SPE 54472

Coiled Tubing Milling and Temporary Plug and Abandonment Operations

Eirik Sørgård/Norsk Hydro*, Egil Østvik/Norsk Hydro*, Njål Grønnerød/Transocean Petroleum Technology*, Grete
Svanes/M-I*, John Villar/Schlumberger Dowell*, Tom Salvesen/Weatherford*, Lars Tjåland/BJ*, * SPE Member

Copyright 1999, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

drillfloor. The drilling facilities are heave compensated, in
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 1999 SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing Roundtable order to be able to drill even in strong winds with high waves.
held in Houston, Texas, 25–26 May 1999.
During the drilling of the reservoir section of an Oil
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of Producer, a BOP testing tool assembly (BTT) (Fig. 1) became
information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to stuck, due to a malfunction in the lower pipe rams. The well
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any
position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at had a fish in the open hole, below the 10¾” casing (Fig.2).
SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of
Petroleum Engineers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper
A Task Force was established in order to evaluate the
for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is different options at hand in order to regain communication
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 with the well. Several options were evaluated, and due to the
acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O. complexity of the BOP, it was decided to mobilize a Coiled
Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435.
Tubing (CT) unit and mill through the BTT, rather than try to
repair the BOP while it was still placed on the seabed. The
Abstract drilling fluid in the well had a barite settling problem, so the
time available before an intervention had to take place was
In order to establish barriers to enable a safe removal of a limited.
sub sea BOP, two temporary cement plugs had to be placed in The objective for the CT Milling and Temporary P&A
the 10¾” casing using 2” coiled tubing (CT). Operation Task Force was then to:
The operation was performed from a floating
drilling/production semi submersible rig in 360 m water depth 1. Maintain well control throughout operations.
connected to the well by a marine riser. 2. Re-establish communication with the well by milling
A 23/8” hole was milled through a BOP testing tool through the BTT.
assembly (BTT), which had become stuck below the BOP due 3. Open ID of BTT to facilitate CT cement job.
to a malfunction of a BOP ram, while containing well control 4. Design Milling and Drilling fluids.
throughout the operation. 5. Place two Cement Plugs in 10¾” Casing.
A novel OBM formulation design was utilized in order to 6. Verify that barriers were established for temporary
clean up the settled solids in the OBM in the well through the abandonment.
23/8” milled hole.
A novel cement packer was run down to 2000 m through The Task Force consisted of personnel from Norsk Hydro
the 23/8” milled hole and set in the 10¾” casing, allowing a and the main service companies that already had a Frame
successful cement plug to be placed in a 46 degree inclination Agreement with Norsk Hydro, in order to select the correct
at extremely low pump rate utilizing coiled tubing. A similar approach and to evaluate operational procedures.
cement plug was set and tested at 900 m using the same
method. Design
The whole operation was completed successfully
considering that a lot of uncharted coiled tubing technology Based on the problem, a Task Force consisting of key
was utilized. personnel from both operator and the most relevant service
companies were formed in order to design the temporary
Introduction abandonment of the well, so that the BOP could be removed
and repaired.
The unit is a drilling/production semi submersible rig, A risk assessment was performed, in order to verify that it
connected to the wellheads/Xmas tree at the seabed through was possible to meet the different objectives for this job. The
flexible risers. During drilling of a well, a marine riser is different key elements were subsequently identified and
connected to a drilling BOP at seabed, 360m below the different solutions were proposed and evaluated in order to
2 E. SØRGÅRD, E. ØSTVIK, N. GRØNNERØD, G. SVANES, J. VILLAR, T.SALVESEN, L.TJÅLAND SPE 54472

