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CONTENTS
Volume 69 • Number 11

14 GUEST EDITORIAL • INNOVATION WILL DRIVE

SHALE SURVIVAL
A new, abundant source of oil and gas, shale has kept prices low for
nearly 3 years and threatens to do so for many more. History informs
us that this is likely, and the technology leaps required may be less
disruptive than the last down cycle.
24 TURNING DIRTY PRODUCED WATER INTO FRESH
WATER AND SALT TO SELL
Antero Resources has built a huge plant to turn waste water into fresh
water and salt for sale. The $275-million investment in West Virginia
is the most tangible indication of how operators in the Marcellus are
pushing water reuse.
30 DRILLING SLOWDOWN SPARKS WATER TRADING
When fracturing slowed last year in the Marcellus, companies holding
produced water they did not need for fracturing paid other operators
to take it. It provided a cheap source of fracturing water then, and in
the future, water trading could reduce the high cost of shipping water.
Gas producers in the Marcellus
32 PETROLEUM INDUSTRY SALARIES BEGIN TO RISE are changing how they manage
AFTER DOWNTURN water to minimize the volumes they
Petroleum industry professionals’ reported average total compensation draw from rivers in the three states
covered by the huge play.
in 2017 shows an increase from 2016 but it is still lower than the Source: Southwestern Energy.
average seen prior to the oil price downturn in 2014.
35 FRAC HITS REVEAL WELL SPACING MAY BE TOO TIGHT,
COMPLETION VOLUMES TOO LARGE
The effect of frac hits on production economics is becoming more
important as a result of the high-speed drilling in the US shale sector.
Recent research reveals the financial and recovery risks involved if well DEPARTMENTS
spacing results in well-to-well interference.
6 Performance Indices
38 OPERATORS SHARE FRAC SCHEDULES TO KNOW
WHEN WELLS ARE AT RISK 8 Regional Update
Faced with well damage caused by fracturing near older wells, a 10 President’s Column
group of operators in the Permian Basin has formed a consortium 12 Comments
that shares when and where fracturing will occur so they can take 16 Technology Applications
precautions, if necessary. 18 Technology Update
77 HONORING SPE’S HERITAGE AND FELLOW SPE 20 E&P Notes
MEMBERS THROUGH AIME, UEF, AAES AWARDS 71 SPE Events
An overview of honors and awards SPE members are eligible for from
78 People
SPE’s founder society American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and
Petroleum Engineers (AIME), United Engineering Foundation, and 79 Professional Services
American Association of Engineering Societies. 80 Advertisers’ Index

An Official Publication of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Printed in US. Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
We have the
40 DRILLING AND COMPLETION FLUIDS
superpower
Badrul Mohamed Jan, SPE, Researcher and Lecturer, University of Malaya

41 New Magnetite Nanoparticles Allow Smart Drilling Fluids

to see inside
With Superior Properties
your well.
43 Deepwater HP/HT Drilling-Fluid Development and Applications
in the South China Sea And like all good
46 High-Performance Brine Viscosifiers for High Temperatures superheroes, we’ll be
49 HORIZONTAL AND COMPLEX-TRAJECTORY WELLS
right there when you
Stéphane Menand, SPE, President, DrillScan US need us.
50 Optimizing Lateral Well Spacing by Improving VISURAY’s revolutionary VR90®
Directional-Survey Accuracy downhole X-ray diagnostic service is
now available in Europe, the Middle
53 Horizontal Drilling With Dual-Channel Drillpipe
East, and North America. In the North
56 3D Simulator Predicts Realistic Mud Displacement Sea, our groundbreaking technology
in Deviated and Horizontal Wells has been qualified by a major operator.
Wherever your well and whatever its
59 GAS PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY condition, you can count on us to see
Scott J. Wilson, SPE, Senior Vice President, Ryder Scott
what’s happening and deliver quality
60 Production Pressure-Drawdown Management for Fractured images 100% of the time. A quick call
Horizontal Shale Gas Wells to us is all it takes to put your well
back into operation. You save time and
63 Perforation and Flowback Highlights From the Gorgon Field, money, while VISURAY saves the day.
Offshore Australia

66 Hybrid Microseismic and Microdeformation Monitoring visuray.com

of a Coal-Seam-Gas Well Visit us at the Executive Oil Conference
in Midland, Texas from November 6-7.
69 OFFSHORE PRODUCTION AND FLOW ASSURANCE
Galen Dino, SPE, Senior Consultant, Dino Engineering

70 Wax-Deposition Experiments Decouple Hydrodynamic Parameters

To Aid Scaleup

72 Low-Adhesion Coatings Provide Novel Gas-Hydrate-Mitigation Strategy

74 Transient Simulation for Hydrate Mitigation Aims for Optimal Production
in Kuwait Fields

VISURAY ION
X-RAY VIS

The complete SPE technical papers featured in this issue are available
free to SPE members for 2 months at www.spe.org/jpt.
 TM

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SPE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
2018 President
Darcy Spady, Broadview Energy
2017 President
Janeen Judah, Chevron
2019 President
Sami Al Nuaim, Saudi Aramco
Vice President Finance
Roland Moreau, ExxonMobil Annuitant
REGIONAL DIRECTORS
AFRICA
Adeyemi Akinlawon, Adeb Konsult
CANADIAN
Cam Matthews, C-FER Technologies
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA
Joe Frantz Jr., Range Resources
GULF COAST NORTH AMERICA
J. Roger Hite, Inwood Solutions
MID-CONTINENT NORTH AMERICA
Chris Jenkins, Independent Energy Standards
MIDDLE EAST
Khalid Zainalabedin, Saudi Aramco
NORTH SEA
Karl Ludvig Heskestad, Aker BP
NORTHERN ASIA PACIFIC
Phongsthorn Thavisin, PTTEP
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NORTH AMERICA
Erin McEvers, Clearbrook Consulting
RUSSIA AND THE CASPIAN
Aizhana Jussupbekova,
North Caspian Operating Company
JPT STAFF
Glenda Smith, Publisher
John Donnelly, Editor
Pam Boschee, Senior Manager Magazines
Chris Carpenter, Technology Editor
Anjana Sankara Narayanan, Editorial Manager
Joel Parshall, Features Editor
Stephen Rassenfoss, Emerging Technology Senior Editor
Stephen Whitfield, Senior Staff Writer
Adam Wilson, Special Publications Editor
Craig Moritz, Assistant Director Americas Sales & Exhibits
Mary Jane Touchstone, Print Publishing Manager
David Grant, Digital Publishing Manager
Laurie Sailsbury, Composition Specialist
Dennis Scharnberg, Proofreader
Mohawk Energy
Recovering
SOUTH AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
your Wellbore
Cesar Patino, Ecopetrol
SOUTH, CENTRAL, AND EAST EUROPE
Jean-Marc Dumas, PCMC MetalPatch™ restores integrity in
SOUTH ASIA AND THE PACIFIC a single trip solution.
Tapas Kumar Sengupta, ONGC
SOUTHWESTERN NORTH AMERICA MetalPatch seals the problem
Elizabeth Cantrell, Concord Oil Company area with minimal loss of inner
WESTERN NORTH AMERICA
diameter, providing maximum
Andrei Popa, Chevron production and wellbore access.
TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
MetalPatch can be deployed in
DRILLING
offshore and onshore applications
Jeff Moss, ExxonMobil
up to 9-5/8 in. Qualified in
HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENT, carbons steel and CRA.
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Johana Dunlop
MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION
Birol Dindoruk, Shell
COMPLETIONS
Jennifer Miskimins, Colorado School of Mines
PRODUCTION AND FACILITIES
Hisham Saadawi, Ringstone Petroleum Consultants
RESERVOIR DESCRIPTION AND DYNAMICS
Tom Blasingame, Texas A&M University Parted Casing
DIRECTOR FOR ACADEMIA
Ramona Graves, Colorado School of Mines
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS
Khaled Al-Buraik, Saudi Aramco
Helena Wu, Santos Ltd.
The Journal of Petroleum Technology® magazine is a
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Mohawk Energy
expanding the limits
 PERFORMANCE INDICES

WORLD CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION+‡ HENRY HUB GULF COAST NATURAL GAS SPOT PRICE‡

THOUSAND BOPD
6
2017
O PEC MAR APR MAY JUNE 5 USD/million Btu
Algeria 1316 1306 1306 1306 4
Angola 1630 1700 1660 1690
3
Ecuador 531 528 533 540
Gabon 190 210 200 200 2
Iran 4544 4544 4554 4574
1
Iraq 4431 4426 4476 4491

OCT

NOV

DEC

2017
JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP
Kuwait1 2763 2763 2763 2774
Libya 590 535 780 850
Nigeria 1730 1780 1900 1945
Qatar 1507 1512 1517 1522
WORLD CRUDE OIL PRICES (USD/bbl)‡
Saudi Arabia1 9992 10022 10093 10193
UAE 3028 3008 3028 3048
Venezuela 2090 2080 2080 2060 2017
FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
TOTAL2 34544 34600 35076 35379
Brent 54.87 51.59 52.31 50.33 46.37 48.48 51.70 56.15

THOUSAND BOPD WTI 53.47 49.33 51.06 48.48 45.18 46.63 48.04 49.82

2017
NON-OPEC MAR APR MAY JUNE
Canada 3682 3484 3614 3729
WORLD ROTARY RIG COUNT†
China 3903 3891 3829 3944

Egypt 489 487 486 485

Mexico 2052 2045 2053 2035 2017

REGION MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
Norway 1750 1730 1651 1600
US 789 853 893 931 953 947 940
Russia 10654 10603 10543 10543
Canada 253 108 85 150 198 217 210
UK 945 915 931 941
USA 9131 9115 9170 9097 Latin America 185 182 190 192 196 191 177
Other3 13017 12941 13018 13098 Europe 94 91 95 91 82 91 91

TOTAL 45623 45211 45295 45472 Middle East 386 389 391 397 397 391 395

Total World 80167 79811 80371 80851 Africa 80 89 84 86 89 84 79

Asia Pacific 198 205 197 194 195 195 189

INDICES KEY
TOTAL 1985 1917 1935 2041 2110 2116 2081
Numbers revised by EIA are given in italics.
+ Figures do not include natural gas plant liquids.
1
Includes
 approximately one-half of Neutral Zone production.
2
Countries are classified as “OPEC” or “Non-OPEC” in all years based on WORLD OIL SUPPLY AND DEMAND‡
their status in the most current year.
3 Additional annual and monthly international crude oil production statistics
are available at http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/.
MILLION BOPD 2017
† Source: Baker Hughes.

‡ 
Source: EIA. Quarter 4th 1st 2nd 3rd

SUPPLY 98.36 96.98 97.59 98.29

DEMAND 97.88 97.22 98.31 98.77
Supply includes crude oil, lease condensates, natural gas plant liquids, biofuels, other liquids,
and refinery processing gains.

