Recovering a Weatherford STARBURST Whipstock (that's been in the ground 20 years!)

Dear members,

At this week's v-WIOP (virtual Well Intervention on Paper), which was our 46th Beyond Video Conferencing event, the topic was re-entering a multi-lateral well and restoring the cap-rock.

The single biggest risk to being able to restore the cap-rock is the need to recover a Weatherford Starburst whipstock.

It's been in the ground for 20 years!

If the team is unable to recover it, then an intercept well is required in order to seal the cap-rock and ensure the depleted reservoir can be used for CO2 storage.

For those unfamiliar with a Starburst Whipstock, it is installed in the motherboard of a multi-lateral well above a ‘mother bore completion’.  The sidetrack is drilled and the sidetrack liner run through the window and a liner hanger set above the whipstock.  To gain access to the Whipstock, this liner hanger (with Liner Top Packer) will have to be milled out.  With the best-will-in-the-world, some swarf debris will end up on top of the Starburst.

A good plan has been devised, involving a ultrasonic camera, Venturi junk baskets and so on.  Then, the primary plan is to run a die collar (with safety joint etc) and pluck the whipstock out of the whipstock packer. See attached.  Fallback is milling.

Then the whipstock-packer will be milled.

Simple, eh?

What we'd like to know is:

1. Do any of our members have experience in a similar situation and, if so, what did you learn and what would you suggest?
2. Has anyone used the Eaton Oil Tools Center Punch Mill - see animation?

As usual, practical experience is favoured over ‘opinions'.

Kind regards

Dave

Documents uploaded by user:

Starburst.pdf

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