NORSOK (the competitive standing of the Norwegian sector), as most know, is the industry initiative to add value, reduce cost and lead time, and eliminate unnecessary activities in offshore field developments and operations.
The NORSOK-010 Rev. 4 Standard document defines requirements and guidelines regarding well integrity in drilling and well activities. It defines well integrity as the “application of technical, operational, and organizational solutions to reduce risk of uncontrolled release of formation fluids throughout the life cycle of a well.” The NORSOK standard focuses on establishing well barriers by use of well-barrier elements in conjunction with their acceptance criteria, their use, and monitoring of integrity during their life cycle. Further, it defines a well-barrier element as a physical element that in itself does not prevent flow but, in combination with other well-barrier elements, forms a well barrier.
The standard focuses strongly on the establishment of well barriers and well-barrier elements and on how these are accepted and monitored to prevent loss of well integrity that ultimately could lead to a loss in wellbore-fluid containment.
The general principle of the two-barrier concept is that two well barriers should be in place at all times to ensure the provision of well integrity. In the drilling phase, the primary well barrier is typically the fluid column. Secondary well-barrier elements can be the in-situ formation, casing cement, casing, wellhead, high-pressure riser, or drilling blowout preventer.
Wellbore tubulars are integral to providing these barriers, whether they form the conduit for the primary barrier (the fluid column) within the well, such as the drillpipe, or comprise the well-barrier element such as casing or other tubulars associated with drilling, completion, production, intervention, or even abandonment. The roles of the wellbore tubulars in delivering continued well integrity are diverse and critical and are congruent throughout the life of the well.
Because of limited space, the papers included in this section summarize the critical elements that wellbore tubulars offer to enable well integrity throughout the life of the well. These papers touch on the applications and evaluation of tubulars. The extended-reading references further explore various applications and evaluation techniques to assist readers in expanding their wellbore-tubulars knowledge toolbox.
We all strive to deliver quality well construction and production to our industry. Therefore, the reader is encouraged to search further within the industry’s technical-paper and -article archives to explore additional aspects of wellbore tubulars, and the tools and techniques that are currently available to apply them responsibly, and critique their integrity.
This Month's Technical Papers
Wire-Drillpipe Technology in a Deep Ultradepleted Reservoir
Liner-Drilling Technology Mitigates Lost Circulation Offshore Mexico
Thermal/Stress-Loading Analysis for Tubulars in HP/HT Wells
Recommended Additional Reading
SPE/IADC 168008 Rotating Casing Strings: Overview of Fatigue-Assessment Methodology Based on Full-Scale Laboratory Testing and Application Case Histories by G. Rodriguez Jordan, Tenaris, et al.
SPE/IADC 167999 Modeling Method To Estimate the Casing Wear Caused by Vibrational Impacts of the Drillstring by Robello Samuel, Halliburton, et al.
SPE 165671 Expandable-Solid-Steel-Liner Applications in the Marcellus by J.R. Cameron, Enventure Global Technology, et al.
Pat York, SPE, is global director with Well Engineering and Project Management for Weatherford. He has been in the oil and gas industry for 42 years. York has been involved in drilling-hazard management since 2005 and with solid-expandable technology since its global implementation in 1998. Since 2004, he has collaborated with clients on complex drilling and completion projects. Throughout his career, York has served in several management, business-development, and operational roles, as well as executive management in the solid-expandable and drilling-hazard-mitigation arenas. Before joining Weatherford, he was the vice president of commercialization for Enventure Global Technology. York has authored or coauthored more than 30 technical papers and articles and several chapters in industry technical books and textbooks. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering technology from Northwestern State University. York is a member of the JPT Editorial Committee.