American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2017 - 66

SpecialReport: Tubulars Technology

Technologies Tackle Challenging Wells
By Victor A. Schmidt
Special Correspondent

consume more tubular goods. With increasing lateral lengths, some onshore
horizontal wells are rivaling their deepwater counterparts with respect to the
total quantity of steel run down the hole.
On average, a single horizontal or deepwater well requires enough pipe and connections to drill and case at least seven
typical lower-48 vertical wells.
It is a different world out there with
new sets of engineering and operating
challenges, and oil country tubular goods
manufacturers are responding with a new
generation of solutions. The gold standard
in OCTG and drilling tubulars has become
high-torque, high-strength pipe and connections engineered to withstand the rigors
of today's drilling and development programs, whether getting a 10,000-foot lateral
to total depth in the Wolfcamp play or
getting casing to bottom 25,000 feet below
the mudline in a subsalt Miocene well.
A case in point is Vallourec's new
drilling connection, the VAM® X-Force™

Constructing a high-quality wellbore
from the pilot hole to target depth is dependent on a long list of technologies
and processes, but none are more fundamental to success than the tubular components used to drill, case and ultimately
produce the hydrocarbons. The performance metrics of pipe and connections
continue to be redefined as operators drill
ever-more complex borehole architectures
in the quest to develop tight oil, shale
gas and deepwater reserves as efficiently,
safely and cost-effectively as possible.
In these demanding environments,
tubulars and connections are subjected
to increased torque, compression, fatigue,
collapse, friction, drag, wear and other
stresses, along with higher pressures/temperatures and more corrosive environments. And not only are today's well designs more challenging, but they also

of a traditional double-shoulder design
with a new thread profile to provide maximum torque and better fatigue performances
without degrading tensile strength, according
to Marta Lafuente, product champion for
threaded connections at Vallourec.
"VAM X-Force was designed to enable
oil and gas companies to reach deeper,
more complex reservoirs while mitigating
risks and reducing the total costs of a
drilling program," Lafuente says. "In addition to mechanical benefits, it offers
operational benefits such as ultrafast
makeup and deeper stabbing without the
need for stabbing guides, and economic
benefits such as low repair rates and reduced recut lengths."
The new connection builds on the
characteristics of the VAM® Express™
premium line, and can handle up to 100
percent more torque than standard API
connections, Lafuente reports. "The thread
shape is what provides the extra torque
capability. Its curved shape increases the

Preston Publishing Co. Presents the Inaugural

OCTG and Line Pipe Forecast Summit
This one day workshop, presented in
cooperation with World Steel Dynamics,
provides a three-year forecast of oilfield
activity in North America. The morning
session will showcase expert opinions on
oil and natural gas demand, price and
geography of supply followed in the
afternoon by a detailed presentation of
Preston's U.S. and Canadian OCTG and
line pipe demand and price forecast and
World Steel Dynamics' steel pipe and tube
raw material forecast - a key factor in any
source of supply and price discussion. At
the end of the day, attendees will enjoy
networking with speakers and industry
peers over cocktails and appetizers.

*A portion of conference proceeds will be donated
toward Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts.

Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Hilton Houston Post Oak by the Galleria

Who Should Attend?
Exploration & Production Companies * Equipment & Service Companies
* Equipment Manufacturers, Pipeline & Pipeline Supplier Companies and
Contractors * OCTG & Line Pipe Manufacturers, Distributors, Importers
and Suppliers * Analysts, Investors and Lenders

For more information and to register to attend, please visit:
http://www.prestonpipe.com/octg-and-line-pipe-forecast-summit/
66 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER
http://www.prestonpipe.com/octg-and-line-pipe-forecast-summit/
American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2017
