The calcuation of single phase and two phase flowing pressure gradients in a well annulus is generally based on an extension of empirical correlations developed for Newtonian fluids in circular pipes. Various techniques for extending pipe flow correlations to an annular geometry have been presented in the literature which involve the representation of the annular well geometry with an equivalent circular diameter and the representation of non-Newtonian fluid behavior with an apparent Newtonian viscosity. Unfortunately, little experimental data have been available which would allow a comparison of the relative accuracy of the various proposed techniques. In this study, experimental pressure gradient data have been taken in two 6000 ft. wells. Frictional pressure losses for single phase flow (mud only) in two annuli were compared to values predicted by the Bingham Plastic and Power law Models. These calculations utilized the equivalent diameters defined by the Crittendon criteria, the hydraulic radius, and the slot approximation. Also, total pressure difference for two-phase flow was measured for one annular geometry. This data was compared to that predicted by the Poettmann and Carpenter, Hagedorn and Brown, Orkiszewski, and Beggs and Brill correlations. Comparison of experimental data with the various prediction techniques was favorable, each having advantage in certain situations. For the data investigated, the Crittendon criteria using a Bingham Plastic Model gave the best results. The two phase flow data was best predicted by the Hagedorn and Brown correlation utilizing a hydraulic radius equivalent diameter.
The calculation of single-phase and two-phase flowing pressure gradients in a well annulus is generally based on an extension of empirical correlations developed for Newtonian fluids in circular pipes. Various techniques for extending pipe flow correlations to an annular geometry have been presented in the literature which involve the representation of the annular well geometry with an equivalent circular diameter and the representation of non-Newtonian fluid behavior with an apparent Newtonian viscosity. Unfortunately, little experimental data have been available which would allow a comparison of the relative accuracy of the various proposed techniques. In this study, experimental pressure gradient data have been taken in two 6000-ft wells. Frictional pressure losses for single-phase flow (mud only) in two annuli were compared to values predicted by the Bingham plastic and power law models. These calculations utilized the equivalent diameters defined by the Crittendon criteria, the hydraulic diameter, and the slot approximation. Also, total pressure difference for two-phase flow was measured for one annular geometry. This data was compared to that predicted by the Poettmann and Carpenter, Hagedorn and Brown, Orkiszewski, and Beggs and Brill correlations. Comparison of experimental data with the various prediction techniques was favorable, each having advantage in certain situations. For the data investigated, the Crittendon criteria using a Bingham plastic model gave the best results. The two-phase flow data was best predicted by the Hagedorn and Brown correlation utilizing an equivalent hydraulic diameter.
As the search for petroleum reserves has moved into the deep water offshore environment, the blowout control problem has continued to increase in complexity. Several special well control problems for floating drilling operations stem from the need for long subsea choke lines connecting the subsea blowout preventer stack at the sea-floor to the surface well-control system. The magnitude of these problems are made worse by the very low effective formation fracture gradients generally associated with drilling operations in deep water. -------~~~-=-_ _--. ---" " " " E : 2 635 _--~Q =--.
American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, Inc. This paper was prepared for the 42nd Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in Houston, Tex., Oct. 1–4, 1967. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the Editor of the appropriate journal provided agreement to give proper credit is made. Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussion may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines. Abstract Spherical flow tests in sandstones indicated a strong tendency for flow to follow the natural bedding planes. These results suggested that a cylindrical flow pattern be studied in the same rock. The latter tests for the ten samples studied, showed an unexpected type of microstratification. The flow took place in thin (0.1 inch thick) horizontal laminae. The apparent permeability of adjacent laminae varied widely in many cases. It is believed that this type of microstratification—if continuous—would cause premature breakthroughs and poor performances in gas cycling and miscible displacement projects. Introduction Darcy's law has always been the basis of reservoir engineering methods. In its infancy, reservoir engineering consisted mostly of predictions of fluid production as a function of the amount of drawdown in the production well. For this purpose, Darcy's law could be used in its simplest form— which points out that the flow rate of any fluid through a porous medium of any type or geometry is directly proportional to the pressure drop across the system. Later attempts to study problems such as water coning and the effects of well bore damage required the use of Darcy's law as a differential equation of flow at a point: (1)
The vertical flow of mud and gas-mud mixtures in long pipes is of interest in the design and operation of subsea well control equipment where long choke lines are required. Heretofore, the question of two-phase flow of non-Newtonian drilling muds has not been investigated experimentally in full-scale well systems. Frictional-pressure losses were measured in a 2 3/8-in., 3000-ft long, vertical tubing when flowing drilling mud alone, and flowing mud-gas mixtures. The single-phase data was compared to values predicted by both the Bingham plastic and power law rheological models, which are commonly used to describe non-Newtonian fluids. The multiphase pressure loss data were used to evaluate various published correlation techniques.
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