Case Study: EXL Petroleum saves USD 200,000 on Wolfcamp drilling with SLB’s TuffTRAC tractor and geomechanical logging

Geomechanics Assessment of Stability Eliminates Second Casing String to Save USD 200,000

SLB worked with Eastern Mediterranean Well Operating Company to better understand horizontal wellbore stability in the Delaware Basin and determine the best mud weight for drilling a Wolfcamp Formation lateral while reducing costs. To gather the needed petrophysical and geomechanical data, SLB used the TuffTRAC cased hole services tractor to convey a triple-combo toolstring, ECS elemental capture spectroscopy sonde, and Sonic Scanner acoustic scanning platform.

SLB built a mechanical earth model from the logging data and used its high-resolution 3D geomechanical measurements to identify intervals with potential hole instability. This allowed Eastern Mediterranean Well Operating Company to adjust mud weight, reposition the casing shoe, and run a short liner string instead of an intermediate casing string, avoiding drilling risk and saving approximately USD 200,000.