Iceland Drilling Project: Daily News

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After logging was completed Tuesday 7th of June was work at well head finalized and by 7 pm the drilling operation at IDDP-1 was formally closed and Týr drill rig decommissioned. For the next weeks water will be injected into the well, while the next steps of heating and well testing are being considered. This is thus the final daily news announcement from drilling IDDP-1 and we would like to send our regards to all that have been following the developments at IDDP-1 for the past months.	Image of the day.

	Crew of the rig Tyr enjoying a short break in the warm summer weather.

Date	Image of the day	Message of the day
2009-07-08		After logging was completed Tuesday 7th of June was work at well head finalized and by 7 pm the drilling operation at IDDP-1 was formally closed and Týr drill rig decommissioned. For the next weeks water will be injected into the well, while the next steps of heating and well testing are being considered. This is thus the final daily news announcement from drilling IDDP-1 and we would like to send our regards to all that have been following the developments at IDDP-1 for the past months. more ...
2009-07-07		A final step test was run late last night. With a T and P tool at 2050 m depth in the well flow was increased from 20 to 40 L/s. A quick estimate of the data suggests an Injectivity Index of 2.2 to 2.4 L/s. Following the step test a final CBL-log was run. This logging finished around 7:00 am this morning. more ...
2009-07-06		The crew started working on the BOP-stack at 21:00 last night. This work is now ongoing. The CBL-log from yesterday shows that there is cement between the casings from 350 m to 1500 m depth. The signal indicates fairly good bonding between 800 m and 1500 m depth. There is little or no cement below 1500 m. The cement has not hardened completely yet. It appears that the boundary between the two cement jobs is around 620 m. That is in accordance with volumes involved. TOC this morning is 3 m to 4 m below surface. more ...
2009-07-05		As previously reported the first CBL was conducted yesterday. The log established a probable TOC at ~725 m. Later in the afternoon the crew prepared to cement on top. This was completed yesterday at 17:42 when cement slurry returned of surface after pumping 17.8 m3 into the annulus. The volume was less than expected based on the TOC as seen in the CBL-log from yesterday. Today a second CBL-log will be run. After the CBL-log is completed the crew will turn its attention to the BOP stack and the wells main valve which will be replaced by an ANSI 2500 valve. more ...
2009-07-04		After finishing the cement job last night the cement has been given some time to set and harden. This morning loggers have been obtaining data on the bonding (CBL). A pressure tool was left in the well overnight and pulled out this morning, showing no indications that the behaviour of the well has changed following the cement job. more ...
2009-07-03		The cement tool was pulled out of the well last night after pressure testing. After POOH, the poor condition of the cement tool was confirmed. This morning loggers from ISOR were gathering additional data on the well and on the behaviour of the water table as a function of pumping, as a part of the preparation for the cement job. After the test was completed the crew started the cement job. The first two hours after cementing, the behaviour of the well was as expected. A CBL is planned early tomorrow morning, after 12 hours of setting. more ...
2009-07-02		Last night and this morning the crew had problems with inflating the casing packer. Several lines of attack were tried. Early this morning the crew had some success. The packer was inflated and seemed to behave as expected. This morning various methods of cementing the casing were under discussion. They included reverse circulation cementation. These were put on hold and the casing packer tested. more ...
2009-07-01		Due to a technical problem we had to pull the cement string out of hole this morning. While the string was out of hole the opportunity was used to pump a tracer substance into the well. This test is a continuation of tests that have been ongoing in the Krafla area this summer. An international team will be monitoring the production wells over the next weeks and months to look for the return of the injected tracer. The crew was ready to run in with the string again this afternoon. We now expect to cement the casing around midnight, tonight. more ...
2009-06-30		Running of the 9 5/8" casing and liner was completed at 05:00 this morning. The crew is now making the necessary preparations for running in with a cement string. We expect to cement the casing later today. more ...
2009-06-29		This morning preparations for running the 9 5/8" production casing with a 9 5/8" liner have been ongoing. Early this morning a team arrived from Norway to manage the use of the annulus packer and the Peak C-Flex unit. The Peak C-Flex is a sleeve based cementing valve which allows you controlled access to the casing to casing annulus without reducing the integrity of the casing string. The casing and liner will be emplaced in a single run. more ...
2009-06-28		Yesterday tests on the well continued late into the night. At the same time the crew has been preparing for the next phase of the project, the running of the production casing. As could be expected, the events over the last few days have neccessitated a re-design of certain aspects of the well. more ...
2009-06-27		After the lithology logging programme it was decided to run a 3-fold step test in the well. The test was carried out yesterday and last night. Today further testing is underway. The step test yesterday involved the following steps: 1. Increase pumping (Q) from 40 l/s to 55 l/s. 2. Increase Q from 55 l/s to 70 l/s. 3. Decrease Q from 70 l/s to 40 l/s. During the test P and T data were collected at 2050 m depth. The data suggest an injectivity index of 8 to 15 L/s/bar. more ...
