During a new well construction, offshore North Sea, drill pipe was stuck in the hole. After cementing the liner in place the Liner Hanger Running Tool (LHRT) refused to release from the liner hanger. After multiple attempts to free the LHRT the operator decided to sever the 5 7/8”, 26.3# drill pipe.

Experienced with the application and capabilities of the novel Well Cutter, they contacted Welltec® for a ready on arrival (ROA) job. Evaluating the availability and location of tools, Welltec realized that the required equipment was also offshore currently on standby near the stuck rig. As logistics to mobilize the equipment from nearby locations began, equipment specific to this pipe size was mobilized from Denmark the same day.

Responding nimbly to the situation, Welltec people and equipment were soon on the rig reconfiguring the tools and checking them out for this operation. This was the first time that this pipe size and weight had been attempted with the
Well Cutter.

The Well Cutter is an e-line conveyed, electric over hydraulic pipe severing tool. It can make multiple cuts in the same run in the hole and can cut the pipe in either tension or compression state, which reduces risk and increases efficiency during
operations. Further, the remaining cut is a ‘polished’ cut which can be easily fished or used as a natural re-entry guide for further operations.

The jack-up rig put the pipe in tension with 30k lbs overpull prior to the e-line operation and held it there during the severing. The Well Tractor® and Well Cutter were run in to the proper depth and began the operation. After failing to engage the pipe at the first station it was moved to a new position where it severed the drill pipe in a record cutting time of 2 mins and 50 secs, clearly indicated by surface readout indicators and the physical change of the drill string weight.

Welltec quickly mobilized assets to this rig from multiple sources in order to minimize the downtime and costs incurred by the operator. From the initial phone call to locating, mobilizing the equipment and severing the pipe the total time to accomplish was ~ 52 hours. The Well Cutter completed the job in record time, allowing the rig to continue operations. The polished pipe top provided by the Well Cutter gave the client the benefit of easily being able to run an overshot to fish the LHRT as well as cut deeper through the LHRT if required using smaller, through pipe recovery options.