Schlumberger Oilfield Services has introduced the CT TComp coiled tubing total compensation system for the Gulf of Mexico and other offshore areas.
The CT TComp system protects wellhead integrity during coiled tubing operations by limiting wellhead stresses, and it compensates for vertical and horizontal wellhead motion inside or outside the derrick. It is faster to rig up than conventional systems, and it enables operations on floaters, including spars, TLPs, semisubmersibles, and drillships, that might not be possible with conventional systems, the company says.
To develop this new system, Schlumberger conducted a two-year field study that included over 5,000 hours of operational data to identify efficiency and safety issues that could be addressed by improving compensation equipment design and packaging. The study showed that 13-16% of the average 87 hr required for the rig-up and rig-down process could be eliminated, enabling significant savings.
"Based on our research, we saw the need to design a system that would change the way deepwater coiled tubing operations are conducted," Warren Zemlak, business development manager of Coiled Tubing, Schlumberger Oilfield Services, says. "To improve operational safety and efficiency, the system comes pre-assembled and is available in three operating modes."
The CT TComp system can be used as a motion-compensated jacking frame, a 350-ton tension-lift frame, or an internally compensated tension-lift frame. It comes assembled in three skids: one each for the hydraulic power unit, BOP, and injector. The system requires fewer than half the minimum number of lifts required to load conventional equipment onto the platform, the company says.
The BOPs, flow cross, sidewinder, side-door stripper injector, and gooseneck are delivered to the platform pre-assembled within frames, in contrast with conventional systems that require each of those pieces to be assembled on site. The Schlumberger Coil Tubing team can assemble the CT TComp system in about four hours.
Virtually every feature of the CT TComp system is designed to save time and reduce costs in deepwater coiled tubing operations, the company says, including an adaptive passive system for wellhead stress management, a titanium flex joint for horizontal wellhead movement, and an injector trolley system and winches to permit simultaneous operations.
