WorldWide Drilling Resource

17 WorldWide Drilling Resource® FEBRUARY 2021 www.starironworks.com 257 Caroline Street Punxsutawney, PA 15767 800-927-0560 • 814-427-2555 Fax: 814-427-5164 SERVINGTHECONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Serving the Drilling Industry Ending up Where You are Heading Adapted from Information by Scientific Drilling International An ancient Chinese philosopher once said, “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” The result can be finding yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, or in directional drilling, the wrong position at the worst time. Luckily, modern technological developments such as Scientific Drilling International’s MagTraC MWD Ranging™ deliver greater drilling precision for those hard-to-reach places. Safety in the horizontal directional drilling industry concerns not only the security of personnel but also the proper plugging and abandonment of problem wells. The MagTraC, a wellbore separation and intercept solution, allows operators to drill with certainty. By using the earth’s naturally occurring magnetic field, the distance and direction to the target problem well or casing is determined. One of the main benefits of this device is the risk reductions and improved safety by lessening the need for on-site personnel. With an extensive résumé of proven performance across the globe, MagTraC has over 450 successful jobs under its belt. Consider two noteworthy cases. In North Africa, a gas injection well experienced casing issues, which resulted in a wellbore blowout and fire. The MagTraC was instrumental in guiding operators to drill a relief well, which was spudded and drilled directionally toward the target well. The problem well was successfully intercepted, plugged, and sealed with minimal risk to workers. Because of the ability to perform the service remotely, the number of personnel necessary on location was minimized. In California, the challenge was casing damage preventing conventional access to two wells identified as potential “leak points” in a gas storage field. Both damaged wellbores were previously abandoned with shallow cement plugs, which were insufficient to ensure zonal isolation. To properly and permanently plug and abandon these wells, operators had to accurately intercept both at the appropriate depth. Two remedial wells were directionally drilled toward the damaged wellbores, with MagTraC determining the distance and direction between the remedial wells and target wells. The resulting parallel remedial wells made for a successful interception as both targets were plugged and abandoned adequately. This effectively eliminated the concern about leakage from a gas storage zone. The MagTraC MWD Ranging™ has proven worthy of being called an innovation. This real-time magnetic monitoring contributed to the success in overcoming some notable challenges in plug and abandon missions involving close-proximity drilling and wellbore intercept, while also effectively reducing risks of harm to personnel. DIR

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