Out-of-round casing can be caused by multiple factors from corrosion and deterioration or external forces related to geological motion or external pressure during high-pressure completion operations. Even a small loss of casing circularity can impair the ability to install and retrieve production or completion tools.

Employing traditional mechanical casing swages to open up distorted casing results in a decrease in effectiveness with wellbore angle. In horizontal wellbores or higher angle portions of the build section, typical mechanical methods are ineffective. Milling operations result in a permanent reduction in casing integrity.

REED can be modified and custom-sized for specific distorted casing repairs. The elements and retainer rings are sized to pass through the distorted interval and to ensure that once in operation, the casing is not expanded beyond a certain diameter.

To return distorted casing to circularity, REED expansion elements are pre-sized to ensure that maximum expansion only returns the casing to drift ID, and no expansion force is wasted pushing the casing beyond drift ID into cement or formation movement.

This assembly shown was specifically modified to expand corroded 139.7mm production casing to drift ID to allow production operations to continue, but not beyond, which could potentially puncture the casing. The expansion characteristics of REED can be infinitely customized to suit certain wellbore remedial operations. As long as REED can pass through the distorted interval, a return to circularity without a loss of casing integrity can now be cost effective.