2009-06-26		Quenched glass came up with the circulation after the string got stuck on 24th of June, which indicates that the string got stuck due to invation of melt into the hole. This would also explain why the string was lifted by some 35 tonne. After having cooled the well for 24 hours was attempted to pull in the string and it was all loose. Subsequently was commenced to POOH. POOH was completed at 11:15 pm last night. There was no glass on the bit and it was in good condition. Some black colouration could be seen on the stabilizers and the anderdrift tool. The hole is currently being logged. The refractive index of the glass shards confirms that the melt that invaded the hole is acidic in composition (rhyolite). more ...
2009-06-25		The drill string got stuck at 2:18 pm yesterday afternoon with bit at 2095 m depth. By then was the hole 2104.4 m deep. On this occasion there is still flow through string, so during the night have been pumped 60-65 L/s on string, while pumping down polymer pills. There has occasionally been return of circulation otherwise is there total LOC in the hole. Currently is a short step test being performed. more ...
2009-06-24		Depth at 7:30 this morning is 2098 m. Yesterday was total LOC at 2071 m. After attempting to seal the leakage with mud pills and LCM material was resumed to drill. There was unsteady return of circulation but since 2094 m depth has been drilled in total LOC with 40 L/s flow through string and 10 L/s on annulus. more ...
2009-06-23		Drilling resumed at 2 pm yesterday afternoon. Depth is 2049 m at 8 am. At last connection at 2044 m depth inclination was 3°. There was no loss of circulation in hole until at 2044 m depth, but there circulation loss measured 11 L/s. more ...
2009-06-22		POOH was completed at 10 pm last night. The motor was removed from BHA and then was RIH again with a new drill bit. At 7:30 am this morning drill bit is at 1300 m depth, but it is expected that drilling will resume in the afternoon. more ...
2009-06-21		At 8:45 am this morning was decided to stop drilling at 1992 m depth. Now is being prepared to POOH due to indications that the drill bit appears to be worn out. more ...
2009-06-20		Sliding to sidetrack out of hole is in progress. At 7:30 am is depth 1979.5 m. The cuttings comprise cement and up to 30% basaltic rock fragments with cement coating. This is in good correspondence with that at this interval was expected to drill through cemented debris fill from the section drilled with 16-1/2" drill bit. more ...
2009-06-19		Time drilling at 1969 m depth started at 03:45 this morninng. Prior to time drilling the tool-pusher tested the hardness of the sement by drilling one meter and found that at 5 tonnes on bit the ROP was 15 m/hr. more ...
2009-06-18		RIH continued last night. Temperature and gyro-logging were performed today to decide the direction af the new side-track. more ...
2009-06-17		After running in yesterday the BHA was giving pressure signals that were difficult to explain. It was thought they could either be from the motor or ander-drift. After drilling ~10 m below shoe a gyro-run was attempted. The internal temperature sensor showed that the temperature inside the string increased more rapidly than expected and the log had to be abandoned. A temperature log was then run to cofirm the T reading from the gyro-tool. Due to the pressure signals from the BHA it was decided to POOH and examine the motor and anderdrift inclinometer. more ...
2009-06-16		Drill string was run into hole last night. Top of upper cement plug was at 1935 m depth. Today a spot for sidetrack has been chosen. A gyro-logging will be carried out before sidetrack drilling commences. more ...
2009-06-15		The crew cemented on top of fish last night with string at 2050 m depth. Volume of cement for plug was 14 m3. After cementing TOC was at 1998 m depth. After laying down the plug the driller pulled back and checked for loss of circulation, there were no losses. Laying down a second plug was completed before lunch. A total of 6,3 m3 were pumped into the well. This should suffice to put TOC 20 m above the shoe. Putting together a string for sidetrack will commence later today or tonight. more ...
2009-06-14		As reported yesterday, backing off resulted in detachment at ~500 m depth. After pulling out the drillers needed to attend to some maintenance on the rig, a common occurrence after prolonged periods of jaring. For the record it is also noted that a second attempt of using acid to dissolve cement in the string and around the fish had been abandoned at this juncture. At 16:40 the crew was ready to run in with the string again to try to hook onto the fish. At 21:15 the crew successfully backed off and POOH began. Early this morning the crew started to run in with a cement-string. After running in with 100 m of fibreglass it became apparent that there were still problems with cement residue in the string and hence POOH again. After cleaning out the fibreglass singles running in of the cement string started again just after 10:00 o’clock this morning. more ...
