Formation-Damage Observations on Oil-Based-Fluid Systems Weighted With
Treated Micronized Barite

Kageson-Loe, Nils M.; Massam, Jarrod; Prebensen, Ole Iacob; Zwaag, Claas van der; Taugbøl, Knut; Omland, Tor Henry

doi:10.2523/107802-ms

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…These showed acceptable return permeability data for the OB TMB system when tested on Statfjord core material 17 . A comparative study 17 concludes that particle size distributions of the OB TMB and the extreme fineness of the barite particles means that particles appear as part of the fluid filtrate rather than as a separate solids phase. The probability for plugging of any pores that control permeability in a porous rock is therefore very low.…”

Section: Drilling Fluids Selectionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Drilling and Completion Challenges of the Statfjord Late Life Project

Hovring

Løklingholm

Zwaag

et al. 2009

SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition

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The further development of the Statfjord field for the Late Life pressure blowdown phase requires the drilling and completion of many infill wells from existing slots. The overall objective of these wells is to maximize oil production in the short term whilst securing future gas delivery potential for the late life phase. Well design to meet this objective is challenging. The Statfjord and Brent formations are sand prone and robust mechanical sand control completions are required in order to secure offtake rates during late life production. Also, after 28 years of production and water injection, the drilling and completion of wells through the differentially depleted formations is challenging due to a narrow pore pressure/fracture pressure window. Furthermore, the reservoir formations are substantially interlayered with shale sections and this meant that wellbore stability issues would pose significant challenges.Initial Late-Life well designs were based on drilling long open hole sections with an oil-based drilling mud providing low Equivalent Circulating Density (ECD), displacing the well to brine, and then running sand screens and performing an open hole gravel pack (OHGP) across the reservoir section with a conventional water pack. During the last three and a half years 27 Late-Life producers have been drilled and completed. This paper summarizes the operator's experiences over this period with emphasis on well design, drilling and completion tools, well fluid technology and well productivity. It explains how ambitions and well design had to be reassesed in order to overcome several challenges with the selected drilling and completion strategy.

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Section: Drilling Fluids Selectionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Drilling and Completion Challenges of the Statfjord Late Life Project

Hovring

Løklingholm

Zwaag

et al. 2009

SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition

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“…These knowledge will on its hand allow to optimise the distribution of particles when it reaches the bottom of the hole where the filter cake should be created. Certain experiments in this direction were also presented in (Kageson-Loe et al, 2007) indicating that additional measurements allow better control of the drilling process. The study also indicated the possibility of using cuttings as material for filter-cake.…”

Section: Matching Ideal Distribution Downholementioning

confidence: 98%

“…Successful development and application of such technology in today's mixing facilities will be a great improvement, as all of these measurements are manual with limited frequency -normally every few hours. Applications and benefits of such measurement systems in drilling operations are described in (Kageson-Loe et al, 2007;Ronaes et al, 2012), Access to reliable continuous measurements is of great benefit to the mud engineer, as this increase in information will help improve the decision process.…”

Section: Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Closing the Loop on Drilling Fluid Management Control

