Characterization of a novel fluidic friction-reduction tool used in extended-reach well considering periodic particle-laden jet

Fluidic oscillators(FOs)can be used as an efficient fluidic vibration tool to solve high friction problems in extended-reach wells.However,the complex mechanism of FOs makes the design challenging,and the dynamic erosion behavior inside FOs is still unclear.In this paper,new FOs are proposed and the working characteristics under the influence of periodic particle-laden jets are investigated.Firstly,the results reveal the working mechanism of new FOs,showing that the generation of pressure pulses is closely connected with periodic jet switching and the development of vortices.Secondly,the important performance parameters,i.e.,pressure pulse and oscillation frequency,are extensively studied through numerical simulation and experimental verification.It is found that the performance can be optimized by adjusting the tool structure according to different engineering requirements.Finally,the oscillating solid-liquid two-phase flow inside FO is studied.It is demonstrated that the accumulation of particles leads to a significant reduction in performance.The results also reveal five locations that are susceptible to erosion and the erosion behavior of these locations are studied.It has been shown that the periodic jet causes fluctuations in the amount of erosion at the outlet and splitter.This research can provide valuable references for the design and optimization of vibration friction-reduction tools.

Prediction of Cuttings-Induced Annular-Pressure Loss in Extended-Reach Wells

Drill cuttings are broken bits of solid material removed from a borehole drilled by rotary,percussion,or auger methods and brought to the surface in the drilling mud.When these cuttings enter the annulus,they have an effect on the drillingfluid rheology and density,which is,in general,quite difficult to evaluate.By introducing an empirical correlation for the rheological properties of cuttings-laden drillingfluids,this study proposes a pres-sure-loss prediction method for an extended-reach well(ERW).After verifying the accuracy of this method,a case study is considered and a sensitivity analysis is conducted assuming a yield-power lawfluid.The results show that an increased concentration of cuttings in the annulus contributes to an increased annular pressure loss.Com-pared to their effect on the drillingfluid density,cuttings have a greater impact on the drillingfluid rheology.A larger rate of penetration contributes to an increased annular pressure loss.For higher drillingfluidflow rates,the annular pressure lossfirst decreases and then it increases.In addition,the annular pressure loss becomes high-er as the cuttings’particle size decreases and the cuttings’concentration grows.

Prediction of casing wear in extended-reach drilling

Intermediate casings in the build sections are subject to severe wear in extended-reach drilling. This paper presents a new method for predicting the depth of a wear groove on the intermediate casing. According to energy principle and dynamic accumulation of casing wear by tool joints, a model is established to calculate the wear area on the inner wall of the casing. The relationship functions between the wear groove depth and area are obtained based on the geometry relationship between the drillstring and the wear section and the assumption that the casing wear groove is crescent-shaped. The change of casing wear groove depth versus drilling footage under different-sized drillstrings is also discussed. A mechanical model is proposed for predicting casing wear location, which is based on the well trajectory and drillstring movement. The casing wear groove depth of a planned well is predicted with inversion of the casing wear factor from the drilled well and necessarily revised to improve the prediction accuracy for differences between the drilled well and the planned well. The method for predicting casing wear in extended-reach drilling is verified through actual case study. The effect of drillstring size on casing wear should be taken into account in casing wear prediction.

Analysis of drilling difficulty of extended-reach wells based on drilling limit theory

With the continuous increase in vertical depths and horizontal displacements of directional wells,the difficulties of drilling operations continue to increase,and more accurate methods of drilling difficulty evaluation are needed.In this paper,a drilling difficulty evaluation method is built by combining drilling limit model and expert evaluation.Firstly,the concept of drilling difficulty index is introduced,and the method to calculate drilling difficulty index is established.Next,the meanings of five drilling difficulty levels are explained and the optimization design method with drilling difficulty as the target is built.At last,the theoretical model is applied to the extended-reach drilling of the Liuhua oilfield in the South China Sea,in which drilling difficulties are evaluated and the relationship between drilling difficulty and development control radius is revealed.The results indicate that extended-reach drilling in the Liuhua oilfield is on the“normal”difficulty level on average,rotary drilling in 8_(1/2)-in.section is the most difficult,and the main constraint conditions are excessive torque and high friction.Through technology upgradation,the drilling difficulties are decreased,the development control radius increases from 6.6 to 11.4 km,and the maximum horizontalto-vertical ratio increases from 5.3 to 8.7.Then,the development wells in marginal oilfields and adjustment wells in old oilfields can be drilled on“normal”difficulty level.Therefore,technology upgradation,especially drilling rig upgradation,is the most important development direction for extended-reach drilling in the South China Sea.

Hole cleaning evaluation and installation spacing optimization of cuttings bed remover in extended-reach drilling

In extended-reach or long-horizontal drilling,cuttings usually deposit at the bottom of the annulus.Once cuttings accumulate to a certain thickness,complex problems such as excessive torque and drag,tubing buckling,and pipe stuck probably occur,which results in a lot of non-productive time and remedial operations.Cuttings bed remover can efficiently destroy deposited cuttings in time through hydraulic and mechanical stirring effects.This paper aims to build a method for hole cleaning evaluation and installation spacing optimization of cuttings bed remover to improve the wellbore cleaning effect.Firstly,a Computational Fluid Dynamics approach with Eulerian—Eulerian multiphase model was utilized to investigate the mechanism of cuttings transportation,and a new type of cuttings bed remover was designed.Next,an evaluation method of hole cleaning effect of remover was established.After that,the effects of several drilling parameters on hole cleaning including flow rate of drilling fluid,rotational speed of drillpipe,rate of penetration,wellbore size,rheological property of drilling fluid,and remover eccentricity on the performance of cuttings bed remover were investigated.The results demonstrate that the new type of remover with streamline blade performs better than conventional removers.The efficiency of hole cleaning is greatly improved by increasing the rotational speed of drillpipe,flow rate of drilling fluid,remover eccentricity,and 6 rpm Fann dial reading for drilling fluid.While higher rate of penetration and large wellbore size result in worse hole cleaning.These findings can serve as an important guide for the structure optimization design of cuttings bed remover and installation spacing of removers.