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Ram Performance and Hydraulic Modeling of Subsea Blowout Preventer Control System SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-04-01 José Luis Párraga Quispe,Lei Zhu,Segen F. Estefen,Marcelo Igor Lourenço de Souza
Summary A subsea blowout preventer (BOP) system is critical in providing safe working conditions for drilling activities in deepwater oil exploration. However, performance evaluation of the shear ram BOP is still a challenge for the industry. In this paper, two aspects of BOP shearing capability are studied: The required shear force to cut the pipe inside BOP successfully and the time it takes to shear
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Seismic Drill-Bit Tracking for Improved Well Positioning SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-03-01 Marianne Houbiers,Sascha Bussat,Florian Schopper,Fredrik Hansteen
Summary The lateral well position uncertainty of magnetic/gyro measurement-while-drilling (MWD) measurements can often exceed the requirements regarding anticollision, for optimal placement of infill wells between existing producers, or for hitting targets with limited geological extent. The positional uncertainty can be significantly reduced by implementing high-precision drill-bit localization using
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Magnetic Ranging Method for Horizontal Section Spacing Control of Cluster Wells SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-03-01 Binbin Diao,Deli Gao,Sen Zhang,Wenkai Zhang,Zhe Liu,Rui Liu
Summary Interwell fracture interactions are becoming an increasing problem with the large-scale exploitation of shale gas. High precision ranging technology is required for controlling the horizontal section spacing in cluster horizontal well drilling projects. The existing magnetic ranging technology has achieved remarkable application effects in the drilling engineering of twin horizontal wells,
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An Assessment of the Kick Tolerance Calculation, Its Uncertainty, and Sensitivity SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-03-01 John Thorogood,Ewen Robertson,David Castillo,Steven Sawaryn
Summary Much of the contemporary literature on kick tolerance relates to the practical aspects of the calculation and the effects of the underlying assumptions and necessary simplifications. It tends to a formulaic approach involving unconstrained uncertainties about pore pressure, kick intensity, drilling fluid density safety factors which tend to overlook the inherent complexities of the subsurface
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Severe Casing Failure in Multistage Hydraulic Fracturing Using Dual-Scale Modeling Approach SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-03-01 Hao Yu,Arash Dahi Taleghani,Zhanghua Lian,Yisheng Mou
Summary Field evidence of production logs after fracturing have documented the existence of abundant natural fractures in Weiyuan shale plays, which is widely acknowledged to have a positive impact on fracture network complexity. On the contrary, cases of severe casing failures have been frequently reported in this field during multistage fracturing practice. Stress interference between two adjacent
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Completion Designs in Horizontal Well with Transverse Hydraulic Fractures for Enhanced Recovery in Unconventional or Tight Reservoirs SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-02-01 Shubham Mishra,Christopher Fredd,Dean Willberg,Umur Yanbollu
Summary Low recovery, 2 to 15%, in unconventional plays (including tight reservoirs and source rocks) has long been recognized as a business deterrent. The industry applies enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques, along with hydraulic fractures in tight/unconventional plays, to improve the recovery. To maximize matrix sweep, the fractures are aligned in a face-to-face assembly. Such an arrangement can
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Two Environmentally Friendly Alkyl-o-Glucoside-Based Formulations for Hole Cleaning during Heavy and Extra-Heavy Oilfield Drilling SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-02-01 Genaro Bolivar,Jorge Aburto,J.F. Armando Soltero,Eduardo Mendizabal
Summary The formulation of antiaccretion additives for cleaning the hole in long-range directional or tangential wells in heavy and extraheavy oil reservoirs is considered a technological challenge due to the unconsolidated characteristics of the formations (such as gravel, sand, pea, etc.) as well as the physicochemical properties of the heavy crude oil. In this work, we propose a hole cleaning formulation
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When Slick Is Not Smooth: Bottomhole Assembly Selection and Its Impact on Wellbore Quality SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-01-01 Marc Willerth,Briana Dodson,Kelton McCue,Mahmoud Farrag
