Development Strategy of CNPC Engineering Technology Service

An overview of CNPC engineering technology service As an important backup and guarantee for CNPC＇s oil and gas business, engineering technology service companies have focused on the goal of building an integrated international energy company, and launched new round of specialized restructuring and business integration since the end of 2007, in accordance with the principle of intensification, specialization, and integration.

Introduction to the theory and technology on downhole control engineering and its research progress

On the basis of reviewing the development history of drilling engineering technology over a century, this paper describes the technical and scientific background of downhole control engineering, discusses its basic issues, discipline frame and main study contents, introduces the research progress of downhole control engineering in China over the past 30 years, and envisions the development direction of downhole control engineering in the future. The author proposed the study subject of well trajectory control theory and technology in 1988, and further proposed the concept of downhole control engineering in 1993. Downhole control engineering is a discipline branch, which applies the perspectives and methods of engineering control theory to solve downhole engineering control issues in oil and gas wells; meanwhile, it is an application technology field with interdisciplinarity. Downhole control engineering consists of four main aspects; primarily, investigations about dynamics of downhole system and analysis methods of control signals; secondly, designs of downhole control mechanisms and systems, research of downhole parameters collections and transmission techniques; thirdly, development of downhole control engineering products; fourthly, development of experimental methods and the laboratories. Over the past 30 years, the author and his research group have achieved a number of progress and accomplishments in the four aspects mentioned above. As a research field and a disciplinary branch of oil and gas engineering, downhole control engineering is stepping into a broader and deeper horizon.

Current Situation and Future of Petroleum Engineering Technology Service in China

Petroleum engineering service is one of the pillars that support the petroleum industry in China. Being one of CNPC’s main businesses, the sector has always been escorting the Group to realize its strategic goals. Since a new round of specialized re-structuring in 2007, the sector has been promoting all its

Current Situation and Future of Petroleum Engineering Technology Service in China

Major bottlenecks in the development of the sector Compared with foreign peers, the sector still lags behind in capacity and performance, reflecting the sector needs to do more in improving technology innovation ability, setting up favorable mechanism and investing more in technology research. The current situation indicates that the following factors have been affecting the development of the sector.

Research progress and development of deep and ultra-deep drilling fluid technology

The research progress of deep and ultra-deep drilling fluid technology systematically reviewed,the key problems existing are analyzed,and the future development direction is proposed.In view of the high temperature,high pressure and high stress,fracture development,wellbore instability,drilling fluid lost circulation and other problems faced in the process of deep and ultra-deep complex oil and gas drilling,scholars have developed deep and ultra-deep high-temperature and high-salt resistant water-based drilling fluid technology,high-temperature resistant oil-based/synthetic drilling fluid technology,drilling fluid technology for reservoir protection and drilling fluid lost circulation control technology.However,there are still some key problems such as insufficient resistance to high temperature,high pressure and high stress,wellbore instability and serious lost circulation.Therefore,the development direction of deep and ultra-deep drilling fluid technology in the future is proposed:(1)The technology of high-temperature and high-salt resistant water-based drilling fluid should focus on improving high temperature stability,improving rheological properties,strengthening filtration control and improving compatibility with formation.(2)The technology of oil-based/synthetic drilling fluid resistant to high temperature should further study in the aspects of easily degradable environmental protection additives with low toxicity such as high temperature stabilizer,rheological regulator and related supporting technologies.(3)The drilling fluid technology for reservoir protection should be devoted to the development of new high-performance additives and materials,and further improve the real-time monitoring technology by introducing advanced sensor networks and artificial intelligence algorithms.(4)The lost circulation control of drilling fluid should pay more attention to the integration and application of intelligent technology,the research and application of high-performance plugging materials,the exploration of diversified plugging techniques and methods,and the improvement of environmental protection and production safety awareness.

