A Semianalytical Coupling Model between Reservoir and Horizontal Well with Different Well Completions

Although currently, large-scale and multilateral horizontal wells are an important way to improve the oil recovery in the unconventional reservoirs, the flow behavior of fluid from the reservoir into the horizontal wellbore becomes more challenged compared to the single small-scale horizontal well. One of the main challenges is that pressure loss from the well completion section and wellbore cannot be ignored in the coupling process between the reservoir and the horizontal well. In this paper, a new method is presented to solve the coupling flow between the reservoir and the horizontal well with different well completions. The new coupling model is compared with Ouyang’s model (1998) and Penmatcha’s model (1997), and the predicted data are consistent with each other at both early and late times. Meanwhile, four different cases have been proposed to verify the application of the new coupling model with different well completions, and the results indicate that the uneven inflow profile can be effectively alleviated via reasonable completion parameters and different well completions. Based on two types of flow-node units, it can quickly model and solve the coupling problem between the reservoir and the horizontal well with complex completion cases. It can also depict the inflow profile of the horizontal well with different well completions, which is conducive to understand the coupling process. The new coupling model can provide theoretical support for further optimization of completion parameters and well completions and finally improve oil recovery.

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Effects of Formation Dip on Gas Production from Unconfined Marine Hydrate-Bearing Sediments through Depressurization

Geofluids ◽

10.1155/2018/5836293 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yilong Yuan ◽

Tianfu Xu ◽

Yingli Xia ◽

Xin Xin

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Horizontal Well ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Production Method ◽

Geological Structure ◽

Horizontal Distribution ◽

Gas Production ◽

Well Completion ◽

Hydrate Reservoir ◽

Hydrate Bearing Sediments

The effects of geologic conditions and production methods on gas production from hydrate-bearing sediments (HBS) have been widely investigated. The reservoir was usually treated as horizontal distribution, whereas the sloping reservoir was not considered. In fact, most strata have gradients because of the effects of geological structure and diagenesis. In this study, based on currently available geological data from field measurements in Shenhu area of the South China Sea, the effects of formation dip on gas production were investigated through depressurization using a horizontal well. The modeling results indicate that the strategy of horizontal well is an effective production method from the unconfined Class 2 HBS. The predicted cumulative volume of methane produced at the 1000 m horizontal well was 4.51 × 107 ST m3 over 5-year period. The hydrate dissociation behavior of sloping formation is sensitive to changes in the reservoir pressure. As in unconfined marine hydrate reservoir, the sloping formation is not conducive to free methane gas recovery, which results in more dissolved methane produced at the horizontal well. The obvious issue for this challenging target is relatively low exploitation efficiency of methane because of the recovery of very large volumes of water. Consequently, the development of the favorable well completion method to prevent water production is significantly important for realizing large scale hydrate exploitation in the future.

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Investigation of the Effects of Completion Geometry on Single-Phase Liquid Flow Behavior in Horizontal Wells

Journal of Energy Resources Technology ◽

10.1115/1.1369112 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 123 (2) ◽

pp. 119-126 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Weipeng Jiang ◽

Cem Sarica ◽

Erdal Ozkan ◽

Mohan Kelkar

Keyword(s):

Liquid Flow ◽

Horizontal Well ◽

Single Phase ◽

Flow Behavior ◽

Horizontal Wells ◽

Main Flow ◽

Test Facility ◽

Small Scale ◽

Phase Liquid ◽

Single Phase Liquid Flow

The fluids in horizontal wells can exhibit complicated flow behaviors, in part due to interaction between the main flow and the influxes along the wellbore, and due to completion geometries. An existing small-scale test facility at Tulsa University Fluid Flow Projects (TUFFP) was used to simulate the flow in a horizontal well completed with either circular perforations or slotted liners. Single phase liquid flow experiments were conducted with Reynolds numbers ranging approximately from 5000 to 65,000 and influx to main flow rate ratios ranging from 1/50 to 1/1000. For both the perforation and slot cases, three different completion densities and three different completion phasings are considered. Based on the experimental data, new friction factor correlations for horizontal well with multiple perforation completion or multiple slots completion were developed using the principles of conservation of mass and momentum.

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Establishment of Testing Methodology for Forge Welded Tubular Products

Volume 6: Materials Technology; Polar and Arctic Sciences and Technology; Petroleum Technology Symposium ◽

10.1115/omae2012-83943 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Ganesan S. Marimuthu ◽

Per Thomas Moe ◽

Bjarne Salberg ◽

Jan Inge Audestad

Keyword(s):

Material Flow ◽

Large Scale ◽

Flow Behavior ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Full Scale ◽

International Standards ◽

Small Scale ◽

Test Plan ◽

Welding Machine

A state-of-the-art small-scale solid state forge welding machine has been fabricated for checking weldability by Shielded Active Gas Forge Welding (SAG-FW) of tubular products applicable predominantly for, but not limited to offshore Industries. Effective, fast and inexpensive welding and testing of joints make this small-scale method suitable for evaluating weldability of a material before starting regular qualification and fabrication in a full-scale welding machine normally located in spool base or offshore. The small-scale machine provides a complete package for pre-qualification studies, including assessment of welding conditions, material flow behavior, heat treatment options. However, there are considerable challenges relating to application of international standards of testing as well as interpretation and use of results in the context of large-scale welding. In this paper results from small-scale welding and weld characterization of an API 5L X65 quality are presented. First, a detailed test plan for analyzing the weld is outlined. This procedure is subsequently applied for checking the welds to be produced in the full-scale machine. Short-comings in using the small-scale process as well as the possible remedies are discussed in detail.

