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Heavy Oil - Brazil
In Brazil, it is estimated that the heavy oil reserves sitting offshore in shallow, deep and ultradeep waters would make the country a self-sufficient oil producer. The technical challenges of producing and lifting heavy oil are compounded, however, by the demands and expense of offshore production.
One producer significantly reduced the drilling time and costs for two horizontal offshore wells by using the Schlumberger PowerDrive rotary steerable system. The nine-inch PowerDrive 900 system's rate of penetration (ROP) was double that of typical steerable motors, and it minimized the number of trips required to condition the well and change bits.
The first well was a pilot hole to confirm reservoir boundaries. Then a sidetrack production well was drilled to tap the heavy oil pay sand. In the PowerDrive system, every part of the drillstring rotates at the same speed. This ensures high ROP, reduced chance of sticking, and efficient cuttings flow, all of which becomes critical when drilling long lateral sections in challenging locations where rig costs are high, such as deep water.
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