Cementing Excellence-in-Execution: Contributes to Well Integrity on Myanmar's M9 Block Appraisal Wells
Authors: Olutimehin Kunle , Duong Anh , Voon Eric , Vinaipanit Manavit , Phong Vu Thanh , Rattanachan Sarit , Khoat Le Hai , Awalludin B.N 
Published: March 2016

In August 2014, PTTEP International started an appraisal drilling campaign in M9 block offshore Myanmar. The scope of work was 10 wells to be drilled using a moored semi-submersible rig. The purpose of these wells was to further firm-up the hydrocarbon potential of the field and also to find additional reserves within the Zawtika gas prospect to support field development plans which included platform installations in future project phases 1B & 1C. Therefore, ensuring integrity and proper well isolation for drilling, testing and well abandonment purposes was of critical importance. Maintaining operational integrity and surface efficiency is also highly required considering the challenging conditions typical of any remote location like Myanmar.

Offshore project management in Myanmar is quite challenging. Many operators find that the far distances from out-of-country support facilities and load-out points to well locations make logistics a critical success factor with huge potential to affect cost and key performance indicators. In this project, the requirement from fast-drilling and high frequency of cement jobs it was important to eliminate any issues arising from design and preparation. One of main technical challenges was overcoming the risk of lost circulation. The top-hole operation required the dual 30? × 13-3/8? casing with both annuli being cemented in single operation and achieving cement returns to seabed.

For operation integrity, a project support model has been set up to manage and achieve flawless service delivery starting with a comprehensive Project Readiness Assessment (PRA) tool enabling full analysis of all requirements: technical engineering, project logistics coordination necessary between bases in Thailand and Myanmar, detailed materials preparation & load-out procedure, equipment maintenance procedure, and communication protocol. During the project, deepwater operation integrity management tools were deployed to manage processes as per standard for every single cement job to satisfy design, execution and evaluation requirements. As a result, 10 out of 10 wells in M9A project have been delivered to expectation without any operational failure or cementing-related non-productive time. To maintain equivalent circulating density within limits imposed by formation properties, all primary casing cement slurries were pumped at densities below 15.0ppg, including gas-tight slurries where necessary. To mitigate the risks of loss circulation across the critical intermediate formations, a proprietary, new fiber-based LCM technology was introduced and deployed successfully, notably for the first time in Myanmar.

The Appraisal campaign has been completed in May 2015 with all wells successfully drilled and abandonment barriers installed without any annulus communication incident, well barrier leak or regulatory-recordable HSE or well integrity issue. The project is a real example of team work between the operator and service company, application of fit-for-purpose solutions, and use of transformative quality management initiatives to achieve successful delivery of an oilfield project.