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Challenge: A Rocky Mountain operator had drilled approximately 328-427 ft (100-130 m) to reach a total depth of 9265 ft (2824 m). The drilling team experienced tight hole conditions and reamed to bottom, encountering some deviation control problems and creating a number of doglegs. These conditions resulted in a hole drag increase to 35,000 daN, which was approaching the rig limit on maximum hook load of 125,000 daN and the rig manager’s estimate of 110,000 daN.
Solution: The drilling team increased additions of Millenium Technologies Alcomer 120 L additive to 3 pails/ tour (to a maximum of 6 pails/day) and set the potassium level at 25,000 mg/L to improve hole cleaning. Coarse walnuts were added to the active system as pills and as a daily treatment. The bottomhole assembly was modified to have more Smith Services Hevi-Wate drill pipe and fewer drill collars to reduce string weight. The ALPINE DRILL BEADS product was added at a concentration of 3-5%, and a beads recovery unit was kept on standby.
Result: The drilling team’s addition of 100 sx of walnuts and increased additions of polymer to the active system failed to rectify the problem. The team decided to add the ALPINE DRILL BEADS product. The beads were spotted at the kickoff point (KOP) and at 656-ft (200-m) intervals from 8530 to 3609 ft (2600-1100 m). Hole drag improved by 5-6 daN on every pill. Drilling proceeded to the casing depth, after which the drilling team logged the well and ran the production string. Approximately 231 sx of the ALPINE DRILL BEADS product were used on this location.
The well was directionally drilled, with the KOP at 3228 ft (984 m), with a build rate of 2.5°/98 ft (2.5°/30 m) to a maximum of 32.65° in the direction of 30.05° azimuth by a depth of 4649 ft (1417 m). The hole angle was allowed to drop back to less than 5° from the middle Gething formation to form an S-curve and was maintained to TD. Hole conditions were good during connections and surveys. Tripping was performed with little time lost to reaming bridges and/or cleaning fill on bottom. Potassium concentrations were kept in the 20-22,000 mg/L range to maintain good wellbore stability. Maximum drag on trips was 14,000 daN.
At 8602 ft (2622 m), the drilling team tripped into the hole with a new BHA, changed the motor to 1.5° and reamed from 5069 to 5095 ft (1545 to 1553 m), and from 8333 to 8399 ft (2540 to 2560 m) for 3.5 hr, then washed to bottom.
The team then drilled ahead, increasing the potassium level to 25,000 mg/L, spotting an ALPINE DRILL BEADS pill at 3937 ft (1200 m) and dropping the string weight by 5000-6000 daN. The team drilled to 9108 ft (2776 m), spotted a second pill at the KOP and noted a 5 daN improvement. Drilling continued to 9239 ft (2816 m). The drilling team mixed and spotted a 7-m pill with 46 sx of ALPINE DRILL BEADS product at 8530, 7874, 6890, 4593 and 3609 ft (2600, 2400, 2100, 1400 and 1100 m) and worked into the formation while rotating at 75 rpm. The team drilled to TD, circulated the hole clean, then tripped out of the hole. The hole was tight.
The team spotted the ALPINE DRILL BEADS product from 8202 to 4265 ft (2500-1300 m) and pulled out of the hole to lay down directional tools. Ran back in slick, circulated, and conditioned the hole and mud, pulling out to log. The well was logged to bottom on the first attempt and a 4½-in. (114.3- mm) production string was run.
QUICK SLIDE CT multi-blend lubricant is designed for coil tubing operations to decrease the coefficient of friction in all water-base drilling fluids.
