Customer challenges
- A major Independent Oil Company (IOC) sought a solution to save time and cost while washing in hole (WIH) with a cement stinger Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) on a recent deep water well in Eastern Mediterranean waters
- The customer required a Wash-In-Hole (WIH) process, which involved pumping through the drillpipe string, on-the-fly, while running in hole with a cement stinger BHA. This approach was necessary to prevent the drill pipe string from getting plugged with cement debris during the run
- Extensive rig time was taken on previous runs to WIH with conventional procedures, as it was required to align, make up and breakout the top drive to each drill pipe stand while running in hole to conduct circulation
Expro Excellence
- Expro’s VERSAFLO™ Switch, fill up flowback and circulation tool, is an optimum solution to reduce time while tripping in/out of the hole. The VERSAFLO™ has a remotely operated hydraulic piston with packer cup assembly that quickly stings in/out of drill pipe connections (less than 7-10 seconds per actuation), giving full circulation / flowback capability in a fast and efficient way without the need to mechanically connect to the top drive to each drill pipe stand tool joint
- Expro’s VERSAFLO™ is a trusted solution, globally deployed by many customers to overcome such operational challenges with a long track record of success. Thus, the VERSAFLO™ was called out to perform the WIH operation as a preferred option to save time and cost compared to conventional methods
Value to client
- The customer successfully WIH 6,363ft of 6 5/8" Heavy Duty landing string with the VERSAFLO™, meanwhile doubling the stand WIH rate compared to what would be achievable without
the VERSAFLO™ - Reduced hazard of personnel exposure to the red zone as the VERSAFLO™ is remotely controlled through a wireless module by our skilled operators, ideally positioned inside the drill shack to ensure efficient and clear communications
- Cost savings of $100,000+ due to the cumulative time saved during the WIH run with VERSAFLO™
