Abstract
An ongoing requirement exists in the hydrocarbon industry to reduce the cost of wells and improve results when obtaining core samples. To achieve this objective in an already competitive market requires radical thinking. The result is a new and novel method of core acquisition, the SCORE system, which takes a continuous 7.62m (25ft) 36.5mm (1.44") diameter core from the sidewall of a well at an angle of 2° to the well trajectory. The tool comprises an inner coring assembly and an outer whipstock assembly run on standard API drill pipe. The whipstock section can be run as the bit for a wiper trip, thus technically eliminating all requirements for conventional tripping to acquire core samples. Additionally, the ability to log a well prior to any decision to cut core can produce significant savings in time and resources utilised in coring dry wells.