Decreasing the coefficient of friction reduces torque, drag and the potential for differential sticking in the wellbore. QUICK SLIDE CT lubricant is a suspension of polymer drill beads in a base fluid that contains no hydrocarbons. The co-polymer beads act as a mechanical lubricant, embedding themselves in the filter cake in openholes and providing mechanical standoff in cased holes, reducing metal-to-metal friction. The carrying fluid has a unique wettability characteristic that lowers the potential of accretion on the bottomhole assembly (BHA) and drill pipe, allowing more consistent weight to be applied to the bit. QUICK SLIDE CT lubricant is only slightly water soluble under most conditions, but is dispersible in water-base muds.
above: Stigma is a major problem with mental illness ; But arguably there is another neglected crisis - mental health related life expectancy - which results in hundreds of thousands dying decades before their time...
Last week was ‘Mental Health Week’ in Australia. Importantly this has drawn attention to related issues such as poverty, stigma and a decades-long crisis in mental-health-related life expectancy.
According to a study from The University of Queensland and The University of Western Australia mentally ill Australians are on average dying 16 years earlier than the general population. This would include sufferers of Depression, Bipolar, and Anxiety. The study noted that the vast majority of cases of early death actually related to “physical causes such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, rather than from suicide or accidents.” Medication can certainly play a role in promoting obesity – which as noted can lead to heart disease, but also diabetes.
Also despite this, recent research has established that suicide claims approximately 2,500 lives a year. Proportionately the most likely to commit suicide were elderly men.
What is more, regarding mental health related life expectancy, “the gap is growing”. And the figure for sufferers of Schizophrenia – which is estimated to be a minimum of 200,000 Australians (some say closer to 300,000) – is 25 years. That is, those with Schizophrenia in Australia die on average 25 years earlier than the general population.
Also according to the UQ/UWA study this result was worse than that experienced by smokers, and comparable to that suffered by indigenous Australians. Indeed, research on Indigenous Australian life expectancy revealed a gap of around 10.6 years. The figure for indigenous Australia is of the highest concern and demands a significant commitment of resources. But the comparison begs the question why mental health related life expectancy does not attract the same relative amount of attention given the numbers, and given the dire plight of those involved. Indeed, both indigenous and mental health related life-expectancy warrant a very significantly increased amount of resources.
Furthermore the statistics on mental health related life expectancy have not improved in 30 years revealing gross negligence by governments of all stripes.
In early 2014 Ryan Bachelor of the Chifley Research Centre condemned apparent moves by the Abbott Government to vilify and scapegoat disability pensioners. This approach was reinforced by a disgraceful campaign by Australia’s Murdoch tabloid press. Bachelor also emphasized that while the figures for the Disability Support Pension (DSP) were high (approximately 800,000 people), more recently these figures were slowly declining. The cost to the Budget was approximately $15 billion in a $1.6 Trillion economy. And the proportion of Disability Pensioners with a psychosocial disorder was 31 per cent.
Considering life expectancy statistics, no – sufferers of mental illness are not ‘having us on’ when it comes to the Disability Support Pension. As Frank Quinlan of the Mental Health Council of Australia argued in 2014, many amongst the mentally ill want to work – but cannot do so on account of discrimination. And they are also deterred because of severe means testing of their pensions. As Quinlan explained elsewhere:
“The reality of the experience of severe and persistent mental illness is that it can have a profoundly disabling impact on day-to-day living and social functioning, leaving some Australians requiring ongoing financial assistance despite their eagerness to work independently.
It may not be so popular to draw on Karl Marx in this day and age. ‘Marxism’ as such has been so distorted by those who claimed to act in his name that many would not give his ideas a second thought. But Marx’s maxim: “From each according to ability, to each according to need” should seem an eminently reasonable basis on which to fairly organize an economy and a society. And it is a perfectly reasonable basis on which to organize pensions, and the social wage and welfare system more broadly. This should mean an end to severe means testing, more positive incentives to find flexible work (rather than ‘punitive welfare’), emphasis on fighting mental health related discrimination, and positive incentives for employers to provide suitable flexible employment.
