Impact of Drilling With Oil Based Mud on Well Control in Horizontal Shale Gas Wells

Elshehabi, Tawfik; Bilgesu, Ilkin

doi:10.2118/177294-ms

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Once free gas moved into the vertical section it expanded and choke pressure increased, and at the bubble point the gas in solution was released and expanded quickly. In contrast to conservative single flow results previously published (Elshehabi and Bilgesu, 2015a), gas kick in OBM resulted in lower circulating pressures compared to WBM. drilled with WBM and OBM.…”

Section: Impact Of Drilling Fluid Typecontrasting

confidence: 98%

Hydraulics and Well Control Complications in Unconventional Shale Laterals

Elshehabi¹

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Unconventional shale resources are drilled horizontally following the geologic bed dip upward or downward to maximize reservoir contact. Despite the efforts to control formation pressures, well control emergencies arise. Wellbore communication with high pressure zones through natural or induced fractures is a major cause of blowouts in unconventional shales. The philosophy of well control is to maintain the bottomhole pressure while balancing the formation pressure; however, it is a challenging process. The objective of this study is to investigate mud hydraulics and well control complications in unconventional shale laterals. This included the impact of wellbore configuration (inclined upward or downward laterals), drilling fluid type (water or oil based mud), and drillstring configuration (drillpipe, casing, or liner). This research employed an interactive drilling and well control full-scale simulator for more than 500 hours of real-time operations. It also utilized a robust steady-state hydraulics and multiphase dynamic well control program. A hydraulics base model was developed and verified with field data from a recently drilled Marcellus Shale well in Monongalia County, WV. In inclined upward laterals, gas bubbles migrated and accumulated at the lateral end. Consequently, the choke experienced lower pressure, volume, and gas discharge rate for extended periods of time. Thus, higher circulation rates and longer operation times were essential to flush-out the dispersed and trapped gas bubbles. The deeper and over-pressurized Utica Shale presents more challenges compared to Marcellus Shale wells. Well integrity was verified by monitoring surface choke, casing shoe, and bottomhole pressures throughout the entire well control operations. This research revealed that it is crucial to identify accurate hydraulics and well control complications for unconventional shale laterals. Some examples were drilling inclined upward and downward laterals using different string and fluid configurations. This improves rig and personnel safety and diminishes the environmental risks and hazards associated with blowouts.

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Section: Impact Of Drilling Fluid Typecontrasting

confidence: 98%

Hydraulics and Well Control Complications in Unconventional Shale Laterals

Elshehabi¹

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“…Oil-based drilling fluids (OBDFs, the lists of abbreviations are provided in Appendix A Table A1 ) have favorable lubrication, high-temperature resistance, anti-collapse, and contamination resistance performance [ 2 , 3 ], playing a vital role in the development of shale oil and gas and in deep reservoirs [ 4 ]. Although OBDFs have unique advantages in horizontal and deep wells [ 5 ], the low yield point and gel strength of high-density OBDFs under high-temperature conditions affect the ability to carry cuttings and suspend weighting materials [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the Weak Gel Structure of an Oil-Based Drilling Fluid by Using a Polyamide Wax

Huang

Meng

et al. 2022

Gels

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Oil-based drilling fluids (OBDFs) are widely used, but there are common problems associated with them, such as low yield point and poor cutting–carrying and hole cleaning ability. In this paper, a polyamide wax (TQ-1) was synthesized from dimeric acid and 1,6-hexanediamine to improve the weak gel structure of OBDFs. The TQ-1 was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Then the effect of the TQ-1 on the stability of the water-in-oil emulsion was studied by sedimentation observation, stability analysis, an electrical stability test, and particle size measurement. The effect of the TQ-1 on the rheological properties of the water-in-oil emulsion was analyzed by viscosity vs. shear rate test and the three-interval thixotropic test. Finally, the performance of the TQ-1 in OBDFs was comprehensively evaluated. The experimental results showed that the initial thermal decomposition temperature of the TQ-1 was 195 °C, indicating that the TQ-1 had good thermal stability. After adding the TQ-1, the emulsion became more stable since the emulsion stability index (TSI) value decreased when the emulsions were placed for a period of time and the demulsification voltage was increased. The TQ-1 could form a weak gel structure in the water-in-oil emulsions, which made the emulsions show excellent shear thinning and thixotropy. TQ-1 can improve the demulsification voltage of OBDFs, greatly improve the yield point and gel strength, and largely reduce the sedimentation factor (SF). In addition, TQ-1 has good compatibility with OBDFs, and in our study the high-temperature and high-pressure (HTHP) filtration decreased slightly after adding the TQ-1. According to theoretical analysis, the mechanism of TQ-1 of improving the weak gel structure of OBDFs is that the polar amide group can form a spatial network structure in nonpolar solvents through hydrogen bonding.

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“…erefore, in the expansive formation, enhancing the inhibition of drilling slurry is most important. Inhibitory drilling fluid includes oil-based drilling fluid [9], syntheticbased drilling fluid [10], and water-based drilling fluid [11]. Oil-based drilling fluids and synthetic-based drilling fluids have good inhibition effect, but they cost highly and have adverse impact on environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on the Slurry for Long‐Distance Large‐Diameter Pipe Jacking in Expansive Soil

Yang

Liu

Yang

2018

Advances in Civil Engineering

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When the pipe jacking technology is applied in expansive formation, the soil around the pipe will easily absorb water from the slurry and expand to wrap up the pipe, producing an excessive pipe jacking force. A water-based slurry formula suitable for pipe jacking in expansive soil layer was proposed in this paper. Firstly, the key design points of pipe jacking slurry in expansive soil were put forward. Secondly, plant glue, potassium humate, Na-CMC, and graphite powder were chosen as treating agents to improve the slurry performance. The effect of addition levels of different treating agents on the funnel viscosity, filter loss, expansion ratio, friction coefficient and water dissociation rate of the slurry were tested. Thirdly, based on the results of single-factor tests, a water-based slurry formula suitable for pipe jacking in expansive soil was obtained. Finally, the slurry formula was applied in a practical pipe jacking project in expansive formation, and the jacking force was controlled well in the whole jacking process. The new water-based slurry is cheap and practical and has no pollution to environment. Furthermore, a simple and practical calculating method of the pipe jacking force was presented. The comparison of the calculated and measured pipe jacking force shows that the simple calculating method can estimate the jacking force well. Improving slurry performance to reduce jacking force in pipe jacking and predicting pipe jacking force accurately can help reducing the investment for counterforce wall and jacking system in pipe jacking engineering.

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Impact of Drilling With Oil Based Mud on Well Control in Horizontal Shale Gas Wells

Cited by 8 publications

References 5 publications

Hydraulics and Well Control Complications in Unconventional Shale Laterals

Hydraulics and Well Control Complications in Unconventional Shale Laterals

Improving the Weak Gel Structure of an Oil-Based Drilling Fluid by Using a Polyamide Wax

Research on the Slurry for Long‐Distance Large‐Diameter Pipe Jacking in Expansive Soil

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