Drilling of Horizontal Wells in Carbonate Reservoirs of Middle East for Petroleum Production – Investigation of Hydraulics for the Effect of Tool Joints

Year 2018, Volume: 5 Issue: 3, 239 - 247, 30.09.2018

Tuna Eren

https://doi.org/10.17350/HJSE19030000103

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Drilling of a horizontal well to produce petroleum is a task which needs careful planning. The foremost advantage of an openhole horizontal well completion is having the pay zone with the least drilling damage. The first task whether a well can be completed in open hole is by knowing if the formation once drilled is competent enough so that it can remain intact or not. Once the formation is declared and/or proofed to be competent and drilling of the horizontal well is approved there should be enough time to ensure that all equipment and services are going to be available. This study synopsises a brief literature review regarding effects of tool joints during drilling. A diligently planned horizontal well design for Middle East formations is given in this study. The effects of tool joints on the drillpipes are taken into consideration for the calculation of frictional pressure losses in annulus and equivalent circulating density itself. The operational steps while drilling the horizontal well are synopsised in this manuscript, which can be a useful guide for future applications in various petroleum and gas fields. The study also includes frictional pressure calculations for non-newtonian fluids used in drilling operations. The results indicate whether while drilling a horizontal well the fracture gradient of the petroleum reservoir formation is exceeded or not. The study can be improved further by means of considering the effects of temperature on the behaviour of the drilling fluids

Keywords

Open hole, Horizontal well, Completion, Limestone reservoir, Pressure depletion, Drilling, Tool joint, Equivalent circulating density

References

• 1. Aguilera. R., Cordell. G.M., Nicholl. G.W. Contributions in Petroleum Geology and Engineering Volume 9: Horizontal Wells, Gulf Publishing Company, Calgary, Alberta, 1991.
• 2. API Recommended Practice 13D. Recommended Practice on Rheology and Hydraulics of Oil-well Fluids, 6th edition, Washington, 2010.
• 3. Azar, J.J. and Samuel, G.R. Drilling Engineering, PennWell Books, Tulsa, OK, 2007.
• 4. Viloria O.M. Analysis of drilling fluid rheology and tool joint effect to reduce errors in hydraulics calculations. PhD diss., Texas A&M University, 2006.
• 5. Enfis, M.S., Ahmed, R.M. and Saasen, A. The hydraulic effect of tool-joint on annular pressure loss. Paper presented at the SPE Production and Operations Symposium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, 27-29 March. Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX, pp. 1-11, 2011.
• 6. Simoes, S. Q., Miska, S. Z., Takach, N. E., & Yu, M. The Effect of Tool Joints on ECD While Drilling. Paper presented at the Production and Operations Symposium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, 31 March-3 April. Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX, pp. 1-8, 2007.
• 7. Jeong, Y.T., & Shah, S. N. Analysis of Tool Joint Effects for Accurate Friction Pressure Loss Calculations. Paper presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, Dallas, Texas, USA, 2-4 March. Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX, pp. 1-8, 2004.
• 8. Al-Ameri, T.K., Jafar M.S.A., Pitman J. Hydrocarbon Generation Modeling of the Basrah Oil Fields, Southern Iraq. http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/documents /2011/20116alameri/ndx_alameri.pdf. Search and Discovery Article No 20116. Retrieved on 2016-03-30. 2011.
• 9. Arshad, U., Jain, B., Ramzan, M., Alward, W., Diaz, L., Hasan, I., Ali, A., Riji, C. Engineered Solution to Reduce the Impact of Lost Circulation During Drilling and Cementing in Rumaila Field, Iraq. Presented at the International Petroleum Technology Conference, Qatar, 6-9 December. Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX, pp. 1-17, 2015.
• 10. Devereux, S. Practical well planning and drilling manual. PennWell Books, Tulsa, OK, 1998.
• 11. Adams, N. and Charrier, T. Drilling engineering: a complete well planning approach. Pennwell Corp., Tulsa, OK, 1985.
• 12. Eren T., Ozkale A., Ozer C., Kirbiyik S. A Case Study: Comparison of the Theoretical and Actual Drilling Hydraulic Pressures for Wells in Turkey. Presented at the 17th International Petroleum and Natural Gas Congress and Exhibition, Ankara, Turkey, 29 May, pp. 1-6, 2007.
• 13. API Specification 7. Specification for Rotary Dril Stem Elements, 40th edition, Washington, 2002.