`

IADC/SPE 98120
Lessons Learned From Combined Whipstock Operation: Set Whipstock/Mill
Out/Cement Squeeze/Drill Out in One Trip
R.N. Williamson, SPE, and L.F. Eaton, SPE, ConocoPhillips Co.; D. Harrell, SPE, and D. Courville, SPE, Smith Services;
and J. Long, SPE, Schlumberger

Copyright 2006, IADC/SPE Drilling Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in Miami,
Florida, U.S.A., 2123 February 2006.
This paper was selected for presentation by an IADC/SPE Program Committee following
review of information contained in a proposal submitted by the author(s). Contents of the
paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the International Association of Drilling
Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the
author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the IADC,
SPE, their officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of
this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of the International Association
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reproduce in print is restricted to a proposal of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not
be copied. The proposal must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom
the paper was presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 750833836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435.

Abstract
ConocoPhillips pre-drilled wells for the Magnolia tension leg
platform (TLP) development in 2003 using a dynamically
positioned semi-submersible drilling vessel1. The Magnolia
field is located in 4,674 ft of water at Garden Banks (GB)
block 783 in the Gulf of Mexico. During the pre-drilling
phase, two wells were successfully sidetracked out of 13.625
in. casing in one trip using an extended gage, one trip
whipstock system.
The first whipstock operation was through cemented pipe
and the second was through uncemented pipe, which had
communication to a shallower, weak formation. This paper
focuses on whipstock operations through uncemented pipe and
describes the planning and execution of the first successful
attempt at setting a whipstock, milling the window, squeeze
cementing the window, and drilling out cement and rathole
all on one trip while using synthetic base mud (SBM).
Due to the high spread rate cost of deepwater drilling,
every effort is made to reduce critical path time while
managing risk and safety. Typical whipstock operations
through uncemented casing can require three or more round
trips to prepare a window for drilling ahead. On the GB 783
A-4 BP1 well, window milling/cementing operations through
uncemented casing were conducted in a single trip. The
whipstock was oriented and set at 11,080 ft measured depth
(MD) in a 54 angle hole. The window was milled, the
assembly pulled above the window, and the openhole squeeze
cemented. After waiting on cement to set, the cement was
drilled out and a successful formation test achieved. An
additional 130 ft of rathole was then drilled with the mills to
place the stabilizers on the next drilling assembly below the
whipstock. Operations from the start of running the whipstock

until the mills were laid down took 2.6 days. A total of 1,861
lbm of metal shavings was safely recovered.
This paper highlights 1) whipstock installation and
window cutting operations, 2) safety and operational best
practices for removing, handling, and monitoring metal
cuttings that, if not removed from the hole, can be problematic
for subsea blowout preventer (BOP) systems, 3) equipment
modification made to mitigate risk for cementing through a
milling assembly, and 4) design considerations for achieving a
successful squeeze.
Introduction
The Magnolia TLP development wells were drilled from a
dynamically positioned semi-submersible rig, which required
using a subsea BOP stack and subsea wellhead equipment.
The typical casing program for the wells was 36 in. x 20 in. x
13.625 in. casing strings run to the mudline. The 13.625 in.
casing weighs 88.2 lbm/ft and is HCQ-125 grade pipe. A
10.75 in. drilling liner is run to obtain high enough fracture
gradient to drill to total depth (TD). An 8.062 in. production
liner was then run and hung off in the 10.75 in. drilling liner
that also functions as production casing.
Both the 10.75 in. drilling liner and the 8.062 in.
production liner for the GB 783 A4 well stuck off bottom
while being run. Numerous attempts to fish the 8.062 in. liner
out of the hole were unsuccessful. In order to have 8.062 in.
casing set across the producing zone of the original geologic
targets, it was necessary to set a whipstock above the 10.75 in.
liner and sidetrack the well. The 13.625 in. casing in the area
above the 10.75 in. drilling liner was uncemented in order to
prevent potential annular collapse issues.
One of the previous wells in the pre-drill program, GB
783 A2 ST3, had sidetracked out of 13.625 in. casing by
setting a whipstock. The whipstock was set across a length of
casing that had cement in the casing by openhole annulus. A
number of Lessons Learned were obtained during whipstock
operations on the A2 ST3 well. These lessons learned and
others from previous deepwater whipstock operations were
used to help evaluate the risk and optimize the procedures on
the A-4 well.
The A4 well was one of the longer reach wells in the
program. The hole angle at the proposed window depth was

