Cuttings Flow Meters Monitor Hole Cleaning in Extended Reach Wells

Naegel, M.; Pradie, E.; Delahaye, T.; Mabile, C.; Roussiaux, G.

doi:10.2118/50677-ms

Cited by 21 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…A specific tool measuring returned cuttings quantity has been developed originally for an exploration drilling campaign in Argentina ten years ago 17 . The instrument is collecting in a tray the cuttings at the outlet of the shale shaker.…”

Section: Cuttings Flow Metermentioning

confidence: 99%

Automatic Measurement of Drilling Fluid and Drill Cuttings Properties

Saasen

Omland

Ekrene³

et al. 2008

IADC/SPE Drilling Conference

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In order to remotely control the drilling process it is necessary to measure several drilling fluid parameters automatically. This will increase objectivity of the measurements as well as make it possible to immediately react to changes. The current paper describes in detail the design for an integrated tool combination and the results of a full size yard test of such a combined set of tools for measuring drilling fluid parameters and formation properties automatically. Some of the automated tools have been tested on rig site operations. Results from these individual tests are also presented.The automatic drilling fluid analysis includes viscosity, fluid loss, electric stability measurements and chemical properties like pH. Full viscosity curves for the drilling fluid are measured using configurations and shear rates similar to those suggested by API procedures. Since gel formation curves and fluid loss properties require some sort of controlled static periods, these measurements are made semi-continuous. However, they are automatic and are measured as frequently as possible.An automatic system is included to measure the particle size distribution, concentration and morphology. Knowledge of these parameters is necessary, especially when drilling in depleted reservoirs where particles are added for increasing the wellbore strength.The produced cuttings volume is measured. An automatic system is adapted that determines, with accuracy comparable to that of visual analysis, whether the particles separated at the shaker screens are drill cuttings or cavings produced by an unstable formation. The mineralogy of the cuttings is analysed automatically using Raman spectroscopy, making it possible to evaluate continuously the different formations being drilled.

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Section: Cuttings Flow Metermentioning

confidence: 99%

Automatic Measurement of Drilling Fluid and Drill Cuttings Properties

Saasen

Omland

Ekrene³

et al. 2008

IADC/SPE Drilling Conference

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“…Problems of criteria to evaluate HCE were the same with foams and conventional fluids. Therefore, a simple experimental set-up, based on the Cutting Flow Meter (CFM) principle [5], was designed to study the carrying capacity of any kind of fluids. In order to simulate the drilled solids, glass balls with different diameters were used (Figure 1).…”

Section: Experimental Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Total Austral has conducted an ERD program in the past years, resulting in high performances in term of drilled length [5]. CFM data available have been used to evaluate the interest of the dimensionless numbers on the rig site.…”

Section: On-sitevalidation Of the Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hole Cleaning Capabilities of Drilling Foams Compared to Conventional Fluids

Saintpere¹,

Marcillat²,

Bruni³

et al. 2000

SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition

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TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThis paper provides a comprehensive analysis of hole cleaning with drilling foam and conventional drilling fluids in inclined wells using a fluid mechanics approach without inertial effect. A simple experimental set-up was designed to study hole cleaning properties of various drilling fluids. Foams with controlled quality were generated and accurately characterized from a rheometrical point of view. These foams behave like shear thinning yield stress fluids and can be described by a Herschel-Bulkley law. Since rheological parameters depend on foam quality, a master rheological curve was obtained by using a volume equalization procedure and the specific volume expansion ratio ε (ratio of the specific volume of the foam to the specific volume of the liquid). Foams and conventional drilling fluids with various rheological characteristics were compared and their behavior regarding hole cleaning was highlighted. The effect of dimensionless parameters such as the Herschel-Bulkley number H b (ratio of the yield stress to the viscous stress), the specific volume expansion ratio ε and the flow characteristic time T * (ratio of the flow time to the residence time of a fluid particle) were investigated. The influence of hole angle, particles size and concentrations were also evaluated. On the one hand, for shear thinning yield stress fluids with the same yield stress and the same flow characteristic time, the higher the Herschel Buckley number, the better the efficiency of cuttings removal in laminar flow. Similarly, increasing the flow characteristic time T * enables better hole cleaning. On the other hand, for higher H b, foam hole cleaning ability is improved at high inclination and is better than with conventional drilling fluids. At these inclinations, "particles dead zones'' are observed and can explain the poor hole cleaning when using conventional drilling fluids. Efficient hole cleaning with foam was found to be strongly dependent on the specific volume expansion ratio ε. Specific inclinations at which the worst hole cleaning is obtained (i.e. 40° to 60°) appears to be a function of particle size and particle concentration initially present in the hole. In conclusion, Hb and characteristic time are good indicators of cuttings removal ability. Extrapolating those numbers to an ERD well would eventually provide an evaluation of the minimum circulating time necessary to remove cuttings.

