ARMACOR CASE STUDIES
CASING WEAR IN NORTH SEA AND COLOMBIA
The offshore exploration division of a major oil company had been experiencing rapid casing wear in the North Sea and Colombia. The cost of the casing wear, in some cases, had been as high as $1.5M-$2M per well, a significant and unacceptable figure without considering the additional safety implications of reduced casing integrity. The company also found that the life of drill string was being prolonged at the expense of the casing. It was this business-driven requirement for reliable casing integrity that forced this oil company to re-examine its hardbanding specifications.
Testing various hardbanding materials, Armacor proved to be considerably better than any other conventional drill pipe hard facing material to date. Encouraged that the testing indicated the potential for a significant reduction in wear over this oil company’s previous hardbanding ‘standard’, the company began field trials on eight rigs in Colombia because of the severity of both the local drilling conditions and existing casing wear problems. As an added bonus, the application of Armacor proved simpler than conventional hardbanding because of the lack of tungsten carbide pellets. An extensive evaluation was made on the rigs that had used Armacor hardbanding material after the rigs had achieved in excess of 5,000 cumulative rotating hours with no reported or measured incidents of casing wear, something previously unattainable. It was revealed that the combination of smooth, flush Armacor hardbanding and good drill pipe protector management had significantly helped to eliminate this oil company’s casing wear problems.
ADDITIONAL CASE STUDIES
Riser Failure In Ultra-Deep Waters
Hardbanding To Meet The Abbrasive Geology Of The Barnett Shale