Weatherford develops new Sakhalin-ready retainer, bridge plug

Offshore staff

HOUSTON – Weatherford International plc has announced the development and deployment of a cement retainer and bridge plug for use in wells in Sakhalin Island, Russia.

After identifying a need for a higher-performance cement retainer and bridge plug to provide isolation inSakhalin wells, a major operator in Sakhalin Island contacted Weatherford to develop a technology that reliably meets new, more stringent, industry standards. Its engineering team then enhanced an existing, proven proprietary design, and then conducted testing of the new retainer and bridge plug according to American Petroleum Institute Specification 11D1. The new design achieved the desired V3 rating. 

The company says that the resulting downhole tool is one of few on the market qualified for use in Sakhalin wells, meaning that it has been tested at the pressures, temperatures, and geometries expected throughout the service life of the tool. After pressure testing the tool, Weatherford performed further surface qualification testing to demonstrate that the cement retainer could be easily and reliably drilled with a milled-tooth rock bit.

All testing was completed at its Research & Development, Engineering, Technology and Training Center in Houston.

The cement retainer and bridge plug is among several completion technologies Weatherford says is fully qualified for deployment in Sakhalin wells.

03/07/2017