Ilmenite Inclusion: A Solution towards Solid Sagging for Hematite-Based Invert Emulsion Mud

The sagging tendency of hematite in drilling mud is a common challenge occurring at high-pressure and high-temperature (HP/HT) applications. This work studies the performance of hematite-based invert emulsion mud for HP/HT conditions and provides a solution to prevent the hematite settlement using a combination of ilmenite with hematite. Practical mud formulation was utilized over a range of ilmenite/hematite ratios (0/100, 20/80, 40/60, and 50/50%) to study sagging behaviour. From the sag tests, the optimum combination proportion was determined. Thereafter, the density, emulsion stability, rheological and viscoelastic properties, and filtration conduct for the formulated mud were evaluated. The experiments were conditioned as per the standards of the American Petroleum Institute. The obtained results of sagging experiments indicated that including 50% of ilmenite mitigated the hematite settling and reduced the sag tendency towards the safe range. A slight drop (4%) in mud weight was noticed upon adding the ilmenite, whereas the emulsion stability was enhanced from 551 to 574 volts with the 50% ilmenite content. The rheology and viscoelasticity measurements showed that 50/50% combination improved the yield point (YP) by 50% with a trivial 1 cP increment on plastic viscosity (PV), hence enhancing the YP/PV ratio by 46%. Also, the gelling strength was enhanced resulting in flat rheology and better gel structure. The filtration behaviour of 50% ilmenite mud was improved compared to blank hematite as it resulted in 21, 15, and 17% reduction on the filtrated volume, filter cake weight, and thickness, respectively. This study provides a solution for hematite sagging issue at HP/HT using combined weighting agents, which contributes to enhancing the mud stability and avoiding several well control issues and related operational and technical challenges that eventually will economize the drilling cost and time.

What the Shale are We Talking About!

Shale ‘stability’ has been extensively studied the past few decades in an attempt to understand wellbore instability problems encountered while drilling. Drilling through shale is almost inevitable, it makes up 75 percent of sedimentary rocks. Shale tends to be characterized as having high in-situ stresses, fissile, laminated, with low permeability. However, not all shale are the same, and the problem herein lies where they are all treated as such, in which most cases, has shown to be ineffective. Ironically, shale is predominantly generalized as being "reactive/swelling". Even though this can be true, it is not always the case because not all shale is reactive! In reality, there are many different types of shale: ductile, brittle, carbonaceous, argillaceous, flysch, dispersive, kaolinitic, micro-fractured etc. This study aims to clear many misconceptions and define different types of shale (global case scenarios) and their failing mechanisms that lead to wellbore instability, formation damage and high drilling cost. Afterwards, solutions will be offered, from a filed operation perspective, which will provide guidelines for stabilizing various shale based on their failure mechanism. Furthermore, we will define the symptoms for shale instability and propose industry accepted remedies.

Sagging Prevention for Hematite-Based Invert Emulsion Mud

The solids sagging in high-pressure high-temperature (HP/HT) reservoirs is a common challenge associated with hematite drilling fluids. This study provides a solution to hematite sagging in invert emulsion mud for HP/HT wells which involves the combination of Micromax (Mn3O4) with hematite. The particles of both weighting agents were characterized to address their mineralogical features. A Field formulation of the mud was used over a range of Micromax/hematite ratios (0/100, 20/80, and 30/70%) in laboratory experiments to address the sag performance and determine the optimal combination ratio. Then, density, emulsion stability, rheology, viscoelasticity, and filtration performance for the formulated mud were addressed. The tests were conditioned to 500 psi and 350 °F. The acquired results of sag tests indicated that incorporation of 30% Micromax solved the hematite sagging issue and brought the sag tendency within the recommended safe range. An insignificant reduction in mud density was observed upon the inclusion of Micromax, while the emulsion stability was obviously improved from 551 to 614 volts with the 30% Micromax mixture. The recommended 30/70% combination had almost no effect on plastic viscosity and yield point since they were increased by one unit, but the gel strength was improved resulting in flat rheology and better solids suspension capacity. The filtration behavior of the formulation with 30% Micromax was enhanced compared to pure hematite as it resulted in 10 and 14% reduction of the filtrate volume and filter-cake thickness, respectively. This study contributes to improve and economize the drilling cost and time by formulating a stabilized and distinguished-performance drilling mud using combined weighting agents at HP/HT.

A Review of the Research and Development of High-Frequency Measurement Technologies Used for Nonlinear Dynamics of Drillstring

High-frequency measurements can provide much more new insights for drillstring dynamics compared to traditional instruments, leading to a new realm of understanding of drillstring behaviors in great detail than before. In this paper, data acquisition tools with high-frequency sample rates and the data processing are introduced. Based on high-frequency data, progress of drilling dynamics is summarized, including new understandings of low-frequency drillstring dynamics, high-frequency torsional oscillations (HFTOs), and high-frequency axial oscillations (HFAOs) and new findings for the coupling of vibrations and motions, as well as models and simulation methods to deeply comprehend high-frequency dynamics of drillstring. High-frequency measurements have been used for enabling drillers to improve drill performance, especially for field decision making, BHA selection, and bit design, usually through the ways of minimizing vibrations to obtain high-efficient drilling conditions, the high-frequency response near bit can also be used for lithology identification during drilling. Though there still exists a gap between research perspective and drilling practice, the industry of high-frequency measurements has gotten off a good start, which has huge potential to avoid nonproductive time thereupon reducing drilling cost in the future.

