Halliburton Sets World Record in the Gulf of Mexico, Again; HES Sand Control Completion Record Bests Record Set Earlier This Year
The East Anstey Well, located in 6,780 feet of water, was treated at a maximum rate of 50 barrels per minute (bpm) to place 239,000 lb of proppant. The rate of 50 bpm is higher than Halliburton's previous frac pack record of 45 bpm achieved earlier this year.
Using pretreatment information, the initial design specified 50 bpm and 150,000 pounds of proppant with an injection pressure of 7,000 pounds per square inch (psi). Real time diagnostic testing determined that a 67 percent increase in proppant volume to 250,000 pounds and more than double the fluid volume were needed to effectively stimulate the prolific pay zone to help realize its production potential. The capabilities of the Stim Star III's proppant handling and fluid systems allowed the pumping design to be modified on the fly with no downtime.
The Stim Star III conducted the rig up operations, pretreatment diagnostics and the stimulation treatment all while utilizing dynamic positioning to eliminate mooring time and minimize time lost due to weather conditions. Halliburton's Wellstream provided a one-of-a-kind 5-inch, 15,000 psi flexible hose, enabling the faster-than-ever rate using a single hose from the vessel to the rig to save time and simplify rig operations.
Downhole, other factors were critical to the success of in the treatment. The VersaTrieve FracPac service tool showed very little discernible wear following the treatment and the ShurShot fluid loss device allowed no sustained fluid loss.
These efficiencies provided by Halliburton in conjunction with the efforts of the operator and other service contractors enabled this project to beat Shell's fastest subsea completion time by 4.5 percent without a single Health/Safety/Environment incident while coming in 13 percent below budget.
This new record comes on the heels of Halliburton completing the industry's first two-boat frac pack sand control treatment in approximately 4,400 feet of water for Shell's Crosby project in the Gulf of Mexico. The capabilities of Stim Star and Stim Star II enabled HES to overcome several challenges to complete the project, including handling 258,000 pounds of proppant at 45 bpm with pressures up to 13,200 psi, and the need to integrate each vessel's data acquisition and control systems to work as one system with redundancy.
"This record performance results from our commitment to develop technologies and processes that help meet operators' requirements for maximum reservoir performance," said David King, HES vice president, Production Enhancement. "We look forward to working closely with operators to meet future performance challenges, safely and effectively."
Halliburton Energy Services provides products, services, and integrated solutions for oil and gas exploration, development, and production. Capabilities range from initial evaluation of producing formations to drilling, completion, stimulation, and well maintenance - for a single well or an entire field. With more than 300 service centers in over 90 countries, Halliburton Energy Services possesses the global perspective that is increasingly important for energy exploration and production.
Halliburton, founded in 1919, is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the petroleum and energy industries. The company serves its customers with a broad range of products and services through its Energy Services Group and Engineering and Construction Group business segments. The company's World Wide Web site can be accessed at www.halliburton.com.
CONTACT: Halliburton Public Relations, Houston Zelma Branch, 713/676-4371