Development of CNPC’s Drilling Business

With further exploration and development of oil and gas fields both at home and abroad, complicated geological conditions, poor quality of reserves and abominable working environment, drilling business, the largest of upstream petroleum industry in terms of total investment and scale, is facing new challenges.China National Petroleum Corporation (hereinafter referred to as CNPC) is in urgent need of transforming development patterns of drilling, so as to enhance competitiveness, improve production efficiency, and increase economic profits.

Overview of CNPC's Drilling Fluids Development

CNPC's drilling fluids sector, being one of the important components of the company's engineering service business,

A creep model for ultra-deep salt rock considering thermal-mechanical damage under triaxial stress conditions

To investigate the specific creep behavior of ultra-deep buried salt during oil and gas exploitation,a set of triaxial creep experiments was conducted at elevated temperatures with constant axial pressure and unloading confining pressure conditions.Experimental results show that the salt sample deforms more significantly with the increase of applied temperature and deviatoric loading.The accelerated creep phase is not occurring until the applied temperature reaches 130℃,and higher temperature is beneficial to the occurrence of accelerated creep.To describe the specific creep behavior,a novel three-dimensional(3D)creep constitutive model is developed that incorporates the thermal and mechanical variables into mechanical elements.Subsequently,the standard particle swarm optimization(SPSO)method is adopted to fit the experimental data,and the sensibility of key model parameters is analyzed to further illustrate the model function.As a result,the model can accurately predict the creep behavior of salt under the coupled thermo-mechanical effect in deep-buried condition.Based on the research results,the creep mechanical behavior of wellbore shrinkage is predicted in deep drilling projects crossing salt layer,which has practical implications for deep rock mechanics problems.

Curing kinetics and plugging mechanism of high strength curable resin plugging material

Lost circulation, a recurring peril during drilling operations, entails substantial loss of drilling fluid and dire consequences upon its infiltration into the formation. As drilling depth escalates, the formation temperature and pressure intensify, imposing exacting demands on plug materials. In this study, a kind of controllable curing resin with dense cross-network structure was prepared by the method of solution stepwise ring-opening polymerization. The resin plugging material investigated in this study is a continuous phase material that offers effortless injection, robust filling capabilities, exceptional retention, and underground curing or crosslinking with high strength. Its versatility is not constrained by fracture-cavity lose channels, making it suitable for fulfilling the essential needs of various fracture-cavity combinations when plugging fracture-cavity carbonate rocks. Notably, the curing duration can be fine-tuned within the span of 3-7 h, catering to the plugging of drilling fluid losing of diverse fracture dimensions. Experimental scrutiny encompassed the rheological properties and curing behavior of the resin plugging system, unraveling the intricacies of the curing process and establishing a cogent kinetic model. The experimental results show that the urea-formaldehyde resin plugging material has a tight chain or network structure. When the concentration of the urea-formaldehyde resin plugging system solution remains below 30%, the viscosity clocks in at a meager 10 mPa·s. Optimum curing transpires at 60℃, showcasing impressive resilience to saline conditions. Remarkably, when immersed in a composite saltwater environment containing 50000 mg/L NaCl and 100000 mg/L CaCl_(2), the urea-formaldehyde resin consolidates into an even more compact network structure, culminating in an outstanding compressive strength of 41.5 MPa. Through resolving the correlation between conversion and the apparent activation energy of the non-isothermal DSC curing reaction parameters, the study attests to the fulfillment of the kinetic equation for the urea-formaldehyde resin plugging system. This discerning analysis illuminates the nuanced shifts in the microscopic reaction mechanism of the urea-formaldehyde resin plugging system. Furthermore, the pressure bearing plugging capacity of the resin plugging system for fractures of different sizes is also studied. It is found that the resin plugging system can effectively resident in parallel and wedge-shaped fractures of different sizes, and form high-strength consolidation under certain temperature conditions. The maximum plugging pressure of resin plugging system for parallel fractures with outlet size 3 mm can reach 9.92 MPa, and the maximum plugging pressure for wedge-shaped fractures with outlet size 5 mm can reach 9.90 MPa. Consequently, the exploration and application of urea-formaldehyde resin plugging material precipitate a paradigm shift, proffering novel concepts and methodologies in resolving the practical quandaries afflicting drilling fluid plugging.

