Welltec

Welltec

File:Welltec logo.jpg
Industry	Oilfield Services
Founded	1994
Founder	Jørgen Hallundbæk
Headquarters	Allerød, Denmark
Key people	Jørgen Hallundbæk (CEO),
Revenue	DKK 2 billion
Website	[1]

Welltec is an international provider of robotic, well intervention solutions and completion products for the oil and gas industry. The company's flagship is the “Well Tractor”, a remote-controlled device that is able to convey other intervention tools on wireline in order to evaluate, modify or improve the well's performance. The Well Tractor, celebrating it's 20th year anniversary, enables operators to run operations on wireline with high precision over the entire length of horizontal and highly deviated wells.

Services range from logging and perforation to mechanical services such as plug pulling/setting, valve manipulation, clean-up, milling and many more. It's universal in that it is compatible not just with other Welltec equipment but also with any 3rd party e-line provider's tools.

In 2012, Welltec entered the well completions business with its unique, expandable metal annular barrier. It's primary product in this segment, the "Welltec Annular Barrier (WAB(R))" has won acclaim and a technology award for its innovation.

The company was established in 1994 and today, despite the downturn, has over 25 offices worldwide and employs more than 700 people.

History

Jørgen Hallundbæk, the founder and CEO of Welltec, conceived the idea behind the Well Tractor while he was a graduate student at the Technical University of Denmark. The idea consisted of eliminating the large and expensive amounts of equipment needed for conveying tools and performing interventions in oil and gas wells. The Well Tractor enabled operators to reach the horizontal part of oil and gas wells and getting past the deviated sections using standard electrical wireline. Generally, wells are considered deviated when they reach an inclination higher than 60°. Previously, interventions in horizontal and deviated wells were considered a lengthy and costly process.

New technology in the oil and gas industry is not readily accepted due to the costs of failure. The multinational oil company Shell has estimated that new technology requires 20–30 years to achieve broad acceptance [2]. The Well Tractor performed its first job in 1996, an operation that took place in the North Sea offshore Norway [3].

In 2003 the company evolved from primarily being a sub contractor to other service companies to being a direct contractor to the operators.

Today, Welltec has more than 25 offices and service facilities worldwide including Headquarters located in Allerød, Denmark.

Service Range

Welltec provides a range of services to international oil and gas companies from the drilling & evaluation phase to the completion and production phases. Services are delivered on wireline. The proprietary technology is developed and manufactured at headquarters in Allerød.

Services solve problems across different well types and environments. Welltec’s technology is applicable in vertical, horizontal, deviated and technologically advanced wells. Challenging conditions may be wells such as deepwater, Subsea, extended reach, high-yield, heavy oil, Arctic conditions and unconventional gas environments.

Wireline technology is by many people in the oil and gas industry viewed as a focus area with potential for development, and Welltec has expanded their technology portfolio during the years. Most services are performed with the Well Tractor that conveys logging tools or intervention tools to the desired point in the well where an intervention is needed. Originally, the Well Tractor was designed as a tool conveyor but today it is also able to perform interventions.

Initially, the Well Tractor was the exclusive product offered by Welltec. But beginning in 2002, an every increasing number of additional, innovative devices were introduced. All focused on a robotic approach, requiring little surface interaction in order to reliably carry out their function.

Mechanical solutions were the first addition to the portfolio, consisting of tools which operated downhole hardware, such as opening/closing SSSD's. This was followed by clean-out solutions to remove the unwanted by-products of production and then milling solutions to overcome failed downhole components. These intervention services are intended for electric wireline operations such as valve manipulation, scale milling, setting and pulling plugs, milling plugs and sand bailing; accomplishing well workovers on electricline.

To date, Welltec has engineered, developed and produced a large number of tools with different areas of operation. Apart from the Wireline Well Tractor, a Coiled tubing Well Tractor has been manufactured, which instead of running on wireline is fluid-driven. Other trademarked tools within the various families include the Well Stroker, the Well Key, the Well Cleaner, the Well Miller, the Well Cutter and the Welltec Release Device. On the completion side, it is the Welltec Annular Barrier or WAB.

Due to the wireline solution, technology can be transported to job sites in helicopter and do not require a rig to carry out services. A rig is typically an enormous structure with equipment used for drilling wells and getting the oil to the surface. Apart from the considerable size, a rig is also a costly device, making operators reluctant to use it.

Sometimes lightweight solutions such as rigless interventions might be a requirement when oil companies operate in sensitive eco-regions where large amounts of heavy equipment could harm the environment. This is for instance the case in the Arctic tundra in Alaska where many areas are protected by a national biodiversity action plan. Because of these limitations, a wireline solution is sometimes the only alternative to a job if methods like e.g. coiled tubing are too large to mobilize. This is especially the case at offshore rigs where space is limited or in sensitive eco-regions. Equipment can be flown in by helicopter, and the tools can reach many miles deep underground while being controlled from the surface.

See also

• List of oilfield service companies