2009-06-13		Late last night preparations for pumping acid into the well were finalized. Shortly before 24:00 the acid was pumped into the well. During pumping the end of the drill string was 1.20 m above the fish. At 04:00 this morning the string was connected to the fish again. The fish was still stuck. A slight change was noticed though as ~1 L/s can be pumped through the string at 100 bar pressure. This morning preparation for a second acid batch began. Unfortunately backing off resulted in a very low hook load implying that we unscrewed at ~500 m depth. We are now POOH to examine the threading of the bottom single. more ...
2009-06-12		The fish remains SIH and has not budged noticably, despite various measures taken. Plans are being hatched for new actions to be taken today. more ...
2009-06-11		The RIH was finished at about 11 pm last night when drill string reached the fish at 2071.5 m. Soon thereafter the string had been screwed together with the fish, the anderdrift sub to the anderdrift. Since then the string has been pulled and pushed without noticable movement of the fish. Flow through the string is still blocked, making the task of getting the fish unstuck that much harder. more ...
2009-06-10		At 5:50 pm yesterday afternoon after all the drill string had been torqued up and back-off had just started, the string became loose. POOH started immediately and was finished overnight after 4 am. When the POOH ended, it became clear that the joint between the anderdrift and a sub above it had been unscrewed, and that a 17 m long fish was left in the hole. Temperature logging is finished and more logs will follow. more ...
2009-06-09		Despite considerable effort the drill string remains SIH (Stuck In Hole) and no progress has been made in moving the drill bit upwards. Flow through the string is blocked. An obstruction has been located at 1665 m inside the string and found to be made of cement. more ...
2009-06-08		Drilling in rock started at 6:30 pm yesterday and this morning at 5:30 am the depth was 2103.8 m. LOC had been increasing and finally complete from 2076 m. When 2103.8 m were reached, it was decided to POOH but when one drillpipe had been removed this morning at about 7 am the string got stuck. At that point the drill bit was at 2090 m. Attempts are now being made to get the string unstuck. more ...
2009-06-07		TOC was reached yesterday evening and drilling started at 10:40 pm at 1970 m. At first the cement was highly firm but has been getting softer. At 7:30 am this morning the drill bit is at 2024 m. There has been no loss of circulation. more ...
2009-06-06		Cement was pumped into the bottom of the hole yesterday afternoon in order to close off a leaking zone and fill up a cavity near the end of the anchor casing. Measurments after the first attempt showed loss of cement into the rock as the cement level had subsided down to 2002 m. Cement slurry was pumped down a second time overnight and now it is believed that the hole has been sealed off. POOH is currently in progress. more ...
2009-06-05		At 4:10 pm yesterday afternoon drilling was stopped at 2060 m depth. The hole was clean after rinsing for 1 hour. POOH was completed by 3:30 am and after an injectivity test are preparations underway to RIH with cement string. more ...
2009-06-04		Based on the suspicions that there was junk in the hole it was decided to RIH with a 12 1/8" tricone steel drill bit that is specially designed for junk cleaning as well as a junkbasket. While waiting for the delivery of the drill bit from Reykjavik it was decided to use the time to assess the cement behind the anchor casing from below 1300 m depth with a CBL log. CBL logging was completed by 3:50 pm. By then the drill bit had arrived at drill site and RIH could commence. Drill bit and junk basket reached fill at 2039 m depth at 2:30 am this morning. After checking depth of fill drilling could commence. The plan is to drill to 2060 m depth and then POOH to plug the hole with cement. more ...
2009-06-03		Spot coring commenced at 5:00 pm yesterday. Initially ROP was averaging 5 m/h, but at 2042 m depth there was a sharp increase in ROP and after that there was little progress. At 8:20 pm coring was suspended at 2042,7 m depth and POOH commenced. POOH was completed at 5:30 this morning. The drill bit was totally worn down and there was no core in the barrel. Temperature and caliper logging was carried out this morning. more ...
2009-06-02		At 4:10 pm yesterday depth reached 2040 m and then drilling was stopped for coring. The hole was rinsed until 1.2 m of fill was left in hole. POOH commenced at 11 pm and was completed around 7 am this morning. RIH with coring assembly is in progress. more ...
2009-06-01		Grinding down and rinsing out fill is in progress. At midnight thickness of the fill was 8 m, at 5:20 m this morning the fill was 5.2 m in thickness. There was total loss of circulation for a short while at 1995 m depth yesterday afternoon and again later in the evening, but this morning was pumped 11 L/s and there is full return. more ...
2009-05-31		Yesterday afternoon TOC was found at 1892 m depth with a sinker bar and additionally was checked that there was no further leakage. POOH commenced at 5 pm and this was completed by 10:55 pm. Next was RIH with 12¼” drill bit and this morning at 7:45 am is bit at 1800 m depth. more ...
