Offshore staff
DUBAI -- Dubai Petroleum Establishment (DBE) is using a new well integrity monitoring tool for its production operations offshore Dubai.
The system, developed by 2H Offshore’s Kuala Lumpur office, is helping to assess the condition of over 400 platform wells in shallow water. DBE has started a campaign of production enhancement and needs to verify whether these wells, some over 30 years old, can sustain the mechanical loads incurred during re-entry, workover, and other drilling operations.
2H’s tool, which according to the company provides a simple excel spreadsheet interface, allows inputting of data about the way in which a well is connected to the platform; averaged measured wall thickness of the well’s conductor; the weight of the hydraulic workover equipment required for the planned operation; and the anticipated tubing over-pull load.
A green light indicates that the work can go ahead, while a red one indicates the well’s unsuitability for the intended task. An orange light suggests a borderline decision – in this case, an accompanying plot is provided of wall thickness versus over-pull for a particular surface weight to help the user take the most appropriate action.
2H is looking to expand the tool’s scope by incorporating corrosion effects into its underlying methodology. Engineers from sister Acteon company InterAct are supporting this program.
12/07/2009
