Effect of perforation density distribution on production of perforated horizontal wellbore

To address the issue of horizontal well production affected by the distribution of perforation density in the wellbore,a numerical model for simulating two-phase flow in a horizontal well is established under two perforation density distribution conditions(i.e.increasing the perforation density at inlet and outlet sections respectively).The simulation results are compared with experimental results to verify the reliability of the numerical simulation method.The behaviors of the total pressure drop,superficial velocity of air-water two-phase flow,void fraction,liquid film thickness,air production and liquid production that occur with various flow patterns are investigated under two perforation density distribution conditions based on the numerical model.The total pressure drop,superficial velocity of the mixture and void fraction increase with the air flow rate when the water flow rate is constant.The liquid film thickness decreases when the air flow rate increases.The liquid and air productions increase when the perforation density increases at the inlet section compared with increasing the perforation density at the outlet section of the perforated horizontal wellbore.It is noted that the air production increases with the air flow rate.Liquid production increases with the bubble flow and begins to decrease at the transition point of the slug-stratified flow,then increases through the stratified wave flow.The normalized liquid flux is higher when the perforation density increases at the inlet section,and increases with the radial air flow rate.

Finite Element Method Simulation of Wellbore Stability under Different Operating and Geomechanical Conditions

The variation of the principal stress of formations with the working and geo-mechanical conditions can trigger wellbore instabilities and adversely affect the well completion.A finite element model,based on the theory of poro-elasticity and the Mohr-Coulomb rock damage criterion,is used here to analyze such a risk.The changes in wellbore stability before and after reservoir acidification are simulated for different pressure differences.The results indicate that the risk of wellbore instability grows with an increase in the production-pressure difference regardless of whether acidification is completed or not;the same is true for the instability area.After acidizing,the changes in the main geomechanical parameters(i.e.,elastic modulus,Poisson’s ratio,and rock strength)cause the maximum wellbore instability coefficient to increase.

A New Heat Transfer Model for Multi-Gradient Drilling with Hollow Sphere Injection

Multi-gradient drilling is a new offshore drilling method.The accurate calculation of the related wellbore temperature is of great significance for the prediction of the gas hydrate formation area and the precise control of the wellbore pressure.In this study,a new heat transfer model is proposed by which the variable mass flow is properly taken into account.Using this model,the effects of the main factors influencing the wellbore temperature are analyzed.The results indicate that at the position where the separation injection device is installed,the temperature increase of the fluid in the drill pipe is mitigated due to the inflow/outflow of hollow spheres,and the temperature drop of the fluid in the annulus also decreases.In addition,a lower separation efficiency of the device,a shallower installation depth and a smaller circulating displacement tend to increase the temperature near the bottom of the annulus,thereby helping to reduce the hydrate generation area and playing a positive role in the prevention and control of hydrates in deepwater drilling.

Wellbore Cleaning Degree and Hydraulic Extension in Shale Oil Horizontal Wells

The efficient development and exploitation of shale oil depends on long-distance horizontal wells. As the degreeof cleaning of the wellbore plays a key role in these processes, in this study, this problem is investigated experimentallyby focusing on the dimensionless cuttings bed height. A method is proposed to calculate the horizontalwellhydraulic extension taking into account the influence of the wellbore cleaning degree on the wellborepressure distribution and assess the effect of a variety of factors such as the bottom hole pressure, the circulatingpressure drop, the drilling pump performance and the formation properties. The analysis shows that the hydraulicextension of horizontal wells decreases with an increase in the cuttings bed height, and the higher the displacementof drilling fluid, the faster the hydraulic extension declines. The annular pressure drop of the horizontalsection increases with the increase of the cuttings bed height, resulting in a higher bottom-hole pressure. Severalarguments are provided to guide the safe drilling of shale oil horizontal wells and overcome the limits of currenttechnological approaches.

