Breakthrough progress has been made in the coiled tubing sidetracking project

On October 13, 2020, the downhole operation company of Shengli Petroleum Engineering Corporation successfully completed the horizontal drilling task with coiled tubing for the G04-19N18 well. The successful completion of this well marked a breakthrough in Sinopec's coiled tubing horizontal drilling project, filling the gap in this area for Sinopec.

At 22:00 on October 13, 2020, as the instrument displayed a completed well depth of 1,460.0 meters, Sinopec's first continuous oil pipe sidetracking well, G04-19N18, successfully completed its scheduled construction tasks and achieved the expected results.

Sun Jingguang, a senior specialist in special operations engineering at Shengli Petroleum Engineering Company, explained: "We successfully completed the sidetracking operation using coiled tubing equipment, allowing the drill bit to reach the target formation. The smooth completion of this well further demonstrates the efficiency and reliability of coiled tubing sidetracking technology in practical applications."

Compared to traditional construction methods, coiled tubing operation equipment offers advantages such as a small footprint, rapid construction, high safety, and low labor intensity. It can be widely used in oilfield operations like well repair, drilling, completion, and logging, earning it the industry nickname "universal work machine.".

In 2016, for Shengli Petroleum Engineering Company, which was in the midst of transformation and development and striving to build a high-end technological brand, it was imperative to alter the existing industrial layout and focus on newer, more advanced technical equipment. At that time, coiled tubing operations had achieved phased progress in the shale gas market of Fuling, Chongqing. Further tapping the operational potential of the "universal workover rig" and continuously expanding the high-end market share became a key攻关目标 during that period. By the end of 2018, Sinopec Group officially launched the key攻关 project "Research on Coiled Tubing Sidetracking Technology," which was implemented by Shengli Petroleum Engineering Company's Downhole Operations Company. This initiative advanced the execution of various technical aspects of the project, effectively supporting the establishment of the petroleum engineering company's workover technology center.

To expedite the R&D and application of the project, the entire team relied on a petroleum industry dictionary to translate extensive foreign online materials and drew upon foreign tool principles to independently design and manufacture downhole operation tool strings, given the absence of domestic literature and technical confidentiality. During the research process, four achievements, including "A Surface Control Device for Coiled Tubing Drilling," were granted national invention patents, while 11 other achievements, such as "A Hydraulic Release Device for Coiled Tubing Drilling," were awarded national utility model patents.

After nearly two years, the Underbalanced Technology R&D Center of Shengli Engineering gradually mastered core technologies such as borehole deviation guidance, power selection, and information transmission. It also completed the manufacturing of key tools for sidetracking with coiled tubing—the downhole directional tool—and officially entered the field testing phase on October 3.

After several days of continuous efforts, at 22:00 on October 13, the drill bit reached the designated position. All functions of the continuous oil tube sidetracking operation—guidance, drilling, information transmission, and directional control—were successfully achieved. This method improved the window opening efficiency by 33% and the drilling efficiency by 200% compared to traditional sidetracking techniques, marking a complete success for the first continuous oil tube sidetracking operation well.

"The successful completion of this well is just a small step forward. We will proceed with 3-5 pilot wells to further test the reliability and stability of our downhole tool string, optimize and refine various construction data, and explore a mature coiled tubing sidetracking construction plan and standards, laying a solid foundation for the future mature application of this technology." Lu Yunxiao, Manager of the Downhole Operations Company of Shengli Petroleum Engineering Corporation, outlined the next steps for the application of coiled tubing sidetracking technology to Han Laiju, Deputy General Manager of Shengli Petroleum Engineering Corporation, and his delegation, who had come to the site for guidance.