Gain insight into the growing Integrated Well Services Market in the Asia Pacific in this bespoke report by Offshore Network
Genoa Black connected with Wouter Mezger, Commercial Director at Barge Master, as they discussed the recent success of the Deep Water Floating Drill Operation after the project claimed Most Innovative Solution at the OWI Global Awards 2020.
The Barge Master Deep Water Floating Drill Operation uses motion capture to eliminate vessel motions, allowing the operation of machinery with the same precision as onshore even in adverse weather conditions By integrating their BM-T700 motion compensation platform and the reverse circulation drill rig from Large Diameter Drilling (LDD) Barge Master has completed the installation of seven anchor mooring piles for a Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring (CALM) Buoy as well as a world first: drilling operations from a diving support and construction vessel in water depths of more than 270m.
Behind the projects success:
Mezger opened by thanking the judging panel for their decision and commented, “We think it has been recognised because typically drilling of this kind is usually carried out by a Jack-up barge [which are typically expensive to mobilise, hard to manoeuvre and limited by water depth and soil conditions]. We are filling in the gap. By integrating the motion compensated platform with an existing well intervention drill unit or technology a new innovative safe solution was developed which can be implemented on many other projects, moving the whole industry forward.”
When asked about the value this holds for customers Mezger responded, “The method of operation and the combined approach of using the Barge Master motion compensated platform and existing drill rig or intervention unit will bring great value to the oil and gas market and opens up new possibilities to perform well intervention on offshore wells in a safe and efficient way.
“The set up is a big step not just for the oil and gas market but throughout the marine industry where typical well intervention methods used by jack-up barges are not feasible in these water depths and require the need for a more costly floating drilling solution. We can bring a new cost effective solution that achieves the same end result.”
Why recognition was significant:
Mezger continued by commenting that receiving the award was recognition for the project and the team that had worked so hard on innovative solutions and confirmed the company’s belief in the product.
Reflecting on 2020 and looking to the future:
The Commercial Director considered the lessons learnt across 2020 and how the company is preparing for 2021, he stated, “Our priority is always safety first. It is embedded in the culture of our organisation both in the office and operations offshore. In 2020 we faced some challenges. Implementing a new technology, we felt the ability to travel and showcase the product to the customers, with the ongoing activities, has made bringing this new solution to the market rather hard. For 2021 we have learnt to focus and target specific markets for our applications.”
There are no suggestions that the success of the Water Floating Drill Operation will dry up any time soon, with the OWI Awards judges noting that it is a ‘world’s first that is flexible for a wide range of operations’. Certainly Mezger believes the future is bright as he concluded, “With the award we have received industry recognition that will help us reach out to a broader spectrum of clients and help them open up even more to this new innovative solution.”
This month’s video demonstrates how certainty allows for better and faster decision making and evaluate the tubing conditions of multiple sub-sea completed wells pre-abandonment.
EV was requested by a global operator to perform a multi well campaign. EV’s Optis HD Electric line camera was used to inspect the tubing conditions of multiple sub-sea completed wells pre-abandonment.
Gain insight into the growing Integrated Well Services Market in the Asia Pacific in this bespoke report by Offshore Network
Access a detailed well intervention case study that utilised cutting-edge rigless, riserless technology. See the full report from Sapura Energy which covers the Browse Basin project that took place offshore Australia.
By Mark Plummer MSc BEng
Stuart Wright Pte Ltd’s (SW) CEO, Colin Stuart, and Well Engineer, Mark Plummer recently completed a one-year project supporting the Department of Natural Resources Mines & Energy (DNRME) in Queensland, Brisbane to perform a Well Programme Assurance Design and Construction Review (WEPA DCR) for high risk and complex wells.
The objectives of the WEPA DCR were to understand, by observation, how operators are meeting the relevant statutory provisions in the legislation; including subsidiary mandatory safety requirements, the Queensland Code of Practice and recognised industry standards. Consistent with the Queensland government policy, the Inspectorate is collaborating with the industry to promote the safety and technical standards for petroleum and gas operations.
Following consultation and dialogue with industry, seven (7) Operators were selected as suitable candidates for the well programme assurance review. The programme was conducted in three stages as outlined in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1 – WEPA Design & Construction Review Process
WEPA Stage 1 – Understand with the petroleum operator, their well design protocols and standards, and agree specific well selection;
WEPA Stage 2 – Engage in well design and planning process of the selected well programmes; and finally; and
WEPA Stage 3 – Oversee well construction against the plan in the well execution stage. In particular to carry out well barrier monitoring and validation using SW’s proprietary Right Time Barrier Condition (RTBC) well barrier monitoring system.
