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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "H: Geo-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2021) | Viewed by 33520

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ergun Kuru

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Guest Editor

School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, University of Alberta, 6-287 Donadeo Innovation Centre For Engineering, 9211-116 St, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H5, Canada
Interests: drilling fluids; hydraulics (hole cleaning and cuttings transport); automated real-time drilling modeling and data analysis; formation damage; characterization of oil well cements

Dr. Majid Bizhani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Research scientist, Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, AB, Canada
Interests: non-Newtonian fluids; wellbore cementing; hole cleaning; plug and abandonment; computational fluid dynamics (CFD); AI and machine learning applications in the oil and gas industry; fluid mechanics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As the oil industry moves into more technically and economically challenging environments, companies have increasingly come under pressure to stretch the technology and to improve drilling performance. The quest for technologies to increase drilling efficiency and reduce the drilling cost has resulted in many new developments and original contributions to the state-of-the-art in drilling engineering over the past decade.

This Special Issue aims to collect original research or review articles on recent advances in every aspect of oil and gas well drilling engineering. In particular, papers related to drilling automation, automated real-time drilling modeling and data analysis, new developments in horizontal, extended reach and multilateral drilling, novel drilling fluids, advancement in drilling bit technologies, developments in drilling mechanics and tubular design, digital well planning, well construction and life cycle well integrity, advances in drilling hydraulics, UBD and MPD, and well control technologies will be considered.

Prof. Dr. Ergun Kuru
Dr. Majid Bizhani
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

automated real-time drilling modeling and data analysis
drilling automation
horizontal, extended reach and multilateral well design
drilling fluids
drilling bits
drilling hydraulics
drilling mechanics
UBD, MPD, well control
life cycle well integrity

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 4139 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Fundamental Principles and Standard Evaluation for Fluid Loss and Possible Extensions of Test Methodology to Assess Consequences for Formation Damage

by Karl Ronny Klungtvedt, Arild Saasen, Jan Kristian Vasshus, Vegard Bror Trodal, Swapan Kumar Mandal, Bjørn Berglind and Mahmoud Khalifeh

Energies 2021, 14(8), 2252; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14082252 - 16 Apr 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2187

Abstract

Industry testing procedures such as ANSI/API 13B-1 describe a method for measuring fluid loss and studying filter-cake formation against a medium of either a filter paper or a porous disc, without giving information about potential formation damage. Considering the thickness of the discs, it may also be possible to extend the method to gain an insight into aspects of formation damage. A new experimental set-up and methodology was created to evaluate changes to the porous discs after HTHP testing to generate insight into signs of formation damage, such as changes in disc mass and permeability. Such measurements were enabled by placing the disc in a cell, which allowed for reverse flow of fluid to lift off the filter-cake. Experiments were conducted with different drilling fluid compositions to evaluate the use of the new methodology. The first test series showed consistent changes in disc mass as a function of the additives applied into the fluid. The data yield insights into how the discs are sealed and to which degree solids, fibers or polymers are entering the discs. A second series of tests were set up to extend the procedure to also measure changes in the disc’s permeability to air and water. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between changes in disc mass and changes in permeability. The conclusions are that the methodology may enable identifying signs of formation damage and that further studies should be conducted to optimize the method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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21 pages, 8299 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study of the Use of Tracing Particles for Interface Tracking in Primary Cementing in an Eccentric Hele–Shaw Cell

by Amir Taheri, Jan David Ytrehus, Bjørnar Lund and Malin Torsæter

Energies 2021, 14(7), 1884; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14071884 - 29 Mar 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1358

Abstract

We present the results of the displacement flows of different Newtonian and Herschel–Bulkley non-Newtonian fluids in a new-developed eccentric Hele–Shaw cell with dynamic similarly to real field wellbore annulus during primary cementing. The possibility of tracking the interface between the fluids using particles with intermediate or neutral buoyancy is studied. The behaviors and movements of particles with different sizes and densities against the primary vertical flow and strong secondary azimuthal flow in the eccentric Hele–Shaw cell are investigated. The effects of fluid rheology and pumping flow rate on the efficiency of displacement and tracing particles are examined. Moreover, the behavior of pressure gradients in the cell is described and analyzed. Successful results of tracing the interface using particles give us this opportunity to carry out a primary cementing with high quality for the cases that the risk of leakage is high, e.g., primary cementing in wells penetrating a CO₂ storage reservoir. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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18 pages, 2217 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comparative Study of Laminar-Turbulent Displacement in an Eccentric Annulus under Imposed Flow Rate and Imposed Pressure Drop Conditions

by Yasaman Foolad, Majid Bizhani and Ian A. Frigaard

Energies 2021, 14(6), 1654; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14061654 - 16 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1998