Phase Prediction of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide and its Application in Fracturing Oil Wellbores

In recent oil and gas exploration, the most reservoirs are low permeability with abundant reserves. Conventional mining of low permeability reservoir is commonly utilizing the hydraulic fracturing technology, whereas, it encounters various technical issues, such as clay expansion and water lock damage. Using the fluid of supercritical carbon dioxide(S-CO_2) to exploit the low permeability oil and gas reservoirs is attracting more attention. The implementation of S-CO_2, without liquid phase, can help avoid the aforementioned problems. Nevertheless, the phase change of CO_2 during fracturing is complicate, and it is difficult to accurately predict the CO_2 phase transition. In this work, first, the physical properties of S-CO_2 were analyzed by the Span-Wagner model and Vesovic model. Next, S-CO_2 was applied to a typical oilfield, and an unsteady coupling model of heat transfer and pressure drop was developed. Then the staggered grid method and iteration procedures were used for numerical solutions, and the temperature and pressure distributions of wellbores were investigated. The results indicate that the temperature control of a wellbore is the key to the phase prediction of S-CO_2; CO_2 within the single-diameter pipeline below 2300 m can maintain the supercritical state, while CO_2 within the stepped pipeline can maintain the supercritical state at the depth of 2280 m. Moreover, compared with the single-diameter pipeline, the bottom pressure of the stepped pipeline is lower and the bottom temperature is higher. By analyzing the flow and heat transfer of S-CO_2 in the wellbores, the phase state of S-CO_2 was well predicted, which is helpful to improve the exploring performance of low permeability oil and gas reservoirs.

Improving the anti-collapse performance of water-based drilling fluids of Xinjiang Oilfield using hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticles with cationic surfactants

Wellbore instability,especially drilling with water-based drilling fluids(WBDFs)in complex shale for-mations,is a critical challenge for oil and gas development.The purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility of using hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticle(HMN)to enhance the comprehensive performance of WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield,especially the anti-collapse performance.The effect of HMN on the overall performance of WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield,including inhibition,plugging,lu-bricity,rheology,and filtration loss,was studied with a series of experiments.The mechanism of HMN action was studied by analyzing the changes of shale surface structure and chemical groups,wettability,and capillary force.The experimental results showed that HMN could improve the performance of WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfeld to inhibit the hydration swelling and dispersion of shale.The plugging and lubrication performance of the WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield were also enhanced with HMN based on the experimental results.HMN had less impact on the rheological and filtration performance of the WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield.In addition,HMN significantly prevented the decrease of shale strength.The potential mechanism of HMN was as follows.The chemical composition and structure of the shale surface were altered due to the adsorption of HMN driven by electrostatic attraction.Changes of the shale surface resulted in significant wettability transition.The capillary force of the shale was converted from a driving force of water into the interior to a resistance.In summary,hydrophobic nanoparticles presented afavorable application potential for WBDFs.

High-precision nonisothermal transient wellbore drift flow model suitable for the full flow pattern domain and full dip range

A reliable multiphase flow simulator is an important tool to improve wellbore integrity and production decision-making.To develop a multiphase flow model with high adaptability and high accuracy,we first build a multiphase flow database with 3561 groups of data and developed a drift closure relationship with stable continuity and high adaptability.Second,a high-order numerical scheme with strong fault capture ability is constructed by effectively combining MUSCL technology,van Albada slope limiter and AUSMV numerical scheme.Finally,the energy equation is coupled into the AUSMV numerical scheme of the drift flow model in the form of finite difference.A transient non-isothermal wellbore multiphase flow model with wide applicability is formed by integrating the three technologies,and the effects of various factors on the calculation accuracy are studied.The accuracy of the simulator is verified by comparing the measurement results with the blowout experiment of a full-scale experimental well.

An unequal fracturing stage spacing optimization model for hydraulic fracturing that considers cementing interface integrity

Determining reasonable fracturing stage spacing is the key to horizontal well fracturing.Different from traditional stage spacing optimization methods based on the principle of maximum stimulated reservoir volume,in this paper,by considering the integrity of the wellbore interface,a fracture propagation model was established based on displacement discontinuity method and the competition mechanism of multifracture joint expansion,leading to the proposal of an unequal stage spacing optimization model.The results show that in the first stage,the interfacial fractures spread symmetrically along the axis of the central point during that stage,while in the second and subsequent stages,the interfacial fractures of each cluster extend asymmetrically along the left and right sides.There are two kinds of interface connectivity behaviour:in one,the existing fractures first extend and connect within the stage,and in the other,the fractures first extend in the direction close to the previous stage,with the specific behaviour depending on the combined effect of stress shadow and flow competition during hydraulic fracture expansion.The stage spacing is positively correlated with the number of fractures and Young’s modulus of the cement and formation and is negatively correlated with the cluster spacing and horizontal principal stress difference.The sensitivity is the strongest when the Young’s modulus of the cement sheath is 10-20 GPa,and the sensitivity of the horizontal principal stress difference is the weakest.

