Following the sharp fall in oil prices it has become increasingly important for Operators to optimise costs and maximise production. Leading international oilfield services company, Expro, is partnering with customers to deliver cost-effective, innovative solutions to meet these challenges.

To avoid coiled tubing interventions, Expro has developed a pressure-activated toe sliding sleeve for use in high pressure/high temperature wells. This technology was specifically invented for the horizontal wellbore where the staging of operations is key in minimizing standby times; hence maximizing efficiencies. The Expro toe sleeve allows wells to be batch drilled and completed prior to fracking operations.

In one recent North American project, the technology was successfully applied in extreme well bore conditions. Engineering simulations indicated that Expro’s toe sliding sleeve would hold up to 90 days at a downhole temperature of 320˚F, operating at ~19,000 psi absolute pressure. The toe sleeve was successfully opened within the expected applied pressure range, 40 days after being deployed and cemented in the well.

With more than 700 applications over the past two years, this solution delivers key savings for operators and improves safety by reducing or eliminating wireline intervention services and personnel required on location.

Another costly non-production time event was avoided in the Gulf of Mexico through the use of Expro’s 360 degree ViewMax well intervention camera. After the client experienced a work string failure whilst milling cement, the camera was used to confirm the integrity and sealing surfaces of the wellhead/tubing spool. On inspection of the results from ViewMax, the operator decided not to pull the tubing spool to retrieve the debris, saving $10m+ and valuable rig time during the well completion. The camera has also been successfully applied in deepwater riser/BOP inspection, in one instance saving $1.5m through the avoidance of future well interventions.

Expro’s innovative SONAR meters offer companies the opportunity to measure production rates on a well by well basis. Clamp on and non-intrusive, they can be installed quickly and without production shut down. This offers cost effective individual well surveillance; an important aspect when managing existing well stock, maximising existing production and targeting wells for intervention in a timely manner.

With over 2000 individual well test performed using this technology, across a diverse range of well and reservoir types, SONAR meters can be used in a range of applications. This includes routine well testing on naturally flowing wells, performing optimisation of electrical submersible pumped wells or supporting gas lift optimisation.

In addition to routine production testing and production allocation, the SONAR meter is gaining industry acceptance in supporting well intervention operations, validating pre/post intervention production rates, or allowing for well site real time analysis during the intervention. Expro provides this in combination with our well intervention services including; gas well deliquification, re-perforating, zonal isolation, surface calibration for PLT and coil tubing nitrogen lift operations.

Mark Enget, Vice President – North America, comments:
“I’m delighted to see that our technology, expertise and customer service is helping key operators in the region to maximise production with cost-effective solutions. In challenging times for the industry, we remain focused on partnering with clients to increase profitability and production.”

Expro will be exhibiting at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston at booth 3933 from 4-7 May 2015. In combination with a full schedule of technical presentations, Expro will feature a range of integrated products and services: www.exprogroup.com/OTC

A propos d'Expro

Expro’s mission is well flow management. We provide services and products that measure, improve, control and process flow from high-value oil and gas wells, from exploration and appraisal through to mature field production optimisation and enhancement.