scholarly journals Simple, affordable, and sustainable borehole observatories for complex monitoring objectives

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kopf ◽  
T. Freudenthal ◽  
V. Ratmeyer ◽  
M. Bergenthal ◽  
M. Lange ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pore Pressure ◽  
Data Transfer ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Drill Pipe ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Drill String ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Coiled Tubing ◽  
Complex Monitoring ◽  
Acoustic Modem

Abstract. Seafloor drill rigs are remotely operated systems that provide a cost-effective means to recover sedimentary records of the upper sub-seafloor deposits. Recent increases in their payload included downhole logging tools or autoclave coring systems. Here we report on another milestone in using seafloor rigs: the development and installation of shallow borehole observatories. Three different systems have been developed for the MARUM-MeBo (Meeresboden-Bohrgerät) seafloor drill, which is operated by MARUM, University of Bremen, Germany. A simple design, the MeBoPLUG, separates the inner borehole from the overlying ocean by using o-ring seals at the conical threads of the drill pipe. The systems are self-contained and include data loggers, batteries, thermistors and a differential pressure sensor. A second design, the so-called MeBoCORK (Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kit), is more sophisticated and also hosts an acoustic modem for data transfer and, if desired, fluid sampling capability using osmotic pumps. In these MeBoCORKs, two systems have to be distinguished: the CORK-A (A stands for autonomous) can be installed by the MeBo alone and monitors pressure and temperature inside and above the borehole (the latter for reference); the CORK-B (B stands for bottom) has a higher payload and can additionally be equipped with geochemical, biological or other physical components. Owing to its larger size, it is installed by a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) and utilises a hot-stab connection in the upper portion of the drill string. Either design relies on a hot-stab connection from beneath in which coiled tubing with a conical drop weight is lowered to couple to the formation. These tubes are fluid-saturated and either serve to transmit pore pressure signals or collect porewater in the osmo-sampler. The third design, the MeBoPUPPI (Pop-Up Pore Pressure Instrument), is similar to the MeBoCORK-A and monitors pore pressure and temperature in a self-contained manner. Instead of transferring data on command using an acoustic modem, the MeBoPUPPI contains a pop-up telemetry with iridium link. After a predefined period, the data unit with satellite link is released, ascends to the sea surface, and remains there for up to 2 weeks while sending the long-term data sets to shore. In summer 2012, two MeBoPLUGs, one MeBoCORK-A and one MeBoCORK-B were installed with MeBo on RV Sonne, Germany, in the Nankai Trough area, Japan. We have successfully downloaded data from the CORKs, attesting that coupling to the formation worked, and pressure records were elevated relative to the seafloor reference. In the near future, we will further deploy the first two MeBoPUPPIs. Recovery of all monitoring systems by a ROV is planned for 2016.

scholarly journals Simple, affordable and sustainable borehole observatories for complex monitoring objectives

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 653-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kopf ◽  
T. Freudenthal ◽  
V. Ratmeyer ◽  
M. Bergenthal ◽  
M. Lange ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pore Pressure ◽  
Data Transfer ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Drill Pipe ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Drill String ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Coiled Tubing ◽  
Complex Monitoring ◽  
Acoustic Modem

Abstract. Seafloor drill rigs are remotely operated systems that provide a cost effective means to recover sedimentary records of the upper sub-seafloor deposits. Recent increases in their payload included downhole logging tools or autoclave coring systems. We here report on another milestone in using seafloor rigs: the development and installation of shallow borehole observatories. Three different systems have been developed for the MARUM-MeBo seafloor drill, which is operated by MARUM, University of Bremen, Germany. A simple design, the MeBoPLUG, separates the inner borehole from the overlying ocean by using o-ring seals at the conical threads of the drill pipe. The systems are self-contained and include data loggers, batteries, thermistors and a differential pressure sensor. A second design, the so-called MeBoCORK, is more sophisticated and also hosts an acoustic modem for data transfer and, if desired, fluid sampling capability using osmotic pumps. Of these MeBoCORKs, two systems have to be distinguished: the CORK-A (A = autonomous) can be installed by the MeBo alone and monitors pressure and temperature inside and above the borehole (the latter for reference). The CORK-B (B = bottom) has a higher payload and can additionally be equipped with geochemical, biological or other physical components. Owing to its larger size, it is installed by ROV and utilises a hotstab connection in the upper portion of the drill string. Either design relies on a hotstab connection from beneath which coiled tubing with a conical drop weight is lowered to couple to the formation. These tubes are fluid-saturated and either serve to transmit pore pressure signals or collect pore water in the osmo-sampler. The third design, the MeBoPUPPI (Pop-Up Pore Pressure Instrument), is similar to the MeBoCORK-A and monitors pore pressure and temperature in a self-contained manner. Instead of transferring data upon command using an acoustic modem, the MeBoPUPPI contains a pop-up telemetry with Iridium link. After a predefined period, the data unit with satellite link is released, ascends to the sea surface, and remains there for up to two weeks while sending the long-term data sets to shore. In summer 2012, two MeBoPLUGs, one MeBoCORK-A and one MeBoCORK-B were installed with MeBo on German RV Sonne in the Nankai Trough area, Japan. We have successfully downloaded data from the CORKs, attesting that coupling to the formation worked and pressure records were elevated relative to the seafloor reference. In the near future, we will further deploy the first two MeBoPUPPIs. Recovery of all monitoring systems by ROV is planned for 2016.