verify that each individual design/element could meet the was either to viscous to be circulated out with 2” string, or if
overall objective. solids contamination plugged the small 23/8” hole milled in the
The diameters of the different mills was restricted to 23/8” BTT assembly. For the milling operation at 360 m a shorter
due to a requirement of removing as little steel in the BTT string could be used, but it was decided to use a string that
assembly as possible. This represented a limitation of the flow could do both the milling and the cementing operation due to
area available when mud was to be circulated, and during the limiting time available. Also the maximum flow through
subsequent displacements when placing the cement plugs. the CT string was high enough to operate the motors at a
maximum efficiency of 300 lpm (80 gpm), selected for this
Equipment Availability: The planning phase had to consider job (Fig. 5).
using equipment currently available or equipment that would In addition to having better flow capacity the 2” CT string
be made available within short time. Most of the equipment was preferred due to its better resistance towards buckling and
was mobilized in the North Sea area except for the cement eventually breaking if hitting an obstruction when running in
base equipment. Due to the field location detailed logistics hole in the large 10 ¾” casing.
planning became extremely important for the operational
performance. Focus was also brought to have at least one CT Inspection. Due to the many cycles involved in a milling
back-up solution for the ongoing operation on the rig at all operation it was decided that conventional cycle tracking
times. would not be sufficient. A new1 CT inspection system to have
Total delivery time for CT equipment and the Milling continuously real time control with the integrity of the string
BHA’s was set to be only 5 days, including manufacturing of was utilized. The system consists of a magnetic flux unit to
tailor made mills. determine metal loss, a caliper unit and an odometer unit for
depth and speed control. From the inspection system it is then
Well Design for Milling Operation: In order to be able to mill possible to get real time data of wall thickness, outer diameter,
through the BTT, it was decided to use a 5½” DP both as a ovallity, as well as detection of pitting corrosion, pinholes,
guide and landing string assembly. The string was landed and inclusion, circumferential cracks and mechanical damage.
locked into the Middle Pipe Ram. This design left the shear Tracking the integrity of the string on each run gave a much
ram in the drilling BOP as the secondary barrier. It therefore more reliable indication of pipe condition.
became important to design the CT BHA so that the shear ram
was able to cut through the BHA at all time during the CT Rig-Up: The semi submersible rig has modern drilling
operation. facilities design, with automatic pipehandling and elevated
Two 5” lubricator valves were installed in the 5½” DP catwalk in front of the V-Door in the derrick. This means that
landing string approximately 30 m below the RKB to be able rigging up a CT-Unit is quite a challenge. To avoid conflicts
to deploy the CT BHA in and out. (Fig. 3). between the string and the V-Door in the derrick a walkway
along the catwalk had to be removed and the reel placed as
CT Unit. The coiled tubing spread used in this operation was a close to the catwalk as possible. The string was then pulled in
standard 4 pieces CT unit, consisting of a control house with through the V-Door, and stabbed into the injector head
data acquisition unit, separate zone 2 approved power pack, standing on the drill floor.
reel, and injector head. The Unit had a capacity of 100 klbs Deployment of the long milling BHA was a critical
pull and 40 klbs push, and this was considered to be adequate operation. The BHA was too long to be lifted up and deployed
for providing required forces to perform the milling and in one length, therefore, two connections had to be made up in
cementing operation. the lifting frame. A torque machine was mobilized to make-up
the threads in the BHA.
CT Lift Frame. Since the operation was to be performed on a Lifting of the injector head up into the lifting frame was
floater, a coiled tubing lifting frame had to be installed in the another critical operation. The injector head had to be lifted
derrick to have the injector head compensated during the 15m above the drill floor with the winch in the lifting frame.
operation. The frame is hanging in the block by an elevator Safe guiding and great attention not to damage the equipment
and bails, then again the 5½” DP hangs in the frame by bails and the string was essential. Letting the injector head slide
and elevator. This creates a compensated work window for along two tuggers with one snatch block on each side of the
installation of the CT BOP, hydraulic quick latch, strippers injector head helped to guide it away from the frame. When
and injector head. The frame has a winch installed in the top to the equipment was all rigged up there was still small clearance
lift the injector head, CT BOP and BHA’s up and down from between the CT string and the V-Door (Fig. 6), therefore the
the drill floor into the compensated frame. The frame is fitted operation was quite weather sensitive.
with guide rails for the injector head to prevent movement
inside frame. (Fig. 4) Weather Criteria. Since the operation was performed on a semi
submersible rig, weather criteria and contingency procedures had
CT String. Two different strings were mobilized for the to be established. During rig-up the heave limitations was set to
operation. One Primary 2” CT 3500m long with tapers from maximum 1.5m, and 2 m during downhole operations. The
0.125” to 0.156”, and a 1.75” CT as a back-up in case the mud contingency procedure is given in Fig. 7.
SPE 54472 COILED TUBING MILLING AND TEMPORARY PLUG AND ABANDONMENT OPERATIONS 3

