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The Value of
Logging While Drilling (LWD) Pressure Data in Deepwater Tracts, Offshore
Silva, Ilidio Domingos1, Frederico Ferraz Domingos1, Chris Freitag2, Eduard Van Wijk2, Arno Buysch2 (1) Sonangol, Luanda, South Africa (2) Baker Hughes INTEQ, Houston, TX
Time efficient acquisition of 
formation
evaluation data is of
paramount importance in the deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration and
development wells in formation pressure while the well is still being drilled.
This represents a significant time and cost savings opportunity, simultaneously
improving drilling efficiency and safety while reducing risk and Non Productive
Time (NPT).
An accurate and early knowledge of formation pressures in the
drilling phase allows confident decisions to be taken with respect to
selection of casing points, thereby enhancing the safety of the drilling
operation. Formation pressure data can also reveal the connectivity of
reservoirs, thereby allowing improvements in well placement or the completion
strategy to be made in real time. Early formation pressure data in conjunction
with other LWD data enables the operator and the governing authorities to reach
timely decisions regarding abandonment of wells.
Recent
technological developments in an LWD formation pressure tester tool have made
it possible to acquire formation pressure and mobility data in the drilling
phase in the shortest possible time, typically in less than 5 minutes per set
of pre-and repeat tests in the highly permeable deepwater sands in wireline formation testers has shown the accuracy of the data being recorded
with the new LWD tool.
