OTC spotlights drilling-production technology innovations
Fifteen innovative drilling-production technologies have been awarded special recognition at this year's Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
Dubbed Spotlight on New Technology, the new, recurring OTC program highlighted technologies in the offshore oil and gas industry that are new and innovative yet proven, promise to have significant impact, and offer broad interest to the industry.
The OTC board of directors selected the award winners. OTC board members told OGJ that the number of awards might vary in future years. The awards solicitation process included a $2,000 fee per innovation to be considered.
OTC recognized:
ABB Offshore Systems for the vessel internal electrostatic coalescer (VIEC).
Baker Hughes Inteq for the TesTrak (formation pressure tester).
Baker Hughes Inteq for the acoustic properties explorer (APX).
CDS Separation Technologies, part of CDS Technologies Pty Ltd., for the CDS-Statoil ASA deliquidizer.
Epcon Offshore AS for the Epcon CFU technology.
FMC Kongsberg Subsea AS for riserless light well intervention.
Halliburton Co. for the GeoTap formation pressure tester.
Halliburton for the DepthStar tubing-retrievable subsurface safety valve (TRSV).
Natco Group Inc. for VersaFlo single-cell compact vertical column flotation.
Ocean Design Inc. for field-assembled cable termination (FACT).
PerkinElmer Inc.'s fluid sciences division for the Centurion swivel seal.
Schlumberger Ltd. for Seismic- Vision, seismic while drilling.
Superior Energy Services Inc. for CoilTAC (coil thrust and carry).
Tracerco, part of Johnson Matthey PLC, for the Tracerco profiler.
Weatherford International Ltd. for the Simply Intelligent multizone intelligent completion system.
Drilling technologies
Five awards concerned innovations in drilling technology.
Inteq's TesTrak measurement-while-drilling tool performs different types of pressure tests, including repeat and successive drawdown tests. OTC described the tool as proving especially useful on extended-reach horizontal wells that would have required a pipe-conveyed wireline tool.
OTC cited Inteq's APX as the only acoustic tool available that incorporates quadrupole acoustic technology. Quadrupole technology reliably measures shear-wave travel times while drilling, according to OTC.
OTC described Halliburton's GeoTap system as the first logging-while-drilling formation pressure tester to incorporate a wireline pad-probe design that acquires accurate formation pore-pressure measurements in 5-7 min. It added that the system's high-resolution quartz pressure transducer allows transmission of formation pressure data from precise depths while circulating drilling fluids.
PerkinElmer's Centurion swivel seal tool is said to allow contractors to extend their operating intervals and reduce downtime, as shown by its reliability during 1,000 hr of field trials. OTC said the tool functions reliably at pressures up to 9,000 psi and speeds up to 250 rpm in top-drive swivels used for deepwater drilling.
Schlumberger's new SeismicVision seismic tool provides real-time seismic data at, ahead, and to the side of the bit while drilling. OTC said the formation imaging and at-the-bit interval velocities reduce drilling uncertainty and eliminate the need to pull the string for seismic check shots and vertical seismic profiles.
Fluid separation
Five awards went to new technologies used in fluid separation.
OTC described ABB Offshore Systems' VIEC as a system that moves the functionality of the traditional electrostatic coalescer, which is large and sensitive to operating conditions, inside the inlet separator. OTC added that this is the first time such equipment has been exposed to the violently fluctuating conditions immediately downstream from the wells.
The CDS-Statoil deliquidizer separates liquids from a gas stream. OTC said this compact separator is an innovative inline deliquidizer, formed from piping components, that efficiently removes liquids from gas and potentially saves both capital and operating costs.
OTC lauded Epcon's CFU technique as the only new and innovative technology in the area of produced-water treatment that is an alternative to centrifuges, hydrocyclones, and degassing vessels. It added that no other technology can meet the zero-discharge limits for oil in water.
OTC noted that Natco developed the VersaFlo single-cell compact vertical column flotation device to address the industry's need for effective, compact floating units for offshore service, especially on floating platforms. It described VersaFlo as equipped with a two-stage skimming system to allow efficient oil-water skimming during vessel movement on a floating platform. The technology also permits the expanded use of induced gas flotation on space-limited conventional platforms as a result of its compact design.
The Tracerco Profiler was described as a unique and novel instrument that when inserted into a vessel determines, through precise measurements, the various phases present at any given time. OTC noted that the tool allows production engineers to "look inside" the separator, making it effectively transparent.
Subsea
Three awards went to subsea innovations
FMC Kongsberg's riserless light well intervention got a nod because the technology allows oil companies to increase access to subsea wells at one third of the cost of a typical intervention. OTC said that reducing the cost of maintenance is the principle driving force behind the development of the light well-intervention technology that allows well maintenance with dynamically positioned (DP) vessels instead of large, anchored drilling rigs. FMC Kongsberg technology includes a patented lubricator system deployed through a moonpool.
Ocean Design Inc.'s FACT was recognized as a new technology that extends operational depth and increases reliability of subsea cable terminations. OTC described this product as a modularized termination system that completely isolates the cable's internal elements from all pressurized fluid interfaces, such as the ambient subsea environment and pressure-balanced, fluid-filled splice chamber. The system provides optical as well as electrical and hybrid cable terminations.
CoilTAC received an award because of the tool's ability to be used with coiled tubing for flow-assurance remediation in oil and gas well flowlines, pipelines, and related transmission lines.
OTC said the tool can effectively clean out surface and subsea pipelines of significant length from a platform, liftboat, or DP vessel. The CoilTAC system includes a thruster with specially designed jetting nozzles to both clean and carry the coiled tubing into and out of long pipelines.
Downhole production
OTC gave awards to two downhole technologies used in production.
Halliburton's TRSV was described as a revolutionary new concept in completion equipment, providing a step-change improvement in application, reliability, safety, and cost of the overall offshore infrastructure and valve placement.
OTC further described the technology as aiding operators in development of assets in deeper water, colder regions, and higher-pressure environments.
OTC said the system can cut the cost of completing subsea wells by eliminating the dedicated surface-controlled subsea safety valve high-pressure line from the subsea umbilical. The TRSV instead uses an exiting, low-pressure hydraulic line that provides hydraulics for the remainder of the system.
Weatherford's Simply Intelligent system combines permanent in-well optical monitoring with hydraulic flow controls to provide operations with real-time production optimization and life-of-field reservoir management, OTC said.
The system uses fiberoptic technology and provides pressure, temperature, distributed temperature, flow, phase action, and seismic response data from multiple sensors interrogated via a single optical cable.