Cleaning Horizontal Wellbores Efficiently with Reverse Circulation Combining with Wiper Trip for Coiled Tubing Annulus Fracturing Application

Li, Jeff; Aitken, William; Jumawid, Fiedel; Alingig, Gerald

doi:10.2523/130638-ms

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Several cleanout techniques have been developed over the years; these include stationary circulation, wiper tripping 1-7 , reverse circulation 8 , sand vacuuming technology 9 , and venturi sand/junk bailers.…”

Section: Overview Sand Cleanout Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fill Cleanout Operations in Offshore Saudi Arabian Fields: Case Histories toward Improving Economics and Operational Logistics

et al. 2013

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Coiled tubing (CT) fill cleanouts have been in existence for over four decades and today account for approximately 30% of the services performed. Both CT and conventional jointed pipe offer a forward or reverse circulation mode to remove solids; however, using conventional water-based fluids, a sand cleanout method may apply excess hydrostatic pressure to the formation, resulting in some lost circulation to a sub-hydrostatic reservoir. Nitrogen (N 2 ) can be used to reduce hydrostatics, but this requires a very precise job design and execution. Moreover, N 2 use can have adverse logistical and economic implications -large amounts of N 2 may be needed, especially in larger diameter wellbores and in horizontal wells.Several cleanout methods have been utilized in the past, employing a variety of different approaches. CT historically has incorporated limited circulation rates, exotic/costly fluids and reversing circulation to remove solids. The use of CT to remove sand from wellbores was one of its earliest applications and continues to be an important service today. This paper will discuss cost-effective solutions in Saudi Arabia, highlighting field cases and job optimization. The selection of the most appropriate sand cleanout method has to be based on both logistical and technical issues. This paper shows how to select the most cost-effective fills cleanout method for these wells. A few field cases are discussed to demonstrate the proper operational procedure, challenges and lessons learned. The combination of how to utilize the sophisticated solids transport software, downhole switchable nozzle, and proper operational procedure with the frequent evaluation of downhole conditions on site is essential to insure the fills cleanout is executed 100% successfully.

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Section: Overview Sand Cleanout Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fill Cleanout Operations in Offshore Saudi Arabian Fields: Case Histories toward Improving Economics and Operational Logistics

et al. 2013

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“…Several cleanout techniques have been developed over the years, these include stationary circulation, wiper tripping 1-7 , reverse circulation [8][9] , sand vacuuming technology 10 , and venturi sand/junk bailers. out of the wellbore is a routine industry practice.…”

Section: Overview Sand Cleanout Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[8][9] : In some cases the forward circulation mode cannot effectively clean the fill out of the wellbore because the size of CT limits the achievable circulation rate required for circulation/wiper trip methods. Effective job design is achieved by using powerful computer simulation software developed specifically for this application.…”

Section: Wiper Trip Hole Cleaningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coiled Tubing Sand Clean Outs Utilizing BHA Technology and Simulation Software in Demanding Wellbore Geometries

Green

2011

All Days

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TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractAlthough efforts are made to reduce or eliminate sand production in a producing well, sometimes sand fill is an unavoidable by-product of well conditions and the need for a cleanout intervention is necessary. Various cleanout methods have been utilized in the past, including the use of coiled tubing. Removing sand fill from a well using coiled tubing is one of the earliest applications for CT and continues to be an important service to the industry today.Historically, coiled tubing cleanouts have incorporated high circulation rates, exotic/costly fluids and reverse circulation to remove solids. Many of these conventional sand cleanout methods often apply excess hydrostatic pressure on the formation, resulting in lost circulation in low formation pressure reservoirs. Incorporating large liner geometries with smaller completion restrictions magnifies the task at hand as the annular velocities are drastically reduced even with higher coiled tubing circulation rates.Using a specially developed cleanout tool and a computer simulator for solids transport provides an opportunity to optimize the operation for the removal of solids to near 100% efficiency, with all fluidized solids being removed. Simplified operational procedures allow for making a more qualitative decision about the cleanout efficiency. This paper will show cost effective solutions utilized in Saudi Arabia from 2007 to present by providing an overview of all field cases and job optimization. The main focus of the paper will be to highlight and compare the coiled tubing cleanout job design process, operational procedures, results, and lessons learned from two case studies; the first case study being a successful cleanout, while in the second case study the cleanout objective was not achieved.

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Challenging the Industry's Understanding of Hole Cleaning During the Drillouts of Frac Plugs with a New Holistic Approach

Ryan

Gohari

Bilic

et al. 2019

SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition

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Development of unconventional reservoirs in North America has increased significantly over the past decade. The increased activity in this space has provided significant data with respect to through-tubing drillouts which had previously not been attainable. This paper is focused on using the field data from the Montney and Duvernay formations along with laboratory data and numerical modeling to understand the hole cleanout associated with through-tubing drillouts of frac plugs. Initially, an extensive full-scale flow loop laboratory testing program was conducted to obtain data on debris transportation for hole cleanout during through-tubing applications. The testing was conducted on various coiled tubing (CT)-production tubing configurations using various solid particles. The laboratory data was used to develop empirical correlations needed for a transient debris transport model. This model was then used for frac plug drillouts to ensure successful hole cleaning in actual field applications. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling was also used to further understand and quantify the differences between the laboratory data, field data and transient debris transport model results. The objective of the work conducted was to gain a better understanding of debris transport and validate the empirical modelling approach developed for hole cleaning. The validation process was conducted in several stages. The first stage was to validate the laboratory data against the Montney and Duvernay field data. The second stage was to verify the results obtained from the empirical model against the results obtained from a computational fluid dynamic model. The results from both modelling approaches were lastly compared to the field data. All these results challenge the current industry's understanding and best practices for through-tubing drillouts in the Montney and Duvernay formations. With the contentious increase of lateral lengths and higher stage counts, the process of drilling out frac plugs has become more complex. This study explicitly benefits all operators in their ever-increasing need to understand their frac plug drillout operations to ensure efficient, cost effective, and most importantly, consistent and repeatable results. While efficient results for frac plug drillout operations have been accomplished to date, the on-going feedback from the field has been the requirement to produce repeatable drillouts. This paper is the first to show a holistic approach for obtaining a transient debris transport model used for through-tubing drillouts of frac plugs. The novelty also consists of the transient debris transport model validation through laboratory data and actual Montney and Duvernay field data.

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Cleaning Horizontal Wellbores Efficiently with Reverse Circulation Combining with Wiper Trip for Coiled Tubing Annulus Fracturing Application

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Fill Cleanout Operations in Offshore Saudi Arabian Fields: Case Histories toward Improving Economics and Operational Logistics

Fill Cleanout Operations in Offshore Saudi Arabian Fields: Case Histories toward Improving Economics and Operational Logistics

Coiled Tubing Sand Clean Outs Utilizing BHA Technology and Simulation Software in Demanding Wellbore Geometries

Challenging the Industry's Understanding of Hole Cleaning During the Drillouts of Frac Plugs with a New Holistic Approach

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