A Mathematical Model and a Method for the Calculation of the Downhole Pressure in Composite-Perforation Technological Processes

Using the conservation equations for mass,momentum and energy,a model is elaborated to describe the dynamics of high-energy gases in composite-perforation technological processes.The model includes a precise representation of the gunpowder combustion and related killing fluid displacement.Through numerical solution of such equations,the pressure distribution of the high-energy gas in fractures is obtained,and used to determine crack propagation.The accuracy of the model is verified by comparing the simulation results with actual measurements.

Design and Fluid-Dynamic Analysis of a Flushing Nozzle for Drilling Applications

The actuator is a key component of the creaming tool in drilling applications.Its jet performances determine the effective reaming efficiency.In this work,a new selective reaming tool is proposed and the RNG k-εturbulence model is used to calculate its internal and externalflowfields.In particular,special attention is paid to the design of theflushing nozzle.The results show that the jet originating from theflushing nozzle has a significant influence on rock cutting and blade cooling effects.In turn,the jet performances depend on geometric structure of the creaming actuator.In this framework,a conical-cylindrical nozzle with a diameter of 7 mm is initially considered as a basis to implement a strategy to optimize the structural parameters of the reaming actuator,and improve the related side tracking reconstruction technology.

Development of a High-Temperature Thixotropic Cement Slurry System

Cementing carbonate reservoirs is generally a difficult task.The so-called thixotropic cement slurry has gained considerable attention in this regard as it can help tofix some notable problems.More precisely,it can easilyfill the leakage layer;moreover,its gelling strength can grow rapidly when pumping stops,thereby increasing the resistance to gas channeling,effectively preventing this undesired phenomenon in many cases.High-temperature thixotropic cement slurry systems,however,are still in an early stage of development and additional research is needed to make them a viable option.In the present study,using a self-developed composite high-temperature thixotropic additive as a basis,it is shown that the compressive strength can be adjusted by tuning the proportion of silica sand,the high-temperature retarder,fluid loss additive and dispersant(compatible with the thixotropic additive).According to the tests,the developed high-temperature thixotropic cement slurry system has a 14 d compressive strength of 29.73 MPa at 150°C,and a thickening time of 330 min when the dosage of retarder is 2%.At the same time,the rheological property,water loss,permeability,water separation rate,and settlement stability of the cement slurry system meet the requirements of cementing construction.

Progress in Global Gas Hydrate Development and Production as a New Energy Resource

Natural gas hydrates have been hailed as a new and promising unconventional alternative energy,especially as fossil fuels approach depletion,energy consumption soars,and fossil fuel prices rise,owing to their extensive distribution,abundance,and high fuel efficiency.Gas hydrate reservoirs are similar to a storage cupboard in the global carbon cycle,containing most of the world's methane and accounting for a third of Earth's mobile organic carbon.We investigated gas hydrate stability zone burial depths from the viewpoint of conditions associated with stable existence of gas hydrates,such as temperature,pressure,and heat flow,based on related data collected by the global drilling programs.Hydrate-related areas are estimated using various biological,geochemical and geophysical tools.Based on a series of previous investigations,we cover the history and status of gas hydrate exploration in the USA,Japan,South Korea,India,Germany,the polar areas,and China.Then,we review the current techniques for hydrate exploration in a global scale.Additionally,we briefly review existing techniques for recovering methane from gas hydrates,including thermal stimulation,depressurization,chemical injection,and CH4-CO2 exchange,as well as corresponding global field trials in Russia,Japan,United States,Canada and China.In particular,unlike diagenetic gas hydrates in coarse sandy sediments in Japan and gravel sediments in the United States and Canada,most gas hydrates in the northem South China Sea are non-diagenetic and exist in fine-grained sediments with a vein-like morphology.Therefore,especially in terms of the offshore production test in gas hydrate reservoirs in the Shenhu area in the north slope of the South China Sea,Chinese scientists have proposed two unprecedented techniques that have been verified during the field trials:solid fluidization and formation fluid extraction.Herein,we introduce the two production techniques,as well as the so-called"fbur-in-one"environmental monitoring system employed during the Shenhu production test.Methane is not currently commercially produced from gas hydrates anywhere in the world;therefore,the objective of field trials is to prove whether existing techniques could be applied as feasible and economic production methods for gas hydrates in deep-water sediments and permafrost zones.Before achieving commercial methane recovery from gas hydrates,it should be necessary to measure the geologic properties of gas hydrate reservoirs to optimize and improve existing production techniques.Herein,we propose horizontal wells,multilateral wells,and cluster wells improved by the vertical and in dividual wells applied during existing field trials.It is noteworthy that relatively pure gas hydrates occur in seafloor mounds,within near-surface sediments,and in gas migration conduits.Their extensive distribution,high saturation,and easy access mean that these types of gas hydrate may attract considerable attention from academia and industry in the future.Herein,we also review the occurrence and development of concentrated shallow hydrate accumulations and briefly introduce exploration and production techniques.In the closing section,we discuss future research needs,key issues,and major challenges related to gas hydrate exploration and production.We believe this review article provides insight on past,present,and future gas hydrate exploration and production to provide guidelines and stimulate new work into the field of gas hydrates.