New Approaches for Drilling Highly Depleted Reservoir in Deep Water Wells

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ola Mohamed Balbaa ◽  
Hesham Mohamed ◽  
Sherif Mohamed Elkholy ◽  
Mohamed ElRashidy ◽  
Robert Munger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Drilling Fluid ◽  
Drill Pipe ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Drill String ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Enabling Factors ◽  
Design Changes ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract While drilling highly depleted gas reservoirs with a very narrow drilling window, Common drilling methods like utilizing loss of circulation pills, wellbore strengthening materials and managed pressure drilling (MPD) are being used in several reservoirs, yet it cannot be successful or cost effective if applied in a traditional manner. Innovative approaches to enable drilling wells in highly depleted reservoir in the Mediterranean deep water were adopted. The approaches incorporated design changes to the well and Bottom hole assembly (BHA), optimized drilling practices, and unconventional use of MPD while drilling and cementing production liner. Well design change in comparison to offset wells to allow drilling the reservoir in one hole section. Several design changes were considered in the BHA and drilling fluids to prevent as well as mitigate losses and differential sticking risks. From the BHA viewpoint, one of the key successful prevention measures was maximizing the standoff to reduce the contact area with the formation, this was achieved through utilizing spiral heavy wall drill pipe (HWDP) instead of drill collars in addition to a modeled placement of stabilizers and roller reamers. While on the drilling fluid side, Calcium carbonate material was added to strengthen wellbore, prevent losses and avoid formation damage. Particle size up to 1000 micron and concentration up to 40ppb was used to strengthen the depleted sands dynamically while drilling. Furthermore, as mitigation to stuck pipe, Jar and accelerator placement was simulated to achieve optimum impulse and impact force while maintaining the Jar above potential sticking zone. Whereas to address the consequence of a stuck pipe event, disconnect subs were placed in BHA to allow for recovering the drill string efficiently. MPD was first introduced in the Mediterranean in 2007 and continued to develop this well-known technique to mitigate various drilling challenges. For this well, MPD was one of the key enabling factors to safely drill, run and cement the production liner. Surface back pressure MPD allowed using the lowest possible mud weight in the hole and maintaining downhole pressure constant in order to manage the narrow drilling window between the formation pressure and fracture pressure (less than 0.4 ppg). MPD was also applied for the first time for running and cementing the production liner to prevent losses and achieve good cement quality which is a key to successful well production.

THE COBIA 2 SUBSEA COMPLETION

1984 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
M. N. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Safety Valve ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Successful Operation ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Coiled Tubing ◽  
The World ◽  
Marginal Field

Subsea completions are recognised worldwide as a cost effective means of developing marginal reservoirs, accelerating production and draining reservoir extremities which cannot be reached from conventional platforms. To date, more than 280 subsea completions have been installed around the world. Cobia 2, the first subsea completion in Australian waters, commenced production in Bass Strait in June 1979. It continued to produce until April 1983, when it was shut-in following the commencement of production from the Cobia platform. In its four years of operation, the well produced over 280 megalitres (1.78 million barrels) of crude oil, with peak well rates reaching as high as 750 kilolitres per day in the latter stages of its producing life. Overall, Cobia 2 has been a technical and commercial success.The need for regular pumpdown or TFL ('through flowlines') wax-cutting operations in the flowlines to maintain high levels of production generated a great deal of confidence in the use of TFL techniques for routine and non-standard subsea well servicing. In an industry 'first', TFL methods were developed to lock open and seal a leaking subsurface safety valve and, within it, set a special insert subsurface safety valve. This work allowed the well to be returned to production in a situation where a conventional workover of the well was not feasible.Other well-servicing techniques developed during the Cobia 2 project involved the novel use of a coiled tubing unit to retrieve TFL tools which had become stuck in the flowlines during the wax-cutting operations.The highly successful operation of Cobia 2 has proved the viability of this type of completion for marginal field development in Australia.