Development and performance evaluation of high temperature resistant strong adsorption rigid blocking agent

As drilling wells continue to move into deep ultra-deep layers,the requirements for temperature resistance of drilling fluid treatments are getting higher and higher.Among them,blocking agent,as one of the key treatment agents,has also become a hot spot of research.In this study,a high temperature resistant strong adsorption rigid blocking agent(QW-1)was prepared using KH570 modified silica,acrylamide(AM)and allyltrimethylammonium chloride(TMAAC).QW-1 has good thermal stability,average particle size of 1.46μm,water contact angle of 10.5.,has a strong hydrophilicity,can be well dispersed in water.The experimental results showed that when 2 wt%QW-1 was added to recipe A(4 wt%bentonite slurry+0.5 wt%DSP-1(filtration loss depressant)),the API filtration loss decreased from 7.8to 6.4 m L.After aging at 240.C,the API loss of filtration was reduced from 21 to 14 m L,which has certain performance of high temperature loss of filtration.At the same time,it is effective in sealing 80-100mesh and 100-120 mesh sand beds as well as 3 and 5μm ceramic sand discs.Under the same conditions,the blocking performance was superior to silica(5μm)and calcium carbonate(2.6μm).In addition,the mechanism of action of QW-1 was further investigated.The results show that QW-1 with amide and quaternary ammonium groups on the molecular chain can be adsorbed onto the surface of clay particles through hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction to form a dense blocking layer,thus preventing further intrusion of drilling fluid into the formation.

A hybrid machine learning optimization algorithm for multivariable pore pressure prediction

Pore pressure is essential data in drilling design,and its accurate prediction is necessary to ensure drilling safety and improve drilling efficiency.Traditional methods for predicting pore pressure are limited when forming particular structures and lithology.In this paper,a machine learning algorithm and effective stress theorem are used to establish the transformation model between rock physical parameters and pore pressure.This study collects data from three wells.Well 1 had 881 data sets for model training,and Wells 2 and 3 had 538 and 464 data sets for model testing.In this paper,support vector machine(SVM),random forest(RF),extreme gradient boosting(XGB),and multilayer perceptron(MLP)are selected as the machine learning algorithms for pore pressure modeling.In addition,this paper uses the grey wolf optimization(GWO)algorithm,particle swarm optimization(PSO)algorithm,sparrow search algorithm(SSA),and bat algorithm(BA)to establish a hybrid machine learning optimization algorithm,and proposes an improved grey wolf optimization(IGWO)algorithm.The IGWO-MLP model obtained the minimum root mean square error(RMSE)by using the 5-fold cross-validation method for the training data.For the pore pressure data in Well 2 and Well 3,the coefficients of determination(R^(2))of SVM,RF,XGB,and MLP are 0.9930 and 0.9446,0.9943 and 0.9472,0.9945 and 0.9488,0.9949 and 0.9574.MLP achieves optimal performance on both training and test data,and the MLP model shows a high degree of generalization.It indicates that the IGWO-MLP is an excellent predictor of pore pressure and can be used to predict pore pressure.

Thickening progression mechanism of silica fume-oil well cement composite system at high temperatures

