One-trip side track sets casing record in the Gulf of Mexico

Oct. 16, 2020
Weatherford International plc’s Shallow Angle QuickCut System has achieved what it claims is the industry’s first 12¼-in. casing side track.

Offshore staff

HOUSTON – Weatherford International plc’s Shallow Angle QuickCut System has achieved what it claims is the industry’s first 12¼-in. casing side track, delivering a 22-ft (6.7-m) window in a single trip for an ultra-deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico.

“The operator contacted Weatherford to perform a Gulf of Mexico ultra-deepwater exit in a 12¼-in. heavy wall casing,” said Chip Miller, Vice President, North America Geozone, Weatherford. “This successful 12¼-in. side track casing became an industry first, made even more complicated by the need to achieve a dogleg low enough for production packers to safely pass through the resulting window.”

The company and the operator deployed the Shallow Angle QuickCut with MultiCatch Anchor and milled the 22-ft casing window and 15-ft (4.6-m) rat hole in a single trip.

“This industry-first serves as a best practice for successfully exiting heavy wall casing, opening up a contingency scenario that was previously not feasible while at the same time, allowing operators to tap into bypassed reservoir sections safely and efficiently,” said Miller.

10/16/2020