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Flow behavior downstream of two side-by-side circular cylinders in shallow water

Canadian Journal of Physics ◽

10.1139/cjp-2014-0141 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 94 (10) ◽

pp. 975-981

Author(s):

Mustafa Atakan Akar ◽

Burcu Oguz ◽

Huseyin Akilli ◽

Besir Sahin

Keyword(s):

Shallow Water ◽

Large Scale ◽

Flow Behavior ◽

Circular Cylinders ◽

Small Scale ◽

Piv Method ◽

Gap Ratio ◽

Image Velocimetry ◽

The Right ◽

Bistable Flow

Investigations of bistable flow structure past a pair of cylinders positioned side-by-side in shallow water is conducted experimentally applying dye observation and the particle image velocimetry (PIV) method. For the gap ratio of G/D = 1.25, the jet-like flow between cylinders deflects asymmetrical flow structures forming a large-scale wake as well as a small-scale wake downstream of cylinders. The small vortices around the right cylinder get closer to each other forming a larger vortex in the large-scale wake region, which leads the jet-like flow to changeover side to side. The small frequency (f = 0.352 Hz) associated with frequency of vortex shedding of cylinder with wider wake and the higher frequency (f = 0.793 Hz) which depicts the smaller wakes frequency.

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Enhanced Oil Recovery Pilot Testing Best Practices

SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering ◽

10.2118/118055-pa ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 13 (01) ◽

pp. 143-154 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

G.F.. F. Teletzke ◽

R.C.. C. Wattenbarger ◽

J.R.. R. Wilkinson

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Large Scale ◽

Full Range ◽

Mobility Control ◽

Small Scale ◽

Pilot Testing ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Eor Processes

Summary Enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) implementation is complex, and successful applications need to be tailored to each specific reservoir. Therefore, a systematic staged evaluation and development process is required to screen, evaluate, pilot test, and apply EOR processes for particular applications. Pilot testing can play a key role in this process. Before field testing, pilot objectives need to be clearly defined and well spacing, pattern configuration, and injectant volumes determined. This paper outlines a staged approach to EOR evaluation and focuses specifically on pilot testing best practices. These best practices were derived from ExxonMobil's extensive piloting experience, which includes more than 50 field pilot tests covering the full range of EOR processes. Topics covered include: (1) determining whether a pilot is needed and defining pilot objectives, (2) considerations for successful pilot design, (3) types of pilots and their advantages and disadvantages, (4) tools and techniques for assessment of key reservoir mechanisms, and (5) minimizing uncertainty in pilot interpretation. Key issues that are often addressed by pilots are discussed, including areal sweep and conformance, gravity override, viscous fingering, and loss of mobility control. Also included are aspects of instrumentation and measurements in pilot injection, production, and monitoring wells. Several ExxonMobil piloting examples are used to illustrate the best practices, including a single-well injectivity test, an unconfined pilot with observation wells, a small-scale confined pilot, and a large-scale multipattern pilot.

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Capturing the Effect of Fracture Heterogeneity on Multiphase Flow During Fluid Injection

SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering ◽

10.2118/147834-pa ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 16 (02) ◽

pp. 194-208 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

S.. Jonoud ◽

O.P.. P. Wennberg ◽

G.. Casini ◽

J.A.. A. Larsen

Keyword(s):

Fluid Flow ◽

Multiphase Flow ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Large Scale ◽