2009-05-30		POOH was completed at 6 pm yesterday afternoon. Then was tempearture and caliper logged. Logging was completed at 11 pm. RIH with string for cementing got underway at 1 am this morning, but the lowermost 63 m of the string consists of glass fiber singles. At 7:30 am is string at 1500 m depth. more ...
2009-05-29		Yesterday, the fill-in debris was drilled keeping ROP of 2 m/hr and circulation of 30 L/s. At midnight the string got stuck at 2001 m depth for 45 minutes. At 4:30 am, this morning, 2015.8 m depth was reached. Since then the hole has been cleaned with water and polymer pills. Fill-in debris seem to accumlate very easily in the hole. This morning at c. 8 am, a total loss of circulation occured. The plan is to cement a plug in the hole. At 10 am POOH started. more ...
2009-05-28		Yesterday a BHA with a 12 1/4" bit was run down the hole. Last nigth, at 21:45 pm, drilling into the float collar started at 1937.3 m depth. Early this morning, at 1970.4 m depth, drilling into fill-in mud, i.e. loose debris, underlying the casing shoe started. The fill-in debris, estimated 35 m thick, is beeing drilled carefully with an average ROP of 1-2 m/hour. more ...
2009-05-27		Installation of the BOP's finished around midnight. Early this morning pressure and leakage tests were carried out, with applied pressure of 20 and 60 bar, respectively. No leakage was observed. Since 7:00 am a BHA with a 12 1/4" bit has been run into the hole. more ...
2009-05-26		Preparation for further drilling, with a 12 1/4" drill bit, is underway. A new flange was installed on the wellhead yesterday afternoon. Today work on BOP is ongoing. more ...
2009-05-25		After the last cementing, May 23th, the cement was given time to harden for approximately 15 hrs. Then the top the casing was cut, at 15 pm yesterday. The BOP stack was removed. Preparation for installation of a new flange is in progress. This morning attempts to unscrew the casing stub is underway. Temperature and CBL-loggings were carried out last night, revealing that the top of the casing is well bound. more ...
2009-05-24		Yesterday, temperature and CBL loggings were carried out between 13 and 19:30 pm. The results indicate that TOC was at c. 100 m depth and that the anchor casing is well bound in general. An exception is an interval between 1415 and 1500 m depth, where CBL show little signs of cement bounding. At 23:30 pm the cementing of the anchor casing was finished. The uppermost part of the annulus was filled with cement, using 5.6 cubic meters of cement slurry. A CBL logging is planned in the afternoon. more ...
2009-05-23		Yesterday preparations for the second stage of cementing of the anchor casing were in progress. At 15 pm temperature logging was carried out. Additional cement, transported from Reykjavik, came to the drill site late last night. Between 3 am and 6:20 am this morning the cementing was carried out. Totally 155 m3 of cement slurry was pumped into the annulus, 140 m3 with density of 1.85 g/cm3 and 15 m3 of 1.9 g/cm3. Temperature and CBL-loggings are planned in the afternoon. more ...
2009-05-22		The well was temperature and CBL logged between 05:26-11:15 pm yesterday after string had been POOH. According to the CBL-log is TOC at 1600 m in annulus. Circulation loss was 34 L/s at 7 pm last night, but has increased during the night and is ~40 L/s this morning Preparations for the second cement job are in progress, but are not expected to commence until tonight at first. more ...
2009-05-21		First cement job commenced at 6:00 am this morning and was completed at 7:41 am. 80 m3 of cement slurry was pumped through string. The slurry had an average density of 1.85 g/cm3. All 80 m3 of cement slurry had been pumped down by 7:20, and after that was pumped down 18 m3 of water to displace all cement out of string. Temperature and CBL log will be carried out late in the afternoon or evening to locate TOC behind casing. more ...
2009-05-20		A cross-over connection was made up yesterday and arrived at rig site after 1 am, and then was resumed to install the anchor casing. Setting down the anchor casing was completed around 10 am this morning. Next on the agenda is to RIH with cement string and connect it to the float collar and prepare for the first cement job. more ...
2009-05-19		Running anchor casing in hole commenced yesterday morning and the operation is still in progress. 1661 m of 13 3/8" casing has been run in hole and now is about to change over to 13 5/8" casing, which will make up the upper 300 m of the casing. more ...
2009-05-18		POOH was completed at 08:45 pm last night. The hole was then temperature logged but logging was completed at 2:00 am this morning. Preparations for installing the anchor casing in hole are currently in progress. more ...
2009-05-17		Logging was completed shortly after 5 pm yesterday. Subsequently was prepared to RIH for a wiper trip. Drill bit reached the deposit at 1971 m depth shortly after 5 am this morning without finding for obstructions. Now has been drilled down to 1977 m with some increase in torque. Numerous high viscosity pills are being pumped down while pumping 77 L/s on string. more ...