54. The proposed sidetrack would require running 7,100 ft of

10.75 in. liner through the milled window. After drilling to
TD, 3,800 ft of 8.062 in. liner would be run through the 10.75
in. liner and whipstock window. To minimize torque and
drag, both while drilling and running liners, the dogleg
severity needed to be kept to a minimum across the whipstock
and as the sidetrack deviated from the original well. The
sidetrack was to be drilled with rotary steerable bottom hole
assemblies (BHA), which would result in significant rotating
hours across the whipstock.
Pre-Planning
To minimize well costs on deepwater operations, which have
high daily spread rates, every effort is made to reduce rig time.
The conventional method for a whipstock / cement squeeze /
drillout operation would require three trips:
1. Trip in hole (TIH), set whipstock, mill widow and
rathole, pull out of hole (POOH).
2. TIH with cement stinger, squeeze window, POOH.
3. TIH with bit, drill out cement, take leak off test
(LOT), drill enough rathole to place the top stabilizer
on the drilling assembly below the window, POOH.
Performing this operation in one trip gives the opportunity to
save two round trips from 11,000 ft plus BHA handling time.
This equates to approximately two days of rig time.
A peer review was held to identify critical risks associated
with performing the proposed operations in a single trip2, 3.
The main issues identified were:
1. Handling the metal shavings at the surface. This was
a safety concern due to the razor sharp edges and the
amount that had to be handled.
2. Plugging the measurement while drilling (MWD)
tool or the jets in the lead mill with large particles in
the cement.
3. Circulating cement around the mills/BHA and
cementing the drilling string in the casing while
waiting on cement to set.
4. Excessive dogleg severity coming off the whipstock
face with the mills.
5. Not achieving an openhole squeeze.
6. Inability to drill cement and enough rathole with the
mill to place the top stabilizer of the drilling BHA
below the window. This was necessary due to risk of
a stabilizer blade catching on the whipstock face.
To guide the decision making process and ensure the team
was working towards common goals the following objectives
of the whipstock operation in decreasing order of priority were
established during the planning phase.
1. Zero safety, environmental, and regulatory incidents.
2. Zero non-planned time.
3. Cut a full gauge, usable window in 13.625 in. casing
at approximately 11,100 ft MD.
4. Orient whipstock away from existing wells.
5. Mill window, squeeze window with cement, and drill
out cement and rathole with the same BHA.
6. Successfully squeeze window through the MWD and
mills without cementing the BHA in the hole.
7. Achieve a 13.1 lbm/gal LOT by isolating the

IADC/SPE 98120

openhole annulus above the window.

Drill enough rathole to place the top stabilizer on the
drill ahead BHA below the whipstock.
9. Minimize doglegs while drilling in openhole with the
mills.
10. Clean out metal shavings from the subsea BOP stack
on the trip out of the hole prior to picking up the
drilling BHA.
8

