Fluid temperature control specialist OSSO has been awarded a contract by global E&P independent operator Neptune Energy to deploy its high volume mud cooler and AutoCUL technology
Destined for the Seagull campaign in the UK Central North Sea, the technology is expected to allow the operator to manage the field’s high bottom hole temperatures.
The HPHT Seagull development has one of the North Sea’s highest downhole circulation temperatures of up to 330°F, making drilling very challenging due to reduced lifespan and accuracy of downhole drilling and logging tools, thus enabling the operator to avoid delays and reduce trips out of hole which add both time and costs to operations thus reducing efficiency.
AutoCUL is expected to enable Neptune Energy to actively manage the mud cooler usage and downhole temperature to preserve tool life as the technology maintains a consistent mud temperature. This prevents any risk of overcooling the mud system, which, in turn, eliminates the risk of thermal fracturing in the well which can cause costly delays.
John Dick, business development director at OSSO commented, “Downhole drilling on a project such as this is no mean feat. This is one of the North Sea’s major high pressure and high temperature projects and we’ve seen a lot more of these over the years as engineering has advanced, enabling enhanced reservoir production. We understand that the cooling of drilling fluid is an essential operational and safety priority when it comes to drilling high pressure/high temperature wells. This is why we have redesigned our mud cooling technology to reduce these burdens and costly delays.”
The solution will be deployed in Q1 2021 and will be operational into 2022. All the equipment will be installed on the rig this month for a duration of 500 days.
