YPF Achieved the Longest, Fastest Lateral Section in Nonconventional Vaca Muerta, 10 Days Faster than Offsets | SLB

YPF Achieved the Longest, Fastest Lateral Section in Nonconventional Vaca Muerta, 10 Days Faster than Offsets

Published: 05/26/2022

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YPF wants to drill a well in one run

In Argentina, operations are a significant challenge because of formation complexity. This complexity increases shocks and vibration and causes high erosion because of heavy mud weight and high temperature across the end of the lateral section. YPF wanted to improve ROP, reduce tortuosity, and drill a single extended-reach well in one run. The objective was to reduce the time to drill the wells by considerably improving the ROP and the drilling efficiency.

Traditional drilling system resulted in multiple runs

A conventional rotary steerable system (RSS) BHA produced low ROP, high tortuosity, and directional control problems, leading to multiple runs.

Schlumberger recommended the NeoSteer CL system

The NeoSteer CL system is specifically designed to enable drilling the curve and lateral in a faster single run. Schlumberger recommended the NeoSteer CL system. As a result, the autonomous downhole control system (auto-tangent) feature delivers low tortuosity and better hole quality.

Drilling record set

YPF, Chevron, Nabors, and Schlumberger set the longest well drilled record by drilling the 81/2-in production section of 4,155 m lateral well in less than 31.1 days, completing well-construction operations in the Loma La Lata field.

Drilling results by depth per day.
Graph shows the results of super well nonconventional drilling by measured depth drilled per day.
Graph show drilling results by measured depth and tortuosity for both NeoSteer CL and conventional drilling.
Graph show drilling results by measured depth and tortuosity for both NeoSteer CL system and conventional drilling.
Location
Vaca Muerta Basin, Argentina, South America
Details
NeoSteer CL curve and lateral at-bit steerable system reduced drilling times compared with offset wells. Working with YPF Energy Company using remote drilling operations increased drilling efficiency. It also made it possible to achieve more than 1,000-m-per-day in lateral drilling.
Products Used