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IADC/SPE 98120
Lessons Learned From Combined Whipstock Operation: Set Whipstock/Mill
Out/Cement Squeeze/Drill Out in One Trip
R.N. Williamson, SPE, and L.F. Eaton, SPE, ConocoPhillips Co.; D. Harrell, SPE, and D. Courville, SPE, Smith Services;
and J. Long, SPE, Schlumberger
Abstract
ConocoPhillips pre-drilled wells for the Magnolia tension leg
platform (TLP) development in 2003 using a dynamically
positioned semi-submersible drilling vessel1. The Magnolia
field is located in 4,674 ft of water at Garden Banks (GB)
block 783 in the Gulf of Mexico. During the pre-drilling
phase, two wells were successfully sidetracked out of 13.625
in. casing in one trip using an extended gage, one trip
whipstock system.
The first whipstock operation was through cemented pipe
and the second was through uncemented pipe, which had
communication to a shallower, weak formation. This paper
focuses on whipstock operations through uncemented pipe and
describes the planning and execution of the first successful
attempt at setting a whipstock, milling the window, squeeze
cementing the window, and drilling out cement and rathole
all on one trip while using synthetic base mud (SBM).
Due to the high spread rate cost of deepwater drilling,
every effort is made to reduce critical path time while
managing risk and safety. Typical whipstock operations
through uncemented casing can require three or more round
trips to prepare a window for drilling ahead. On the GB 783
A-4 BP1 well, window milling/cementing operations through
uncemented casing were conducted in a single trip. The
whipstock was oriented and set at 11,080 ft measured depth
(MD) in a 54 angle hole. The window was milled, the
assembly pulled above the window, and the openhole squeeze
cemented. After waiting on cement to set, the cement was
drilled out and a successful formation test achieved. An
additional 130 ft of rathole was then drilled with the mills to
place the stabilizers on the next drilling assembly below the
whipstock. Operations from the start of running the whipstock
until the mills were laid down took 2.6 days. A total of 1,861
lbm of metal shavings was safely recovered.
This paper highlights 1) whipstock installation and
window cutting operations, 2) safety and operational best
practices for removing, handling, and monitoring metal
cuttings that, if not removed from the hole, can be problematic
for subsea blowout preventer (BOP) systems, 3) equipment
modification made to mitigate risk for cementing through a
milling assembly, and 4) design considerations for achieving a
successful squeeze.
Introduction
The Magnolia TLP development wells were drilled from a
dynamically positioned semi-submersible rig, which required
using a subsea BOP stack and subsea wellhead equipment.
The typical casing program for the wells was 36 in. x 20 in. x
13.625 in. casing strings run to the mudline. The 13.625 in.
casing weighs 88.2 lbm/ft and is HCQ-125 grade pipe. A
10.75 in. drilling liner is run to obtain high enough fracture
gradient to drill to total depth (TD). An 8.062 in. production
liner was then run and hung off in the 10.75 in. drilling liner
that also functions as production casing.
Both the 10.75 in. drilling liner and the 8.062 in.
production liner for the GB 783 A4 well stuck off bottom
while being run. Numerous attempts to fish the 8.062 in. liner
out of the hole were unsuccessful. In order to have 8.062 in.
casing set across the producing zone of the original geologic
targets, it was necessary to set a whipstock above the 10.75 in.
liner and sidetrack the well. The 13.625 in. casing in the area
above the 10.75 in. drilling liner was uncemented in order to
prevent potential annular collapse issues.
One of the previous wells in the pre-drill program, GB
783 A2 ST3, had sidetracked out of 13.625 in. casing by
setting a whipstock. The whipstock was set across a length of
casing that had cement in the casing by openhole annulus. A
number of Lessons Learned were obtained during whipstock
operations on the A2 ST3 well. These lessons learned and
others from previous deepwater whipstock operations were
used to help evaluate the risk and optimize the procedures on
the A-4 well.
The A4 well was one of the longer reach wells in the
program. The hole angle at the proposed window depth was
IADC/SPE 98120
Wellbore Cleanout
Multiple cement plugs had been set in the 13.625 in. casing to
temporary abandon the A4 well after sticking the 8.062 in.
liner off bottom. To ensure the whipstock would successfully
trip to bottom and not hang up on any debris and prematurely
set, a clean out trip was made to below the area the whipstock
would be set. The cleanout BHA contained a 12.25 in. tricone bit, watermelon string mill, and rotatable scraper. The
mill would drill up any cement that might be missed by the bit
and the scraper would ensure the wall of the casing was wiped
clean of any debris. The whipstock setting area was cleaned
with the casing scraper and the mud-weight was cut from
13.8- to 11.0-lbm/gal prior to pulling out of the hole. The
lower mud-weight was needed to avoid exceeding the fracture
gradient of the open hole from the window to the 20 in. shoe
when milling out of the casing. Following the cleanout run, a
casing collar log was run to verify the 13.625 in. semi-flush
casing collar locations for placement of the whipstock.
Whipstock Design Features
A single trip whipstock system capable of producing a clean,
full length, full gauge, usable window with sufficient rathole
to accommodate a directional drilling assembly was desired.
An extended gauge multi-ramp whipstock system with a
hydraulically activated anchor was chosen (Fig. 1). The
system is designed to guide the milling tool effectively
through the casing and into the formation. The whipstock
face contains multiple ramps, each with its own taper (Fig. 2).