2009-05-16		Drill bit was 1/16” under gauge and had some skirt damage. Now logging is in progress. An extended temperature and pressure logging program was completed early this morning. Top of bottom hole deposit was at 1970 m depth, 35 m from bottom. Currently calliper logging is in progress, but logging i anticipated to extend until late in the afternoon. more ...
2009-05-15		Yesterday attempts to loosen the string went on by using different approaches. Pumping rate through string or kill-line was varied, tork added occasionally and jarred upwards or downwards but without progress. A temperature log was run in the well down to 1977 m depth from 20:37-00:08 last night (see below and fig. 1, 2 and 3). Because of positive results of the temperature log, it was decided to continue with high pumping rate through motor, downwards jarring and adding many high viscosity pills. At 06:20 the string finally got loose. Now we are pulling out of hole with slow rotation of string and pumping ~20 L/s through the string. more ...
2009-05-14		Attempts to loosen the string are still ongoing. Yesterday, at noon, the string had moved some 12 m upwards. At 14:00 hours down-jarring was started with 50-60 L/s flow on kill-line and pull up to 200 tonnes. Soda was added to the fluid in order to dissolve the cement particles within the fill enveloping the BHA components. Tactic was changed in the evening, pumping 60-70 L/s through string, pulling up to 260 tonnes and adding torque to 2400 daNm together with down-jarring but without any progress. During the night, the tactic has been to pump 65 L/s through string, adding torque to 2150 daNm and jarring. This morning pump through motor is 65 L/s in attempt to shake the fill loose. Loss of circulation is total. more ...
2009-05-13		TD was reached 05:00 yesterday morning at 2005 m depth. The string got stuck at 05:25 while cleaning the well, with the bit 8 m above bottom of well. Pumping through motor was switched between 20-66 L/s in attempt to shake the string loose. At 14:00 hours, the tactic was changed, pumping was varied between 5 and 70 L/s, while pulling occasionally on the string and torque added as well. From 16:45 hours the jar was hammered downwards regularly without progress. A temperature log was run in the well between 00:27-01:37 last night. At 03:00 jarring upwards and pulling with up to 200 tonnes was started. This resulted in the string moving 2-5 cm up with each release of the jar. At 08:00 this morning the string had moved 6.3 m in total. Circulation loss at 07:00 is 40 L/s. more ...
2009-05-12		Yesterday morning, side-track sliding continued, with WOB varying from 2-8 tonne. Before noon ROP was kept between 0.5 – 7 m/h. Around 15:00 drilling with rotation started. Pumping was increased to 60 L/s, raising the stand-pipe pressure to ~ 170 bar. WOB was kept between 6-11 tonne with increased but more variable ROP’s due to higher WOB. Unfortunately the data system broke down at midnight so no data were recorded during last night. TD was reached 05:00 this morning at 2005 m depth. At 05:30 the drill string got stuck with bit 8 m above bottom of well. Now the flow through motor is varying from 20 – 60 L/s in attempt to shake the string loose. more ...
2009-05-11		Side-tracking is continuing and cutting samples look promising. The last few samples contain ~ 70-80% rock cuttings of fine-medium grained basalt. Most of them seem to be freshly cut, while a few somewhat rounded grains and some crushed grains are probably remnants from the initial drilling in this depth range. more ...
2009-05-10		Yesterday, just before noon and after drilling through a soft cement plug, a solid one was reached at 1910 m depth. While drilling through the soft plug, a few pills were pumped down with the circulation fluid to clean the well. From noon yesterday the ROP has been kept around 0.5 m/h and the WOB has gone up to 5 tonnes. Side-track drilling commenced yesterday at 13:00 hours, first by attempting to form a ledge at 1911 m depth by sliding repeatedly over the same interval. At 16:25 pm the actual side-track drilling started and is still continuing today. Circulation losses are around 5.5 L/s this morning. more ...
2009-05-09		After the gyro-run yesterday morning drilling the cement (sliding) in an attempt to side-track commenced 06:15 at 1835 m depth. WOB was kept low, around 1 tonne, and ROP’s were kept at 0.5 m/hr to try to ensure a successful side-track. Circulation losses were variable but generally around 10 l/s when measured on the pumps. Last night ROP’s increased markedly although WOB was kept low. This occurred at ~1846 m depth, shortly after midnight. After reaching ~1849 m depth there appeared to be little or no resistance left in the cement plug and we were clearly “back” in the hole again. more ...
2009-05-08		BHA was run into the hole until the TOC was reached at 22:50 pm at approximately 1819 m depth. There the ROP decreased considerably, i.e. from c. 40 m/h to c. 10 m/h. Some minor obstacles were entered at 1210-1215 m, 1740-1742 m and 1749-1752 m depth. Below 1777 m the ROP started to decrease. The plug was then drilled further to 1835 m depth. At 06:15 am this morning directional drilling of the sidetrack started. The ROP is kept close to 0.5 m/h with a minor WOB. Loss of circulation has been around 10 L/s. The plan is to drill carefully with ROP at 0.5 m/h during the day and clean the hole regularly with high viscosity pills. more ...