Summary Appropriate selection of a bottomhole assembly (BHA) is critical to the success of a drilling operation. In US land drilling, these assemblies are often selected using local heuristics rather than rigorous analysis. These heuristics are frequently derived from the incentives of the directional contractor as opposed to incentives for the operator. Large motor bends enable more rotation through
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Drillstring Torsional Vibrations Cancelation during Off-Bottom Operations SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-01-01 Mauro Caresta
Summary This work presents a method to move a vertical drillstring off-bottom in a given time without exciting the torsional vibrations. The control algorithm was originally developed for robots with flexible arms, and it is here applied to a long drillstring. The control strategy consists of calculating a feedforward torque based on the modal characteristics of the drillstring. The approach presented
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Assessment of Lost Circulation Material Particle-Size Distribution on Fracture Sealing: A Numerical Study SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-01-01 Lu Lee,Arash Dahi Taleghani
Summary Lost circulation materials (LCMs) are essential to combat fluid loss while drilling and may put the whole operation at risk if a proper LCM design is not used. The focus of this research is understanding the function of LCMs in sealing fractures to reduce fluid loss. One important consideration in the success of fracture sealing is the particle-size distribution (PSD) of LCMs. Various studies
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An Experimental Study of the Wear Characteristics of Tubulars Made from Corrosion-Resistant Alloys SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-12-01 Andreas Teigland,Sigbjørn Sangesland,Stein Dale,Bjørn Brechan
Summary Casing wear is the process of progressive loss of wall thickness owing to relative motion between the drillstring and casing. The amount of casing wear depends on conditions, such as the downhole forces, the accumulated time of contact between drillstring and casing, and the materials used. This process is complex and involves abrasive, adhesive, and corrosive wear mechanisms that are difficult
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Novel Active Inflow Control Technology for Optimized Flow and Reduced Intervention SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-12-01 Ashutosh Dikshit,Vivek Agnihotri,Mike Plooy,Amrendra Kumar,Seymur Gurbanov,Valeria Erives,Abhinandan Tripathi
Summary Integrating a flow control sliding sleeve into a sand screen can provide multiple advantages to the user in controlling the production inflow, but it comes with an increased completion cost as well as an increase in the number of interventions required when it is time to operate those valves. Especially in long horizontal wells, this can become time-consuming and inefficient. A few technologies
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Thermodynamic Basis of Brine Density on Pressure, Temperature, and Chemical Composition in Ultrahigh Pressure/High Temperature Environments SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-12-01 Shaikh M. Rahman,Udaya B. Sathuvalli,P. V. Suryanarayana
Summary Temperature change and the pressure/volume/temperature (PVT) response of wellbore annular fluids are the primary variables that control annular pressure buildup in offshore wells. Though the physics of annular pressure buildup is well understood, there is some ambiguity in the PVT models of brines. While custom tests can be performed to determine the PVT response of brines, they are time-consuming
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Single Trip Deployment of Multistage Completion Liners Through the Use of Interventionless Flotation Collars SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-12-01 William Tait,Mohammed Munawar
Summary In difficult wellbores, the traditional method for deploying liners was to run drillpipe. The case studies discussed in this paper detail an alternative method to deploy liners in a single trip on the tieback string so the operator can reduce the overall costs of deployment. Previously, this was not often practical because the tieback string weight could not overcome the wellbore friction in
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Investigation of the Internal Blowout Accident Involving Overpressured Reservoirs: Case of CI-11 Well, Southern Tunisia SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-12-01 Chaouki Khalfi,Riadh Ahmadi
Summary This study consists of an assessment of the ecological accident implicating the Continental Intercalaire-11 (CI-11) water well located in Jemna oasis, southern Tunisia. The CI-11 ecological accident manifested in 2014 with a local increase of the complex terminal (CT) shallow water table salinity and temperature. Then, this phenomenon started to spread over the region of Jemna, progressively