6 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

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 REGIONAL UPDATE
AFRICA
◗◗ Sonatrach will increase gas production
by 353.1 MMcf/D at its huge Hassi Messaoud
field and will then increase production by
211.8 MMcf/D at the nearby Rhourde el
Baguel field, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour said recently.
The Algerian state-run company is looking
to boost gas production, including output
from mature fields, to offset energy revenue
declines caused by the fall in oil prices.
The two fields are within the company’s
domestic operations.
ASIA
◗◗ Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
is not commenting on the potential of its
July offshore discovery at well WO 24-3, but
knowledgeable sources estimate that it holds
in-place reserves of about 146.6 million BOE.
The well lies west of the company’s Mumbai
High field, which annually produces about
65.9 million to 73.3 million BOE. ONGC tested
nine zones at WO 24-3, with one producing
more than 3,000 B/D of oil and deeper zones
encountering oil and gas, according to one
source, who also said that the discovery
8 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
is in a different play than those at Mumbai
High. The company plans appraisal drilling to
better define the size of the discovery.
◗◗ Sinopec has discovered shale gas in
Chongqing City in southwestern China.
The Dingye 4 well flowed 10 MMcf/D of
gas, which proved a commercial shale-gas
resource in the Dingshan structure according
to the company. Situated in the southeastern
Sichuan Basin, the discovery is 93 miles from
Sinopec’s producing Fuling shale-gas field.
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA
◗◗ Senex Energy has won the right to
develop a new coal-seam gas field in the
state of Queensland and said it would make
its first delivery from the field within 2 years.
That is a speedy timetable designed to
meet tight market conditions. Queensland
offered the acreage in the Surat Basin for
free earlier this year on the condition that its
production would supply the country’s east
coast market. A tripling in demand for gas
from three liquefied natural gas (LNG) export
plants is projected to cause a shortage
there by 2019. The field is estimated to hold
189.5 Bcf of gas and is close to pipelines.
Senex Managing Director Ian Davies called it
“development-ready, top tier acreage.”
EUROPE
◗◗ Hansa Hydrocarbons has participated
in the large Ruby natural gas discovery
that extends across several licenses in the
Dutch and German North Sea. The N05-1
well, operated by Oranje-Nassau Energie
(ONE), tested at a maximum sustained flow
of 53 MMscf/D and according to Hansa CEO
John Martin exceeded predrill expectations.
The wider licensed area around the well is
estimated to hold 2 Tcf feet of gas, which
is more than the Netherlands’ annual
production. Hansa is operator of the Dutch
and German licenses, holding interests
ranging from 25% to 50%. Energie Beheer
Nederland is also participating in the project.
MIDDLE EAST
◗◗ Zion Oil & Gas continued active drilling
operations at its Megiddo-Jezreel #1 well in
Israel near the eastern border with Jordan.
As of 20 September, the well had reached
a depth of 9,200 ft toward a possible total
depth of 15,000 ft. Wireline logs have been
run, a liner hanger has been set, and a 9⅝-in.
casing string was cemented to a depth of
6,552 ft. CEO Victor Carillo said that third-
party enhanced petrophysical log analysis
showed penetration of hydrocarbon zones,
but he could not comment on their “volume,
producibility, or commerciality” until all zones
of interest had been drilled. “A key objective
zone” had yet to be penetrated, he noted.
NORTH AMERICA
◗◗ Eni has finished drilling the Miztón-2
well in the Bay of Campeche Bay offshore
Mexico. The shallow-water well reportedly
has upgraded the resource potential of the
area to more than 1.4 billion BOE. Situated
6.25 miles from the company’s recent Amoca
discovery, the Miztón well encountered 607 ft
of net oil pay in the high-quality sandstone of
the Orca formation. Oil gravity is estimated at
28–30 °API. Eni plans to continue its drilling
campaign by spudding a well on the nearby
Tecoalli discovery.
◗◗ Chevron will invest $4 billion next year
to ramp up its crude oil production in the
Permian Basin in west Texas and eastern New
Mexico, according to Ryan Krogmeier, the
company’s vice president of crude supply
and trading. The Chevron executive told
the S&P Global Platts APPEC conference in
Singapore that the company would increase
its production in the basin to more than
400,000 B/D over the next few years.
Chevron expects basin crude oil output from
all producers to climb to 2.4 million B/D
by 2020, a 1 million B/D increase from the
current level.
SOUTH AMERICA
◗◗ Exxon Mobil plans to invest $200 million
to boost natural gas output in Argentina’s
Vaca Muerta Shale, a spokeswoman reported
recently. The company has asked the
government of Neuquén province for a 35-year
unconventional production concession in the
Los Toldos I Sur Block, which the company
operates. The Vaca Muerta is one of the
world’s largest sources of unconventional
gas reserves, and attracting investment in
the growing play there is a key priority for
the Argentine government. ExxonMobil last
year said it could invest more than $10 billion
in shale projects over the region in the next
20 to 30 years. The company holds an 80%
interest in the Los Toldos I Sur block, with
Tecpetrol and Gas y Petróleo de Neuquén
each holding 10% interests. JPT
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 COMMUNITY CONSENSUS
Don’t Kill the Chickens,
Build Community Consensus
Darcy Spady, 2018 SPE President
What is that smell?!
As a small boy, after doing the chores on
one sunny summer day, I was happy to
have a farm to run around on with lots
of distractions. Life was grand, and the
farm was my oyster.
Suddenly, there was this awful smell
like rotten eggs wafting from the field. The nearby drilling rig
was in operation but something unexpected had happened,
and the crew was reacting to the situation. Dad was not sure
what to do but was quite concerned about his 5,000 chickens.
Chickens, like canaries in coal mines, are quite fragile when it
comes to gases in the air. There was no way he could isolate the
barn from the smell, so he gathered up the family and, similar
to what you would do in a prairie storm, we went to the safest
place in the farmhouse to wait it out: the basement.
Now, most of you reading this story know exactly what was
going on, and—as I am still alive to relay the story—the worst
case did not occur. Not a single chicken died, and more im-
portantly, not a single member of the Spady farm family suc-
cumbed to the killer hydrogen sulfide gases gathering in the
low spots, such as the basement.
Not much was ever said about the incident, and I am not
sure if Dad ever followed up with the company man on the rig.
We were pretty happy to have the novelty of a drilling rig on
our farm, and benefited from the surface payments (royalty
in Alberta at the time, as now, was generally held by the gov-
ernment). When I grew up it was a normal sight to see large
piles of bright yellow sulfur byproduct at nearby gas plants
awaiting shipment for agricultural use. This was all part of the
new and exciting world of oil and gas that was eclipsing agri-
culture as the new provider of local jobs. I still drive the farm
equipment around that old wellhead when I help with the
crop seeding and harvesting. We have co-existed quite nicely
for 50 years.
As I enter my presidency, I have formulated five goals for
the year, and this month’s column will focus on the importance
of local community consensus. I spent this past year looking at
our industry to decide where I would like to focus my year as
president, and my columns will each touch on one of these ob-
jectives. I outlined them in more detail in my JPT question and
answer column last month, but briefly, they are:
To contact the SPE President, email president@spe.org.
10
◗ Revisit the SPE strategic plan, which has not been
updated in 5 years.
◗ Promote the importance of heavy oil technology. Heavy
oil is in need of a few champions, and I want to be one
of them.
◗ Increase awareness about the need for community
consensus and corporate social responsibility.
◗ Ensure that SPE’s new sections and remote-area sections
receive the same quality of programs and services that
the larger, better-established sections receive.
◗ Represent and support the independent and small
producers around the world. Their innovation,
sometimes created from desperation, is critical for
a well-rounded society.
As I mentioned above, my Dad did not inquire into that gas
release; however, today our communities are quite attuned to
our operations. Two things are significantly different. First,
safety standards, monitoring, and community emergency
procedures have developed to a sophisticated level that I hope
never puts one single chicken in jeopardy—nor a stream or a
family farm. If an incident like the one I described happened
today, there would be a lot of people in big trouble and fines
imposed all round. Second, communities in many parts of the
world do not want anything to do with our industry or have
our presence anywhere near them. In this column, I want to
concentrate on the second scenario and preface it with this
question: What has changed so dramatically?
We hear the term “social license” a lot, to the point at which
an Internet search will produce a host of social license experts
and practitioners. It has become a “thing to obtain or do” as
opposed to a pure objective. We have created a new term that
people can hide behind and debate endlessly. I believe that we
need to take it to the broader level and rethink how we do our
work and achieve community consensus. We may not be loved
by all, but we are necessary and as such have to figure out a
way to have overall community support or participation in
creating the forms of energy that we use.
How do we do better as members of SPE? How do we con-
duct our necessary work in an environment that is skeptical?
How do we earn back the trust of the public? Should we align
with or support the regulators to enhance our image?
First, we need to start by making sure that we are good
corporate citizens. That happens by being the best we can
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
We should be known by the public as an industry that has an impeccable safety culture. Source: Getty Images.
as SPE individuals, by ensuring the technical quality of our
work would meet our own standards. That attitude should
creep into our corporate structure, setting up the framework
of corporate social responsibility. Good corporate citizenship
starts with being good citizens. Good, conscientious, techni­
cally competent SPE members should be good citizens. That’s
where we start.
Secondly, living our lives in the regions where we work
really helps the public perception. We tend to group and hide
in safe, corporate (or head) offices, rather than listening to
the people who interact with our end product. We should be
known by the public as an industry that has an impeccable
safety culture combined with a desire to be good citizens of
the planet. Sometimes we are.
In 2016, the Fort McMurray, Canada, forest fires dominated
local news for the entire summer. Amazingly, the major news
sources reported that a “culture of safety and taking evacua­
tion orders” enabled nearly 90,000 people to evacuate, with
not a single death directly tied to the evacuation process. We
need a lot more stories such as this one that explains the good
in our industry—with evidence to back us up.
Thirdly, how do we earn back the trust of the public? This
will probably take a generation, or at least a decade. It can’t be
bought or regulated. It must be earned, the slow way. Sorry,
no easy answers. No list of rebuttals that will solve the prob­
lem and make everyone happy. We should not even engage in
arguments. Who wants to listen to some technical geek tell
them that they are wrong? Not me!
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
Lastly, do we align with or support our regulators overtly to
enhance our image? In my opinion, no. As members of SPE,
we want our people embedded in all parts of the energy cycle.
We want to have competent members in the operating com­
panies, the consulting firms, the service providers, the suppli­
ers, and the regulators, including government. SPE does not
endorse or take a public position as an organization, but I am
very pleased to report that we have members in key positions
of government and regulatory bodies all around the world.
We have come a long way as an industry since the story
about the chickens. Our standards are among the highest of
any industry, and safety statistics bear out an increasingly im­
proving landscape. To add to this, we are relentlessly “driv­
ing to zero,” having a goal of no losses in whatever grouping
that we measure our progress. This is amazing. We know it.
Others don’t.
Fifty years ago, no chickens died in an accidental hydrogen
sulfide gas release on a sunny summer day north of Calgary.
That was luck.
Today, our goal is that no chickens (or any other critters)
die on sunny summer days anywhere because of releases of
hydrogen sulfide gas. This change was brought about because
of new habits, tough standards, and accountable citizens
working for companies with corporate social responsibility at
the core of their existence. This constitutes a start in earning
back the trust of the public.
I think I’m going to go have a chicken sandwich to prepare
for the work ahead! JPT
11
 COMMENTS EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Bernt Aadnøy, University of Stavanger