This work studied the thickening progression mechanism of the silica fume-oil well cement composite system at high temperatures(110-180.C)in order to provide a theoretical guidance for the rational application of silica fume in the cementing engineering.Results showed that silica fume seldom affected the thickening progression of oil well cement slurry at 110-120.C,but when temperature reached above130.C,it would aggravate the bulging degree of thickening curves and significantly extend the thickening time,meanwhile causing the abnormal“temperature-based thickening time reversal”and“dosage-based thickening time reversal”phenomena in the range of 130-160.C and 170-180.C respectively.At 130-160.C,the thickening time of oil well cement slurry was mainly associated with the generation rate of calcium hydroxide(CH)crystal.The introduced silica fume would be attracted to the cement minerals'surface that were hydrating to produce CH and agglomerate together to form an“adsorptive barrier”to hinder further hydration of the inner cement minerals.This“adsorptive barrier”effect strengthened with the rising temperature which extended the thickening time and caused the occurrence of the“temperature-based thickening time reversal”phenomenon.At 170-180.C,the pozzolanic activity of silica fume significantly enhanced and considerable amount of C-S-H was generated,thus the“temperature-based thickening time reversal”vanished and the“dosage-based thickening time reversal”was presented.

Evaluation of the combined influence of geological layer property and in-situ stresses on fracture height growth for layered formations

Fracture geometry is important when stimulating low-permeability reservoirs for natural gas or oil production. The geological layer(GL) properties and contrasts in in-situ stress are the two most important parameters for determination of the vertical fracture growth extent and containment in layered rocks. However, the method for assessing the cumulative impact on growth in height remains ambiguous. In this research, a 3D model based on the cohesive zone method is used to simulate the evolution of hydraulic fracture(HF) height in layered reservoirs. The model incorporates fluid flow and elastic deformation, considering the friction between the contacting fracture surfaces and the interaction between fracture components. First, an analytical solution that was readily available was used to validate the model. Afterwards, a quantitative analysis was performed on the combined impacts of the layer interface strength, coefficient of interlayer stress difference, and coefficient of vertical stress difference.The results indicate that the observed fracture height geometries can be categorized into three distinct regions within the parametric space: blunted fracture, crossed fracture, and T-shaped fracture.Furthermore, the results explained the formation mechanism of the low fracture height in the deep shale reservoir of the Sichuan Basin, China, as well as the distinction between fracture network patterns in mid-depth and deep shale reservoirs.

Formation damage mechanism and control strategy of the compound function of drilling fluid and fracturing fluid in shale reservoirs

For the analysis of the formation damage caused by the compound function of drilling fluid and fracturing fluid,the prediction method for dynamic invasion depth of drilling fluid is developed considering the fracture extension due to shale minerals erosion by oil-based drilling fluid.With the evaluation for the damage of natural and hydraulic fractures caused by mechanical properties weakening of shale fracture surface,fracture closure and rock powder blocking,the formation damage pattern is proposed with consideration of the compound effect of drilling fluid and fracturing fluid.The formation damage mechanism during drilling and completion process in shale reservoir is revealed,and the protection measures are raised.The drilling fluid can deeply invade into the shale formation through natural and induced fractures,erode shale minerals and weaken the mechanical properties of shale during the drilling process.In the process of hydraulic fracturing,the compound effect of drilling fluid and fracturing fluid further weakens the mechanical properties of shale,results in fracture closure and rock powder shedding,and thus induces stress-sensitive damage and solid blocking damage of natural/hydraulic fractures.The damage can yield significant conductivity decrease of fractures,and restrict the high and stable production of shale oil and gas wells.The measures of anti-collapse and anti-blocking to accelerate the drilling of reservoir section,forming chemical membrane to prevent the weakening of the mechanical properties of shale fracture surface,strengthening the plugging of shale fracture and reducing the invasion range of drilling fluid,optimizing fracturing fluid system to protect fracture conductivity are put forward for reservoir protection.

Fracture geometry and breakdown pressure of radial borehole fracturing in multiple layers