Wellbore Cleanout
Multiple cement plugs had been set in the 13.625 in. casing to
temporary abandon the A4 well after sticking the 8.062 in.
liner off bottom. To ensure the whipstock would successfully
trip to bottom and not hang up on any debris and prematurely
set, a clean out trip was made to below the area the whipstock
would be set. The cleanout BHA contained a 12.25 in. tricone bit, watermelon string mill, and rotatable scraper. The
mill would drill up any cement that might be missed by the bit
and the scraper would ensure the wall of the casing was wiped
clean of any debris. The whipstock setting area was cleaned
with the casing scraper and the mud-weight was cut from
13.8- to 11.0-lbm/gal prior to pulling out of the hole. The
lower mud-weight was needed to avoid exceeding the fracture
gradient of the open hole from the window to the 20 in. shoe
when milling out of the casing. Following the cleanout run, a
casing collar log was run to verify the 13.625 in. semi-flush
casing collar locations for placement of the whipstock.
Whipstock Design Features
A single trip whipstock system capable of producing a clean,
full length, full gauge, usable window with sufficient rathole
to accommodate a directional drilling assembly was desired.
An extended gauge multi-ramp whipstock system with a
hydraulically activated anchor was chosen (Fig. 1). The
system is designed to guide the milling tool effectively
through the casing and into the formation. The whipstock
face contains multiple ramps, each with its own taper (Fig. 2).
This design provides additional length to the vertical face of
the whipstock. The additional length increases the usable
portion of the window and reduces dogleg severity through the
window. By lengthening the vertical face of the whipstock, a
3 departure angle is maintained at the bottom of the
whipstock.
The milling assembly has three full gauge mills: lead mill,
follow mill and dress mill. The lead mill is geometrically
matched to the angles on the whipstock to maximize cutting
structure engagement with the casing while minimizing loads
on the whipstock face. The lead mill was dressed with highgrade tungsten carbide cylindrical inserts (Fig. 3). Several
cutter types were considered for the job. The chosen cutters
provided a balanced solution that was capable of efficiently
milling the window, drilling cement and then drilling an
extended rathole below the window to accommodate the
directional drilling BHA planned for the openhole interval.
The lead mill has multiple circulation ports with breakaway
caps that allow full flow circulation once the break bolt is
broken and the mill is released from the whipstock.

IADC/SPE 98120

The follow mill, which incorporates a tear drop profile

and is dressed with crushed carbide, is positioned above the
lead mill to elongate the window as the mill progresses down
the whipstock. The dress mill, located above the follow mill,
resembles a watermelon mill and includes carbide dressing to
smooth or condition the window.
An indexing valve is employed to allow circulation of the
drilling fluid through the drill string and enable operation of
the MWD tool without setting the hydraulic anchor. The
desired orientation of the whipstock face is verified with
MWD tool face information prior to hydraulically setting the
anchor. Bleeder jets in the valve were blanked off to prevent
cement from exiting the drill string above the mill during the
cementing operation.
Whipstock Operation
This section discusses the actual operational results of each of
the major areas addressed in the planning stage.
Orienting and Setting the Whipstock. The whipstock setting
depth was 11,080 ft, which was 2 ft above a casing collar as
identified by the casing collar log. Because the well bore had
an inclination of 54, a MWD tool was used to orient the
whipstock. Due to the directional objectives of the well, an
orientation left of high side was desired. Conventional
experience shows that right hand walk of the mill is likely
when exiting a window through uncemented pipe into a weak
formation. Therefore, it was decided to orient the whipstock
74 left of high side in order to prevent a possible collision
with the original wellbore. The indexing valve was closed and
the drill string pressured to 3,200 psi to hydraulically set the
anchor. This moved the slips into the casing, which prevents
rotation or vertical movement of the whipstock. Setting of the
anchor was verified by slacking off weight against the anchor
slips and taking overpulls in increments until the milling tool
sheared from the whipstock with 65 kips of overpull as
planned.
Milling the Window. After shearing the mill assembly from
the whipstock, the flow rate was increased to 691 gal/min and
21 ft of extended gauge window was milled from 11,050- to
11,071 ft. The window was completed in 4.04 hours at an
average penetration rate of 5.1 ft/hr with the following milling
parameters: 130 RPM and 6- to 8 kips WOB.
Exiting the Window. After the window was milled in the
casing, 20 ft of rathole was drilled to 11,091 ft prior to
performing a LOT. The rathole was drilled in 0.9 hours at
22.7 ft/hr using 115 RPM rotary with 8- to 10 kips WOB.
After drilling the rathole, the window was reamed and
conditioned until the drag was reduced to 4- to 5 kips without
rotation.
Monitoring Metal Cuttings. The calculated amount of metal
cuttings to be recovered during the planning phase was
approximately 1,000 lbm. This was based on using a rule of
thumb of removing 40% of casing over the length of the
whipstock slide. On the A2 ST3 well, 1,370 lbm of metal
shavings were recovered. On the A4 BP1 well, a total of

