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Originally appeared in World Oil® SEPTEMBER 2014 issue, pgs 45-49. Posted with permission. 
Ultra-HPHT perforating system opens 
access to untapped reservoirs 
World Oil® / SEPTEMBER 2014 45 
HIGH PRESSURE/HIGH TEMPERATURE 
In deploying the industry’s 
first ultra-HPHT perforating 
system in the Gulf of 
Mexico, one operator was 
able to access a previously 
inaccessible formation. 
System components were 
qualified and suitable for use 
at 35,000 psi and 470°F, 
for the duration and 
temperature ramp-up 
specified during testing. 
ŝŝCHARLIE McCLEAN, BILL MYERS, DIDHITI 
TALAPATRA, MARK SLOAN and STEPHEN 
ZUKLIC, Baker Hughes 
As the global demand for energy con-tinues 
to grow, operators are faced with 
accessing reserves that, until recently, were 
classed as uneconomical or operationally 
risky. Much of this risk stems from the fact 
that many of these reserves are in remote 
reservoirs with exceedingly high tempera-tures 
and pressures. 
However, with continued advance-ments 
in technology, and a better un-derstanding 
of extreme well conditions, 
operators are more willing to take on 
ultra-high-pressure/high-temperature 
(U-HPHT) projects. A Gulf of Mexico 
operator, for example, expressed such a 
willingness to extend the industry’s techni-cal 
limits when drilling a well with a mea-sured 
depth (MD) in excess of 29,000 ft. 
Downhole temperature and pressure were 
expected to reach up to 470°F and 35,000 
psi, including the applied pressure required 
to fire a perforating system. 
This article reviews the detailed process 
that the operator undertook with Baker 
Hughes to develop and deliver a tubing-conveyed 
perforating (TCP) system that 
could successfully deploy in this U-HPHT 
environment. This would not only enable 
access to a previously untapped reservoir, 
but it would mark the first-ever perforation 
operation at 34,500 psi. 
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 
Perforating guns, which contain mul-tiple 
explosive charges that create holes in 
the casing string to allow communication 
between the formation and the wellbore, 
vary in diameter and length, but they typi-cally 
share several main components in 
common, Fig.1: 
• A steel strip to hold shaped charges in 
place 
• A detonating cord that connects to 
the back of each shaped charge 
• Boosters, crimped to each end of the 
detonating cord 
• A hollow carrier into which the as-sembly 
fits 
• A connecting sub (tandem). 
The gun system for any U-HPHT 
project must withstand not only ambient 
downhole pressures, but it must also hold 
up to any additional applied pressure re-quired 
to operate the firing system. The op-erator 
and service provider worked closely 
to develop design criteria for each compo-nent 
of the perforating system, such that it 
would work reliably, and safely, with the ex-treme 
downhole conditions expected. 
Steel. While the past few years have seen 
considerable improvements in the perfor-mance 
capabilities of high-strength, low-alloy 
steel, the conditions expected in the 
Gulf of Mexico well required a higher level 
of scrutiny in steel quality during the manu-facturing 
process. Any detected anomaly in 
the material specification must be identified 
as early as possible, so that corrective action 
can be implemented and, if necessary, an-other 
run of the material can be produced. 
Gun system. While selecting a gun sys-tem 
for any U-HPHT project, consider-ations 
must be made for the pressure rat-ing 
and for gun reaction after detonation. 
Initial calculations were based on the for-mulas 
provided by API for the collapse 
of tubing (API Bulletin 5C3), as well as 
supplemental proprietary formulas devel-oped 
for the scalloped gun body geometry. 
Finite-element analysis showed that the 
raw material for the guns must have in-creased 
minimum yield strength over stan-dard 
gun body material, to withstand an 
environment of 35,000 psi and 470°F. The 
U-HPHT gun system must also include 
a tandem sub connector that contains an 
internal fluid bypass, enabling the gun sys-tem 
to be fully compatible with automat-ic- 
release systems, and other devices that 
function by way of gun gas. 
With the initial system requirements in 
place, Baker Hughes performed a series of 
simulation models to verify the product’s 
initial design. The system was designed to 
exceed the 35,000-psi operational pressure 
with a safety factor, Fig. 2. 