Rotating Control Device Sealing Element Customization for Ultra-Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine Dow ◽  
Dexter Pazziuagan ◽  
Ken Vaczi ◽  
Chima Chima ◽  
Jason Guidry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Drill Pipe ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Control Device ◽  
Drill String ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Tool Joint

Abstract As the Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) systems for deepwater drilling rigs mature, operators are applying the technology on more complex prospects. Wells are encountering higher pressures in deeper water depths, pushing against the boundaries of technical limits not previously encountered. A prospect in the US Gulf of Mexico required drilling to measured depths exceeding 31000 feet in water deepwater. Under such demanding depth, a non-typical drillstring was required to manage the tensile loading. Typical drill pipe connections on 6 5/8" S-135 tool joints are 8.5" diameter. This drill string would require V-150 landing string, with a 6 5/8" FH tool joint diameter of 8.875". Hard banding would bring the tool joint nominal OD above 9". The depth of the well and planned string RPM presented risk of casing wear, therefore drillpipe protectors would also be required. The depth of the reservoir and size of the drillstring meant pipe would need to be stripped out of the well with up to 900 psi backpressure in order to maintain constant bottom hole pressure. All well challenges were used to determine design specifications for a custom sealing element. The scope of work was to design, validate through finite element analysis, then validate in a test fixture per API16RCD test procedures. On conclusion of the product validation, a land test rig trial, with mock-up of the planned system, including dual sealing elements in the Rotating Control Device (RCD), the required non-rotating drill pipe protectors on the planned drillpipe, was executed. The development schedule from start to finish was compressed to less than 6 months also, targeting completion ahead of the rig's drilling program. This paper will recount the various phases of the design-build-validate-test effort that went into resolving these technical limits. It will conclude with field results and lessons learned from first deployment. As operators pursue more challenging deepwater wells, this systematic approach, through alignment of the operator, drilling contractor and MPD technology company, serves as a model to expand the operating envelope of drilling systems, improving safe performance in a cost-effective manner.

Parallel Computing for Tire Simulations

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Surendranath ◽  
M. Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Rolling Contact ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Parallel Solvers ◽  
Design Changes ◽  
Highly Nonlinear

Abstract Over the last few decades, finite element analysis has become an integral part of the overall tire design process. Engineers need to perform a number of different simulations to evaluate new designs and study the effect of proposed design changes. However, tires pose formidable simulation challenges due to the presence of highly nonlinear rubber compounds, embedded reinforcements, complex tread geometries, rolling contact, and large deformations. Accurate simulation requires careful consideration of these factors, resulting in the extensive turnaround time, often times prolonging the design cycle. Therefore, it is extremely critical to explore means to reduce the turnaround time while producing reliable results. Compute clusters have recently become a cost effective means to perform high performance computing (HPC). Distributed memory parallel solvers designed to take advantage of compute clusters have become increasingly popular. In this paper, we examine the use of HPC for various tire simulations and demonstrate how it can significantly reduce simulation turnaround time. Abaqus/Standard is used for routine tire simulations like footprint and steady state rolling. Abaqus/Explicit is used for transient rolling and hydroplaning simulations. The run times and scaling data corresponding to models of various sizes and complexity are presented.

Exploring the Benefits of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) and the Mechanism for Automated 5D BIM Quantification Process in Offsite Modular Construction

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tochukwu Moses ◽  
David Heesom ◽  
David Oloke ◽  
Martin Crouch
Keyword(s):  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Modular Construction ◽  
Automated Quantification ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Project Risks ◽  
Value Add ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Level 2

The UK Construction Industry through its Government Construction Strategy has recently been mandated to implement Level 2 Building Information Modelling (BIM) on public sector projects. This move, along with other initiatives is key to driving a requirement for 25% cost reduction (establishing the most cost-effective means) on. Other key deliverables within the strategy include reduction in overall project time, early contractor involvement, improved sustainability and enhanced product quality. Collaboration and integrated project delivery is central to the level 2 implementation strategy yet the key protocols or standards relative to cost within BIM processes is not well defined. As offsite construction becomes more prolific within the UK construction sector, this construction approach coupled with BIM, particularly 5D automated quantification process, and early contractor involvement provides significant opportunities for the sector to meet government targets. Early contractor involvement is supported by both the industry and the successive Governments as a credible means to avoid and manage project risks, encourage innovation and value add, making cost and project time predictable, and improving outcomes. The contractor is seen as an expert in construction and could be counter intuitive to exclude such valuable expertise from the pre-construction phase especially with the BIM intent of äóÖbuild it twiceäó», once virtually and once physically. In particular when offsite construction is used, the contractoräó»s construction expertise should be leveraged for the virtual build in BIM-designed projects to ensure a fully streamlined process. Building in a layer of automated costing through 5D BIM will bring about a more robust method of quantification and can help to deliver the 25% reduction in overall cost of a project. Using a literature review and a case study, this paper will look into the benefits of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) and the impact of 5D BIM on the offsite construction process.