Mutual impact of true triaxial stress, borehole orientation and bedding inclination on laboratory hydraulic fracturing of Lushan shale

Unconventional resources like shale gas has been the focus of intense research and development for two decades. Apart from intrinsic geologic factors that control the gas shale productivity (e.g. organic matter content, bedding planes, natural fractures, porosity and stress regime among others), external factors like wellbore orientation and stimulation design play a role. In this study, we present a series of true triaxial hydraulic fracturing experiments conducted on Lushan shale to investigate the interplay of internal factors (bedding, natural fractures and in situ stress) and external factors (wellbore orientation) on the growth process of fracture networks in cubic specimens of 200 mm in length. We observe relatively low breakdown pressure and fracture propagation pressure as the wellbore orientation and/or the maximum in situ stress is subparallel to the shale bedding plane. The wellbore orientation has a more prominent effect on the breakdown pressure, but its effect is tapered with increasing angle of bedding inclination. The shale breakdown is followed by an abrupt response in sample displacement, which reflects the stimulated fracture volume. Based on fluid tracer analysis, the morphology of hydraulic fractures (HF) is divided into four categories. Among the categories, activation of bedding planes (bedding failure, BF) and natural fractures (NF) significantly increase bifurcation and fractured areas. Under the same stress regime, a horizontal wellbore is more favorable to enhance the complexity of hydraulic fracture networks. This is attributed to the relatively large surface area in contact with the bedding plane for the horizontal borehole compared to the case with a vertical wellbore. These findings provide important references for hydraulic fracturing design in shale reservoirs.

Wellbore stability model in shale formation under the synergistic effect of stress unloading-hydration

According to the transversely isotropic theory and weak plane criterion, and considering the mechanical damages due to stress unloading and hydration during drilling, a shale wellbore stability model with the influence of stress unloading and hydration was established using triaxial test and shear test. Then, factors influencing the wellbore stability in shale were analyzed. The results indicate that stress unloading occurs during drilling in shale. The larger the confining pressure and axial stress, the more remarkable weakening of shale strength caused by stress unloading. The stress unloading range is positively correlated with the weakening degree of shale strength. Shale with a higher development degree of bedding is more prone to damage along bedding. In this case, during stress unloading, the synergistic effect of weak structural plane and stress unloading happens, leading to a higher weakening degree of shale strength and poorer mechanical stability, which brings a higher risk of wellbore instability. Fluid tends to invade shale through bedding, promoting the shale hydration. Hydration also can weaken shale mechanical stability, causing the decline of wellbore stability. Influence of stress unloading on collapse pressure of shale mainly occurs at the early stage of drilling, while the influence of hydration on wellbore stability mainly happens at the late stage of drilling. Bedding, stress unloading and hydration jointly affect the wellbore stability in shale. The presented shale wellbore stability model with the influence of stress unloading and hydration considers the influences of the three factors. Field application demonstrates that the prediction results of the model agree with the actual drilling results, verifying the reliability of the model.

Numerical simulations of supercritical carbon dioxide fracturing:A review

As an emerging waterless fracturing technology,supercritical carbon dioxide(SC-CO_(2))fracturing can reduce reservoir damage and dependence on water resources,and can also promote the reservoir stimulation and geological storage of carbon dioxide(CO_(2)).It is vital to figure out the laws in SC-CO_(2)fracturing for the large-scale field implementation of this technology.This paper reviews the numerical simulations of wellbore flow and heat transfer,fracture initiation and propagation,and proppant transport in SC-CO_(2)fracturing,including the numerical approaches and the obtained findings.It shows that the variations of wellbore temperature and pressure are complex and strongly transient.The wellhead pressure can be reduced by tubing and annulus co-injection or adding drag reducers into the fracturing fluid.Increasing the temperature of CO_(2)with wellhead heating can promote CO_(2)to reach the well bottom in the supercritical state.Compared with hydraulic fracturing,SC-CO_(2)fracturing has a lower fracture initiation pressure and can form a more complex fracture network,but the fracture width is narrower.The technology of SC-CO_(2)fracturing followed by thickened SC-CO_(2)fracturing,which combines with high injection rates and ultra-light proppants,can improve the placement effect of proppants while improving the complexity and width of fractures.The follow-up research is required to get a deeper insight into the SC-CO_(2)fracturing mechanisms and develop cost-effective drag reducers,thickeners,and ultra-light proppants.This paper can guide further research and promote the field application of SC-CO_(2)fracturing technology.

