The TIW XPak Expandable Liner Hanger System is designed to run with standard liner applications and incorporates industry-proven expandable technology to provide a liner top anchor/sealing device unmatched in the industry. The TIW XPak system is used anywhere a robust liner top seal is needed or where a slimhole design is required to mitigate ECD issues. The TIW system has been used on land and offshore around the world from the U.S. and Canada to the Middle East and North Sea.
The unique design of the TIW XPak System allows a relatively short expanded section to provide a pressure differential rating equal to the well bore casing design and a hanging load capacity equal to or greater than conventional liner hangers. The slim profile, with no external parts, allows an increased bypass area in most sizes.
The TIW XPak Liner System is manufactured from standard OCTG material and can match most casing grades. The system is also available in CRA material.
The Ultimate Liner Top Seal
The expandable section of the hanger generally ranges from 16 to 24 inches in length. Dovetailed slips provide high load capacity and the combination of metal to metal seal with elastomer back up seals after expansion provide a high pressure gas tight seal at the liner top.
The expander mandrel is left in place after expansion and provides full support across the expanded tube which eliminates the low collapse rating associated with other expandable systems.
Benefits
• High torque capabilities for rotation and/or drill down operations
• Manufactured from standard OCTG material
• High pressure integrity equal to casing design
• High load capability with ability to support long liners
Applications
• Deepwater
• Drilling with liner
• Extended Reach
• HP/HT
• Lost Circulation
• Multi-Stage Cementing
• Ream
• Multi-Stage Fracturing
TIW XPak System Hanger Packer
To overcome the limitations of elastomers in high temperatures, TIW has developed an expandable liner hanger packer, the XPak, which creates a metal-to-metal seal between the liner hanger and the casing where the packer is being set. Expansion is provided with a hydraulic tool that exerts a tremendous amount of force and stretches the steel tube until it contacts the outer casing. “The packer is similar to solid expandable technology in the setting method, but it provides a much more reliable seal, holds higher pressures and can operate in higher temperatures than conventional rubber compression-set packers,” he explained. “It is ideal for extreme environments.” An elastomer installed in the packer serves a secondary seal.
Liner hanger packers, installed permanently in the well as part of the liner hanger assembly commonly used in cased holes, are increasingly being used to achieve greater well integrity and for cost efficiency, according to Terry Howard, Director of Technical Support and Training for TIW, a provider of custom-engineered drilling and completions equipment for the oil and gas industry. “Back in the 1980s, liner-top packers were run on about 20% of liners installed in wells,” he said. “Today, they are used 80% to 90% of the time.”
In many cases, operators are running the packer as standard equipment with the liner to avoid having to install one later in case of a poor cement job. “In the past, operators chose not to run the packer with the liner. However, if the top of the liner did not test well after the cement was pumped, they had to suspend operations and go back in with the packer, which involves extra days and rig time and more trips in and out of the hole,” Mr Howard said. “It comes down to overall cost, and being preemptive saves money in the long run.”
Deeper wells and higher pressures and temperatures have been drivers for improving the strength and capabilities of liner hanger packers. “Thirty years ago, a liner-top packer that would hold 5,000 differential strength was considered top of the line,” he noted. “Today, we’re at 10,000 psi and looking to go to 15,000 psi.”
TIW’s liner hanger packers are used globally, but deepwater is a key market as customers see the importance of having the additional seal, he continued. “Customers also want liner-top packers to be more robust in terms of how much pressure they will hold at increasingly higher temperatures,” Mr Howard said. “The temperature ceiling is typically around 400°F, but we have seen environments as high as 450°F, and some operators are predicting 500°F.”
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