to its focus on reducing uncertainty, Baker Hughes has advanced CT technologies aimed at boosting efficiency in specific environments. A challenge offshore, for example, has been to deploy CT equipment onto platforms with reduced deck areas and low load tolerances. The answer has come in the form of lighter CT units that can be safely lifted onto the decks of smaller and older platforms and that produce big results from a slim footprint.
Onshore, CT advances have focused largely on combating friction in deviated laterals to extend reach capabilities in unconventional wells. Using lubricants and hydraulic hammering BHAs, operators can now run CT jobs with coefficients of friction less than half what they were just a few years ago, nearly doubling their reach in the wellbore.
Thanks to advances such as these, Baker Hughes is now running CT jobs with more certainty and improved efficiency. Continued innovation in CT technologies, techniques and tools will help deliver smarter, more efficient intervention solutions that reduce operational risk and improve well economics.