On the Stability of Oil-Based Drilling Fluid: Effect of Oil-Water Ratio

Drilling fluids are complex mixtures of natural and synthetic chemical compounds used to cool and lubricate the drill bit, clean the wellbore, carry drilled cuttings to the surface, control formation pressure, and improve the function of the drill string and tools in the hole. The two main types of drilling fluids are water-based and oil-based drilling fluids, where the oil-based also include synthetic-based drilling fluids. Many rheological properties of drilling fluids are key parameters that must be controlled during design and operations. The base fluid properties are constructed by the interaction of the emulsified water droplets in combination with organophilic clay particles. The rheological properties resulted from this combination, along with the particle size distribution of weight materials are vital in controlling the physical stability of the microstructure in the drilling fluid. A weak fluid microstructure induces settling and sagging of weight material particles. The presence of sag has relatively often been the cause for gas kicks and oil-based drilling fluids are known to be more vulnerable for sag than water-based drilling fluids. Hence, the shear-dependent viscosity and elasticity of drilling fluids are central properties for the engineers to control the stability of weight material particles in suspension. In this study, we examined the stability of typical oil-based drilling fluids made for North Sea oilfield drilling application with oil-water-ratios (OWR) of 80/20 and 60/40. The structural character of the fluid samples was analyzed both at rest and dynamic conditions via flow and viscosity curves, amplitude sweep, frequency sweep, and time-dependent oscillatory sweep tests using a rheometer with a measuring system applying a grooved bob at atmospheric conditions. A high precision density meter was used to measure the density of the drilling fluid samples before and after each test. The measurement criteria used to rank the fluids stability include the yield stress as measured from flow curves and oscillatory tests, flow transition index, mechanical storage stability index, and dynamic sag index. We observed that between the two drilling fluids, the sample with OWR = 60/40 showed a stable dispersion with stronger network structure as evidenced by higher yield stress and flow transition index values, while the mechanical storage stability index and dynamic sag index recorded lower values. The results of this study enable drilling fluid engineers to design realistic oil-based drilling fluids with stable microstructure to mitigate settling and sagging of weight material particles for North Sea drilling operation.

Micro-Testing While Drilling for Rate of Penetration Optimization

The Rate of Penetration (ROP) is one of the key parameters related to the efficiency of the drilling process. Within the confines of operational limits, the drilling parameters affecting the ROP should be optimized to drill more efficiently and safely, to reduce the overall cost of constructing the well. In this study, a data-driven optimization method called Extremum Seeking is employed to automatically find and maintain the optimal Weight on Bit (WOB) which maximizes the ROP. To avoid violation of constraints, the algorithm is adjusted with a combination of a predictive and a reactive approach. This method of constraint handling is demonstrated for a maximal limit imposed on the surface torque, but the method is generic and can be applied on various drilling parameters. The proposed optimization scheme has been tested on a high-fidelity drilling simulator. The simulated scenarios show the method’s ability to steer the system to the optimum and to handle constraints and noisy data.

Potential Sealing Effects of Permanent Casing Deformation

Permanent plugging and abandonment (P&A) of oil- and gas wells requires proper sealing between the formation and the casing as well as proper sealing inside the casing. The cement sheath in the annulus is intended to function as an “impermeable” barrier. Typically, shrinkage of cement sheath takes place when the cement sets and a microannulus (MA) may be formed. In addition, cyclic pressure and temperature variations may result in cracks and debonding of the cement sheath. This paper investigates the possibility of improved cement sealing imposed by permanent deformation of the casing, thus providing a mechanical compression force to the cement and thus closing the MA when performing P&A. Two experimental setups were designed in this context. The first setup termed casing/cement plug test, where the casing is contracted by an external pressure and simultaneous measurement of the flow rate through the setup. The second setup is termed casing/cement annular test where the casing is internally pressurized while the gas flow rate is measured. Nonlinear finite element analyses were carried out to simulate the two test setups. The numerical results showed an acceptable agreement with the observations in the lab. The second setup was not tested in the lab, but simulated using the FEM code. The numerical analyses indicated that the same concept of casing permanent deformation is also relevant for the annular test. It is shown that the micro-annulus formed due to cycles of pressurization/depressurization as a result of inelastic deformations in the cement can be repaired by inducing permanent deformation in the casing to some extent. Finally, we concluded that permanent casing deformation could play a positive role in favour of closing the micro-annuli in P&A operations.