2009-05-07		When temperature logging finished at 7:35 am yesterday a cementing string was run into the hole down to 1917 m depth. Cementing of a new ca 80 m thick plug was performed at 15:00-16:00 pm. Afterwards the string was pulled up to 1657 m depth and the hole cleaned with water and high viscosity pills for several hours. Pulling out of hole started at 21:30 pm. This morning a BHA with a 16 1/2" bit and a motor is being prepared and run into the hole. The bit is expected to be at TOC in the afternoon. more ...
2009-05-06		Temperature and caliber loggings were carried out until noon yesterday. Then a cementing string was run into the hole. Cementing of a new plug started at midnight from 1955 m depth. While cementing the string got stuck and the operation had to be cancelled. The string got loose soon and was lifted to shallower depth. This morning temperature logging has been ongoing. more ...
2009-05-05		Yesterday, when drilling into the cement plug, the drill string got stuck. In the afternoon, after intense jarring, pulling and injection of high viscosity pills, it got loose, and was pulled out of the hole. Pulling out of hole finished at 6:00 am this morning. Logging of temperature and caliber were carried out between 6:00 and 12:30 this morning. more ...
2009-05-04		Yesterday at 13:00 pulling out of hole was finished and preparations for a new set up of BHA started. At 22:00 the string had been run to 800 m depth. Early this morning the bit reached the top of the plug at 1905 m depth. The plug was drilled down to 1953 m, not showing much signs of hardening. Tha plan is to continue drilling into the plug, to ca. 2000 m depth, before further decisions are made. more ...
2009-05-03		Cementing of the plug finished at 16:00 yesterday. Logging of the well with a weight indicate a TOC at 1903 m. This morning, when the drill string was lowered down to the top of the plug, it appeared that it was not hardened enough. Some more time is needed for hardening of the cement. more ...
2009-05-02		Yesterday attempts to catch the fish were not successful. Last night the string was pulled out of the hole. Preparations for cementing a ca. 100 m thick plug above the fish are ongoing. more ...
2009-05-01		Repairs to the pipe handling system and the wires were completed by 10:15 pm last night. While the baskets were raised again, was the hole temperature logged. RIH to attempt to retrieve the remainder of the fish commenced at 3:00 am and at 7:45 am is string at 800 m depth. more ...
2009-04-30		Repairs to the pipe handling system were delayed yesterday because of breakdown of the mobile crane that had to be used to lower the baskets. Repairs to the drill pipe feeder are still in progress and a preliminary estimate is that repairs may be completed after lunch. more ...
2009-04-29		Attempts to retrieve the fish were stopped at noon yesterday. The fishing tool could not be released from the fish again and so explosives were placed at 2056 m depth last night. The fish was successfully blasted at 00:45 am. Part of the fish, which extends down to 2055 m depth was successfully retrieved this morning (6 collars). The detonation had ripped up the collar 2 m above the connection to the cross-over sub, but the connection between sub and collar had been unscrewed by the detonation as calculated. more ...
2009-04-28		Yesterday afternoon was pulled in fish after 25 hours of heating. First was pumped 40 L/s through string for 10 minutes to cool the string and after that was pulled in string and it moved a bit more than 1 m upwards. During the afternoon was continued to pull in the fish with up to 250 tonne or to pound with the jar, but the fish did not move any further. At 7 pm was loosing attempts stopped and the hole was left to heat until 7:30 am this morning. The attempts to release the fish this morning were to no avail and at noon were further attempts to release the fish stopped. more ...
2009-04-27		The hole has been left to heat up from 12:30 pm yesterday. Temperature log run was carried out yesterday and this morning preparations are underway to log the temperature in the hole again. more ...
2009-04-26		Attempts to get the fish loose are continuing with little progress. During the night up to 98 L/s has been pumped down hole along with polymer pills, there has been pulled in the fish with some 250-260 tonne and in between has the jar been activated without much progress. more ...
2009-04-25		Sleeves in the pumps were changed last night to 6” and after that up to 65 L/s have been pumped through the string at 225 bar pressure, while pulling with up to 250 tonne for 5 minutes and activating the jar in between. There have been small signs of progress with drops in the standpipe pressure at constant flow rate and the fish appears to have moved upwards slightly. more ...
2009-04-24		Continuing with efforts to get the fish loose. So far with little measurable success at the surface. more ...
