HOUSTON, Texas – Halliburton’s (NYSE: HAL) Energy Services Group recently enhanced the well life of Centrica Energy’s Rose Field in the southern North Sea by applying Thermatek® water shutoff treatment technology. This new and industry-unique water management treatment technology helped to bring the field back on to production after it had been shut-in because of excessive water, allowing Centrica to avoid the expense and lost production of either abandoning or re-drilling the well.

“Initially the well flow averaged a rate of 120 million standard cubic feet per day,” said Dave Watson, manager, Reservoir Engineering Development, Centrica PLC. However, after only 2.3 billion standard cubic feet of production, the well was shut-in because of water production rates that exceeded the terminal-handling capacity.”

The Rose Field is produced from a single sub-sea well that crosses two faults with the trajectory of the well dipping at the end of the horizontal section.  Halliburton was able to determine the source of water production and where to apply the Thermatek treatment technology from analysis of data gathered in logging runs conducted with memory production logging tools ( PLT) run on coiled tubing from a workover rig positioned over the well.  

“Because of the unconsolidated formation, the well was completed with pre-packed, wire-wrapped screens in open hole, so it was not a simple case of setting a plug to isolate the water,” said Paul McGinn, project manager, Halliburton’s Production Optimization Division.  “Based on our previous success using the Thermatek technology treatment to place seals in the annulus, it was decided to isolate the lower well section by circulating the Thermatek fluid into the annulus and leaving a Thermatek water shutoff plug in the screens.”

The Thermatek annulus seal was placed by perforating the screens below the lower fault at 12,650 feet, setting a permanent bridge plug below the perforations and squeezing the Thermatek rigid setting fluid through the perforations and back up the annulus to above the upper fault (approximately 750 feet of annular fill).  A small amount of material was left inside the screen to seal the inside of the screen.

Halliburton’s application of its Thermatek technology treatment was conducted well within safety, environmental and reliability standards and has resulted in the well continuing to produce free of water as confirmed with post-treatment PLT runs. 

“Working with Halliburton has meant that we’ve been able to realize the Rose Field Centrica investment,” stated Watson.

Halliburton, founded in 1919, is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the petroleum and energy industries. The company serves its customers with a broad range of products and services through its Energy Services Group and KBR. The company's World Wide Web site can be accessed at www.halliburton.com .