Weatherford achieved a new world record by landing a 1,180-ton (2,360,700-lb) casing string at a total depth of 26,805 ft (8,170 m). The job was performed on a deepwater rig in the Gulf of Mexico this fall.
The operator of a deepwater rig in the Green Canyon required installation of a heavy, 14-in., 112.6 lb/ft casing string. The total weight of the casing and landing string needed to reach total depth was 1,180 tons. The operator contracted with Weatherford to install the landing-string slips 1250 ("LSS 1250"), which acts as a spider to safely and efficiently grip tubulars and has a maximum load capacity of 1,250 tons (2,500,000 lb).
Weatherford deployed the LSS 1250 after providing an engineering analysis to verify that the pipe could reach total depth without damaging the tubulars from excess stress. The team then ran the string to total depth with no issues. Without the increased load capacity provided by the LSS 1250, the operator would have needed to drill a second hole section and run two separate casing strings at an approximate cost of $15million.
"We constantly strive to provide technology that meets the needs of our clients under the most extreme conditions," said Aaron Sinnott, Vice President of Tubular Running Services at Weatherford. "This is the latest example of how we are crossing the bounds of what was previously considered possible in the deepwater arena."