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The field test
In temperatures as low as -40°C, a Shell team put our latest monodiameter drilling technology to the test.
The rig and the Top Anchor and Pull (TAaP) equipment were glazed with ice when the Shell researchers and implementation team set up their field test in Pinedale, Wyoming.
Yet even under these conditions, the expansion of the first cemented liner section went flawlessly, with expansion forces of 68 tons to 158 tons. And although the team started slowly, at 4.5 metres per minute, they were able to accelerate to 12 metres per minute – around the same speed as regular tripping.
The drill crew then went back into the wellbore to install the second liner section. Everything started smoothly, but then the expansion cone became stuck around five metres into the overlap section. Even with maximum applied hook load the cone would not move any further. The rock was just too hard.
Challenges overcome
However, the careful design of the TAaP system allowed the team to push the cone down from the point where it had become stuck and disconnected it. They were able to cut and retrieve the pipe section that wasn’t yet expanded, removing the bottleneck in the overlap section, and bring the cone back to surface.
With sufficient overlap achieved, they successfully confirmed the pressure integrity of the monodiameter liner section before the well was handed over to the rig team and completed as a gas producer.
This kind of adaptability is key to making monodiameter drilling for real-world applications – especially in deep water. With this test complete, the Shell team have brought that reality one step closer.