Syed Ali—Chairperson, Consultant

How JPT Selects Tayfun Babadagli, University of Alberta

William Bailey, Schlumberger

Technical Papers Mike Berry, Mike Berry Consulting

Maria Capello, Kuwait Oil Company

John Donnelly, JPT Editor Frank Chang, Saudi Aramco

Simon Chipperfield, Santos

JPT publishes summaries of 144 technical papers a year, choos- Alex Crabtree, Hess Corporation

ing from among more than 4,000 papers to ensure that it is Gunnar DeBruijn, Schlumberger
publishing the “best of the best.” Although this has been stan- Mark Egan, Retired
dard practice for the magazine for years, many SPE members, as Mark Elkins, Retired
well as nonmembers, are unclear how these papers are selected.
Alexandre Emerick,
It starts with dedicated volunteers. The JPT Editorial Com- Petrobras Research Center
mittee comprises 47 oil and gas industry professionals who are Niall Fleming, Statoil
experts in their field. Committee members volunteer their time
Ted Frankiewicz, SPEC Services
to review technical papers and abstracts that have been presented at SPE conferences
as well as the multisociety Offshore Technology Conference, Unconventional Resourc- Stephen Goodyear, Shell

es Technology Conference, and International Petroleum Technology Conference and Omer M. Gurpinar, Schlumberger
identify the most relevant, high-interest, and practical papers for publication. Occa- A.G. Guzman-Garcia, Retired
sionally, papers that have not been presented at a conference but submitted directly Greg Horton, Retired
to JPT are reviewed. Reviewers also attempt to ensure that the papers represent the
John Hudson, Shell
industry’s geographic and corporate diversity. JPT staff then summarize the chosen
Morten Iversen, Karachaganak Petroleum
papers in 2–3 pages with access to the full-length paper available online. SPE members
can access the full-length papers for free for 2 months at www.spe.org/jpt. Over the Leonard Kalfayan, Hess Corporation

course of the year, JPT will publish summaries of 12–16 papers monthly in a variety of Thomas Knode, Athlon Solutions
upstream areas such as hydraulic fracturing, formation evaluation, completions, and Sunil Kokal, Saudi Aramco
enhanced oil recovery to name a few. Marc Kuck, Eni US Operating
The committee members have diverse positions in the industry as well as back-
Jesse C. Lee, Schlumberger
grounds. They include professionals at operators, service companies, national oil
Douglas Lehr, Baker Hughes
companies, independents, consultancies, and in academia. Qualifications to serve on
the committee include SPE membership, be a recognized industry expert on a par- Silviu Livescu, Baker Hughes

ticular technical topic, have at least 10 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, Shouxiang (Mark) Ma, Saudi Aramco
and have been an author of SPE technical papers. The chair of the committee serves a John Macpherson, Baker Hughes
3-year term as do the committee members. Current members of the committee and Stéphane Menand, DrillScan
their job affiliations can be found to the right of this column.
Graham Mensa-Wilmot, Chevron
The goal of publishing these technical paper summaries is to provide readers with
Badrul H. Mohamed Jan, University of Malaya
short versions of important papers. In years past, JPT published full-length technical
papers but that allowed for publication of only a few over the course of the year. Pub- Zillur Rahim, Saudi Aramco

lishing summaries allows readers to be exposed to a variety of ideas and technology Eric Ringle, FMC Technologies
applications and an avenue to easily access the full-length paper if interested. This Martin Rylance, BP plc
help meets JPT’s, and SPE’s, goal of disseminating and sharing knowledge about recent Robello Samuel, Halliburton
state-of-the-art developments, best practices, and solutions in E&P technology.
Otto L. Santos, Retired
Each reviewer also picks additional papers for a recommended reading list, for
Luigi A. Saputelli, Frontender Corporation
those interested in more high-quality information on a topic, and prepares an article
on the state of the technology in that particular discipline. So far this year, the com- Sally A. Thomas, Retired

mittee has reviewed 3,795 papers and will have reviewed more than 4,000 by the end Win Thornton, BP plc
of the calendar year. Xiuli Wang, Baker Hughes
The process is distinct, but sometimes confused, with peer review. SPE’s online tech- Mike Weatherl, Well Integrity
nical journals publish peer-reviewed papers, which is a more lengthy process involving
Scott Wilson, Ryder Scott Company
industry experts carefully evaluating a paper and working with the author to clarify or
Jonathan Wylde, Clariant Oil Services
validate certain assumptions or statements. JPT
Robert Ziegler, Weatherford

To contact JPT’s editor, email jdonnelly@spe.org.

12 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

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· © 2017 All Rights Reserved · 1603
 GUEST EDITORIAL
Innovation Will Drive Shale Survival
Vikram Rao, Executive Director, Research Triangle Energy Consortium
That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.
—Friedrich Nietzsche, 1889
The petroleum industry has seen up and down cycles. In the
past, they have been driven by politics, such as in the case of
the Arab oil embargo, or supply and demand imbalances, driv-
en primarily by unrest and recessions. The creation of OPEC
dampened the latter. But this time it is different. Shale, a new,
abundant source of oil and gas has more than halved oil prices.
It has kept prices low for nearly 3 years, and threatens to do so
for many more. This threat will be realized if the industry can be
profitable at sustained prices below $40/bbl.
History informs us that this is likely. The last long-lived drop
in activity roughly spanned the decade from the mid-1980s to
the mid-1990s. The rig count was more than halved from 1984
levels for well over a decade. This trailed the oil price drop,
which nearly halved from 1980 to 1985, and stayed that low for
over a decade. For the industry to survive, oil companies needed
lower production costs and the service companies still needed
to make a profit at low activity levels. This is precisely the situ-
Vikram Rao, SPE, is executive director of
the Research Triangle Energy Consortium
(www.rtec-rtp.org), a nonprofit organiza-
tion founded by Duke University, North
Carolina State University, RTI International,
and the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. Its mission is to illuminate
national energy priorities, and those of the
world, and to catalyze research to address these priorities.
Rao also advises the nonprofit RTI International, venture capi-
talist Energy Ventures, and firms BioLargo, Global Energy
Talent, Biota Technology, Melnior Innovations, and Eastman
Chemicals. He retired as senior vice president and chief tech-
nology officer of Halliburton in 2008. Later that year he took
his current position. He also is past chairman of the North
Carolina Mining and Energy Commission.
Rao’s latest book is Sustainable Shale Oil and Gas: Analytical
Chemistry, Geochemistry and Biochemistry Methods, pub-
lished in 2016 by Elsevier Press. He holds a bachelor’s degree in
engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras,
India, along with a master’s degree and a doctorate in materi-
als science and engineering from Stanford University. He is the
author of more than 30 publications and has been awarded 40
US patents and foreign analogs.
14
ation today in shale oil and gas. On that occasion, the indus-
try responded with innovation in technology and, to a lesser
degree, in business models. This too will happen today.
Horizontal Wells and More
Horizontal wells, possibly the single greatest productivi-
ty improvement innovation in the business, came into their
own during that earlier downturn. They had been known for
decades, but this period produced additional key enablers for
economic construction. Desktop 3-D seismic interpretation
allowed for placement in the most productive portions of reser-
voirs. Polycrystalline diamond composite (PDC) bits improved
drilling rates. Measurement while drilling (MWD) gave crucial
position information on the fly. Later, MWD systems allowed
formation evaluation, which was prohibitive with conventional
logging methods in hole angles greater than 60 degrees. At this
point, drillers knew where to be, and where they were, in 3-D
and geologic space.
The final piece to the puzzle was the steerable system. The
state of the art at the time required different drilling assemblies
for the vertical portion, the turn to horizontal, and the horizon-
tal section. The turn was accomplished with a bend in the motor
assembly. The bend was taken out for the straight horizontal
section. Then, a maverick drilling engineer in Alaska experi-
mented with drilling ahead with the bend, by rotating the string.
The string flopped in the hole, and made it off-round. But time
was saved, and sliding friction was much less a limitation on the
length of the lateral. This was hard on the motor bearings, and
motor survival became an issue. The compelling value propo-
sition of horizontal wells in the Austin Chalk tolerated motor
unreliability. Soon, designs were improved, and the industry had
an efficient system. During this period, the combination of the
innovations noted above dropped the cost per barrel by over half.
A key enabler was the industry shifting to the asset unit busi-
ness model. Prior to this, individual departmental silos gov-
erned the introduction of new technology. Cost-per-foot think-
ing was dominant. Many of the innovations cost more per foot,
but delivered more production. This cost-per-barrel mentality
was enabled by the formation of asset units. Accordingly, the
service companies were able to be profitable, while at the same
time enabling greater profits for the operator. In fact, this was
the period in which the company for which I worked, Sperry
Sun, an innovator in the space, really took off, in revenue and
earnings, in a down market.
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
 The last time around, the advances were primarily in drilling,
in one form or another, with an assist from formation evalu-
ation. Even completions lagged. Today, in a classic combina-
tion with hydraulic fracturing, horizontal wells have opened
the door to previously untouchable low permeability supplies
of gas and oil. In response to the plummet in oil prices, two fac-
tors lowered the break-even cost of production: deep discounts
from services companies and improved operational efficiency.
Pad drilling, where multiple wells can be drilled separated by
just tens of feet using a single rig on rails, was a major contribu-
tor. Pad drilling also allowed more efficient delivery, centralized
storage, and dispensing of materials such as water and prop-
pant, and economies of scale for operations such as water treat-
ment and recycling. The efficiency improvements are here to
stay. But many service company bankruptcies later, a firming of
service prices is in the cards. Sustaining, and continuing, break-
even cost reduction will take innovation that benefits both the
service companies and the operators. Just like the last time.
Illuminating the Reservoir
This time, it will be mostly about illuminating the reservoir:
much better reservoir characterization than currently available.
In large measure because the wells have intrinsically high drill-
ing and completion costs, and because the wells are horizontal,
sophisticated logs are seldom run. Furthermore, conventional
logging methods are not as informative in such tight rock as
in conventional reservoirs. Accordingly, reservoir information
in the laterals is relatively sparse. A paper published in 2011
demonstrated significant reservoir heterogeneity. The authors
characterization, especially if obtained with minimal intrusive-
ness to the operation, ought to energize many avenues. Minia-
turization, advanced imaging, and new analytical techniques
are likely means. Example targets, certainly not exhaustive, nor
in any order, with many already being pursued, are:
◗◗ Identify sweet spots for targeting frac zones in primary
production and/or refracturing
◗◗ Optimally space laterals to improve drainage while also
minimizing negative impacts of fracture-driven, well-to-
well communications (frac hits)
◗◗ Enhanced recovery methods to improve production; could
even be huff and puff
◗◗ Improve and stabilize conductivity in frac channels
through better understanding of surface energies
and fracturing techniques specific to unconventional
formations
◗◗ Measures to reduce decline rates
The technology leaps required may be less “disruptive” (in
the sense of Christensen’s disruptive technologies) than the last
time. Also, the industry has been investigating many of these
avenues for years. Expect much of the heavy lifting to be by the
major service companies and startups in the service space. The
stakes are higher than mere survival. Success equates to North
American energy independence, and an innovation-based foun-
dation under a profitable industry, at consumer-friendly low
oil prices. JPT