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Evaluating Precision of Annular Pressure Buildup (APB) Estimation Using Machine-Learning Tools SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-11-16 Subhadip Maiti,Himanshu Gupta,Aditya Vyas,Sandeep D. Kulkarni
Summary Annular pressure buildup (APB) is caused by heating of the trapped drilling fluids (during production), which may lead to burst/collapse of the casing or axial ballooning, especially in subsea high-pressure/high-temperature wells. The objective of this paper is to apply machine-learning (ML) tools to increase precision of the APB estimation, and thereby improve the fluid and casing design for
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Numerical Study on the Impact of Spiral Tortuous Hole on Cuttings Removal in Horizontal Wells SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-11-16 Mohamed Shafik Khaled,Hicham Ferroudji,Mohammad Azizur Rahman,Ibrahim Hasan Galal,A. Rashid Hasan
Summary Horizontal wells are designed to have smooth (straight), curved, and lateral sections. However, the actual drilled path usually suffers from unwanted undulations from the planned well trajectory known as wellbore tortuosity. Wellbore tortuosity can slow the drilling penetration rate, aggravate drillstring vibration and buckling, complicate the casing and cement job, and lead to inaccurate wellbore
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Risk-Controlled Wellbore Stability Criterion Based on a Machine-Learning-Assisted Finite-Element Model SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-11-11 Hussain AlBahrani,Nobuo Morita
Summary In certain drilling scenarios, the mud weight required to completely prevent wellbore enlargement can be impractically high. In such cases, what is known as risk-controlled wellbore stability criterion is introduced. This criterion allows for a certain and manageable level of wellbore enlargements to take place. Conventionally, the allowable level of wellbore enlargements in this type of model
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Synthesis of Asphalt Nanoparticles and Their Effects on Drilling Fluid Properties and Shale Dispersion SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-11-11 Z. Xionghu,S. B. Egwu,D. Jingen,M. Liujie,J. Xiangru
Summary Asphalt nanoparticles (ANs) were developed by synthesizing asphalt powders with chloroacetic acid (ClCH2COOH). The objective of this synthesis was to develop engineered ANs with a cationic point capable of adsorbing on the net negatively charged clay platelets, thereby improving drilling fluid functionality and pore-plugging performance, reducing shale dispersion, and ultimately enhancing shale
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Classification of Drilled Lithology in Real-Time Using Deep Learning with Online Calibration SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-11-11 Mikkel Leite Arnø,John-Morten Godhavn,Ole Morten Aamo
Summary Decision making to optimize the drilling operation is based on a variety of factors, among them real-time interpretation of drilled lithology. Because logging while drilling (LWD) tools are placed some meters above the bit, mechanical drilling parameters are the earliest indicators, although they are difficult to interpret accurately. This paper presents a novel deep learning methodology using
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Reduction in Backup Tool Requirements: Risks vs. Benefits, a Probability Analysis SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-11-09 Steven Johannesen,Thomas Lagarigue,Gordon Shearer,Karen Owen,Grant Wood,Will Hendry
Summary A review of the use of measurement while drilling (MWD), logging while drilling (LWD), and directional drilling (DD) tools mobilized to offshore drilling units in the North Sea highlighted an opportunity to lower operational cost for the operator and reduce capital used for the oilfield services company. An objective was set to develop a risk-based probability model that would assess the positive
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How to Improve Accuracy of a Kick Tolerance Model by Considering the Effects of Kick Classification, Frictional Losses, Pore Pressure Profile, and Influx Temperature SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-11-09 Kazem Kiani Nassab,Shui Zuan Ting,Sompop Buapha,Nurfitrah MatNoh,Mohammad Naghi Hemmati
Summary Kick tolerance (KT) calculation is essential for a cost-effective well design and safe drilling operations. While most exploration and production operators have a similar definition of KT, the calculation is not consistent because of different assumptions that are made and the computational power of KT calculators. Dynamic multiphase drilling simulators usually provide KT estimates with a minimum
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On Improving Algorithm Efficiency of Gas-Kick Simulations toward Automated Influx Management: A Robertson Differential-Algebraic-Equation Problem Approach SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-10-26 Chen Wei,Yuanhang Chen
