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.

Laboratory study of the factors affecting hydraulic fracturing effect for inter-salt oil shale layers,Qianjiang Depression,China

This study aims to investigate the potential factors affecting hydraulic fracturing of inter-salt oil shale reservoirs in the Qianjiang Depression,China.Using the inter-salt shale samples,the re-crystallization seepage tests,rock mechanical tests under high temperature and pressure,salt rock creep tests,and direct shear tests were conducted.The testing results suggest several major factors that affect hydraulic fracturing effects in the end.First,the seepage of reservoir and fracturing fluid through hydraulic frac-tures leads to salt dissolution and crystallization,reducing the effective seepage area of fractures.Second,the salt crystal may block the pore throats or micro fractures after brine invades the shale,decreasing the overall permeability.Third,the low strength and obvious plasticity of inter-salt shale and the strong creep characteristics of salt rock raise difficulties for proppant to effectively support fracture walls,thereby sharply narrowing the hydraulic fracture width.Lastly,the weak interfaces(bedding planes and lithology interfaces)in inter-salt oil shale reservoirs restrict the height of hydraulic fractures,resulting in the disconnection of seepage channels between multiple inter-salt shale reservoirs.Thus,several factors together reduce reservoir permeability,weaken the fluid flow capacity in the fracture,narrow the fracture width,and limit the effective stimulation volume,resulting in weaken the effect hydraulic fracturing.

Practice and development suggestions of hydraulic fracturing technology in the Gulong shale oil reservoirs of Songliao Basin, NE China

This paper reviews the multiple rounds of upgrades of the hydraulic fracturing technology used in the Gulong shale oil reservoirs and gives suggestions about stimulation technology development in relation to the production performance of Gulong shale oil wells.Under the control of high-density bedding fractures,fracturing in the Gulong shale results in a complex fracture morphology,yet with highly suppressed fracture height and length.Hydraulic fracturing fails to generate artificial fractures with sufficient lengths and heights,which is a main restraint on the effective stimulation in the Gulong shale oil reservoirs.In this regard,the fracturing design shall follow the strategy of"controlling near-wellbore complex fractures and maximizing the extension of main fractures"Increasing the proportions of guar gum fracturing fluids,reducing perforation clusters within one fracturing stage,raising pump rates and appropriately exploiting stress interference are conducive to fracture propagation and lead to a considerably expanded stimulated reservoir volume(SRV).The upgraded main hydraulic fracturing technology is much more applicable to the Gulong shale oil reservoirs.It accelerates the oil production with a low flowback rate and lifts oil cut during the initial production of well groups,which both help to improve well production.It is suggested to optimize the hydraulic fracturing technology in six aspects,namely,suppressing propagation of near-wellbore microfractures,improving the pumping scheme of CO_(2),managing the perforating density,enhancing multi-proppant combination,reviewing well pattern/spacing,and discreetly applying fiber-assisted injection,so as to improve the SRv,the distal fracture complexity and the long-term fracture conductivity.

Temporal variations in geochemistry of hydraulic fracturing fluid and flowback water in a tight oil reservoir

Hydraulic fracturing facilitates the development and exploitation of unconventional reservoirs.In this study,the injected hydraulic fracturing fluid(HFF)and flowback and produced water(FPW)in tight oil reservoirs of the Lucaogou Formation in the Junggar Basin are temporally sampled from day 1 to day 64.Freshwater is used for fracturing,and HFF is obtained.The chemical and isotopic parameters(including the water type,total salinity,total dissolved solids(TDS),pH,concentrations of Na^(+),Cl^(-),Ba^(+),K^(+),Fe^(2+)+Fe^(3+),and CO_(3)^(2-),dD,and δ^(18)O)are experimentally obtained,and their variations with time are systematically analyzed based on the flowback water.The results show that the water type,Na/Cl ratio,total salinity,and TDS of the FPW change periodically primarily due to the HFF mixing with formation water,thus causing δD and δ^(18)O to deviate from the meteoric water line of Xinjiang.Because of watererock interaction(WRI),the concentrations of Fe^(2+)+Fe^(3+)and CO_(3)^(2-)of the FPW increase over time,with the solution pH becoming more alkaline.Furthermore,based on the significant changes observed in the geochemistry of the FPW,three separate time intervals of flowback time are identified:Stage Ⅰ(<10 days),where the FPW is dominated by the HFF and the changes in ions and isotopes are mainly caused by the WRI;Stage Ⅱ(10-37 days),where the FPW is dominated by the addition of formation water to the HFF and the WRI is weakened;and finally,Stage Ⅲ(>37 days),where the FPW is dominated by the chemistry of the formation water.The methodology implemented in this study can provide critical support for the source identification of formation water.

