Case study: Mexico

Integrated Well Services drills record
HP/HT offshore exploratory well 33
days faster than plan, sets new metric
An operator needed to drill adelimiting offshore well through thelargest length of a salt dome in theregion to evaluate the potential
reservoir and expand oil production.
The high-pressure/high-temperature(HP/HT) well, a key component of theoperator’s overall field production,measured approximately 23,786 ft(7250 m) and carried with it theinherent challenges of salt creeping,saltwater influx, and unexpected wellcontrol events.
Initially, the operator contractedcompetitors, but every other company
could not successfully navigate thecomplex field. Competitors constantly
encountered operational issues,
forcing multiple sidetrack operations,and exceeding the agreed-upon wellplan. The operator knew similar wells—
involving the running and cementingof 9⅞-in. casing through 10,334 ft(3150 m) of open hole and 8,858 ft(2700 m) of salt—could be completed
faster and with fewer complications,and reached out to Baker Hughes fora viable solution.

Aligning the well plan
Drawing on a prior relationship, theoperator and the Baker Hughes
Integrated Well Services (IWS) teamstudied the challenges associatedwith the risk of stuck pipe, well control,
and poor well integrity, and developed
possible solutions to improve drilling
performance. To guide the planning,
the teams used the RiskGuard™
analysis and risk management
solution, a methodology andcomprehensive program for drilling,logging, running, and cementing
casings, and then selected the optimal
Baker Hughes technologies according
to the challenges of the well.
The teams studied formationgeomechanics to determine thecorrect fluid density. The Baker Hughes
Reservoir Technical Services teamevaluated the technical andsubsurface risks and created a
mitigation plan for each stage of theoperation, taking advantage of thelatest technologies and fit-forpurpose processes and procedures.

Designing the solution
To quickly and reliably determine thetop of the salt, Baker Hughes
recommended the ZoneTrak™ G nearbit gamma service, which also canidentify formation changes while
drilling and allows proper selection of
the casing setting depths.

Challenges• Drill new well through large salt dome
• Drive operational and cost efficiency
to best competitor’s attempts• Minimize health, safety andenvironmental (HSE) issues and NPTResults• Drilled and completed 23,786 ft(7250 m) of HP/HT well in record time
• Saved 33 days of rig time and rigcosts, approximately $2.4 million USD• Eliminated 11⅞-in. casing and 5½-in.
liner and associated costs• Experienced no HSE issues, NPT, ormajor operations issues

With an eye to reducing the overall
trips, the bottomhole assembly would
be anchored by the ruggedDynamus™ extended-life drill bits,
designed for long life in extreme
conditions. The AutoTrak™ eXact highbuild-up rate rotary steerable systemwith LWD combined with the CoPilot™
real-time drilling optimization
service would accelerate well delivery
time while delivering excellent holeconditions prior to the casing run. The
EZCase™ casing bit system and thehigh-capacity casing running tool
would enable the casing tosuccessfully reach the bottom. To
ensure well integrity, the teams

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agreed to perform the cement job intwo phases.

Executing with predictableperformance
Field personnel from Baker Hughes
and the operator executed the wellplan. The integrated remote
operations center with 24x7
surveillance and real-time alerts andrecommendations provided support
for the offshore operation and ensured
continuity of the operation. The alerts
and communications helped optimize
the overall project across multiple
product lines, including petrophysical,
geomechanical, directional, bits, fluids,wireline, tubular, and cementing.

With all aspects of the operation inalignment, the well was drilled 33 days
faster than the plan, an estimated$2.4 million USD in direct savings. TheBaker Hughes solution also came in
100 days faster than the competitor’s
offset well, making this operation thefastest in the entire field. The
optimization of the casing
configuration eliminated the need foran 11⅞-in. casing and 5½-in. liner,
further reducing costs.
Significantly for the operator, thebalanced approach of the Baker
Hughes solution encountered no wellcontrol events and eliminatedoperational issues. The formation

evaluation data was acquired per thewell plan, and there was effective
hydraulic isolation on every
casing string.
By aligning every aspect of theoperation—internal and externalstakeholders, remote operations, realtime monitoring strategy—theoperator completed the well in record
time with no major nonproductive time(NPT) events. The results of thisflawless operation delivered
predictable performance, and theoperator is expected to assign themost complex wells to Baker Hughes.

The Baker Hughes IWS team successfully coordinated the drilling and completion of a challenging
well, coming in 33 days earlier than the well plan, and substantially faster than the competitor’soffset well.

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