Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Pragma has introduced what it claims is the oil and gas sector’s first 3D metal printed, ultra-high expansion bridge plug.
The patented M-Bubble bridge plug has completed final laboratory tests and should undergo field trials by the end of this year 2020.
Pragma is initially targeting P&A and water shut-off applications, describing M-Bubble as a “lower cost, fast-turnaround, permanent plugging solution, with a high (3,000-psi) pressure differential capability.”
According to the company, the plug can be set without additional cement, saving both rig and waiting-on-cement time, delivering savings especially in deeper, extended-reach wells.
It is also said to provide barrier integrity reassurance in cases involving a potentially poor cement bond or cement channeling occurring on the high side of deviated wells.
A 2.625-in. OD plug can be run through a 3.5-in. tubing string, navigate internal restrictions, and then be expanded into a compliant shape within a 7-in. casing, the company added.
It is designed to suit industry-standard mechanical or pyrotechnic setting tools, run on slickline, electric line or coiled tubing.
Stuart Cowen, Pragma’s technical sales manager, said: “The next stage [in the development] is the addition of slips, to achieve ISO 14310:2008 V3 rating. The V3 trials will also test the internal mechanism that makes the plug retrievable, which is currently disabled for cost-effective P&A deployments.
“Introducing retrievable plugs will extend the product capability to zonal isolation applications and temporary water shut-off in horizontal wells. Retrofit high expansion solutions for slimmer 3.5-in. completions are also required by operators to extend the life of wells and fields where surface production facilities might be unable to cope with increasing water production longer term.”
11/19/2020
