Case Study
Revolutionary MPD Technology Turns the Page on Deepwater Extremes
On the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria, a revolutionary MPD wellbore sealing technology was successfully deployed to support deepwater exploratory drilling operations. In its first use, the device overcame long-standing challenges to safety, cost and performance in the extremes of the well’s narrow pressure margins and uncertain drilling windows.
AFGlobal’s novel Active Control Device, integrated with its proven MPD system, provided the drillship’s rig crew with significant advantages in drilling the difficult well to reach the operator’s depth target.
At a Glance
Full Story
MPD Innovation Charts New Path for Deepwater Drilling
The Challenge
Planning for an exploratory Black Sea well anticipated narrow wellbore pressure margins and a significant pressure ramp. While pre-drill evaluation showed potential for multiple oil-bearing horizons, reaching them required dealing with overpressure zones and significant pressure gradient variations that threatened well safety and drilling economics.
Wellbore pressure management through narrow pressure margins and uncertain drilling windows was critical to maintaining well control and reaching its planned target depth.
The Solution
To address these critical challenges, a drillship was outfitted with a complete AFGlobal managed pressure drilling (MPD) system. The integrated MPD system included the first deployment of a next-generation wellbore sealing technology that is a revolutionary departure from traditional equipment.
Results
The success of this high-profile deepwater operation owes much to the crew who recognized the potential of the MPD system and took ownership of it. By challenging conventional practices, they were able to keep the well in the drilling window and achieve the pressure management milestones in this initial ACD application.
The ACD operated successfully to provide the rig with continuous seal integrity, delivering on the objectives of reducing non-productive time NPT, providing a long seal life, and rapid seal assembly replacement.
Confident in the ability of the equipment and the crew, the operator continued to drill ahead for a final well depth that successfully reached the deep target objective and provide a bonus in the form of highly valuable asset evaluation data.