Resistance Characteristics of Hydraulic Oil through Isodiametric T-type Duct with Sharp Corners

Rational determination and reduction of local energy loss of oil flow at pipe junctions are of important significance to improve hydraulic pipeline＇s work efficiency, especially for complex hydraulic pipeline connected by isodiametric T-type ducts with sharp comers to get combined and divided flow. From this point of view, the formulae of resistance loss for combined flow and divided flow through isodiametric T-type duct with sharp comers as well as the correlations of resistance loss coefficients in the branches of the duct are derived using energy method. On this basis, resistance characteristics of hydraulic oil in the duct are obtained by numerical simulation of different flow modes, which are commonly applied in hydraulic pipelines, using computational fluid dynamics （CFD） method, and the reasons for the resistance loss are analyzed based on the pressure change mechanism in the flow field. A part of simulation results was validated with the reference data. The research shows that for combined flows the resistance loss of symmetrical is lower than that of unsymmetrical to obtain low speed in common branch, but to gain high speed is quite the contrary, for divided flows, the symmetrical is always a reasonable choice to reduce resistance loss. These conclusions can be applied to optimize the design of hydraulic pipeline.

Measurement of Diffusion Coefficients of Air in Silicone Oil and in Hydraulic Oil

A piston-cylinder apparatus was established to measure the solubility and diffusivity of air in dimethyl silicone oils and in hydraulic oils based on the PVT state equation of air and the solution of unsteady one-dimensional diffusion equation.The measured diffusivity-temperature relation can be well fitted by the Arrhenius equation for engineering applications.The correlation between the solute diffusivity D and solvent viscosity μ is examined.In terms of Eyring＇s activation theory,the activation in the air-silicone-oil diffusion process is quite different from that in the momentum transport of the silicone oil：the activation entropy of the former is positive while that of latter is negative.However,the activation enthalpies of the two processes are in the same order of magnitude,which leads to the observation that Dμ/T is roughly constant.

Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Flow of Hydraulic Oil through 90° Circular-sectional Bend

Oil flow through pipe bends is found in many engineering applications. However, up to now, the studies of oil flow field in the pipe bend appear to be relatively sparse, although the oil flow field and the associated losses of pipe bend are very important in practice. In this paper, the relationships between the turbulent flow of hydraulic oil in a bend and the Reynolds number Re and the curvature ratio δare studied by using computational fluid dynamics （CFD）. A particular emphasis is put on hydraulic oil, which differs from air or water, flowing through 90° circular-sectional bend, with the purpose of determining the turbulent flow characteristics as well as losses. Three turbulence models, namely, RNG κ-ε model, realizable k-ε model, and Reynolds stress model （RSM）, are used respectively. The simulation results in the form of contour and vector plots for all the three turbulence models for pipe bends having curvature ratio of δ=0.5, and the detailed pressure fields and total pressure losses for different Re and δ for RSM are presented. The RSM can predict the stronger secondary flow in the bend better than other models. As Re increases, the pressure gradient changes rapidly, and the pressure magnitude increases at inner and outer wall of the bend. When δ decreases, two transition points or transition zones of pressure gradient arise at inner wall, meanwhile, the transition point moves towards the inlet at outer wall of the bend. Owing to secondary flow, the total pressure loss factor k increases as the bend tightens, on the contrary, as Re increases, factor k decreases due to higher velocity heads, and the rapid change of pressure gradient on the surface of the bend leads to increasing of friction and separation effects, and magnified swirl intensity of secondary flow. A new mathematical model is proposed for predicting pressure loss in terms of Re and δ in order to provide support to the one-dimensional simulation software. The proposed research provides reference for the analysis of oil flow with higher Re in the large bends.