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“…[4][5][6]. Additionally, cuttings can be removed effectively and efficiently in extended-reach wells by pumping fluid at a high flow rate [7]. The effect of this methodology is apparent in short-reach wells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) on Newtonian and Two-phase Slurry Flow through the Annulus

Siddiqui¹,

Rahman²

2023

Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Fluid Flow, Heat and Mass Transfer (FFHMT 2023)

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The objective of the study is to visualize the impact of fluid flow rate, fluid rheology, drill pipe rotation and eccentricity of drill pipe on cutting transport, transitional velocity profile, the effect of near-wall fluid turbulence and drag stress with and without the solid cuttings bed to mimic best drilling conditions for horizontal wells in ex-situ conditions. The analysis has conducted using combined techniques of Laser-induced Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), Seeding/fluorescent tracers tracking, and Refractive Index Matching (RIM). Experiments have been performed on a plant-scale multiphase flow loop. The pipe sections of the flow loop and investigation area were made up of acrylic glass to imagine fluid flow patterns better. Biopolymer Flowzan® is used in different concentrations to obtain non-Newtonian characteristics of the liquid. For PIV analysis, seeding particles of a hollow glass material having a uniform diameter of 20 nm and fluorescent particles of size 20-30 μm were used to track and illuminate particles. A class IV LASER was used to illuminate the flow field inside the RIM box. The premixed seeding and fluorescent particles with the flow were tracked to evaluate the velocity field for the respective interested area by the PIV system. A high-speed CCD Phantom® v7.3 camera was utilized to capture flowing particles under the laser field. Both Laser and camera were placed in the normal position to capture PIV images. The refraction Matching Index (RIM) method was applied to calibrate the system by introducing the same fluid inside the RIM box to avoid the error of particle position in the annulus due to glass-liquid-glass refraction. To evaluate the statistics for the desired velocity field of the flow acquired, data was thoroughly investigated with DaVis 8.4 software. Additionally, the turbulent behavior of the slurry flow has also been identified with high preciseness, and the corresponding characteristics of the suspended particles were also observed at the same time. The velocity field outcomes will suggest that at the bottom of the annulus section, the velocity at the near-wall region deviates from the bulk velocity of the fluid because of the solid accumulation tendency. However, a higher flow rate of the slurry may introduce more suspended solid particles, which can eventually result in a uniform velocity field for the whole annulus section. The fluid flow patterns were altered due to drill pipe rotations and solid particles' helical motion. The rotation of the drill pipe resulted in the solid and tracer particles scattered more uniformly in the annular cross-section, which provided a constructive impression on the cutting transport. This technique provides a better prediction of mass and momentum transfer and identification of velocity profiles and pressure drop gradient in multiphase flow on a large scale.

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Cuttings Flow Meters Monitor Hole Cleaning in Extended Reach Wells

Cited by 21 publications

References 0 publications

Automatic Measurement of Drilling Fluid and Drill Cuttings Properties

Automatic Measurement of Drilling Fluid and Drill Cuttings Properties

Hole Cleaning Capabilities of Drilling Foams Compared to Conventional Fluids

Application of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) on Newtonian and Two-phase Slurry Flow through the Annulus

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