Saltel deployed expandable steel Patches with intelligent Coiled Tubing in a 5-inch #18 open-hole gravel pack completion in the Caspian Sea. The patch installation in overlap halted the sand production in two identified zones with permanently installed optical fiber.
Two risers of 48 (157ft) and 24m (79ft) needed sealing in the Caspian sea, but the riser length limited the maximum patch length to 14m (46ft). Thus, overlapping the patches was chosen to effectively cover the entire length.
Overlapping patches covered the entire damaged sandscreen section in a Caspian well.
Inflatable packer qualification
Saltel’s Expandable Steel Patch Technology is a distinctive approach that employs an inflatable Packer to expand the steel patch. Saltel has enabled the possibility of overlapping steel casing patches (or extending them through a pre-existing patch). It is possible to customize the precise inside diameter of the impairment.
Patches Deployment with Intelligent Coiled Tubing
In that Caspian well, we deployed an Intelligent Coiled Tubing unit to run in the BHA and set up the patches. But its behavior in a horizontal well at this depth was unclear (such as stick-and-slip behavior and downhole movements). To observe both the forces applied and real-time accurate downhole movements, the coiled tubing supplier created a tension-compression sub.
Furthermore, the Coiled Tubing BHA included a CCL module (for positioning), as well as pressure and temperature sensors.
We tested the inflatable packer by inflating it and running in the BHA without a patch:
- Test the possibility of compensating for coil tubing elongation under pressure by progressive pick-up, and validate calculated values
- Analyze the transition between up and down movements downhole
We processed a total of 150 pressure cycles offshore over 12 days by overlapping as follows:
- Four patches for the lower area.
- Two patches for the top.
- Two patches for the lower area.
As a result, the operation concluded with a successful outcome.
A number of World Wide Firsts took place during the repair of this sand screen.
- The overlap operation proved the Expandable Steel Technology’s versatility and its expansion capacity. The operation concluded by successfully installing 4.5in patches in a 5in 18ppft casing.
- It consisted of six patches of 14m (46ft) each, overlapping four times in the same well.
- CT (horizontal well) screen repairs at over 4,000m (13,300ft)