OREANDA-NEWS. February 08, 2011. In 2011, TATNEFT will continue to introduce new technologies in the field of well drilling and workover, reported the press-centre of TATNEFT. 

Last year the Company performed pilot operations and mastered the technology of drilling derrick cellars with application of auger systems prior to the arrival of a drilling crew. Surface holes of 24 wells were drilled and cased in 2010 with application of this technology. The construction cost of the surface hole with application of this technology is more than 5 times less than using a traditional drilling rig.

Application of advanced technologies and equipment is a major area of TATNEFT production activity in the field of wells repair and enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Introduction of such technologies as hydraulic formation fracturing, application coil tubing units, stimulation and isolation of water in horizontal wellbores, etc., has already proved their effectiveness.

The volume of work with application of formation hydraulic fracturing in 2010 increased more than twofold. Totally over 1400 operations with a total cumulative volume of oil production in the amount of more than 4.5 million tons of crude oil have been performed in the Company with application of this method.

The technology of treating formation intervals with application of coil tubing units through the annulus without pulling downhole pumping equipment reduces the cost of repair, downtime of wells, enables to carry out many of the process operations that can not be performed with application of conventional methods, and increases crude oil production. In addition, application of coil tubing units significantly reduces the risk of environmental pollution caused by using long flush-joint pipes.

The method of drilling a small diameter wells is also successfully implemented in the Company. In 2010, Tatneft drilled 57 small diameter wells (2 times more than in 2009). This method allowed to reduce drilling costs by 30 - 40 percent compared with the cost of drilling traditional design wells. Drilling of 57 slim holes has been planned for 2011.