Flow Behavior ◽

Fractured Reservoirs ◽

Scale Up ◽

Carbonate Reservoir ◽

Fracture Model ◽

Dynamic Simulations

Summary Carbonate fractured reservoirs introduce a tremendous challenge to the upscaling of both single- and multiphase flow. The complexity comes from both heterogeneous matrix and fracture systems in which the separation of scales is very difficult. The mathematical upscaling techniques, derived from representative elementary volume (REV), must therefore be replaced by a more realistic geology-based approach. In the case of multiphase flow, an evaluation of the main forces acting during oil recovery must also be performed. A matrix-sector model from a highly heterogeneous carbonate reservoir is linked to different fracture realizations in dual-continuum simulations. An integrated iterative workflow between the geology-based static modeling and the dynamic simulations is used to investigate the effect of fracture heterogeneity on multiphase fluid flow. Heterogeneities at various scales (i.e., diffuse fractures and subseismic faults) are considered. The diffuse-fracture model is built on the basis of facies and porosity from the matrix model together with core data, image-log data, and data from outcrop-analogs. Because of poor seismic data, the subseismic-fault model is mainly conceptual and is based on the analysis of outcrop-analog data. Fluid-flow simulations are run for both single-phase and multiphase flow and gas and water injections. A better understanding of fractured-reservoirs behavior is achieved by incorporating realistic fracture heterogeneity into the geological model and analyzing the dynamic impact of fractures at various scales. In the case of diffuse fractures, the heterogeneity effect can be captured in the upscaled model. The subseismic faults, however, must be explicitly represented, unless the sigma (shape) factor is included in the upscaling process. A local grid-refinement approach is applied to demonstrate explicit fractures in large-scale simulation grids. This study provides guidelines on how to effectively scale up a heterogeneous fracture model and still capture the heterogeneous flow behavior.

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PERFORMANCE TESTS OF THREE FAST CURRENT OIL RECOVERY DEVICES1

International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings ◽

10.7901/2169-3358-1977-1-341 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 1977 (1) ◽

pp. 341-346

Author(s):

James H. Getman

Keyword(s):

Oil Recovery ◽

Large Scale ◽

Wave Train ◽

Development Program ◽

Poor Performance ◽

Coast Guard ◽

Scale Model ◽

Small Scale ◽

Development Effort ◽

Scale Models

ABSTRACT Presently, the effective removal of oil spills is limited to current speeds of less than one to two knots. To be able to effectively recover spilled oil in areas of higher current speeds, the Coast Guard has a development effort underway for obtaining such a device. The first stage of the development program included a competitive evaluation of small scale models of seven different fast current oil recovery concepts. The two most promising concepts have now been developed into large scale models. These two devices plus a third device which evolved from a parallel state-of-the-art evaluation program were tested during the summer of 1976 at the Environmental Protection Agency's Oil and Hazardous Materials Simulated Environmental Test Tank (OHMSETT). The Shell ZRV large scale model performed well in fast-current velocities in both calm seas and in a wave train. The Seaward Streaming Fiber Recovery Device performed well in fast currents in calm conditions but performed poorly in waves. The French Cyclonet 050 provided fair performance in medium currents and in calm conditions but gave poor performance when waves were present.

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Scale-Up Correlation for the Flow of Surfactant-Based Fluids in Circular Coiled Pipes

Journal of Fluids Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.4002007 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 132 (8) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ahmed H. Ahmed Kamel ◽

Subhash N. Shah

Keyword(s):

Power Law ◽

Large Scale ◽

Flow Behavior ◽

Scale Up ◽

Deborah Number ◽

Small Scale ◽

Power Law Model ◽

Flow Data ◽

Coiled Tubing ◽

Fluid Elasticity

This study involves experimental investigation on the flow properties of aqueous surfactant-based (SB) fluids in small and large-scale coiled tubing. It aims at understanding the viscoelastic properties and its effect on the flow behavior of SB fluids in coiled tubing. In spite of SB fluids wide use as friction reducer and/or fracturing fluid in the oil and gas industry, the flow data in large pipe sizes as well as coiled tubing are very scarce. Majority of the available flow data are gathered in straight pipes with small sizes. The scale-up of small-scale flow data is questionable due to the pronounced diameter effect. Furthermore, previous studies have correlated flow behavior of these fluids only through simple power-law model parameters. Limited work with polymeric fluids has been reported that includes fluid elasticity in scale-up procedure and it is nonexistent for highly elastic SB fluids. In this study, the properties of widely used Aromox APA-T, a highly active surfactant used as gelling agent in aqueous and brine base fluids, are thoroughly investigated. Rheological measurements are conducted using Bohlin rheometer for SB fluid concentration of 1.5 vol %, 2 vol %, 3 vol %, and 4 vol %. Flow data are gathered using 1.27 cm, 3.81 cm, 6.03 cm, and 7.30 cm OD coiled tubing with various curvature ratios. This study presents the first attempt to investigate the flow behavior SB fluids in large-scale coiled tubing. The results show that SB fluids exhibit non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behavior. Elastic and viscous properties of SB fluids are very sensitive to surfactant concentration. Friction losses in coiled tubing are significantly higher than those in straight pipes due to secondary flow effect. Increasing curvature ratio yields higher friction pressure loss. Also, small-scale data correlations using only simple power-law model fluid rheological parameters lead to erroneous results when scaled-up to large pipe sizes. New technique, based on the modified Deborah number, which includes fluid elasticity and pipe shear effect, has been developed to correlate data from the small laboratory-scale tubing and large field-scale pipes. Correlation to predict Fanning friction factor of SB fluids in coiled tubing as a function of Deborah number and fluid flow behavior index is presented. Correlation is validated by comparing predictions with the experimental data. It is shown that the new correlation accurately predicts friction factor of SB fluids and thus alleviates the scale-up issue.

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