No operational problems were ob-served 
during the modeling of the pro-posed 
equipment layout. However, the up-front 
modeling, alone, was not considered 
sufficient for qualifying the TCP system 
under real-world conditions. The operator 
and service provider, therefore, collabo-rated 
on a suite of real-life, full-scale quali-fying 
tests for both individual components 
and the TCP system, as a whole. 
Firing system. To reduce the risks of 
operational downtime, it was determined 
that a redundant firing system would be 
deployed. Because the firing system had 
to be fully redundant, the service provider 
Fig. 1. Perforating gun.
HIGH PRESSURE/HIGH TEMPERATURE 
and operator decided on two absolute 
pressure-activated firing heads that would 
be conveyed in a shroud assembly. The fir-ing 
heads used rupture discs with a higher 
level of accuracy than the shear pin firing 
heads more commonly used in the indus-try, 
which is critical in ultra-deep, high-pressure 
wells to reduce the amount of 
pressure required for application. This fir-ing 
head arrangement still provided a “last-on, 
first-off,” top mounting arrangement, 
for further operational safety. 
Although they are run in parallel, the 
firing heads are fully independent of each 
other, with the explosives train coming to-gether 
through a device that has two bal-listic 
inputs and one ballistic output. Fur-thermore, 
as one of the explosives trains 
would always reach the TCP device first, 
or if one of the explosives trains failed to 
initiate, the device would still initiate the 
gun string below. This serves to back-det-onate 
the other explosives train, to ensure 
that the firing head is not pulled out of the 
hole with live explosives. 
Explosives. The project’s high-tempera-ture 
requirement made hexanitrostilbene 
(HNS) the best choice for explosive. Expo-sures 
to high temperatures for more than 
the rated duration can cause the explosives 
46 SEPTEMBER 2014 / WorldOil.com 
to decompose, thus reducing the perfor-mance 
of the shaped charges and leading 
to a stop fire along the explosive train. De-pending 
on the rate of heating, deflagra-tion— 
a subsonic combustion process that 
propagates through heat transfer—is also 
possible. Deflagration can cause explosives 
to gas out and build enough pressure inside 
the gun body to rupture it. 
QUALIFYING QUALITY 
Because quality is one of the opera-tor’s 
fundamental business goals, it was 
of the utmost importance that testing be 
conducted to the highest standard. As a re-sult, 
the operator was fully involved in the 
content of the quality plan for developing 
and delivering a U-HPHT TCP system 
that would reliably function in the extreme 
reservoir conditions expected. The service 
company’s quality assurance manager was 
responsible for writing the quality plan. 
This manager was also integrated fully with 
the ballistics-engineering group, and had 
direct access to the TCP product line team. 
The project-specific quality plan fo-cused 
on critical testing for hardware, 
third-party components and shaped 
charges. Scrutiny, over and above a stan-dard 
quality plan, included increased third-party 
witness and inspection participation, 
and quality control inspection rates of sub-components 
and documentation. 
For hardware, this included: 
• Lot acceptance testing of raw 
materials 
• 100% inspection of items deemed 
critical to the success 
• Increased levels of non-destructive 
testing. 
The aspects for ballistic devices and 
shaped charges included: 
• Batch qualification testing at well 
conditions 
• Increased levels of non-destructive 
testing. 
Inspection was a critical part of the 
quality plan, and as such, operator repre-sentatives 
were allowed to freely observe 
manufacturing and testing activities, per 
the following guidelines: 
• A Monitor Point is an optional in-spection 
point, during which an op-erator 
representative, without notice 
and without constraining the activity, 
may monitor any applicable activity. 
• A Witness Point is also an optional 
inspection point, in which the ser-vice 
company notifies the operator 
representative. If available, the repre-sentative 
may witness the inspection 
point, without constraining the activ-ity. 
The company or subcontractor’s 
work will not be held or repeated. 
• A Hold Point is a mandatory cus-tomer 
inspection point. The service 
provider will notify the operator rep-resentative 
when any hold point is 
reached, and work will not proceed 
until the applicable inspection activ-ity 
has been completed, or a written 
waiver is received from the operator. 
Gun body qualification. The steel 
comprising the gun body was tested dur-ing 
the manufacturing process, once the 
service company and the steel vendor 
defined the correct chemistry. The mill 
run material was then tested by multiple 
third-party labs and was ultimately ac-cepted, 
only after the service company, 
operator and steel vendor confirmed that 
the material met the requirements. 
