It is widely known that the drilling fluid´s primary function is to keep well control and prevent an influx of formation fluid to the well causing a blowout. The mud also prevents loss to the formation by keeping the hydrostatical pressure. Not a big issue in the top sections of the well. As we approach the reservoir, however, the consequences of a loss to the formation is critical. The ...

Christmas is coming, and 2016 is will soon be history. It has been an excellent year on The Well Blog thanks to you faithful readers out there making more than 132.000 visits to read our articles. That is more than 30% increase from last year. We like to think that this proves the blog's relevance and that the articles resonate well with our audience. Since January, we have published 32 articles ...

How can we prevent making the same mistakes? How can we ensure that we follow best practices throughout the organization? How can we keep track of people and gear? Also, how can we simplify the invoicing process? At Odfjell Well Services we are currently in the verification phase of a roll-out of global standards connecting all parts of the value stream - including HR, time capturing, logistics, ...

Oil wells nowadays get longer because the equipment is so much better. Old wells are lengthened and new wells penetrate reservoirs as deep as 11000 meters. What are the consequences for the choice of casing handling tools?

Let's say you have 4000 meters of casing in place. You run the pressure tests, and your numbers are just not right. You go through the procedures again, but the deviation is still there. How can you tell wich of the several hundred connections causing the casing leak? Is it the one on 150 meters, or the one on 3750 meters? It is a guessing game, and your only option is to pull the whole casing. ...

Being a casing operator is so much more than being able to handle the tools. As a TRS Technician you need a wide understanding of the role, must be a bearer of safety culture, have basic communication skills and know how to behave on a rig to be regarded a qualified one.

The crushing factor is the weight of the casing string in relation to the yield strength of the pipe. It suggests that you need more area of impact from the dies when the string gets heavier. This should be calculated by the drilling planner and it determines the type of pipe to be used.

What do you do when you run into a casing connection that is impossible to break out? Do you send a man into the red zone with a reciprocator saw while the string is in the elevator? Or are you willing to spend some time rigging up a belt tong to assist where your roughneck or casing tongs were not able to deliver the required torque? Hopefully not. We have safer and more efficient ways of ...

I care about the string. At least, I did when was in charge of it. The solid grip of the elevator around the box felt comforting. No one could ever convince me that hundreds of tons of casing jangling from the top drive, with an inside grip, were a safe option. I was saved by the bell. The new technology (well, new at that point) came along when I had moved up the ranks to my ultimate level of ...

The experienced oil worker will find this rather obvious, but it is never an option to cut corners when it's talk about protecting the casing tubular. Still, we see that routines are not followed or someone takes too many personal liberties. A quick brush-up of dos and don'ts, including a time-saving tip, will not harm anyone.