Well Design Phase Review Methodology
Through discussion between the Regulator and each individual Operator, eight (8) suitable candidate wells were identified for the Well Programme Assurance review. Subsequently, a copy of Operator standards and well specific documents (e.g. Well Basis of Design, Drilling Programme, Drilling Fluids Programme, Cementing Programme, Casing and Tubing Design, Well Barrier Programme) were provided by the Operator for review by Well Inspectors.
The design phase review methodology was as follows:
Well Construction Phase Review Methodology
Stuart Wright’s proprietary well barrier monitoring and validation system, RTBC, was used by DNRME to monitor drilling operations for selected wells. This exercise was the final stage for a given selected well, in DNRME’s WEPA DCR programme.
The system was used to assess each well for compliance, with their own standards and mandatory regulatory requirements. Specific barrier acceptance criteria were created in RTBC, which were extracted from Operator standards, the drilling programme and relevant legislation. Each barrier element during well construction was then assessed for reported validation, and assigned a traffic light colour (red, amber, green) rating depending on the result of the rating.
RTBC creates a Daily Integrity Report (DIR) capturing the barrier validation result.
The process of assessing compliance during well construction was as follows:
Figure 2A – Example Daily Integrity Report (Pg.1) – sent to Operator on a Daily Basis
Figure 2B – Example Daily Integrity Report (Pg.2) – sent to Operator on a Daily Basis
Key Findings
A range of useful findings arose from the WEPA study and, in particular, the use of RTBC to track barrier validation during well construction provided close monitoring and feedback which was beneficial to both the Regulator and Operator:
KF #1 – In general, the Operator standards compliance with mandatory regulatory requirements was good, but with individual exceptions which were fed back to Operators and improvement processes agreed.
KF #2 – Maintaining an overbalance margin to the bottom hole pressure (BHP) is a critical barrier during well construction. Operator standards for petroleum wells reviewed by DNRME could be further enhanced by stipulating a minimum overbalance to BHP requirement.
KF #3 – Several Operators did not achieve regulatory compliance with the minimum 70% standoff for casing centralisation in their well design. The primary reason cited for this non-compliance was that the centralisation modeling simulation called for large sections of the casing having 2 centralisers per joint to achieve the required 70% standoff and Operators opined that the risks associated with running this many centralisers outweighs the benefit.
KF #4 – During the WEPA study, DNRME noted that the Operator’s design and planning process was often completed very late and, in many cases, only a few days prior to well spud which has an impact on risk during the well construction phase.
KF #5 – 75% of the gas-producing petroleum wells reviewed during the WEPA study were designed with standard Buttress Thread Connections (BTC) or Long Thread Connections (LTC) in the production casing string, which is common practice, deemed to be adequate as reservoir pressures were less than 3,000 psi. For gas-producing petroleum wells, the selection of premium (gas-tight) connections would help to mitigate, over time, the risk of a leak path for hydrocarbon gas into the B-Annulus with associated consequences, though DNRME accepted that current industry standards support the common practice and the risk assessment approach currently used is valid.
KF #6 – The use of a barrier monitoring system demonstrated that Operators could not, in a limited number of cases, show compliance in all respects with their own standards and regulatory requirements during well construction given the conventions and format of the standard DDR reporting process. The Inspectorate had to review documents and data other than the DDR to complete the barrier validation picture.
KF #7 – The integrity reporting system used (RTBC) did give regulator and operator insight into escalating compliance risks. Furthermore, it allowed the Inspectorate to demonstrate in the captured database, a record that the operator is in compliance with regulation OR where they are not, it is transparent, and a flag raised.
KF #8 – The Daily Drilling Reports (DDR) focus is typically around performance and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). However, no clear picture emerges in a typical DDR of an equal focus on well integrity and specifically loss of control risk.
Preliminary Conclusions of the WEPA Study
The findings and preliminary conclusions of the WEPA study were presented, on behalf of DNRME, by Colin Stuart at the Oil & Gas UK “Safety 30 – Piper Alpha Legacy: Securing a Safer Future” conference which was held in Aberdeen in June, 2018. A summary of the preliminary conclusions of the WEPA study is detailed below:
This project summary has been approved by DNRME.
Understand how the Completions Standardization Technical Committee (COMSTEC), comprised of members from Petronas MPM and regional operators and service companies are tackling three main operational inefficiencies: Packers, safety and flow valves and operational procedure.
