Well Tractor® conveyed perforating

Desafio
Ambientes hostis
Well Tractor® conveyed perforating
  • Casing size 5 ½”
  • Depth 4.470m MD
  • Max. temperature 166°C
  • Max. deviation 90°

Background

The Horn River Shale Formation located in North East British Columbia is one of the largest shale gas fields in Canada. An operator in the Horn River Basin required a toe perforation on two horizontal wells with a well bore temperature of 166°C (331°F). This was needed to start pump down operations for a multistage shale gas well completion in this remote area of Canada.

In the past, Stone Mountain Resources LTD. had used Coiled Tubing (CT) with a pressure activated firing head, but was looking for an efficient, cost effective alternative to the coiled tubing method, which was very time consuming. Furthermore, the operator was experiencing down time due to a CT breakdown and was one day behind schedule. Welltec® had already mobilized two Well Tractors that should have been applied in the middle stage of the horizontal but due to the CT breakdown, the Well Tractors were called in sooner to get the operation back on schedule.

Operation

One Welltec Well Tractor 3 1/8” was run in hole to a depth of 4.470m, tractoring a 650 lbs select fire perforating assembly over 1.400m at a temperature of 166°C to perform a toe perforation on the first well. Meanwhile, the coiled tubing unit moved over to the second well and began a cleanout, preparing it for completion.

Achievements

The operator was able to get back on schedule, thereby saving time and money by not having incurred any standby costs from other services. In addition, Welltec’s services had a smaller footprint, were cost effective and offered more accurate depth control on wireline. For toe perforations, Well Tractors are now becoming the solution of choice for this operator.