18 SEPTEMBER 2021 WorldWide Drilling Resource® The Clarke Lake geothermal facility is expected to produce between seven and 15 megawatts of clean electricity from a consistently available resource, which is equivalent to powering up to 14,000 households. By displacing fossil fuel generation in northeast B.C., it is also expected to reduce almost 28,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to taking more than 5000 cars off the road. Sharleen Gale, chief of Fort Nelson First Nation said, “The Clarke Lake Geothermal Project represents Fort Nelson First Nation’s drive toward creating a sustainable economy for our People; one that strikes a balance between the environment and the economy. Our work to get this historic project off the ground demonstrates what Indigenous leadership toward net-zero project development looks like.” Initiative continued from page 15 Packers to Ensure Reliability Adapted from Information by Inflatable Packers International High-quality well construction for our most valuable underground resource requires innovative and reliable products. Packers are some of those devices providing water well solutions. Inflatable Packers International (IPI) produces a variety of inflatable packer systems along with a water well completion system to minimize problems during installation. Two problems often occur during completion of deep production water wells using gravel-packed, telescopic screens: releasing the screen without damaging it and sealing the screen to the casing. Using more common methods such as a Jlatch can lead to doubts about whether or not the screen is properly released. Failure to release may lead to accidental lifting of the screen or damage if the screen is already gravel-packed. Many J-latch systems do not permit pushing, which limits installation options. Sealing of the screen to the casing is fundamental to producing an effective well. Failure of the seal will lead to sanding of the well and/or loss of gravel pack. For these areas, IPI’s water well completion system completely eliminates the associated problems. The IPI Grab Packer is used for installation of the well screen and supporting it throughout gravel placement. The Grab Packer is a heavy-duty inflatable packer with external, high-tensile, grit-coated, steel strips running the full length. When the packer is inflated in a screen or pipe, the coated strips provide very high frictional anchoring capacity. This packer offers the following features: k Specially designed for screen installation k High frictional grip capacity at low inflation pressures k Through pipe for circulation - direct or reverse k “Top hat” for gravel packing k Inflated by control tube run to surface k Simple deflation of the packer to release the screen Sealing of the top of the screen to the casing is then achieved using a retrievable IPI slip-over screen sealing packer. Two options are available for this application: IMR - Inflatable, Mechanical, Retrievable packer or MMR - Mechanical, Mechanical, Retrievable packer. Both the IMR and MMR are designed to slip over the top of the well screen riser pipe, which must be centralized to accommodate this, and to seal back into the casing. The MMR type offers an MPacker for sealing into the casing. This is superior to a standard K--pipe and offers far more sealing lips or fingers. The IMR type provides an inflatable packer seal in the casing, which has a number of advantages: no danger of damaging the sealing rubber while installing, 100% seal to the casing, and anchoring of the slip-over packer in place. It is installed using a special short straddle packer running tool, which enables inflation of the casing sealing packer after the mechanical packer is installed onto the top of the screen riser pipe. Both the IMR and MMR are retrievable, with the IMR being retrieved using the straddle packer running tool to isolate and pressure shear a deflation port on the casing packer. Both types use the same kind of mechanical sealing packer to seal onto the well screen riser pipe. IPI packer technology incorporates elastomers, reinforcement layers, and external anchoring surface finish within a single, vulcanized composite element. This innovation eliminates typical inflatable packer components, such as unreinforced elastomeric inflation bladders, exposed reinforcement layers, and separate rubber covers. IPI’s true composite inflatable packer design eliminates issues commonly associated with ordinary alternatives, while increasing reliability. IPI Water Well Completion System. WTR
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