Abstract

This paper presents a series of experiments focused on the displacement of viscoplastic fluids by various Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids from a long horizontal, eccentric annulus. The flow regimes range from high Reynolds number laminar regimes through to fully turbulent. These experiments represent the primary cementing operation in a horizontal well. The main objective of our experiments is to gain insight into the role of the flow regime in the fluid-fluid displacement flows of relevance to primary cementing. We study strongly eccentric annuli and displaced fluids with a significant yield stress, i.e., those scenarios where a mud channel is most likely to persist. For fully eccentric annuli, the displacements are uniformly poor, regardless of regime. This improves for an eccentricity of 0.7. However, at these large eccentricities that are typical of horizontal well cementing, the displacement is generally poor and involves a rapid “breakthrough” advance along the wide upper side of the annulus followed only by a much slower removal of the residual fluids. This dynamic renders contact time estimates meaningless. We conclude that some of the simple statements/preferences widely employed in industry do not necessarily apply for all design scenarios. Instead, a detailed study of the fluids involved and the specification of the operational constraints is needed to yield improved displacement quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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9 pages, 1873 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wet Drilled Cuttings Bed Rheology

by Camilo Pedrosa, Arild Saasen, Bjørnar Lund and Jan David Ytrehus

Energies 2021, 14(6), 1644; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14061644 - 16 Mar 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2374

Abstract

The cuttings transport efficiency of various drilling fluids has been studied in several approaches. This is an important aspect, since hole cleaning is often a bottleneck in well construction. The studies so far have targeted the drilling fluid cuttings’ transport capability through experiments, simulations or field data. Observed differences in the efficiency due to changes in the drilling fluid properties and compositions have been reported but not always fully understood. In this study, the cuttings bed, wetted with a single drilling fluid, was evaluated. The experiments were performed with parallel plates in an Anton Paar Physica 301 rheometer. The results showed systematic differences in the internal friction behaviors between tests of beds with oil-based and beds with water-based fluids. The observations indicated that cutting beds wetted with a polymeric water-based fluid released clusters of particles when external forces overcame the bonding forces and the beds started to break up. Similarly, it was observed that an oil-based fluid wetted bed allowed particles to break free as single particles. These findings may explain the observed differences in previous cutting transport studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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32 pages, 5007 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Flow Rate and Pipe Rotation Speed Considering Effective Cuttings Transport Using Data-Driven Models

by Evren Ozbayoglu, Murat Ozbayoglu, Baris Guney Ozdilli and Oney Erge

Energies 2021, 14(5), 1484; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14051484 - 09 Mar 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2773

Abstract

Effectively transporting drilled cuttings to the surface is a vital part of the well construction process. Usually, mechanistic models are used to estimate the cuttings concentration during drilling. Based on the results from these model, operational parameters are adjusted to mitigate any nonproductive time events such as pack-off or lost circulation. However, these models do not capture the underlying complex physics completely and frequently require updating the input parameters, which is usually performed manually. To address this, in this study, a data-driven modeling approach is taken and evaluated together with widely used mechanistic models. Artificial neural networks are selected after several trials. The experimental data collected at The University of Tulsa–Drilling Research Projects (in the last 40 years) are used to train and validate the model, which includes a wide range of wellbore and pipe sizes, inclinations, rate-of-penetration values, pipe rotation speeds, flow rates, and fluid and cuttings properties. It is observed that, in many cases, the data-driven model significantly outperforms the mechanistic models, which provides a very promising direction for real-time drilling optimization and automation. After the neural network is proven to work effectively, an optimization attempt to estimate flow rate and pipe rotation speed is introduced using a genetic algorithm. The decision is made considering minimizing the required total energy for this process. This approach may be used as a design tool to identify the required flow rate and pipe rotation speed to acquire effective hole cleaning while consuming minimal energy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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20 pages, 1474 KiB

Open AccessArticle

SlurryNet: Predicting Critical Velocities and Frictional Pressure Drops in Oilfield Suspension Flows

by Alireza Sarraf Shirazi and Ian Frigaard

Energies 2021, 14(5), 1263; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14051263 - 25 Feb 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1803

