SAFETHERM

In deepwater, use our systematic flow-assurance

approach to make sure youre not left out in the cold
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Specifically engineered for deepwater, permafrost and other cold-temperature environments,
SAFETHERMaqueous-base or water-miscible fluid provides thermal protection for your produced oil.
Features
Uniquely engineered to minimize
heat conduction and convective
heat loss
Easily mixed and pumped
on the rig
Environmentally acceptable
components
Behavior modeling with
proprietary heat-transfer
computer model
pH-buffered and
corrosion-inhibitive
Thermally stable
Benefits
Prevents production-line blockage
and casing-string collapse
Is formulated for compatibility
with a wide range of elastomers
and fluids and with surface-
processing equipment
Enables modeling of fluid
thermal behavior for production
and shut-in scenarios
Reduces costs
Helps maximize production
SAFETHERMinsulating packer fluidand
TPRO STmodelingsoftware workto
keeptheheat onyour production

A P P L I C A T I O N S
Deepwater and ultra-deepwater
wells that require thermal protection
to maintain produced liquid quality,
prevent annular pressure buildup,
and provide threaded connection,
elastomer seal and cement-bond
integrity. Also beneficial in protecting
permafrost from producing wells in
Arctic areas.

P R O B L E M S
Subsea temperatures can cool and
change the properties of produced
fluids. Temperature cycling can loosen
threaded connections and compro-
mise the integrity of cement and
elastomer seals. Heat transfer on pro-
ducing wells in the Arctic can cause
thawing of permafrost, leading to loss
of well seal integrity or well stability.

S O L U T I O N S
SAFETHERM
*
fluid, a water-base system
that controls conduction and convec-
tion, combined with our proprietary
TPRO ST* computer modeling soft-
ware, offers maximum protection
against thermal-cycling-related
production problems.

E C O N O M I C S
Prevents production problems caused
by changes in produced-fluid quality
and production-string seal integrity.
Controls thermally generated annular
pressure buildup.