Summary Improved numerical efficiency in simulating wellbore gas-influx behaviors is essential for realizing real-time model-prediction-based gas-influx management in wells equipped with managed-pressure-drilling (MPD) systems. Currently, most solution algorithms for high-fidelity multiphase-flow models are highly time consuming and are not suitable for real-time decision making and control. In the
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Optimal Design of Magnetic Torque for a Hydraulic-Magnetic Rotary Hole Cleaning Tool in Horizontal Drilling SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-09-22 Sun Xiao-feng,Qiao-bo Hu,Jingyu Qu,Wei Li,Ning Mao,Guoshuai Ju
Summary The cleanliness of wellbore is a key factor in the drilling speed and quality of an oil field, especially in long horizontal sections of horizontal wells. Therefore, a hydraulic-magnetic rotary hole cleaning tool has been designed that does not rely on the rotary action of the drillpipe and could be used with a downhole motor to improve hole cleaning efficiency. However, the influence of magnet
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Identifying Formation Creep: Ultrasonic Bond Logging Field Examples SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-09-14 Amit Govil,Harald Nevøy,Lars Hovda,Guillermo A. Obando Palacio,Geir Kjeldaas
Summary As part of plug and abandonment (P&A) operations, several acceptance criteria need to be considered by operators to qualify barrier elements. In casing annuli, highly bonded material is occasionally found far above the theoretical top of cement. This paper aims to describe how the highly bonded material can be identified using a combination of ultrasonic logging data, validated with measurements
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Failure Modes and Root-Cause Analyses of Advanced Drill-Collar Connections SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-09-13 Michael H. Du,Ke Li,Fei Song,Haoming Li,David L. Smith,Wesley Blackman
Summary Advanced drill-collar connections have been developed with 10 times extended fatigue life compared with the corresponding replaced connections. More than 4,000 advanced connections have been run in North America. Although these connections have demonstrated substantial fatigue-strength improvement in operation, some failures have occurred. Multiple failed connection samples have been retrieved
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Use of Fiber-Optic Information To Detect and Investigate the Gas-in-Riser Phenomenon SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-09-13 Otto L. A. Santos,Wesley C. Williams,Jyotsna Sharma,Mauricio A. Almeida,Mahendra K. Kunju,Charles E. Taylor
Summary A potential application of optical fiber technologies in the well control domain is to detect the presence of gas and to unfold the gas dynamics inside marine risers (gas-in-riser). Detecting and monitoring gas-in-riser has become more relevant now when considering the application of managed pressure drilling operations in deep and ultradeep waters that may allow for a controlled amount of
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Extended Reach Drilling with Coiled Tubing: A Case Study on the Alaskan North Slope That Proves the Benefits of Drilling a Straight Hole SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-08-31 Antoni Miszewski,Adam Miszewski,Richard Stevens,Matteo Gemignani
Summary A set of five wells were to be drilled with directional coiled tubing drilling (CTD) on the North Slope of Alaska. The particular challenges of these wells were the fact that the desired laterals were targeted to be at least 6,000 ft long, at a shallow depth, almost twice the length of laterals that are regularly drilled at deeper depths. The shallow depth meant that two of the five wells involved
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Numerical and Experimental Study on the Effects of Rheological Behavior of Drilling Fluid on the Performance of the Fluidic Down-the-Hole Hammer SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-08-31 Dong Ge,Jianming Peng,Guang Zhang,Jingqing Cheng,Pengyu Zhang,Kun Bo
Summary In the field of oil and gas exploration, the fluidic down-the-hole (DTH) hammer has frequently been used to solve the challenges associated with hard rock drilling and excessive friction along the drillstring. Appropriate performance prediction for drilling tools is particularly important for the drilling operation. Previous experiments showed that the performance prediction scheme determined
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Study of Ultrasonic Logs and Seepage Potential on Sandwich Sections Retrieved from a North Sea Production Well SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-08-04 Hans Joakim Skadsem,Dave Gardner,Katherine Beltrán Jiménez,Amit Govil,Guillermo Obando Palacio,Laurent Delabroy
Summary Important functions of well cement are to provide zonal isolation behind casing strings and to mechanically support and protect the casing. Experience suggests that many wells develop integrity problems related to fluid migration or loss of zonal isolation, which often manifest themselves in sustained casing pressure (SCP) or surface casing vent flows. Because the characteristic sizes of realistic