Milling Assembly. In order to mill the different sections in the Milling Fluid. The milling fluid had to meet the following
BTT assembly it was evident that several different BHA’s had criteria:
to be facilitated. The requirements for the milling motor were • Exhibit minimal pressure friction loss.
high RPM’s at low flowrate’s and to be able to withstand high • Have a density capable of balancing the formation
torque output (Fig. 5). pressure (1.53 sg).
Due to the requirement for cutting all parts of the CT BHA • Solids free.
with the shear ram in the drilling BOP, the motors had to be • Have a minimum steel against steel friction factor.
placed above the BOP during the milling operation. This gave • Capacity of carrying the milled steel debris out of the
a requirement for utilizing spaceout bars and stabilizers well.
between the motor shaft and the mill itself. The completion fluid used on the rig already, was KCOOH
The different mills used were designed and built at the (Potassium Format), and was deemed to be the optimum
warehouse locally, since the standard mills were felt not to be solution for this operation. Typical properties for the possible
optimum for this operation. The welder that was involved in milling fluid candidates are given in Table 2. A scematic
the manufacturing of the mills was also present offshore flowchart of the topside rig-up for the milling and cementing
during the operation, so that the mills could be redressed at opartion is given in Fig. 9.
site. The Hardfacing of the mills consisted of Tungsten
Carbide inserts, and crushed Carbide. The shape of the mills Cement Slurry Design: The cement design was done to
used was slightly concave as proved to be very efficient entertain the following properties:
during the onshore milling test. • Optimized rheology for proper placement.
In the different milling stages dressing of the side
• Sufficient thickening time for long job time.
aggressivity of the bit was evaluated closely. Different side
• Gas tight.
aggressivity was made depending on whether it was important
• Mechanically stable throughout the job.
to have the bit stable on top of the BTT section to be milled or
if the purpose was to open the ID of the BTT section a few
Cement Slurry Placement: The Coiled Tubing is perhaps the
fractions of an inch.
optimum way of setting balanced cement plugs. It enables the
cement to be pumped as the coil is pulled out of the hole,
Drilling Fluids. The drilling fluid in the well was an OBM of
ensuring contamination by OBM is minimized. Extensive
1.56 sg that had a very high LGS content, and had a possible
compatibility testing was undertaken with all fluids (OBM,
high cuttings content, so the need for a compatible
Spacers and Cement) to ensure no gellation or flash setting
displacement fluid, that could be circulated into the well at the
was occurring.
extremely low displacement flowrates available, was evident.
A computerized simulator was used to optimize
In order to make an efficient cement displacement, it was
operational parameters i.e. flowregimes, job times, safety
decided that the fluid left in the casing after the initial cleanup
factors, U-tube effects, and frictional pressures. It was evident
of the casing had to have an extremely low viscosity to ensure
that a turbulent flow regime was not possible, so an effective
an optimum placement of the cement plugs after the adapted
laminar displacement was opted for.
procedure described below.
The initial fluid in the hole had the properties as shown in
Base of Cement Plugs: There are three different main types of
Table 3. Due to the fact that all displacements were going to
providing a positive basement for the cement plug:
be performed inside the casing, compatibility vs. the old mud,
1. Bottom of Well.
reduction of gelstrength of the mud prior to cementing, and
2. Hi Viscosity Pill.
displacing out the solids loaded mud were the design criteria.
3. Mechanical Plugs (Retainer or Bridge Plugs).
At no point was the milling fluid evaluated as a possible
Due to the well configuration (Fig 2) and operational risks
displacement fluid, due to the incompatibility vs. OBM.
involved, neither of the above was felt to be optimum. So a
The OBM was extremely thin, but showed no sign of
novel mechanical plug that could be run through a 23/8” hole
barite settling as it was mixed with the mud already in the
and be expanded to fit inside the 10¾” Casing (ID=9.66”) was
hole. Several O/W Ratios and compositions were evaluated
designed and built for this unique application. The different
before a non-settling, low viscosity formulation was chosen.
stages of the activation of this tool is described in Fig 10. The
The final design is given in Tables 1 and 3. The total fluid
basis for this tool is an “umbrella” that is designed to be set
circulation system consisted of approx. 60m3, including
with DP.
surface pits and hole volume.(Fig. 8)
Onshore Milling Test. It was decided to perform a milling test
of the BTT assembly. The test well was located in Cairntouls,
Altens outside Aberdeen, UK. Test motors, mill designs, ROP
& operating parameters were simulated as close to the real
offshore conditions as possible. Elements similar to the BTT
4 E. SØRGÅRD, E. ØSTVIK, N. GRØNNERØD, G. SVANES, J. VILLAR, T.SALVESEN, L.TJÅLAND SPE 54472