Prediction of the Mooring Force of a 2-D Floating Oil Storage Tank

A Constrained Interpolation Profile(CIP)-based model is developed to predict the mooring force of a two- dimensional floating oil storage tank under wave conditions, which is validated against to a newly performed experiment. In the experiment, a box-shaped floating oil storage apparatus is used. Computations are performed by an improved CIP-based Cartesian grid model, in which the THINC/SW scheme(THINC: tangent of hyperbola for interface capturing; SW: Slope Weighting), is used for interface capturing. A multiphase flow solver is adopted to treat the water-air-body interactions. The Immersed Boundary Method(IBM) is implemented to treat the body surface. Main attention is paid to the sum force of mooring line and velocity field around the body. It is found that the sum force of the mooring line increases with increasing wave amplitude. The body suffers from water wave impact and large body motions occur near the free surface. The vortex occurs near the sharp edge, i.e., the sharp bottom corners of the floating oil storage tank and the vortex shedding can be captured by the present numerical model. The present model could be further improved by including turbulence model which is currently under development. Comparison between the computational mooring forces and the measured mooring forces is presented with a reasonable agreement. The developed numerical model can predict the mooring line forces very well.

Stability of the formation interface under the impact of hydraulic fracture propagation in the vicinity of the formation interface

Unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs in layered formations,such as tight sandstones and shales,are continually being developed.Hydraulic fracturing is a critical technology for the high-efficiency development of hydrocarbon reservoirs.Understanding the stress field and stability of the formation interface is vital to understanding stress propagation,preferably before the growing hydraulic fracture contacts the formation interface.In this study,models are developed for computing the stress field of hydraulic fracture propagation near the formation interface,and the stress fields within and at the two sides of the formation interface are analyzed.Four failure modes of the interface under the impact of hydraulic fracture propagation in its vicinity are identified,and the corresponding failure criteria are proposed.By simulating the magnitude and direction of peak stress at different parameters,the failure mode and stability of the formation interface are analyzed.Results reveal that when the interface strength is weak,the formation interface fails before the growing hydraulic fracture contacts it,and its stability is significantly related to a variety of factors,including the type of formation interface,rock mechanical properties,far-field stress,structural parameters,distance between the hydraulic fracture and formation interface,and fracturing execution parameters.

