3636 Linden Avenue

Long Beach, CA

COST: $15.00 General; $5.00 Students

SPEAKER: Alex Crabtree

BJ Services

TOPIC: Coiled Tubing NDT: The Issues

Summary:

Coiled Tubing (CT) has evolved from tentative beginnings into an established method of performing well interventions within the oil and gas industry. Initial hesitancy was due to the perception that CT was unreliable and prone to failure, either developing pinhole leaks leading to the loss of pressure integrity or even catastrophic breaks resulting in tubing being left in the well. The advent of the continuous milling process that allowed the manufacture of long CT strings, together with more rigorous raw steel specifications, enabled the study of the tubing’s plastic fatigue response and subsequent prediction of tubing service life. Several low-cycle fatigue models are now available to assist in the management of CT, to ensure that it is not used beyond the point at which it might fail due to plastic overwork. These models also offer the service provider the opportunity to maximise the life of its CT fleet. Failures due to purely plastic fatigue have almost been eradicated, as a result of these studies and models.

Despite the advancements, and the immense potential of CT, the development of its application to a wider range of operations continues to be hampered by the perception that CT is prone to failure. As a recent industry survey confirmed, many in the industry still view CT as unreliable. It would appear that, until such perceptions change, further development of the use of CT into more diverse areas of well intervention would be inhibited.

That CT can suffer unexpected failure is not disputed and it is in order to reduce the number of such incidents that Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) techniques are being developed and applied. What are the causes of these unexpected failures and how can they be detected prior to inducing failure? How can they be prevented? When should NDT inspection be undertaken and at what point is the additional cost of NDT justified? What levels of certainty can inspection provide? These are some of the issues that will be examined

Biography:

Alex Crabtree graduated from UMIST with a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering in 1982. During his career he has been involved in the engineering, operation and management of cementing, DST, acidising, fracturing, fishing, nitrogen and Coiled Tubing services worldwide. His first involvement with Coiled Tubing was in 1985 and in 1996 he became Group Leader for Worldwide Technical Support at BJ Services’ Coiled Tubing Research and Engineering facility. For the last two years he has been a member of the SPE/ICoTA Round Table Technical Review Committee. He holds two patents, with a third applied for, and has authored four papers.

For additional information, please contact:

Tom Hoy, Long Beach Dept. of Oil Properties (562) 570-3943, tohoy@ci.long-beach.ca.us
Brennan Campbell, THUMS (562) 624-3536, Brennan_Campbell@oxy.com

Thais Montenegro de McComb, (714)962-1723, tmontenegro@prodigy.net

Dan Dudak, State Lands, (562) 590-5201, dudakd@slc.ca.gov

Golf and More Golf

The annual LA SPE Golf Tournament is scheduled for June at the Green River Golf Course. Contact John Jepson (jjepson@consrv.ca.gov) or Tim Liggett (tliggett@onyx-industrial.com) for details.

If you are in the area, join the California and Natural Gas Producers Association and Sacramento Petroleum Association for their First Annual Golf Tournament, to be held Friday, May 3, at the Yolo Fliers Club in Woodland. Contact Karen Smith (916-859-4710) for registration and prize sponsorship opportunities.

Mei Chang Memorial Scholarships

In memory of the life and contributions of Mei Chang, the Los Angeles Basin SPE Section s is pleased to announce that it will award two $500 college scholarships for the 2002-2003 school year. Scholarship recipients must meet the following requirements:

High school senior entering college in the fall of 2002 and reside in the Los Angeles/Orange County area. Preference will be given to the students intending to major in an energy-related discipline such as Petroleum Engineering or Geology.

The candidates will be evaluated on their scholastic achievement, citizenship and community volunteer work.

For an application or more information, please contact John Yu, Scholarship Chairman, at the California State Lands Commission, (562) 590-5201.The deadline for submittal of the completed application will be May 17, 2002.

April 2002

3636 Linden Avenue

Long Beach, CA