Teamwork Results in World-Record Length Casing String

On 12 April 1996 Louisiana Land and Exploration Company successfully ran and cemented a 14,510 ft string of 16-in. 146.2 lbf/ft (0.907-in. wall) P-l 10 casing in their Big Horn 4-36 well located in Fremont County, Wyoming. The string had an air weight of over 2.1 million pounds and a hook load of over 1.8 million pounds. This world record feat was the result of a concerted, team effort involving Engineering, Purchasing, Suppliers, and Service Companies. The 16-in. casing string played a critical role in drilling the well that had a total depth of over 24,000 ft. The paper details the complementary roles and contributions of each group involved in this challenging project. The overall well design philosophy is discussed along with a review of the detailed 16-in. casing design structural load and von Mises triaxial stress analysis. The specialized casing material specifications and manufacturing procedures are presented and related to casing string performance requirements. The paper outlines the casing connector selection criteria and describes the premium connector used on the casing string to withstand the high axial forces and pressures encountered while running the casing and drilling the well. The equipment and procedures used to safely and efficiently run the casing string in a total of only 43 hr from rig up to tear down with 31 hr running time are also described. The 14,510 ft casing string was cemented back to the surface in a single stage. The paper addresses the importance of the mud properties prior to cementing as well as the design and execution of the cement job. Both were critical to successfully completing the job.