&
showed that up to 30% of frac clusters were nonproductive. SPE Canada SPE Canada
And yet, to this day, by and large, the lateral is simply divided Unconventional Heavy Oil
up in equally spaced zones, with two to six frac clusters distrib- Resources Conference
ence Technical Conference
C
uted in each zone in geometric fashion. Hydraulic fracturing www.spe.org/go/18URC
18URC ww
www.spe.org/go/18CHOC
accounts for the majority of the well cost. Consequently, tar-
geted fracturing would reduce costs substantially if innovative
techniques could achieve sufficient reservoir understanding to
allow targeting the specific flow units and sweet spots within
the source rocks.
Refracturing may be a potentially rewarding avenue. This
entails going back into a producing well and fracturing in new
spots or improving the fracture connections in producing flow
units. Refracs often regain near original flows for a short time,
demonstrating that fracture-to-reservoir connection is the
issue, not just depletion. Identification of sweet spots has obvi-
ous benefits, as does any dedicated delivery service that makes Two great events, one low price.
this operation more efficient. In the last few years, strides have Register now!
been made in polymeric diverting agents that dissolve over
time. The diversion may be needed to temporarily close existing Showcase your company to a targeted audience.
fracture entry points in the formation, to direct the frac fluid Become an exhibitor or sponsor!
solely to the refrac points.
In principle, the objective is to address either the numerator
13–14 March 2018 | Calgary, Alberta, Canada
or the denominator in the cost per barrel variable. While more
Calgary Telus Convention Centre
improvement may be feasible, drilling optimization likely takes
a back seat, except for more completion-friendly wellbores. The
greater potential lies in the denominator: improving net recov-
eries, with higher production rates, if possible. Better reservoir

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 15

 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS

Chris Carpenter, JPT Technology Editor

Directional-Drilling-
Guidance System
The Nabors Rigwatch Navigator
directional-drilling-guidance system
automates the directional-drilling
decision-making process with sophisti-
cated data-driven algorithms improving
efficiency and accuracy while reducing
variability. The system collects surface
and measurement-while-drilling survey
data and uses them in conjunction with
other sources of information, includ-
ing the well plan; known drilling con-
straints caused by formations; operator
best practices; bottomhole-assembly,
motor output, and rotary tendencies;
and geosteering inputs and corrections
to compute potential trajectories to drill
ahead. Rigwatch Navigator then selects
the optimal path to keep the well within
a prescribed window around a well plan
while keeping well tortuosity to a mini- Fig. 1—Weatherford’s AutoTong Automated Pipe-Makeup and Connection-
mum. On the basis of the optimal path, Evaluation System increases the safety and efficiency of well-construction
operations.
instructions are automatically generat-
ed to the driller to rotate or slide. The 3D
visualizations allow the driller to see the ed AutoEvaluate software automatical-
actual and projected well paths relative ly evaluates the connection quality on
to the well plan. the basis of high-resolution data and
◗◗For additional information, visit does not require a joint-makeup ana-
www.nabors.com. lyst to interpret the data. By eliminat-
ing the element of human error from
Automated Pipe-Makeup and the physical makeup and connection-
Connection-Evaluation System validation processes, the AutoTong
Weatherford introduced the Auto- system increases the safety and efficien-
Tong system, featuring AutoEvaluate cy of well-construction operations.
connection-makeup software (Fig. 1). ◗◗For additional information, visit
The technology automates pipe make- www.weatherford.com.
up and provides autonomous connec-
tion evaluation. With the AutoTong sys- Onboard Renewable Energy
tem, the final pipe-makeup process is for Offshore Platforms
initiated with the push of a button. The Amphibious Energy has developed an
system autonomously determines the offshore energy container (EC), which
appropriate connection parameters on is portable and powered by a highly
the basis of the pipe and thread cri- specialized offshore wind turbine.
teria specified by the original equip- Wind energy is converted to electrical
ment manufacturer. Providing complete power and stored in multiple battery
control throughout the final make- packs. Each EC supplies a minimum of
up sequence, the system continuous- 3500  kW-h. For small platforms, a sin-
Fig. 2—The offshore EC developed
ly monitors the torque and adjusts the gle EC suffices; larger platforms can use by Amphibious Energy converts wind
rotational speed of the casing to achieve multiple ECs (Fig. 2). The turbine, with energy to electrical power and stores
the optimal torque value. The integrat- a diameter of 2 m, is made of alumi- it in multiple battery packs.

