With the support of SPD, SibBurMash achieved a run length of 36 m with 100% high-quality core recovery. This is the record run length for SibBurMash, which is much greater than the average value in Russia (6-12 m). This resulted in almost a 50% reduction in core recovery time for SPD when drilling wells in the Salym group of oil fields.
“Our work is an ample proof of win-win cooperation,” said Gilles de Broucker, a French expert who leads SPD's reservoir development team. “It shows how a Russian service company can enrich its knowledge and experience through cooperation with SPD and Shell. We succeeded in persuading SibBurMash to gradually increase the length of runs: we were convinced that this task would be feasible due to our experience in other countries and in other drilling conditions.”
“Initially SPD’s requirements seemed to be extremely tough,” said Bulat Khairullin, CEO of SibBurMash. “But as time has passed, we have started to consider them as high performance standards. SPD's high performance requirements have driven the creative thinking of our design engineers and technologists. In consequence, starting with the core sampling runs of 6m length, we have already reached 36m-length runs in one running, and the rate of penetration while drilling through the well has increased 4 times, in average - from 1.96 m/hour to 7.93 m/hour.”
During the collaborative work, SibBurMash experts found that, although SPD requires a lot, it also has a lot to offer. “I'd like to mention the high professional level of SPD specialists,” - said Bulat Khairullin. “It is nice to talk with each of them, be it in the base camp, in the offices in Moscow or Tyumen, they are attentive and helpful to the interlocutor, sincerely trying to help in solving arising problems. For example, they invited a core sampling expert from Shell to explain the impact of the run length on the core analysis quality.”
“We are extremely satisfied with the outcome of our collaboration, since it reflects the essence and meaning of the SPD work,” said Gilles de Broucker. “It is our goal to combine advanced international technologies with all the best that exists in Russia, and this is why we work in Salym.”
Bulat Khairullin points out that the new core sampling technologies mastered by the SibBurMash experts during the partnership with SPD in the Salym oil fields will quickly enter the Russian market. In fact, SibBurMash operates in all major oil-producing regions of Russia. Now the company can apply the experience of long runs in core sampling to other projects, which provide more accurate geological information about the properties of rocks.
