DTI, a specialist in the design and manufacture of innovative downhole technology, has announced a performance breakthrough with its new additive manufactured thru-tubing isolation solution, having achieved several notable successes in the field.
DTI’s M-Bubble was launched in 2023 after four years of development. Fifteen commercial deployments have now solved a variety of operator challenges in water shut-off and P&A applications in onshore, offshore and subsea wells, with zero failures or NPT. Industry uptake of the technology is accelerating rapidly with significant levels of repeat business in DTI’s project pipeline. In its most recent deployment, the M-Bubble, with a 2.125-inch outer diameter, achieved an unparalleled 291% downhole transformation to set in a 7-inch liner.
The patented M-Bubble is uniquely inspired by origami engineering and compact folded space technology. It utilises metal additive manufacturing to deliver a level of design and performance that was once impossible to achieve. The technology is available as a plug, packer, packoff, patch, straddle or cement platform and solves high-pressure, high temperature, high-delta diameter, thru-tubing isolation challenges.
Unparalleled Performance in the Field
The first commercial deployment of DTI’s M-Bubble bridge plug was for a water shut-off application for a major operating company in Kazakhstan. A compact 2.125-inch OD M-Bubble Plug was successfully deployed on slickline through narrow tubing with a 2.2-inch ID. DTI’s hydromechanical setting assembly (HMSA) activated the M-Bubble slips, then pressurised hydraulic fluid was injected into the metal element causing it to unfold and seal within the 5.5-inch liner (4.95-inch ID) under a differential pressure rating of 3,500-psi. Once this permanent plug was set, the HMSA automatically released and the toolstring was pulled. Six months later, the M-Bubble’s hermetic seal was verified by a production logging run. Following the success of the first deployment, the operator placed further orders with DTI for a multi-well campaign.
Similar water shut-off projects using the M-Bubble plug have been completed in a high temperature North Sea subsea well and offshore Australia in a deep, deviated well. In the latter project, the operator had already tried to set high expansion plugs without success so had approached DTI for a solution. The plug needed to pass through 4.5-inch tubing with a 3.26-inch restriction and a 65-degree deviation and set and seal in a 7.625-inch liner at a depth of almost 2,000-m. This was a non-standard size requirement so DTI designed, manufactured, tested and supplied a new M-Bubble in just twelve weeks. The plug was pressure tested a few weeks later, successfully verifying its integrity.
For zonal isolation applications the M-Bubble enables the operator to isolate pressured and flowing zones in a fast and cost-effective single run without the use of cement, which would typically be a three-run operation. This solution is highly desirable, especially in cases where cement cannot be deployed due to the well configuration, where dynamic fluids prevent reliable depositing or when circumstances make dumping cement unacceptable. This also saves rig time and ‘wait-on-cement’ time, which can accumulate significant savings for the operator especially in deeper, extended reach wells.
However, where the operation does require a cement plug, the M-Bubble can be used in its cement platform configuration without the inclusion of a high-pressure seal. This is a practical, cost-effective and high utility solution for cement plugging and was commercially deployed for the first time in the North Sea in June 2024. In this project the M-Bubble, with a 2.125-inch outer diameter, achieved an impressive 291% transformation to set in a 7-inch liner.
Unique Additive Manufactured Folded Bubble
In its initial run configuration, DTI’s M-Bubble has a slimline fluted form with folds that retain both thickness and strength. This compact folded design allows the Inconel plug to pass through narrow production tubing and then transform into a robust metal bubble which conforms to the shape of the wellbore at setting depth using an injected hydraulic fluid. The precise design geometry of the folded metal element enables a large transformation ratio between run and set sizes, while maintaining its original intrinsic strength.
The M-Bubble’s Inconel structure is encased in a robust elastomer for reliable hermetic sealing. The overall device offers much greater strength and resilience than a conventional elastomer expansion solution or inflatable plug and has great utility for inflow operations at higher temperatures and pressures. Low cost, high utility cement retainer options are also available without an elastomer seal.
Meeting Industry Need
M-Bubble technology has been developed by DTI to answer the industry’s need for thru-tubing isolation solutions in wells with narrow restrictions, high deviations, large deltas in tubing diameters and deeper, hotter (177°C) and higher pressure (6,500-psi) environments.
Another key advantage of the technology is the high differential pressure rating achievable after setting, in comparison to conventional products. These alternatives require additional cement on top to create a barrier that can withstand a differential pressure of over 3,000 psi.
To enable greater industry uptake, DTI has also designed the M-Bubble so it can easily be deployed with industry standard equipment by a wide range of operators and service companies on a global scale.