et al. 2015

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The important task of managing the drilling fluid during drilling operations is traditionally performed by highly qualified mud engineers at the rig site, following the constraints of the drilling fluid program, designed prior to commencing drilling operations. Due to uncertainty in planning data, the fluids specification may in many cases be unsuitable for the actual conditions in the well, requiring manual adjustments. However, ongoing developments in mechanization, robotics and real-time sensor technology for drilling fluids processing on the rig are making possible a revolution in fluids control. Based on such new and developing technology, we here consider the possibility of computer enabled closed loop real-time optimization of the drilling fluids property management on the rig.Automated drilling fluids optimization may be performed within the constraints of the parameter ranges of the drilling fluid program, and with respect to more complex downhole behavior such as hole cleaning efficiency, affected by the combination of multiple fluids properties. Computationally inexpensive local optimization algorithms are sufficient for our purpose, requiring input from fluid compositional models. Such models are briefly reviewed. Standard interfaces are further required in order to apply input from third party models or correlation tables. We consider mixing scenarios where the domain of the optimization problem is constrained by the type and quantity of additives available on the rig site, and where automated sensors and computer controlled mixing technologies currently becoming available are assumed applied.Examples of drilling fluids optimization control functionality are presented. The applied methods and algorithms can take advantage of highly instrumented surface installations, but may also be adapted to a more conventional set-up with limited real-time measurements, at the cost of lower accuracy. Correlations between composition and the various optimization targets may be visualized as an aid in the supervisory decision process. Requirements with regards to modelling and methods of control are discussed, and the status of development of enabling technology is presented, indicating also perceived technology gaps. Finally, results from simulations with a software prototype are reported.The presented methodology complements recent efforts made in the field of drilling fluid mixing automation: while previous focus has often been on robotization of the process and on supervised control, such as maintaining a specified fluid density, the described approach allows for automatic redesign of the fluid composition. It is particularly well-suited for situations where down-hole conditions change rapidly, as they are accounted for in the optimization procedure.

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“…Effective ECD management requires a fluid with low viscosity, low friction losses, and minimal pressure spikes when breaking circulation to minimize the impact of potential surge and swab situations. 1,2 Maintaining efficient hole cleaning with good suspension properties is critical, but these properties can be at odds with the viscosity desired for ECD reduction. This narrow balancing act also requires proper suspension to avoid weighting agent settling, commonly known as barite sag.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Proven Anti-Sag Technologies for HPHT North Sea Applications: Clay-Free Oil-Based Fluid and Synthetic, Sub-Micron Weight Material

Carbajal

Burress

Shumway

et al. 2009

SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition

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North Sea wells drilled in high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) areas are known for presenting barite sag challenges. Fluid densities in the 17.5-18.0 lbm/gal range require a high percentage of barite, and 400°F temperatures can adversely impact the rheological properties needed for reliable suspension. Further, horizontal and extended reach drilling (ERD) wells can require specific hydraulic parameters for hole cleaning that may entail comparatively high pump rates which can contribute to excessive equivalent circulating densities (ECD).Drilling fluid companies initially responded to these challenges by utilizing modified barite and alternative weighting agents. Micronized barite has been used to help lower ECD values for years. However, a non-barite manganese tetraoxide weighting agent has proven to provide equivalent anti-sag at a lower cost. The sub-micron sized material has a specific gravity (sg) of 4.8, which is higher than barite. Per Stokes' law, small particles settle more slowly so that sag resistance improves which is important during extended static periods like during extensive coring operations. Manganese tetraoxide is also acid-soluble. These parameters provide more operational flexibility.The manganese tetraoxide weight material has now been tested successfully in a clay-free and economical paraffin/mineral oil-based fluid (OBF) for use in North Sea HPHT applications. The low-solids, clay-free system has a long history of reducing ECD and minimizing downhole losses while drilling, running casing and cementing. The 17.9 lbm/gal fluid weighted with manganese tetraoxide material exhibits effective hole cleaning properties at lower viscosities than conventional OBFs and shows no detectable sag tendency. Clay-free fluids also demonstrate excellent return permeability values in a wide range of well types. This paper details the design and testing of the clay-free ERD system, including extreme HPHT static aging and sag testing and modifications to the emulsifier package. The economics of implementing the commercial system are also discussed.

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Formation-Damage Observations on Oil-Based-Fluid Systems Weighted With Treated Micronized Barite

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Drilling and Completion Challenges of the Statfjord Late Life Project

Drilling and Completion Challenges of the Statfjord Late Life Project

Towards Closing the Loop on Drilling Fluid Management Control

Combining Proven Anti-Sag Technologies for HPHT North Sea Applications: Clay-Free Oil-Based Fluid and Synthetic, Sub-Micron Weight Material

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