Case Study: BP accurately locates wellbores in salt with SLB's 3D Far-Field Sonic Service

3D Far-Field Sonic Service Acoustically Confirms Well Locations in Salt, Gulf of Mexico

BP needed a way to locate two nearby wells from an openhole well in a salt formation in the Gulf of Mexico, including one cased hole and one open hole. The company was concerned that conventional magnetic ranging would not be accurate enough in salt, so it worked with SLB using 3D far-field sonic service.

SLB applied active acoustic ranging with its 3D far-field sonic service on the Sonic Scanner acoustic scanning platform to detect reflected signals from both target wells and estimate their distance and direction. The approach successfully located both wells at ranges up to about 160 ft (49 m), with directional uncertainty of ±11.75°, and also provided salt-quality information that could support future interception and kill planning.

BP