Complete first-article gun bodies were 
then machined and pressure tested for 
qualification. The gun body was sealed 
with bull plugs on both ends and placed 
inside a pressure vessel. Pressure and tem-perature 
were then increased to 35,000 psi 
at 470°F and held for 4 hr. No signs of leak-age, 
plastic deformation or collapse were 
Fig. 2. Applied pressure was 50,000 psi, with a maximum principal stress of 137,130 psi. 
Fig. 3. Gun tube, fully loaded with the selected shaped charges (left), and the condition 
of the gun body after the ballistic survival test (right). The gun body did not crack or split 
during the ballistics test.
HIGH PRESSURE/HIGH TEMPERATURE 
World Oil® / SEPTEMBER 2014 47 
noted on the gun body after the test. 
Gun body ballistic qualification. To 
qualify the gun body for ballistic survival, 
the 7-ft gun body was fully loaded with se-lected, 
HNS, hard rock shaped charges, and 
shot wet under ambient pressure and tem-perature. 
The maximum diametrical swell 
was 3.544 in., or 1.52% of original OD, 
which is well below the customer’s specified 
drift diameter of 3.625 in. The gun body 
was also drifted, using a 3.625-in. ID drift 
gauge (18 in. long) after the test and with-out 
any issues. No visible splits or cracks 
were noted on the gun body, Fig. 3. The 
3.500-in. OD HPHT gun body was, thus, 
qualified for survival in wet application us-ing 
the selected HNS shaped charges. 
EXPLOSIVES QUALIFICATION 
Due to the job’s high-temperature 
requirements, all explosives were batch-qualified 
for use at 470°F. The explosive 
powder was also ampule-tested, which 
was considered the thermal stability test 
that most closely mimics the conditions 
to which explosives are exposed in oilfield 
operations. In this test, a sample of the ex-plosive 
is sealed in a glass ampule and then 
placed in a heating block, Fig. 4. The block 
was ramped up to the desired temperature 
of 470°F over a 2-hr period, and the block 
containing the ampules was then held at 
that temperature for an additional 2 hr. 
The results of these tests gave a time-ver-sus- 
temperature chart, based on the specif-ic 
batch of HNS explosives, which would, 
in turn, be used on the planned project. 
Shot tests were also conducted with 
shaped charges held at ambient tempera-ture, 
and at reservoir temperature for a pe-riod 
of 2 hr. Shots were made, each at tem-perature 
and ambient, to gather sufficient 
data to make a comparison. The shaped 
charges were shot into API-specified QC 
concrete targets, and performance was 
measured on the basis of the size of the exit 
holes on the scallops, casing and penetra-tion 
in the target. The results of this testing 
confirmed that the explosives in the shaped 
charge did not decompose or deflagrate, 
and the drop in performance was negligible 
in relation to the exit holes and marginal 
from the target penetration. This marginal 
drop in performance was deemed accept-able, 
and all shaped charges were qualified 
for use at 470°F for the expected duration. 
System integrity test (SIT). A final test 
was performed to qualify the system for 
use, as per the customer-specified well con-ditions, 
which consisted of the U-HPHT 
firing head system connected to two 1-ft 
gun bodies and a tandem sub, with detona-tion 
cord and booster-to-booster transfer. 
All items used in the test were from the 
same batches that were previously qualified 
for use in the well. The purpose of the test 
was to validate the successful ballistic train 
activation of the firing heads, and the deto-nating 
cord booster-to-booster transfer at 
these elevated temperatures and pressures. 
The entire assembly was lowered into 
the pressure vessel, which was then sealed 
and brought to temperature and pres-sure 
under controlled conditions meant 
to simulate running in hole. Temperature 
was increased in a linear ramp from 72°F 
to 470°F (approximately 11°F every hour), 
while pressure was increased from 0 to 
28,000 psi, over a period of 38 hr. This 
length of time approximated the time that 
it would take to get the assembly to target 
depth in the well. 
The tool was then soaked at 28,000 psi 
and 470° F for 2 hr, followed by increasing 
the pressure to activate the time-delayed 
firing system. A loud mechanical noise of 
the hammer sub shifting at 32,400 psi con-firmed 
the successful rupture of the discs 
and initiation of the time delay. 