Abstract

Improving the accuracy of the slurry flow predictions in different operating flow regimes remains a major focus for multiphase flow research, and it is especially targeted at industrial applications such as oil and gas. In this paper we develop a robust integrated method consisting of an artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector regression (SVR) to estimate the critical velocity, the slurry flow regime change, and ultimately, the frictional pressure drop for a solid–liquid slurry flow in a horizontal pipe, covering wide ranges of flow and geometrical parameters. Three distinct datasets were used to develop machine learning models with totals of 100, 325, and 125 data points for critical velocity, and frictional pressure drops for heterogeneous and bed-load regimes respectively. For each dataset, 80% of the data were used for training and the rest 20% for evaluating the out of sample performance. The K-fold technique was used for cross-validation. The prediction results of the developed integrated method showed that it significantly outperforms the widely used existing correlations and models in the literature. Additionally, the proposed integrated method with the average absolute relative error (AARE) of 0.084 outperformed the model developed without regime classification with the AARE of 0.155. The proposed integrated model not only offers reliable predictions over a wide range of operating conditions and different flow regimes for the first time, but also introduces a general framework of how to utilize prior physical knowledge to achieve more reliable performances from machine learning methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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31 pages, 8814 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Autonomous Decision-Making While Drilling

by Eric Cayeux, Benoît Daireaux, Adrian Ambrus, Rodica Mihai and Liv Carlsen

Energies 2021, 14(4), 969; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14040969 - 12 Feb 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3275

Abstract

The drilling process is complex because unexpected situations may occur at any time. Furthermore, the drilling system is extremely long and slender, therefore prone to vibrations and often being dominated by long transient periods. Adding the fact that measurements are not well distributed along the drilling system, with the majority of real-time measurements only available at the top side and having only access to very sparse data from downhole, the drilling process is poorly observed therefore making it difficult to use standard control methods. Therefore, to achieve completely autonomous drilling operations, it is necessary to utilize a method that is capable of estimating the internal state of the drilling system from parsimonious information while being able to make decisions that will keep the operation safe but effective. A solution enabling autonomous decision-making while drilling has been developed. It relies on an optimization of the time to reach the section total depth (TD). The estimated time to reach the section TD is decomposed into the effective time spent in conducting the drilling operation and the likely time lost to solve unexpected drilling events. This optimization problem is solved by using a Markov decision process method. Several example scenarios have been run in a virtual rig environment to test the validity of the concept. It is found that the system is capable to adapt itself to various drilling conditions, as for example being aggressive when the operation runs smoothly and the estimated uncertainty of the internal states is low, but also more cautious when the downhole drilling conditions deteriorate or when observations tend to indicate more erratic behavior, which is often observed prior to a drilling event. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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15 pages, 3658 KiB

Open AccessArticle

CFD Analysis of Turbulent Flow of Power-Law Fluid in a Partially Blocked Eccentric Annulus

by Ravi Singh, Ramadan Ahmed, Hamidreza Karami, Mustafa Nasser and Ibnelwaleed Hussein

Energies 2021, 14(3), 731; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14030731 - 30 Jan 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2449

Abstract

This study focuses on analyzing the turbulent flow of drilling fluid in inclined wells using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique. The analysis is performed considering an annulus with a fixed eccentricity of 90% and varying fluid properties, diameter ratio, and bed thickness to examine velocity profile, pressure loss, and overall wall and average bed shear stresses. CFD simulation results are compared with existing data for validation. The pressure loss predicted with CFD agrees with the data. After verification, predictions are used to establish a correlation that can be applied to compute bed shear stress. The established correlation mostly displays a discrepancy of up to 10% when compared with simulation data. The correlation can be used to optimize hole cleaning and manage downhole pressure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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16 pages, 4980 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gel Pills for Downhole Pressure Control during Oil and Gas Well Drilling

by Mahmoud Khalifeh, Larisa Penkala, Arild Saasen, Bodil Aase, Tor Henry Omland, Knut Taugbøl and Lorents Reinås

Energies 2020, 13(23), 6318; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13236318 - 30 Nov 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3038