Logging-while-drilling formation dip interpretation based on long short-term memory

Azimuth gamma logging while drilling(LWD)is one of the important technologies of geosteering but the information of real-time data transmission is limited and the interpretation is difficult.This study proposes a method of applying artificial intelligence in the LWD data interpretation to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of real-time data processing.By examining formation response characteristics of azimuth gamma ray(GR)curve,the preliminary formation change position is detected based on wavelet transform modulus maxima(WTMM)method,then the dynamic threshold is determined,and a set of contour points describing the formation boundary is obtained.The classification recognition model based on the long short-term memory(LSTM)is designed to judge the true or false of stratum information described by the contour point set to enhance the accuracy of formation identification.Finally,relative dip angle is calculated by nonlinear least square method.Interpretation of azimuth gamma data and application of real-time data processing while drilling show that the method proposed can effectively and accurately determine the formation changes,improve the accuracy of formation dip interpretation,and meet the needs of real-time LWD geosteering.

Investigation of regulating rheological properties of water-based drilling fluids by ultrasound

Regulating rheological properties of water-based drilling fluids has always been a hot topic.This paper proposed a new method for regulating rheological properties of water-based drilling fluids by ultrasonic field.The experimental results showed that the ultrasound increased the viscosity and yield point of bentonite suspension by reducing the particle size of clay,destroying the network structure between clay particles,increasing the mud yield and the cation exchange capacity of bentonite,and promoting the hydration dispersion of bentonite.The change of rheological property showed a memory effect at room temperature and high temperature.Besides,the ultrasonic energy affected the network structure between clays and polymer chains,thus regulating the rheological properties of the bentonite-polymer system.For two types of drilling fluids investigated,the rheology of the poly-sulfonate drilling fluid was regulated by damaging the grid structure between additives and clays by low-power ultrasound and reducing the clay particle size by high-power ultrasound,while the rheology of the deep-water drilling fluid was mainly regulated by disentangling the spatial grid structure between additives.Additionally,ultrasound showed no effect on the lubricity,inhibition and stability of drilling fluids,which proved the feasibility of ultrasound to regulate rheological properties of water-based drilling fluids.

Porosity Calculation of Tight Sand Gas Reservoirs with GA-CM Hybrid Optimization Log Interpretation Method

Tight sand gas reservoirs are our country’s fairly rich unconventional natural gas resources, and their exploration and development is of prime importance. Sulige Gas Field which located in the northern Ordos Basin is tight sand gas reservoirs. It is typically featured by low porosity and low permeability, and the error of porosity calculation by traditional methods is larger. Multicomponent explanation model is built by analyzing the thin slice data, and the objective function is got according to the concept of optimization log interpretation method. This paper puts the Genetic Algorithm and the Complex Algorithm together to form the GA-CM Hybrid Algorithm for searching the optimal solution of the objective function, getting the porosity of tight sandstone gas reservoirs. The deviation got by this method is lesser compared with the core porosity, with a high reliability.

Analysis of Buoyancy Module Auxiliary Installation Technology Based on Numerical Simulation

To reduce the requirement for lifting capacity and decrease the hoist cable force during the descending and laying process of a subsea production system(SPS), a buoyancy module auxiliary installation technology was proposed by loading buoyancy modules on the SPS to reduce the lifting weight. Two models are established, namely, the SPS lowering-down model and the buoyancy module floating-up model. The main study results are the following: 1) When the buoyancy module enters the water under wave condition, the amplitude of tension fluctuation is twice that when SPS enters water; 2) Under current condition, the displacement of SPS becomes three times larger because of the existence of the buoyancy module; 3) After being released, the velocity of the buoyancy module increases to a large speed rapidly and then reaches a balancing speed gradually. The buoyancy module floats up at a balancing speed and rushes out from the water at a pop-up distance; 4) In deep water, the floating-up velocity of the buoyancy module is related to its mass density and shape, and it is not related to water depth; 5) A drag parachute can reduce floating-up velocity and pop-up distance effectively. Good agreement was found between the simulation and experiment results.

