SPE’s Well Integrity Technical Section is home to the Casing Deformation Work Group, which has a top-level mission of:
Reducing the impact and increasing the understanding of casing deformations limiting accessibility in multi-fractured horizontal wells.
Casing deformations occur in a wide variety of applications, including unconventional wells employing hydraulic fracturing technology. Deformations are more common in certain basins than others, are thought to have many sources, and can manifest in different ways during drilling, completion, and production operations. Although the issue is almost exclusively one of well functionality rather than well integrity, it is an important one for industry to continue to explore.
The Work Group is focused on achieving its mission by:
-
- Capturing the industry’s current state of technology and best practices;
- Identifying technology gaps and define future opportunities; and
- Sharing and disseminating learnings.
Formed in 2021, the Work Group currently consists of a core group of volunteer SPE members that is committed to defining a path forward that will ultimately involve broader input from those interested in contributing to this effort. Initial work has focused on:
-
- Defining common language that can be consistently used to describe casing deformations;
- Surveying and organizing available literature and creating a compendium that can be broadly accessed; and
- Establishing a structure for capturing key data related observed casing deformations that will facilitate root cause analysis, identification of key case studies, and provide a basis for future technical advancement.
The Work Group’s intent is to engage more broadly with SPE members though Conferences and by leveraging volunteer efforts as tasks are established. See below for a list of our upcoming events:
If you are interested in receiving information on the SPE WITS Casing Deformation Work Group or participating in Work Group activities, please email our chairpersons: