Packers Plus Specialty Tool Prevents Costly Remediation
Background
Packers Plus worked with an operator in the Middle East to prevent a costly intervention after the hydraulic toe sleeve in another supplier’s ball-activated multi-stage completion system failed to open. Traditional remediation techniques in this situation would require milling out all the ball seats and changing the completion program, adding increased risk and cost to bring the well online. Instead, the operator deployed the Packers Plus CT (Coiled Tubing) Ball Seat Activator to successfully open stage 2 of the system – verified using the ePLUS® Retina Monitoring System – and continue as per the prescribed completion plan, significantly reducing cost and risk in bringing the well online.
Challenge
A major operator working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region was working with another service company to complete a ball-activated multi-stage completion system and, during stimulation operations, the hydraulic toe sleeve failed to open in the 9-stage well. Traditional intervention methods would require milling out all the ball seats and perforating the toe stage. The operator could then continue with plug-and-perf operations for the remainder of the well or use CT to manually open and close each sliding sleeve. Either of these techniques would require numerous trips in and out of the well with CT during operations, having a significant adverse impact on operational risk and remediation costs.
Solution
Due to a long-standing relationship – and being the only completions company with a specialized local team – Packers Plus was able to provide a solution to reduce the impact of well intervention, continue the stimulation program as planned and bring the well online. To mitigate the risk of traditional remediation techniques, Packers Plus recommended using its CT Ball Seat Activator to open stage 2 and then continue with the ball-activated completion as designed. The CT Ball Seat Activator is a simple and cost-effective way to activate any tool with a ball seat and had a successful run history in other GCC regions.
Results
Packers Plus operations and technical services teams prepared for the job in a few hours and had skilled operational personnel on site within two days. The CT Ball Seat Activator was run on coiled tubing to the second stage at a depth of 9,784 ft. After tagging the ball seat, the tubing string was pressured up to activate the ball seat and shift the sliding sleeve open. While the pressure change detected in the data van was ambiguous, a clear signal was captured by the ePLUS Retina Monitoring System to confirm the successful operation of opening the sleeve. Following a spearhead of acid, injectivity to the reservoir was gained and the rest of the stimulation program was completed as planned, at a significantly lower cost than the traditional remediation strategies.
Packers Plus is a leading supplier of lower completion solutions, providing field-proven stimulation technology for horizontal wells with superior production results in numerous formations around the world. For more information about Packers Plus success stories and completion solutions, visit packersplus.com.