Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
in Coiled-Tubing Drilling
L.J. Leising, SPE, and I.C. Walton, SPE, Schlumberger
Summary
In spite of the many technological advances that have accompanied the growth of coiled-tubing (CT) drilling, one significant
challenge remainseffective cuttings transport, particularly in deviated wells. This paper presents a summary of cuttings-transport
problems and current solutions. It is shown that, in many circumstances, hole cleaning is more efficient if a low-viscosity fluid is
pumped in turbulent flow rather than a high-viscosity fluid in
laminar flow. Case studies are presented that illustrate both cuttings-transport problems and routine applications without cuttingstransport difficulties. The proposed hole-cleaning models are used
to interpret these data and to suggest possible alternative approaches.
Two novel approaches to understanding hole cleaning are introduced. First, for laminar flow, the distance that a particle will
travel (downstream) before it falls across the annulus clearance is
calculated with Stokes law and the local viscosity while flowing.
This analysis may easily be applied to optimize mud selection and
wiper trips. Applying this model to high low-shear-rate-viscosity
(LSRV) gels shows that they may perform well inside casing but
are expected to do a poor job of hole cleaning in a narrow, openhole, horizontal annulus without rotation. Second, for turbulent
flow in horizontal wells, the concept of using annular velocity
(AV) as a measure of hole cleaning is shown to be insufficient. A
more complete term, annular velocity/root diameter (vARD), is introduced and should be used to compare cuttings transport in turbulent flow in horizontal wells of different cross-sectional areas.
Introduction
Horizontal wells are a significant application for CT drilling. Cuttings transport in horizontal wells remains a challenge. With rotary
drilling, drillstring rotation acts to keep the cuttings in suspension.
With CT, tubing rotation is not yet possible; thus, muds and techniques that have been borrowed from rotary drilling are often only
marginally effective with CT drilling. Underbalanced drilling can
reduce transport problems by providing extra annular flow from
the formation, but cuttings beds in the curve can still be a problem.
One major application of CT drilling is through-tubing sidetracks in casing. This provides a special challenge because the
small bottomhole assembly (BHA) required to drill through tubing
must provide enough flow to adequately clean the much larger
casing section usually found between the tailpipe and whipstock.
Many factors are important for mud selection when drilling
overbalanced with CT. A few of these are:
High lubricity for maximum horizontal reach.
Good hole stability, which is critical for slimholes.
Minimum formation damage.
Low solids content to increase the rate of penetration (ROP)
and reduce friction.
Rapid solids removal for fine cuttings with small mud volumes.
Fluid-loss control to prevent differential sticking with highsolids muds.
Compatibility with elastomers.
Adequate cuttings transport.
Low friction pressure to allow maximum flow rate and minimize CT fatigue.
54
18Kn
p
f gd P2
sin
U nDo Di 2 n, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 1)
18Kn 14 n QnDo Di 2
p f gd 2p sin
Do + Di n
2n
, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 2)
Fig. 3Velocity contours for power law fluid (n=0.5) in an eccentric annulus.
55
Fig. 5Schematic illustrating horizontal cuttings-transport length and annuli flow areas.
56
Eqs. 1 and 2 show that the transport length is inversely proportional to the difference between the particle and fluid densities.
Thus, high-density fluids would be expected to improve hole
cleaning (float the cuttings). The effect of weighted sweeps can
also be evaluated, but the sweeps may depend on mechanical
agitation to resuspend the cuttings.
The conclusion from this brief assessment of the carrying capacity of high LSRV gels is that they may perform well in wide
annuli but are expected to do a poor hole-cleaning job in a narrow
openhole horizontal annulus.
Some support for the theoretical analysis of cuttings transport
by high LSRV gels comes from published reports of experiments.
