Application of a Cement Spacer as a LCM Pill During Drilling Operations to Overcome Lost Circulation and Regain Well Control: A Case History in a Hostile Environment in the Middle East

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Mendez Morales
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Case History ◽  
Cement Spacer ◽  
Hostile Environment ◽  
Well Control ◽  
Lost Circulation ◽  
Drilling Operations

Casing Point Selection for Drilling Operations at Shallow Depths

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Saman Paknejad ◽  
Jerome J. Schubert ◽  
Mahmood Amani
Keyword(s):  
Design Method ◽  
Cost Optimization ◽  
Elastic Behavior ◽  
Plastic Behavior ◽  
Point Selection ◽  
Well Control ◽  
Lost Circulation ◽  
Fracture Pressure ◽  
Drilling Operations ◽  
Shallow Sediments

In shallow sediments, unlike deep sediments with elastic behavior, the failure mechanism of the casing shoe is strongly affected by the plasticity of the rock. Hence, the common practice in casing design which is based on using the pore pressure and fracture pressure gradients plots is not applicable in shallow sediments. Moreover, because of the plastic behavior of the sediments, the interpretation of Leak-Off Tests (LOT) in Shallow Marine Sediments (SMS) could be inconclusive. Therefore, because of uncertainties in prediction of formation fracture and pore gradients, the conductor and surface casing setting depths have always been subject to debate. Also, incorrect interpretation of LOT would lead to costly problems that might jeopardize well progress such as; well control issues, unnecessary squeeze jobs, premature setting of casing, and lost circulation problems. Two of the most important factors in any design are safety and cost. Since safety is one of the most important concerns during drilling an offshore well, planning a design based on the well control aspects would be an appropriate approach to come up with a safe and better design. A well control simulator was used to plan for well control situations. In this paper, the results were generalized for different design scenarios and a simple design method is presented. Also, a new method, supported by field data from LOT in SMS, is presented to accurately analyze casing shoe leak-off pressure in the SMS. A safe design based on the optimum lengths of conductor and surface casing would enable the operator to handle possible formation kicks. Extension of this method to well design in general suggests the potential for safer drilling operations and cost optimization.

scholarly journals Analytical Study of Early Kick Detection and Well Control Considerations for Casing while Drilling Technology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Azab
Keyword(s):  
Drill Pipe ◽  
Drill String ◽  
Wellbore Stability ◽  
Well Control ◽  
Lost Circulation ◽  
Drilling Technique ◽  
Drilling Technology ◽  
Drilling Operations ◽  
Fracture Gradient ◽  
Conventional Drilling

Abstract Recently, casing while drilling (CwD) technology has been employed to reduce drilling time and expenses. These intelligent drilling technique improved wellbore stability, fracture gradient, and formation damage while reducing exposure time but when a well control issue arises, the differences in wellbore geometries and related volumes compared to regular conventional drilling procedures necessitate a distinct strategy. In this paper, the essential well control parameters were provided for casing while drilling operations, presents simplified method that has been developed to evaluate the maximum kick tolerance (KT) for both conventional and casing while drilling techniques using a mathematical derivation, the narrow annular clearance, in contrast to drilling with a conventional drill string would impair kick detection and handling operations. Furthermore, the large disparity in kick tolerances should be carefully evaluated in order to avoid lost circulation/kick cycles as well as examine and evaluate technical approaches to early kick detection (EKD) studying how they relate to safety, efficiency, and reliability in a variety of common casing while drilling operations. According to preliminary findings, by utilizing casing while drilling technology and compared to identical well was drilled conventionally using drill pipe, the annulus pressure loss (APL) is average 3 times of the conventional drilling technique. Furthermore, kick tolerance is reduced by 50% and maximum allowable well shut-in time reduced by 65% necessitating early kick detection.

Failure Analysis of the Tripping Operation and its Impact on Well Control

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majeed Abimbola ◽  
Faisal Khan ◽  
Vikram Garaniya ◽  
Stephen Butt
Keyword(s):  
Human Error ◽  
Integrated Control ◽  
Fault Tree ◽  
Fault Tree Analysis ◽  
Well Control ◽  
Lost Circulation ◽  
Critical Elements ◽  
Open Hole ◽  
Critical Components ◽  
The Cost

As the cost of drilling and completion of offshore well is soaring, efforts are required for better well planning. Safety is to be given the highest priority over all other aspects of well planning. Among different element of drilling, well control is one of the most critical components for the safety of the operation, employees and the environment. Primary well control is ensured by keeping the hydrostatic pressure of the mud above the pore pressure across an open hole section. A loss of well control implies an influx of formation fluid into the wellbore which can culminate to a blowout if uncontrollable. Among the factors that contribute to a blowout are: stuck pipe, casing failure, swabbing, cementing, equipment failure and drilling into other well. Swabbing often occurs during tripping out of an open hole. In this study, investigations of the effects of tripping operation on primary well control are conducted. Failure scenarios of tripping operations in conventional overbalanced drilling and managed pressure drilling are studied using fault tree analysis. These scenarios are subsequently mapped into Bayesian Networks to overcome fault tree modelling limitations such s dependability assessment and common cause failure. The analysis of the BN models identified RCD failure, BHP reduction due to insufficient mud density and lost circulation, DAPC integrated control system, DAPC choke manifold, DAPC back pressure pump, and human error as critical elements in the loss of well control through tripping out operation.

