CEMENTING

Tubing Release Tool (TRT)

The Newest Plug-Setting Aid Developed by Halliburton

Halliburtons TRT is a plug-setting aid that helps enable placement of a

competent cement plug downhole. The TRT (Figure 1) was designed based on the following concepts: Plug contamination can be reduced if the tailpipe remains in the cement plug. The tailpipe enables cement placement directly over problem zones where fluid loss is suspected. The tailpipe allows the drillpipe to remain above a fluid-loss zone, reducing the risk of the drillpipe becoming differentially stuck. The TRT enables the operator to pull a wet workstring, thus preventing displacement fluid from contaminating placed cement.

Applications
The TRT helps ensure a competent plug on the first attempt for kickoff, sidetracking, or plugging and abandonment purposes. It retains the fluid inside the workstring after the drillpipe separates from the lower tubing/tailpipe. Consequently, the cement plug remains free of damage and contamination that can be caused by the displacement fluid falling from inside the drillpipe. The TRT can be used in vertical to highly deviated wellbores.

Features
The tool is designed to achieve these objectives through the following features: The disconnect mechanisms upper portion, located near the top of cement (TOC), is made of nondrillable materials and is retrieved to the surface with the workstring. The weighted phenolic ball prevents both displacement of fluid from the workstring and fluid mingling with placed cement. The disconnect mechanisms lower portion consists of drillable or nondrillable materials, depending on the application. This portion of the TRT remains connected to the tailpipe, which remains in the wellbore. In vertical to highly deviated wellbores, centralizers may be necessary in large wellbore configurations to help ensure maximum displacement efficiency, however, steel centralizers render that section undrillable. Table 1 (Page 2) provides the operating parameters for the TRT and Figure 2 (Page 2) illustrates the running configurations of the tool.

Figure 1Tubing release tool

HALLIBURTON

HAL16573

Case Histories
The TRT plug-setting aid was introduced October of 2002 in the New Mexico Monument field. The Monument field, now substantially depleted, was discovered in the 1930s. In some areas of the field, the low formation pressure will not support the drillingfluid column and fluids will be lost to the formation. Wells drilled through Monument field Grayburg and San Andres formations usually lose circulation between 3,900 and 4,700 ft in extremely pressure-depleted zones that have produced for as long as 70 years. The TRT has improved plug-setting success using a tailpipe to help place cement properly while helping ensure the workstring remains safely above the loss interval. The TRT has been used successfully by more than 14 operating companies on more than 160 jobs to date. The TRT and custom tailpipe have successfully healed lost-circulation intervals in all 37 wells at well depths ranging from 724 to 11,400 ft and tailpipe lengths varying from 150 to 5,300 ft. Lost circulation was healed in more than 150 wells on the first attempt, for a total estimated rig-time savings of more than 280 to 550 days.
HAL16574

Figure 2Tubing release tool configuration after disconnect

Table 1Operating Parameters for the Tubing Release Tool (TRT)

TRT OD TRT Assembly Part No. Tailpipe Thread Connection Material Makeup Lower Section is Drillable Load Rating Releasing Sleeve ID (Drillable) Secondary Releasing Sleeve (Nondrillable) Releasing Ball Part No. Releasing Ball Size Maximum Pump Rate Release Pressure Rupture Disc
* ** Assembly

3.75 in. (95.25 mm) 101344701* 2-7/8 EUE 8rd Aluminum Yes 7,500 lbm (33,361 N) 1.62 in. (41 mm) 1.62 in. (41 mm) 101437253 1.875 in. (47.6 mm) 10 bbl/min (1.59 ft3/min) 101298569** 101307271** 3-1/2 EUE 8rd

6 in. (152.4 mm) 101307273** 4-1/2 EUE 8rd 101307275** 3-1/2 EUE 8rd Steel No 20,000 lbm (88,964 N) 1.88 in. (47.8 mm) 1.88 in. (47.8 mm) 101437252 2.375 in. (60.3 mm) 15 bbl/min (2.38 ft3/min) 2,500 500 psi (17.2 3.45 MPa) 4,000 psi (27.58 MPa) at 250F (121C) 65,000 lbm (289,134 N)

The 3.75-in. OD tool uses two 4-in. foam wiper balls (Part No. 152014) and one 1.875-in. steel ball (Part No. 101437253). includes all items identified in Figure 2, plus a 6-in. foam wiper ball (Part No. 152016) and two 2-3/8-in. steel ball (Part No. 101437252).

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