Versa flex podcast

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VersaFlex ® Liner Hanger System

Bringing simplification and reliability to liner hanger installation

Slide 1 © 2007 Halliburton. All Rights Reserved.

Jason: Hello. I’m Jason your host for Halliburton’s RedTech podcasts, part of the technology learning series featured on wwwdothalliburtondotcomslashredtech. This series of podcasts has been designed to highlight particularly significant products that Halliburton has recently brought to market. These technologies represent innovations that deliver reliability by simplifying complex completions, optimizing hydrocarbon recover or economically optimizing production. Jason: Joining us today is James. He is Halliburton’s global product champion for the VersaFlex expandable liner hanger system. Hi, James! James: Hi, Jason.

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Lap Sqeeze

Shoe Squeeze

Stuck Liner

Wiper Plug

Running Tool

Displacement

Pkr/Hngr/Cent

Circulation

Cement

Company A Company B Company C

Liner Incident Factors

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%


Jason: James, what are some of the key advantages of Halliburton’s VersaFlex expandable liner hanger system? James: Well, let me back up to the beginning and the reason why we now have the VersaFlex system to offer. Halliburton recognized there are several root causes of failure with conventional liner hanger systems. Based on industry estimates, 2025 percent of standard liner installations require some form of remediation or can cause some other nonproductive time. Whether it’s landbased or offshore, Operators are routinely faced with wellbore stability issues. Unfortunately, conventional liner tops are susceptible to well debris. So we set out to offer a system designed and manufactured to help achieve more reliable installations by eliminating movable mechanical parts. Jason: In other words, you addressed the complexities of completing wells by removing the complexities of the tool? How does this increase reliability and what about operational expenses?

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Advantages of Expandable Liner Hangers Conventional Liner Hanger VersaFlex® ELH

• No moving parts • Eliminates preset risk

• Reduction in leak paths

• Superior annular seal

• Simplified design • Simplified procedures

• Entire liner may need to be pulled out

• If not preconfigured for rotation, must pick up a drill assembly

• Rig time is increased • Well integrity is risked • Crew has more exposure to hazards

• Vulnerabilities to environmental issues are increased


James: First, I’ll speak to the reliability aspect. Let’s say an Operator is running conventional liner hangers; if hole problems such as ledges, sloughing and heaving shale beds, or weak formations are encountered, the entire liner may have to be pulled out. And if the tools are not preconfigured for rotation, the rig operator will have to pick up a drilling assembly to clean up the hole and then run back in with the liner. Jason: I can see how all those activities can compromise well integrity and increase rig time and costs.

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Overcoming Tough Well Conditions Challenge: – Highly deviated well – Depleted zone with pressure over balance

– Conventional liner hanger stuck in depleted zone

Halliburton Solution: Resilient liner hanger to withstand rotation, reciprocation, high pump and circulation rates

Result: Successfully washed and reamed in 1,600 ft of 5½in. liner on a 7in. VersaFlex system

South American Operator


James: Let me give you an example from the field. Recently an Operator in South America was running a competitor’s conventional liner hanger equipment with centralizers in a highly deviated well. The Operator got stuck in a depleted zone because of a pressure overbalance. In starting another well, the Operator turned to us for the VersaFlex system because it has been designed to withstand rotation, reciprocation, high pump pressures and circulation rates – all things conventional liner hanger equipment simply cannot withstand. The rotating feature of the VersaFlex system allowed the Operator to wash and ream in 1,600 feet of 5½inch liner on a 7 inch VersaFlex system. I want you to know, they were very pleased. Jason: I can only imagine. After all, they had already lost a wellbore with the conventional approach. This illustrates so well that the VersaFlex system design with no moving parts, slips or cages enables rotating the liner at sufficient circulation rates to reduce the risk of the well bridging off and the hanger presetting – as you pointed out, a high risk with conventional liner hangers.

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• Work liner harder to the bottom

• Improved rig efficiency • Avoid costly hanger damage issues

• Dramatically minimize causes of premature setting

VersaFlex ® Expandable Liner Hanger Resilience for greater reliability – by design


James: This means Operators can work the liner harder to the bottom, at full circulation rate without the risk of the well packing off at the hanger area or presetting. At the end of the day, the streamlined design of the VersaFlex system results in improved rig efficiency by helping the Operator avoid the cost of redundant conditioning trips. And, it helps Operators manage capital expenditure by avoiding hanger damage or premature setting. Jason: So, because there are no movable components, the VersaFlex system can function with a drillstring assembly. Do you have any examples of intentionally drilling in with the VersaFlex system?