1,861 lbm of metal cuttings were recovered, of which 1,355

lbm were recovered while milling the window, 165 lbm during
the cementing/drill out/washing BOP operation, and 341 lbm
while drilling the hole section. See examples of metal cuttings
in Fig. 4.
Twelve ditch magnets were placed in eight different
locations on the rig to catch metal cuttings in the effluent. The
metal cuttings were transported from the magnet stations to
nearby weigh stations in five gallon buckets. After the
buckets of metal cuttings were weighed, the cuttings were
placed in cuttings boxes for onshore disposal. The following
safety and operational best practices were followed to handle
and monitor the quantity of metal cuttings:
Rubber gloves placed over kevlar gloves and kevlar
forearm guards were used by employees to remove
metal cuttings from magnets and place them in
buckets for weighing (Fig. 5).
Two magnets were placed in the gumbo box. The
largest amount of metal was recovered in the gumbo
box.
One magnet was placed in each possum belly with
two extra magnets being used to replace those being
cleaned.
Three magnets were placed in the return lines to
catch any metal cuttings that made it past the shakers
to prevent any metal from entering back into the mud
system.
Smaller, more manageable magnets were used to
minimize strain and exertion involved in handling.
Minimized the number of people handling the
magnets to reduce exposure to the metal cuttings.
Used debris hooks to remove metal ribbons and bird
nest from the system.
Mud loggers weighed the recovered metal at hourly
intervals during milling operations and as needed
thereafter.
Initial Leak-Off Test. After drilling 20 ft of new formation, a
12.5 lbm/gal LOT was obtained. A LOT similar to that
obtained at the 20 in. casing shoe was expected since the
window depth was above the top of cement. The 20 in. casing
shoe was originally tested to 11.7 lbm/gal on the A4 well. The
low LOT on the A4 BP1 well required the window to be
squeeze cemented since a 13.1 lbm/gal LOT was needed for
drilling ahead.
Cementing Operations
The primary risk associated with pumping cement through the
BHA was the possibility of plugging the drill-string. The two
0.75 in. diameter jets in the mill were the smallest restriction
in the BHA. Since the combined flow area of the jets was
larger than that for most common tubing squeezes, plugging
by cement dehydration was not the main concern. Plugging
due to debris in the slurry was a more likely possibility. Three
particles of only 0.375 in. diameter could bridge off one of the
jets and increase the likelihood of the other jet plugging. The
success of the cement operations depended on mitigating this
risk.

Modifications to Prevent Plugging the Drill String. The rig

cement bulk storage system had rock-catchers in place for
transferring dry product from the boat to the rig and from rig
silos to the surge can on the cement unit. However, the
plugging issue needed to be addressed as close to the pump as
possible. To accomplish this, a screen was considered for the
drill pipe and an in-line cone filter was considered for the 4 in.
transfer line that feeds slurry to the pump. Both ideas were
dropped since they could not be easily cleaned in the event of
plugging during the cement job.
To mitigate the risk of debris in the cement, a basket type
filter was placed across the overflow chute that leads from the
main cement-mixing tub to the averaging blender. This was
the easiest plan to implement and test. The filter could be
monitored and, if necessary, cleaned out during the job. An
18 in. x 16 in. x 15 in. deep basket with over 1000 0.375 in.
diameter holes was fabricated from 10-gauge metal (Fig. 6).
A lip was fabricated on the rig and made to precisely fit the
basket filter in mounting brackets that are already in place for
a shutoff gate on the unit. No permanent modification of the
cement unit was required. A blend test was conducted to
verify the basket filter would perform as expected. Mix rates
over 7 bbl/min using 16.4 lbm/gal Class H neat cement were
achieved with no restriction in the system and no overflow
from the basket. To reduce the possibility that some cement
debris might remain in the equipment and get into the slurry
stream, the blender, the unit plumbing, and the triplex pump
heads were dismantled, inspected, and cleaned prior to the job.
Spacer Design. The objective of the cement job was to
isolate the weaker formation above the window and obtain a
LOT that would allow drilling to the next casing point. Since
the planned depth of the window was approximately 1,600 ft
above the calculated top of cement on the primary 13.635 in.
cement job and two centralizers per joint had been used from
the shoe to 10,000 ft, the casing was thought to be wellcentered in the hole without any cement in the annulus. The
planned cement job was thought to be more similar to that of a
primary cement job than a typical shoe squeeze which
attempts to plug a channel.
The weight and length of the spacers and cement to be
pumped out of the window were designed to be 0.2 lbm/gal
less than the fracture gradient from the window to 1,000 ft
above the window. It was expected with the lack of cement
above the window, the most likely loss zone would be near the
20 in. casing shoe, allowing fluid to exit the window and
travel upward. A bradenhead squeeze was planned to place
the fluids in the annulus.
Two spacers were pumped ahead of the cement: 100 barrels
(bbl) of 6.6 lbm/gal SBM base oil and 100 bbl of 13.0 lbm/gal
weighted surfactant spacer. The two-spacer system was
designed to remove the SBM and water wet the casing and
formation. Since the mud in the annulus had been in place for
several months, its actual properties were unknown. A
standard mud removal program with fluids of increasing
rheology and a job designed to promote laminar flow, would
not likely work. The rheology of the lead spacer was kept low

