Case Study Expandable Steel Patches Saved 820 h of Rig Time, Eliminated 93 t of CO2e
More sustainable solution than cement squeezes to seal off perforations and enable injection into lower zones.
Field-proven, sustainable, and lower-cost alternative to cement squeezing using a drilling rig, workover rig, snubbing unit, or coiled tubing
A casing patch using our field-proven Saltel Xpandable expandable steel technology requires less time to accurately position and install across unwanted perforations compared with conducting a cement squeeze. It does not significantly restrict wellbore access and only requires water to activate the inflatable packer used for controlled expansion of the patch against the casing—even a corroded or ovalized casing. Perforation shutoff can be completed in as little as two days.
In contrast, traditional methods for sealing unwanted perforations by squeezing cement into them are lengthy, multistep operations.
A cement squeeze may require four or more rig days; if it is unsuccessful, the operation can extend beyond a week, increasing costs and emissions. Moreover, designing the cement slurry must take into account the type of void to be filled and the rate of cement dehydration; a suboptimal slurry may not provide a complete fill and proper seal.
Saltel expandable steel patches are a permanent solution, creating a high-pressure inner lining that seals off a perforated zone without restricting production from neighboring perforations. The large ID enables nearly unrestricted access to the wellbore below, so that wireline- or tubing-conveyed perforating guns can pass through to add new perforations for production, injection, or postperforating treatment.
Made of high-quality stainless steel, the patch uses a profiled sealing system that is applied and cured in a controlled environment during manufacturing, employing different materials based on the application requirements—unlike the field-applied epoxy resin used by some providers. Our engineered system provides a resilient and reliable seal that is capable of withstanding significant differential pressures, which can compromise the integrity of squeezed cement over time. The profiled external seals are also inherently more resilient than third-party resin-based solutions to the thermal cycling induced by high-rate injection, suspension, and resumption of injection that are common during operations.