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Getting Through Depleted Sand Zone Challenge: – Conventional drill string lost to a

depleted sand zone – Drilling bottomhole assembly abandoned – Sidetrack required to save the well

Halliburton Solution: – Drill in for the sidetrack with the VersaFlex system

– Place the liner shoe as deeply as possible

– Stabilize the depleted zone Result: – 137 ft of new hole drilled – Liner shoe placed at 15,124 ft – VersaFlex system set / tested to 3,100 psi – Well brought online with 45 days of drilling in with VersaFlex system

Independent Operator Offshore


James: As a matter of fact, I do. An independent Operator working from an inland barge in southern Louisiana lost a conventional drillstring to a depleted sand zone. The Operator had to abandon the stuck drilling assembly, retrive the salvageable portion of the drillstring and sidetrack the well to bypass the inaccessible portion of the wellbore. Jason: Depleted zones are risky enough, but don’t sidetracks represent an even greater risk of losing the wellbore altogether? James: Yes, that’s right. Sidetracks – especially through depleted sand zones – are particularly challenging. But if you are successful, you’ve just saved a wellbore. At the time we worked the plan for this sidetrack, it was only the third time we went into the hole with the intention of drilling in with the VersaFlex system. But both the Operator and our field engineer knew that even if we did not get all the way through the depleted zone, placing the liner shoe as deeply as possible while using the VersaFlex expandable liner hanger would provide the stability needed to enable running in with a drillstring and to continue drilling out the well. Jason: You convinced the Operator, and planned to get down as far as you could. How did this turn out? James: The VersaFlex ELH system drilled 137 ft of new hole and successfully passed through the entire depleted zone, making it to an acceptable setting depth. As a result, the liner shoe was placed at 15,124 ft and cemented successfully. The VersaFlex hanger was set at 13,866 ft and tested to 3,100 psi. Not only did we save several days of rig time, but what is really significant is that we successfully reached the planned depth. The Operator moved into the completion phase and was able to produce from this well within 45 days of our successfully helping them sidetrack the portion with the abandoned conventional drillstring.

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500 Installations

Longest Liner 9,967 ft

Mud Weight Range

4.2 ppg – 19.8 ppg

Temperature Range

100 386°F

Shortest Liner 157 ft

Installation History / 20022007

Previous Deepest Installation: 24,235 ft

New Record Set October 2007

26,537 ft


Jason: I want to give our listeners a little perspective. Halliburton brought this technology to market in 2002 and in that first year, we completed only a few jobs. Since then we have more than doubled year over year the number of jobs that running the VersaFlex system and expect to reach a cumulative total of at least 500 jobs by the end of this year. (fade out music) James, is this rapid adoption due to the simplicity of the design – no moving parts – and the resilience of the tool? James: Well, it hasn’t taken long for the industry to catch on to this alternative to conventional liner hangers. And the more we run it, the more we prove it. Proven reliability goes a long way in this industry. Our deepest installation was over twenty four thousand feet, our longest liner was nearly ten thousand feet, shortest was one hundred fifty seven feet and the VersaFlex system has been placed temperatures up to 386degrees Fahrenheit.

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VersaFlex ® ELH Superior Annular Seal

• Bidirectional bonded seals • Liner lap pressure integrity • Independent of mechanical holddowns

• No slips • Bonded elastomer • Holds up to rigorous circulation • Multiple installations worldwide without a seal failure


Jason: One of the things we haven’t talked about, James, is the superior annular seal that can be achieved with the VersaFlex expandable liner hanger. After all, this technology enables a liner top integrity test immediately upon setting. James: Good point. The VersaFlex system has multiple redundant elastomeric elements to maintain pressure integrity. This also eliminates gas migration paths in the liner top. Plus, the absence of slips provides consistent stress distribution into the support casing and eliminates potential sites for corrosion.

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Delivering Zonal Isolation Challenge: – Drilling liner required to isolate low

pressure, lost circulation zone from a highpressure kick zone at the bottom of the interval

– Two days lost to failure of a conventional liner hanger

Halliburton Solution: – VersaFlex expandable liner hanger brought in to replace failed liner

Result: – Total depth of 4,870 meters reached – 320° bottomhole temperature – Seal integrity demonstrated

• 100,000 pound liner overpull test • 1,000 psi liner lap test

Middle East Major Operator


Jason: I read about a field example of this from Egypt. Could you tell us something about that run? James: Well, once again, this story starts with a failure of a conventional liner hanger with a builtin packer. This failure resulted in more than two days of nonproductive time for a major Operator. The setting of the drilling liner was required to isolate low pressure lostcirculation zones from the highpressured kick zone, or saltwater, at the bottom of the interval. The VersaFlex system was brought in as replacement, and not only did it reach total depth of 15,978 feet in a 320° Fahrenheit bottomhole temperature, it demonstrated integrity in the seal and liner lap with a 100,000 pound liner overpull test and a 1,000 psi liner lap test. y the way, this also represented a new record for us: the deepest setting depth in the Mediterranean Sea of 15,978 feet or 4,870 meters for a 75/8inch drilling liner.