Abstract

During drilling of petroleum or geothermal wells, unforeseen circumstances occasionally happen that require suspension of the operation. When the drilling fluid is left in a static condition, solid material like barite may settle out of the fluid. Consequently, the induced hydrostatic pressure that the fluid exerts onto the formation will be reduced, possibly leading to collapse of the borehole or influx of liquid or gas. A possible mitigation action is placement of a gel pill. This gel pill should preferably be able to let settled barite rest on top of it and still transmit the hydrostatic pressure to the well bottom. A bentonite-based gel pill is developed, preventing flow of higher density drilling fluid placed above it to bypass the gel pill. Its rheological behavior was characterized prior to functional testing. The designed gel pill develops sufficient gel structure to accommodate the settled barite. The performance of the gel was tested at vertical and 40° inclination from vertical. Both conventional settling and the Boycott effect were observed. The gel pill provided its intended functionality while barite was settling out of the drilling fluid on top of this gel pill. The barite was then resting on top of the gel pill. It is demonstrated that a purely viscous pill should not be used for separating a high density fluid from a lighter fluid underneath. However, a bentonite or laponite gel pill can be placed into a well for temporary prevention of such intermixing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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22 pages, 6437 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Change of the Properties of Steel Material of the Roller Cone Bit Due to the Influence of the Drilling Operational Parameters and Rock Properties

by Jurij Šporin, Tilen Balaško, Primož Mrvar, Blaž Janc and Željko Vukelić

Energies 2020, 13(22), 5949; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13225949 - 14 Nov 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2057

Abstract

The breakdown of the drill bit or rapid decrease of the rate of penetration during the drilling process results in a delay in the progress of drilling. Scientists and engineers are increasingly focusing on research to extend the bit life and improve the drilling rate. In our work, “in situ” drilling parameters were monitored during the drilling process with the roller cone drill bit IADC 136, diameter 155.57 mm (6 1/8"). After drilling, the bit was thoroughly examined to determine the damage and wear that occurred during drilling. The following modern and standardized investigative methods were used: an analysis of rock materials and an analysis of micro and macrostructure materials of the roller cone bit. Analyses were carried out using optical and electron microscopy, a simultaneous thermal analysis of materials of drill bit, analysis of the chemical composition of materials of drill bit, and a determination of the geomechanical parameters of rock materials. The resulting wear, local bursts, and cracks were quantitatively and qualitatively defined and linked to the drilling regime and the rock material. The results of our investigation of the material of the roller cone bit can serve as a good base for the development of new steel alloys, which can resist higher temperatures and enable effective drilling, without structural changes of steel material. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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Review

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33 pages, 6819 KiB

Open AccessReview

Cement Placement: An Overview of Fluid Displacement Techniques and Modelling

by Hanieh K. Foroushan, Bjørnar Lund, Jan David Ytrehus and Arild Saasen

Energies 2021, 14(3), 573; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14030573 - 22 Jan 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4233

Abstract

During drilling operations, effective displacement of fluids can provide high-quality cementing jobs, ensuring zonal isolation and strong bonding of cement with casing and formation. Poor cement placements due to incomplete mud removal can potentially lead to multiple critical operational problems and serious environmental hazards. Therefore, efficient mud removal and displacement of one fluid by another one is a crucial task that should be designed and optimized properly to guarantee the zonal isolation and integrity of the cement sheath. The present work provides an overview of the research performed on mud removal and cement placement to help the industry achieve better cementing jobs. An extensive number of investigations have been conducted in order to find some key techniques for minimizing the cement contamination and obtaining maximum displacement efficiency. Yet, even after implementing those techniques, the industry happens to encounter poor cementing jobs. The present review aims to assist with evaluating the current theories, methodologies, and practical techniques, in order to possibly identify the research gaps and facilitate the way for further improvements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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13 pages, 291 KiB

Open AccessReview

Fundamentals and Physical Principles for Drilled Cuttings Transport—Cuttings Bed Sedimentation and Erosion

by Camilo Pedrosa, Arild Saasen and Jan David Ytrehus

Energies 2021, 14(3), 545; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14030545 - 21 Jan 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3606

Abstract

The increasing necessity of challenging wellbore structures and drilling optimization for improved hole cuttings cleaning has been growing along time. As a result, operator companies have been researching and applying different hole cleaning techniques. Some of these are applied as traditional rules of thumb but are not always suitable for the new and up-coming challenges. This may result in inefficient hole cleaning, non-productive times, pipe stocking and low rate of penetration (ROP), among other problems. Here are presented some results and improvements for hole cleaning optimization obtained by the different research groups. The different authors mainly focus on specific cuttings transport parameters and sometimes combination of some of them. For this reason, there has not been a study that takes into account all of the different factors at the same time to accurately predict the cuttings bed height, formation and erosion, critical fluid velocity and properties and other key parameters. Consequently, there is a lack of understanding about the relation between different factors, such as the cohesiveness of the drilled cuttings with the different interstitial drilling fluids within the cuttings-bed. This relation can be analyzed establishing a wet-granular approach to obtain more efficient cuttings transport mechanism in challenging conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Petroleum Drilling Engineering)

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