Pre-magnetization of casing is a cost-effective method for increasing the detectable range of the casing when using passive magnetic ranging (PMR) techniques. This should be used whether your wells need well-avoidance measures due to dense fields, go through salt formations, require shallow relief well intersect or are less suitable for active magnetic ranging (AMR) in other ways.
AGR’s Casing Magnetization Service is offered world wide in cooperation with our partner Vector Magnetics LLC.
The magnetic field generated by steel is used to locate the casing in an uncontained well and facilitate intersection with a relief well. If casing magnetization is not completed, you may face the following issues:
- Increased risk to safety, environment, and production by compromising the ability to locate an uncontained well efficiently
- Reduced ability to locate a well due to reliance on random and unpredictable remnant magnetic field of the casing from when it was manufactured
- No guarantee that the steel will be detectable using PMR at an acceptable distance
The casing is magnetized prior to being run in hole and Passive Magnetic Ranging (PMR) may be used as the primary ranging method or in combination with Active Magnetic Ranging for the well situations listed below:
- Shallow reservoir and challenging relief well design
- High resistivity zones e.g. salt formations limiting ranging techniques
- Well avoidance when drilling from centralized locations
How long does pre-magnetization usually take?
Typically, pre-magnetization takes:
- 1 week of planning, assessment and scheme development
- 1 week of transport of equipment and personnel
- 2 days to magnetize casing at any casing yard anywhere in the world
What are the requirements that apply to a pre-magnetization project?
- A roof covered workspace with suitable casing rack.
- Power supply: 32 A outlet (220-440 V)
- Crane and or forklifts to move the casing
- One assistant to help handling the coil
Proven benefits of casing magnetization
- Increase the detectable range of casing and significantly improve ranging distance
- Eliminate uncertainties associated with passive ranging techniques assuring that the wellbore can be located and intersected
- Significantly reduce the relief well drilling time by reducing the number of ranging runs with active magnetic ranging (AMR) on wireline and the number of relief well sidetracks when using a direct approach without paralleling the wellbore
- A low-cost solution delivering increased safety assurance without affecting the drilling operations
Our team
Casing magnetization in this manner was jointly developed by Add Energy and Vector Magnetics LLC to proficiently detect and locate a well that has experienced a hydrocarbon release so that a new well can be drilled to intersect the compromised well to pump kill fluid to stop the blowout efficiently and effectively – a methodology that has been fine tuned over the last 10 years.
Completed casing magnetization projects
We have magnetized casing for over 40 wells, some of our completed pre-magnetization projects include:
- 20″, 13 ⅝, 13 ⅜”, 9 ⅝” and 7″ for shallow set casing in Norway
- 13 ⅜”, 9 ⅝” for shallow set casing in Ghana
- 9 ⅞” casing for salt formation in Gabon
- 13 ⅜” for shallow set casing in Las Palmas, Spain
Learn more about how casing magnetization works
