Anticollision Method of Active Magnetic Guidance Ranging for Cluster Wells

Abstract

Conventional adjacent wells range scanning calculations cannot meet the accuracy demands of the anticollision measurement of borehole distances any longer. Current techniques commonly employ electromagnetic detection tools while drilling; this requires putting equipment down adjacent wells to avoid collision risks, which adds more workload and costs and sometimes even affects the normal production of the producing wells. Measuring and tracking adjacent borehole distances while drilling is an essential process that guides the drill bit and effectively avoids collisions with existing wells. This paper proposes an active anticollision method of rotating magnetic ranging based on double symmetrical magnetic sources with opposite magnetic moments. First, the proposed method uses magnetic sources in the drilling well that are built into the probe tube to generate a magnetic field; then, the ferromagnetic casing of the existing well would be magnetized by the abovementioned magnetic field; finally, the magnetization field of the ferromagnetic casing is measured by a triaxial magnetometer built into the probe tube to determine the spacing and position of the existing well. Simultaneously, the calculation models of magnetic flux density around the casing of the existing well and magnetic sources are established, the calculation formulae of the relative distance and position of two adjacent wells are deduced, and a new variable interval section segmentation is proposed based on the Cosine theorem. The simulation results demonstrate that the spacing and position of the existing well are determined based on the magnetic sources’ spacing inside the probe, the magnetic moment of the magnetic sources, the relative permeability of the casing, the diameter of the casing, and the inclination between the drilling well and the existing well. The validity and accuracy of the active magnetization model are confirmed, providing theoretical support for the further development of electromagnetic anticollision devices.