assembly in the hole was put together to duplicate the well fragments falling down. However the onshore test showed that
configuration as far as possible. it was feasible to mill the ball without further difficulties. Due
Due to the limiting time available the onshore test was to this experience several attempts to fish the ball using both
performed in parallel with the offshore operation, only shifted venturi basket and magnets were performed but with no
1 day ahead. Valuable information and experience to perform success. However, some swarf was recovered with both
the milling operation was achieved with regards to the methods. The fishing operation was therefore terminated and a
different milling parameters. new milling BHA with the same specification as on the first
milling run was deployed. The ball was successfully milled in
Operations approximately 2 hrs. Later milling showed that falling
fragments from the steel ball did not create any trouble.
A total of 18 runs were performed in 15 days This was 5
runs more than planned due to several attempts to fish a ball in Milling Bottom of BTT. The purpose of this run was to mill
the BTT assembly and verification runs in order to verify the through the bottom of the BTT, and the X-Over to the Kelly-
cement job. The job can be divided into the following Cock (Fig. 1). This milling was performed with the same
operations: BHA as above, only adding some spaceout bars and
stabilizers. This milling operation was performed done in
Mobilization: Due to the fact that logistics was a main concern approx. 7.5hrs.
during the planning phase the operation was carried out with A safety meeting was then held, in order to prepare the
no additional time for waiting on new equipment. Chartered crew on possible trapped gas under the Kelly Cock. The
flights and trucks were used to meet the deadlines. milling continued and after 8.5hrs the BHA was through the
depth of the Kelly-Cock. Small amounts of gas were detected
Rigging up: The rigging of the CT-spread went pretty much as in the returns, and a volume of 4m3 was circulated out until the
planned. However making up the BHA in the frame, and gas was out of the milling fluid, and the BHA could be pulled
lifting the injector head up and down from the moving drill out of the hole.
floor (not compensated) was a risky operation. Having the Due to the limitation in the space out below the motor, a
injector head up in the lifting frame between each run, and new BHA was run in with extra extension bars below the
better possibilities for making up the BHA would have made motor assembly. It was then discovered that the Kelly-Cock
the operation safer and saved a lot of time. had unscrewed in the X-Over and had fallen down into the
well along with the rest of the assembly.
Depth Correlation/Milling fluid displacement: The first
task was to establish exact depth and to make sure that the 5 Conditioning Mud. The hole was displaced to the new OBM
½” DP was located correctly in the BOP. It was considered formulation in steps through a slick 2” BHA including Bull-
very important to have total depth control due to the danger of Nose with 4 nozzles of ½” diameter. A high gas-cut in the old
damaging the drilling BOP and to have accurate milling mud in the hole resulted in some barite settling problems, until
control. This was done successfully using a modified all gas was circulated out. This was seen as a reduced density
underreamer as end locator for the 5½” DP, and tagging the of the mud in the returns. As soon as all the gas was circulated
top of the BTT with an extension on the BHA. The HCOOK out, the mud properties remained stable within specifications.
milling fluid was then displaced using the cement unit. One of the main worries in the planning phase was to be
able to circulate the gelled, solids loaded mud out through the
Milling Top of BTT. The first milling run was done in order to narrow gap between the 23/8” milled hole and the 2” CT.
open the top of the BTT, and to mill away a retaining pin for a However no sign of plugging was seen.
steel ball. A 27/8”OD, 5/6 Multilobe 7.0 Stage PDM was Another concern was the possibility for local erosion of the
chosen to drive the bit, because of it’s high torque/rpm CT in the narrow milled annulus. To ensure the integrity of the
characteristics. A Concave tungsten carbide insert mill, 23/8” CT was intact, the CT was pulled out after circulation of a
was selected. The milling took 2hrs and 9min with an average small volume, and inspected with the topside inspection tool.
WOB of 5000 lbs., and a flow rate of 300 l/min. An effort was This was done a couple of times, but no local erosion was
made to collect the milled debris from the milling operation, found.
but due to the space between the top of the BTT and the 5½” After the displacement from the BOP down to 2000mMD,
DP (0.5 m), all debris was left in well. This was however of no the PV had dropped from 58 cP to 23 cP, 10” Gel strength
great concern since the test milling had proved that the from 10 Pa to 2,5 Pa, and 10’ Gel strength from 18 Pa to 4 Pa.
cuttings from the milling operation were in fact filings, and the The mud values remained stable (Table 3), and it was decided
amount of steel to be removed was less than 3 liters (total to set the cement base.
amount calculated for the whole milling operation).
Placement of Cement Plugs. The Base for the first cement
Retrieving Ball. It was experienced during the onshore test plug (2000mMD) was run in while continuously circulating
that milling the steel ball in the BTT (Fig. 1) could create through the upper ports in the running tool, to avoid plugging
some problems for the milling operation below due to ball of the tool. The steel ball was dropped but no pressure
SPE 54472 COILED TUBING MILLING AND TEMPORARY PLUG AND ABANDONMENT OPERATIONS 5