16 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

Fig. 3—Alternating CARBOAIR technology with standard proppant within a fracturing stage using slickwater fluids can
provide increased effective propped length as well as full productive zone coverage, leading to additional production
and ultimate recovery.
num and is fully offshore-coated. It is
equipped with durable offshore bear-
ings and can be fitted with a range of
generators (3, 5, or 10 kW). If the wind
exceeds a certain threshold, the wind
turbine will stop itself to protect the
electrical systems. After a short cool-
down period, the turbine is released
and continues operation automatical-
ly. A standard EC is equipped with a
redundant inverter system and a char-
ger to provide constant power in vari-
ous formats. It is configured to sur-
vive a minimum of 2 weeks without
wind. The batteries provide power to
maintain the safety systems on board.
The health of each EC can be remote-
ly monitored onshore. The EC enables
reduction of operational cost on plat-
forms significantly while at the same
time supplying them with clean, renew-
able energy.
◗◗For additional information, please
visit www.amphibiousenergy.com.
Corrosion- and
Scale-Mitigation Solution
When iron sulfide, corrosion, and scale
are present, they can cause difficulties
such as plugged tubing and flowlines;
corrosion-induced leaks; water-quality
issues; and health, safety, and environ-
mental (HSE) concerns. Existing treat-
ments often feature limited injection
points and the need for multiple cap-
illary strings to be installed for con-
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
tinuous treatment. Operators are often
forced to perform frequent workovers
to repair and clean the well before opti-
mum production can resume, result-
ing in unwanted downtime and costs.
To overcome these challenges and limi-
tations, Baker Hughes, a GE com­pany,
developed the FUSE WCW3444 triple-
combination product. The solution
brings together an iron-sulfide dissolv-
er, a corrosion inhibitor, and a scale
inhibitor into a single chemical solu-
tion. Unlike traditional offerings, this
product provides continuous treatment
without the need for multiple capil-
lary strings, pumps, or injection points,
helping to avoid unnecessary operation-
al costs and logistics while reducing
the overall surface footprint and asso-
ciated HSE concerns. A single, continu-
ous treatment is especially valuable for
operators who cannot meet the needed
performance metrics with batch treat-
ments, as well as in long horizontal wells
where batch treatments fail to effective-
ly control iron sulfide coming from the
horizontal section.
◗◗For additional information, visit
www.bhge.com.
Ceramic Proppant Technology
Fracture-stimulation designs and cost
structures are continually evolving in
unconventional reservoirs. Consequent-
ly, slickwater fracturing fluids are being
deployed more frequently because they
cost less, have a reduced impact on prop-
pant pack damage, and have reduced
chemical package requirements. How-
ever, the low viscosity of these fluids
negatively affects proppant-carrying
capacity, making proppant transport
and placement a problem when design-
ing an optimized, effective stimulation.
Because slickwater treatments are sub-
ject to limitations in proppant maxi-
mum concentration, the result can be
lower fracture conductivity. CARBOAIR
is a new high-transport, ultralow-­
density ceramic-proppant technology
developed by CARBO. With chemically
engineered internal porosity, CARBO­
AIR is designed to maximize produc-
tion and estimated ultimate recovery
from slickwater fracturing operations.
CARBOAIR, with a 30 to 40% lower
settling rate compared with sand or
­resin-coated sand, is able to increase
the propped fracture height and length
over a range of applications, maximiz-
ing the effective fracture contact area
and conductivity (Fig. 3). The technol-
ogy has been proven to deliver better
proppant transport, propped fracture
geometry (length and height), frac-
ture conductivity, and reservoir contact
area compared with conventional sand,
increasing production and adding value
for operators working across a variety
of formations. JPT
◗◗For additional information, visit
www.carboceramics.com.
17
 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
New Antifoam Additive Shows Superior Ability
To Reduce Air Entrainment in Cement Slurry
L. Cabori, B. Abrams, and C. Miller, SPE, Hexion
Zonal isolation is a critical part of well-
bore construction. To achieve zonal iso-
lation, cement must be properly mixed
before pumping downhole. Air entrain-
ment that occurs during mixing can
lead to errors in cement density read-
ings. The use of powder antifoaming
additives can enable a reduced level of
air entrainment in the matrix of the
cement slurry, but often requires liquid
defoaming additives to reduce the sur-
face air entrainment.
The X-Air P cement powder antifoam,
developed by Hexion, is designed to pre-
vent air entrainment in cement systems.
The reduced air entrainment achieved
results in an improved density control
for a more accurately mixed slurry. The
70
60
% Initial Gas Entrainment
50
40
30
20
10
0
HEC HEC+PNS HEC+NaCl
X-Air P Cement Additive
Alternative Product
Fig. 1—The X-Air P cement additive
has less entrained air in the presence
of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC),
polyunsulfonated napthalene
(HEC+PNS), and sodium chloride
(HEC+NaCl) compared with an
alternative commercial formulation.
Source: Hexion.
18
additive uses a unique chemistry that
has been proven in the field to be at
least 50% more efficient than an alterna-
tive, widely available commercial formu-
lation, with more stable cement slurries
achieved as a result.
The Hexion cement antifoam additive
(CAA) is applicable in a variety of cement
formulations, including those that con-
tain dispersants, accelerators, retarders,
and fluid-loss additives. The CAA is a
free-flowing powder that is stable in wide
temperature and humidity ranges and
resists clumping. Its performance may
also eliminate the need for a liquid de-
foamer on location.
Development and Testing
Following the effort that identified the
need for a more effective powder anti-
foam, extensive laboratory testing was
performed by in-house domain experts,
service company specialists, and other
third-party laboratories. Initial inter-
nal performance testing involved mix-
ing the CAA at 0.1% by weight of cement
(BWOC) into Portland cement, blending
it with water and common cement addi-
tives, and measuring the density of the
slurry. Portland cement classes A, C, G,
and H were tested.
Variations of fluid-loss additives, dis-
persants, and accelerators were used.
The same test procedure was followed
with the use of an alternative commercial
formulation. The results in Fig. 1 show
that the CAA had measurably lower air
entrainment than the alternative mix-
ture, which led to more consistent results
with a variety of cement additives. Third-
party testing showed that the CAA had
negligible effects on rheology, free water,
thickening time, compressive strength,
and fluid loss.
Additional performance testing was
conducted at a third-party laboratory.
The slurry stability test was performed
according to API RP 10B-4 to test the
ability of the cement antifoam to reduce
air entrainment. For this test, 0.1 gal/sk
[sack] of a foaming surfactant was used.
The CAA and the alternative formula-
tion were independently evaluated at a
concentration of 0.1% BWOC, and a con-
trol slurry with no antifoam was also eval-
uated. Slurry height was recorded in the
mixing cup and poured in 250-ml cylin-
ders. The volume reduction was recorded
after 1 hour and 2 hours. After 2 hours,
the slurry with the CAA achieved a den-
sity almost 20% higher than the alterna-
tive formulation, with the results showing
a significant reduction of entrained air.
Before the field trials, a customer per-
formed testing in its laboratory using its
own slurry that was designed to maxi-
mize foaming. Three samples of that slur-
ry were blended with a target density of
11.9 ppg, one as a control without an anti-
foam, one with an alternative antifoam,
and one with the CAA. The results of a
density test performed according to API
RP 10B-4, Section 9.2, are shown in Fig. 2.
Compared with the alternative for-
mulation, the CAA showed reduced air
entrainment, which resulted in the cus-
tomer achieving a slurry density closer to
its target of 11.9 ppg. The CAA was within
3% of the target density, while the alter-
native slurry formulation and the con-
trol slurry were 19% and 28% off the
target, respectively.
Field Trial
A field trial was conducted with one of
North America’s largest cement service
providers. The goal was to demonstrate
the effectiveness of the CAA in light-
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
 Control
Fig. 2—The first cup is the control (8.55 ppg), the second cup is the alternative formulation (9.6 ppg), and the third cup
is the X-Air P cement antifoam additive (11.5 ppg). Source: Hexion.
weight cement slurries that contained
pozzolan and a bentonite gel with high
water requirements. A group of 10 wells
was selected for the trial.
For the first five wells, the CAA was
blended into the cement at the same con-
centration as the alternative powdered
antifoam. For the remaining wells, the
CAA blend concentration was half that
of the alternative antifoam. The trial was
conducted by splitting the lead cement
in one bulk truck and blending half the
volume with the CAA in one pod and half
with alternative formulation in the other.
Atmospheric and pressurized mud
scales were used to determine the den-
sity results for each trial well. To limit the
variables that could affect the results, the
same crew and cement pump equipment
were used for all phases of the field trial.
Field Test Method
An analytical testing method was used to
determine the amount of air entrainment
found when mixing and pumping down-
hole at the wellsites. While mixing, a
sample was taken from the slurry tub and
placed into an atmospheric mud scale in
which the density was measured.
Simultaneously, a sample was taken
and placed in a pressurized mud scale to
determine the true density of the cement
slurry. The pressurized mud scales
remove any entrained air by forcing more
cement in the slurry cup and displacing
any air bubbles, which gives a better rep-
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
Alternative Commercial
Cement Powder Antifoam
resentation of true density downhole.
The difference between the two densities
showed the amount of air entrainment
within the cement slurry.
The initial trial well used a 65/35 Class
C blend containing 6% bentonite with a
target density of 12.4 lbm/gal and used
a 0.4% BWOC concentration for each
antifoam formulation. Each slurry was
weighed twice by using the atmospheric
and pressurized mud scales. The results
showed 50% less air entrapment for the
CAA compared with the alternative pow-
dered antifoam.
According to the service company’s
site supervisor, no liquid defoamer was
needed when the CAA was used, while
approximately 4 gal of defoamer were
needed when the alternative formulation
was used.
With the success of the CAA in the first
trial well, the service company chose to
cut the concentration in half on the sec-
ond trial well. For that well, a density
of 12.7 lbm/gal was targeted for a 65/35
blend that contained 6% bentonite. The
concentrations were 0.25% BWOC for
the CAA and 0.5% BWOC for the alterna-
tive antifoam.
For this trial, each slurry was weighed
three times with atmospheric and pres-
surized mud scales. The results showed
24% less air entrapment for the CAA com-
pared with the alternative formulation.
Based on the success of the first two
wells, the service company chose to fol-
X-Air P
Cement Powder Antifoam
low up with an additional trial well to
confirm the advanced additive perfor-
mance. For the third well, a density of
12.7 lbm/gal was targeted for a 65/35
blend with 6% bentonite. The concen-
trations again were 0.25% BWOC and
0.5% BWOC for the CAA and the alterna-
tive antifoam, respectively.
Each slurry was weighed twice with
atmospheric and pressurized mud scales.
The results showed 56% less air entrap-
ment for CAA compared with the alterna-
tive formulation.
The comparison between the two
scale readings indicated that there was
less entrained air in the CAA slurry. The
cement crew commented that the dry
bulk cement with the CAA appeared less
clumpy than that with the alternative
powdered antifoam when the retained
samples were caught.
The service company pump operator
indicated that the CAA slurry mixed eas-
ily and allowed constant density to be
maintained easily.
Conclusion
The X-Air P cement powder antifoam
has proven to be very effective in labo-
ratory testing and field trials. Even at
half the concentration of a commer-
cial product with an alternative for-
mulation, the advanced cement pow-
der antifoam additive in field trials
reduced air entrainment consistently at
multiple wellsites. JPT
19
 E&P NOTES
Permian Winning Streak Could
Be Running Out
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor
Hot shale plays tend to fall short of
expectations after a few years, and the
Permian Basin will be the next big test of
the pattern.
A recent technical paper by Robert
Clarke, research director for Lower 48
Upstream for Wood Mackenzie, ques-
tions whether future drilling in the Perm-
ian will hit 5 million B/D in 2025 as the
consultancy has predicted. Based on
what he has been learning recently, some
of it reported in SPE technical papers,
the actual results could be worse or bet-
ter, depending on how well the industry
solves the problems that will come with
intensive development in the Permian.
“There is a lot of exuberance in low-
cost unconventional plays in their early
years,” he said on a recent podcast from
Wood Mackenzie, adding, “In retrospect,
the first 3 years of a shale play are easy,
then it gets harder.”
While older plays such as the Marcel-
lus and Bakken hit economic limits due
to limited pipeline capacity, Clarke’s big
concern in the Permian is more geo-
logical. There have been reports that
wells added to develop rock near the
original “parent wells” may deliver sig-
nificantly lower estimated ultimate
recoveries (EURs).
Recent technical papers delivered at
the Unconventional Resources Technol-
ogy Conference (URTeC) reported that
infill wells—“child wells”—could have
ultimate recovery rates 20–40% lower
than the parent wells nearby, he said.
To test if that shortfall could become
common, Clarke searched the Wood
Mackenzie North American well data-
base to find parent and child pairs simi-
larly completed. Those 20 Eagle Ford
wells showed similar drop-offs in the sec-
ond generation.
20
While the percentage of infill wells is
not significant now, the child wells will
have a large impact in the next decade.
“You are drilling wells with an EUR of x
and we will be drilling really, really hard
for the next 3–4 years. We will exhaust a
lot of parent locations,” Clarke said. “We
will keep drilling hard but we will be drill-
ing into pressure-depleted areas and if all
the EURs for those future child wells are
0.7 x [EUR], it will be very, very hard for
the Permian to keep growing.”
Hard but Possible
While these observations will be factored
in when Wood Mackenzie adjusts its pro-
duction outlook this fall, it is not send-
ing a clear signal that production will
fall short of past targets. Clarke sees it as
“an opportunity to highlight the need for
continued innovation.”
“We are not saying it peaks and it is
done” early next decade, but, he added,
“just because we are in a position of
breaking even below $45/bbl does not
mean we have won.”
Adding wells that produce less in
developed areas can still be profitable
in spots where the cost of developing
the field has already been paid, said R.T.
Dukes, research director for Wood Mack-
enzie, who discussed the outlook with
Clarke on the podcast. And the produc-
tivity loss per foot will be easy to miss
because wells now are so much longer.
But the productivity issues related to
pressure losses could be hard to work
around, even if drilling shifts to higher or
lower horizons.
“There is a lot of vertical communica-
tions between all the zones. That is why
some shallower zones are so prolific, so
highly pressured,” Clarke said, during a
call while visiting Midland to learn more
from operators. Some of the bigger oper-
ators have already made adjustments
with wider well spacing or by using new
patterns for drilling and completing well
pads, he said.
Major Uncertainty
Clarke’s three scenarios ranged from
1 million B/D less than Wood Mackenzie’s
5 million B/D reference case for 2025, to
more than 500,000 B/D above it. The
gap between the high and low estimates
offered in the scenarios in the report
is 1.5 million B/D, which Clarke point-
ed out is “more than the Bakken has
ever produced.”
Experience shows that the industry is
capable of significant technical advanc-
es. For example, the average EUR for
wells in the Wolfcamp, a prime uncon-
ventional horizon in the Permian, dou-
bled between 2013 and 2016 due to bet-
ter reservoir models, targeting the best
rock, and completions that were bigger
and better executed.
Those solutions, though, depend-
ed on targeting the best rock, which is
gassy with relatively high pressure. As
that pressure drops, the gas drives pro-
duction of liquids. Over time, the pro-
duction and pressure goes down. In the
future, a high percentage of the new
wells could be 500  ft or less from these
low-pressure zones.
While completions are designed to
focus on evenly fracturing rock within a
confined area, it is clearly hard to con-
trol the flow of the high-pressure streams
injected during hydraulic fracturing. A
recurring theme in the presentations
at URTeC was frac hits—fluid flowing
from well to well during fracturing that
can significantly reduce production, but
not always.
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
 Tight spacing increases the risk
of hits, but the industry is not like-
ly to stop doing it because there is an
upside to fracturing nearby. To get a
sense of where the industry is head-
Startup Aims To Advance Rocket Fuel Technology
for Fracturing
Stephen Whitfield, Senior Staff Writer
A startup company in Canada is develop-
ing a tool that may help operators real-
ize savings in resources and manpower
in their fracturing operations. The PSI-
CLONE tool from RocketFrac Services
uses a proprietary solid rocket fuel mix-
ture as a propellant fracturing mecha-
nism which eliminates the need for sig-
nificant water volumes. When loaded into
the tool, deployed down a well, and ignit-
ed, the propellant releases high-pressure
gas and creates enough pressure to pro-
duce fractures at targeted sites along
the wellbore.
The PSI-CLONE tool, which holds the
propellant, is reusable. Once the pro-
pellant has burned out completely, the
tool can be reloaded with another block
of fuel. The company states that the
system requires a single coiled tubing
unit, as opposed to the multiple pumper
trucks and water tanks used for hydrau-
lic fracturing, and requires three to five
onsite personnel.
Propellant fracturing is not a new con-
cept. Sandia National Laboratories began
researching the topic in the 1980s, and
more than 600 wells have been stimulat-
ed using some variation of this technol-
ogy. Annelise Freeman, CEO of Rocket-
Frac, said that the main difference
between PSI-CLONE and other propel-
lant fracturing methods is the burn time
Total Signs Deal With Chevron for Gulf of Mexico Acreage
Supermajor Total increased its footprint
in the US Gulf of Mexico, capturing seven
prospects operated by Chevron. The
agreement covers 16 blocks.
Total, which recently increased its
stake in the US Gulf of Mexico with its
takeover of Maersk Oil, will participate in
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
ed, Clarke will keep up on the techni-
cal papers.
“We follow the technical commentary
from SPE and others because we think
it gives us a notion of what will happen
of the fuel and the presence of elements
that allow for sealing the wellbore against
the pressure generated by the solid pro-
pellant. Current technology cannot con-
fine the rapid pressure rise rates gener-
ated by propellant fracturing within a
target zone for treatment durations of
more than 300 to 500 milliseconds.
Freeman said the PSI-CLONE tech-
nology’s ability to isolate a selected tar-
get zone and prevent gas from escaping
along the wellbore allows for greater pen-
etration into the formation and extended
fracture growth. According to Rocket-
Frac, a pressure event duration may last
between 1 and 20 seconds at 20,000 psi
and produce four to eight radial frac-
tures. Tools can also be strung together
to simultaneously treat multiple zones.
“Traditional propellant fracturing has
been off-the-shelf propellant that you can
purchase, hang down the well on a wire-
line, ignite, and it would get some real-
ly great results with no casing damage.
What it did not have was the ability to seal
which is critical to sustain longer burn
times, and when we’re talking about long
lateral horizontals, inadequate sealing
allows the gas to escape along the well-
bore. What this means is you don’t put as
much pressure on the formation, so you
don’t create the long fractures required,”
Freeman said.
the seven wells through sharing between
25–40% interest. The prospects cover
two promising plays: the Wilcox in the
central Gulf of Mexico, next to the Anchor
discovery; and the Norphlet, in the east-
ern Gulf of Mexico, near the Appomattox
discovery. The first well already spudded
in the future,” he said, adding, “some
things that occurred that were impor-
tant with investors we can back up and
say that was very important to geolo-
gists and engineers a year before.”
Because it does not use any liquid
beyond the drilling fluid on-site, Free-
man said PSI-CLONE would eliminate
the need for facilities and vehicles for
water treatment and disposal. She said
solid rocket propellant is stable, safe
to handle, and easier to transport than
flowback water. With no size or later-
al restrictions in borehole length, the
tool would be small enough to be trans-
ported in a single truck, and because
it does not require water or proppant,
the system does not require much time
for assembly.
“You could actually put this rocket fuel
in the back of your car and put it on
the road,” Freeman said. “It won’t go off
without an ignition force. It is absolute-
ly benign. As a solid, if you drop it, you
can just pick it up. I’ve handled it with my
bare hands. It is very, very safe.”
RocketFrac is still in the early stages of
development. The company incorporat-
ed in February and is currently looking to
test both the sealing mechanism and the
solid rocket fuel to see how it performs
in different formations. It is currently
working with a rocket fuel manufacturer
to design and supply a formulation cus-
tomized for the petroleum industry. Free-
man said the company is looking to use
PSI-CLONE in test wells by January or
February 2018.
in late July on the Ballymore prospect in
the Mississippi Canyon.
“This agreement, together with the
recently announced participation in the
Jack field as part of the Maersk Oil acqui-
sition, increases Total’s footprint in the
US Gulf of Mexico where it can apply
21
 its exploration expertise and deep­water
technologies,” said Arnaud Breuillac,
president of exploration and production
for Total.
The company is currently involved
in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico with
participation in two producing fields:
Tahiti, operated by Chevron, with a
17% interest, and Chinook, operated
by Petrobras, with 33.33% interest. It
is also involved in the world-class North
Platte discovery, operated by Cobalt
International, with a 40% share.
Valentina Kretzschmar, director
of corporate analysis for consultancy
Wood Mackenzie, said Total has been
looking to “sharpen its long-term focus”
by increasing its exposure to deep-
water exploration and production as
well as renewables.
“The exploration partnership with
Chevron covers 16 blocks in the deep-
water Gulf of Mexico, and captures
seven prospects operated by Chevron.
The move is an indication that Total’s
appetite for exploration is coming
back,” said Kretzschmar. “Since 2009,
Total’s Gulf of Mexico drilling has been
operated by Cobalt under their stra-
tegic alliance for the basin. This led
to the large North Platte discovery in
2012, followed by several dry explora-
tion wells.
“The new Chevron partnership could
revitalise Total’s portfolio in the Gulf
of Mexico.”
Total’s recent $237-million purchase of
a 23% stake in EREN—a solar, wind,
and hydro player—reinforced the com­
pany’s commitment to the growing area
of renewables and increased its expo-
sure to onshore wind and solar. Total
also recently acquired GreenFlex, which
specializes in finding ways to use energy
more efficiently. Some of Europe’s biggest
oil and gas companies have taken a larger
interest in renewable energy after being
battered by low oil prices and witnessing
the political turn in developed countries.
“The company still lacks exposure to
offshore wind projects, which in Wood
Mackenzie’s view provides the scale and
scalability, on a par with upstream mega-
projects,” Kretzschmar added. “The
acquisition of Maersk Oil ticked many
boxes, but it did not address Total’s long-
term growth challenge. We expect Total
to focus on accessing long-life, low-cost
resources, while continuing to high-
grade its portfolio.”

