SPE/IADC-185278-MS

Combination of Light Annular-Mud Drilling and Downhole Isolation Valve for

Drilling in Fractured Gas Reservoir, A Case Study

Enos Eben Ezer and Andi Pratama, SKK Migas; Fikri Irawan, Weatherford

Copyright 2017, IADC/SPE Managed Pressure Drilling and Underbalanced Operations Conference and Exhibition

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2017 IADC/SPE Managed Pressure Drilling & Underbalanced Operations Conference & Exhibition held in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, 28–29 March 2017.

This paper was selected for presentation by an IADC/SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s).
Contents of the paper have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers or the International Association of Drilling Contractors and are subject to correction
by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers or the International Association of Drilling Contractors,
its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers or
the International Association of Drilling Contractors is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations
may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE/IADC copyright.

Abstract
The South Sumatra Field in Indonesia produces from a high deliverability gas reservoir with the gas rate
of each well around 50 to 200 MMSCFD. The primary target is the fractured network present in the Pre-
tertiary Granite/Andesite while the secondary target is the Tertiary carbonate.
In the past decade, Light Annular Mud Cap Drilling (LAMCD) is one of Manage Pressure Drilling (MPD)
methods that has been frequently applied to drill in the surrounding areas of South Sumatra's oil and gas
fields. The LAMCD method allows drilling to continue despite experiencing total loss of circulation in
the fractured reservoir. Sacrificial fluid, usually fresh water, is injected down into the wellbore through the
drill pipe. Viscous fluid with the density slightly lower than the pore pressure is injected intermittently into
the annulus. The challenge occurs prior to tripping out where the well needs to be balanced. The killing
operation contributes additional cost from the lost circulation materials, additional operation days or non-
productive time (NPT) and inflicts damage into the reservoir due to the injected LCM.
The downhole isolation valve (DIV) system is integrated into the 9-5/8″ casing string to cope with the
challenge. By using this system, the requirement to kill the well while tripping out is eliminated. The
successful utilization of LAMCD and DIV is elaborated in this paper as part of the drilling program and the
combination of the two principles are applied. This paper focuses on the utilization of LAMCD and DIV in
a case study of Drilling Well X which was drilled in the South Sumatra Field.

Field Overview of South Sumatra Area

The gas field lies on the western flank of the Central Palembang Sub-Basin of the South Sumatra
Basin (Figure 1). The field is located almost 200 kilometers west-northwest of the city of Palembang in
South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. The South Sumatra Basin is a Tertiary back-arc basin approximately
500kilometers long and 300 kilometers wide. The long axis of the basin roughly follows the long axis of
the island of Sumatra.
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Figure 1—Gas Field Location Map

The South Sumatra Basin extends northwest toward the Central Sumatra Basin, which contains a similar
geologic sequence. The two basins are separated by a tectonic uplift (the Tigapuluh Mountains). To the south
and west, uplifted pre-Tertiary basement rocks of the Sunda Shield tectonically bound the basin. These pre-
Tertiary basement rocks are exposed in the Barisan Mountains. The Sunda Shield is a term applied to the
southern portion of the larger Eurasian continental plate, which in this area consists of shallow intrusive to
extrusive volcanic rocks, coarse crystalline igneous rocks and meta-sedimentary rocks. These pre-Tertiary
rocks provide the lower reservoir portion of the gas field. The upper portion of the reservoir is within porous
Tertiary sediments of the Lower Talang Akar and Batu Raja Formations. The properties of the Tertiary and
pre-Tertiary reservoir rocks at this gas field are enhanced by the naturally fracture.
Drill results from the three previous wells demonstrate that these wells encountered significant fractures
in the Batu Raja formation and the Pre-Tertiary and both wells have tested and currently produce at
significant gas rates. At well Y (Reference well for the Well X), for single Pre-Tertiary Basement test,
bottom-hole AOF is 237 MMscfd. For commingled Pre-Tertiary Basement and Batu Raja formation test,
the bottom-hole AOF is 1,097 MMscfd. Bottom-hole IPR of Well Y is shown in Figure 2 and 3.
SPE/IADC-185278-MS 3

Figure 2—Well Y Bottom-hole IPR (Single Pre-Tertiary Test)

Figure 3—Well Y Bottom-hole IPR (Commingled Pre-Tertiary and Batu Raja Test)

