Jan. 12, 2010


Description

Dual gradient (DG) drilling techniques are not new to the industry; pump-and-dump drilling is the simplest example of this. The benefits of dual gradient drilling have long been recognized, especially for deepwater applications. But those benefits have yet to be realized. Impediments to the adoption of this technique boil down to the practical difficulties of introducing a stable and controllable second density into the well while maintaining well control and overall system reliability. 
 
Among the many deepwater drilling challenges that operators face, narrow margins between pore/collapse pressure and fracture pressure push well designers into complicated, and costly, wellbore geometries with numerous casing strings and tight clearances. And while setting a string of pipe may case off one set of problems, it may very well introduce or exacerbate another set of problems in the hole section(s) below. Additionally, each time that drilling is interrupted to case the hole, the operator incurs the material cost and “flat time” spread rate cost for running pipe, plus faces decreased options for running additional casing strings or liners below that point.
 

Dual gradient drilling’s big appeal is that it may allow the elimination of one or more casing strings, providing obvious operational and financial benefits.  Much effort has been expended trying to achieve that goal; however, the practical hurdles have proven significant. Dilution-based dual gradient drilling provides a promising alternative to previous DG techniques, mainly because the system relies upon existing technologies, or extensions thereof, and has all of its major components above the water line. 

The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of dual gradient fundamentals and DG techniques already attempted or proposed, as well as an introduction to dilution-based dual gradient technology. 

Please register prior to the event to facilitate improved planning and admission. Walk-ins will be accepted on a first come/ first serve basis as space allows.
 
If you have special dietary needs, please email the event coordinator with your requests PRIOR to arrival at the event.
 
Thank you.
 
Parking: Use Contract Entrance. Push button on kiosk and tell security that you are with the SPE Northside Study Group in the Greenspoint Club.

Featured Speakers

Speaker Paul Boudreau

Senior Drilling Engineer
BHP Billiton
Paul Boudreau is a senior drilling engineer presently working as a consultant for BHP Billiton in their deepwater GoM operations. He began his oilfield career as a deckhand on a McDermott derrick barge in 1976 while still attending LSU, where he received a BS in Petroleum Engineering in …

Senior Drilling Engineer
BHP Billiton
Paul Boudreau is a senior drilling engineer presently working as a consultant for BHP Billiton in their deepwater GoM operations. He began his oilfield career as a deckhand on a McDermott derrick barge in 1976 while still attending LSU, where he received a BS in Petroleum Engineering in 1980. Upon graduation, he began work as a drilling engineer for Esso Exploration in Houston, working on projects in Brazil, Egypt, the UK, and Australia. In 1988, he left Esso and took a four-year hiatus from drilling. He moved up to Austin, TX, where he started and later sold a small furniture-making shop. 

 


Since 1992, Boudreau has stayed busy as a consultant drilling engineer, working as an office-based drilling engineer and rig-based engineer/supervisor for a handful of operators mainly in Australia, S.E. Asia, Trinidad, and, more recently, the deepwater GoM. 
 


His last two assignments have been with BP and BHP. At BP, he worked in the Special Operations Group within the Atlantis Wells Delivery Team. While there, he devised an alternate, rig-friendly method of achieving a free-standing drilling marine riser. At BHP, Boudreau was recently the well engineer for the Neptune SB02 development well drilled with the C.R. Luigs drillship, and is now doing initial planning for a Vietnam jack-up campaign. 


Besides working as a consultant drilling engineer, Boudreau is also a partner in Dual Gradient Systems, LLC, a company founded by Luc DeBoer to promote DG drilling and provide DG services and engineering consultancy. 


Full Description



Organizer

Bernard Franklin


Date and Time

Tue, Jan. 12, 2010

11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
(GMT-0500) US/Central

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Location

Greenspoint Club

16925 Northchase Dr.
Houston, TX 77060