Four minutes and 28 sec later, the time 
delay of the firing head system successfully 
detonated. A 100-psi increase in pressure 
inside the vessel—caused by expanding 
gases released during detonation—con-firmed 
the successful detonation of all ex-plosives. 
The vessel was depressurized and 
allowed to cool for the rest of the day. The 
tool was retrieved from the vessel the next 
day and carefully disassembled to retrieve 
the witness plate. The uniform explosive 
imprints along the plate confirmed a suc-cessful 
test and high-order detonation of 
all explosives. 
TAKING TO THE FIELD 
All qualifying tests for the U-HPHT 
gun system were successful, with full func-tion 
of the U-HPHT firing head at the 
desired pressure and temperature. There 
was high-order detonation of the explosive 
Fig. 4. Glass ampules containing the powdered explosive (left) were placed in a heating 
block ramped-up to 470°F, and held at that temperature for 2 hr. 
Fig. 5. Time–temperature data for the duration of the test.
HIGH PRESSURE/HIGH TEMPERATURE 
train following a customer-specified time-temperature 
ramp-up. Based on all tests 
and qualifications, the service company’s 
ballistics engineering group determined 
that the U-HPHT firing head assembly, 
and all the components of the U-HPHT 
gun system, were batch-qualified and suit-able 
for use at 35,000 psi and 470°F for the 
duration and temperature ramp-up speci-fied 
in the test. 
With these assurances, the operator 
moved forward with deploying the new 
TCP in its well. The perforating string in-cluded 
multiple perforating guns with the 
redundant firing system, as qualified in 
the described testing. After reaching per-forating 
depth, an absolute bottomhole 
pressure of 34,500 psi was applied and 
bled off to activate the time-delayed re-dundant 
firing system. With a positive 
indication of gun detonation, circula-tion 
between tubing and annulus was 
confirmed, and the assembly was pulled 
from the wellbore. Full gun detonation 
was confirmed by visual inspection of the 
spent gun bodies. All perforating charges 
fired, all ballistic transfers across tandem 
connections were successful, and all per-foration 
shots hit within scallop. 
Without this U-HPHT perforating 
system, which came from careful plan-ning 
and close collaboration, the operator 
would have had to spend months in R&D, 
potentially costing millions of dollars. 
Even greater savings were realized through 
flawless execution at the rig site. Most im-portantly, 
48 SEPTEMBER 2014 / WorldOil.com 
the industry’s first U-HPHT 
perforating system enabled the operator to 
access a previously inaccessible formation. 
A collaborative technology develop-ment 
such as this is a clear example of how 
the correct team, combined with a under-standing 
of the operator’s requirements, 
can deliver products that successfully meet 
new operational challenges. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 
Parts of this article were adapted from SPE paper 170300. 
CHARLIE McCLEAN is an 
application advisor for the 
Tubing Conveyed Perforating 
(TCP) product line within the 
Lower Completions group at 
Baker Hughes. He focuses on 
technical support and product 
development projects for the global TCP 
market. Prior to filling this role in 2013, Mr. 
McClean worked in the UK sector as a TCP 
business development manager for the 
Wireline product line within Baker Hughes 
since 2008. After leaving school, he served 
in the Armed Forces before taking up an oil 
and gas career. 
BILL MYERS is a TCP account 
manager for Baker Hughes, 
based in Houston. He provides 
customer solutions for Baker 
Hughes’ Gulf of Mexico 
operations. Mr. Myers has held 
various positions within Baker 
Hughes, including design engineering, global 
technical operations support, and product 
marketing and development for perforating. He 
has 29 years of experience within the 
organization, holds several patents in TCP tools 
and systems, and has co-authored several 
technical papers on perforating subjects. He is 
a graduate of Sam Houston State University. 
DIDHITI TALAPATRA is an 
RDD engineer IV at Baker 
Hughes. He has held multiple 
engineering positions over his 
four-year career in the 
industry, and has a specific 
area of expertise in Ballistic 
TCP, and WL perforating guns and firing 
heads. He earned an MS degree in mechanical 
engineering from the University at Buffalo 
(The State University of New York). He is an 
active member of SPE and ASME. 