Drilling Challenges
Unlike the Central Sumatra province, drilling operation in the Southern Sumatra Fields often encounter
problems that leads to non-productive time. Several problems that are commonly experienced are as below:
1. Tight hole/ Sloughing/ Swelling Shale/ Mud Ring
Tight hole, formation sloughing, shale swelling, and mud ring, may occur due to improper mud
weight and/or insufficient chemical inhibition particularly in shale predominant section which are the
Lower Palembang and in the Telisa Shale zone. Drilling fluid selection and rheological properties is
the key to mitigate the problems.
2. Formation Overpressure
The formation pressure prediction for this well is based on the adjacent development wells that had
been drilled previously. The interpreted pore and fracture pressure were projected to finalize the mud
weight program during the planning phase.
3. High Temperatures, H2S and CO2 contamination in 8-1/2″ hole section
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Bottom hole static temperatures (BHST) at total depth will be above 300° F, with CO2 around 6%
and 10 ppm H2S. The mud cooler is operated all the time until total loss of circulation has occurred.
4. Hard Drilling, Gas kick and Lost Circulation
Hard drilling in the extensive fractured formation is a common problem in this area. The nature
of the fractured formation leads to severe lost circulation problems while at the same time potential
gas flow may occur while drilling in the Baturaja Carbonate and the Pre-Tertiary which is granite at
this location.

Project Preparation and Planning

Project Management team which consist of company drilling engineering team (Drilling Manager, Drilling
Engineer, MPD-PMCD consultant, HSE) and MPD-PMCD engineering services worked together to
collaborate well planning by reviewing previous offset wells reference and conclude risk mitigation and
action items. This risk and mitigation were then discussed in HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) and HAZID
(Hazard Identification). The HAZID addressed the equipment layout on a typical (generic) rig location
and its interaction with associated drilling equipment/systems, whilst the HAZOP will address the process
equipment itself and its operation and its interaction with the drilling systems.
The primary objective of the HAZID and HAZOP is the identification of failure and potential hazards,
its causes and consequences to safety and the environment as well as the identification of possible project
problems/delays. Secondly, the detection, control and recovery of the activities and the plant/equipment
following deviation conditions should be confirmed as installed/operating in a manner sufficient to minimize
the risk to people, to the environment and to the installation. Thirdly, to ensure action items identified
in previous studies and reviews have been implemented in the current design. Modes of operation to be
considered for this HAZID and HAZOP were: Installation of equipment, operations including interfaces
with drilling activities, start-up and shutdown, online maintenance (if required) and incident control. The
team reviewed all information for the proposed system to ensure that there is no impact in terms of hazard
or operability due to the installation and operation of the well-test equipment.

Mud requirement and LAMCD Design

Three types of drilling fluids were utilized to drill this well; water based mud for surface section, SBM
(Synthetic Base Mud) for intermediate section and fresh water (sacrificial) for production section. SBM was
selected for drilling intermediate section to minimize the risk of hole stability issue due to over pressure zone
in Telisa formation and potential swelling effect as per previous offset wells history that required several
bit trips to drill this section. Fresh water was selected for drilling the production section with consideration
of lower cost, easy to handle and available with a large amount on environment.
Akin to conventional drilling operation, LAM is required to maintain the integrity of annulus while
drilling in loss circulation zone. The LAM weight needs to be designed lower than the fractured zone
pressure gradient to avoid further loss circulation. Drilling commenced with no fluid returns to surface,
where an annulus fluid column, assisted by surface pressure, was maintained above a formation capable of
accepting fluid and cuttings. LAM would transport all cuttings produced by the drill bit movement into the
fracture. Any gas migration in the annulus would be countered by bullheading from surface.
A success application of LAMCD relay on the determination of LAM density. The pore pressure was
determined accurately to ensure the success of displacing any migrated hydrocarbon back into the formation.
Common drilling practice to determine the pore pressure has been applied in many operations by using the
hydrostatic equilibrium process. The driller will prepare light mud weight fluid in the tank that would be
used to chase the dropping annulus column when fractured formation is encountered and loss circulation
happened. Pressure is to be trapped in the annulus by closing the Annular BOP and wait for the casing
SPE/IADC-185278-MS 5

pressure to stabilize. With the known mud weight in the hole during the loss circulation, and the additional
hydrostatic fluid combined with the casing pressure, the pore pressure can be estimated.

