Schlumberger launches sonic borehole drilling service

Schlumberger has announced the release of the SonicScope multipole sonic-while-drilling service for wells with large boreholes. The service provides reliable measurements to determine formation pore pressure and breakout limits to improve drilling risk management.

“When drilling in challenging environments such as deepwater, operators are often faced with mud weight selection and wellbore instability issues that can be a result of uncertainties of pore pressures in geological layers,” commented Steve Kaufmann, President of Drilling & Measurements at Schlumberger. “The SonicScope service is a key component of a real-time workflow aimed at drilling wells more safely by estimating pore pressures in various geological layers and enable operators to adjust mud weight windows accordingly.”

In order to increase operator confidence in sonic, a comprehensive quality control process is applied to confirm that the data is untouched by external factors. The SonicScope service also features a fast-logging multimode capability that enables top of cement identification with consistency and repeatability while tripping.

The service has been tested at field locations across the world, including multiple deepwater locations including the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, Brazil, the North Sea and Australia.

Over 150 runs have been successfully completed in well boreholes ranging from 10 ½ in. to 17 ½ in. for exploration and development projects. Data obtained with the service has proven to be a useful element of a real-time workflow that identifies geological layers and adjusts the mud weight window accordingly to improve drilling risk management.

Recent wells drilled in Malaysia used the borehole drilling technology. The SonicScope service provided reliable data, facilitating correction of the time-depth conversion, which in turn allowed the operator to accurately identify geological layers and potential drilling hazards.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/30102013/schlumberger_launches_sonic_borehole_drilling_service_378/