MARK SLOAN is a senior 
engineer in the Ballistics 
Engineering Technology group 
of Baker Hughes, responsible 
for the product development 
of downhole ballistics systems. 
Previously, Mr. Sloan 
participated in the Wireline Engineering 
Technology group in the development of 
resistivity and production logging instruments. 
He began his career with Baker Hughes in 
1981, and he holds a BS degree in ocean 
engineering from Florida Atlantic University. 
He is active member of the ASME, and a 
Registered Professional Engineer in the State 
of Texas. 
STEVE ZUKLIC is the global 
product line manager for 
TCP-DST at Baker Hughes. He 
has held a variety of positions 
in field and applications 
engineering, sales and 
operations management in 
Sand Control Pumping Services, Gravel Pack 
Tools and Screens, and TCP, primarily in the 
Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Zuklic began his career with 
Baker Hughes in 1993, and holds a BS degree in 
mechanical engineering from the Colorado 
School of Mines. He is active in the SPE, the 
International Perforating Forum, and API 
sub-committees, in addition to holding several 
U.S. patents. 
Article copyright © 2014 by Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. 
Not to be distributed in electronic or printed form, or posted on a website, without express written permission of copyright holder.

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Ultra-HPHT perforating system opens access to untapped reservoirs

  • 1. Originally appeared in World Oil® SEPTEMBER 2014 issue, pgs 45-49. Posted with permission. Ultra-HPHT perforating system opens access to untapped reservoirs World Oil® / SEPTEMBER 2014 45 HIGH PRESSURE/HIGH TEMPERATURE In deploying the industry’s first ultra-HPHT perforating system in the Gulf of Mexico, one operator was able to access a previously inaccessible formation. System components were qualified and suitable for use at 35,000 psi and 470°F, for the duration and temperature ramp-up specified during testing. ŝŝCHARLIE McCLEAN, BILL MYERS, DIDHITI TALAPATRA, MARK SLOAN and STEPHEN ZUKLIC, Baker Hughes As the global demand for energy con-tinues to grow, operators are faced with accessing reserves that, until recently, were classed as uneconomical or operationally risky. Much of this risk stems from the fact that many of these reserves are in remote reservoirs with exceedingly high tempera-tures and pressures. However, with continued advance-ments in technology, and a better un-derstanding of extreme well conditions, operators are more willing to take on ultra-high-pressure/high-temperature (U-HPHT) projects. A Gulf of Mexico operator, for example, expressed such a willingness to extend the industry’s techni-cal limits when drilling a well with a mea-sured depth (MD) in excess of 29,000 ft. Downhole temperature and pressure were expected to reach up to 470°F and 35,000 psi, including the applied pressure required to fire a perforating system. This article reviews the detailed process that the operator undertook with Baker Hughes to develop and deliver a tubing-conveyed perforating (TCP) system that could successfully deploy in this U-HPHT environment. This would not only enable access to a previously untapped reservoir, but it would mark the first-ever perforation operation at 34,500 psi. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Perforating guns, which contain mul-tiple explosive charges that create holes in the casing string to allow communication between the formation and the wellbore, vary in diameter and length, but they typi-cally share several main components in common, Fig.1: • A steel strip to hold shaped charges in place • A detonating cord that connects to the back of each shaped charge • Boosters, crimped to each end of the detonating cord • A hollow carrier into which the as-sembly fits • A connecting sub (tandem). The gun system for any U-HPHT project must withstand not only ambient downhole pressures, but it must also hold up to any additional applied pressure re-quired to operate the firing system. The op-erator and service provider worked closely to develop design criteria for each compo-nent of the perforating system, such that it would work reliably, and safely, with the ex-treme downhole conditions expected. Steel. While the past few years have seen considerable improvements in the perfor-mance capabilities of high-strength, low-alloy steel, the conditions expected in the Gulf of Mexico well required a higher level of scrutiny in steel quality during the manu-facturing process. Any detected anomaly in the material specification must be identified as early as possible, so that corrective action can be implemented and, if necessary, an-other run of the material can be produced. Gun system. While selecting a gun sys-tem for any U-HPHT project, consider-ations must be made for the pressure rat-ing and for gun reaction after detonation. Initial calculations were based on the for-mulas provided by API for the collapse of tubing (API Bulletin 5C3), as well as supplemental proprietary formulas devel-oped for the scalloped gun body geometry. Finite-element analysis showed that the raw material for the guns must have in-creased minimum yield strength over stan-dard gun body material, to withstand an environment of 35,000 psi and 470°F. The U-HPHT gun system must also include a tandem sub connector that contains an internal fluid bypass, enabling the gun sys-tem to be fully compatible with automat-ic- release systems, and other devices that function by way of gun gas. With the initial system requirements in place, Baker Hughes performed a series of simulation models to verify the product’s initial design. The system was designed to exceed the 35,000-psi operational pressure with a safety factor, Fig. 2. No operational problems were ob-served during the modeling of the pro-posed equipment layout. However, the up-front modeling, alone, was not considered sufficient for qualifying the TCP system under real-world conditions. The operator and service provider, therefore, collabo-rated on a suite of real-life, full-scale quali-fying tests for both individual components and the TCP system, as a whole. Firing system. To reduce the risks of operational downtime, it was determined that a redundant firing system would be deployed. Because the firing system had to be fully redundant, the service provider Fig. 1. Perforating gun.