Cementing Considerations for Casing while Drilling Operations: Case History

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert David Strickler ◽  
Pablo Alonso Solano
Keyword(s):  
Case History ◽  
Drilling Operations

Wellbore Geomechanics of Extended Drilling Margin and Engineered Lost-Circulation Solutions

SPE Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (04) ◽  
pp. 1178-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Mehrabian ◽  
Younane Abousleiman
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Stability Analysis ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Wellbore Stability ◽  
Tensile Failure ◽  
Mechanical Interaction ◽  
Lost Circulation ◽  
Drilling Operations ◽  
Secondary Fractures ◽  
Lost Circulation Materials

Summary Wellbore tensile failure is a known consequence of drilling with excessive mud weight, which can cause costly events of lost circulation. Despite the successful use of lost-circulation materials (LCMs) in treating lost-circulation events of the drilling operations, extensions of wellbore-stability models to the case of a fractured and LCM-treated wellbore have not been published. This paper presents an extension of the conventional wellbore-stability analysis to such circumstances. The proposed wellbore geomechanics solution revisits the criteria for breakdown of a fractured wellbore to identify an extended margin for the equivalent circulation density (ECD) of drilling. An analytical approach is taken to solve for the related multiscale and nonlinear problem of the three-way mechanical interaction between the wellbore, fracture wings, and LCM aggregate. The criteria for unstable propagation of existing near-wellbore fractures, together with those for initiating secondary fractures from the wellbore, are obtained. Results suggest that, in many circumstances, the occurrence of both incidents can be prevented, if the LCM blend is properly engineered to recover certain depositional and mechanical properties at downhole conditions. Under such optimal design conditions, the maximum ECD to which the breakdown limit of a permeable formation could be enhanced is predicted.

scholarly journals Numerical Modeling of Foam Drilling Hydraulics

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozcan Baris ◽  
Luis Ayala ◽  
W. Watson Robert
Keyword(s):  
Drilling Fluid ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Drilling Mud ◽  
Lost Circulation ◽  
Pressure Profiles ◽  
Drilling Operations ◽  
Parametric Studies ◽  
Bit Life ◽  
Foam Drilling

The use of foam as a drilling fluid was developed to meet a special set of conditions under which other common drilling fluids had failed. Foam drilling is defined as the process of making boreholes by utilizing foam as the circulating fluid. When compared with conventional drilling, underbalanced or foam drilling has several advantages. These advantages include: avoidance of lost circulation problems, minimizing damage to pay zones, higher penetration rates and bit life. Foams are usually characterized by the quality, the ratio of the volume of gas, and the total foam volume. Obtaining dependable pressure profiles for aerated (gasified) fluids and foam is more difficult than for single phase fluids, since in the former ones the drilling mud contains a gas phase that is entrained within the fluid system. The primary goal of this study is to expand the knowledge-base of the hydrodynamic phenomena that occur in a foam drilling operation. In order to gain a better understanding of foam drilling operations, a hydrodynamic model is developed and run at different operating conditions. For this purpose, the flow of foam through the drilling system is modeled by invoking the basic principles of continuum mechanics and thermodynamics. The model was designed to allow gas and liquid flow at desired volumetric flow rates through the drillstring and annulus. Parametric studies are conducted in order to identify the most influential variables in the hydrodynamic modeling of foam flow. 

Impact of Data Quality on Well Operations: Case Study of Work-over Operations

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred Enyekwe ◽  
Osahon Urubusi ◽  
Raufu Yekini ◽  
Iorkam Azoom ◽  
Oloruntoba Isehunwa
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
Data Management ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Data Management System ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Process Safety ◽  
Well Control ◽  
Drilling Operations ◽  
Short Time

ABSTRACT Significant emphasis on data quality is placed on real-time drilling data for the optimization of drilling operations and on logging data for quality lithological and petrophysical description of a field. This is evidenced by huge sums spent on real time MWD/LWD tools, broadband services, wireline logging tools, etc. However, a lot more needs to be done to harness quality data for future workover and or abandonment operations where data being relied on is data that must have been entered decades ago and costs and time spent are critically linked to already known and certified information. In some cases, data relied on has been migrated across different data management platforms, during which relevant data might have been lost, mis-interpreted or mis-placed. Another common cause of wrong data is improperly documented well intervention operations which have been done in such a short time, that there is no pressure to document the operation properly. This leads to confusion over simple issues such as what depth a plug was set, or what junk was left in hole. The relative lack of emphasis on this type of data quality has led to high costs of workover and abandonment operations. In some cases, well control incidents and process safety incidents have arisen. This paper looks at over 20 workover operations carried out in a span of 10 years. An analysis is done on the wells’ original timeline of operation. The data management system is generally analyzed and a categorization of issues experienced during the workover operations is outlined. Bottlenecks in data management are defined and solutions currently being implemented to manage these problems are listed as recommended good practices.

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