KPO employs Dopeless technology in the Karachaganak field

Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) conducted a field trial in the gas condensate Karachaganak field, located in the West Kazakhstan region, to evaluate the performance of Dopeless® technology. The oil and gas company jointly operated by BG Group and ENI witnessed first-hand how TenarisHydril Blue® Dopeless connections improved operational efficiency, reduced the environmental impact and increased safety at the rig site.

The Karachaganak field is characterized by harsh weather conditions, with extremely low temperatures down to - 40°C during winter seasons that can freeze storage and running compounds. In addition, oil and gas companies working in the region must comply with strict environmental regulations.

To conduct the field trials, KPO selected four wells for winter and four wells for summer. In each season, two wells were run with doped premium connections and two others ran with TenarisHydril Blue Dopeless connections. Tenaris field service specialists were present throughout the operation to help KPO obtain the best results from Tenaris products.

The TenarisHydril Blue Dopeless connections promoted operational efficiency by reducing risk of make-up difficulties. Downtime problems due to make-up inconsistencies and rejected joints caused by connection damage were considerably reduced. Only 11 (less than 0.1%) of the 12 583 joints run in hole discarded in 31 months. In addition, Dopeless technology eliminated the need to perform pipe cleaning and preparation tasks related to the use of thread compounds. Therefore, an average of 105 hrs during the summer and 210 hrs during the winter were saved per well during operations.

Dopeless technology is a certified zero-discharge solution so no thread or running compounds were released to the environment. Cleaning procedures that require the use of water were eliminated, thus reducing water consumption. Thanks to the use of Dopeless connections, over 50 kg of thread compound and more than 500 l of solvents per well were not discharged to the environment. Health and safety conditions were improved. With the absence of thread compound, less pipe handling and cleaning operations were required, which reduced the risk of accidents. In addition, the personnel were not exposed to potentially harmful products that are used during cleaning procedures.

Adapted from a press release by David Bizley

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/26062015/kpo-employs-dopeless-technology-in-the-karachaganak-field/