  • 2. HIGH PRESSURE/HIGH TEMPERATURE and operator decided on two absolute pressure-activated firing heads that would be conveyed in a shroud assembly. The fir-ing heads used rupture discs with a higher level of accuracy than the shear pin firing heads more commonly used in the indus-try, which is critical in ultra-deep, high-pressure wells to reduce the amount of pressure required for application. This fir-ing head arrangement still provided a “last-on, first-off,” top mounting arrangement, for further operational safety. Although they are run in parallel, the firing heads are fully independent of each other, with the explosives train coming to-gether through a device that has two bal-listic inputs and one ballistic output. Fur-thermore, as one of the explosives trains would always reach the TCP device first, or if one of the explosives trains failed to initiate, the device would still initiate the gun string below. This serves to back-det-onate the other explosives train, to ensure that the firing head is not pulled out of the hole with live explosives. Explosives. The project’s high-tempera-ture requirement made hexanitrostilbene (HNS) the best choice for explosive. Expo-sures to high temperatures for more than the rated duration can cause the explosives 46 SEPTEMBER 2014 / WorldOil.com to decompose, thus reducing the perfor-mance of the shaped charges and leading to a stop fire along the explosive train. De-pending on the rate of heating, deflagra-tion— a subsonic combustion process that propagates through heat transfer—is also possible. Deflagration can cause explosives to gas out and build enough pressure inside the gun body to rupture it. QUALIFYING QUALITY Because quality is one of the opera-tor’s fundamental business goals, it was of the utmost importance that testing be conducted to the highest standard. As a re-sult, the operator was fully involved in the content of the quality plan for developing and delivering a U-HPHT TCP system that would reliably function in the extreme reservoir conditions expected. The service company’s quality assurance manager was responsible for writing the quality plan. This manager was also integrated fully with the ballistics-engineering group, and had direct access to the TCP product line team. The project-specific quality plan fo-cused on critical testing for hardware, third-party components and shaped charges. Scrutiny, over and above a stan-dard quality plan, included increased third-party witness and inspection participation, and quality control inspection rates of sub-components and documentation. For hardware, this included: • Lot acceptance testing of raw materials • 100% inspection of items deemed critical to the success • Increased levels of non-destructive testing. The aspects for ballistic devices and shaped charges included: • Batch qualification testing at well conditions • Increased levels of non-destructive testing. Inspection was a critical part of the quality plan, and as such, operator repre-sentatives were allowed to freely observe manufacturing and testing activities, per the following guidelines: • A Monitor Point is an optional in-spection point, during which an op-erator representative, without notice and without constraining the activity, may monitor any applicable activity. • A Witness Point is also an optional inspection point, in which the ser-vice company notifies the operator representative. If available, the repre-sentative may witness the inspection point, without constraining the activ-ity. The company or subcontractor’s work will not be held or repeated. • A Hold Point is a mandatory cus-tomer inspection point. The service provider will notify the operator rep-resentative when any hold point is reached, and work will not proceed until the applicable inspection activ-ity has been completed, or a written waiver is received from the operator. Gun body qualification. The steel comprising the gun body was tested dur-ing the manufacturing process, once the service company and the steel vendor defined the correct chemistry. The mill run material was then tested by multiple third-party labs and was ultimately ac-cepted, only after the service company, operator and steel vendor confirmed that the material met the requirements. Complete first-article gun bodies were then machined and pressure tested for qualification. The gun body was sealed with bull plugs on both ends and placed inside a pressure vessel. Pressure and tem-perature were then increased to 35,000 psi at 470°F and held for 4 hr. No signs of leak-age, plastic deformation or collapse were Fig. 2. Applied pressure was 50,000 psi, with a maximum principal stress of 137,130 psi. Fig. 3. Gun tube, fully loaded with the selected shaped charges (left), and the condition of the gun body after the ballistic survival test (right). The gun body did not crack or split during the ballistics test.