DIV Design
The down-hole isolation valve (DIV) is ran as an integral part of the casing program, allowing full
bore passage for the drilling and completion bottom-hole assemblies. The system is actuated by a dual
encapsulated control line that is run external to the casing and activated by a surface control unit. Although
permanent or retrievable installation modes are possible, the DIV in South Sumatra field is installed in
retrievable mode.
The DIV acts as down-hole barrier that utilizes a flapper-type seal mechanism to prevent pressure at
surface. It is designed to interface with standard well construction. The flapper is operated to open position
when BHA or completion string passes through and closed when nothing is in the well.
Tripping in or out in live well requires special procedures in order to consider the additional forces acting
on the pipe. A procedure needs to be in place to avoid the drill pipe being pushed out of the well. The
parameter that needs to be carefully determined in the DIV setting depth is commonly known as pipe light.
Pipe light condition is defined as an operating condition during a snubbing operation in which the
wellhead pressure and buoyancy forces are greater than the force resulting from the weight of the pipe or
tubing string. In the pipe light condition the string will be ejected from the wellbore if the gripping force
of the slips is lost.
The pipe light condition must consider all drill and completion strings that will be run within the DIV
including but not limited to the drill string, completion string, and also tie back string if any. The upward
force is to be calculated by using the maximum shut-in casing pressure (SICP) and the area of the tool joint.
F=P×A
F = Upward Force (lbf)
P = Maximum SICP (lbf/in1)
A = Tool Joint Area (in2)
In some operation, the DIV setting depth also considers operational efficiency, drilling hazard that might
be encountered and, additional cost savings. It all ranges from the potential of losing all liquid in the annulus
while displaced by gas, risk of casing (and DIV) stuck while installation, as well as the intention to improve
tripping operation by setting the DIV deeper or even shallower than planned. These assessments example
can overwrite the pre-calculated DIV setting depth with various reasons.

Rig Requirement and Specification

For drilling fracture basement formation, minimum requirements were specified on rig specification. 1500
HP rig, top drive capable of minimum 30,000 ft lb continuously, three mud pumps each with minimum
1300 HP, sufficient substructure space-out to accommodate RCD installation for all 12-1/4″ and 8-1/2″ hole
section, 5000 psi pressure rating BOP stack and experienced personnel with MPD- PMCD operation are a
common requirement to accommodate a success LAMCD application in South Sumatra Field.

Tripping and Running Completion Procedure

Prior to tripping out operation, RCD integrity needs to be confirmed and RCD Bearing Assembly is installed.
Pumping gel sweep and circulate at the top of BHA intended to clear the cuttings as well as injecting the
LAM while working the pipe. Torque and drag is also to be monitored accordingly to identify for any hole-
cleaning problems.
6 SPE/IADC-185278-MS

Anytime during the trip out operation, casing pressure is recorded and maintained below zero. Otherwise,
commence pumping into the annulus as the annulus casing pressure needs to read zero. To ensure that the
hole stays full, 40-80 gpm is pumped through drill string out of the open hole whilst tripping out.
In a DIV operation, two marker subs were installed as physical confirmation of current BHA position.
When the upper marker sub reaches the drill floor, it indicates the BHA is 9 joints below the DIV. Accurate
pipe tally was to be confirmed prior continuing the trip out operation. Tripping speed needed to be reduced
when BHA was passing the DIV to avoid damaging the flapper area. This could be anticipated by observing
for drag indications. Immediate remedial action will need to be performed once any drag indication is
observed. Once the BHA passes the flapper, the trip out operation is continued until the lower marker sub
is on the drill floor indicating the bit is 9 joints above the DIV.
The DDV is adjusted to closed position only if the well is in a static condition. Approximately 2-10 bbls
of fluid is squeezed through the closed flapper and spotted on top of the DIV to wash and clean the DIV
flapper from any remaining cuttings in place. After this phase, pressure above the closed DIV flapper can
be bled-off at surface and at the same time confirm the integrity of the DIV seal. Trip out operations are
then performed conventionally at this stage until the assembly reaches surface for further action.
A slotted liner in conjunction with pressure control disk was then installed in this operation as planned
by the completion engineering team. The pressure control disk prevents fluid migration into the drill pipe
and running tool prior to setting the liner hanger and packer.
Pressure in the annulus needed to be zero prior to running the completion string. As the 5-1/2″ completion
string was running, circulation flow was monitored via trip tank. The liner, liner hanger, packer, and liner
hanger running tool was run following a conventional running program.
Once the liner assembly was 2-3 stands above the DIV flapper, the RCD bearing assembly was installed
and pressure equalized across the DIV and the DIV cycled to the open position. Running of the liner
assembly then continued under pressure until the setting depth was achieved, and the liner set as per program.

