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Cesium Formate Brines
Unlock your reservoir's value with high-density, solids-free cesium formate brine that can provide superior well control, operational rig time savings, corrosion protection and long-term productivity.
These unique brines form non-damaging fluids for challenging high pressure high temperature (HPHT) fields by ‘unlocking’ reservoirs and paying back dividends throughout the well’s lifetime. Cesium formate brine has been field-proven and endorsed by many of the world's largest exploration and production (E&P) companies, including Statoil, Shell, BP, TOTAL, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Marathon, AgipKCO, Petrobras, Petronas and ONGC.
Oilfield Solutions
We provide industry-leading drilling and completion products and services for the following fluid applications:
Cesium Formate Brine Is Proven To:
Eliminate expensive well interventions
Cesium formate brine reduces the risk of well interventions and maximizes the production life and durability of the well.
Cesium formate brine can be formulated with acid-soluble calcium carbonate particles and formation-friendly polymers to make low-solids drilling fluids, which are also used as lower completion and screen-running fluids. In these cases, upper completions using clear cesium formate brine usually follow. On conclusion of a well-construction operation, the well can be safely suspended for long periods with the same cesium formate fluid. Whichever scenario is chosen, the reservoir is only exposed to one filtrate – cesium formate brine – if the well is open hole and the likelihood of an intervention vastly reduced.
Maximize production rates and deliver recoverable reserves faster
Cesium formate brine helps deliver HPHT wells that routinely meet or exceed production performance expectations.
It is also non-damaging, and experience shows that this is particularly true in deep-gas wells drilled and completed in open hole entirely with cesium formate brine.
Reduce Operational Risk
There have been no well control incidents in any HPHT deep gas well drilled and completed with cesium formate brine.
This includes 14 wells drilled and completed over 432 days in Statoil’s Huldra and Kvitebjørn fields. This remarkable ‘zero incidents’ record set since the first HPHT drilling and completion with cesium formate in 2001 is ample proof of the improved HPHT well control environment.
Facilitate Better Reservoir Definition
Cesium formate brine is a very conductive fluid giving high-quality image logs revealing sedimentary features on a centimeter scale, providing geo-modelers with important information on structural dip, depositional environment and orientation of sand bodies.
This detailed information allows creation of superior reservoir models. Cesium formate brine is unique among HPHT drilling fluids by having a very dense filtrate (up to 2.30 g/cm3/19.2 lb/gal) with a stunningly high photoelectric cross section (Pe) of up to 259 barns/elec aiding the identification of permeable zones. Any invasion of this mud filtrate into the formation around the well bore becomes highly visible to nuclear logging tools. The logged photoelectric effect provided by invasion of cesium formate filtrate is extremely useful for correcting density curves for mud/borehole effects and mud filtrate invasion, and for estimating filtrate saturation. It is also ideal for defining permeable sands. Combining the photoelectric effect and its high vertical resolution with resistivity measurements from both the drill pass and ream pass of a logging while drilling (LWD) produces a very reliable and accurate net reservoir definition.
Reduce safety, health and environmental risks
Cesium formate brine is non-hazardous to the environment, and meets demanding standards set by environmental authorities around the world. It also has excellent test results against conventional fluids for dermal toxicity.
Decrease well construction time and cost
HPHT well construction operations using cesium formate brine are faster and more effective than those using traditional fluids.
In over 30 North Sea deep-gas well constructions carried out in overbalance with cesium formate brine since 1999, there were no differential sticking or well control incidents while drilling, logging or completing. Studies show that average completion time in North Sea wells between 1999 and 2010 is 21 days against an average of 46 days for wells drilled with oil-based muds (OBMs) with a corresponding reduction in costs.
Our Global Operations
Our formate experts and talented field engineers supply and support our customers around the world, providing you with optimum fluid solutions for the toughest field developments. Our ISO 9001-certified operation is unique, as we own and operate a mine containing over 80% of the world's known pollucite ore reserves, which form the basis of cesium formate brine. We know that when a job really can't wait, fluid delivery must be rapid and effective, which is why we operate seven stock points around the world. Our team is on 24-hour standby ready to deliver our products and services at a moment's notice.
Industry-Leading Resources
We consistently update our formate technical manual based on our collective field experience from over 300 successful HPHT well operations. We also leverage research that is conducted within our technical service laboratory in Aberdeen, Scotland. We regularly publish featured news and provide links to industry publications so that you can stay up-to-date on the latest market developments.
