Magazine - Weatherford International
Magazine - Weatherford International
Magazine - Weatherford International
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Growing up with a volcano nearby, Julmar ShaunS. Toralde had an early introduction to geothermalpower. Near his home in the province of NegrosOriental in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines,two geothermal plants operated by one of the mostactive volcanoes in the country. When the region’scollege first offered a degree in geothermal engineering,Toralde enrolled.In 2005, when he joined <strong>Weatherford</strong>, it was as aControlled Pressure Drilling (CPD) Engineer in thePhilippines and Indonesia—where he was involvedwith MPD and geothermal projects. Today Toralde is<strong>Weatherford</strong>’s Engineering Coordinator for Indonesia.“Shaun is an absolute key figure here in Asia,” saysSteve Nas.” Besides being one of the hardest workingengineers we have, he is also a very polite and niceperson liked by clients and <strong>Weatherford</strong> staff alike—areal gentleman.”Toralde graduated magna cum laude from NegrosOriental State University (NORSU) with a BS ingeothermal engineering.Having been a top scholar and active student, Toraldehas always kept in mind mentorship. Shaun becamean instructor and a research coordinator in the Collegeof Engineering and Architecture of NORSU. He wasalso the Chairperson of the Department of GeothermalEngineering. Later he worked for SPI Technologieswhere he supervised copyediting and processing ofinternational technical and engineering research journals.That active pace and high achievement has continuedsince Toralde arrived in Jakarta as <strong>Weatherford</strong>’sEngineering Coordinator.“Shaun has probably made more client visits and hasbeen instrumental in promoting and winning more MPDprojects in Indonesia than anyone else,” says Nas.“He is not only a great supporter and promoter of theMPD technology but also has an incredible passion forgeothermal drilling operations.”<strong>Weatherford</strong>’s PMCD program for the well includedan RCD and drillstring float valves. When the well wasreentered and the plugs drilled out, total losses wereexperienced immediately, and gas began to migrate upthe annulus.With the RCD preinstalled, PMCD procedures were begunimmediately, and 500 feet (153 meters) of the reservoirsection was drilled. The objective was reached in 19hours without any NPT, and the completion string wassuccessfully run and cemented in PMCD mode.Kick-Loss Mitigation“Vietnam’s longest well in the Cuu Long basin’sgranite basement reservoir was drilled using constantbottomhole-pressure(CBHP) methods to avoid longstandingkick-loss problems,” says Nas.Fluid losses were common when drilling developmentwells in the fractured reservoir and resulted in frequentdrilling delays. Using CBHP methods controlledpressure at the surface so the well could be drilledwith lower-density fluid while minimizing losses.Lighter mud use increased the penetration rateenabling the well to be completed five days fasterthan planned. A significant reduction in fluid lossesminimized operational costs, NPT and postdrillingcleanup. With MPD, the loss rate was only55 barrels per hour compared to 175 barrels per hourexperienced in prior wells.Vietnam Contingency“Sometimes, the value of having MPD technologyavailable is the confidence to proceed at all,” says Nas.That was the case with the Nam Con Son limestoneformation offshore Vietnam where severe mud lossand gas migration presented an ongoing challenge.Previous wells in the region had experienced as muchas 20 days NPT because of total losses.Experience with MPD provided the confidence to tryone more time. Working from a jack-up rig, a big-boremodel 7800 RCD was installed, and PMCD techniquesreadied to provide additional control in case majormud-loss and gas-migration issues occurred.“Ultimately, losses did not require MPD operations,”says Nas. “But the operator had no way to know thatwhen they started out. Installing MPD as a low-costalternative provided the confidence to proceed.”New Drilling AheadFast-paced adoption of MPD for various applicationshas come with outstanding success in Asia and aroundthe world in mitigating some of the industry’s mostchallenging drilling hazards. With this momentum anda growing inventory of technologies, MPD is poised tomake even greater contributions to drilling capabilitiesand economics.Those in the industry who have advocated MPD haveoften said that one day we will ask ourselves why weever drilled with the annulus open to the atmosphere.Perhaps that day is now closer than we think.october 2009 13