Analysis of a Strong-Inhibition Polyamine Drilling Fluid

Drilling technologies based on oil-based drillingfluids and strong inhibitory saltwaterfluids are affected by draw-backs such as downhole accidents where sticking and wellbore instabilities occur.Existing polyamine drillingfluids also exhibit problems such as easy decomposition and poor inhibition performances.In order to mitigate these issues,additives can be used,such as polyamine inhibitors and the synthesis of nanometerfiltrate reducers.Tests conducted in the frame of this study with a polyamine drillingfluid and such additives show that thisfluid has the same inhibitory,plugging,lubricating,and wellbore-stability performances as oil-based drillingfluids.However,it has long-term anti-wear performances even better than those of oil-based drillingfluids.The out-comes of a series of comparisons with other sample cases(other wells)are reported and the advantages related to the proposedfluid discussed in detail.

Analysis of Wellbore Flow in Shale Gas Horizontal Wells

Theflow behavior of shale gas horizontal wells is relatively complex,and this should be regarded as the main reason for which conventional pipeflow models are not suitable to describe the related dynamics.In this study,numerical simulations have been conducted to determine the gas-liquid distribution in these wells.In particular,using the measuredflow pressure data related to 97 groups of shale gas wells as a basis,9 distinct pipeflow models have been assessed,and the models displaying a high calculation accuracy for different water-gas ratio(WGR)ranges have been identified.The results show that:(1)The variation law of WGR in gas well satisfies a power function relation.(2)The well structure is the main factor affecting the gas-liquid distribution in the wellbore.(3)The Beggs&Brill,Hagedorn&Brown and Gray models exhibit a high calculation accuracy.

Dynamic modelling and engineering simulation of fluid mechanics in water injectors

To study the fluid dynamic response mechanism under the working condition of water injection well borehole,based on the microelement analysis of fluid mechanics and the classical theory of hydrodynamics,a fluid microelement pressure-flow rate relationship model is built to derive and solve the dynamic distribution of fluid pressure and flow rate in the space of well borehole.Combined with the production data of a typical deviated well in China,numerical simulations and analyses are carried out to analyze the dynamic distribution of wellbore pressure at different injection pressures and injection volumes,the delayed and attenuated characteristics of fluid transmission in tube,and the dynamic distribution of wellbore pressure amplitude under the fluctuation of wellhead pressure.The pressure loss along the wellbore has nothing to do with the absolute pressure,and the design of the coding and decoding scheme for wave code communication doesn’t need to consider the absolute pressure during injecting.When the injection pressure is constant,the higher the injection flow rate at the wellhead,the larger the pressure loss along the wellbore.The fluid wave signal delay amplitude mainly depends on the length of the wellbore.The smaller the tubing diameter,the larger the fluid wave signal attenuation amplitude.The higher the target wave code amplitude(differential pressure identification root mean square)generated at the same well depth,the greater the wellhead pressure wave amplitude required to overcome the wellbore pressure loss.

Research progress and application prospect of functional adhesive materials in the field of oil and gas drilling and production

By summarizing the composition,classification,and performance characterization of functional adhesive materials,the adhesion mechanisms of functional adhesive materials,such as adsorption/surface reaction,diffusion,mechanical interlocking,and electrostatic adsorption,are expounded.The research status of these materials in oil and gas drilling and production engineering field such as lost circulation prevention/control,wellbore stabilization,hydraulic fracturing,and profile control and water plugging,and their application challenges and prospects in oil and gas drilling and production are introduced comprehensively.According to the applications of functional adhesive materials in the field of oil and gas drilling and production at this stage,the key research directions of functional adhesive materials in the area of oil and gas drilling and production are proposed:(1)blending and modifying thermoplastic resins or designing curable thermoplastic resins to improve the bonding performance and pressure bearing capacity of adhesive lost circulation materials;(2)introducing low-cost adhesive groups and positive charge structures into polymers to reduce the cost of wellbore strengthening agents and improve their adhesion performance on the wellbore;(3)introducing thermally reversible covalent bond into thermosetting resin to prevent backflow of proppant and improve the compressive strength of adhesive proppant;(4)introducing thermally reversible covalent bonds into thermoplastic polymers to improve the temperature resistance,salt-resistance and water shutoff performance of adhesive water shutoff agents.

Study on Horizontal Well Layout Boundary Considering Wellbore Pressure Loss

Based on the Dikken analytical calculation method of wellbore pressure loss under single-phase fluid and turbulent flow conditions, the correlation model between horizontal well output and horizontal section length and horizontal section distributed pressure difference is constructed. The influence degree of wellbore pressure loss on daily oil production of horizontal well, horizontal section pressure and production effect of horizontal well under different horizontal well lengths is analyzed, which provides certain reference for the design of horizontal well length and well layout.