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Energy Panel: Efficiency Focus Still
Necessary in an Era of Transition
Stephen Whitfield, Senior Staff Writer
The oil price downturn has changed the
way the oil and gas industry does busi-
ness, and a panel of analysts and indus-
try executives said that reinvention and
creativity will be essential to surviving in
a new reality. Held at the Global Energy
Transitions Summit on the Rice Universi-
ty campus, the panel discussion featured
an extensive look at how companies have
managed to stay afloat in the current eco-
nomic landscape.
In September, oil prices reached their
highest levels since April, but while
industry hopes to see that figure sustain
above $50/bbl and possibly reach $60,
the panelists cautioned against getting
overly enthusiastic. Greg Hill, president
and COO of Hess, said “lower for longer”
was still the primary factor behind his
company’s operational strategy, and that
it is not advantageous to build a business
plan based on the possibility of future oil
price growth.
“I don’t know, and I don’t think any-
body else knows,” Hill said. “For me, it
comes down to how do you plan your
business? We’re planning our business
as though it will be $50 in the long term.
Do I believe it will be $50 forever? No.
But due to the uncertainty and timing of
everything I think that’s how you have to
plan your business. If the price is higher,
that’s great.”
Jean-Francois Poupeau, executive vice
president of corporate engagement at
Schlumberger, said that companies that
are able to reinvent their business mod-
els will be more successful in the com-
ing years. He pointed to Schlumberger’s
efforts to develop integrated workflows
for its operator clients, as well as Hess’
work in the Bakken where the company
reduced service costs early in the down-
turn as part of a lean manufacturing
strategy, and has since expanded its drill-
ing program to six rigs and nearly 3,000
wells in its 55,000 net acres.
“I can tell you that, for 2½ years, we
actually lost money on average. We paid
to go to work. That’s not sustainable,
nor should we be expecting to operate
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
Moving Energy
Forward
that way. Going forward, obviously oil
price has a lot to do with strategy, but
what we’re doing in our organization is
re­inventing ourselves to be much more
efficient and really change our ways
of working. That’s a phase that we’ve
entered in this cycle and we think it’s
going to transform our business.”
The panelists agreed that unconven-
tional development will be a key factor
in any long-term recovery, but they also
said that the conversations that opera-
tors, service companies, and investors
are having about US onshore shale pro-
duction has changed. Instead of promot-
ing massive growth potential, Hill said
investors are now starting to ask how
shale operations can generate free cash Ideal solutions for upstream,
flow. Bobby Tudor, a partner at Perel- midstream and downstream
la Weinberg Partners and chairman of
Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co., said that As an expert manufacturer of downhole
while the returns have been high, it has and surface pumps, we produce oilfield
been difficult for operators to build on pump systems according to the highest
their cash flow while also growing pro- quality standards: NEMO® progressing
duction without adding external capital. cavity pumps, TORNADO® rotary lobe
“The public companies are under a lot pumps and NOTOS® multi screw pumps.
of pressure to grow,” Tudor said. “That’s
what they get paid for. That’s when their
stock prices go up. It’s such a treadmill in
the onshore shale business, and it’s very S
difficult to do that without constantly VISIT U
ADIP E C
attracting external capital to business.” 17
16.11.20
Still, Tudor said the capital has been 13.1 . –
1
Dhabi
available and will likely continue to be in Abu 8812
P a v il lo n, stand
available because of the positive returns. German
“People are concerned that the returns
have not been as good as advertised,”
Tudor said. “I think there are still big,
open issues around the ability of the
sector to attract the capital needed.
That being said, if you’re a capital pro-
vider, where would you rather send it?
Would you rather send it to shale or www.netzsch.com
would you rather send it to a deepwater
exploration program?”
Also speaking at the panel was Jason
Bennett, a partner at Baker Botts. The
Global Energy Transitions Summit was
hosted jointly by Baker Botts and the Cen-
ter for Energy Studies at Rice University’s
Baker Institute for Public Policy. JPT
Shale Water

Turning Dirty Produced Water

Into Fresh Water and Salt To Sell
Stephen Rassenfoss,
JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor

An aerial view of Antero’s Clearwater water

treatment plant, which will turn 60,000 B/D
of produced water into fresh water and salable
salt, which is a major test of whether advanced
treatment technology can lower the cost of water
management. Source: Antero Resources.
I n a little more than a decade, the way water is supplied for
fracturing in the Marcellus play has gone from “a truck with
a hose in the creek” to “a massive industrial system” for water
transport and treatment.
The description was offered by Conrad Baston, general man-
ager of civil design for Antero Resources, who has played a key
role in a major example of the change: a $750-million system to
transport, store, and convert produced water into fresh water
for use in its operations in West Virginia and Ohio.
The first stage was the most expensive—$500 million spent
on 200 miles of buried and temporary pipelines to deliver fresh
water for fracturing and 23 large freshwater impoundments to
ensure a ready supply of water to fracture ever-longer horizon-
tal wells. The water delivered by the system since 2014 would
have required 1.4 million truck trips, and it has also reduced the
volume of water drawn from local streams.
Stage 1 was part of a larger industry trend. What comes next is
different. It is a one-of-a-kind $275-million plant that will con-
vert 60,000 B/D of dirty, high-salinity water into fresh water
and salt when it is fully operational next spring.
Produced water reuse has long been the norm in the Mar-
cellus because of the high cost of wastewater injection well
disposal. Operators have fractured wells using a mix of pro-
duced and fresh water. The produced water has been treated
to remove those things that could damage the well. The for-
mula varies depending on the operating company, but until
now that has not usually included the dissolved solids, most of
which are salt.
Antero’s Clearwater plant was built to treat water no munici-
pal water treatment plant would touch, with salt levels many
times greater than seawater along with heavy metals, hydrocar-
bons, and naturally occurring low-level radioactive materials. If
it works as expected, the output will be water that meets West
Virginia’s standard for discharge into waterways.
“Clearwater is really about getting rid of produced water,”
said Alvyn Schopp, chief administrative officer and regional
senior vice president for Antero.
At full capacity, the plant will produce 1.7 million gallons per
day of water and about 2,000 tons per day of salt, which it plans
to sell.
Clearwater could fill 25–30% of Antero’s water needs, Baston
said. This will reduce the water drawn from local streams and
ensure reliable water supplies during dry times.
Having the plant means Antero will be “able to keep drilling
and keep drilling at the lowest cost,” Schopp said, adding, “Even
without these things we are a low-cost producer. Now we think
this will lower our cost.”
Moving only fresh water to fracturing sites reduces the risk
of delivering water by pipelines in a place where “you have to go
over a hill to get somewhere,” Schopp said.
If a landslide severs a pipeline with fresh water, the impact
will be limited to erosion, he said.
Produced water is still going to be moved by truck, Schopp
said. While a truck loaded with produced water is not without
risk, the maximum one truck can spill is likely less than what
can gush out of a severed 8–20-in. pipeline.

