40262_Offshore-Technical-Conference-final-draft.pdf

Paper #14266 Composite Drill Pipe for Extended-Reach and Deep Water Applications Dr. James C. Leslie, Mr. Steve Williamson, Mr. Roy Long, Mr. Jeff Jean, Mr. Lee Truong, Mr. Hans Nuebert, Mr. James Leslie II ABSTRACT Extended Reach and Deep Water Drilling are constrained by the weight of the steel drill pipe. Transfer of data between the bottom hole assembly and the well head is currently cumbersome, slow, and provides less real-time data than desired. Recognizing these limitations, the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, has funded a three-year program to develop and qualify a cost-effective composite drill pipe (CDP). This pipe will provide enabling capability in all three of these areas. The program was started on September 30, 1999 and had the goal of having composite drill pipe approved and commercially available by September 30, 2002. Three and three eights inch CDP, qualified for short radius drilling, was made available for use in the spring of 2002. Availability of a nominal 5 ½” size CDP is projected for early spring of 2003.