A Convenient Technology to Calculate Geomechanical Properties From Drilling Data

The multistage hydraulic fracturing is the best practice to stimulate unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs for optimal production. Recent studies suggested that selective stimulation design could significantly increase production rates at a reduced cost rather than using non-selective geometric stages. An optimal design needs detailed logging and core information to selectively perforate and optimize the stimulation treatment. In most cases, the non-selective evenly spaced geometric stimulation design is used, primarily due to the time consuming and expensive conventional logging tools and techniques. In this article, a 3D wellbore friction model is used to estimate the effective downhole weight on bit (DWOB) from the drilling data, directional survey data and drill string information. The estimated DWOB is used as an input to the inverted rate of penetration (ROP) model along with other drilling data, drill bit specifications and reservoir specific formation constants, to calculate rock mechanical and reservoir properties including, compressive strength, Young’s modulus, porosity, permeability and Poisson’s ratio without the use of expensive downhole logging tools. The rock brittleness index is calculated from the relationship between Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio based on the definitions of rock brittleness used in recent years. The field data from horizontal drilling of three sample wells were used to investigate the geomechanical properties in the Montney shale formation and the lower Eagle Ford formation in North America. The calculated geomechanical properties were compared to the corresponding test analysis on cores. The authors investigated the rock brittleness index from the sample well data drilled horizontally in the lower Eagle Ford formation. This novel technology could help geologists and reservoir engineers better exploit unconventional reservoirs leading to optimal selective stimulations and greater net present value (NPV).

Digital Technologies and Standardization for Next Generation of FPSO Hulls

New fields development deadlines are growing short every day and FPSO projects shall be adapted to sustain these new patterns, even though actual process plants are becoming larger and more complex. FPSO projects critical path is the hull construction and changes are being made to shorten the duration of this process. For this to be feasible, hull project must be standardized to fit various topside configurations and any changes made must be absorbed as quickly as possible. This requires the use of innovative solutions and digital technologies to reduce design time. The core of these solutions is the modelling of the hull digital twin during the basic design phase with a high level of structural definitions that only happen during detailed engineering phase. This paper presents some initiatives that results in a more consistent design and on a desktop-based virtual reality model that can be used to accelerate fabrication during construction and assembly phases. Furthermore, the way of doing hull basic design is being changed.

Second-Order Correlation of Klinkenberg-Corrected Permeability and its Experimental Verification on Heterogeneously-Stressed Gas Shale

Shale is an extremely tight and fine-grained sedimentary rock with nanometer-scale pore sizes. The nanopore structure within a shale system contributes not only to the low to ultra-low permeability coefficients (10−18 to 10−22 m2), but also to the significant gas slippage effect. The Klinkenberg equation, a first-order correlation, offers a satisfying solution to describe this particular phenomenon for decades. However, in recent years, several scholars and engineers have found that the linear relation from the Klinkenberg equation is invalid for most gas shale reservoirs, and a need for a second-order model is, therefore, proceeding apace. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to develop a second-order approach with experimental verifications. The study involved a derivation of a second-order correlation of the Klinkenberg-corrected permeability, followed by experimental verifications on a cubic shale sample sourced from the Sichuan Basin in southwestern China. We utilized a newly developed multi-functional true triaxial geophysical (TTG) apparatus to carry out permeability measurements with the steady-state method in the presence of heterogeneous stresses. Also discussed were the effects of two gas slippage factors, Klinkenberg-corrected permeability, and heterogeneous stress. Finally, based on the second-order slip theory, we analyzed the deviation of permeability from Darcy flux. The results showed that the apparent permeability increased more rapidly as the pore pressure declined when the pore pressures are relatively low, which is a strong evidence of the gas slippage effect. The second-order model could reasonably match the experimental data, resulting in a lower Klinkenberg-corrected permeability compared with that from the linear Klinkenberg equation. That is, the second-order approach improves the intrinsic permeability estimation of gas shales with the result being closer to the liquid permeability compared with the Klinkenberg approach. Analysis of the experimental data reported that both the first-order slippage factor A and the second-order slippage factor B increased with increasing stress heterogeneity, and that A was likely to be more sensitive to stress heterogeneity compared with B. Interestingly, both A and B first slightly increased and then significantly as the permeability declined. It is recommended that when the shale permeability is below 10−18 m2, the second-order approach should be taken into account. Darcy’s law starts to deviate when Kn > 0.01 and is invalid at high Knudsen numbers. The second-order approach seems to alleviate the problem of overestimation compared with the Klinkenberg approach and is more accurate in permeability evolution.

