Case History
Comprehensive wellbore cleaning and
displacement service met challenges of
difficult environment
Integrated solution delivered high performance with zero
downtime and no HSE issues
Drill-in fluid
Spacer train
Filtered brine
Benefits
„„Zero
HSE incidents and full
environmental compliance
„„Zero
downtime
„„Saved
operational time with one
integrated WBCU program that
eliminated the necessity of compiling
three separate programs from
various suppliers
Background and challenges
„„UK
offshore rig in the North Sea
„„High
angle 15,813 ft deep well, 460 ft
water depth, 10.7 ppg mud
„„Well
required cleaning to a
specification of <0.05% solids
„„Rig
was composed of both a jackup
and production platform with a large,
intricate surface system
„„Customer
required zero HSE issues
Baker Hughes solution and results
„„Provided
an integrated solution using
Baker Hughes X-Treme Clean WBCU
system, BAKER CLEAN 5 and BAKER
CLEAN 6 displacement chemicals, fluid
testing and filtration suite, and prejob
planning services using DISPLEX
modeling software
„„Cleaned
well to required standard
after pumping 1.5 hole volumes of
completion brine with zero downtime
and zero HSE incidents
Casing scrapers
Stabilizers
Generic displacement sequence
A major UK operator in the North Sea
wanted to perform a wellbore cleanup
(WBCU) operation and displace an
oil-based mud (OBM) with seawater.
The offshore well had a high deviation
angle and needed to be cleaned to
a specification of <0.05% solids.
Furthermore, the rig presented an inherent
technical challenge because it was
composed of both a jackup and production
platform along with a large and intricate
surface system. The operators wanted to
clean the well and displace the OBM with
minimum nonproductive time (NPT) and
zero health, safety, and environmental
(HSE) issues.
To meet these challenges, Baker Hughes
provided an integrated solution that
included their BAKER CLEAN displacement
system, fluid testing and filtration suite,
X-Treme Clean™ EP wellbore cleanup
system, and preplanning modeling through
Baker Hughes DISPLEX™ completion fluid
displacement software. DISPLEX software
allows each displacement fluid to be
modeled based on its rheological behavior
using Bingham plastic, power law, or
Hershel-Bulkley models.
Baker Hughes used its X-Treme Clean
WBCU products to provide exceptional
well cleaning. The system included casing
scrapers, downhole magnets, multitask
wellbore filters, top dress mill, circulation
subs, and a blowout preventer (BOP) jet
sub. The 95/8-in. and 7-in. assemblies were
run in one trip to remove the cement
column, dress the liner top, clean the
casing ID and filter the fluids. A second trip
was dedicated to the BOP stacks and the
riser cleaning
The BAKER CLEAN cleaning system
delivered impressive results in both the
downhole and surface cleaning phases.
Furthermore, the handling of the fluids
proved to be both simple and safe. A
two-pill system was used containing both
BAKER CLEAN 5™ and BAKER CLEAN 6™
chemicals. The BAKER CLEAN 5 system is a
non-ionic glycol ether surfactant, while the
BAKER CLEAN 6 system is phosphate salts
and citric acid based stabilizer. The pills
were prepared in two pits and pumped
consecutively without stopping the pumps.
The first pill consisted of a 50-bbl baseoil spacer containing 10% by volume
BAKER CLEAN 5 surfactant. The second
pill was a 300 bbl viscosified cleaning pill
containing 10% by volume BAKER CLEAN
5 surfactant and 6% by volume BAKER
CLEAN 6 stabilizer. Both pills were then
chased with seawater.
The integrated solution allowed
Baker Hughes to deliver one program
that encompassed the entire cleanup
process. This prevented the operator from
compiling three separate programs from
various suppliers. This provided specific
advantages to the operator, including:
„„Established
a single point of contact for
all services
„„Eliminated potential misunderstandings
„„Improved rigsite communication
„„Reduced operational risks and
uncertainty
„„Streamlined planning and programming
„„Enabled zero HSE issues
completion brine were used to displace
the well. In this application, Baker Hughes
provided an integrated solution to
meet customer requirements with zero
downtime and zero HSE issues.
Upon execution of the displacement, the
wellbore was cleaned to the required
standard of <0.5% solids after circulating.
Approximately 1.5 wellbore volumes of
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