The Demands on Deep Oil/Gas Exploration & Development and the Technical Advancement of Liner Hangers

Deep oil and gas reservoirs encounter complex challenges in exploration and development, which include complex geological conditions, hard strata, high abrasivity, severe wellbore instability, long cementing sealed hole section, narrow gap, and more. These problems impose higher requirements for liner cementing technology. In order to more effectively address the difficulties such as larger liner setting depth, higher load in liner cementing, more difficult in liner RIH, higher bottom-hole temperature, higher pressure, and more severe downhole environments, over ten years of continuous research and innovation, a series of major breakthroughs have been achieved in China. The functions of the liner hanger have evolved from the basic ones to enhanced and integrated types, including the hanger structures of built-in slip, rotatable and hydraulic releasing, balanced double-cylinder, high-pressure sealing, and more. In addition, a multi-function integrated hanger has been developed to satisfy the demands of deep strata development and significant field application results have been achieved. At the same time, the developed liner hangers have provided cementing technical supports for the large-scale development of deep complex oil and gas fields such as the Shunbei Oilfield, Yuanba Gas Field, Weizhou Oilfield and Western Sichuan, further, they have accelerated the effective development of those oil/gas fields. After conducting comprehensive research and taking into consideration continuous advancement in materials, information, control and manufacturing, liner hanger technologies will target integration, intelligence, data science and real-time monitoring to ensure the effective exploration & development of deep oil and gas reservoirs and to support the sustained, healthy and rapid development of the petroleum industry.