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VersaFlex ® Expandable Liner Hanger Expandable tubulars involves permanently deforming

the pipe through the cold working process.


Jason: Tell us a little bit more about the technology within this technology, James. James: At the very heart of the VersaFlex system is an integrated liner top packer and multiple redundant elastomer elements. The liner hanger plus packer is made up of an integral tieback receptacle above or below an expandable solid hanger body – above or below depending on system size. Elastomeric elements are bonded on to the hanger body. As the hanger body is expanded, the elastomeric elements are compressed in the annular space.

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Current Sizes

450 5in. 7in. (20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35 lb/ft) 51/2 in. 7in. (20, 23, 26 & 29 lb/ft) 51/2in 75/8in. (29.7, 33.7 & 39lb/ft) 7in, 75/8in. 95/8in. (36, 40, 43.5, 47, 53.5 lb/ft) 95/8 in. 113/4 in. (60, 65 lb/ft) 95/8 in. 117/8in. (71.8 lb/ft) 113/4 in. 133/8 in. (61, 68, 72 lb/ft) 117/8 in. 135/8 in. (88.2 lb/ft)

• Contact your representative for sizes or weight ranges not seen here.

Liner Hanger Body / Wt Ranges

VersaFlex® ELH


James: We have available sizes ranging from 5 inches by 7 inches up to 117/8 inches by 135/8 inches. We also have recently introduced a VersaFlex Stimulation Acid Washdown (SAW) system for use in highly deviated or horizontal wells.

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Challenge: – Multizone completion requiring zonal

isolation – Long upper section susceptible to water

production – Three individual production zones below

Halliburton Solution: – VersaFlex ® expandable liner hanger system

– Swellpacker™ isolation system

Result: – Complete annulus seal with gastight seal at 7,069 ft.

– Production zones individually isolated – Upper water sands isolated – Seven more wells completed in this field with this design

Eastern Hemisphere Operator Multizone Completion


Jason: Can you leave us with one more example, an example of how the VersaFlex system simplifies the complex completions? James: Sure, this one involves a multizone completion in the eastern hemisphere. This well had a long upper water sands section susceptible to water production and three individual production zones below that. For this project, we ran the VersaFlex expandable liner hanger and our own Swellpacker isolation technology. Jason: Wasn’t this job the first time we had ever run these two technologies together? James: Yes. And by combining these two technologies we planned for no cementing or perforating through the production interval, while still providing zonal isolation throughout the annulus. This design provided the isolation of individual production zones, potential crossflow zones uphole and a competent seal at the liner top. Jason: This is a complex completion. If I recall correctly, a lot of operators in that region were watching this initial installation to gauge the full potential of the concept. It went well. What other details do you have? James: The production liner consisted of 6,425 feet of 7inch liner and was run to a total depth of 13,829 feet. The installation utilized Swellpacker systems to isolate three individual production zones and also the upper water sands. A slotted liner was run between the Swellpacker systems to allow production. The VersaFlex liner hanger completed the sealing of the annulus by providing a gastight seal at 7,069 feet. The well had a maximum hole angle of 55 degrees at total depth. This is the first of a sevenwell project utilizing this completion concept for this particular operator.

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VersaFlex ® Expandable Liner Hanger

• Improves cementing results – Rotate and reciprocate during job

• Reduces NPT • Significantly impacts drilling curve • Eliminates gas migration above the liner top

• Reduces cost through process efficiencies

• Gets to TD – Wash and ream – Drillin

• Helps eliminate liner trouble jobs


Jason: James, thank you for joining us today. Is there anything else you would like for us to know about the VersaFlex expandable liner hanger system? James: Well, Halliburton’s VersaFlex expandable liner hanger systems have demonstrated that they provide multiple advantages over conventional liner hangers – especially in problem well situations. The VersaFlex system allows for hanging the liner and setting the element in one step, eliminating a potential cement squeeze job or an additional trip for a liner top packer. When drilling in with the VersaFlex system, formation exposure time is minimized and losses are reduced. And, it allows rotation through depleted sands. When you use the VersaFlex system as part of the drill string, it eliminates the requirement for a mud motor and allows the liner to be drilled in at lower flow rates. In short, the simple design of the VersaFlex system increases reliability and reduces nonproductive time as well as rig time.

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www.halliburton.com/redtech


Jason: To our listeners, thank you for joining us today. As I said at the beginning, we have other podcasts on our web site, and more under development. Please check back at wwwdothalliburtondotcomslashreliability – or for additional learning materials, check on our RedTech Learning Series at wwwdothalliburtondotcom slashredtech .

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