AADE Houston IETG Meeting 10/22/20

Location: Virtual Meeting via Zoom

 

 

Program Topic: “Managed Pressure Drilling”

 

 

 

To achieve the goals of a cementing operation, preventing fluid losses during slurry placement is generally necessary when implementing a cost-effective cement design. Achieving an effective zonal isolation behind the casing or liner wall is intimately related to preventing losses toward the formation as well as flow from it during and after the cement circulation. When cementing a casing or liner string within limited open-hole pressure margins, maintaining the bottom hole circulating pressure below the fracture gradient is not feasible in most cases when using conventional methods. The ability to control the well pressure profile with precision provided by modern Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) systems, has emerged in recent years as an alternative to solve the problem of cementing efficiently within tight margins in deepwater wells. This presentation will provide definitions related to the MPC subject, an overview of these applications, a summary of the engineering approach and calculations, and the results obtained during these cementing operations in challenging wells of GOM.

 

Juan Valecillos is a Mechanical Engineer with more than 16 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He specializes in MPD and UBD engineering and operations after working over 12 years with these technologies throughout the Latin America, Middle East and North America regions within the Weatherford MPD division.

Juan’s roles within Weatherford has ranged from field engineering, project management and project engineering, holding the project engineer positions for the past 6 years based in Houston Texas. In this position he works with the engineering planning and operations support for land and Deepwater projects within the North America region and different Weatherford’s Geozones globally.

 

 

Maersk Drilling has extensive and somewhat unique experience of running high profile deep-water MPD operations for various Clients around the world. Among these unique operations following campaigns can be highlighted;

With more deep-water MPD operations on the horizon in SEA, Australia and Mexico Maersk Drilling will continue to embrace MPD technology as a tool to drill safe and more efficiently following our Smarter Drilling for Better Value strategy.

 

Louis Scavone has worked in the industry over the last 26 years as a field engineer, rig hand, Operations Manager and, in his latest capacity, as Drilling Solutions Manager for the Americas region for Maersk Drilling. He began his career as a graduate from Louisiana State University with a Petroleum Engineering degree, joining an American based drilling contractor. These early years were spent working offshore in various drilling positions, which culminated as Toolpusher, before being promoted in to shore based management. He has managed both semisubmersibles and drill ships in the Americas and Australasia, from 2nd and 3rd gen moored semis to 7th gen drillships. Louis has always been excited about technology and has been a strong supporter of innovation within the drilling industry. Privileged to have been involved in an early JIP for dual gradient drilling and the use of mud lift technology (circa early 2000’s), as well as its second iteration here in the US GOM in 2014, he has been an avid believer in the benefits and advantages managed pressure drilling offers today’s operators and drilling contractors.