Halliburton supporting North Sea operators with well life-cycle services, remotely managed cementing
Repsol Resources UK has contracted Halliburton to support full well life cycles on new developments drilled around the company’s platforms in the UK North Sea, according to a June 9 press release.
Halliburton will deliver subsurface technologies, drilling and completion services, and digital solutions. The package includes a rigless intervention framework that will allow Repsol to optimize well construction and production, and support well P&A operations.
Offshore automation milestone achieved
In the Norwegian offshore sector, Halliburton and Aker BP have completed their 400th offshore cementing task from four rigs using Halliburton’s LOGIX automated cementing technology, according to an April 23 Halliburton blog post on its website.
The cement operator, stationed in an onshore real-time center, is able to remotely control the cement unit offshore. Once the operator has programmed the cement job, the LOGIX automation is said to make the necessary adjustments without the need for human intervention to ensure steady delivery.
If, for example, there are bulk cement delivery issues on a rig, LOGIX reduces its rate automatically to maintain a steady density. Then, when the job starts, it will continue pumping at the planned rate and density even if the operator loses internet connection on the rig.
In addition, the platform will stop at the planned volume, start the unit’s self-cleaning process, and shut down.
According to Halliburton, refinements provided by this process mean that more than 300 commands have now been reduced to fewer than seven steps. The system’s remote capabilities also enable centralization and sharing of experienced personnel across multiple offshore rigs from land to provide real-time oversight, with lessened HSE exposure.
Halliburton started field tests at the end of 2020. Following completion in 2021 of a remote BOP test performance and a benchmark campaign of 12 cement jobs, LOGIX automated cementing was declared commercial in early 2022, with further installations following in the North Sea.
Deployments to date for Aker BP have delivered offshore cement jobs with significantly lower costs and risks, the company added.
About the Author
Jeremy Beckman
Editor, Europe
Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.