This design provides additional length to the vertical face of
the whipstock. The additional length increases the usable
portion of the window and reduces dogleg severity through the
window. By lengthening the vertical face of the whipstock, a
3 departure angle is maintained at the bottom of the
whipstock.
The milling assembly has three full gauge mills: lead mill,
follow mill and dress mill. The lead mill is geometrically
matched to the angles on the whipstock to maximize cutting
structure engagement with the casing while minimizing loads
on the whipstock face. The lead mill was dressed with highgrade tungsten carbide cylindrical inserts (Fig. 3). Several
cutter types were considered for the job. The chosen cutters
provided a balanced solution that was capable of efficiently
milling the window, drilling cement and then drilling an
extended rathole below the window to accommodate the
directional drilling BHA planned for the openhole interval.
The lead mill has multiple circulation ports with breakaway
caps that allow full flow circulation once the break bolt is
broken and the mill is released from the whipstock.
IADC/SPE 98120
IADC/SPE 98120
(16.2 PV, 9.6 TY), not with the expectation that turbulent flow
would be achieved, but to act more like a wash with an
eroding effect on the mud near the window. The SBM base oil
was pumped ahead of a weighted spacer to loosen and erode
the SBM that had been left in the annulus. The volume of the
spacer was chosen to have 500 ft of annular contact plus 50%
excess, which was rounded to an even 100 bbl. The weighted
spacer was pumped to prevent contamination of the cement
and displace the base oil up the well. Following the cement
were 40 bbl of 13.5 lbm/gal high-viscosity tail spacer (64-PV
and 32-TY). This spacer was to remove any residual cement
from the drill-string and BHA components.
Cement Slurry Design. The squeeze cement was designed to
be bull-headed into the well and a hesitation squeeze then
performed. Slurry requirements were to have zero free-water,
zero settling, and have higher rheology at bottom hole
conditions than the mud and lead spacers. The planned
volume of 250 bbl was enough to cover 2,000 ft in the annulus
without any excess, plus 50 ft (8 bbl) to remain in the casing.
This left 1,000 of open annulus from the top of the squeeze
cement to the 20 in. casing shoe to prevent annular pressure
buildup.
With a hesitation squeeze planned, the slurry was
designed to have an API fluid-loss value between 400 and 500
ml/30 minutes. Having a fluid-loss greater than 400 creates an
opportunity to achieve squeeze pressure as the cement
dehydrates against the permeable formation. Fluid-loss
greater than 500 could risk dehydrating the cement before it
clears the pipe.
Class H neat cement plus additives mixed at 16.4 lbm/gal
was chosen after laboratory tests. The 4:48 (hr:mn) pump
time allowed mixing at normal rates, injecting to 100 ft below
the drillstring, and then perform several cycles of hesitation
pumping, plus a safety factor to allow for any surprises. Wait
on cement time prior to drill out was based on achieving 500psi compressive strength.
Cementing Job Results. The lead mill was placed 310 ft
above the top of the window, which left 50 bbl of volume in
the casing below the BHA. This ensured the cement exited
the mill but the tail spacer did not reach the window. The
annular BOP was closed and injection rates were established
at 3 and 6 bbl/min to verify the job could be pumped as
designed.
The annular BOP was opened to displace the two spacers
into the drill string and then closed prior to mixing the cement.
The cement was mixed at 5 bbl/min and passed through the
basket filter in the cement unit without slowing down the job.
Only a cup full of debris was recovered after the cement job
and no plugging of the drill string occurred. The tail spacer
was pumped behind the cement as planned.
The cement was displaced with 11.0 lbm/gal SBM at 12
bbl/min to 100 ft. below the lead mill and the well was shut in.
During displacement the pressure increased as expected.
IADC/SPE 98120
IADC/SPE 98120
References
1.
2.
3.
IADC/SPE 98120
Fast Cutout
Ramp
Fast Gauge
Section
Dress Mill
Mid-Ramp
Follow Mill
Figure 2 - Multi-ramp whipstock face
Lead Mill
(Inserted)
Hydraulic
Anchor
IADC/SPE 98120
Kevlar gloves
IADC/SPE 98120
10
IADC/SPE 98120
4500
9
Base Oil
Spacer
S
p
a
c
e
r
3500
Displace
cement
with rig
pumps
3000
Hesitation Squeeze
2000
WOC 15
minutes Bullhead
4 bbl
down
annulus
with rig
pumps
1500
1000
2
W
O
C
Wait on Cement
500
0
0:00
0:15
0:30
0:45
1:00
Time, hr:min
1:15
1:30
1:45
2:00
2:15
Squeeze Pressure
2:30
2:45
3:00
Injection Rate
0
3:15
2500
IADC/SPE 98120
11
1200
1100
1000
900
800
Pressure, psi
700
600
500
400
300
200
LOT After Squeeze Shut-In - Minutes
100
0
0
10
11
12
13
14
12
IADC/SPE 98120
Well Elevations
72 ft
MSL
11.0 lbm/
50 bbl N2
gal SBM
15.5 lbm/gal Spacer
30 bbl N2
4674 ft
Inhibited
Seawater
4746 ft
ML
15 ft
14.6
lbm/gal
SBM
11 3/4 in., 119.79 lbm/ft, HCQ-125, SL-SF, top 406 ft. of tieback
casing. Hanger at 4735 ft
BM
m/gal S
12.8 lb
13.9 lbm/
gal SBM
13.9 lbm/gal
SBM