New Horizontal Drilling Record: 35,770 Feet!

Imagine logging, interpreting, setting casing, perforating, and fracing a horizontal section of a well 35,770 long? Amazing.
Peter


Transocean rig breaks world drilling record
Filed from Houston 5/21/2008 1:51:37 PM GMT (source)
QATAR: Offshore drilling contractor Transocean is claiming a new world record for the longest extended-reach well ever drilled. Transocean jackup GSF Rig 127 set the record, drilling Well BD-04A in the Al-Shaheen field offshore Qatar to a depth of 40,320 feet (12,289 m) with a 35,770-foot (10,902-m) horizontal section.

The well is the first offshore well to exceed 40,000 feet (12,191 m) and breaks the previous extended-reach record holder, ExxonMobil's Sakhalin-1 well in Russia's Chayo field, by 2,000 feet (6,096 m).

During the 36 incident-free days of drilling, the crew members on GSF Rig 127 overcame high drilling torque through the horizontal section, and used deck-management planning and a supply boat to hold additional drill pipe, allowing the rig to stay within its variable deck load rating.
GSF Rig 127 is a Friede & Goldman L-780 Mod II design jackup, with 250-foot (76.2-m) water depth capability and operates with two Emsco FB 1600 Mud pumps. Other equipment includes a 2000-horsepower National 1320 UE Drawworks, and a Varco TDS-4S Top Drive.

Transocean Egypt and Middle East Division Manager Gary Bauer lauded the crew of the rig. "It goes without saying that your accomplishment truly epitomizes and embraces Transocean's vision statement where Rig 127 has a group of highly motivated people dedicated to achieving operational excellence in an incident-free environment and being recognized for delivering superior performance. Well done to the entire Rig 127 Team and continued success in delivering safe, superior performance."