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Oilfield Technology
January
2016
T
he learning curve for the oil and gas industry has been
steep and fast. Over the last decade operators drilling in
the Gulf of Mexico have migrated to highly complex and
extended-reach wellbore geometries that require a tremendous
engineering effort and enhanced gas tight drill pipe connections.
At the same time, with the increasing global demand for gas, some
highly sour oil and gas reservoirs have been explored in Russia,
the Middle East, China and North America. The development
of such fields represents significant drill pipe integrity and
operational safety challenges. This article aims to explain how
both of these engineering challenges can be overcome.
Metal-to-metal
The development of the VAM® Express M2M™ rotary shouldered
connection with a metal-to-metal seal has been first and
foremost motivated by the demands of deepwater markets that
utilise hydraulic fracturing. When developing this connection
with high pressure gas tight capability, a no compromise
approach was mandatory since safety and well integrity were
primary concerns.
During the development of the connection, finite element
analysis (FEA) was used extensively, resulting in a product
Wendell Bassarath and Vincent
Flores, Vallourec, USA, review
the benefits of gas tight
connections and premium grade
steel in extreme drilling
conditions.
STEELING FOR THE
EXTREME