  • 3. HIGH PRESSURE/HIGH TEMPERATURE World Oil® / SEPTEMBER 2014 47 noted on the gun body after the test. Gun body ballistic qualification. To qualify the gun body for ballistic survival, the 7-ft gun body was fully loaded with se-lected, HNS, hard rock shaped charges, and shot wet under ambient pressure and tem-perature. The maximum diametrical swell was 3.544 in., or 1.52% of original OD, which is well below the customer’s specified drift diameter of 3.625 in. The gun body was also drifted, using a 3.625-in. ID drift gauge (18 in. long) after the test and with-out any issues. No visible splits or cracks were noted on the gun body, Fig. 3. The 3.500-in. OD HPHT gun body was, thus, qualified for survival in wet application us-ing the selected HNS shaped charges. EXPLOSIVES QUALIFICATION Due to the job’s high-temperature requirements, all explosives were batch-qualified for use at 470°F. The explosive powder was also ampule-tested, which was considered the thermal stability test that most closely mimics the conditions to which explosives are exposed in oilfield operations. In this test, a sample of the ex-plosive is sealed in a glass ampule and then placed in a heating block, Fig. 4. The block was ramped up to the desired temperature of 470°F over a 2-hr period, and the block containing the ampules was then held at that temperature for an additional 2 hr. The results of these tests gave a time-ver-sus- temperature chart, based on the specif-ic batch of HNS explosives, which would, in turn, be used on the planned project. Shot tests were also conducted with shaped charges held at ambient tempera-ture, and at reservoir temperature for a pe-riod of 2 hr. Shots were made, each at tem-perature and ambient, to gather sufficient data to make a comparison. The shaped charges were shot into API-specified QC concrete targets, and performance was measured on the basis of the size of the exit holes on the scallops, casing and penetra-tion in the target. The results of this testing confirmed that the explosives in the shaped charge did not decompose or deflagrate, and the drop in performance was negligible in relation to the exit holes and marginal from the target penetration. This marginal drop in performance was deemed accept-able, and all shaped charges were qualified for use at 470°F for the expected duration. System integrity test (SIT). A final test was performed to qualify the system for use, as per the customer-specified well con-ditions, which consisted of the U-HPHT firing head system connected to two 1-ft gun bodies and a tandem sub, with detona-tion cord and booster-to-booster transfer. All items used in the test were from the same batches that were previously qualified for use in the well. The purpose of the test was to validate the successful ballistic train activation of the firing heads, and the deto-nating cord booster-to-booster transfer at these elevated temperatures and pressures. The entire assembly was lowered into the pressure vessel, which was then sealed and brought to temperature and pres-sure under controlled conditions meant to simulate running in hole. Temperature was increased in a linear ramp from 72°F to 470°F (approximately 11°F every hour), while pressure was increased from 0 to 28,000 psi, over a period of 38 hr. This length of time approximated the time that it would take to get the assembly to target depth in the well. The tool was then soaked at 28,000 psi and 470° F for 2 hr, followed by increasing the pressure to activate the time-delayed firing system. A loud mechanical noise of the hammer sub shifting at 32,400 psi con-firmed the successful rupture of the discs and initiation of the time delay. Four minutes and 28 sec later, the time delay of the firing head system successfully detonated. A 100-psi increase in pressure inside the vessel—caused by expanding gases released during detonation—con-firmed the successful detonation of all ex-plosives. The vessel was depressurized and allowed to cool for the rest of the day. The tool was retrieved from the vessel the next day and carefully disassembled to retrieve the witness plate. The uniform explosive imprints along the plate confirmed a suc-cessful test and high-order detonation of all explosives. TAKING TO THE FIELD All qualifying tests for the U-HPHT gun system were successful, with full func-tion of the U-HPHT firing head at the desired pressure and temperature. There was high-order detonation of the explosive Fig. 4. Glass ampules containing the powdered explosive (left) were placed in a heating block ramped-up to 470°F, and held at that temperature for 2 hr. Fig. 5. Time–temperature data for the duration of the test.