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New Triaxial Connection Safety Factor for Tubular Design SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-07-26 Malcolm A. Goodman
Summary The American Petroleum Institute (API) equation for internal leak of API connections is uniaxial because it ignores axial force and external backup pressure. The ISO 13679 (2002) standard for qualification of premium connections is biaxial at best. It includes tension/compression but ignores backup pressure for both internal and external leak tests. For tubular design, this paper introduces
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Thick-Wall Elastic Collapse for Casing Design SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-06-30 Robert F. Mitchell
Summary Elastic collapse is an important piece of the tubular collapse formulation in API TR 5C3 (2008) and ISO/TR 10400 (2007). Elastic collapse is significant because it is independent of the strength of the tubing; for example, K-55 and Q-125 have the same resistance to elastic collapse. Advanced collapse models, such as Klever and Tamano (2006), require a thick-wall collapse result as part of their
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Shape Memory Polymers as Lost Circulation Materials for Sealing Wide-Opened Natural Fractures SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-06-04 Maryam Tabatabaei,Arash Dahi Taleghani,Guoqiang Li,Tianyi Zhang
Summary While there have been various lost circulation materials (LCMs) available in the market for treating fractures during the drilling of oil and gas wells, there is still a demand for a technology to seal large fractures. Considering limitations on the size of the particles that can be circulated through the drilling equipment, especially the bottomhole assembly, simply enlarging conventional
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Investigating the Properties of Modified Drilling Mud with Barite/Polyacrylamide Nanocomposite SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-06-01 Pouria Roodbari,Samad Sabbaghi
Summary Drilling mud plays a significant role in the drilling operation because it is influential in the quality of the drilled well and the efficiency of the drilling operation. In this paper, we aim to identify the methods to improve the effectiveness of drilling operations by analyzing and evaluating the impact of adding polyacrylamide and a barite/polyacrylamide nanocomposite, synthesized through
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Pressure Decline Analysis in Fractured Horizontal Wells: Comparison between Diagnostic Fracture Injection Test, Flowback, and Main Stage Falloff SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-05-05 HanYi Wang,Brendan Elliott,Mukul Sharma
Summary The pressure decline data after the end of a hydraulic fracture stage are sometimes monitored for an extended period of time. However, to the best of our knowledge, these data are not analyzed and are often ignored or underappreciated because of a lack of suitable models for the closure of propped fractures. In this study, we present a new approach to model and analyze pressure decline data
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Investigation of Dehydroxylated Sodium Bentonite as a Pozzolanic Extender in Oil-Well Cement SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-04-29 Stephen Adjei,Salaheldin Elkatatny,Pranjal Sarmah,Gonzalo Chinea
Summary Fly ash, which is a pozzolan generated as a byproduct from coal-powered plants, is the most used extender in the design of lightweight cement. However, the coal-powered plants are phasing out due to global-warming concerns. There is the need to investigate other materials as substitutes to fly ash. Bentonite is a natural pozzolanic material that is abundant in nature. This pozzolanic property
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A Generalized Empirical Expression for Collapse of Worn Tubulars Using Stress Concentration Factors SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-04-29 Andreas Teigland,Bjørn Brechan,Stein Inge Dale,Sigbjørn Sangesland
Summary As wells in modern operations are getting longer and more complex, assessing the effect of casing wear becomes ever more crucial. Degradation of the tubulars through mechanical wear reduces the pressure capacity significantly. In this paper, we use the finite element method (FEM) to analyze the stress distribution in degraded geometries and to assess reduction in collapse strength. A model
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Practical Machine-Learning Applications in Well-Drilling Operations SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-04-20 T. A. Olukoga,Y. Feng
Summary There is a great deal of interest in the oil and gas industry (OGI) in seeking ways to implement machine learning (ML) to provide valuable insights for increased profitability. With buzzwords such as data analytics, ML, artificial intelligence (AI), and so forth, the curiosity of typical drilling practitioners and researchers is piqued. While a few review papers summarize the application of
