Halliburton announced at the 2007 Offshore Europe Exhibition and Convention in Aberdeen, Scotland, the successful deployment of its Armada™ sampling system. The system was used to capture bottom hole samples of reservoir fluid for Oilexco North Sea Limited.

The pipe-conveyed Armada system was loaded with nine samplers for Oilexco to run a drillstem test at 228 degrees Fahrenheit and 3,500-psi well conditions. All nine samples were collected and were transferred in a controlled environment on location. A second well was also successfully sampled at bottom hole temperature of 260 degrees Fahrenheit and 10,170-psi bottom hole static pressure proving its high-pressure capabilities. The goal was to optimize the reliability of reservoir evaluation by gathering samples uncontaminated by drilling fluids while expediting turnaround time and dramatically enhancing safety by eliminating the use of wireline.

"The integrity of the reservoir sample is absolutely imperative," said Allan Black, senior completions and testing engineer, Oilexco. "It determines how we design the completion of the well, which affects the value of our asset. Halliburton provided us with reliable samples and eliminated the safety issues around having to run wireline, which also is of great importance to us."

The Armada sampling system is specifically designed to require minimal rig-up and run-in time and operate in normal or hostile cased hole environments for extended periods of time. Because samples are maintained in a single phase, the sampler also eliminates lengthy surface re-combinations. These key design features enable operators to benefit from optimizing their rig time by reducing expenses while increasing the accuracy of the reservoir performance model.

"We are committed to providing our customers with a safer and more economical alternative to conventional sampling," said David King, senior vice president, Halliburton's Completion and Production division. "The carrier conveyed sampling system provides operators with a comprehensive understanding of key reservoir attributes as well as an assessment of their asset's net present value."