Zamora et al.8 described experiments in which biopolymer gels
were pumped through a tube with a 0.69-in. diameter and through
annuli with 0.690.375 in. and 4.01.9 in. dimensions. In the tube,
horizontal-configuration sand beds were formed along the low side
under all test conditions (gel strength up to 4 lbm/bbl and flow
rates up to 0.03 BPM). At a rate of 0.008 BPM, for which the
annular velocity is approximately 16 ft/min, our calculations suggest that for the 2-lbm/bbl gel particles that originated in the lower
half of the tube would fall out to form a bed, whereas for the
3-lbm/bbl gel, only particles that originated in the lower quarter of
the pipe would form a bed. These results are consistent with the
observation of a bed with the weaker gel and virtually no bed for
the stronger gel. In the fully eccentric openhole annulus, it was
reported that the sand bed occupied nearly one-third of the tube
diameter (at 0.008 BPM); our calculations suggest that all particles
in the upper part of the annulus should be removed successfully
from the short (4-ft) tube, but viscous gels clearly have a great deal
of difficulty in removing particles from the lower section of an
eccentric annulus, where the flow rates are low and the shear rates
high. A word of caution in interpreting experimental results is in
order here. Carrying efficiency has been assessed according to
whether particle beds are formed in an annulus of length equivalent to 152 hydraulic diameters. The absence of a bed over such a
short length is no indication that a bed would not form over a
longer interval. For comparison, the length of a typical horizontal
openhole section is approximately 9,000 hydraulic diameters. Furthermore, it was concluded that although biopolymer fluids effectively transported the cuttings when the inner pipe was rotated,
they provided inadequate hole-cleaning performance8 in the absence of drillpipe rotation. In other words, they may be effective in
conventional rotary drilling but are not expected to perform well in
CT drilling. Nevertheless, as we discuss more fully in the following sections, high LSRV gels may still be the best available option
for cleaning larger annuli.
Medium-Viscosity Fluids in Laminar/Turbulent Flow. In an
inclined hole with fluids of low to moderate viscosity, drilled
cuttings fall quickly to the bottom of the hole and form a bed.
Increasing the viscosity reduces the settling velocity and increases
the time taken for the particle to fall to the bed, but viscosity on its
own cannot prevent the formation of a bed. Increasing the annular
velocity but remaining in laminar flow has no impact on the time
taken for the particles to fall to the bottom (except if the fluid is
shear-thinning, which means that it will have a negative impact by
reducing the effective viscosity). As the bed builds up, it constrains
the fluid to flow in a narrow cross section above the bed until an
equilibrium is reached (at a critical depth) between particles falling
to the bed and particles being removed from the bed by hydrodynamic action.
In many of the models of cuttings transport developed in recent
years, the suspension criteria are based on analyses of the forces
experienced by a solid particle on the surface of a solids bed.1013
A critical flow rate is established at which a particle is lifted from
the bed into the main stream of the drilling fluid flowing above the
bed. In a variation of this theme, Rasi14 described a model in
which the critical flow rate is associated with a critical shear stress
at which a bed begins to erode.
Unfortunately, the critical flow rate for bed erosion or particle
lifting is seldom sufficient to maintain the particle in suspension in
the fluid, and the particle falls back to the bed. The process of
March 2002 SPE Drilling & Completion
Fig. 6Flow rate vs. viscosity for 2% cuttings concentration at a 45 inclination in 7-in. casing.
back down the hole under the influence of gravity (typically deep
beds at moderate angles of inclination); or, if the sum of the forces
resulting from shear stress and gravity is insufficient to overcome
the limiting friction between the bed and the wall, the bed will
remain at rest.
In the openhole annulus described here, a 3-lbm/bbl xanthan
gel would need to be pumped at 6 BPM to avoid a cuttings bed,
which is simply the rate needed to get the fluid turbulent. A
weaker, 1-lbm/bbl xanthan gel would need to be pumped at only
2.9 BPM. In fact, the optimum gel strength is even weaker, as the
optimum viscosity is only 7 cp at a nominal shear rate of 170 sec1,
for which the required pump rate is only 1.2 BPM. In the casing
annulus, the weaker 1-lbm/bbl xanthan gel would need to be
pumped at 15 BPM, which, again, is the rate needed to get the fluid
turbulent. The optimum viscosity is approximately 9 cp at a nominal shear rate of 170 sec1, for which the required pump rate is
approximately 6 BPM. Table 2 shows the critical pump rates for
various strengths of xanthan in each of the two annular geometries
in the horizontal configuration and for the casing annulus at a
65 inclination.