E N V I R O N M E N T A L
This water-base system has earned a
Class E designation for the North Sea.
For GoM applications, it contains no
free oil and produces no sheen.
In the deepwater environment, initi-
ating production, testing or shutting
in for well intervention carry distinc-
tive flow-assurance risks that could
threaten your investment.
The combination of cold temper-
ature and high pressure can lead to
temperature cycling in the wellbore,
salt precipitation, or the formation
of production-blocking hydrates,
paraffin or asphaltenes any of
which can seriously jeopardize
your entire project.
To give you the upper hand,
M-I SWACO* has developed a com-
prehensive, project-specific approach
designed to keep your well flowing at
optimum rates, even after it has been
shut-in for extended periods. Through
our flow-assurance program, we now
provide a line of high-performance,
water-base, insulating packer fluids
and a proprietary computer model
to remove many of the uncertainties
and problems surrounding convective
heat loss in the annulus.
Stop production-robbing
problems where they start
SAFETHERMinsulating packer fluid
from M-I SWACO helps overcome
temperature-related problems that
can reduce, or even stop production:
Heat transfer away from pro-
duced fluids, resulting in a
product that becomes incom-
patible with the available surface
processing equipment
Multiple casing strings where
the transfer of heat into unvented
annuli can increase temperature
and pressure in the sealed space,
posing a very serious risk of a
casing collapse
Well shut-ins for short-term suspen-
sions and intervention operations,
causing thermal expansion and con-
traction of the tubular goods, induc-
ing excessive stress in the metal that
can disrupt casing/cement bonding
Wax buildup and salt precipitation,
resulting in production blockages
and serious operational risk
Loosening makeup torque of
threaded connections, potentially
compromising elastomer and
cement seal, which can impact
well stability
SAFETHERMkeeps the heat
where it belongs
Specifically engineered for deep-
water, permafrost and other cold-
temperature environments, SAFETHERM
aqueous-base or water-miscible fluid
provides thermal protection for your
produced oil:
Minimizes conduction of heat
away from the production string
Suppresses convective heat loss
in the annulus
Helps control the pressure buildup
in sealed annuli
Maintains flowing surface tem-
perature to ensure consistent
produced fluid quality
Matches a broad spectrum of fluids,
elastomers and other components
in a wide range of wells
Is benign toward the environment
in case of a spill
Brings production to the surface
within the temperature criteria
of processing equipment
Includes thermal stabilizers, corrosion
inhibitors and oxygen scavengers
Remains thermally stable and
non-corrosive over a wide range
of temperatures and pressures for
extended periods of time
Eliminates convection for minimal
stress on tubing, casing, seals and
cement bonds
Reduces pressure cycling and thermal
expansion for retention of optimum
makeup torque and uncompromised
threaded connections
Removes the need for mechanical
insulation of tubing couplings when
used with vacuum-insulated tubing
Components specially engineered
to protect your production
Resistant to thermal conduction
and free of suspended solids
Can be formulated for densities
ranging from 8.33 to 12.5 lb/gal
(1 to 1.5 kg/L)
pH-buffered and inhibited to
minimize corrosion
Hydraulically optimized to yield
lowplastic viscosity with elevated
low-shear-rate viscosities and
yield stress
Flat rheological profile over a
wide temperature range
Thermally stable over extended
time periods
Can be mixed and pumped on the rig
Can be pumped at high rates through
small tubing and orifice valves, with
minimal frictional pressure loss
The proprietary Thermal
Conductivity and Heat Capacity
Test Device measures both thermal
conductivity and heat capacity as
material properties. The design is opti-
mized for low-thermal-conductivity
(0.16 to 0.07 BTU/hr/ft/F), highly
SAFETHERMcreates an insulating barrier that eliminates temperature loss in the production fluids during
shut-in or steady-state production.
Convection is the internal movement of currents
within fluids. It can be described as the density-
and heat-driven cycling, transfer or circulation
of energy through which material initially warms
up and becomes relatively less dense, rising, then
cooling and becoming relatively more dense, and
finally sinking.
Conduction is the transmission of heat across
matter and is always directed from a higher to a
lower temperature. Thermal conductivity is defined
as the heat transferred through amedium as a result
of temperature difference.
Traditional
packer fluid
SAFETHERM
insulating
packer fluid
Production
zone
Production
zone
Traditional
packer fluid
SAFETHERM
insulating
packer fluid
Convective Convective
Conductive Conductive
Production
zone
Production
zone
viscous, Herschel-Bulkley fluids.
Depending on the thermal conduc-
tivity of the fluid, arresting convec-
tion keeps heat loss to a minimum.
When convection begins, total heat
loss can suddenly increase by a
factor of 30 or more.
The Thermal Conductivity Tester
consists of a small power supply, a
data processing unit, and a probe/
test-cell assembly. The device has
a small footprint and uses a stan-
dard PC for data collection. Obtained
datasets of temperature, current,
voltage, and time are converted
into thermal conductivity and heat
capacity values using the appropriate
mathematical formulas.
SAFETHERMconvective
heat-transfer coefficient
25 times lower than water
The system yielded superior per-
formance in all nine criteria in an
industry survey conducted by a major
operator at an independent lab. The
fluid possessed a convective heat-
transfer coefficient 25 times lower
than that of water. Five insulating
packer fluids from separate service
providers were tested for:
Temperature effects on viscosity
Low-shear rate rheological properties
Static aging at 200 F (93 C)
(one-, 14-, and 28-day tests)
Static aging at 250 and 270 F (121
and 132 C) (one- and 14-day tests)
Cycling (24-day, 40 to 200 F [4 to
93 C], 40 to 300 F [4 to 149 C] tests)
Fann 70 Rheological properties
under temperature and pressure
Thermal conductivity
Convective heat-transfer coefficient
pH reduction (reduction to 7.0, static
age 72 hr at 200 F [93 C])
SAFETHERMfluid had the most con-
sistent rheological properties (yield
points and progressive gel strengths),
the most uniform performance sta-
bility over a 28-day period, and the
highest thermal stability (approach-
ing 270 F [132 C]). Specifications for
the third-party tests were long-term
and pH stability at 200 F (93 C),
9.0 lb/gal, and 0.20 BTU/hr/ft/F.
SAFETHERMmakes
environmental sense, too
The components of SAFETHERM
were specially selected to have mini-
mal environmental impact, thereby
mitigating the effects of spills or
other unforeseen events. In the
North Sea, the packer fluid has
earned the system a Class E desig-
nation. For Gulf of Mexico operations,
SAFETHERMcontains no free oil and
produces no sheen.
To find out more about how
SAFETHERMfluid can protect
your investment in cold envi-
ronments, contact your local
M-I SWACO representative.
The TPRO ST computer model provides added assurance
M-I SWACO has developed laboratory
testing equipment and computer models
to accurately test and predict the per-
formance of a SAFETHERMfluid in any
wellbore environment. The models
are unique in the industry in that
theyaddress specific rheological prop-
erties of fluids and, most importantly,
their capability to resist the onset of
convective heat loss.
Complementing SAFETHERMand our
in-house thermal-conductivity-testing
apparatus is a unique
computer model capable
of simulating Newtonian
and non-Newtonian
fluid behavior in an
annulus to calculate tem-
perature regression dur-
ing production and
shut-in. The proprietary
TPRO ST computer model,
which includes algo-
rithms for rheologically
engineered fluids, con-
siders production tem-
perature and rate,
thermal properties of the
production and casing
string(s), the external
environment, and the insulating packer
fluid itself. This sophisticated software
calculates the temperature profile
throughout the wellbore during start-up,
steady-state production and during the
duration of a shut-in.
With the TPROST model, we can deter-
mine with a high degree of certainty
just how long you can keep your well
off-line before it must be returned to
production or before other remedial
action must be initiated.
The thermal conductivity test device
is used to evaluate formulations.
2003 M-I L.L.C. All rights reserved. *Mark of M-I L.L.C.
CBR.1953.0704.R1 (E) 2.5M Litho in U.S.A.
P.O. Box 42842
Houston, Texas 77242-2842
Tel: 2815611300
Fax: 2815611441
www.miswaco.com
E-mail: questions@miswaco.com
Technology Centers:
HOUSTON, TEXAS
Tel: 2815611300 Fax: 2815611441
ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND
Tel: 441224334634 Fax: 441224334650
STAVANGER, NORWAY
Tel: 4751577300 Fax: 4751570605
This information is supplied solely for informational purposes and M-I SWACO makes no
guarantees or warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to the accuracy and use
of this data. All product warranties and guarantees shall be governed by the Standard Terms
of Sale. Nothing in this document is legal advice or is a substitute for competent legal advice.