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API Equation Design Limits Plot for Ellipse and Circle of Plasticity SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-04-16 J. M. Romero,J. A. Aasen
Summary In this paper we present a methodology to superimpose the American Petroleum Institute (API) uniaxial and triaxial limits on tubular design limits plots (API TR 5C3 2018). Complications caused by a recent change of axis are resolved, producing a practical design limits plot that avoids the horizontal shift of the API vertical limits, which is currently the industry standard. The commonly used
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West Africa Salt-Zone Cementing Best Practices: Laboratory Evaluation and 5-Year Field Application Review SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-04-09 Degaul Nana,Christopher Uba,Carl Johnson,Matthieu Lonca,Jamel Zghal
Summary To determine which salt-based cement system (potassium chloride or sodium chloride) was suitable for cementing across halite and anhydrite salt sections in West Africa, eight slurry recipes were tested to assess how formation salt contamination would affect slurry properties. The formation salt used for testing was sampled from a deepwater, presalt well in Angola. The recommendations developed
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Understanding Real-Time Job Signatures on Deepwater Cementing Jobs with Dynamic Losses SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-04-09 Mohammed Dooply,Michael Schupbach,Kenneth Hampshire,Jose Contreras,Nicolas Flamant
Summary Two of the most important parameters to monitor during a primary cementing job are the flow rate in and return flow rate measurements. To achieve optimum job results of a primary cementing job, measuring annular return rates and comparing them with simulated data in real time will provide a better understanding of job signatures and result in the best possible top of cement (TOC) estimation
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A Mechanistic Model for Wellbore Cleanout in Horizontal and Inclined Wells SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-04-09 Rida Elgaddafi,Ramadan Ahmed,Hamidreza Karami,Mustafa Nasser,Ibnelwaleed Hussein
Summary The accumulation of rock cuttings, proppant, and other solid debris in the wellbore caused by inadequate cleanout remarkably impedes field operations. The cuttings removal process becomes a more challenging task as the coiled-tubing techniques are used during drilling and fracturing operations. This article presents a new hole cleaning model, which calculates the critical transport velocity
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Experimental Study of Cuttings Transport with Non-Newtonian Fluid in an Inclined Well Using Visualization and Electrical Resistance Tomography Techniques SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-04-06 Mohammad Mojammel Huque,Syed Imtiaz,Sohrab Zendehboudi,Stephen Butt,Mohammad Azizur Rahman,Priyank Maheshwari
Summary Hole cleaning is a concern in directional and horizontal well drilling operations where drill cuttings tend to settle in the lower annulus section. Laboratory-scale experiments were performed with different non-Newtonian fluids in a 6.16-m-long, 114.3- × 63.5-mm transparent annulus test section to investigate cuttings transport behavior. This experimental study focused on understanding the
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Design for Reliability: Experimental and Numerical Simulation of Cased and Perforated Completions with Standalone Screen SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-03-31 Morteza Roostaei,Mohammad Soroush,Farshad Mohammadtabar,Mohammad Mohammadtabar,Seyed Abolhassan Hosseini,Mahdi Mahmoudi,Mohtada Sadrzadeh,Ali Ghalambor,Vahidoddin Fattahpour
Summary The historical challenges and high failure rate of using standalone screen in cased and perforated wellbores pushed several operators to consider cased-hole gravel packing or frac packing as the preferred completion. Despite the reliability of these options, they are more expensive than a standalone screen completion. In this paper, we employ a combined physical laboratory testing and computational
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A Generalized Solution to the Point-to-Target Problem Using the Minimum Curvature Method SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-03-18 Steven J. Sawaryn
Summary An explicit solution to the general 3D point-to-target problem based on the minimum curvature method has been sought for more than four decades. The general case involves the trajectory's start and target points connected by two circular arcs joined by a straight line with the position and direction defined at both ends. It is known that the solutions are multivalued, and efficient iterative