IADC/SPE 98120

(16.2 PV, 9.6 TY), not with the expectation that turbulent flow
would be achieved, but to act more like a wash with an
eroding effect on the mud near the window. The SBM base oil
was pumped ahead of a weighted spacer to loosen and erode
the SBM that had been left in the annulus. The volume of the
spacer was chosen to have 500 ft of annular contact plus 50%
excess, which was rounded to an even 100 bbl. The weighted
spacer was pumped to prevent contamination of the cement
and displace the base oil up the well. Following the cement
were 40 bbl of 13.5 lbm/gal high-viscosity tail spacer (64-PV
and 32-TY). This spacer was to remove any residual cement
from the drill-string and BHA components.
Cement Slurry Design. The squeeze cement was designed to
be bull-headed into the well and a hesitation squeeze then
performed. Slurry requirements were to have zero free-water,
zero settling, and have higher rheology at bottom hole
conditions than the mud and lead spacers. The planned
volume of 250 bbl was enough to cover 2,000 ft in the annulus
without any excess, plus 50 ft (8 bbl) to remain in the casing.
This left 1,000 of open annulus from the top of the squeeze
cement to the 20 in. casing shoe to prevent annular pressure
buildup.
With a hesitation squeeze planned, the slurry was
designed to have an API fluid-loss value between 400 and 500
ml/30 minutes. Having a fluid-loss greater than 400 creates an
opportunity to achieve squeeze pressure as the cement
dehydrates against the permeable formation. Fluid-loss
greater than 500 could risk dehydrating the cement before it
clears the pipe.
Class H neat cement plus additives mixed at 16.4 lbm/gal
was chosen after laboratory tests. The 4:48 (hr:mn) pump
time allowed mixing at normal rates, injecting to 100 ft below
the drillstring, and then perform several cycles of hesitation
pumping, plus a safety factor to allow for any surprises. Wait
on cement time prior to drill out was based on achieving 500psi compressive strength.
Cementing Job Results. The lead mill was placed 310 ft
above the top of the window, which left 50 bbl of volume in
the casing below the BHA. This ensured the cement exited
the mill but the tail spacer did not reach the window. The
annular BOP was closed and injection rates were established
at 3 and 6 bbl/min to verify the job could be pumped as
designed.
The annular BOP was opened to displace the two spacers
into the drill string and then closed prior to mixing the cement.
The cement was mixed at 5 bbl/min and passed through the
basket filter in the cement unit without slowing down the job.
Only a cup full of debris was recovered after the cement job
and no plugging of the drill string occurred. The tail spacer
was pumped behind the cement as planned.
The cement was displaced with 11.0 lbm/gal SBM at 12
bbl/min to 100 ft. below the lead mill and the well was shut in.
During displacement the pressure increased as expected.

