TechTAC®, the manufacturer of the original Slimline® Tubing Anchor Catcher (TAC), has announced the availability of the patent-pending Slimline® QuickSet™ TAC, which can enhance the performance and design of downhole production strings.
The new product gives engineers and field personnel more flexibility when anchoring tubing strings deep; in the curve of a horizontal well; and in many cases, where the deviation survey indicates high dog-leg severity (DLS) or cork-screwed wellbore geometry. This flexibility is made possible by the reduction in string torque rotations required to fully set the Slimline® QuickSet™ TAC.
“There are tens of thousands of Slimline anchors in production today,” said Luke Reary, Operations Manager at TechTAC. “The product’s unique design has made it a key component of many downhole solutions that have been shown to reduce downtime, improve pump performance and longevity, and reduce costly workovers. The new Slimline QuickSet TAC provides all the same benefits as the original Slimline anchor but can be set and released in 1-to-3 turns, as opposed to the traditional 6-to-8 turns.”
The patented original Slimline® anchor design has become a standard in the oil industry because of several unique benefits:
• The decreased diameter and the tapered flow subs of the Slimline® TAC increases the flow-by capacity in the annulus by as much as 244 percent compared to other available TACs. This improvement in flow-by capacity:
o Reduces the flow regime from turbulent to a more laminar regime, thereby reducing pressure-drop that can precipitate out scale, iron sulfide, paraffin and other sediment that can accumulate on top of the anchor and plant the entire string, preventing it from being retrieved without an expensive workover.
o Can reduce the occurrence of rod pump gas locking, which is a common and difficult problem to solve. Workover costs and lost production revenue due to gas locking can add up considerably over time, especially in higher gas/oil ratio (GOR) wells.
• While the Slimline® TAC design significantly reduces the chance of the anchor getting stuck in a well, as with any downhole tool, in worst-case scenarios it may be necessary to cut over a Slimline® anchor. A conventional TAC can easily take several days to cut over. In contrast, the TechTAC® Slimline® Tubing Anchor Catcher can dramatically reduce that cut over time because only the slip protectors and slips need to be cut. One operator reported being able to cut over a Slimline® TAC in just 20 minutes.
The Slimline® QuickSet™ TAC provides all those same benefits but with the added ability to set the slips with minimal rotations, thereby providing for unique and flexible wellbore geometric setting positions. For existing customers, the Slimline® QuickSet™ TAC requires no new manuals or complicated setting procedures. The new anchor follows the same setting procedure as TechTAC’s original Slimline® TAC but sets fully in 1-to-3 turns, as opposed to 6-to-8 turns for the traditional model.