Integrated hydraulic fracturing techniques to enhance oil recovery from tight rocks

Two main challenges exist in enhancing oil recovery rate from tight oil reservoirs,namely how to create an effective complicated fracture network and how to enhance the imbibition effect of fracturing fluid.In response to the challenges,through modeling experiment in laboratory and evaluation of field application results,a set of integrated efficient fracturing and enhanced oil recovery(EOR)techniques suitable for tight oil development in China has been proposed.(1)Fracturing with temporary plugging agents to realize stimulation in multiple clusters,to form dense fracture network,and thus maximizing the drainage area;(2)Supporting induced fractures with micro-sized proppants during the prepad fluid fracture-making stage,to generate dense fracture network with high conductivity;(3)Using the liquid nanofluid as a fracturing fluid additive to increase oil-water displacement ratio and take advantage of the massive injected fracturing fluid and maximize the oil production after hydraulic fracturing.

Reliability Analysis of Hydraulic Transmission Oil Supply System of Power-Shift Steering Transmission with GO Methodology

GO methodology is a success-oriented method for system reliability analysis. There are components with multi-fault modes in repairable systems. It is a problem to use the existing GO method to make reliability analysis of such repairable systems. A new GO method for reliability analysis of such repairable systems with multifault modes was presented. Firstly, calculation equations of reliability parameters of operators which were used to describe components with multi-fault modes in reparable systems were derived based on Markov process theory. Then, this new GO method was applied in reliability analysis of a hydraulic transmission oil supply system( HTOSS) of a power-shift steering transmission at low and high speeds. Finally,Compared with fault tree analysis( FTA) and Monte Carlo simulation,the results show that this new GO method is correct and suitable for reliability analysis of repairable system with multi-fault modes.

The mechanism of hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement to enhance oil recovery in low and medium permeability reservoirs

Aiming at the technology of hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement which combines hydraulic fracturing,seepage and oil displacement,an experimental system of energy storage and flowback in fracturing assisted oil displacement process has been developed and used to simulate the mechanism of percolation,energy storage,oil displacement and flowback of chemical agents in the whole process.The research shows that in hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement,the chemical agent could be directly pushed to the deeper area of the low and medium permeability reservoirs,avoiding the viscosity loss and adhesion retention of chemical agents near the pay zone;in addition,this technology could effectively enlarge the swept volume,improve the oil displacement efficiency,replenish formation energy,gather and exploit the scattered residual oil.For the reservoir with higher permeability,this measure takes effect fast,so to lower cost,and the high pressure hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement could be adopted directly.For the reservoir with lower permeability which is difficult to absorb water,hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement with surfactant should be adopted to reduce flow resistance of the reservoir and improve the water absorption capacity and development effect of the reservoir.The degree of formation energy deficit was the main factor affecting the effective swept range of chemical agents.Moreover,the larger the formation energy deficit was,the further the seepage distance of chemical agents was,accordingly,the larger the effective swept volume was,and the greater the increase of oil recovery was.Formation energy enhancement was the most important contribution to enhanced oil recovery(EOR),which was the key to EOR by the technology of hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement.

Effect of cavitation bubble collapse on hydraulic oil temperature

Cavitation bubble collapse has a great influence on the temperature of hydraulic oil. Herein, cone-type throttle valve experiments are carried out to study the thermodynamic processes of cavitation. First, the processes of growth and collapse are analysed, and the relationships between the hydraulic oil temperature and bubble growth and collapse are deduced. The effect of temperature is then considered on the hydraulic oil viscosity and saturated vapour pressure. Additionally, an improved form of the Rayleigh–Plesset equation is developed. The effect of cavitation on the hydraulic oil temperature is experimentally studied and the effects of cavitation bubble collapse in the hydraulic system are summarised. Using the cone-type throttle valve as an example, a method to suppress cavitation is proposed.

Theory analysis and experimental research on on-line contamination detecting technology in hydraulic oil

A system of on-line contamination detecting in hydraulic oil based on silting principle is accomplished, where, metal filter membrane as detector, solenoid as active force to propel piston to blotter and gain differential pressure, step motor drives the membrane to filtrate and counter-flush, LabVIEW as detecting software platform, oil's contamination detecting indirectly by gauging differential pressure. Based on theory analysis, accomplished is relation between contamination level and differential pressure, realizing polynomial curve fitting, and calibration experiment. Field experiment is simulated in the condition of experimental laboratory, has credible precision and real-time performance, which can popularize to the field of production.