IADC/SPE 98120

After shutting down for 15 minutes, four bbl of mud were

pumped down the annulus to clear any potential cement from
around the outside of the mills. Twenty minutes later, a
planned 20 bbl hesitation squeeze at 0.5 bbl/min was started,
but the desired squeeze pressure was reached after pumping 9
bbl (Fig. 7). The squeeze pressure was held on the drill pipe
while waiting on cement for 6.5 hours. The wait on cement
time was chosen based upon laboratory tests using cement and
drill water samples from the rig. The drill string was rotated
every 30 minutes to ensure that it was free while waiting on
cement.
Drilling / Milling Out Cement and Formation
After WOC, the annular was opened, two stands of drill pipe
pulled and bottoms up circulated. The mills were run in the
hole and tagged cement just below the squeeze position of the
mill. This was assumed to be a sheath of cement, caused by a
coring effect from the squeezing. The cement inside the
casing was drilled out plus 5 ft of new formation to 11,096 ft
(washed and reamed from 10,752- to 10,839 ft, drilled firm
cement from 10,839- to 11,096 ft). Average ROP while
drilling cement was 40 ft/hr with drilling parameters of 800
gal/min, 100- to 130 RPM, 15 to 25 kips WOB, and 10- to
20 ft-kips torque. The BHA was pulled into the casing and a
successful FIT was performed to 13.2 lbm/gal (Fig. 8). The
mills were tripped back to bottom and 105 ft of new hole was
drilled to 11,201 ft in order to place the drilling BHA on the
next run below the whipstock. ROP while drilling formation
with the mill was 70 ft/hr with drilling parameters of 750
gal/min, 130 RPM, and 15- to 20 kips WOB. The MWD
continued to work throughout the operation.
The milling BHA was pulled to the subsea BOP where a
large-bore circulating sub was shifted open and the BOP was
washed for 1.5 hours at 1,200 gal/min while rotating the pipe
at 40 RPM. The subsea choke and kill lines were flushed at
400 gal/min and the rams were functioned while washing the
BOP. A large high viscosity sweep was pumped to help carry
out metal shavings while boosting riser. This operation
recovered 40 lbm of metal shavings.
Condition of the Mills
The 12.25 in mills were ring gauged after the whipstock
operation was completed. The lead mill and follow mills were
each 0.38 in under gauge. The dress mill was 0.25 in. under
gauge. Post job inspection revealed that the tungsten carbide
inserts in the lead mill were in good condition. No specific
chippage pattern was observed. The follow and dress mill
sustained wear that is normally expected for a typical casing
exit.
Condition of the Window
A 12.25 x 14 in. hole was drilled below the window to the
10.75 in. casing point at 18,280 ft MD. A rotary steerable
drilling assembly was used to drill this interval and the drill
string was rotated at 140 RPM while drilling. No abnormal
torque was seen while drilling and no damage to the drill pipe
or BHA was seen when retrieved. No extra drag was seen on
any of the trips pulling the BHA with 12.25 in. bit and
stabilizers through the window. The maximum overpull seen

while pulling an eccentric reamer through the window was 15

kips. No problems were seen running 7,112 ft. of 10.75 in.
OD liner with 268 bow spring centralizers through the
window.
A 9.5 x 11 in. hole was drilled below the 10.75 in. drilling
liner. No excessive drag was seen when running the BHA,
which included 9.5 in. bit and stabilizers, through the window
area. After drilling to TD, 3,808 ft. of 8.062 in. liner plus liner
hanger were run through the window area without problem.
See temporary abandonment diagram Fig. 9. The A4 BP1 well
has been subsequently completed and close clearance sump
packers, gravel pack packers, and production packers have
been run through the window area without problem.
Conclusions
The Magnolia drilling team proved that with thorough
planning and risk assessment, setting a whipstock, cutting a
window, squeeze cementing, and drilling out in one trip can be
safety accomplished and save substantial time and money. On
the A4 BP1 well, it took 2.6 days from the start of running the
whipstock until the mills were laid down from the
milling/squeeze cementing/drill out operations. This resulted
in a time saving of approximately two days of rig time. The
following should be considered when performing cased hole
whipstock and cementing operations:
By following the safety and operational best practices
outlined in this paper, metal cuttings can safely be
handled and accurately monitored.
A subsea BOP can be effectively cleaned of metal
shavings from window milling operations. During
the Magnolia project, the BOP was pulled once after
224 days of operations for a hurricane and again at
the end of the project 185 days later. One cased-hole
whipstock was performed during operations prior to
each stack pull. Upon inspection there was neither
significant wear to any BOP rubbers nor any
evidence of metal shavings in the ram cavities.
The risk of plugging the drillstring when pumping
cement through mills, MWD, or other BHA
components can be significantly reduced by using a
basket type filter on the cement unit between the
main cement-mixing tub and the averaging blender to
catch any debris in cement.
Through quality spacer and cement design and job
execution, an effective hesitation squeeze can be
achieved through a BHA.
Whipstocks with a lead mill dressed with high-grade
tungsten carbide cylindrical inserts can efficiently
mill a window in heavy wall, high strength casing as
well as drill cement and formation at an acceptable
ROP.
Dogleg severity of less than 3/100 ft can be achieved
with a multi-ramp whipstock face.
Acknowledgments
We thank ConocoPhillips and Devon Energy Corporation for
permission to publish this paper.