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An Accurate Model for Prediction of Turbulent Frictional Pressure Loss of Power-Law Fluids in Eccentric Geometries SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-03-17 Vahid Dokhani,Yue Ma,Zili Li,Mengjiao Yu
Summary The effect of axial flow of power-law drilling fluids on frictional pressure loss under turbulent conditions in eccentric annuli is investigated. A numerical model is developed to simulate the flow of Newtonian and power-law fluids for eccentric annular geometries. A turbulent eddy-viscosity model based on the mixing-length approach is proposed, where a damping constant as a function of flow
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Self-Verification Program in bp: Success Story of Major Accident Risk Management via Bowtie Barrier Model SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-03-04 Roman Bulgachev,Michael Cromarty,Lee Milburn,Kevan Davies
Summary bp’s (“the company’s”) wells organization manages its operational risks through what is known as the “three lines of defense” model. This is a three-tiered approach; the first line of defense is self-verification, which wells assets apply to prevent or mitigate operational risks. The second line of defense is conducted by the safety and operational risk function using deep technical expertise
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Stress Analysis of Variable Ram Blowout Prevention Valves SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-03-04 Ajit Achuthan,Shiyan Jayanath
Summary Variable ram blowout prevention (VRBOP) valves are elastomeric material-based flow control devices used in offshore oil drilling applications as the primary safety mechanism to respond to high wellbore pressure emergency situations. During their operation, the elastomer deforms and distorts extensively to form a tight seal around the drillpipe. Because of the large deformation and distortion
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Measurement of Mud Motor Back-Drive Dynamics, Associated Risks, and Benefits of Real-Time Detection and Mitigation Measures SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-02-25 Junichi Sugiura,Steve Jones
Summary North American shale drilling is a fast-paced environment where downhole drilling equipment is pushed to the limits for the maximum rate of penetration (ROP). Downhole mud motor power sections have rapidly advanced to deliver more horsepower and torque, resulting in different downhole dynamics that have not been identified in the past. High-frequency (HF) compact drilling dynamics recorders
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Simulating Drillstring Dynamics Motion and Post-Buckling State with Advanced Transient Dynamics Model SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-02-22 Wei Chen,Yuelin Shen,Rongbing Chen,Zhengxin Zhang,Sheldon Andre Rawlins
Summary As drilling sections become deeper and longer, transferring more weight downhole to improve rate of penetration is the primary concern for the operator. Drillstring dynamics and buckling are some primary limiters for drilling efficiency. Aggressive drilling parameters may lead to severe downhole dynamics, which leads to cutter breakage and tool damage. When axial compression exceeds a certain
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Quantifying Global and Random Uncertainties in High Resolution Global Geomagnetic Field Models Used for Directional Drilling SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-02-12 C. D. Beggan,S. Macmillan,W. J. Brown,S. J. Grindrod
Summary Total field strength, declination, and dip angle of the Earth's magnetic field, in conjunction with gravity, are used by magnetic-survey tools to determine a wellbore's location. Magnetic field values may be obtained from global models that, depending on the model, have a wide range of spatial resolution at the Earth's surface from large scale (3000 km) to small scale (28 km). The magnetic
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Prediction of Reservoir-Kick Effect and Its Management in the Managed-Pressure-Drilling Operation SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-02-05 M. Musab Habib,Syed Imtiaz,Faisal Khan,Salim Ahmed,Justin Baker
Summary The sudden influx of reservoir fluids (i.e., reservoir kick) into the drilling annulus is one of the common abnormal events encountered in drilling operations. A kick can lead to a blowout, causing loss of lives, assets, and damage to the environment. This study presents a framework for real-time kick monitoring and management in managed-pressure-drilling (MPD) operation. The proposed framework
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Well Shear Associated with Conventional and Unconventional Operations: Diagnosis and Mechanisms SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-02-05 Russell T. Ewy
Summary Wells are sometimes deformed due to geomechanical shear slip, which occurs on a localized slip surface, such as a bedding plane, fault, or natural fracture. This can occur in the overburden above a conventional reservoir (during production) or within an unconventional reservoir (during completion operations). Shear slip will usually deform the casing into a recognizable shape, with lateral