scholarly journals mRNA-Based Vaccines

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 390
Author(s):  
Frank Kowalzik ◽  
Daniel Schreiner ◽  
Christian Jensen ◽  
Daniel Teschner ◽  
Stephan Gehring ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Cell Mediated Immunity ◽  
Healthy Individuals ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Cell Genome

Increases in the world’s population and population density promote the spread of emerging pathogens. Vaccines are the most cost-effective means of preventing this spread. Traditional methods used to identify and produce new vaccines are not adequate, in most instances, to ensure global protection. New technologies are urgently needed to expedite large scale vaccine development. mRNA-based vaccines promise to meet this need. mRNA-based vaccines exhibit a number of potential advantages relative to conventional vaccines, namely they (1) involve neither infectious elements nor a risk of stable integration into the host cell genome; (2) generate humoral and cell-mediated immunity; (3) are well-tolerated by healthy individuals; and (4) are less expensive and produced more rapidly by processes that are readily standardized and scaled-up, improving responsiveness to large emerging outbreaks. Multiple mRNA vaccine platforms have demonstrated efficacy in preventing infectious diseases and treating several types of cancers in humans as well as animal models. This review describes the factors that contribute to maximizing the production of effective mRNA vaccine transcripts and delivery systems, and the clinical applications are discussed in detail.

scholarly journals Future of Personalized Medicine in Oncology: A Systems Biology Approach

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (16) ◽  
pp. 2777-2783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo ◽  
Bryan T.J. Hennessy ◽  
Gordon B. Mills
Keyword(s):  
Systems Biology ◽  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Molecular Medicine ◽  
Multidimensional Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Therapeutic Modalities ◽  
Molecular Tests ◽  
Therapeutic Decision Making ◽  
The Masses

The development of cost-effective technologies able to comprehensively assess DNA, RNA, protein, and metabolites in patient tumors has fueled efforts to tailor medical care. Indeed validated molecular tests assessing tumor tissue or patient germline DNA already drive therapeutic decision making. However, many theoretical and regulatory challenges must still be overcome before fully realizing the promise of personalized molecular medicine. The masses of data generated by high-throughput technologies are challenging to manage, visualize, and convert to the knowledge required to improve patient outcomes. Systems biology integrates engineering, physics, and mathematical approaches with biologic and medical insights in an iterative process to visualize the interconnected events within a cell that determine how inputs from the environment and the network rewiring that occurs due to the genomic aberrations acquired by patient tumors determines cellular behavior and patient outcomes. A cross-disciplinary systems biology effort will be necessary to convert the information contained in multidimensional data sets into useful biomarkers that can classify patient tumors by prognosis and response to therapeutic modalities and to identify the drivers of tumor behavior that are optimal targets for therapy. An understanding of the effects of targeted therapeutics on signaling networks and homeostatic regulatory loops will be necessary to prevent inadvertent effects as well as to develop rational combinatorial therapies. Systems biology approaches identifying molecular drivers and biomarkers will lead to the implementation of smaller, shorter, cheaper, and individualized clinical trials that will increase the success rate and hasten the implementation of effective therapies into the clinical armamentarium.

A method for correcting acoustic finite-difference amplitudes for elastic effects

Geophysics ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. T243-T255 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. D. Hobro ◽  
Chris H. Chapman ◽  
Johan O. A. Robertsson
Keyword(s):  
Wave Equation ◽  
Finite Difference ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
P Wave ◽  
S Waves ◽  
Velocity Models ◽  
Acoustic Simulation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Elastic Simulation

We present a new method for correcting the amplitudes of arrivals in an acoustic finite-difference simulation for elastic effects. In this method, we selectively compute an estimate of the error incurred when the acoustic wave equation is used to approximate the behavior of the elastic wave equation. This error estimate is used to generate an effective source field in a second acoustic simulation. The result of this second simulation is then applied as a correction to the original acoustic simulation. The overall cost is approximately twice that of an acoustic simulation but substantially less than the cost of an elastic simulation. Because both simulations are acoustic, no S-waves are generated, so dispersed converted waves are avoided. We tested the characteristics of the method on a simple synthetic model designed to simulate propagation through a strong acoustic impedance contrast representative of sedimentary geology. It corrected amplitudes to high accuracy for reflected arrivals over a wide range of incidence angles. We also evaluated results from simulations on more complex models that demonstrated that the method was applicable in realistic sedimentary models containing a wide range of seismic contrasts. However, its accuracy was reduced for wide-angle reflections from very high impedance contrasts such as a shallow top-salt interface. We examined the influence of modeling at coarse grid resolutions, in which converted S-waves in the equivalent elastic simulation are dispersed. These results provide some validation for the accuracy of the method when applied using finite-difference grids designed for acoustic modeling. The method appears to offer a cost-effective means of modeling elastic amplitudes for P-wave arrivals in a useful range of velocity models. It has several potential applications in imaging and inversion.

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