——. _. —____ ——— .—.
*B..
lADC/SPE 39368
Technology Improvements in Platform Slot Recovery and Liner Removal
T.F. Bailey, and M. Neff, and T.L. Wilson, SPE, Weatherford
IADC Members
Copyright 1998,IADUSPE Drilling Conference
‘fhis paper was prep~redfor presentation at the 1998 IADC/SPE Drilling Conferenceheld in Dcd18s,
Tcxw, 3-6 March 1998,
This paper wm sclwtsd for presentation hy an IADC/SPE Pmgrun Committm following review of
infomstion contained in an abstract submittsd by the author(s) Contents of the paper have not b=n
reviewedby the InternationalAssociationof Drilling Contractor or the Societyof PetroleumEngineem
and are subject to mrrwtion by the author(s), The materi~l,w pr=ented, dou not n-sarily reflect
any psition of the lADC or SPE, its offimm, or mcrnbem, Papers prmentcd at IADC/SPEmeetingswc
subj-t to publicationreview by Editorial Committ= of the IADC and SPE, Electronicreproduction,
distribution,or storageof any p~rt of this pa.~r for commercialpupscs without tbe written censent of
the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibitd, Pmission to rcprcducc in print is restrictedto an
abstrac: of not more than 300 words, illustrations may not be mpicd The abstract must mnmin
mnspicuous acknowledgmentof where and by whom the paper was pruented, Write Librtim, SPE,
PO, Box 833836,Richardson,TX 75083-3836,U S,A,, f= 01-972.952-9435
Abstract
Liner removal to facilitate sidetracking has been proven to be
a cost saving solution over drilling new horizontal wells to
increase production from existing wells. Most problems that
might be encountered when removing casing can be identified
prior to beginning a liner removal job. By identifying these
potential problems, the proper equipment can be used
effectively to keep the job running smoothly. Technical
advances in mill design such as the development of a cutting
structure that effectively manages the cuttings size ad carbide
inserts with greater wear resistance have increased the
efficiency of the entire operation.
Introduction
A cost effective means to enhance production and provide for
reservoir stimulation from existing platforms is to sidetrack
wells from existing slots to reach new bottom hole locations.
In the process of recovering these slots to facilitate the
sidetrack, one or more casing strings must be removed from
the existing well. Casing removal is accomplished by a
combination of processes such as cutting, pulling, and milling.
In typical wells, 13 3/8” and 9 5/8” casing is cut and pulled
from the well. Liners from 5 1/2” through 9 5/8” may be
milled to facilitate their removal.
Liners and casing cemented to the surface require
removal by milling long intervals which have historically been
slow and at best, time consuming processes. Numerous
operational problems exist including difficulty in cuttings
Seciety of Petroleum Engineers
Enterra Inc.
removal and potentially stuck drill string from “bird-nesting”
of cuttings. With new technology available, these problems
can be eliminated or minimized to make liner removal a low
risk economical choice for slot recovery.
nis. paper describes the process for recovering these
platform slots and provides a review of new technology that
enhances the economics of the process. Case studies will
show how proper selection of the BHA, mud and mud
hadling system, mill design, and milling parameters make
slot recovery and ~mer removal fast fid econorn”ical.Many of
the problems associated with past practices are eliminated or
minimized.
Milling Considerations
Prior to embarking on a prolonged milling job, there are a
number of issues that should be considered. These
considerations can mean the difference between a project
being completed on time and on budget or a project running
into multiple problems and costing much more than
anticipated. With proper preplanning the probability of
performing a good cost effective job will be greatly increased.
Casing milling jobs are now being planned and completed
at hole angles greater than 60 degrees and through long
tangent sections. In the past without the assistance of
technology, these types of jobs would have a high degree of
uncertain~ of being completed. The result was that a section
would be cut or a Whipstock would be set to facilitate a side
track far above the desired target depth for the completed
milling job.
Casing Eccentricity. An important aspect of planning a
milling job is to determine if there is any eccentricity between
the casing strings. This is an important consideration for
determining the proper stabilization below the pilot mill. If
the inner casing to be milled is held in place with casing
centralizers then there is a good chance that the casing strings
will be concentric with one another. Therefore, the stabilizer
OD of the pilot assembly should be the drift ID of the inner
casing string being milled. This will ensure that the mill
tracks true to the centerline of the inner casing. It will also
641
2 TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS IN PLATFORM SLOT RECOVERY
ensure that the casing collars are milled completely. If the
collars are not completely milled, problems can be
encountered at a later time when the skinned collar is
circulated to the surface. Usually this results in a plugged
flow line leading to nonproductive time due to clearing of the
