Thanks to a Drillmec HH-102 rig, Petreven Chile set another record with its H110 drilling plant reaching a depth of 2,560 metres in a drilled well. This feat was achieved while drilling the TANU X1 well for the oil company Geopark Chile, in the “Bloque Campanario in Tierra del Fuego”.

The drilling plant reached a depth of 2,560 metres without encountering any particular problems, assembling a BHA (bottom hole assembly) consisting of a 8 ¾” bit, a bottom hole engine and a 6 ½” drill collar. This was all connected to a 4” drill string with 14 lb/ft, reaching a maximum hook weight of 72 tons when drilling, and maintaining a safety factor of more than 3 in dynamic conditions.

The well was drilled in two phases. The first section reached 609 metres and was drilled using a 13 ½” tricone bit, lined with 9 5/8” casing and then cemented. The second and final phase was carried out using an 8 3/4” PDC bit and the 2,560 metre recordbreaking depth was registered using a probe belonging to the HH-102 series. This final section was lined with 5 ½” casing of two different torques (15.5 and 17 lb/ft).

The final depth was established by the site geologists on behalf of their client, namely in the Tobifera formation (volcanic tuff) where they had detected hydrocarbons. The drilling technique they chose involved using a bottom hole engine and operating a perforated drill pipe several (2 or 3) times; the boring was a success and calibration was good, eliminating overpull and over torque. After reaching 2,300 metres, special parameters were checked, such as: the hook weights recorded with and without circulation, weight in neutral, circulation torque and pressure. The drill string was extracted without setbacks, thus establishing this new record.