Radial borehole fracturing that combines radial boreholes with hydraulic fracturing is anticipated to improve the output of tight oil and gas reservoirs.This paper aims to investigate fracture propagation and pressure characteristics of radial borehole fracturing in multiple layers.A series of laboratory experiments with artificial rock samples(395 mm×395 mm×395 mm)was conducted using a true triaxial fracturing device.Three crucial factors corresponding to the vertical distance of adjacent radial borehole layers(vertical distance),the azimuth and diameter of the radial borehole are examined.Experimental results show that radial borehole fracturing in multiple layers generates diverse fracture geometries.Four types of fractures are identified based on the connectivity between hydraulic fractures and radial boreholes.The vertical distance significantly influences fracture propagation perpendicular to the radial borehole axis.An increase in the vertical distance impedes fracture connection across multiple radial borehole layers and reduces the fracture propagation distance along the radial borehole axis.The azimuth also influences fracture propagation along the radial borehole axis.Increasing the azimuth reduces the guiding ability of radial boreholes,which makes the fracture quickly curve to the maximum horizontal stress direction.The breakdown pressure correlates with diverse fracture geometries observed.When the fractures connect multi-layer radial boreholes,increasing the vertical distance decreases the breakdown pressure.Decreasing the azimuth and increasing the diameter also decrease the breakdown pressure.The extrusion force exists between the adjacent fractures generated in radial boreholes in multiple rows,which plays a crucial role in enhancing the guiding ability of radial boreholes and results in higher breakdown pressure.The research provides valuable theoretical insights for the field application of radial borehole fracturing technology in tight oil and gas reservoirs.

Failure evaluation mechanism of cement sheath sealing integrity under casing eccentricity during multistage fracturing

A microannulus(MA) is the primary reason for sustained casing pressure in multi-stage fractured-shale gas wells. However, the effect of the casing eccentricity on the long horizontal section has not been considered. In this study, a full-scale integrity tester for cement sheaths is adopted to measure the cumulative plastic deformation. Numerical models are applied to evaluate the development of the cumulative plastic deformation and quantify the MA width considering casing centralization and eccentricity in the context of multiple loading and unloading cycles. Subsequently, the influences of the eccentricity distance and angle, cement-sheath mechanical variables, and different well depths on the cumulative sheath plastic deformation and sheath MA development are explored. The research results demonstrate that casing eccentricity significantly increases the cumulative sheath plastic deformation compared with that of the casing-centered condition. Consequently, the risk of sealing integrity failure increases. The accumulated plastic deformation increases when the eccentricity distance increases. In contrast, the initial plastic deformation increases as the eccentricity angle increases. However, the cumulative plastic deformation decreases after a specific loading and unloading cycle count. Affected by the coupled influence of the internal casing pressure and fracturing stages, the width of the MA in the horizontal section increased from the toe to the heel, and the casing eccentricity significantly increased the MA width at each stage, thus increasing the risk of gas channeling. Finally, an engineering case is considered to study the influence of casing eccentricity. The results show that cement slurries that form low and high elastic moduli can be applied to form a cement sheath when the fracturing stage is lower or higher than a specific value, respectively. The results of this study offer theoretical references and engineering support for the integrity control of cement sheath sealing.

A micro-crosslinked amphoteric hydrophobic association copolymer as high temperature-and salt-resistance fluid loss reducer for water-based drilling fluids

During ultradeep oil and gas drilling,fluid loss reducers are highly important for water-based drilling fluids,while preparing high temperature-and salt-resistance fluid loss reducers with excellent rheology and filtration performance remains a challenge.Herein,a micro-crosslinked amphoteric hydrophobic association copolymer(i.e.,DADC)was synthesized using N,N-dimethyl acrylamide,diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride,2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid,hydrophobic monomer,and pentaerythritol triallyl ether crosslinker.Due to the synergistic effects of hydrogen bonds,electrostatic interaction,hydrophobic association,and micro-crosslinking,the DADC copolymer exhibited outstanding temperature-and salt-resistance.The rheological experiments have shown that the DADC copolymer had excellent shear dilution performance and a certain degree of salt-responsive viscosity-increasing performance.The DADC copolymer could effectively adsorb on the surface of bentonite particles through electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonds,which bring more negative charge to the bentonite,thus improving the hydration and dispersion of bentonite particles as well as the colloidal stability of the drilling fluids.Moreover,the drilling fluids constructed based on the DADC copolymer exhibited satisfactory rheological and filtration properties(FLHTHP=12 m L)after aging at high temperatures(up to200℃)and high salinity(saturated salt)environments.Therefore,this work provided new insights into designing and fabricating high-performance drilling fluid treatment agents,demonstrating good potential applications in deep and ultradeep drilling engineering.

