Welltec® Annular Barrier Installed in First Presalt Deepwater Well for Cementless Completion

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, February 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Welltec®, the world leader in safe and cost effective well solutions, is pleased to announce that its Welltec® Annular Barrier (WAB®) has been successfully utilized within a pre-salt reservoir, offshore Brazil. 

After extensive material, functional and qualification testing, several WAB's were deployed above the reservoir acting as a well barrier and several more in the reservoir itself to provide barriers in the open hole. The WAB's provide a 'life of well' barrier maintaining separation between two distinct reservoir units and replacing the traditional use of cement as the barrier. 

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After installation the barriers were successfully tested for integrity which continues to be verified on a regular basis.  

"This is just one of a number of wells around the world where we have installed the WAB® for this application, but it's the first in presalt deepwater" says CEO Jorgen Hallundbaek. "The benefits are immense, starting with a safer well design, faster deployment, access to more reservoir surface, reduced skin effects and continuing with increased production rates and significantly lower costs. The end result is a much more attractive deepwater well design." 

The Welltec® Annular Barrier is a unique, metal expandable barrier with a large expansion ratio and high delta P capability. Its novel capabilities allow it to be expanded from surface, with no waiting times and conform to the surrounding open hole environment, even if ovality is present. 

Welltec® is the pioneer and the world's largest provider of downhole robotic solutions for deployment, milling, clean-out and mechanical solutions. More recently our novel, expandable metal annular barrier's (WAB's) capabilities are accelerating and providing benefits for operators globally for safer wells with lower capex while providing higher productivity. 

For more examples of innovative ways to solve your challenges through lower lifting costs, reduced capex and maintained production -http://www.welltec.com/reducecost

Contact: Brian Sidle, bsidle@welltec.com, +45-4814-3514, +45-52138346