Halliburton Energy Services' Sperry-Sun product service line announced the global commercialization of its GeoTap logging-while-drilling (LWD) formation pressure tester. The LWD sensor provides operators with wireline-quality, reservoir pore pressure data for drilling and formation evaluation applications to help operators maximize reservoir deliverability. Halliburton Energy Services is a business unit of Halliburton.
The GeoTap formation pressure tester underwent extensive field and pre-commercial testing with 10 operators worldwide and performed successfully in a variety of lithologies at depths greater than 29,000 ft and with deviations up to 104° inclination. Phil Longorio, vice president for Halliburton, Sperry-Sun, called the technology an advance in formation testing.
"The ability to accurately and precisely measure formation pore pressure during the drilling process helps improve drilling safety and efficiency," he said.
The GeoTap LWD formation tester obtains direct pore pressure measurements in seven to ten minutes using a wireline-type probe and pad and precision quartz pressure sensor. The device allows multiple tests to be performed in a single drilling run with reported accuracy to within 1% of comparable wireline technology. The LWD tester is surface controllable by the Geo-Span real-time/two-way communication downlink system. The Geo-Span service has operated both the GeoTap LWD formation tester and the Geo-Pilot rotary steerable system in the Gulf of Mexico.
Interpretative software originally designed for Halliburton's wireline formation pressure tester enables the GeoTap tester to identify formation fluid types by means of pressure gradient profiling, determining the gas/oil/water contacts within the reservoir in real time and accelerating the completion planning process. By measuring formation pressure response, the sensor can also estimate permeability and fluid mobility.
"Combining the technology synergies, resources, and expertise within Halliburton and Sperry-Sun enables our customers to obtain critical reservoir data during the drilling process, saving significant time and risks compared to traditional wireline methods," said Tim Probert, senior vice president of Halliburton's Drilling and Formation Evaluation division.
The GeoTap tester provides accurate formation pressure that can be used to dynamically alter the well construction process. Because the measurements are made near the bit before extensive drilling fluid invasion or hole deterioration, the GeoTap formation pressure tester allows drilling engineers, reservoir engineers, and petrophysicists to view critical reservoir information at near-pristine conditions.
10/6/03