plugged flow line.
Should the casing not have centralizers installed and the
hole angle is 30 degrees or more, it is safe to assume that the
casing strings are eccentric which requires a different strategy.
A reduced OD stabilizer is placed below the mill to allow it to
walk away from the ID of the casing being milling. This will
prevent the mill from milling into the primary string of casing
thus ensuring its integrity, This is particularly important on
wells where the hole angle is great enough that a large side
load may be placed on the mill. A properly designed mill
with gage protection on the OD of the blades will also help
protect from milling the primary string of casing.
Cutting Removal. Removal of cuttings during milling has a
great impact on the success of a milling job. If cuttings are
not removed quickly and efficiently then downtime due to
bird-nesting can become a problem. Bird-nesting occurs
whenever a large number of cuttings accumulate in an area in
the annulus. Surface equipment, flow line configuration, and
milling fluids all become important for proper cutting
removal.
Surface Equipment. A typical arrangement of flow
equipment needed to remove cuttings on the surface is as
follows. Flow is routed from the bell nipple through open
flow ditches to two shale shakers with primary 24 to 50 mesh
screens. The fluid then exits the shale shakers through
secondary 84 to 110 mesh screens. Large ditch magnets are
strategically placed in the flow line and suction intakes. The
magnets should be cleaned by rig personnel every half hour to
remove settled swarf or fine cuttings.
Flow Line Configuration. To avoid flip-out of swarf in
the bell nipple and BOP riser and the subsequent bird-nesting
and pack-offs, it is necessary to reduce the size of the BOP
and bell nipple riser from 30” to 13 3/8”. This will allow a
higher annular velocity to keep the BOP and BOP riser clear
of swarf. It is important that the flow lines from the riser to
the shakers be as large and straight as possible with all valves
removed. There should not be any obstructions in the flow
lines to allow a bird-nest to form.
Milling Fluids, The selection of the proper milling fluid
is critical to a successful milling job. Polymer based fluids are
generally preferable because of their increased lifting
capacity. In order to obtain the maximum Iifiing capacity of
the fluid it is preferable to keep the 6 rpm viscometer reading
above 45 and the plastic viscosity as low as possible. Tables 1
and 2 detail the ingredients and milling parameters of a
Xanthan Gum milling fluid used successfully by Qatar
General Petroleum Corporation (QGPC) in the MiddIe East.
642
AND LINER REMOVAL lADC/SPE 39368
Sodium Chloride was also used to minimize the mixing time
and utilize a non damaging milling fluid.
Pilot Mill Design. The pilot mill design is very important to
the completion of a successful milling operation. A new
generation of pilot mills have been designed and used
successfully to increase milling rates and allow more footage
to be milled in one run. Insert technology advances have
allowed the creation of an advanced cutting structure that
effectively manages the cutting size. These new inserts allow
a much more aggressive cutter that will finction effectively at
high ROP. Also, the use of thicker, improved carbide grades
allow longer on-bottom time because of improved wear
capabilities.
Old technology pilot mills contained an integral stabilizer
as the pilot for the mill. By eliminating this stabilizer on new
technology mills and allowing a string stabilizer to be run
beneath the pilot mill, the stabilizer size can be adjusted for
the conditions it will encounter. This helps control problems
that may arise when the casing strings are eccentric and allows
greater versatility for the BHA to maximize performance.
Side-tracking Strategy and Milling Equipment used
in Actual Cases
The preplanning considerations discussed thus far should be
reviewed for every milling job. These procedures were used
on wells sidetracked by QGPC for Uwalnat Formation
Horizontal Sidetracks. The Uwalnat Reservoir is a 200 ft
thick Jurassic Carbonate at 9000 ft TVD present in Maydan
Mahzam (MM) and Bul Hanine (BH) field, 70 nautical miles
offshore Qatar in the Arabian Gulf.
For QGPC, side-tracking proved to be a cost effective
solution to increase production. Wells which were side-
tracked showed a thirteen fold increase in production.
Considerable money can be saved by sidetracking an existing
well instead of drilling a new horizontal well. Costs can be
cut in half in many instances over the completion of a new
horizontal well.
The following example wells show strategies used to
finish the side-tracking of four different wells. Also, pilot
milling performance is presented for each of the wells in
Table 3. Wells 1 and 2 used older technology pilot mills and
the Wells 3 and 4 used the new technology pilot mills.
Well 1- MM-22A. This well contained 7“ casing extending
to the surface. The following operations were performed on
the well (see Figure 1):
1. Cut and pull 7“ casing to free point at 1534 R.
2. Mill 7“ 26 ppf L-80 casing to 4031 fi (2497 ft milled).
3. Cut and Pull 9 5/8” casing to 4000 ft.
4. Set plug and side-track below 13 3/8” shoe at 3600 fi.
lADC/S~E 39368 T.F. BAILEY, M. NEFF, T.L. WILSON 3