25
 Shale Water
The location of Antero’s Clearwater plant is in the middle of its water delivery pipeline network in a spot chosen to limit
the distance traveled by trucks bringing in produced water. Source: Antero Resources.
Salt Challenges
The startup process for the Clear­
water plant began this summer, with a
goal of reaching full-scale production
by March.
In September, they were looking
ahead to “making crystal.” Salt crystal­
lization there uses a proprietary method
developed by Veolia, reducing the ener­
gy required to boil the water when sepa­
rating it from the dissolved salt. Multiple
methods developed by Veolia, an inter­
national water treatment company, are
used in the plant it designed and will run
for Antero.
Veolia has a stake in the ultimate suc­
cess of the plant. It will be running the
plant under a 10-year contract that
“gives us 97% uptime,” Schopp said.
The commissioning process for the
plant follows the steps used for water
processing:
◗◗ Pretreatment of the raw produced
water to remove minerals, metals,
and naturally occurring radioactive
material (NORM).
26
◗◗ Thermal treatment where the brine
is separated into fresh water and salt.
◗◗ Post-treatment where biological
treatment removes any remaining
contaminants.
The plant’s business plan requires it to
successfully remove the low-level radio­
active material, which will be shipped
off to a hazardous waste facility. Sales of
the sodium chloride and calcium chlo­
ride produced will begin after it certi­
fies to buyers that the NORM has been
removed, Schopp said.
Salt sales will add revenue and avoid
a monumental storage challenge. At its
capacity of 60,000 B/D of produced
water, the estimated output of salt will
be more than 700,000 tons per year, or
more than 1% of US salt consumption in
2016, according to the annual summary
from the US Geological Service.
Antero is building a landfill near the
plant for salt storage, but Baston has the
job of finding markets for the salt and is
looking for higher-value options, such as
chemical makers.
The biggest potential market is road
salt. Demand for the rock salt that is
spread on pavement to prevent cars and
people from slipping on ice represents
44% of US demand. This is a low-value
use of salt and Clearwater’s production,
which will be roughly equal to more than
3% of the road salt market in 2016, could
affect the market.
Total road salt demand varies wide­
ly from year to year, depending on the
severity of the winter. Sales are limited by
concerns about salt damaging plant life
and government spending limits.
Going First
Others in the Marcellus are watching
what Antero is doing. In an industry
where no one wants to go first, Antero
will answer a lot of questions by going
forward with something big that chal­
lenges the status quo.
“It is easy to drill another disposal
well and jam it down there,” Schopp
said. “It is not so easy to spend $500 mil­
lion on freshwater pipelines and stor­
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
 Shale Water

1 e
Salient Statistics—United States: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
e
Production 37,200 39,900 45,300 45,000 42,000
e
Sold or used by producers 34,900 43,100 46,000 42,000 39,000
Imports for consumption 9,880 11,900 20,100 21,600 12,500
Exports 809 525 940 839 650
Consumption:
Apparent2 44,000 54,500 65,200 e
62,800 50,900
e
Reported 36,900 47,600 55,000 53,000 50,000
Price, average value of bulk, pellets and packaged
salt, dollars per ton, f.o.b. mine and plant:
e
Vacuum and open pan salt 169.93 172.09 180.61 185.00 190.00
e
Solar salt 71.87 78.04 83.90 89.00 90.00
e
Rock salt 36.89 47.22 48.11 47.00 45.00
e
Salt in brine 8.44 8.49 9.08 9.25 9.40
e
Employment, mine and plant, number 4,100 4,100 4,200 4,200 4,100
3
Net import reliance as a percentage of
apparent consumption 22 22 29 33 23
e 2
Estimated. Defined as sold or used by producers + imports – exports.
1 3
Excludes production from Puerto Rico. Defined as imports – exports.

Salt Uses:
◗◗ Highway de-icing accounted
for about 44% of total salt
consumed.
◗◗ Chemical industry accounted
for about 36% of total salt sales,
with salt in brine accounting for
Source: US Geological Survey.
88% of the salt used for chemical ◗◗ Distributors, 8%
feedstock. ◗◗ Agricultural, 3%
◗◗ Chlorine and caustic soda ◗◗ Food processing, 3%
manufacturers were the main ◗◗ Other uses combined with
consumers within the chemical exports, 3%
industry. ◗◗ General industrial, 2%
◗◗ Primary water treatment, 1%

age and [more than] $275 million on
a plant.”
While the $750-million upfront cost
of the water supply and treatment sys-
tem looks staggering, this long-term
investment is expected to save money on
water needed for fracturing over many
years. With 634,000 net acres of leases to
develop, the water system will be needed
for years to come.
Antero has the scale to take on this size
project—it is the eighth-largest US gas
producer—with liquids-rich production
within a relatively concentrated area,
making it possible to affordably trans-
port water to and from the central facility.
The plant’s processing capacity exceeds
Antero’s current needs so it is also expect-
ed to generate revenue by processing
other companies’ produced water.
The general outlines of the project
appear to fulfil the requirements for a
centralized facility that turns produced
water into fresh water laid out in a recent
paper (URTeC 2673999). That paper is
based on a model created by Texas A&M
University’s Global Petroleum Research
Institute (GPRI) to compare various pro-
duced water options. The work began
with the premise that the best option will
vary depending on variables such as the
transportation costs, water treatment
costs, and water supply and demand.
But given the technical challenges,
complexity, and the unknowns related
to this new system, the paper warned
that anyone considering such a project
“should proceed with caution.” Antero’s
plans address the concerns, but the ques-
tions cannot be finally answered until it
has operating results.
While Antero and others in the Mar-
cellus are trying new ways to lower water
costs, the industry is short on tools to
compare its produced water options.
The paper was written by Tyler Hussey,
who developed a produced water eco-
nomics model at GPRI called Upstream
Water. He now works as an industrial
water engineer for GHD, an engineer-
ing consulting firm that licensed the
model, where he continues to devel-
op the model which is used for water
management planning.
The point of comparison in the model
is the current cost of managing water.
“Instead of trying to determine how
much it might cost a company to treat
and reuse water the water there, we set
out to find how much it was costing a
company to handle their existing pro-
duced water production,” said Hussey.
That offers a clear benchmark for deter-
mining if doing something differently
will really save money.
The problem has been that most com-
panies “do not know how much they are
paying to manage their water. No one
wants to put a pencil to paper,” said David
Burnett, director of technology for the
GPRI, adding, “There is certainly a busi-
ness out there.”
GHD will be incorporating the model
into its existing water management pro-
grams. Burnett, who spent many years
evaluating water treatment methods,
said he is now focusing on identifying
and promoting widely accepted mea-
sures and models so those managing oil-
field water can identify problems and
evaluate potential solutions.

28 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

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 Shale Water

Drilling Slowdown Sparks

Water Trading
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor

I t is known that a well injecting a lot of

water near a big fault can lead to earth-
quakes. The problem is, more often than
not those faults are not known until after
a tremor.
“There was a time in the Marcellus
where nearly every barrel of water pro-
duced was needed for the next well frac-
tured. And then drilling slowed and some
operators were stuck with produced
water and no well to put it in.
It was a costly problem to have. The
obvious solution was hiring a lot of trucks
for the long haul to Ohio where injection
disposal costs $8-10/bbl. It was so bad
that operators changed their ways and
began seeking out competitors to take
the water off their hands, said Joseph
Frantz, vice president of engineering in
Range’s Marcellus division, which was a
big buyer.
In 2016, when Range reported reusing
99% of its produced water in the Mar-
cellus, it bought enough from others
to push that total to 141% of its pro-
duced water, exceeding its fresh water
use for fracturing, according to the
company’s website.
“It saved us a lot of money last year,”
Frantz said. “It really came out of shar-
ing, and helping each other out.” The vol-
ume of water selling has dropped as drill-
ing has come back, but it is still going on,
he said.
More trading with competitors with
nearby wells could allow deals that
reduce one the highest costs of water
management—moving it. “For us the
goal is to be as flexible as possible and
able to move water around really cost
effectively,” said Frantz.
While there are entrepreneurs trying
to create water trading markets, Frantz
said they worked directly with others to
set up deals.

Trucks delivering water to a fracturing site of Range Resources, which uses all of its produced water for fracturing plus
surplus produced water from others. Source: Range Resources.

30 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

 Shale Water

Reuse %
including
other
Generated Reused Reuse operators
Division (bbl) (bbl) % water

Appalachia 6,489,223 6,426,508 99.03% 141.33%

Reuse including
Fresh Water other operators
Division (bbl) (bbl) Total (bbl)

Appalachia 7,811,680 9,170,970 16,982,651

Range Resources used so much produced water from

others for fracturing its wells that the total used equaled
141% of what it produced, exceeding its fresh water use. Antero Resources spent $500 million to expand its
Source: Range Resources. pipeline and storage system. Source: Antero Resources.

Companies there are also working to
pare their transport costs with logistics
control centers that route shipments
along the most efficient routes.
And they have been building pipeline
networks and large holding ponds able to
supply ever-bigger fracturing jobs. Over
several years of use these options cost
less than trucks, taking a lot of heavy
vehicles off the narrow, twisting, hilly
highways common in those areas.
A $500-million project to build fresh-
water supply pipelines and storage
allowed Antero Resources to eliminate
more than 1.4 million truck trips, and ris-
ing, since 2014.
Running “24-hour operations was not
the best way to win any friends in the
community,” said Alvyn Schopp, chief
administrative officer and regional
senior vice president for Antero. JPT

