5/4/2017 GoodwelldesignhelpsmitigatesolidssettlingincuttingsreinjectionDrillingContractor

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Attentionhasbeendrawntothepracticeofcuttingsreinjectionasanenvironmentallyfriendlytechniqueforthe
drillcuttingsandwastedisposal

Good well design helps mitigate solids settling in cuttings re-

injection
in2014,DrillingItSafely,September/October Aug29,2014 0

Optimum tubing size, slurry rheology, well

trajectory,completion design all can minimize risk of
plugging
BySalamatGumarov,TalgatShokanov,SteveSimmons,ViacheslavAnokhinandSaid
Benelkadi,MISWACO,aSchlumbergercompany
Attentionhasbeendrawntothepracticeofcuttingsreinjectionasanenvironmentallyfriendlytechniquefor
thedrillcuttingsandwastedisposal.Engineershavestudiedthepracticewiththeobjectiveofdetermining
bestpracticesandlessonslearned.

Withincreasingenvironmentalregulations,variousmethodsandtechniqueshaveemergedindrillingwaste
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management.Differenttechnologiesareuseddependingonlocalregulations,infrastructureandoperational
requirements.Methodsalsodependonwhetheroilbasedmudorwaterbasedmudisused.Insomeareas,
GabaldonnamedChairmanofIADC
drillingwasteisthermallytreatedtoremovehydrocarboncontentandthendisposedatalandfill.Casesof
UBO/MPDCommittee,provides
treatmentwithbacteria(bioremediation)orfixation(mixingwithsoilandlime)canbealsoencountered.
activitiesupdate
Apr5,2017
Theideatoinjectcuttingsbackintotheformationwaslaunchedinthelate1970stoearly1980sbutdidnt
emergeasadistincttechnologyuntilthe1990s. ISOwellintegritystandardtargets
entirewelllifecycle
Cuttingsreinjection(CRI)wellscanbeclassifiedintotwotypes:dedicatedinjection(drilledforCRIand
Apr5,2017
completedwithtubing)andannularinjection(oftenproductionorwaterinjectionwellswherethe
intermediateannulusisusedforcuttingsslurryinjection).
PetrobrasrevisesMPDapplication
Overthepastdecade,generalguidelinesforsafecuttingsreinjectionhavebeenputforwardintermsof strategy
Apr4,2017
injectionformationselection,operationplanningandprocedures.

Welltrajectory Disruptivebittechnologyaimsats
slipelimination
CRIwellsareoftendrilledwithhighdeviationtoplacetheinjectionzoneawayfromproducingwells.Higher Apr4,2017
deviationacceleratessolidssettlinginthewellbore.Indesigningtheinjectionwellpath,acompromise
betweenoffsetandsettlingriskhastobesought. IBPcontinuingtopushforchangein
Brazilianlocalcontent,environment
Asabestpractice,variouswelltrajectoryoptionsshouldbeexaminedforsettlingseverityvianumerical licensing
simulationsusingFEMbasedcode.Anotherimplicationisalignmentbetweenfracturesthatareoften Apr4,2017
verticalwiththewellbore.Fieldstressorientationsarerarelyknown,sominimizingthewelldeviationinthe
injectionintervalbelow30isagoodpractice. PACEnetworkbringstogether
operators,servicecompaniestotac
Fromexperience,dedicateddisposalwellsdrilledwithdeviationashighas60inthemiddlesectionand P&Achallenges
35inclinationovertheinjectionintervaloperatedwithnopluggingissues.Inonecase,anannularinjection Apr4,2017
wellwith72deviationattheinjectioncasingshoeaccommodated1.3millionbblofdrillingwasteover11
yearswithoutplugging. Petrobrasimplementstopdown
approachtoreliability
Tubularselection Apr3,2017

Correcttubingsizeselectionwillpreventorminimizesolidssettlingbyprovidingasufficientflowvelocity ExxonMobilannouncesnewoildisco
andflowregimeinsidethetubing.Turbulentortransitionalflowinsidethetubingarepreferredtoavoid offshoreGuyana
settlingwhilelaminarflowisundesirable.Tubingthatistoolargewillleadtoacceleratedsettling.Onthe Mar31,2017
otherhand,tubingthatistoosmallwillamplifyerosionandfrictionalpressurelosses.
Newcoiledtubingstringswith
Areasonablemedianmustbeselected.Inthediscussedcase,4.5in.orsmallertubingwerefoundto
consistentmicrostructurehavetwic
provideacceptableflowwhileinjectingat45bbl/minacommoninjectionrate. thelifeofconventionalstrings
Mar28,2017
Afurthersteptominimizesettlingriskisbyensuringadequaterheologyofslurrybylabtests.Inadditionto
optimumslurryproperties,thesetestsshoulddefinethemaximumallowablestaticresidencetimeofthe Applynow:LAGCOE2017technicalprogram,