Specifically, Disability Pensioners have trouble maintaining any kind of social existence; not only because of illness, but also due to poverty. Poverty means it is often difficult or even impossible to run a car, for instance. This impacts on ability to even search for suitable work. There’s the option of public transport ; but that is not always available. This can also make it difficult to keep friends, or to find friends in the first place. Poverty also makes fitness a more difficult prospect. Again, ill health, obesity etc can contribute significantly to early death, while the mentally Ill need to work so much harder to maintain health and fitness due to the side-effects of medication. Due to poverty Gym memberships are generally out of the question. And health costs can also be prohibitive. Consider Dental and Optical just to start. This affects all pensioners, but the disabled are likely to be dependent long term with no way out.
Also many experiencing mental illness are stuck in substandard and insecure accommodation. Further, not all the mentally ill have support from Carers, and many ‘fall through the cracks’ into homelessness. A 2002 report had also noted:
“many people with mental illness are unable to afford stable housing or make their own housing choices, and frequently have problems accessing appropriate housing and difficulty maintaining tenancies because of disruptions caused by their illness.”
New Turnbull Government Health Minister Susan Ley says there are “no easy fixes” and that the system must “[catch] people before they fall.” (“The Age”, 5/10/15) This implies some insight as to what people actually go through. Though while early intervention is crucial in preventing such suffering few can really conceive of, healing for the afflicted is just as necessary. Expecting people to just “pull themselves together” demonstrates an appalling lack of empathy, understanding and humanity. So if Minister Ley is serious she must decisively reject the disgraceful stigmatization and vilification of Disability Pensioners conducted by the Murdoch Press, and by some elements in her own party.
We are yet to see whether or not there will be a decisive change of direction under the new Turnbull leadership. Resolve to achieve the following will comprise the degree to which we can judge the extent to which the Turnbull Government is meaningfully addressing the crisis:
· Increase the Disability Support Pension by at least $35/week indexed. To begin, this might make it possible to run a vehicle and to eat better quality food ; Improve support for Carers as well
· Implement anti-discrimination legislation and provide positive incentives for employers to offer flexible work
· Provide much more generous means-testing of Disability Pensioners – especially the mentally ill, slowing the rate at which the Pension is withdrawn ; and make it easy for those affected to immediately re-access the pension even if they had found full-time work – but relapsed into illness
· Provide comprehensive Medicare Dental and Optical – ideally on a universal basis – but if this is not possible under the current government, then at least offer it to those in poverty, including those on welfare
· Provide access to ‘physical health case managers’ – who assist in improving the physical health of the mentally ill – a dimension which is commonly neglected by mental health professionals
· Provide funding so the mentally ill can actually act on such advice: subsidised access to health and fitness facilities, gear and services.
· Promote social-connectedness for inpatients as well by enabling access to internet and social media where viable
· Increase social expenditure on mental health to make it reflect its proportion of “the country’s health burden”; ie: raise it from 7 per cent to 14 per cent of the Health Budget ; but achieve this by increasing the investment; and not through cuts elsewhere
· Finally follow through on the demand by ‘Australians for Mental Health’: for “improved access to mental health services, clear pathways for treatment and support, more early intervention and prevention services, and service integration”
Again the mentally ill are not ‘having us on’ when some of them can expect to die on average 25 years earlier than the general population. We have to hope that the new Turnbull Government will mark a shift in attitude. But what is actually necessary is an increase in funding for programs assisting the mentally ill. (as considered in the dot points above) We must judge all the political parties and independents on the basis of action and not just words.
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Tristan's areas of expertise include Australian and world politics, social theory, education, history, and computer gaming for PC. He considers himself a liberal, and also a socialist, but has also referred to himself as a left social democrat. He says such - conscious that there was once a time when 'social democracy' and 'socialism' were synonymous. Furthermore, Tristan is a long-time member of the Australian Labor Party - specifically its Socialist Left wing. He is also involved in the Australian Fabian Society. Tristan has written for many publications - including a stint freelancing for 'The Canberra Times': the daily broadsheet of the Australian Capital. Tristan's Personal Homepage is here: http://sites.google.com/site/tristanewinsfreelancewriter