increase was seen at the surface (Fig. 10). Due to uncertainty performing many runs. A new system that enables the
if the tool was extruded, the CT was POOH, and the running injector head to be placed in the frame during the entire job
tool inspected. It was verified that the Base had been set, so should be used when performing several runs on the same
the cement plug was set with the same BHA as during well.
displacement of mud. 6. Being able to reformulate the OBM before displacement
The first cement plug was set from 1993mMD to ensured that the displacement of old OBM as well as setting
1888mMD. The flowrates and pressures obtained during the cement plugs could be performed in the most satisfactory
displacement were identical as proposed by the simulator (Fig. manner.
11) indicating that the validity of the design. The cement plug 7. The KCOOH performed very well as a milling fluid, and no
was then tagged at 1901mMD and pressure tested and found torque or fluid incompatibility problems were observed.
OK. 8. CT is the most optimum method of setting cement plugs.
The second cement base was pinned higher and then run Due to its ability to pull out of the plug while displacing,
and set at 997mMD. Good verification on surface was thereby minimizing contamination, precise placement is
obtained and a cement plug was then set through the running achieved.
tool from 997mMD to 870mMD. This plug was not firmly 9. It was verified that even at flow rates as low as 250 lpm it is
located. Indications of contaminated cement was seen, and it possible to set a gas tight cement plug in a large diameter
was decided to place a new reformulated cement plug from hole (9,66”) with a 2” CT when the proper design is
892mMD to 735mMD without setting a new base. This plug employed.
was tagged at 754.5mMD and pressure tested and found OK. 10. The Cement Base utilized is an excellent base for cement
plugs, and represents an improvement in cementing
Post CT Operation History. The well was displaced to sea technology.
water above the top cement plug, and the BOP was pulled, 11. The Computer Simulator used in the cement displacement
repaired and re-ran (Fig 12). The cement plugs were drilled, design, was an essential tool, to tie together the various
and hard cement was confirmed in the interval from 754 parameters, and thereby verifying the design.
mMD to 997 mMD, and 1901 mMD to 1993 mMD. The fish Nomenclature
below 10¾” was retrieved, and the open hole was displaced to
new mud, as the open hole was found to be in good shape BHA = Bottom Hole Assembly
even after several months. A 7” liner was run and the well was BOP = Blow Out Preventer
completed as a gas injector. BTT = BOP Testing Tool
CT = Coiled Tubing
Conclusion DP = Drill Pipe
The members of the Task Force all consisted of personnel gpm = US gallons per minute
from Either Norsk Hydro or Service Companies that had a ID = Inner Diameter
frame agreement with Norsk Hydro. Having such agreements LGS = Low Gravity Solids (i.e. Drill Solids)
ensures an Operator that the recourses such as Personell and lpm = liter per minute
materials were available. There is, therefore, a mutual interest mMD = metre Measured Depth
in solving new challenges in an already well established OBM = Oil Based Mud
working relationship and all resources could be oriented vs. P&A = Plug and Abandon
the problem at hand without any delay. PDM = Positive Displacement Motor
The main conclusions/experiences that can be learned from PV = Plastic Viscosity, cP
this well are: RKB = Rotary Table/Kelly Bushing
ROP = Rate Of Penetration
1. The Task Force approach, liberates the Engineers from the RPM = Rotations pr Minute
day-to-day issues, and ensures a focus on the job at hand. TCT = True Crystallization Temperature
Inclusion of key personnel from the service companies in WOB = Weight on Bit
such a task force worked well.
2. It is possible to mill out large sections of high yield strength Acknowledgments
steel with small sized CT-equipment by optimizing operation The Authors wish to thank Norsk Hydro ASA for the
parameters. opportunity to present this paper. We also want to thank the
3. Testing the milling operation onshore upfront gives personnel involved on- and off-shore that contributed to this
additional information and can help optimizing the operation. success.
4. Real time inspection of the CT-string is the best way to keep
control of the CT-string integrity especially while doing References
operations that involves short movement of the CT-string 1 SPE 46038 Remote Coiled Tubing Operation Monitoring, by
and performing CT operations on floaters. Patrik M. A. Rosen, Rosen Inspection Technologies (RIT)
5. It was time consuming to move the injector head up and SPE/ICOTA Coiled Tubing Roundtable in Houston, Texas,
down from the lifting frame in the derrick on a floater when 15-16 April 1998
6 E. SØRGÅRD, E. ØSTVIK, N. GRØNNERØD, G. SVANES, J. VILLAR, T.SALVESEN, L.TJÅLAND SPE 54472

