Frank Hartley
Drilling & Production Editor
ORLANDO, Florida -- The record depth setting extended reach Spanish Bay well was drilled from a production platform offshore California in 1,075 ft (328 m) of water to a measured TD of 33,435-ft (10,191 m) TVD of 7,663-ft (2,336 m), with 29,720-ft (9,059 m) displacement, reported Mike Walker with ExxonMobil Development Co. today at the 2008 IADC Drilling Conference. Numerous technical and operational challenges were addressed successfully, said Walker.
He presented a case history describing those technical and operational challenges including limited hydraulics, high torque, pipe racking constraints, mud handling capacity, offshore logistics, and platform space limitations. As predicted by detailed torque and drag modeling, the well's 86º tangent angle required that drillpipe and casing be rotated into the hole to overcome the effects of negative weight, said Walker.
He concluded that the well established a new North American extended reach drilling (ERD) record and a new global ERD record from an offshore location.
3/5/2008
