Baker Hughes has commercialized its MaxCOR sidewall coring service, a large-diameter rotary sidewall coring tool that recovers 1.5-inch (3.8-centimeter) diameter cores in extreme environments, including high-pressure and high-temperature formations.
The MaxCOR sidewall coring service acquires core with more than three times the volume in about the same amount of rig time it takes to deploy standard one-inch rotary sidewall coring tools.
The larger cores provide more accurate measurements of important reservoir attributes such as porosity, permeability and geomechanical properties. Greater sample volume per trip also enables operators to more accurately evaluate reservoirs and maximize hydrocarbon recovery with the least amount of rig time.
The MaxCOR sidewall coring service can retrieve 60 samples in a single run. It also operates at up to 25,000 psi and temperatures up to 400°F (204°C)—the highest temperature and pressure ratings in the industry.
MaxCOR is currently the only coring technology capable of recovering large-diameter core samples after a well is drilled. It uses a direct-drive electric motor in place of a traditional hydraulic motor to power the bit, providing maximum power transfer efficiency under all load and borehole temperature conditions. The drive mechanism increases the rotational speed of the bit, which significantly reduces coring time.
“In addition to deepwater work we’ve done in Brazil, MaxCOR has been used successfully in a number of U.S. shale plays, including the Barnett and the Eagle Ford shale basins,” says Scott Schmidt, president of drilling and evaluation for Baker Hughes. “The service is invaluable for providing the high-quality core samples operators need to more accurately characterize complex deepwater and shale reservoirs.”