Generally speaking, cleaning wells in turbulent flows requires
pump rates that are considered high. Water cannot be pumped at
more than a few barrels per minute through most CT strings, and
these rates are certainly too low to remove the cuttings without
forming a bed. However, biopolymers, such as xanthan, exhibit
strong drag reduction in turbulent flow, and it is quite possible, as
the test data in Table 3 indicate, that adequate flow rates could be
achieved. For reference, the friction pressure drop of water at 4
BPM in 2-in. tubing is approximately 4,500 psi.
According to these data, 0.5-lbm/bbl xanthan could safely be
pumped at approximately 5 BPM in a 2-in. CT; for comparison,
water could be pumped only at approximately 3 BPM. A flow rate
of 5 BPM would be more than enough to clean out the openhole
annulus with 0.5-lbm/bbl xanthan, but this fluid and rate would
still not effectively clean out the casing annulus. Thicker gels are
58
ARD = A Do Di n 1+
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 3)
ARD = A Do Di . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 4)
viscous pill was used to clean the hole, at surface there would be
no cuttings in the gel, but cuttings would appear shortly afterward.
In CT-drilled wells, the common field use of pumping highviscosity sweep pills to pick up cuttings beds that have already
formed does not work by itself and must be combined with short
trips (rotating bit stirs the bed). As discussed by Zamora and
Hanson,1 low-velocity viscous sweeps usually are ineffective in
high-angle intervals if the pipe is not rotated or reciprocated because interaction between the sweep and the bed is minimal unless
the bed is agitated.
Underbalanced Drilling. For wells with significant inflow, sections in excess of 1,000 ft have been drilled without a single wiper
trip. The inflow (which may nearly double the AV) contributes to
stirring up cuttings from a bed and provides more turbulent mixing
to help maintain cuttings in suspension. Cuttings in underbalanced
drilling will typically be larger than in overbalanced, but this does
not normally present a problem.
Several underbalanced wells drilled to date showed no signs of
hole-cleaning problems in the horizontal section. However, problems have occurred cleaning the build section, probably resulting
from the fact that much of the build is commonly at the critical
inclination angle of 30 to 65.
Underbalanced drilling commonly requires a multiphase mixture (gas and liquid) to achieve the required density. There has
been little research on multiphase cuttings transport, but Oudeman,20 in an experimental investigation of sand transport in horizontal multiphase pipelines, observed that adding 10 vol% to 20
vol% of gas increases sand transport greatly, the increased turbulence caused by the presence of limited amounts of gas helps
keep the solids in suspension, and the increased transport in
multiphase flow can be attributed primarily to the increased turbulence. In addition to the increased turbulence, the expansion of
the gas as it nears the surface will increase AV.
Well Design. With re-entries, there is seldom a chance to design
the well path. However, with re-entries becoming routine, this
should be considered when the well is initially planned.
The length of the hole with inclination from 30 to 65 may have
a cuttings bed that can be time consuming to remove and may
create the potential for a cuttings avalanche. A high buildup rate in
the curve will minimize the extent of difficult-to-clean hole angles.
Monobore completions are the easiest to clean. Large casings
with small tubing nipples are the most difficult.
Gas-lift mandrels in the tubing string can allow underbalanced
drilling with a single fluid instead of multiphase flow.
Case Histories
For simplicity, only horizontal transport lengths are listed in the
tables. Typically, the larger casing is at a lower angle; thus, the
actual transport length would be the horizontal transport length
divided by the sine of the inclination. The transport length for
fluids in turbulent flow is indeterminate and is indicated by dashes
() in the tables. The measured Fann data (Fig. 10) was used to
fit a power law model without any correction for downhole temperature and pressure. For more accuracy, the viscosity at down-
61
and/or that the local velocity at the wide section of the eccentric
annulus has a higher velocity than the mean upon which the Reynolds number is based (see the velocity contours of Fig. 2). The
Reynolds number is calculated from the mean velocity to the (2n)
power; thus, for n0.51, the velocity in the plug region must be
only 50% greater than the mean velocity to have a Reynolds number of 2,000 in the plug. References in the literature have shown a
doubling of the velocity in the plug.