2009-04-23		The fishing tool was over the fish at 10:00 o'clock yesterday morning. The tool engaged the fish readily but attempts to loosen the BHA have been going on since 10:30 yesterday morning with no progress. A temperature log was run last night, showing clearly that the cooling fluid flows past the 2060 m depth point where the log ended. This means that the pipe is stuck somewhere between 2060 and 2086 m,possibly between the two more ...
2009-04-22		Pulling out of hole continued yesterday after BHA twist-off and was finished at 18:15. Running in with fishing tools commenced late last night and the tools were over fish just after 10:00 o'clock this morning. more ...
2009-04-21		Drilling commenced last night. ROP's were moderate to good. Since 06:00 there have been problems with pipe getting stuck. Torque spikes, BHA probably broken, POOH (10:30). more ...
2009-04-20		The fish was at surface late yesterday. The carbite inserts on the bit were in remarkably good condition. The bit had however overheated and was leaking some oil. Breaking out the fish took some doing and T and P logging did not start until 20:00 last night.Preparations are now being made for running in with a bit for continued drilling. more ...
2009-04-19		POOH was completed at 12:30 yesterday. A temperature log was run down to 2040 m depth (TD = 2074; Fish ~32 m). The well is readily cooling down to at least 2040 m. After logging, fishing BHA was run in hole. Fish was on and loose at 04:11 this morning, after pulling with 190 tonnes. At 9:00 fish is at roughly 900 m depth. more ...
2009-04-18		Drilling at good ROP's yesterday. A small loss of circulation at 2038 m which was sealed with mica and nut-shells. In the late afternoon additional fractures were intersected with increased losses of drilling fluid. At this time the fluid was changed from mud to water. We re now pulling out of hole (POOH). The BHA has been severed, this occured at 00:50 this morning. TD is 2074 m. more ...
2009-04-17		Less progress was in drilling yesterday due to hard formation and this morning at 7:45 am is depth 2029 m. There is no loss of circulation. Inclination is 1°. more ...
2009-04-16		Good progress is in drilling and depth is 1996 m at 7:30 am. WOB was increased to ~18 tonne yesterday evening and during the night ROP has been 3-4 m/h. There is no loss of circulation and the inclination has been decreasing and was 1° at 1986 m depth. more ...
2009-04-15		Drilling resumed at 4:30 am. Currently drilling is going on with 15 tonne WOB and ~60 RPM, while standpipe pressure is 149 bar at a pump rate of 60 L/s. ROP is 2-2.5 m/hr and depth at 7:40 this morning is 1915 m. more ...
2009-04-14		Pulling out of hole was completed after 3 am this morning. The outmost row of teeth appeared to be worn down, but otherwise was the drill bit in a fair condition. Substantial wear were on both stabilizers. All hard facing is worn off as well as several cm of the blades of particularly the string stabilizer. Temperature log was completed by 7 am this morning and now preparations are underway to assemble BHA and RIH. more ...
2009-04-13		Drilling is progressing at a steady rate and depth this morning at 7:45 is 1902 m. 109 m have been drilled for the past 24 hours at an average ROP of 5.2 m/hr. The inclination has increased slightly and measured 3° this morning. There is no loss of circulation. At 09:05 am it was decided to pull out of hole in the purpose to replace the bit. Estimated time is 12 hours followed by temperature log (2-3 h) then RIH and continue drilling. more ...
2009-04-12		Good progress is in drilling and depth at 8:00 am is 1807 m. For the past 24 hours has been drilled 126 m with an average ROP of 7.2 m/h. There is no loss of circulation and inclination has been within 1°-2°. more ...
2009-04-11		ROP increased after midnight below 1635 m depth and has since then been up to 10-15 m/h. Depth at 7:45 am is 1686 m and there is no loss of circulation. more ...
2009-04-10		Drillng is progressing at a steady but modest pace. The tool pusher is putting about 13 til 15 tonnes on the bit (WOB). ROP picked up during the night for a few hours with top speed up to 10 m/hr and average 5 to 6 m/hr. Depth at 8:00 o'clock this morning was 1584 m. During the last 24 hours (April 9th) hole made was 74 m. more ...
2009-04-09		Drilling is progressing steadily with moderate ROP's. Depth at 8:00 o'lock was 1502 m. No cirlculation losses last night. more ...
2009-04-08		The drill string with a junk-basket was at the bottom of the well by noon yesterday. Pulling out of the hole commenced around 16:00 and by 23:00 last night the junk-basket surfaced. It contained mostly angular chips derived from relatively fresh basaltic intrusions, and some of them were surprisingly large. The decision was made to maintain mud as circulation fluid instead of changing it to water in an attempt to locate leaks in the well. Afther the bit and the junk-basket were out of the hole, preparations for running in a new BHA commenced and drilling may start again around noon today. more ...
2009-04-07		A junkbasket, for fishing carbite pieces from the bit off the bottom, arrived by 01:30 this morning. Subsequently, running down the basket commenced and by 8 o'clock this morning it was at 800 m depth. more ...