Table 1 - Formulations and Main Rheology properties for OBM

PRODUCTS UNIT Oil/Water-ratio 80/20 Oil/Water-ratio 90/10
Baseoil Ml 599 599 599 599 599 599 673 673 673 673 673 673
Primary Emulsifier Ml 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
Secondary Emulsifier Ml 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
Lime G 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
Viscosifier G 8 8 6 6 4 4 8 8 6 6 4 4
Freshwater Ml 148,4 148,4 148,4 148,4 148,4 148,4 73,7 73,7 73,7 73,7 73,7 73,7
CaCl2 G 55,5 55,5 55,5 55,5 55,5 55,5 27,6 27,6 27,6 27,6 27,6 27,6
Barite (1.55 sg) G 800,6 800,6 800,6 800,6 800,6 800,6 843 843 843 843 843 843
Modifier Ml 1 1 2 1 1 2
RHEOLOGY PROPERTIES @ 21 °C
2
3 rpm lb/100 ft 5 11 4 8 2,5 8 2 5 1 3 2 3
PV Cp 39 40 33 41 32 36 30 34 29 35 28 32
YP Pa 8 9 4,5 6 3,5 6,5 3,5 4,5 3,5 3 2 3,5
Gel 10 sec Pa 3,5 5,5 2,5 6,5 2 6 2 4 1,5 3 2 2,5
Gel 10 min Pa 3,5 15 3,5 11 3 10,5 3 8,5 2 6 2,5 6
Table 1: Formulations and Rheology properties for the OBM that were formulated in order to displace the solids loaded
OBM out of the 10 ¾” Casing. The 90/10 formulation in the shaded column were the formulation selected.