The mills used on this job were old technology mills
which were able to achieve rates of 15 to 30 fph with runs as
long as 922 ft. However, a major concern during milling
operations was to keep the cuttings small enough to avoid
annular pack-off, bird-nesting, and stuck pipe. Although
acceptable milling was achieved, cutting size was 0.36”
(casing thickness) x 1/8” deep and 4“ to 5“ in length, with
some cuttings up to 30” in length and several large pieces
including skimmed casing couplings. A cuttings example is
shown in Figure 5.
Well 2- MM-27A. This well had 7“ casing extending to the
surface. The following operations were performed on the well
(see Figure 2):
1. Cut and pull 7“ casing to 5087 ft.
2. Mill 7“ casing to 6800 fi. (17 13 ft milled)
3. Cut 9 5/8” section from 6625 ft to 6750 fi (125 R)
4. Set cement plug and side-track in 8 1/2” hole.
Well 3- MM-38A. The following operations were performed
on the well (see Figure 3)
1. Mill PBR and liner hanger with 5.5” section mill.
2. Mill 7“ liner.
3. Mill PBR and liner hanger with 5.5” section mill.
4. Mill 7“ casing.
5. Set cement plug and side-track in 8 1/2” hole.
Well 4- MM-4. The following operation were performed on
the well (see Figure 4):
1. Cut and pull 7“ to top of free point.
2. Mill 1400 ft of 7“ casing.
3. Set cement plug and side-track in 8 1/2” hole.
Conclusions
1. Preplanning of milling jobs is an important first step to a
successful side-tracking operation. Any well problems
such as eccentricity must be identified at the start so the
proper equipment can be used.
2. With new technology pilot mills, the rate of penetration is
determined more by the ability of the system to remove
massive quantities of cuttings than on mechanical
limitations of the pilot mill.
3. New technologies incorporated on pilot mills have re-
duced the cutting size, increased the rate of penetration,
and increased on-bottom time for each mill.
4. Sidetracking techniques utilizing pilot milling technology
have been proven be a good cost saving ~temative ;O
new horizontal wells.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Qatar General Petroleum Corporation
(QGPC) for use of milling data.
References
1. M. A. Simpson and S. Latifi “Liner Top Milling
Techniques Integral to Successful Drilling of Uwalnat
Horizontal Sidetracks in Offshore Qatar;’ paper
IADC/SPE 39263 presented at the 1997 SPE/IADC
Middle East Drilling Technology Conference, Bahrain,
NOV. 23-25.