Plum Tree Gums as Local Alternatives for Foreign Drilling Fluid Materials

A few years ago oil well drilling cost increased due to using modern technique such as equipment and materials that are used by specialist companies so studies and researches were required to decrease these costs. In this study we tried to find local alternatives for foreign drilling fluid materials that are aimed to decrease oil well drilling cost although the cost of drilling fluid materials reach to 30 % of total materials cost of drilling oil well. In the first part of this study seven local materials and it's tested under API Specification 13A for Drilling Fluids Materials were investigated. Plum Tree Gum was succeeded in this test among several other materials as drilling fluid materials. The second part of this study was a comparison between these local alternative and similar foreign materials for same sample to show physical and rheological properties. The third part of this study was tested this local alternative under different values temperature to show effect the temperature on physical and rheological properties of this local alternative. The results approved that; Plum Tree Gum, local alternative, can use as filtration control materials for water based drilling fluid. Also this local alternative increased viscosity as minimal for water based drilling fluids, So it can be used as part alternative for Bentonite to increase viscosity by increasing Yield point and decreasing solids concentration in drilling fluids so it has positive effect on Rig equipment’s and Pay-zone. Plum Tree Gum is Ore polymers (plant origin)

A Business Case for Drilling Automation: Well Cost Compression by Suppressing Downhole Tool Failure in Low Oil Market

In a difficult situation where the oil market is down, reducing drilling cost is always an interesting outlook to be pursued. To do so, one should consider looking at the highest component on the drilling cost. Down-hole equipment failure and stuck pipe is avoidable during the engineering planning. It is well-known that billions of dollars have been lost and numerous Bottom-Hole Assembly (BHA) are left in the well due to such problems, related to stick-slip phenomenon. Thus, despite the low oil price, it is a new normal that some asset owners opt to invest on high-end tools to prevent stick-slip, meanwhile others are still reluctant because of its high initial costs and chose to solely focus on the technical skills to drill faster. The objective of this paper is to determine whether, and which, utilization of these automations will be an effective method to lower overall cost, between using Anti-Stick Slip Technology (AST), Surface soft-torque, Self-Adjusting PDC Bit or all three combined together. The analysis of this project is conducted by providing conjecture in comparative method to visualize the configuration. In each case, estimated Rate of Penetration (ROP) is observed based on the recent literature of its application in similar lithology which is carbonate and interbedded shale. As the ROP increases, the overall drilling cost along with percentage of potential net saving for each case is evaluated in this study and select the most effective strategy. The outturn suggests that despite the high initial investment, combining all technologies are economically advantaged. With the DOCC by the self-adjusting PDC bit and torque alleviation by AST to handle the rock interface in addition to BHA torque wave mitigation from surface by surface soft torque, the ROP is quantified as summation of all cases’ ROP gained as the tool complements each other. The estimated ROP of the case significantly gives high decrement of the overall cost and boosted the potential net saving. Moreover, prevention from NPT due to downhole failure and stuck pipe problem is also a contributing factor to increasing cost efficiency. Therefore, combining all the tool together is proven to be the most favorable option aside from, respectively from preferable to the less, utilizing Surface Soft Torque, Self-Adjusting PDC Bit, and AST. Although it requires high initial investment, it is worthwhile to explore the usage of automation technologies for the overall cost reduction contributes to make the case financially attractive.

Saving 2.2 Days from Drilling in Hard and Abrasive Sandstone Formation with Innovative 360 Rolling Diamond Element Bit Technology

This project drilled in Sin Phu Horm field. The main challenge in this field is the formation. The 8.5-in section is designed to drill through the hard and abrasive sandstone formation (known as Nam Phong formation) with unconfined compressive strength (UCS) between 6,000 and 24,000 psi and peak up to 55,000 psi. Multiple bit runs and heavy set of Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) bits were observed in the offset wells with slow rate of penetration (ROP) and short intervals, which resulted in a high drilling cost. In the offset runs, the average interval was observed between 200 and 300 meters and average on-bottom ROP ranged from 2 to 8 m/hr. Worn cutters were the main dull characteristic in the offset PDC bits and the bits were pulled out of hole due to slow ROP. Due to the challenging formation, the goal was to increase the interval per bit run and ROP which resulted to reduce the number of bit trips and drilling cost. Looking at the dull grading of the offset PDC bits, it was obvious that the slow ROP was caused by the cutters worn by the abrasive and hard Nam Phong formation. The fixed-cutter PDC bits were run in the offset wells and worn cutters were observed in the shoulder area. The worn portion of the cutter occurred only in the exposed side, while the portion in the cutter pocket remained intact. Utilizing the portion in the cutter pocket helps to prolong cutter life, increase the ROP, and bit life longevity. Thus, it can help to reduce undesired bit trips. Based on the worn cutter observation, the new design of the 8.5-in PDC bit equipped with innovative 360 rolling cutter (RC) bit was proposed. A comprehensive vibration simulation drilling parameters roadmap were provided to minimize shock and vibration. Two bits were run with rotary steerable BHA to drill Nam Phong formation in the field. The first bit drilled 431 meters at an average ROP of 6.8 m/hr and the second bit drilled 391 meters at an average ROP of 5.5 m/hr. Two runs using the 360 RC bits drilled 822 meters in total of 1,236 meters entire interval of Nam Phong formation, which was equivalent to 66%, achieving the operator's goal while saving 2.2 days solely from two runs of RC bit. This success increased the operator's confidence to run 360 RC bits in the subsequent wells to reduce the number of bit trips and increase the ROP. This paper will discuss the application and evolution of 360 RC bit, along with the result achieved by the bit fitted equipped with this cutter in Thailand onshore.