Characterization of complex hydraulic fractures in Eagle Ford shale oil development through embedded discrete fracture modeling

This study extends an integrated field characterization in Eagle Ford by optimizing the numerical reservoir simulation of highly representative complex fractured systems through embedded discrete fracture modeling(EDFM). The bottom-hole flowing pressure was history-matched and the field production was forecasted after screening complex fracture scenarios with more than 100 000 fracture planes based on their propped-type. This work provided a greater understanding of the impact of complex-fractures proppant efficiency on the production. After compaction tables were included for each propped-type fracture group, the estimated pressure depletion showed that the effective drainage area can be smaller than the complex fracture network if modeled and screened by the EDFM method rather than unstructured gridding technique. The essential novel value of this work is the capability to couple EDFM with third-party fracture propagation simulation automatically, considering proppant intensity variation along the complex fractured systems. Thus, this work is pioneer to model complex fracture propagation and well interference accurately from fracture diagnostics and pseudo 3 D fracture propagation outcomes for multiple full wellbores to capture well completion effectiveness after myriads of sharper field simulation cases with EDFM.

Mechanical characteristics and reservoir stimulation mechanisms of the Gulong shale oil reservoirs, the northern Songliao Basin

Shale oil of the Qingshankou Formation of the Gulong Sag,the northern Songliao Basin,represents the first attempt at large-scale development of pure-shale-type shale oil in China.By integrating the multiscale refined reservoir characterization with macro-micro-scale mechanical testing,it is clarified that the Gulong shale is characterized by high clay mineral content,high rock plasticity,highly-developed bedding,and prominent mechanical anisotropy.A three-dimensional(3D)fracture propagation model of hydraulic fracturing was built for the Gulong shale,which fully captures the hydraulic fracture distribution pattern affected by the high bedding density,in-situ stress,and fracturing treatment parameters.Our research showed that due to influences of bedding,hydraulic fracturing in the Gulong shale forms a complex fracture morphology featuring the main fracture with multiple perpendicular branches that have different lengths(like the outdoor directional TV antenna);however,the vertical propagation of fractures is inhibited,and the fracture height is commonly less than 10 m.The limited stimulated reservoir volume(SRV)is the main problem facing the fracturing stimulation of the Gulong shale oil.Bedding density has vital effects on fracture morphology,so case-specific fracturing designs shall be developed for shale intervals with different bedding development degrees.For reservoirs with welldeveloped bedding,it is suggested to properly increase the perforation cluster spacing and raise the volume and proportions of viscous fluids of the pad,so as to effectively promote vertical fracture propagation and improve reservoir stimulation performance.This study integrates multi-scale fine reservoir characterization and macro-micro-scale mechanical testing,as well as the construction and numerical simulation of hydraulic fracturing models for high-density layered shale reservoirs,providing a new approach and methodological framework for the fracturing research of high-density layered shale reservoirs.

Erosion of Grooved Surfaces by Cavitating Jet with Hydraulic Oil

To study the effect of impingement surface geometry, a cavitation erosion experiment was conducted using a submerged cavitating jet rig with hydraulic oil. The test setup comprised a test chamber with a long-orifice nozzle, a hydraulic pump with an electric motor, hydraulic auxiliaries, including valves, a cooler, a filter, a reservoir, and measuring instruments, including pressure gages and a thermometer. Hexahedral specimens made of aluminum alloy with flat and grooved surfaces and oblique angles were prepared. Hydraulic oil with a viscosity grade of 32 was used at 40&degC as the test fluid. The upstream absolute pressure was kept at 10.1 MPa and the cavitation numbers were set at 0.02 - 0.04. The results of this experiment yielded the following conclusions. The mass loss of the grooved specimens did not increase monotonically as the exposure time increased. The standoff distances at the maximum mass loss for the flat and grooved specimens were almost equivalent. The mass loss decreased as the oblique angle increased and the cavitation number increased, regardless of the presence of grooves. The surfaces were eroded in a ring-like region, but the region elongated as the angle increased. For the grooved specimens, the ridges on the ring were eroded, and when the directions of the grooves and the flow matched, the roots and flanks were severely eroded.

Mechanics of a Grip System of Three-Key-Board Hydraulic Tongs Developed for Offshore Oil Pipe Lines

This paper carries out the analysis of mechanics of a grip system of three-key-board hydraulic tongs developed for offshore oil pipe lines which has been successfully used in oil fields in China. The main improvement of this system is that a lever frame structure is used in the structural design, which reduces greatly the stresses of the major components of the oil pipe tongs. Theoretical analysis and numerical calculation based on thirteen basic equations developed Show that the teeth board of the tongs is not easy to slip as frequently happens to other systems and is of higher reliability.

