Case study
Exebenus Spotter demonstrates the value of real-time analysis in avoiding stuck pipe display
Published: February 10, 2025
Location: Onshore, Indonesia
Products used: Exebenus Spotter, Stuck Pipe Agent
Share:
Stuck pipe is a common and costly cause of nonproductive time (NPT). In this case, Exebenus Spotter Stuck Pipe Agent was used in a historical analysis of an operation that had sustained a 25-day delay during tripping out. The agent identified a risk zone during drilling and issued actionable alerts as much as 12 hours prior to tripping out, clearly demonstrating the value of real-time risk awareness in preventing costly stuck pipe events.
Summary of case study for a quick browse:
Challenge
Your Subtitle Goes Here
A stuck pipe incident during tripping out resulted in 25 days of NPT and a costly unplanned sidetrack
Objective
Your Subtitle Goes Here
A historical analysis of the operation used Exebenus Spotter Stuck Pipe Agent to assess how effectively it would have issued early risk alerts and enabled the rig crew to take preventive action.
Results
Your Subtitle Goes Here
Exebenus Spotter clearly identified multiple risks associated with the most common causes of stuck pipe. It issued warnings 2–12 hours (5–10 stands) prior to tripping out, when the event had occurred. The agent’s insight would have allowed the rig crew to mitigate the situation well in advance and avoid the costly downtime and sidetrack.
Challenge
Stuck pipe leads to 25 days of NPT and a costly sidetrack operation
During an onshore operation in Indonesia, the crew was able to drill the first section and run casing according to plan.
While drilling the second section of the horizontal well (TD 6158 ft), the operation became challenging. Despite a precautionary plan to manage the formation by reaming after each stand, the pipe got stuck while tripping out. This caused 25 days of NPT and required a sidetrack to be drilled, significantly increasing operational costs.
Objective
Exebenus Spotter analyzes the operation data to determine how costly delays could have been avoided
The operator wanted to understand how the stuck pipe incident could have been avoided, and chose to perform a historical analysis of the 68-day operation using Exebenus Spotter Stuck Pipe Agent.
To mimic a live monitoring situation, a drilling engineer (DE) analyzed the machine learning (ML) agent’s output and performed interpretations in real time. No additional information such as daily drilling reports or geological information was provided.
The Stuck Pipe Agent uses ML models to detect common high-risk conditions such as pressure differentials, hole cleaning conditions, restricted movement and wellbore geometry. In this case, the agent observed multiple risk indicators during the drilling and tripping out phases, as recorded in the table.
Table shows a typical recording of Exebenus Spotter observation and DE’s interpretation.
Results
Early warnings enable preventive action to avoid stuck pipe incidents
While analyzing the first drilling trip to TD 6158 ft, the Stuck Pipe Agent indicated excessive debris in the well, indicated by torque and hole cleaning warnings. The pipe rotation and high circulation rate during drilling controlled the risk, but the agent clearly indicated that pack-off risk was present.
While tripping out, the Stuck Pipe Agent issued multiple warnings with increasing frequency, identifying stuck pipe risks due to pack-off. The RPM and flow during drilling were able to keep the excessive debris in motion while drilling, but this was no longer the case when tripping out. The debris was accumulating around the BHA, creating increasingly anomalous drag patterns indicated by mechanical sticking, differential sticking and hole cleaning warnings. The pipe finally got stuck at 4851 ft.
Had Exebenus Spotter been deployed during the live operation, risk warnings would have been provided 2–12 hours (5–10 stands) prior to the stuck pipe event, giving the rig crew ample time to take preventive measures such as additional reaming and hole cleaning. This valuable intelligence would have prevented the stuck pipe incident and avoided the sidetrack.
As the sidetrack was being drilled, Exebenus Spotter observed a risk pattern similar to that seen during the first drilling trip. Around the same depth as in the first run, hole cleaning warnings started to appear. As in the first run, the rotation and circulation during drilling were able to keep the excessive debris in suspension, thereby avoiding stuck pipe.
At TD, the data shows that the drilling team applied previous experience and conducted six hours of reaming before reaming out of hole. These actions were clearly effective in mitigating the stuck pipe risk as also shown by the Stuck Pipe Agent, as no stuck pipe risk warnings were issued during tripping out.
Preventing costly delays in future operations
The historical analysis demonstrates how effectively Exebenus Spotter identifies preventable risks and provides rig crews with ample time to take action.
The case clearly illustrates the risk associated with the transition between drilling and tripping in wells where debris is accumulating in the well. While drilling, the risk is controlled by the rotation and high flow associated with Rotary Steerable System (RSS) drilling, and may not always be noted. During tripping, however, the absence of circulation and rotation allows debris to settle around the BHA. The first five to 10 stands of tripping are critical when stuck pipe risk has been identified during the drilling phase.
Exebenus Spotter provides highly reliable stuck pipe warnings, with fewer than one false warning per 24 hours of operation. This enables operations to accurately assess and respond to stuck pipe risks, minimizing unnecessary interventions. By leveraging these warnings, operators can optimize the drilling process, ensuring the rig crew performs thorough hole cleaning only when necessary, thereby reducing delays and enhancing effciency.
The risk pattern while drilling is similar between the first wellbore and the sidetrack. The only difference between the two operations is that the rig reamed at bottom before tripping out. This confirms that stuck pipe can be avoided, and had Exebenus Spotter been used in the first wellbore, 25 days of NPT could have been avoided.
Contact us
Want to learn more about our products and services? Send us an email, and we’ll connect you with the right expert.
The ML agent’s insight would have allowed the rig crew to mitigate the situation well in advance and avoid the costly downtime and sidetrack.