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http://www.drillingcontractor.org/goodwelldesignhelpsmitigatesolidssettlingincuttingsreinjection30549 1/3
5/4/2017 GoodwelldesignhelpsmitigatesolidssettlingincuttingsreinjectionDrillingContractor
slurryinthewellbore.Thefinalstepisensuringtheproperdisplacementofthewellboreafterslurry Mar28,2017
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injectionsbysolidsfreefluidssonosolidsareleftinthewellbore. VIDEOS VIRTUAL PANEL DISCUSSIONS DC ARCHIVE

Experiencehasshownthatsolidssettlingandsubsequentpluggingofperforationsisthemostfrequent
complicationduringCRI.ProperinitialdesignoftheCRIwellcanavoidthisriskbyensuringoptimumtubular
selection,safewelltrajectoryandcompletionscheme.

Completionscheme RECENT DC ARTICLES

OtherimportantconsiderationswithimplicationsforCRIwell RememberingEgidioPalliotto
performancearelocationoftubingtailandrathole.Tubingtail Apr5,2017
shouldbeplacedatanoptimumdepthabovetheperforations.A
longerdistancewillprovideadditionalcontingencyinjectionintervals
thatcanbeemployedwithoutwellrecompletionincaseoffailurein GabaldonnamedChairmanofIADC
themainperforatedinterval.However,theexcessivelengthofthe UBO/MPDCommittee,provides
casingsectionwilltranslateintohighsettlingriskinthisintervaland activitiesupdate
Apr5,2017
largewellvolume.Fieldexperiencewithplacingthetubingtailbelow
perforationsleadtopluggingthewellbottomandisthusnot
ISOwellintegritystandardtargets
recommendedinCRIwells. entirewelllifecycle
Apr5,2017
Theratholebelowperforationsisanothercriticalfeature.Itwill
accommodateanysettledsolidssotheywillnotcoverthe
PetrobrasrevisesMPDapplication
perforationsimmediately.Althoughtheratholewilleventuallybe
strategy
filledwithsettledsolidsasobservedinthefield,itwillprovide
Apr4,2017
additionalsafetyforwellperformance.Inthefieldcase,theCRIwell
withnoratholebelow6mofperforatedintervalwaspluggedin
Disruptivebittechnologyaimsats
threemonths. MISWACOsportablecuttings
slipelimination
reinjection(CRI)systemscan
Apr4,2017
Perforationsshouldmeetindustrybestpracticesforfracturing besplitintoskidsandre
stimulationintermsofholesize,phasingandshotdensity.Interms assembledonlocationto
ofperforationinterval,410mofperforationintervalworkswellin ensureoptimumcompletions
mostCRIwells. (A).Inoffshoreenvironments,
cuttingsareinjectedthrough
CementusedfortheCRIwellmustbetopqualitytoavoidchanneling surfaceorsubseawellheads,
andtowithstandpressure/temperaturecycles.Forcontingency eliminatingtherisksandcosts
purposes,theintermediatecasingshoecanbeleftnotcementedso ofshippingwastefordisposal
theintermediateannuluscanbeusedforbackupinjectionincaseof (B).Onshoreoperatorscanrun
failureinthetubinginjectionzone. centralizedrigsinclose
proximity,usingoneCRIfacility
WellinjectionisthemostcriticalassetintheCRIproject.Planning (C).Cuttingsaresafelyand
anddesigningitrightfromtheearlystageswillallowavoidingmany permanentlyremediatedbelow
costlysetbacks.Forexample,asinglepluggingofoffshoreCRIwell thesurface(D).
canleadtomultimillionlossesduetolostrigtime,cleanupand
wastealternativedisposal.

ThisarticleisbasedonIADC/SPE167987,DrillCuttingsReInjectionWellDesignandCompletion:Best
PracticesandLessonsLearned,presentedatthe2014IADC/SPEDrillingConference&Exhibition,Fort
Worth,Texas,46March2014.

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ISOwellintegritystandard Petrobrasimplementstop Newcoiledtubingstringswith

targetsentirewelllifecycle downapproachtoreliability consistentmicrostructure
Apr5,2017 Apr3,2017 havetwicethelifeof
conventionalstrings
Mar28,2017

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