The commercial release of Weatherford’s JetStream Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) circulation sub occurred Sept. 29 at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (SPE ATCE).

JetStream allows operators to run a series of tools at different positions along the drillstring and remotely actuate the valves an unlimited number of times in a single trip to achieve higher flow rates and cleaner wellbores, a press release stated.

"It's not just a novelty way to activate downhole tools. In deepwater environments, RFID gives you the best bang for your buck," Alex Goodwin, global business development manager for performance drilling tools, said at a Weatherford product launch presentation at SPE ATCE. "RFID is designed to be a tripsaver."

JetStream was recently used in a 6.5-in. intermediate section in the North Sea that was drilled to 3,184 m (10,446 ft) total depth through soft, porous limestone. The JetStream was actuated 16 times to spot 29 lost-circulation material pills, which allowed the operator to avoid abandoning the well, according to the release.

Major concerns for deepwater drilling include stuck pipe, wellbore collapse, sloughing shales and lost circulation due to poor wellbore integrity.

Neil Gordon, vice president of intervention services and drilling tools, said RFID technology can save clients more than $1 million per application through reduced nonproductive time.

Other features of JetStream include the large fullbore ID.

"We have the largest fullbore ID across all sizes. For our 9 1/2-in., 8 1/4-in. and 7-in. tools, we have a 2 7/8 fullbore ID. It's the only tool on the market that after activation, you can open up the bore and still have a fullbore pass through. You can drift other balls, other darts and potentially even run a wireline trip even after activation. So you're not limited to when you can activate a circulation sub," Goodwin said.

Batteries are the only limiting factor with downhole electronics, Goodwin continued. JetStream has a "30,000-psi pressure limitation and [can operate at up to] 300 F... which probably gets us into 98% of the wells around the world."

Goodwin concluded that the company is still technically in the product launch stage but that completions is the area that Weatherford is working toward.