RE: Lundin25 Sep 2018 22:36
Snail,
""As anticipated fluid losses were encountered while drilling the well, which were successfully managed, demonstrating the technical viability of developing the Alta field with horizontal wells." …........................ok showing my ignorance again but what does this mean ? Whatever it is doesn't sound a problem."
By 'fluid losses' the reference is to drilling fluid, aka 'mud' in the vernacular. 'Mud' serves many purposes, but one important one is 'pressure control', hydrostatically balancing (or overbalancing) reservoir pressure, to make sure any oil or gas stays nicely where it should be (ie underground) while drilling. And not coming to surface except in minute quantities, and especially not in an uncontrolled manner, which is otherwise known as a blowout.
Regulations are different regarding a well's 'classification'. In 'exploration', reservoir pressures may be anticipated in advance, but remain empirically unknown. That's why it's called exploration. So higher mud densities are mandated to ensure 'overbalance' in case your calculations were a bit out. But this can have the undesired effect of 'losing fluid' INTO the reservoir. Which can (a) gum up the pores (or fractures, in the case of Halifax), and (b) if you start 'losing fluid', it can lower your 'hydrostatic control pressure head) , which means the fluid may be going into a low-pressure segment of the reservoir while a higher-pressure section intersected by the borehole may 'come in', ie start spitting oil or gas back at you. With undesired consequences.
On 'appraisal' or 'development' wells, the regulations allow more leeway, because by now you know the reservoir pressures. So can work the mud densities within far tighter margins, and avoid such problems. And even if some 'fluid loss may easily (and quite often does) happen, you can be ready for it with mitigating controls in place. Which are far too many and complicated to list here.
It's a very complicated subject. We met at your lovely place a few months ago, and only for a few hours. Invite me for a week and I could still be talking 'well pressure control' without covering old ground at the end of it!
But also (if you're still with me here), that's also a reason why the Spirit GWA deal involves TWO wells on Warwick, and just one on Lincoln. Because Warwick will be (on paper) 'exploration'. But the following well and Lincoln <ill be 'appraisal', so they can play around with things better. Sure, Lincoln was 'appraisal' in 2016, but that was quick an' dirty and absolutely brilliant, and was never meant as anything other than a data-gatherer on a budget with a quick timeframe, which is why it was plugged and totally abandoned afterwards.
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