Deepwater cementing in the Norwegian Sea: A case study
- BJ Services (Norway)
- Norsk Hydro, Bergen (Norway)
During Norway`s 15th licensing round in 1996, five deepwater areas were opened for exploration drilling. All blocks are situated outside the continental shelf in the Norwegian Sea, west of mid-Norway. The seabed and location conditions were studied by the Norwegian Deepwater Project, a joint venture of the operator companies who were awarded blocks in these new unexplored areas. Results of the study revealed that the weather and sea conditions in these remote areas would be among the toughest in the world. Strong return currents from the Arctic Ocean bring undercooled water to these locations, lowering the seabed temperature to as low as {minus}2 C. Because all the blocks are situated outside the Norwegian continental shelf, the water depth is in the range of 2,600--5,000 ft (800--1,600 m). Typical deepwater conditions are present in most of the deepwater locations in the Norwegian Sea. The conditions that posed additional challenges to the drilling operation were poorly consolidated sediments, shallow water flow zones, hydrate destabilization and ooze sediments. The paper describes sediment consolidation, shallow water flow, hydrates, development of deepwater cement slurries, a field case, and future cementing operations in Norway.
- OSTI ID:
- 346958
- Journal Information:
- Petroleum Engineer International, Vol. 72, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Apr 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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