Effect of Rheological Properties of Yield Pseudoplastic Fluids on Slugs Characteristics in an Upward Vertical Pipe: Experiments and Modeling

Two-phase flow of gas/yield Pseudoplastic fluids can be found in different industrial applications like the chemical processes, oil industry, and petroleum transport in pipelines. In this study, experimental and numerical investigation of the influence of Rheological properties of non-Newtonians fluids in two-phase flow (gas/yield Pseudoplastic fluids) on slug characteristics in an upward vertical flow were performed. Different concentrations of Xanthan gum solutions (0.05%, 0.10%, and 0.15%, by w/w), which are referred to as non-Newtonian, yield Pseudoplastic behavior used as the working liquids and air as a gas. The experiments were conducted in an open-loop re-circulating system has a total length of 65 m to ensure phase mixing, and authorize flow regime patterns to develop. The vertical pipe has a diameter of 76.3 mm. API-compliant 8-speed rotational viscometer model 800 was used to measure the rheological properties of non-Newtonian fluids. Flow visualization and recording videos were achieved by A high-speed camera to a comparison between behavior of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in the two-phase model. Pressure transducers used to measure high-response pressure. Computational fluid dynamics software (ANSYS fluent 2019 R3) was used for the numerical investigation. The volume of fluid (VOF) model has been chosen for tracking immiscible fluids. CFD simulation results compared to the experimental data. The slug behavior and shape were noticed to be affected by changing the rheological properties of the liquid phase. with increasing XG concentration at the same operations conditions, we found that non-uniform and random distribution of small bubbles due to the effective viscous force of a liquid phase.

Wear-Factor Prediction Based on Data-Driven Inversion Technique for Casing Wear Estimation

Wear factor is an important parameter for estimating casing wear, yet the industry lacks a sufficient data-driven wear-factor prediction model based on previous data. Inversion technique is a data-driven method for evaluating model parameters for a setting wherein the input and output values for the physical model/equation are known. For this case, the physical equation to calculate wear volume has wear factor, side force, RPM, tool-joint diameter, and time for a particular operation (i.e., rotating on bottom, rotating off bottom, sliding, back reaming, etc.) as inputs. Except for wear factor, these values are either available or can be calculated using another physical model (wear-volume output is available from the drilling log). Wear factor is considered the model parameter and is estimated using the inversion technique method. The preceding analysis was performed using soft-string and stiff-string models for side-force calculations and by considering linear and nonlinear wear-factor models. An iterative approach was necessary for the nonlinear wear-factor model because of its complexity. Log data provide the remaining thickness of the casing, which was converted into wear volume using standard geometric calculations. A paper [1] was presented in OMC 2019 discussing a method for bridging the gap. A study was conducted in this paper for a real well based on the new method, and successful results were discussed. The current paper extends that study to another real well casing wear prediction with this novel approach. Some methods discussed are already included in the mentioned paper.

Dynamic Behavior of a Novel Heave-Compensated Floating Platform for Well Interventions

A new type of floating platform design has been investigated. It consists of a relatively small semi-submersible floating structure with an air chamber that aims to keep a constant buoyancy, thus effectively reducing heave motion and enabling its use under harsh environmental conditions such as in the North Sea. It aims to provide an alternative solution compared to large floating structures, such as drillships and semi-submersible platforms, in terms of time availability, drilling costs and operational flexibility. One recent focus has been on the application of this platform for reducing well intervention costs. A small diameter (workover) riser may be used for installing the well control stack on the wet Christmas tree and for performing well intervention through the riser using a wireline cable. Alternatively, the operation can take place without a riser; this operation is termed riserless well intervention (RLWI). In this work, we investigate the dynamic behavior of this system, which is attached either to a wireline — for RLWI — or to a small-sized riser for well service through the riser. By modeling this system — which acts similarly to a passive heave compensation system — we have verified that this new platform indeed experiences smaller displacements when compared to conventional platform. The reduction observed varies depending on the platform design; in some cases, it reduces the displacement by a factor of two. A relatively heavier platform with a small cross sectional water plane area is found to be the best design option, but a lighter platform might be preferable for increased flexibility, as long as its dynamic behavior is satisfactory for safe operations.

Methodology for Assessing Wellhead Integrity During its Life Cycle

The wellhead is an important component in the context of well integrity and operational safety, as it serves as a link between well and riser in offshore oil wells. Wellheads, combined with the BOP and/or the Christmas Tree, act as the final barrier element preventing leakage of oil from the well into the environment. The wellhead must sustain loads from the casings, which are hung into it through the casing hangers, as well as sustain loads from the riser, which is connected at the top of the BOP (right above the wellhead) through the lower flex joint. In this work, we propose a methodology for analyzing the wellhead, considering a mechanical system that couples the vessel, the riser, the wellhead itself, the conductor and surface casings, and their interaction with the soil. The simulation of this coupled system provides the loads that are transmitted to the wellhead due to its coupling with riser, vessel, casing, and soil. Then, these loads are converted into stresses and a criterion, such as yield, is applied to verify if they will cause wellhead failure. The objective of this work is to assess wellhead failure due to environmental loads (waves, currents) acting on the riser, by varying parameters such as significant wave height, peak period and current speed, as well as assess wellhead integrity during its lifecycle for operational and survival conditions. Results show that the wellhead may fail under certain environmental conditions, which would compromise well integrity and cause leakage from the well. The analysis performed here, which is deterministic, also provides a basis for a subsequent probabilistic analysis from which the wellhead reliability can be found, based on uncertainties such as the sea state parameters.