Remote Activated Completion Technology Enhances Operational Efficiency of Offshore Wells in Middle East

Abstract

To access a larger amount of pay zone, well trajectories are becoming longer and more complex, creating greater challenges for running completion liners. A liner shoe is a casing accessory tool that aids in the running of completion liners in long wells by allowing auto-filling of the liner and enabling pumping through the bottom of the liner. Upon reaching planned liner depth, the liner shoe is closed to allow for pressure testing and subsequent completion operations. Conventional methods used to close a liner shoe involve well intervention to set plugs or by dropping a ball, and there are inherent costs and risks associated with these operations. This paper presents the development and deployment of a remotely activated electronic liner shoe (ELS) for offshore applications that enables interventionless closing of the liner shoe, thereby improving operational efficiency, and reducing potential operational issues that could occur while closing the liner shoe conventionally. The ELS allows the operator to precisely control when the liner shoe closes – either based on pre-programmed pressure signals, a timer, or a combination of the two. A major operator in the Middle East required an ELS to be developed and qualified specifically for their offshore well conditions. A new technology qualification program was devised in collaboration with the operator to qualify both the electronic and mechanical functionalities of the tool. This paper documents the methods and results of the extensive qualification test program. The development and qualification process were successfully completed within 10 months at research and development facilities in Norway. Following qualification testing, the ELS was first deployed for the operator in an offshore well in Q4 of 2019. Operational considerations in programming the remote functionality of the tool is presented in this paper. After a successful field trial, the ELS has been run in more than 15 offshore wells and has become the standard option in the operator's completion program.