VAM® BOLT-II selected by LUKOIL for Caspian Sea well
VAM® BOLT-II selected by LUKOIL for its Caspian Sea well
24/02/2021 – OCTG
LUKOIL-Nizhnevolzhskneft has chosen Vallourec to deliver its VAM® BOLT-II solution with a large (18″) outer diameter for the Caspian Sea Khazri-2 well. Its high performance levels were proven when the connection was successfully deployed with zero reject on a Neptune jack-up drilling rig. Technical Sales Manager in Russia, Ukraine, CIS, Andrei Motovilin talks us through each step of this success story.
The most recent design-improved generation of VAM® flush connections gives higher torque capacity and outstanding performance. Vallourec supplied LUKOIL with 5 casing strings and 345 tons of VAM® BOLT-II as well as accessories such as lifting and handling circulation head. The VAM® BOLT-II solution has a double-start thread design and make-up is quick and easy—it saves platform installation time and make for perfect connection to large bore subsea well heads.
A complex well
LUKOIL-Nizhnevolzhskneft is a wholly owned subsidiary of LUKOIL and specializes in oil and gas field development and production in the Caspian and Azov Seas. Since its foundation in 1995, one of the company’s priorities has been to implement the Caspian project, - the search for and future development of hydrocarbon deposits in this Sea. These deposits are some of the most complex to get at.
The company is now developing Khazri-2, the successor to the 2017 Khazri-1. This offshore exploratory well has one of the most complicated designs in Russia owing to high-pressure H2S (hydrogen sulfide).
LUKOIL has been especially technically demanding, as the nearest gas formation was at approximately 12,500ft and the planned setting depth was roughly 6,000ft. Consequently, the customer specified an outer diameter (OD) constraint because of the blowout preventer size1 (almost 19 inches) and a liquid-tight shouldered connection with an OD of 18 inches, and a WT of 0.64 inches with a maximum make-up torque not exceeding 109.9 klb per ft.
Successful implementation of Khazri-2 is extraordinarily vital as it will prime further developments of this Caspian oil field. For example, the Titonskaya-1 well is set for 2021 development with an almost similar design.
Absolute success: 166 zero-reject pipes
LUKOIL started drilling at the beginning of 2020. 166 pipes ran with zero reject.
1A blowout preventer (BOP) is valve that seals, regulates and monitors oil and gas wells in the prevention of uncontrolled crude oil or natural gas release.
