January 2016
Oilfield Technology |
61
D
rillstem testing (DST) is one of the oldest methods of
determining a formation’s capability to produce hydrocarbons
in exploratory wells and is critical for future production
planning, identification of oil and gas characteristics, and assessing
the financial and commercial viability of the tested asset.
Significant changes and challenges have impacted the
exploration and testing market in recent years. Adding to the
challenges, the market has moved into deeper and more hostile
environments like deepwater and HP/HT environments. To
provide proper solutions to these markets, testing technology
has been evolving to develop technical solutions that address the
requirements of these new scenarios and offer the capability to
operate in more demanding conditions. Technology innovations
enable testing tools to operate efficiently and deliver cost
optimisation and operational safety, which is paramount in today’s
testing arena. Several strategies have been enacted, such as the
ability to minimise the use of wireline during testing operations and
a reduction in the application of annulus pressure to activate tools.
The first challenge: ultra-high pressure
environments
Several drivers have resulted in the growing number of
high-pressure tested wells, which have increasingly shifted to
include more extreme conditions. During previous years, the
HOSTILE TESTING
ENVIRONMENTS
Edgar Almanza, Halliburton, USA,
explores technical solutions
to the challenges encountered
during increasingly hazardous
drilling operations.