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Experimental Evaluation of a New Nonaromatic Nonionic Surfactant for Deep Carbonate Stimulation SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-02-01 Khatere Sokhanvarian,Cornell Stanciu,Jorge M. Fernandez,Ahmed Farid Ibrahim,Harish Kumar,Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din
Summary Matrix acidizing improves productivity in oil and gas wells. Hydrochloric acid (HCl), because of its many advantages such as its effectiveness, availability, and low cost, has been a typical first-choice fluid for acidizing operations. However, HCl in high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) wells can be problematic because of its high reactivity, resulting in face dissolution, high corrosion
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Analysis of Torsional Stick-Slip Situations from Recorded Downhole Rotational Speed Measurements SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-01-26 E. Cayeux,A. Ambrus,L. Øy,A. Helleland,S. T. Brundtland,H. Nevøy,M. Morys
Summary The use of recorded downhole rotational speed measurements with a bandwidth up to 9 Hz gives new insights into the conditions under which stick-slip torsional oscillations occur. Observations made while drilling two reservoir sections have shown that, out of all the stick-slip situations identified, 72% of them for one well and 64% for the other well occurred in off-bottom conditions. In these
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Significant Surge and Swab Offshore Brazil Induced by Rig Heave during Drillpipe Connections SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-01-18 John-Morten Godhavn,Banzi Olorunju,Dmitri Gorski,Martin Kvernland,Mateus Sant`Ana,Ole Morten Aamo,Sigbjørn Sangesland
Summary In this paper, we describe measured and simulated downhole pressure variations (“surge and swab”) during drillpipe connections when drilling an ultradeepwater well offshore Brazil on Bacalhau (former Carcará) Field. Floating rig motion caused by waves and swell (“rig heave”) induces surge and swab when the drillstring is suspended in slips to make up or break a drillpipe connection and topside
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A Novel Experimental Method for Mudcake Removal Efficiency of Spacer SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-01-18 Rui Zheng,Yong Li,Jian-Zhou Jin,Zi-Shuai Liu
Summary Effective removal of mudcake from the wellbore before cementing is critical to developing an excellent bond between cement and formation. The application of spacer can remove mudcake effectively. The evaluation of mudcake removal efficiency is significant to the design of spacer. The methods proposed by scholars have limits on the development of mudcake and the simulation of the flushing process
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Horner Analysis for Negative Inflow Tests of Well Barriers SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-01-14 James Peyton,Joanna Salamaga,Aaron McPhee,Arthur Jongejan
Summary Negative tests, or inflow tests, are conducted to verify the integrity of well barriers in the direction of potential flow, subjecting a barrier to a negative pressure differential, while monitoring for signs of a leak. A common practice is to observe the rate of flowback from the well. Flowback may be a sign of a leak due to an influx of formation fluids into the well. However, even when there
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Experimental Investigation of Aloe-Vera-Based CuO Nanofluid as a Novel Additive in Improving the Rheological and Filtration Properties of Water-Based Drilling Fluid SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-01-12 Hameed Hussain Ahmed Mansoor,Srinivasa Reddy Devarapu,Robello Samuel,Tushar Sharma,Swaminathan Ponmani
Summary Drilling technology in petroleum engineering is associated with problems such as high fluid loss, poor hole cleaning, and pipe sticking. Improvement of rheological and filtration properties of water-based drilling fluids (WDFs) plays a major role in resolving these drilling problems. The application of nanotechnology to WDF in the recent past has attracted much attention in addressing these
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Extending Openhole Gravel-Packing Intervals through Enhanced Shunted Screens SPE Drill. Complet. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2021-01-12 Ashutosh Dikshit,Amrendra Kumar,Michael Langlais,Balkrishna Gadiyar,Glenn Woiceshyn,Mehmet Parlar
Summary For offshore wells requiring sand control, it is beneficial to extend the openhole length to access more reserves with a reduced well count. In challenging environments (e.g., low fracture pressure, highly unconsolidated sand), gravel packing with shunt tubes has been used successfully to virtually ensure a complete pack, thereby minimizing the risk of sand-control failure. Although shunt-tube