The Republic of Komi became the 1st region where the company performed controlled directional 245 mm casing drilling featuring extractable bottom hole assembly.
At a well of the Pyakyakhinskoye field in West Siberia, LUKOIL reached a nationally unprecedented casing drilling speed of 50.2 metres per hour.
An entire section was drilled in less than 2 days.
The average drilling speed was 13% higher compared to drilling that employs standard technology.
Time needed to construct a section for the 324 mm surface pipe decreased more than twofold.
This method, when employed in complex geological environment, allows to optimize well construction and evade risks that arise from standard drilling techniques: risks of casing sticking or failing to reach projected depth because of unstable walls, expansive clays, coal districts and lost-circulation zones.
LUKOIL plans to continue testing the technology at its other suitable fields.
Nowadays, the company operates at 120 licence blocks in West Siberia, whose combined area amounts to around 80 000 square km.
The company develops 79 fields, including the Shaim group that laid the foundation for oil industry in West Siberia back in 1960.