Semi-analytical Solutions for Wellbores with Graded Skin Zones in Poroelastic Media

In analyzing the complex interaction between the wellbore and the reservoir formation,the hydromechanical properties of the region proximal to the wellbore,referred to as the“wellbore skin zone”,play a pivotal role in determining flow dynamics and the resulting formation deformation.Existing models of the wellbore skin zone generally assume a constant permeability throughout,resulting in a sharp permeability discontinuity at the skin-reservoir interface.This paper introduces a model for a wellbore with a continuously graded skin zone of finite thickness within a poroelastic medium.Analytical solutions are derived using the Laplace transform method,addressing both positive and negative skin zones.Numerical results are presented to illustrate the effects of graded permeability/skin zone thickness on pore pressures and stresses around a wellbore.The results highlight a distinct divergence in stress and pore pressure fields when comparing wellbores with negative skin zones to those with positive skin zones or no skin at all.

Borehole Heat Budget Calculator: A New Tool for the Quick Exploitation of High-Resolution Temperature Profiles by Hydrogeologists

Distributed temperature sensing is known to provide sharp signals which are very efficient for mapping hydraulically active fractures in wellbores. High-resolution temperature sensing has specifically demonstrated its capacity to characterize very low flows in wellbores. But as sharp as they can be, temperature profiles are often difficult to decipher. The aim of the present work is to provide and to test the “Borehole Heat Budget Calculator” (BHB Calculator), which is implemented as a fast and easy to use tool for the quantitative analysis of depth-temperature profiles. The Calculator is suitable for most pumping and draining configurations, as the heat budget is generalized for modelling multidirectional flow systems within the same wellbore. The formatted worksheet allows the quick exploitation of temperature logs, and is applicable for the characterization of distributed fractures in long screened wellbores. Objectives of the heat modelling are to enhance the readability of complex depth-temperature data, as well as to quantify distribution of inflow intensities and temperatures with depth. The use of heat budget helps to clearly visualize how heat conduction and heat advection contributions are distributed along wellbores profiles. Calculations of inflow temperatures and their evolution through pumping duration is a prerequisite to infer about the nature of aquifer properties (i.e. conduits, distributed or discrete fractures, porous media), as well as to give insight information about the mapping of effective flow paths draining the aquifer. The efficiency and limitations of the BHB Calculator are being tested through high-resolution temperature logging, along with complementary flowmetering and televiewing logging in fractured aquifers located in the St-Lawrence Lowlands, Quebec, Canada.

A new calculation approach of wellbore separation factor based on the relative position of adjacent wells

As the current calculation methods for wellbore separation factor have some deficiencies, we propose and analyze a new calculation approach for wellbore separation factor based on the relative position of adjacent wellbores, named as relative position method for short. Based on the trajectory error ellipsoid model of single wellbore, the error ellipsoids model of adjacent wellbore was derived considering the correlation of trajectory errors between adjacent wells. Furthermore, the calculation formula of the separation factor based on relative position of adjacent wellbore was derived and solved with the conjugate gradient algorithm. Case study shows that the new approach is more precise and higher in applicability than the ellipsoid scaling method and the minimum distance method, it can evaluate the state of well collision more reasonably. By doing batch calculation with the new method and following the criterion of well collision avoidance, the permissible ranges of key parameters in the well design can be worked out quickly. This method has good application in the design of cluster wells and directional wells.

Limit analysis of extended reach drilling in South China Sea

Extended reach wells （ERWs）, especially horizontal extended reach well with a high HD （horizontal displacement） to TVD （true vertical depth） ratio, represent a frontier technology and challenge the drilling limitations. Oil and gas reservoir in beaches or lakes and offshore can be effectively exploited by using extended reach drilling （ERD） technology. This paper focuses on the difficult technological problems encountered during exploiting the Liuhua 11-1 oil field in the South China Sea, China. Emphasis is on investigating the key subjects including prediction and control of open hole limit extension in offshore ERD, prediction of casing wear and its prevention and torque reduction, φ244.5mm casing running with floating collars to control drag force, and steerable drilling modes. The basic concept of limit extension in ERD is presented and the prediction method for open hole limit extension is given in this paper. A set of advanced drilling mechanics and control technology has been established and its practical results are verified by field cases. All those efforts may be significant for further investigating and practicing ERD limit theory and control technology in the future.