Experimental study of the influencing factors and mechanisms of the pressure-reduction and augmented injection effect by nanoparticles in ultra-low permeability reservoirs

Nanoparticles(NPs)have gained significant attention as a functional material due to their ability to effectively enhance pressure reduction in injection processes in ultra-low permeability reservoirs.NPs are typically studied in controlled laboratory conditions,and their behavior in real-world,complex environments such as ultra-low permeability reservoirs,is not well understood due to the limited scope of their applications.This study investigates the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of NPs in decreasing injection pressure under various injection conditions(25—85℃,10—25 MPa).The results reveal that under optimal injection conditions,NPs effectively reduce injection pressure by a maximum of 22.77%in core experiment.The pressure reduction rate is found to be positively correlated with oil saturation and permeability,and negatively correlated with temperature and salinity.Furthermore,particle image velocimetry(PIV)experiments(25℃,atmospheric pressure)indicate that the pressure reduction is achieved by NPs through the reduction of wall shear resistance and wettability change.This work has important implications for the design of water injection strategies in ultra-low permeability reservoirs.

Understanding hydraulic fracture propagation behavior in tight sandstone–coal interbedded formations: an experimentalinvestigation

Whether hydraulic fractures could connect multiple gas zones in the vertical plane is the key to fracturing treatment to jointly exploit coalbed methane and tight sandstone gas through integrative hydraulic fracturing in tight sandstone–coal interbedded formations. Laboratory true triaxial hydraulic fracturing experiments were conducted on layered specimens with di erent combination types of natural sandstone and coal to simulate the propagation behavior of hydraulic fractures. The effects of the fracture initiation position, fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate were discussed. The results showed that di erent fracture morphologies could be found. When initiating from coal seams, three patterns of fracture initiation and propagation were obtained:(1) The main hydraulic fracture initiated and propagated along the natural fractures and then diverged due to the effects of in situ stress and formed secondary fractures.(2) The hydraulic fracture initiated and propagated in the direction of the maximum horizontal stress.(3) Multiple fractures initiated and propagated at the same time. With the same fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate, the hydraulic fractures initiating in sandstones had greater chances than those in coal seams to penetrate interfaces and enter neighboring layers. Excessively small or large fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate would do harm to the vertical extension height of the induced fracture and improvement of the stimulated reservoir volume. Compared with operation parameters(fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate), the natural weak planes in coals were considered to be the key factor that a ected the fracture propagation path. The experimental results would make some contributions to the development of tight sandstone–coal interbedded reservoirs.

Carbon nanotube enhanced water-based drilling fluid for high temperature and high salinity deep resource development

Drilling fluids face failure during drilling deep reservoir with high temperature and high salt.The experimental results show that high temperature and salinity reduce the negative charge on the surface of bentonite in the drilling fluid and cause the coalescence of bentonite particles.As a result,the particles coalesce,the grid structure is destroyed,and the rheological properties,rock-carrying capacity and filtration properties are lost.To resolve the foregoing,in this study,0.05-wt%carbon nanotubes are introduced into a 4%bentonite drilling fluid under conditions where the temperature and concentration of added Na Cl reach 180°C and 10 wt%,respectively.The carbon nanotubes adsorb on the bentonite surface and increase the space among bentonite particles.The steric hindrance prevents the coalescence of bentonite in high temperature and high salt environment.Thus bentonite maintains the small size distribution of bentonite and supports the bentonite grid structure in the drilling fluid.As a result,the rock-carrying capacity of the drilling fluid increases by 85.1%.Moreover,the mud cake formed by the accumulation of small-sized bentonite particles is dense;consequently,the filtration of bentonite drilling fluid reduced by 30.2%.