Breakthrough at Yoka-1

Baker Hughes’ executives are proud that 2013 marked the first intervention of the company with PEMEX in deepwater. The company’s specialists worked hand-inhand with the NOC in drilling Yoka-1, where several new technologies were deployed to analyze the formation and deliver real-time results. For Baker Hughes, this also gave it the opportunity to prove its drilling capabilities in harsh environments. Baker Hughes executed several analyses and operations for the Yoka-1 well, and more than 70 of the company’s own technologies ended up being used for the completion of the well. For now, the continuity of the application of these new technologies is the company’s priority. It has already deployed some of them at TsiminXux, as it feels that the success of Yoka-1 means it can help increase the production prospects in shallow water.

Out of the 24 deepwater wells that it has drilled in Mexico, the company established a record time in the 36-inch jetting section of the drilling operation. Baker Hughes obtained the first successful pressure sampling in deepwater, using its TESTrak technology, the first successful run of acoustic logs in a 28-inch hole, with its SoundTrak technology, the first real-time transmission of Lithodensity logs in deepwater through the company’s LithoTrak technology, and the first successful run of pressure and fluid samples in real-time with its FASTrak technology. The team of specialists at Yoka-1 also managed to save 15 days of operational time through drilling a sidetrack with magnetic interference in a 20-inch casing.

Operators on the US side of the Gulf of Mexico are currently using WellLink technology to obtain as much information as possible to devise development and production strategies in deepwater. Last year, Baker Hughes deployed its first high-pressure, high-temperature well system in the Cascade and Chinook fields on the US side of the Gulf of Mexico with this technology. This well system, working at a 2,503m water depth, saved millions of dollars for its operator, but also established its value for ultra-deepwater operations. Future applications of such systems could benefit greatly both Mexican and US operators working in the deepwaters of the Gulf of Mexico. The big data capabilities of WellLink could provide PEMEX and Mexican operators working in Perdido with information about the different deployment and production strategies and techniques that have been used in the US extension of the field. This would prove very useful in saving costs when devising the correct development and production strategies for Mexico’s Perdido area, by casting aside those options that have already been proven inefficient. Given the extensive safety issues that deepwater and ultra-deepwater operations entail and the high costs of such actions, the additional information coming from more experienced operators in the area could be lifesavers. This efficiency did not arise by chance or due to advanced technology alone. During the operation of Yoka-1, Baker Hughes gathered international experts to monitor the drilling activities and identify opportunities for improvement in real-time.