Table 2- Milling Fluid Properties

Coefficient
Density Viscosity Load of Friction
Brine T [°C]
[sg] [cP] [@12.5 ftlb] µ=F
W
NaBr 1,53 26 2 20 0,13
KCOOH 1,53 25 9 9,6 0,064
CaBr2/CaCl2 1,53 22 7 10,2 0,068
Table 2: Typical Properties for the different milling fluid alternatives. (F = Torque, W = Load)

Table 3 Actual OBM Properties

Rheology @ 21 °C UNIT Mud in hole After displacement Lab.formulation
600 rpm lb/100 ft2 143 53 65
300 rpm lb/100 ft2 85 30 36
200 rpm lb/100 ft2 63 21 25
100 rpm lb/100 ft2 40 13 14
6 rpm lb/100 ft2 11 4 2
3 rpm lb/100 ft2 9 3 1
PV cP 58 23 29
YP Pa 13,5 3,5 3,5
Gel 10 sec Pa 10 2,5 1,5
Gel 10 min Pa 18 4 2

Mudweight sg 1,56 1,55 1,55

Electric Stability volt 570 730 1266
Oil/Water - ratio % 70/30 83/17 90/10
LGS kg/m3 200 110 -
Table 3: Fluid properties for the drilling fluid
SPE 54472 COILED TUBING MILLING AND TEMPORARY PLUG AND ABANDONMENT OPERATIONS 7

Fig. 1 – The BTT consisted of several components, with ID ranging from 1½” to 213/16”. In order to remove as little steel as possible it was
decided to use an 2 3/8” OD milling assembly. The different components of the BTT with it’s corresponding ID is shown.

Fig. 2- Well schematic for the situation as the BTT became stuck.
8 E. SØRGÅRD, E. ØSTVIK, N. GRØNNERØD, G. SVANES, J. VILLAR, T.SALVESEN, L.TJÅLAND SPE 54472

Fig. 3 – Coiled Tubing Well Schematics

SPE 54472 COILED TUBING MILLING AND TEMPORARY PLUG AND ABANDONMENT OPERATIONS 9

Fig. 4 – CT Lift Frame

Fig. 5 – Motor Diagram for PDM Motor Used

10 E. SØRGÅRD, E. ØSTVIK, N. GRØNNERØD, G. SVANES, J. VILLAR, T.SALVESEN, L.TJÅLAND SPE 54472

Fig 6. – Coiled Tubing rigup, side view. With relative distances.

SPE 54472 COILED TUBING MILLING AND TEMPORARY PLUG AND ABANDONMENT OPERATIONS 11

Fig. 7 – Harsh Weather Contingency Procedure

12 E. SØRGÅRD, E. ØSTVIK, N. GRØNNERØD, G. SVANES, J. VILLAR, T.SALVESEN, L.TJÅLAND SPE 54472

Fig. 8 – Milling Fluid and Drilling Fluids active volume of 60m3

Fig. 9- Schematic Flowchart for the Milling and Cementing operation

SPE 54472 COILED TUBING MILLING AND TEMPORARY PLUG AND ABANDONMENT OPERATIONS 13

Fig. 10 – Cement Base Operating Principle

Actual Well Head Pressure

300

Simulated Well Head Pressure

200
WHP (bars)

Displace the slurry with

1.55 sg mud.
100

Mix and pump 5 m3

1 m3
slurry spacer
behind
slurry
0

0.0 25.0 50.0

Time (min)

Fig. 11 – Actual Pump Pressure vs. Simulated Pressure (First Plug at 997mMD)
14 E. SØRGÅRD, E. ØSTVIK, N. GRØNNERØD, G. SVANES, J. VILLAR, T.SALVESEN, L.TJÅLAND SPE 54472

Fig. 12 - Well Status after the two cement plugs were set, the BTT removed from the BOP, and
drilling could commence.