Probabilistic Methods for Reliability Assessment of Floating Structures Based on Extreme Wave Simulation

With the increasing application of floating platforms in deep waters and harsh environments,a proper assessment of the reliability of floating structures is important to ensure that these structures can operate safely during their design lives.This study outlines a practical methodology for reliability analysis of a semi-submersible platform based estimating the probability distribution of the extreme response in rough sea conditions(survival conditions).The Constrained NewWave(CNW)theory combined with Monte Carlo simulations was first applied to simulate the random wave surface elevation process in the time domain.A Gumbel distribution was the best fitting to describe the dynamically sensitive extreme response statistics under extreme waves(drift and mooring tension).The derived probability distribution of the extreme response was subsequently used in estimation of the associated limit state func-tion,and a reliability analysis of the floating structure was conducted using the Monte Carlo method.A semi-submersible platform in a water depth of 1500 m subjected to extreme wave loads was used to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed methodology.The probability of failure of the semi-submersible when considering mooring lines tension is greater than considering drift.

Research on the Optimization of a Drilling Rock Breaking Method Based on Fuzzy Cluster Analysis

Improving drilling efficiency is the best way to reduce drilling costs and the choice of the drilling mode is instrumental in doing so.At present,however,a standard approach for the optimization of these processes does not exists yet.Through a comparative statistical analysis of the rock-breaking mechanisms and the characteristics of different drilling methods,this research proposes a set of cues to achieve this objective.Available statistical data are classified by means of a fuzzy cluster analysis according to the anti-drilling characteristic parameters of formation.The results show that different drilling methods rely on their own rock breaking mechanisms and have distinct characteristics.The rotary table drilling method is the most commonly used drilling mode,however,it displays some limitations with regard to deep wells,ultra-deep wells and difficult formations.The combined drilling method has the advantages of both the rotary table drilling and the down-hole power drilling modes.Polycrystalline diamond compact(PDC)drill bits can lead to good results for medium hardness and weakly abrasive formations.Underbalanced drilling for formations with high hardness and strong abrasiveness displays some limitations.

Response laws of rock electrical property and saturation evaluation method of tight sandstone

To solve the problem that the law of rock electrical response under low and medium water saturation in tight sandstone reservoirs is not clear, an experimental method of high-speed centrifugal displacement rock electricity and nuclear magnetic resonance T2 spectrometry under different water saturation was proposed, which can drive the tight sandstone cores with the permeability less than 0.1×10^-3 μm^2, and provide a reliable experimental means for the study of tight sandstone electrical property. By carrying out supporting experiments such as high-resolution CT scan, MAPS and Qemscan, a multi-mineral component fine three-dimensional digital core based on multi-source information fusion was constructed. The finite element numerical simulation method was used to obtain the electrical response of tight sandstone core with low water saturation which cannot be obtained in laboratory conditions. By combining experiment and numerical simulation, the electrical response laws have been clear of tight sandstone with complex pore structure, and the saturation evaluation method of variable rock electrical parameters based on pore structure has been developed. The processing of logging data of multiple wells in tight sandstone reservoir of Chang 7 Member in the Ordos Basin shows that this method can obtain more accurate oil saturation, and provides a new idea and method for fine logging evaluation of tight sandstone reservoir.

Attenuation of microwave transmission in a diameter-variable drill string bore

With the drill string hole being regarded as an ultra-long irregular lossy cylindrical waveguide, the optimal frequency point for microwave transmission was calculated according to the electromagnetic wave coupling theory, the attenuation law and efficient transmission distance of microwave channel were obtained and the microwave mode in the waveguide was analyzed. Furthermore, the channel model and signal attenuation model were established by the microwave transmission equivalent circuit method. The power attenuation coefficient per unit of length was proposed to simplify the analysis on effective transmission distance for the ultra-long drill string. The optimal frequency points of 139.7 mm(5.5 in) and 127 mm(5 in) API drill pipes are 2.04 GHz and 2.61 GHz, respectively, and there are several inner diameter varying sections and break points in the drill string hole along the axial direction. The microwave transmission suffers a lot of reflections. The channel impedance change is a key factor affecting the transmission quality. The lab and field tests reveal that the attenuation model established in this paper is accurate, and it is applicable to the design of microwave transmission measurement while drilling system.