  • 4. HIGH PRESSURE/HIGH TEMPERATURE train following a customer-specified time-temperature ramp-up. Based on all tests and qualifications, the service company’s ballistics engineering group determined that the U-HPHT firing head assembly, and all the components of the U-HPHT gun system, were batch-qualified and suit-able for use at 35,000 psi and 470°F for the duration and temperature ramp-up speci-fied in the test. With these assurances, the operator moved forward with deploying the new TCP in its well. The perforating string in-cluded multiple perforating guns with the redundant firing system, as qualified in the described testing. After reaching per-forating depth, an absolute bottomhole pressure of 34,500 psi was applied and bled off to activate the time-delayed re-dundant firing system. With a positive indication of gun detonation, circula-tion between tubing and annulus was confirmed, and the assembly was pulled from the wellbore. Full gun detonation was confirmed by visual inspection of the spent gun bodies. All perforating charges fired, all ballistic transfers across tandem connections were successful, and all per-foration shots hit within scallop. Without this U-HPHT perforating system, which came from careful plan-ning and close collaboration, the operator would have had to spend months in R&D, potentially costing millions of dollars. Even greater savings were realized through flawless execution at the rig site. Most im-portantly, 48 SEPTEMBER 2014 / WorldOil.com the industry’s first U-HPHT perforating system enabled the operator to access a previously inaccessible formation. A collaborative technology develop-ment such as this is a clear example of how the correct team, combined with a under-standing of the operator’s requirements, can deliver products that successfully meet new operational challenges. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Parts of this article were adapted from SPE paper 170300. CHARLIE McCLEAN is an application advisor for the Tubing Conveyed Perforating (TCP) product line within the Lower Completions group at Baker Hughes. He focuses on technical support and product development projects for the global TCP market. Prior to filling this role in 2013, Mr. McClean worked in the UK sector as a TCP business development manager for the Wireline product line within Baker Hughes since 2008. After leaving school, he served in the Armed Forces before taking up an oil and gas career. BILL MYERS is a TCP account manager for Baker Hughes, based in Houston. He provides customer solutions for Baker Hughes’ Gulf of Mexico operations. Mr. Myers has held various positions within Baker Hughes, including design engineering, global technical operations support, and product marketing and development for perforating. He has 29 years of experience within the organization, holds several patents in TCP tools and systems, and has co-authored several technical papers on perforating subjects. He is a graduate of Sam Houston State University. DIDHITI TALAPATRA is an RDD engineer IV at Baker Hughes. He has held multiple engineering positions over his four-year career in the industry, and has a specific area of expertise in Ballistic TCP, and WL perforating guns and firing heads. He earned an MS degree in mechanical engineering from the University at Buffalo (The State University of New York). He is an active member of SPE and ASME. MARK SLOAN is a senior engineer in the Ballistics Engineering Technology group of Baker Hughes, responsible for the product development of downhole ballistics systems. Previously, Mr. Sloan participated in the Wireline Engineering Technology group in the development of resistivity and production logging instruments. He began his career with Baker Hughes in 1981, and he holds a BS degree in ocean engineering from Florida Atlantic University. He is active member of the ASME, and a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. STEVE ZUKLIC is the global product line manager for TCP-DST at Baker Hughes. He has held a variety of positions in field and applications engineering, sales and operations management in Sand Control Pumping Services, Gravel Pack Tools and Screens, and TCP, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Zuklic began his career with Baker Hughes in 1993, and holds a BS degree in mechanical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. He is active in the SPE, the International Perforating Forum, and API sub-committees, in addition to holding several U.S. patents. Article copyright © 2014 by Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. Not to be distributed in electronic or printed form, or posted on a website, without express written permission of copyright holder.