Well Construction and Operation

1. Surface and Intermediate Hole Operation
The drilling operation started by drilling the 26″ hole section to target depth of almost 300m. With mud
weight ranges not more than 10 ppg, the water based mud successfully reach target depth without problem,
then continued ran 20″ casing and cemented to surface.
The 16″ vertical section was then drilled to a little over 1100m using 12.6 ppg synthetic mud in the
annulus. Prior to retrieve the BHA to run casing, a wiper trip was then performed to 20″ casing shoe. The
13-3/8″ casing shoe was run and cemented. Offline rig operations were completed prior to begin replacing
BOP.
The 12-1/4″ directional hole section was initiated by nipple-up and pressure tested the 13-5/8″ BOP's
and the installation of RCD (Rotating Control Device). The 12-1/4″ bit was run in hole and tagged cement
prior to drill out cement shoe track. New formation was drilled to allow the formation integrity (FIT) test.
Drilling then continued while increasing mud weight to over 13 ppg. The 12-1/4″ directional assembly was
then pulled out of hole to replace the BHA. The bit grade present a light used and it was decided to re-
run the same bit before resume drilling. Target depth was reached not deeper than 2200m and casing point
was to be set. After sufficient hole conditioning duration, the BHA 12-1/4″ was retrieved to prepare for
running the 9-5/8″ casing and Liner Hanger. After setting the packer, the liner running tool was retrieved
and continued with run DIV with tieback string.
2. DIV installation
The DIV was installed in retrievable mode, as part of the tieback string. The 9-5/8″ casing was run prior to the
tieback installation. The early phase of DIV installation was initiated with the installation of its supporting
SPE/IADC-185278-MS 7

the equipment such as the control line sheave, spotting of the control line reel, and surface control unit.
Casing was ran as per normal procedure until the DIV was ready to be picked up.
The next phase was to run the control line through the DIV sheave and secure the control line end
properly at the rig floor. The DIV body was then carefully positioned verticallyon the rig floor to prepare
the connection with control line. Driller, Toolpusher, and casing crew were made aware that the DIV body
is not to be torqued during make up connection. After connecting the DIV control line to the body, DIV
flapper was function tested and pressure tested the control line connection commenced. DIV control line
pressure was maintained at 500 psi at the open side and 200 psi at the closed side by means of the Surface
Control Unit. Any indication of control line leak would be identified at real time while installing the DIV
hence further remedial action to be performed, minimizing non-productive time.
DIV Control Line Clamps were installed at every casing collar from the first joint until surface. An
assessment were made with the Tubular Running Services (TRS) team to accommodate space for DIV
control line when slipping the casing on drill floor by removing one section of the casing slip prior to the
operation. Wellhead penetration was performed followed with DIV function test to ensure the process could
be repeated while drilling the 8-1/2″ hole section.
3. Producti on Hole Section Operation
Drilling the production section was started with Insert bit. After reversed circulated, the hole was displaced
with fresh water. Perform the MPD finger printing process followed by drill out shoe track until new
formation was penetrated. Continue drilling formation until indication of partial loss was observed around
2250m. After careful monitoring, the 200BHP loss rate indicated a fault was penetrated.
Drilling in total loss circulation and MPD mode was continued for over 150m deep to 2350m until the
parameters finally dictated to retrieve the bit to surface. The drill string was positioned above DIV and
closing the flapper by energizing the Surface Control unit was commenced. RCD bearing assembly needs
to be removed for BHA passage prior to complete BHA retrieval. After the new BHA configuration run
into the well, continue with running the drill string until the BHA was positioned above the DIV flapper.
Sacrifical fluid was pumped into annulus for bull-head, equalize to open DIV with 800 bbls of fluid followed
with pumping down inside string and continue precautionary washed down.
Continue drilling ahead to 2500m and pulled out of hole with the same procedure to changed out the
bit, jars, and float sub. The well reached target depth with LAMCD at nearly 2800 m. Any gas migration
indication will be bullhead through the annulus.
4. Well Completion phase
The entire lower completion material was 13Cr-80 for resistance to small-scale CO2 present in expected
production zone. The initial plan for the lower completion was to run a packer to isolate the Baturaja
formation to be able to determine production splits.
The lower completion consists of a float shoe with flat bladed nose, alternating joints of pre-perforated,
frangible disk plug, and a 7″ × 9-5/8″ liner top packer. At the time that the lower completion was connected,
the plan was to set the liner top packer just above the 9-5/8″ casing shoe.
However, the liner could not be worked past an apparent ledge at 2500m. Considering the loss rate was
2.4 bbl/min, availability of fresh water supplies, the cost associated with other options (including pulling/
rerunning the liner), it was decided to set the lower completion shallower by than planned. Completion
phase continued with negative test of 150 psi differential pressure. No gas was observed after circulated
bottoms up, indicating the success of liner hanger and packer set. Operation was continued with retrieving
the tieback string, prior to wellhead installation for the tubing hanger (tieback hanger and tubing hanger sit
in the same spot). The DIV and tie back string were then retrieved for reuse in the future wells. Then the
operation was ended with running the scrapper prior to running the upper completion and the actual running
of the upper completion. (Figure 5)
8 SPE/IADC-185278-MS