IADC/SPE 98120

References
1.

2.

3.

Reinhardt, W. R., Williamson, R. N., Eaton, L. F., Actis, S. C.:

Magnolia Deepwater Development Striving for Best in Class
Drilling Performance, SPE/IADC Paper No. 92439, presented at
the 2005 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, February 23-25, 2005,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Dewey, C. H., Childers, R. D., Ronald, D.: Planning for
Successful Window Milling Operation, SPE Paper No. 49255,
presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference 27-30
September, 1998, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Dooley, L. B., Faul, G. L., Courville, D., Harrell, D., Shipley, J.
A: Planning and Execution of a Long, Tight Clearance Liner
Through a Whipstock Milled Window, IADC/SPE Paper No.
87167, presented at the 2004 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, 24 March, 2004, Dallas, Texas.

SI Metric Conversion Factors

bbl x 1.589 873 E - 01 = m3
ft
x 3.048*
E 01 = m
ft3 x 2.831685 E - 02 = m3
gal x 3.785 412 E - 03 = m3
in. x 2.548
E + 00 = cm
kip x 4.448 222 E + 03 = N
lbf x 4.448 222 E + 00 = N
mile x 1.609 344* E + 00 = km
mL x 1.0*
E + 00 = cm3
psi x 6.894 757 E + 00 = kPa
*Conversion factor is exact

IADC/SPE 98120

Fast Cutout
Ramp

Fast Gauge
Section
Dress Mill

Mid-Ramp

Follow Mill
Figure 2 - Multi-ramp whipstock face

Lead Mill
(Inserted)

Hydraulic
Anchor

Figure 1 Extended gauge multi-ramp whipstock system

Figure 3 Inserted lead mill

IADC/SPE 98120

Figure 4 Metal shavings from cutting window in 13 5/8 in. casing

Kevlar forearm sleeves

Kevlar gloves

Arm length rubber gloves

Fully equipped with protective gear

Figure 5 Protective gear to safely handle metal cuttings

IADC/SPE 98120

Figure 6 Rock filter basket installed in cement unit

10

IADC/SPE 98120

4500

9
Base Oil

Spacer

Recorded at cement unit

4000

Mix & pump 250

bbls cement

S
p
a
c
e
r

3500

Displace
cement
with rig
pumps

3000

Hesitation Squeeze
2000

WOC 15
minutes Bullhead
4 bbl
down
annulus
with rig
pumps

1500

Pump 9 bbl down

drill pipe

1000

2
W
O
C
Wait on Cement

500

0
0:00

0:15

0:30

0:45

1:00
Time, hr:min

1:15

1:30

1:45

2:00

2:15

Squeeze Pressure

Figure 7 A4 BP1 window cement squeeze plot

2:30

2:45

3:00
Injection Rate

0
3:15

Pump Rate, bbl/min

Drill Pipe Pressure, psi

2500

IADC/SPE 98120

11

1200

1100

1000

900

800

Pressure, psi

700

600

500

400

300

Original LOT - 12.48 ppg

Original Shut-In - Minutes
LOT After Squeeze - 13.23 ppg

200
LOT After Squeeze Shut-In - Minutes

100

0
0

10

Volume Pumped, bbl

Figure 8 A4 BP1 initial and final leak-off test at window

11

12

13

14

12

IADC/SPE 98120

Well Elevations
72 ft
MSL

Top of 18 3/4 in. Housing at 4731 ft

11.0 lbm/
50 bbl N2
gal SBM
15.5 lbm/gal Spacer
30 bbl N2

4674 ft

36 in. jetted to 4,992 ft

(246 ft below mud line)