In this article, we review the situation and prospects for the offshore well intervention market, with comment on best practice, based on a presentation at OWI APAC 2018 (Kuala Lumpur) by Dan Cole, McKinsey & Company.
SIA Cyclit Konsultants:
Pilipishin B., PhD,
Havenson I., PhD, Gonca V., PhD, Brushtunov V., PhD, Huk I.
Our original method of prediction hydrocarbon traps is based on the theory of sedimentary cyclicity (lithmology) and on the assumption of discompaction and compaction zones: oil or gas field is formed by hydrocarbon migration from the source of their generation and the subsequent accumulation and conservation in the traps, which are located along the ways of migration.
The method can significantly improve the efficiency of geological exploration work in all their phases and stages. One of the main feature of our method is that we definitely prove where wells SHOULD NOT BE PROJECTED. It will RADICALLY REDUCE fields’ research and exploration costs.
For last 20 years we analyzed more than 50 deposits (mainly Ukraine and Khazahstan) with really positive results: overall average probability of successful wells is more than 70%.
The “Seismocyclit” group carries out processing of customer’s geophysical data and search for oil and gas pools, using its own exclusive methodology. The proposed methodology includes original methods of processing and interpretation of geophysical data, realized in form of programme-methodical complexes (PMC) “Seismocyclit” and “AFCM” (amplitude-frequency characteristic of medium).
It allows:
– To carry out construction of stacks with improved signal-to-noise ratio, eliminating regular and irregular unwanted signals, which do not respond to the principle of reciprocity in seismic survey.
– To accomplish stratigraphic identification of the reflecting horizons, using logs in form of cyclites.
– To discover structural features of the geological section, and ways of migration – hydrocarbon delivery channels, which often coincide with tectonic failures.
– To single out zones, where reservoirs and impermeable beds are developed. For these goals, the sections of “AFCM” (amplitude-frequency characteristic of medium) are used, which are characterized by important and distinctive feature: the calculation of colour instead of it’s assignment. Changing of the colour on the “AFCM” sections shows that the reservoir characteristics of the section change. In the given variant of calculation, horizons of the reservoirs are displayed on the “AFCM” sections in dark blue and black colour. The efficiency of this methodology is proven on a number of structures and fields connected to various types of sections. On the presented “AFCM” sections, four boreholes (red colour) are shown, which were drilled with the help of our recommendations and have given the production in terrigenous section.
These programme-methodical complexes (PMC) “Seismocyclit” and “AFCM” – amplitude-frequency characteristic of medium have been effectively used for prognosing traps in Upper Jurassic carbonate section of Precarpathian deep.
On the “AFCM” section in the upraised block of Upper Jurassic deposits, the extensive zone of reservoirs development can be pointed out, whose presence is proven by the results of boreholes testing. In the upraised part of the sinked block we can point out similar zone which is prospective.
– Additionally for prognosing the presence of hydrocarbons in trap the data of electrical prospecting can be used – it may help to calculate longitudinal electrical resistance on several deep levels. The existence of structural form and higher resistance on certain stratigraphic levels can indicate hydrocarbons’ presence in the structure.
The proposed methodology of hydrocarbon pools forecasting can be used at any stage of geological prospecting works, significantly raising their efficiency.
The following input data are necessary for our job:
As the result of the works the Customer will obtain the following main materials:
By Mark Plummer MSc BEng
In March, 2017 ISO released their Latest Well Integrity Standard, ISO 16530-1: Life Cycle Governance. In this article I will provide the background to the standard and discuss some of the key sections contained within.
BACKGROUND TO ISO 16530-1
KEY SECTIONS OF ISO 16530-1
All well life cycle phases have common elements, methods and processes, which are integral to well integrity management. ISO 16530-1 identifies and discusses key considerations for 12 common elements, as detailed in the figure above.
Assuring well integrity comprises two main building blocks: the first is to ensure well integrity during well design and construction, and the second is to manage well integrity throughout the remaining well life thereafter ISO 16530-1 addresses the six phases of the well life cycle, and their interrelationships, as illustrated above.
This month’s video demonstrates how certainty allows for better and faster decision making and evaluate the tubing conditions of multiple sub-sea completed wells pre-abandonment.
EV was requested by a global operator to perform a multi well campaign. EV’s Optis HD Electric line camera was used to inspect the tubing conditions of multiple sub-sea completed wells pre-abandonment.
Shahril Mokhtar, Head of Completions, Petronas shares a unique case study outlining the results of their risk sharing intergrated operations and CORAL 2.0.
Page 9 of 10
Copyright © 2025 Offshore Network