On Wells 3 and 4, a newly designed 7 15/16” OD six bladed

pilot mill (Figure 6) was used which incorporated new
technology . This mill sustained an average milling rate of 56
fph on 7“ 26 lb/ft L-80 casing liner at 30 degrees. The mill
was operated with 12,500 lbs weight on mill and 190 rpm and
13,000 ft-lbs of torque. The shear volume of cuttings
generated during this trial caused the surface handling system
to load up and require some cleaning. Afterwards, a ROP of
20-30 fph was maintained to complete the job. So in
actuality, milling rate is limited by the capacity of the drilling
fluid to clean the hole and the surface handling system to
dispose of the cuttings while milling as opposed to the
mechanical limitations of the mill.
The new technology incorporated on this mill generated
much smaller cuttings as shown in Figure 7. These smaller
cuttings do not promote bird-nesting and are much more
desirable than cutting made from old technology mills. Also,
the greater wear resistance of the new mills allowed much
longer sections to be milled, On Well 4, a section of 1056 R
was milled with one pilot mill. Therefore, the job required
only two mills.

643
4 TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS IN PLATFORM SLOT RECOVERY AND LINER REMOVAL lADC/SPE 39366

Table 1- Material Concentration of Milling FIuid

Material Concentration (PPB)

Soda Ash 0.3-0.5
Caustic Soda 0.5- 1.0
XCD Polymer 4.0-5.0
Sodium Chloride 80-100 as reauired

Table 2- Properties of Milling Fluid

Property I Range
Density (PPG) 8.7-10.0
6 rpm reading 45-55
Pv as low as possible
Hardness (m~/liter) <500”

Table 3- Liner Milling Case Summary

Well No. Casing Cut and Casing Milled Casing

Retrieved
Size Length Size Length Rate Milling Assembly Avg. Avg. Cutting
(inch) (ft) (inch) (ft) FPH Milling Milling Size
Hours Footage (inch)
MM-22A 7 1534 7 2497 23.7Taper Mill and Old 26.3 624 4 to 30
Technology Pilot Mill
MM-27A 7 5087 7 1713 15 Taper Mill and Old 22.9 343 4 to 30
Technology Pilot Mill
MM-38A - - 7 1118 21.8 Taper Mill and New 15.6 338 1/2 to 1
Technology Pilot Mill
MM-4 - - 7 1400 23.9 Taper Mill and New 29.3 700 1/2to 1
Technology Pilot Mill
I
 lADC/S’PE 39366 T.F. BAILEY, M. NEFF, T.L. WILSON 5

13 3/8’

[ 3600’ 13 3/8’

7“ CUT & PULL TO 5087’

— 9 5/8”

r 9 5/8” SECTION
622 Y-6250’
MILL

Stub Liner

Fig. I-Well 1; W-22A.

7“

I MILL 7“ TO 6800’
1713’ OF 7“ MILLED

Fig. 2-Well 2; MM-27A

‘7”

Fig. 3-Well 3; MM-38A.

26 Pp f L-80

13 3/8”
“:?~;q$~”’”
;,.
,*. s?
1
‘Le
Top of 7“ Stub
[ @ 4750 ft
‘“ 0% (
;.”.~~> @
.6-%,$. **
. . . .

9 s/8”
Fig. 5-Typical cuttings from an
old technology pilot mill.

7“ 26ppf L-80
Milled to 6150 ft

Fig. 4-WelI 4; MM-4

Fig. 6- New technology

pilot mill. Fig. 7- Typical cuttings from a
new technology pilot mill.

645