MaxVert® Brings Old Well Back to Life in the Permian Basin

An international operator drilling in the Permian Basin wanted to deepen a 30-year-old well by 1200-ft. The well was initially perforated and subsequently produced. After 30 years on production, the well could not support a full column of fluid. In order to safely drill the additional 1200-ft., the operator first wanted to regain circulation in the wellbore. In an effort to regain circulation, the operator attempted to squeeze cement three times into the existing perforated zone with no success.

Impact Fluid Solutions (IFS) engineered a MaxVert diverter package to plug the existing 33 perforations to regain circulation. MaxVert fluid diverter is a temporary diverting material used in fracturing, refracturing, and sub-hydrostatic workovers. In this operation, MaxVert was used to temporarily plug existing perforations allowing the operator to reach a new, untapped section of their reservoir.

An IFS Field Service Technician prepared a 75 bbl pill in a brine fluid. The Hydril annular blow-out-preventer (BOP) was closed and the pill was bull-headed into the drill pipe and down the casing. The first indicator that the pill reached the target zone of perforations was the pressure climbed to 600 psi on the manifold. After the pressure reached 800 psi, the pumps were shut down to determine if the system could hold pressure. After 30 minutes the pressure dropped from 800 psi to 250 psi. An additional 4 bbl of MaxVert diverter pill was pumped downhole. After the pressure reached 960 psi, another static test was performed to determine if the wellbore would be able to hold the pressure for an additional 15 minutes. During that time the system did not lose any pressure and the attempt to regain recirculation was deemed a success.