CMP<font size="-1">^™</font> Defender - New Completion Tool Prevents Fluid Loss During Sand Control Operations

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 29, 2003) – A new completion component from Baker Oil Tools improves performance on frac pack and gravel pack operations by saving time and preventing fluid loss that can impair well productivity. The new tool, the CMP™ Defender sliding sleeve, has been run successfully in the Gulf of Mexico in both deepwater and shelf operations.

Improving on Traditional Completion Systems

A common completion practice in Gulf of Mexico frac packed and gravel packed wells is the incorporation of a concentric string inside the sand control screen. A mechanical sliding sleeve built into the concentric string is opened with the sand control service tools to provide returns during gravel placement and then closed to control fluid loss as the service tools are removed from the well. After installing the upper well completion, slickline or coiled tubing intervention is required to open an additional mechanical sliding sleeve to allow production.

The CMP Defender sliding sleeve saves time and reduces fluid loss compared to these earlier methods by allowing the well to be brought on production without slickline or coiled tubing intervention.

Advantages of CMP Defender Sleeve

The CMP Defender Sliding Sleeve's improved performance is the result of several innovative design features. The CMP tool is a high-performance, pressure-equalizing, non-elastomeric sliding sleeve with a spring-loaded external housing. In the run-in position, the tool provides positive isolation and pressure containment. A traditional mechanical sliding sleeve run below the CMP provides for returns during gravel placement and fluid loss control after packing.

Once the upper well completion is installed in the hole, a single, remote application of surface tubing pressure releases the CMP tool's outer housing. As the applied pressure is bled off, the spring-loaded housing shifts open to allow the well to produce. By opening when pressure is bled off, the CMP Defender sleeve can be used for multi-zone completions, with only one tool required per zone. After actuation, the CMP Defender Sliding Sleeve can be mechanically manipulated to control production from the well, if required.

Shelf and Deepwater/Subsea Completions

Two recent completions successfully utilized the CMP Defender sleeve on wells operated by Devon Energy Corporation, one a shelf completion and the other a deepwater subsea completion using Baker Oil Tools' InForce™ Intelligent Well System (IWS). Both wells involved dual zones and required fluid loss control and isolation devices that opened from surface.

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