2009-04-06		Circulation losses occurred yesterday morning, during the run in with BHA. Mica and nutmeg was pumped down in an attempt to decrease the losses, resulting in improving situation as the depth approached 1360 m depth. Drilling resumed at 14:30 and circulation losses continued after a while and increased late last night. At 02:15 this morning it was decided to pull out of the hole and just after 13:00 o'clock today the bit was on the surface. A temperature log was made this afternoon, in an attempt to locate the aquifer. more ...
2009-04-05		Pulling out of the hole continued yesterday and the bit was on the surface at 16:00 o'clock. It was 1/8" under gauge and had some shirt damage. Running down with a new bit started at midnight. more ...
2009-04-04		The ROP reduced significantly after lunch yesterday and drilling continued to progress slowly last night. At 5:30 this morning at 1400 m depth drilling was stopped and a decision made to pull out of the hole. Small circulation losses were measured three times below 1362 m depth. more ...
2009-04-03		New drill bit reached bottom hole at 10:05 am yesterday morning. Depth this morning at 7:45 am is 1313 m. Yesterday progress in drilling was an average 5.8 m/hr. Inclination is 1° and there is no loss of circulation. more ...
2009-04-02		Work-over on motor was completed at 15:00 pm yesterday. After that BHA was assembled with new 16½" drill bit and this was completed at 20:30 pm. Currently drill string is run down hole to commence drilling, but the hole is cooled with 40 l/s circulation between drill pipes. Drill bit has reached 990 m at 7:40 am. more ...
2009-04-01		The fish was successfully retrieved from the hole last night at 00:30 am. Drill bit and stabilizer was packed with mud and cuttings but otherwise they did not have significant signs of wear. However, the motor was damaged and will be changed. Sleeve has been transfered to the new motor during the night and tripping in for drilling will commence when work-over on motor has been completed. more ...
2009-03-31		Fishing tools arrived at Krafla last night and after assemblage it was run down the hole. At 7:45 this morning the tool was at 1112 m depth. 15 l/s is being circutated between singles, mud temperature out of hole is ~50°C and temperature difference out/in is ~20°C. When the fishing tool reach the fish, the well will be cooled for an hour at a pump rate of 30 l/s before fishing starts. more ...
2009-03-30		Pulling out of hole was completed around 20:30 o'clock last night. A floating sub in the BHA had broken apart in a clean cut. The rest of the drill string remains in the hole, consisting of drill bit, motor, stabilizer and a part of the floating sub. Fishing tools are being sent to Krafla from Reykjavik. Currently the weather conditions are bad with snow blizzard and roads closed in the northern part of the country. more ...
2009-03-29		A total length of 100 m was drilled the last 24 hours. Depth at 7:15 o'clock was 1185 m. Drilling has been going slowly with an average ROP of 7.8 m/hr. Measurements show no loss of circulation and inclination ~1.5°. Drilling parameters have been as follows: WOB 3-7 tonnes, RPM 220, pump rate 60 l/s and pressure on stand pipe ~140 bars. Torque has increased from 1000-1200 dNm to 1800-2000 dNm at intervals, probably because of a rigid setup of BHA and variable hardness of the basaltic rock formation. At the depth of 1194,8 m the stand pipe pressure and the torque dropped suddenly, possibly because of a failure in the BHA. The string is now beeing pulled out of the hole. more ...
2009-03-28		Over the last 24 hours the hole was deepened with 117 m and depth at midnight was 1053 m. Depth at 8 o'clock this morning was 1088 m. There is no loss of circulation and inclination has been within 1-1.5°. Drilling has progressed with an average WOB of 5 tonnes and 220 RPM of drill bit. The rock formation from 900-970 m depth consists of altered basaltic tuff intersected by thin basaltic dykes. Below 960 m are layers of basalt breccia, glassy basalt and fine-medium grained basalt. Alteration minerals are abundant below 944 m depth, amongst the observed alteration minerals are epidote, amfibole, wollastonite, quartz and coarse grained clay. more ...
2009-03-27		Drilling with 16 1/2 " drill bit and motor is progressing well. Depth at midnight was 936 m and at 7:30 am the depth is 986. There is no loss of circulation and the inclination was 1,5° at 981 m depth. more ...
2009-03-26		Tyr started drilling into bedrock at 21:40 last night, at a depth of 796.7 m, relative to the rig's platfom. Drilling with mud started shortly after 4:00 this morning. more ...
2009-03-25		It is expected that drilling for anchor casing will commence later today. A temperature log was run yesterday, showing ca. 170°C-180°C from ca 200 m downwards. Last night the crew started to piece together the Bottom Hole Assembly, with a 16½" bit and motor. more ...