20 in., 133 lbm/ft, X56, RL4S at 8,009 ft

MD, 7,963 ft TVD. Cement returns
observed at seafloor.

Inhibited
Seawater

4746 ft
ML

15 ft

9 1/2 in. Retrievable Bridge Plug at 4921 ft

14.6
lbm/gal
SBM

11 3/4 in., 119.79 lbm/ft, HCQ-125, SL-SF, top 406 ft. of tieback
casing. Hanger at 4735 ft

10 3/4 in., 64 lbm/ft, HCQ-125, SL-SF Tieback casing.

TOC at +-10,687 ft MD.
10 3/4 in. TOL at 10,759 ft MD. Squeezed TOL with 460 ft3 of
cement. Set packer & tested to 3,000 psi.
10 3/4 in. Top of Liner (TOL) at
11,191 ft MD, 10,194 ft TVD.
Plug A: Balanced plug from 11,091 ft to
11,291; 100 ft above and below TOL.

13 5/8 in., 88.2 lbm/ft, HCQ-125, SLSF at

14,731 ft MD, 12,390 ft TVD. Calculated Top
of Cement (TOC) at 12,731 ft MD.
Plug B: Cement Retainer set at 14,940 ft MD with
a 1,940 ft 3.5 in. tubing string to 16,880 ft MD.
Cemented with 200 bbl squeezed below and 40
bbl on top of retainer.

BM
m/gal S
12.8 lb

13.9 lbm/
gal SBM

13-5/8 in. Whipstock anchor set at 11,076 ft MD.

Window cut in 13 5/8 in. from 11,048- to 11,071 ft MD.
Squeezed window with 1,399 ft3cement.

8 1/16 in. TOL at 14,957 ft MD, 12,544 ft TVD

BM
m/gal S
14.6 lb

10 3/4 in., 64 lbm/ft, HCQ-125, SL-SF liner stuck

off bottom at 16,170 ft MD, 13,286 ft TVD.
Cemented to TOL at 11,191 ft MD

8 1/16 in. TOL at 17,858 ft MD, 14,588 ft

TVD. Squeezed TOL with 321 ft3 of cement.
Set packer & tested to 2,500 psi.
10 3/4 in., 64 lbm/ft, HCQ-125, SL-SF at
18,183 ft MD, 14,371 ft TVD. Angle 56.1.
No returns while cementing or displacing.

14 1/4 in. hole to 19,371 ft MD, 14360 ft TVD

8 1/16 in. liner stuck at 20382 ft MD, 15498 ft TVD.

TD of 9-1/2 in. x 11 in. OH 21,310 ft MD, 16,107
ft TVD

13.9 lbm/gal
SBM

Leak Off Test Summary

20 in. at 8,009 ft MD, 7,963 ft TVD - 11.73 lbm/gal EMW (FIT)
13 5/8 in. at 14,731 ft MD, 12,412 ft TVD - 14.62 lbm/gal EMW
10 3/4 in. at 16,170 ft MD, 13,286 ft TVD - 14.64 lbm/gal EMW (LOT)
Window before squeeze at 10,109 ft TVD - 12.48 lbm/gal EMW (LOT)
Window after squeeze at 10,109 ft TVD - 13.23 lbm/gal EMW (FIT)
10 3/4 in. at 18,183 ft MD,14,371 ft TVD - 15.3 lbm/gal EMW (FIT)

Figure 9 GB 783 A4 BP1 temporary abandonment diagram

8 1/16 in., 54 lbm/ft, L-80, SL-SF at

21,665 ft MD, 16,377 ft TVD. Angle
53.8. Estimated TOC at 10 3/4 in. shoe.