Benefits of Complementary Surface Vibration and MWD Drilling Mechanics Measurements in a Horizontal Well

Robson, M.S.; Fambon, Luc; Sancho, J.; Sutcliffe, B.C.

doi:10.2523/25689-ms

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Drill string vibration is commonly captured by sensors incorporated in MWD or LWD tools 5,6 . While these tools provide valuable information on the dynamics at the MWD or LWD tools, they are generally fixed with regards to placement and do not always capture high frequency dynamics data.…”

Section: Drilling Vibrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding and Eliminating Drill String Twist-Offs by the Collection of High Frequency Dynamics Data

Raap

Craig

Garcia

2011

SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drill string twist-offs are an expensive problem to the oil and gas drilling industry. With ever increasing rig and operating costs, there is an increased focus to avoid twist-off related expenses, such as: costs associated with time required to trip out of hole and replace the failed components, the cost of repair or replacement of failed equipment, fishing operations and possibly the cost of side-tracking. Oil and gas operators attempt to prevent drill string failures by optimizing the drill string and trajectory designs. Drill string manufacturers aim to engineer drill pipe and tools with ever increasing strength properties and maximum fatigue resistance. In addition to this, drilling contractors and service companies have extensive inspection programs to avoid failure. Despite these efforts, twist-offs remain an important problem for a large number of drilling applications. Recent research and analyses suggest that the majority of drill string failures are caused by fatigue. Since the root cause of a fatigue failure cannot always be identified from surface drilling parameters or laboratory analysis, the evaluation of drilling dynamics data is essential for understanding the cause of a twist-off. This paper will present several case studies from the North Africa region to illustrate the important contribution of drill string vibration on fatigue-related failures. In all cases, high resolution dynamics recorders were incorporated into the BHA, or drill string, close to the location of the twist-off. Analysis of the dynamics data revealed that the drill string was exposed to severe lateral vibration prior to the twist-off events. Furthermore, the observed vibration was the major contributor to the sustained fatigue due to the resulting severe shock loading and increased bending stresses generated during vibration. The paper will also present mitigation practices or changes that were implemented based on the drilling dynamic analyses as well as potential solutions for the remaining case studies. Generally, these solutions are significantly more cost effective than the traditional approaches of reducing twist-offs such as: increased frequency of inspection programs or enhanced mechanical properties on connections and drill strings.

show abstract

Section: Drilling Vibrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding and Eliminating Drill String Twist-Offs by the Collection of High Frequency Dynamics Data

Raap

Craig

Garcia

2011

SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Severe drillstring vibrations can significantly impact the overall success of a drilling operation, causing twist-offs, premature bit failure, low rate of penetration (ROP) and failure of mechanical and electrical BHA components. This has been experienced and studied extensively over the years [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] .…”

Section: High Vibrations In Multi-phase Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drilling With Success: BHA Optimization for Coiled-Tubing Drilling in Harsh Environment

Maehs¹,

Law²,

Pruitt³

et al. 2005

Proceedings of SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing Conference and Exhibition

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractToday's drilling environments require a CTD bottom hole assembly (BHA) be designed to perform in harsh environment. These include drilling in Underbalanced conditions (UB), challenging formations and high temperatures. This paper details findings from Coiled Tubing Drilling (CTD) operations in Alaska, Algeria and Sharjah.These challenging operations required a complex CTD BHA that should be capable of withstanding temperatures in excess of 150°C (300° F), severe vibrations, over-speeding of motors, high-performance positive displacement motors (PDM's), nitrogen intrusion in BHA and PDM elastomer as well as many other challenges.As a result, the CTD BHA was engineered to meet these various challenges. For example, in order to reduce (or better manage) BHA dynamics under extreme vibration levels, a multi-axis vibration sensor was used to optimize the BHA with weight and flexible bars. This permitted the driller to monitor vibration levels in real-time and adjust drilling procedures and parameters (WOB, mud flow, use of circulating sub, etc.) to reduce excessive vibrations. The BHA also had to address telemetry issues and, on the Sharjah nitrogen-drilled wells, an E-line CTD BHA was employed as it was the only way to transmit MWD/LWD data in the multiphase mud flow.The paper will also describe some of the special BHA features like multi-cycle circulating sub use, ECD/pressure management, high-speed motor use and more. And the results of these efforts will be documented with performance and vibration graph comparison.In the previous two years, drilling processes on the Sharjah and Alaska wells were significantly improved for increased footage per day and lower overall well costs. As a result, these projects have been recognized as economic successes and the findings from these wells can be applied to optimize the drill string and drilling parameters for enhanced performance in other challenging environments.

show abstract

“…Commonly, drillstring vibration is measured with shock and vibration sensors installed in MWD or LWD tools [3][4][5] . Whilst these tools provide valuable information on the dynamic conditions at the MWD or LWD tool, these tools are often fixed with regards to placement within the drillstring and are not designed to capture high frequency dynamic data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Frequency Downhole Dynamic Measurements Provide Greater Understanding of Drilling Vibration in Performance Motor Assemblies

Craig¹,

Goodship²,

Shearer³

2010

IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The use of downhole mud motors to improve drilling performance in vertical wells is becoming more common throughout the oil and gas industry. The additional torque provided by a downhole mud motor allows for a more aggressive drill bit design to be selected, and achieve a greater ROP. This paper will present a series of case studies where a near bit dynamics recorder has been used to determine the dynamic conditions below a motor. In several cases a dynamics recorder was also located above the motor, providing two discrete points of measurement.In the first case, near bit dynamic measurements allowed for BHA stick-slip to be identified as the cause for severe bit damage rather than difficult formation as was suspected. In the second case study, a near bit recorder coupled with a recorder above the mud motor identified that a significant level of vibration was generated by the motor. A different motor design was used on the following well and a reduction in vibration severity allowed for the section to be drilled in a shorter time. In the third case study, frequency analysis of near bit dynamic data conclusively identified backwards bit whirl as the cause for severe bit damage.In conclusion, the use of a near bit dynamics recorder has allowed for a greater understanding of the dynamics involved in performance motor assemblies. The application of this knowledge has helped to address the root cause of previously misunderstood vibration problems and improve drilling performance.

show abstract

Benefits of Complementary Surface Vibration and MWD Drilling Mechanics Measurements in a Horizontal Well

Cited by 3 publications

References 1 publication

Understanding and Eliminating Drill String Twist-Offs by the Collection of High Frequency Dynamics Data

Understanding and Eliminating Drill String Twist-Offs by the Collection of High Frequency Dynamics Data

Drilling With Success: BHA Optimization for Coiled-Tubing Drilling in Harsh Environment

High Frequency Downhole Dynamic Measurements Provide Greater Understanding of Drilling Vibration in Performance Motor Assemblies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About