Experimental characterization and mechanism of hydraulic pulsation waves driving microscopic residual oil

To clarify microscopic mechanisms of residual oil displacement by hydraulic pulsation wave,microscopic visualization experiments of hydraulic pulsation wave driving residual oil were carried out by using the microscopic visualization device of pulsating water drive.For the four types of residual oil left in the reservoir after water flooding,i.e.membrane,column,cluster,and blind end residual oils,hydraulic pulsation waves broke the micro-equilibrium of the interface by disturbing the oil-water interface,so that the injected water invaded into and contacted with the remaining oil in small pores and blind holes,and the remaining oil was pushed or stripped to the mainstream channel by deformation superposition effect and then carried out by the injected water.In the displacement,the pulsation frequency mainly affected the cluster and blind end remaining oil,and the hydraulic pulsation wave with a frequency of about 1 Hz had the best effect in improving the recovery.The pulsation amplitude value mainly affected the membrane and column residual oil,and the larger the amplitude value,the more remaining oil the hydraulic pulsation wave would displace.The presence of low intensity continuous flow pressure and holding pressure end pressure promoted the concentration of pulsating energy and greatly improve the recovery of cluster residual oil.The rise in temperature made the hydraulic pulsation wave work better in displacing remaining oil,improving the efficiency of oil flooding.

Hydraulic fracture geometry and proppant distribution in thin interbedded shale oil reservoirs

Small-scale true triaxial sand fracturing experiments are conducted on thin interbedded shale samples made from cores of Permian Lucaogou Formation shale oil reservoir in Jimsar sag, Junggar Basin, NW China. Combined with high-precision CT scanning digital core model reconstruction technology, hydraulic fracture geometry and proppant distribution in thin interbedded shale oil reservoirs are studied. The research shows that: In thin interbedded shale oil reservoir, the interlayer difference of rock mechanics and the interlayer interface near the wellbore cannot restrain the growth of fracture height effectively, but has a significant impact on the fracture width distribution in the fracture height direction. Hydraulic fractures in these reservoirs tend to penetrate into the adjacent layer in “step-like” form, but have a smaller width at the interface deflection, which hinders the transport of proppant in vertical direction, resulting in a poor effect of layer-crossing growth. In shale layers with dense laminae, hydraulic fractures tend to form “丰” or “井” shapes. If the perforated interval is large in rock strength and high in breakdown pressure, the main fracture is fully developed initially, large in width, and supported by enough sand. In contrast, if the perforated interval is low in strength and rich in laminae, the fracturing fluid filtration loss is large, the breakdown pressure is low, the main fracture will not open wide initially, and likely to have sand plugging. Proppant is mainly concentrated in the main hydraulic fractures with large width near the perforated layer, activated laminae, branch fractures and fractures in adjacent layers contain only a small amount of(or zero) proppant. The proppant is placed in a limited range on the whole. The limit width of fracture that proppant can enter is about 2.7 times the proppant particle size.

STUDY ON CARRIER PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY FOR HYDRAULIC OIL

The surface feature of contaminative oil is analysed and the theory of carrier purification technology for hydraulic oil is put forward. Experiments have been done in laboratory. The main performance of the purified oil has got to a level of new oil.

Proposal of a Component to Restrict Dust from Entering an Oil Hydraulic System through an Oil Hydraulic Cylinder

This research proposes a component to restrict dust from entering an oil hydraulic system through the rod-seal clearance of an oil hydraulic cylinder.The oil hydraulic cylinder as one of main parts of the hydraulic system,controls position of load by reciprocation.For example,on construction machines such as excavators and graders,the cylinder controls position of folk lift,crane and bucket.However,during operation,dust enters the cylinder,wears seals,causes fluid degradation and affects lubrication of valves,pumps and other parts of hydraulic system.This increases breakdown rate of cylinder and entire system.Thus,it seems necessary to reduce on intrusion of dust into the system via the hydraulic cylinder.In this research,we made an experimental apparatus to simulate intrusion of the dust into system.Results proved that the apparatus is a suitable simulator to realize the intrusion.The proposed component to restrict dust from entering cylinder was fabricated and its performance tested when inserted with various elastic rings.The component gave tremendous results when inserted with O-ring seal and a plastic nylon washer,and can be retrofitted on new and old hydraulic cylinders.It is an appropriate technology especially in developing countries where dust is still a major concern.