Figure 4—DDV Diagram

SPE/IADC-185278-MS 9

Figure 5—Well Completion Diagram

5. Well Testing phase

Production and gradient survey data resulted in an estimated AOF of 1.1 BSCFD, Kh of 250 D-ft and
estimated maximum facility limited production rate of nearly 150 MMSCFD. Condensate yield averaged
72.47 STB / MMSCF during the flow-after-flow test.

Lessons Learned
The 8-1/2″ section target depth was shallower than planned, which was called at 3200 m. Drilling fluid loss
rate nearly 24,000 bbls/day was experienced since 2800 m. The reference loss rate in well Y was only 12,000
bbls/day. With this condition, fresh water supply on site was projected to be insufficient to fullfil the well
10 SPE/IADC-185278-MS

requirement to achieve the target depth. Furthermore, after the loss circulation, gas migration rate from the
formation was very slow which results in extra period to build up pressure below the DIV flapper to achieve
its minimum sealing requiremnet. Although the target depth was called shallow at well X, all objective
formations was already drilled (Batu Raja Formation, Pre Tertiary Basement and penentrate the fault).
When running lower completion phase, the liner could not be worked past an apparent ledge. It was
decided to set the lower completion shallower than planned.

Conclusion
Well X that is drilled in South Sumatra field produces a high deliverability gas with the flow rate nearly
150 MMSCFD. The drilling operation presents significant results of combination between LAMCD and
utilization of DIV for drilling a fractured gas reservoir to achieve the targeted gas production rate. Proper
project management, planning and design in conjuction with excellent communication between the operator
and contractor during the operation are critical to drill the well successfully.

Recommendation
Drilling in South Sumatra Fractured Gas Reservoir posts different behavior between each wells within the
same area. Various contingencies need to be planned to anticipate unexpected respond when the loss zone
is penetrated. Specific for well X, approximately 2 hours waiting period is required for the pressure to build
up before achieving minimum DIV sealing pressure because of slow gas migration rate.

References
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Technique for Naturally Fractured formations." 2002. SPE Paper 77352 presented at the SPE
technical Conference and Exhibition held in San Antonio, Texas 29 September - 2 October 2002.
2. Dharma, Nyoman And J.S.S Toralde: "Managed Pressure Drilling and Downhole Isolation
Technologies Deliver High Rate Gas Wells." 2008. SPE Paper 114703 presented at the SPE
Managed Pressure Drilling and Underbalanced Operation Conferenceand Exhibition held in Abu
Dhabi, UAE 28-29 January 2008.
3. Arvi R. Muis, Andri M. Hidayat, Fikri Irawan: "Floating Mud-Cap Drilling Application in
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180563-MS presented at IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition
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