Interwell has developed a unique extreme expansion bridge plug for the oil and gas industry. This is a demonstration of the HEX Bridge Plug to be used in different applications such as Water Shut Off and Reservoir Well Intervention.
Product Description
The High Expansion Retrievable Bridge Plug (HEX) is ideally suited as a line barrier for workover operations, avoiding unnecessary well-kill operations that often result in nearby wellbore reservoir damage.
The High Expansion Retrievable Bridge Plug (HEX), is the most versatile mechanical plug on the market. It has been designed to pass through extremely narrow wellbore restrictions (such as valves, nipples and straddles) and set in larger ID casing. Ideally suited as a liner barrier for workover operations, the HEX avoids unnecessary well kill operations that often result in near wellbore reservoir damage.
The latest HEX plug design is part of a wider suite of specialised Interwell tools. The HEX range dates back 17 years in different formats is well known throughout the industry for its small running OD and large expansion.
The ultra-slim design enables deployment and retrieval through narrow wellbore restrictions without the risks associated with inflatable packers. Efficiency is further enhanced by HEX plugs taking just one run to set and one to retrieve. The HEX portfolio has a wide range of plugs.
The innovative packer module includes petal-style backups which retain the single-piece elastomer and provide a tight radial barrier against the casing ID. During the HEX setting sequence the plug slips and a special adapter kit ensures centralisation of the plug prior to element expansion/compression.
Inflatable packers/plugs on the other hand have proven themselves in horizontal applications. Temperature and time are the inflatable packer’s worst enemy and fluctuation in the packer setting pressure causes problems after a packer is set. HEX bridge plug has been tested to differential pressures up to 275 bar (4,000 psi)* at temperatures up to 110°C (230°F)* and is qualified in accordance with the ISO 14310:2008 international standard up to validation grade V0.
Product Application
Product Features
•Highest expansion retrievable bridge plug on the market
•Centralising adapter kit ensuring centralization of the sealing element when setting plug
•Short tool length
•Ideal for workover applications: tubing barrier, packer for injection valve, fixed choke etc.
•Slim design (small OD)
•Equalise and retrieve with standard GS in a single operation (no prong required)
•Can be run on slickline, e-line, coiled tubing and pipe
•Other sizes available on request
Case Study: Deep-set HEX in Gulf of Mexico
Date: December 2015
Region/Field: US/Deepwater GoM
Challenge
The client’s deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico was producing fines from unidentified sources. The operator required a thru-tubing Retrievable Bridge Plug as a deep set barrier to enable integrity testing of the tieback liner. But with tight restrictions, formation pressure of 16,200 psi, temperature of 195F, measured depth of 21,695 ft., and lots of debris and potential for getting stuck, it was a challenge to find a suitable solution.
Solution
The client chose Interwell’s 180-350 HEX due to the clearance around the neck and for the open area that allows fines and debris to fall down around the plug. Due to the challenging well conditions it was crucial for the client to be able to mill over or fish out the plug, in the occurrence it wouldn’t release on slickline or coiled tubing.
Interwell set the HEX plug on e-line using the 2.7” High Pressure Hydrostatic Setting Unit (HSU) with no downtime. The client pressured up to 2,500 psi on top of the HEX plug to test their tieback liner and then bled off pressure slowly to perform a negative test and test their formation.
Within 48 hours, Interwell rigged up the 1.5” GS Pulling tool and in two attempts retrieved the HEX plug on slickline – not a simple task considering the challenging well environment.
Value Created
In many wells in the Gulf of Mexico it is still common practice for operators to use composite or castiron bridge plugs (CIBP) with cement on top to temporarily abandon wells. Many operators continue with this costly, time-consuming operation even though many companies offer thru-tubing plugs.
Interwell successfully retrieved the HEX plug in 12 hours with slickline, saving the client over US$500k in rig time. Coiled tubing was standing by as a contingency but was not required – an operation estimated to take over 24 hours.
“This [plug retrieval] was highlighted as one of the highest risk points of the operation. Mechanical failures, delivery issues, solids, pressure etc., all could have created situations difficult to recover from in the wellbore. Recovering the plug gets the operations past a major hurdle” GoM Operator said.
About Interwell
Interwell provides oil and gas field lifecycle solutions for upstream energy companies worldwide. It offers drilling and completion products, including bridge plug solutions, bridge plugs, crown plugs/tubing hangers, circulation valves, data acquisition systems, reservoir and flow assurance products, and reservoir stimulation systems; and intervention and RLWI products, which include plugs and packers, straddle solutions, data acquisition solutions, and setting and retrieving tools. The company also provides unconventional, and plug and abandonment (P&A) solutions.
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