After the first jetting run, 131 ft (40 m) were drilled before a
second jetting run. The well was at TD after drilling 177 ft (54 m)
following the second jetting run. On the second jetting run, the
BHA was not run into the openhole to prevent wall cake damage
(because losses had occurred in the openhole on the first jetting
run). Also, a 5% lower flow rate was used on the second jetting run
with several high-viscosity pills. No large amounts of cuttings
came to the surface on the second jetting run.
The problem with this well was that the mud was more viscous
than planned and the high pressure drop prevented drilling with
turbulent flow. The obvious solution would be a less viscous mud
or the use of a lower-viscosity sweep in front of the high-viscosity
pills. This low-/high-viscosity pill technique was used in Well Y,
as discussed later. The effect of this technique on the entire mud
system requires consideration.
Well C. This well (into a sandstone reservoir in North America)
was drilled with a xanthan-based mud system with an LSRV in the
75,000-cp range. Lubricant was added to the system to reduce
mechanical friction. The mud properties (122F) are shown in
Table 6. The well had 512-in. tubing to 10,050 ft, 412-in. tubing to
10,217 ft, and 7-in. casing down to 11,079 ft. The 334-in. throughtubing sidetrack started at 11,079 ft, and the TD of the well was
12,822 ft. Of the 1,734 ft drilled, 1,350 ft was horizontal. The
maximum DLS in the curve was 52/100 ft. The length of hole
from 30 to 65 inclination was 7,400 ft. The average flow rate at
the end of the well was 110 gal/min.
From Table 6 it is obvious that the mud used is excellent for
cleaning the 7-in. casing because it would transport the cuttings
836 ft before falling out (if horizontal). The actual inclination in
the 7-in. casing was 43, so the actual transport length was 1,225
ft (836/sin 43). The extent of the 7-in. casing in this well was only
62
Fig. 12Minimum suspension flow rate for Well C in 7-in. casing at a 45 inclination.
63
in the casing and use the bit rotation to stir the cuttings bed into the
viscous sweep.
Nomenclature
dp particle diameter, m
Di inside diameter of flow path, m
Do outside diameter of flow path, m
DoDi hydraulic diameter, clearance, m
e eccentricity
g acceleration caused by gravity, m/s2
K consistency index, eq. cp
Lt axial distance the particle is carried by the fluid in
the time it takes to fall one hydraulic diameter, m
n power law exponent (flow behavior index)
r radial distance from the center of the pipe, m
R inside radius of pipe, m
Q flow rate, m3/s
ts settling time for particle to fall one hydraulic
diameter, s
U average axial fluid velocity or annular velocity, m/s
vA annular velocity, m/s
vARD annular velocity/root diameter (suspension criteria for
transport with low-viscosity fluids in turbulent flow), m/s
vp fall velocity of particle through the fluid, m/s
YP yield point, lbf/100 ft2
inclination of well from vertical
p particle density, kg/m3
f fluid density, kg/m3
.
shear rate, sec1
fluid viscosity, Pas
effective shear-rate ratio, sec1
w wall shear-rate scaling parameter, dimensionless
shear stress, Pa
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Schlumberger for permission to publish this
study. We also thank Carel Hoyer, Steve Palubinski, Sarmad Ad-
64
nan, and Mike Hodder for their reviews of the manuscript and
Galin Mumford, Eric Larson, Carel Hoyer, and Rob Graham for
their technical input. Brock Williams, Torsten Braun, and David
Stein were invaluable in answering the many questions concerning
the case histories.
A special thanks is also extended to Wolfgang Mueller of RWEDEA and the joint venture RWE-DEA/Wintershall AG for their
contributions toward the advancement of CT drilling applications.
References
1. Zamora, M. and Hanson, P.: Selected Studies in High-Angle Hole
Cleaning, paper IPA 90228 Proc., Indonesian Petroleum Assn. 19th
Annual Convention (1990).
2. Brown, N.P., Bern, P.A., and Weaver, A.: Cleaning Deviated Holes:
New Experimental and Theoretical Studies, paper SPE 18636 presented at the 1989 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, New Orleans, 28
February3 March.
3. Leising, L.J. and Newman, K.R.: Coiled-Tubing Drilling, paper SPE
24594 presented at the 1992 SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, Washington, DC, 47 October.