Destress blasting in deep mines of NorNickel’s Polar Division

Talnakh and Oktyabrsky ore fields are estimated as rockburst-hazardous starting from the depth of 700 m downward according to safety rules. This means that mining is only permitted within certain protected zones. At the present times, such protected zones are generated in underground mines by means of the large-diameter destressing drilling. Despite proved efficiency, the high cost and large amount of the destressing drilling are the grave faults of this approach. Aiming to save drilling cost, it is proposed to make rock mass rockburst-unhazardous using destress blasting. This article gives a brief description of the destress blasting mechanism. This method has been effectively used in relaxation of pillars from stresses before extraction of the reserves from the pillars both in Russia and abroad. In Oktyabrsky Mine stress relaxation of pillars was implemented by slotting, and the drilling and blasting data were available. This study proposes to destress rock masses by means of directional destress fracturing in horizontal plane through blasting of decked charges of special design. The initial parameters for destress blasting using holes with diameters of 76 and 130 mm are determined. The charge design aimed to ensure a zone of fractures in the horizontal plane, at minimized vertical fracturing is described. This information can be used in planning of full-scale tests to refine parameters and application ranges of the method. For the full-scale tests, it is suggested to undertake destress blasting at different blast patterns on different test sites, and to compare the results with the current destressing method (destressing drilling). Efficiency can be proved using geomechanical and geophysical methods. The authors appreciate participation of V. P. Marysyuk and T. P. Darbinyan from NorNickel’s Polar Division in this study.

Improving drilling performance through optimizing controllable drilling parameters

The prediction of the drilling rate of penetration (ROP) is one of the key aspects of drilling optimization due to its significant role in reducing expensive drilling costs. Many variables could affect ROP, which can be classified into two general categories; controllable operational variables and uncontrollable or environmental variables. Minimizing the drilling cost can be achieved through optimizing the controllable drilling parameters. As a direct result, the drilling speed will be increased while maintaining safe practices. The primary purpose of this study is to address the simultaneous impact of controllable parameters such as weight on bit (WOB), revolutions per minute, and flow rate (FR) on the rate of penetration (ROP). Response surface methodology was applied to develop a mathematical relation between operational controllable drilling parameters and ROP. To accomplish this, actual field datasets from several wells drilled in Southern Iraq in different fields were used. The second purpose of this study was to identify all prospective optimal ranges of these controllable parameters to obtain superior drilling performance with an optimum ROP. The obtained results showed that the developed model offers a cost-effective tool for determining the maximum ROP as a function of controllable parameters with reasonable accuracy. In addition, the proposed model was used to estimate optimal combinations of controllable drilling parameters for various depths. The results have shown that FR has the most significant effect on ROP variation with a sum of squares values of 23.47. Applying high WOB does not permanently improve ROP but could result in reducing ROP for some cases. The developed mechanical specific energy model for polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit with vertical and deviated wells can estimate combinations of controllable drilling parameters. The developed model can be successfully applied to predict and optimize the drilling rate when using PDC bits, hence reducing the drilling time and the associated drilling cost for future wells.

Research on the Change Law of the Annular Pressure for the Deepwater Riserless Mud Recovery System during Drilling Operations

The precise control of the annular pressure involves drilling safety and drilling cost, which have always been the focus of drilling engineering. In this paper, combined with the characteristics of the Riserless Mud Recovery (RMR) System, the calculation method of equivalent circulating density (ECD) and annulus pressure of the RMR system is proposed. According to the characteristics of the heat exchange of the RMR system, a mathematical model of the thermal field in the annular is established. The variation law of thermal field in the annular of some well sections was simulated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. Comparing the CFD analysis results with the calculation results of mathematical models, the feasibility of the mathematical model is verified, and the temperature variation curve in the annulus is obtained. Based on the drilling data of a vertical well in the South China Sea, this paper analyzes the effects of seawater depth, equivalent static density (ESD) of drilling fluid, cuttings concentration, and discharge capacity on the annular pressure and ECD of the RMR system.