Next Generation Directional Drilling and Formation Evaluation Services Take Operators to New Depths of Development Opportunity at an Unprecedented 34,189 Feet
HOUSTON, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE: WFT) announced today its success in working with Chevron/Unocal (NYSE: CVX) and its partners Nexen Inc. (NYSE: NXY, TSE: NXY.TO), Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC), and BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP), to drill the deepest well ever in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service.
The record-setting 34,189 feet (or almost 6.5 miles) well on the Knotty Head prospect in Green Canyon Block 512 broke the previous record set earlier this year by Shell, also working with Weatherford, of 32,727 feet.
The job demonstrates that Weatherford can help operators go beyond traditional comfort zones and opens up new areas of opportunity across the globe.
Weatherford's Hostile-Environment-Logging (HEL(TM)) Measurement-While- Drilling (MWD) and Logging-While-Drilling (LWD) equipment was used on the job. Both have already set a new benchmark for downhole operating temperature and are rated to an industry-best 30,000 psi operating pressure. MWD and LWD measures, respectively, wellbore position and formation properties operating in real-time while the well is being drilled.
In addition to setting a new depth record, the HEL equipment also transmitted real-time and recorded triple-combo log data in extremely hostile well conditions -- in excess of 29,000 psi and 138 degrees Celsius. These were the same sophisticated electronic logging and well steering tools Shell used in setting the previous record.
"The directional and formation evaluation capabilities gained from the Precision acquisition fulfill a critical industry need for complex reservoir development technologies in deep drilling applications," said Bernard J. Duroc-Danner, Weatherford's Chairman and CEO.
"This equipment demonstrates a significant step-change in industry capability that can enable production from previously unreachable reserves using existing infrastructure not only in the Gulf of Mexico but also across ultra-deep hydrocarbon resources around the world."
The equipment used on the Knotty Head prospect are part of Weatherford's comprehensive suite of well placement services that help operators reach drilling targets and evaluate formations in a variety of operating environments and well conditions.
Weatherford is one of the largest global providers of innovative solutions, technology and services for the drilling and production sectors of the oil and gas industry. Weatherford operates in over 100 countries and employs more than 24,500 people worldwide.
SOURCE Weatherford International Ltd.
CONTACT: investors, Andy Becnel, +1-713-693-4136, or media, Christine McGee, +1-713-693-4362, or christine.mcgee@weatherford.com , both of Weatherford International Ltd.; or Shanta Mauney, smauney@wardcc.com , or Deborah Buks, dbuks@wardcc.com , both of Ward Creative Communications, +1-713-869-0707, for Weatherford International Ltd.