4. Beck, F.E., Powell, J.W., and Zamora, M.,: A Clarified Xanthan DrillIn Fluid for Prudhoe Bay Horizontal Wells, paper SPE 25767 presented at the 1993 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, 22
25 February.
5. Beck, F.E., Powell, J.W., and Zamora, M.: The Effect of Rheology on
Rate of Penetration, paper SPE 29368 presented at the 1995 SPE/
IADC Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, 28 February2 March.
6. Powell, J.W. et al.: Minimization of Formation Damage, Filter Cake
Deposition, and Stuck Pipe Potential in Horizontal Wells Through the
Use of Time-Independent Viscoelastic Yield Stress Fluids and Filtrates, paper SPE 29408 presented at the 1995 IADC/SPE Drilling
Conference, Amsterdam, 28 February2 March.
7. Powell, J.W., Parks, C.F., and Seheult, J.M.: Xanthan and Welan: The
Effects of Critical Polymer Concentration on Rheology and Fluid Performance, paper SPE 22066 presented at the 1991 International Arctic
Technology Conference, Anchorage, 2931 May.
8. Zamora, M., Jefferson, D.T., and Powell, J.W.: Hole-Cleaning Study
of Polymer-Based Drilling Fluids, paper SPE 26329 presented at the
p = p f gd 2p 18, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( B-1)
in which fthe fluid density and the fluid viscosity. This
formula is valid whenever the particles Reynolds number is
smaller than 1; typically, its value is very much less than 1 for
these very viscous fluids.
The power law constants may be obtained from the Fann readings by curve-fitting the data when plotted as shear stress vs. shear
rate (Fig. 10). The power law model is
= K n, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( B-2)
.
in which the shear rate. For a pseudoplastic fluid, n is less than
one, and for a Newtonian fluid, n (power law exponent or flow
behavior index) and K (consistency index) are equal to one. The
unit of K used as in this paper is cp sn1 (equivalent centipoise or
eq. cp).
For a power law fluid, the viscosity is given by
= K n 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( B-3)
One of the problems in assessing the fall velocity of a particle
as it falls across an annular gap of a fluid in axial shear flow is that
it encounters a range of shear rates. For the present, we will not
attempt to calculate a representative shear rate but merely indicate
that the shear rate will be proportional to the average axial fluid
velocity (U or vA) divided by the annular gap. Thus, we write
= U Do Di, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( B-4)
in which a proportionality factor that may depend on the power
law index, n, and the annulus eccentricity, e.
Inserting Eq. 3 into Eq. 2 and Eq. 2 into Eq. 1, we arrive at
p =
U
p f gd 2p
18K
Do Di
n 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( B-5)
65
The time taken by the particle to fall to the lower side of the
annulus depends on the point in the annulus from which it starts.
We shall take as a representative distance the hydraulic diameter
(clearance), or (DoDi). Thus, the settling time ts is given by
ts =
Do Di
, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( B-6)
p sin
18Kn
p f gd 2p sin
Do + Din
2n
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( B-8)
66
Pas
m3
m
m/s
m
m3
m3/s
Kg
N
Pa
Larry Leising is a senior engineer for Schlumberger in Sugarland, Texas. e-mail: Leising@slb.com. His 26 years of downhole
tool-design experience covers coiled tubing, drilling, measurements while drilling, and hydraulic fracturing. Leising holds a BS
degree from Purdue and an MS degree from MIT, both in mechanical engineering. He was the 199495 SPE Distinguished
Lecturer on coiled-tubing drilling. He has been active in the SPE
Gulf Coast Committee and is currently serving on the SPE ATW
Coiled Tubing Drilling Committee. Ian Walton is a scientific adviser in the Perforating Research Dept. at the Schlumberger
Reservoir Completions Center. He has 29 years of research and
development experience in universities and in the oil and gas
industry covering the areas of fluid flow stability, flow of nonNewtonian fluids, flow of multi-phase fluids, flow in porous
media, solids transport, and rock mechanics. He has been involved in projects on well control, cementing, production logging, sand control, coiled-tubing applications, and perforating. Walton holds a BS degree from University College, London,
and a PhD degree from Manchester U., both in mathematics.