Many oil fields around the world are generally in an advanced state of depletion, having entered this condition because of extended decades of continued extraction. This decline in reservoir pressure has the potential to leave large amounts of oil in place.
Driven by economic factors and a need to maintain existing production volumes, operators are interested in technologies that would allow improved opportunities while engaging those reservoirs with a higher index of depletion.
3M will display new solutions for the oil and gas industry at ADIPEC this year. One such technology that has been identified and applied in some areas of the world is under-balanced drilling (UBD). UBD allows new wells to be drilled into mature, low-pressure reservoirs.
The concept of adding 3M Microspheres to decrease the density of the base fluid and create a light weight yet incompressible fluid, was seen as potential solution to overcome some of the limitations associated with aerated UBD while maintaining many of its benefits.
3M Microspheres are engineered fillers and have been used in many other industries, most notably aerospace and automotive, where weight reduction while maintaining strength is beneficial. Also, because of their high strength to weight ratio, 3M Microspheres find utilization in buoyancy modules for subsea risers.
Field applied pipe coating is just one of the many solutions 3M is providing to the oil and gas industry. 3M Scotchkote 352 is a plural component coating system designed to protect buried steel structures from the harsh affects of corrosion. Scotchkote 352 can also be used in a wide variety of other field applications where corrosion protection of metal is required. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