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 SALARY SURVEY
Petroleum Industry Salaries Begin To Rise
After Downturn
Petroleum industry professionals re-
ported average total compensation of
$194,649 in 2017, an increase from
2016 but still lower than the average
salaries before the oil price downturn
that began in 2014. Average compensa-
tion was $185,001 in 2016, $206,020 in
2015, and $214,328 in 2014. Compared
with 2016, mean base pay, other com-
pensation, and total compensation all
rose in 2017.
Base pay in 2017 ($151,122) increased
from last year ($143,006 in 2016) while
other compensation, including bonus-
es, increased for the first time since
2013 ($64,000). Average other compen-
sation for 2017 ($43,712) is up slightly
from last year ($41,995) but lower than
previous years.
The number of professionals receiv-
ing a car allowance continues to decline.
In 2017, the number of respondents who
reported receiving a car allowance was
23.2%. In previous years, this number
has ranged from about one-fourth to as
high as one-third of respondents in the
Base pay and other compensation by work region (USD).
32
salary survey (24.6% in 2016; 26.3% in
2015; 28.4% in 2014; 31% in 2013).
The average age of energy and petro-
leum professionals participating in the
survey was 43 years old, consistent with
the past 6 years. The level of experience
that professionals have in the industry
remained consistent with recent years,
with the average at 18 years. Experience
varied by gender with male profession-
als having an average of 19.4 years and
females an average of 12.7.
The global mean for total compensa-
tion increased in every job category from
2016 to 2017. The most marked increases
are from the top-tier professionals in the
South America, Caribbean, and Mexico;
South, Central, and Eastern Europe; and
Southeast Asia regions.
The higher job category tiers reported
the highest number of increases in total
compensation. Year over year, eight of
10 regions saw increases in total com-
pensation at the executive/top manage-
ment level. The amount of the increases
were also substantially larger. However,
declines in compensation from 2016 to
2017 occurred at the professional/indi-
vidual contributor and technician/spe-
cialist/support staff levels.
Impact of Gender
Base pay and total compensation contin-
ues to vary by gender, with male profes-
sionals earning more than their female
counterparts overall. But female super-
visor/superintendent/lead professionals
reported larger increases and smaller
decreases than males. Male professionals
at the executive/top management level
reported increases in both base pay and
total compensation. About half of male
respondents (48.3%) and nearly three-
fifths of female respondents (57.2%)
reported an increase in base pay.
Change in Base Pay by Region
Overall, nearly half (49.7%) of respon-
dents reported a pay increase during the
period of June 2016 to June 2017, a sig-
nificant increase compared with last year
(35.9% in 2016). However, the increase
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 Average base pay change by base region.
Change in salary since July 2016 by gender.
in average base pay for 2017 was still
lower than the figures reported in 2015.
Respondents from the US, Canada,
and South, Central, and Eastern Europe
regions reported the largest year over year
changes, with the US up 22.6%; Canada
up 15.2%; and the South, Central, and
Eastern Europe region up 21.6%. Notable
changes in decreases were seen in some
regions. Only two regions reported a high-
er average decrease in base pay for 2017:
the South America, Caribbean, and Mexi-
co region, which has experienced a volatile
economy over the past year, and the Oce-
ania, Australia, and New Zealand region.
The overall trends in change in aver-
age base pay by region remained consis-
34
tent with the trends seen in 2016. There
were a few notable changes over the past
year. The Canada region saw a sizeable
change in decrease of average base pay
(–14.0%). The Northern and Central Asia
(–8.5%) and Oceania, Australia, and New
Zealand (–31.9%) regions saw almost as
much change in their respective base pay
decreases since 2016.
Increases in base pay were less dras-
tic year over year, with the highest
increase in base pay seen in the Africa
region (8.2% in 2016). The overwhelm-
ing majority (90.6% of respondents
with Africa as their base region) report-
ed increases in their base pay over the
past year.
For More Information
This summary represents a sample of
current compensation in the industry.
The full report, as well as an interactive
chart and viewable infographic, is avail-
able at www.spe.org/industry/oil-and-
gas-salary-survey. A detailed summary
report containing charts and descriptive
statistics of trends and more information
on the jobs, geographies, and employer
types is available at http://store.spe.org.
A file containing the raw data from the
survey responses will be made available
to download as well to provide the oppor-
tunity for individual analysis and local-
ization of data.
Questions regarding the survey can be
addressed to speresearch@spe.org. JPT
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
FRAC HITS
Frac Hits Reveal
Well Spacing May be
Too Tight, Completion
Volumes Too Large
Trent Jacobs, JPT Digital Editor
Unconventional operators and service companies have produced new research that suggests in many cases horizontal
wells are being drilled too close together, which may have a lasting negative impact on the recovery rates of shale
T hanks to the advent of high-speed
drilling in the US shale sector, the
effects of so-called frac hits on produc-
tion and well economics is becoming
more important than ever. It means the
clock is running for shale producers to
figure out how to mitigate the implica-
tions of this well-to-well interference
issue before they drill too many wells too
close together.
Multiple perspectives on the topic
were presented at this year’s Unconven-
tional Resources Technology Conference
in Austin, Texas. Included among them
was a technical paper authored by engi-
neers at Shell that used a simple capi-
tal expenditure formula to illustrate the
financial risks involved with getting the
spacing question wrong.
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
fields across North America. Source: Getty Images.
According to the paper’s authors, if a
shale producer has an inventory of 2,000
640-acre drilling sections, and each new
well costs $5 million, then adding just
a single unneeded well to each section
would cost the operator $10 billion.
In a separate paper also delivered at
the conference, Schlumberger highlight-
ed the other downside to suboptimal
spacing: poorer than expected produc-
tion. The company analyzed IHS data
from 300 horizontal wells in the Avalon
Shale of the Delaware Basin and found
that child wells (the youngest wells on a
pad site) were almost 30% less produc-
tive compared with parent wells.
“[Operators] see that the child well
does not produce as much as the par-
ent wells—or they see that when the
child well is drilled, there is a negative
impact on the parent well,” explained
Foluke Ajisafe, a production and stimu-
lation engineer at Schlumberger who led
the study.
The driving factors she cited were
how production over time creates stress
rotation and leads to pressure deple-
tion zones, known as pressure sinks. The
paper describes two types of frac hits: one
is a child well fracture that grows within
a pressure sink and moves toward the
parent well. The other involves a “stress
vortex” that “can channel a fracture” as
stress orientations change and align.
Spacing Indicator
Though it is difficult to frame this pro-
duction-impacting problem as a good
35

(a)
Parent well 600 ft Child well
These modeling illustrations show how 600-ft well spacing after 1 year of
depletion can affect the pressure (left) and fracture geometry of the child
well, which leads to negative impacts from fracture hits (black circles). The
white circles show how longitude fractures may also form as a result, which are
unlikely to be significant contributors to production. Source: Schlumberger.
thing, it is likely to become one of the
shale sector’s most important learning
tools going forward. Richard Cao, a staff
reservoir engineer at Shell who led the
aforementioned study, is among those
taking that track.
“People keep asking, is the pres-
sure interference a good thing or a
bad thing,” he said, using one of the
industry’s euphemisms for frac hits. He
explained that while they are undesir-
able from a safety point of view due to
surface and well control risks, “in terms
of well spacing, fracture hits could be a
very good thing.”
He makes the point that if horizon-
tal wells on a pad site show no signs of
frac hits, then it is likely they are spaced
too far apart, lowering the overall eco-
nomic recovery of that section. As wells
are drilled closer and hydraulically frac-
tured, Cao notes that the odds of frac
hits rises, at which point they become
a “direct indictor” of just how many
wells can economically fit in a drill-
ing section.
36
(b)
Bubblepoint Matters
Chevron has come up with another way
to think about frac hits, which involves
scrutinizing the bubblepoint of parent
oil wells. Also presented at the uncon-
ventionals conference, this study argued
that if a well is producing above the bub-
blepoint then a frac hit is not as likely to
delay its production, which may mean
there are minimal impediments to that
well’s ultimate recovery.
However, if frac hits take place around
the parent well when it is producing
below the bubblepoint then they may
induce gas trapping in the reservoir
matrix. The research makes clear that
this would have “long-lasting effects” on
ultimate recoveries.
“The trapped gas, isolated from the
continuous fluid path in the matrix near
the fractures, can hinder the oil produc-
tivity,” the paper said. The advisement
given is that operators should avoid ini-
tial completions and refracturing if they
know a well is flowing below the bubble-
point. This would suggest that the closer
in time that multiple completions and
refracturing operations take place, the
lower the risk is of pad wells suffering
from irreparable frac hits.
Agreement Among Studies
Statoil’s research on frac hit mitigation
was also presented at the conference and
shares some agreement with what Shell
and Schlumberger have learned. Using a
case study from the Eagle Ford Shale, the
Norwegian operator found that because
of fracture overlapping and “aggressive
production interference,” the decline
rates of wells drilled just 250 ft apart
“were much stronger than wells spaced
further apart.”
The research concluded that 400-ft
well spacing should be used instead to
maximize the study area’s resource poten-
tial—effectively serving as a call to retreat
from overly aggressive downspacing.
The finding was backed by exten-
sive modeling and data analytics work
that involved the production histories
of almost 400 wells. Simulations also
showed that using a staggered well lay-
out, also known as a chevron configura-
tion, could help mitigate long-term frac-
ture interference.
Additionally, Statoil looked at how
lower completion fluid injection rates
could help control lateral fracture
growth, which the model suggests is a
feasible idea. Comparing an injection rate
of 75 bbl/min to 35 bbl/min, a simulation
found that the latter rate helped mini-
mize frac hits and reduced overlapping of
conductive fractures during production.
Testing Frac Hit Mitigation
The Schlumberger study in the Avalon
Shale also relied on modeling work to
test new frac hit mitigation strategies
that included volume reductions for
hydraulic fracturing treatments.
The modeling showed that dialing
back the treatments lowers the risk
of causing frac hits. Smaller job sizes
would also carry a smaller capital cost
for the operator, which may help bal-
ance a child well’s economics.
Schlumberger scrutinized well stag-
gering too and used three scenarios to
illustrate how it may be one of the best
pathways to frac hit mitigation: a child
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
 saw 24% less production over the
Completion fluid Completion fluid Proppant
Proppant same span.
Well 1

Well 2
The modeling work also showed that
the more distantly positioned child
wells created “little or no production
No Frac Hits, Well Spacing is Too Wide interference” while the 660-ft spacing
layout saw fracture hits originating from
the child wells and into the parent wells.
Representing what may be consid-
Completion fluid
Proppant Proppant ered a compromise in the elusive quest
Well 1

Well 2
for “optimal” well spacing, the models
indicated that child wells drilled 660 ft
apart and 150 ft deeper will see only a
10% drop in production over 5 years
compared with their parents.
Optimum well spacing???
“When you are able to land deep-
The top figure illustrates that if frac hits are not observed it may mean that an
er, you actually improve the economics
operator is leaving a portion of the reservoir untapped. A happy medium is of that well,” summed up Ajisafe, who
shown in the bottom, in which a frac hit might take place but because it mainly noted that this study is “by no means” a
involved fluids and not proppant, negative communication will be short-lived field-wide prescription due to the inher-
as any unpropped fractures close. Source: Shell. ent heterogeneity of shale geology.
She emphasized that to obtain such
well with 1,320-ft lateral spacing, 660-ft Simulated child wells with 1,320-ft learnings operators must take on this
lateral spacing, and 660-ft lateral spac- spacing saw only 5% less cumula- homework for each area of concern.
ing with a 150-ft lower landing zone. tive oil production vs. the parent well “What would be ideal is to understand
The results were stark. over 5 years while 660-ft-spaced wells the reservoir characteristics and to do
 some good due diligence to understand
the trends in petrophysics, geomechan-
ics, and discreet fracture networks—
those are very important,” she said.
For Further Reading
URTeC 2690466 Impact of Well
Spacing and Interference on
Production Performance in
Operators Share Frac Schedules To Know When Wells
are at Risk
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor
Concerns about frac hits have led opera-
tors in the Permian Basin to begin shar-
ing information on when wells will be
fractured near their operations.
The Permian Operators Frac Schedule
Exchange Consortia has 23 companies
reporting when and where they are frac-
turing wells so that operators can decide
if they need to take precautions.
The group, which was started by Pio-
neer Natural Resources, was created out
of the frustrations of trying to keep up
with all the fracturing activity in the
booming eastern side of the Permian
Basin using the Texas Railroad Commis-
sion online database, said Brad Mor-
rison, geoscience analytics advisor for
Pioneer Natural Resources.
Pioneer was motivated to create the
group because “we are neighbors for
everyone,” said Gervasio Barzola, vice
president of strategic planning and field
Before Pioneer Natural Resources does a fracturing job in the Permian, like this
one, it notifies partners in the cooperative industry group it organized to share
when and where they will be fracturing. Source: Pioneer Natural Resources.
38
Unconventional Reservoirs,
Permian Basin by Foluke Ajisafe,
Schlumberger et al.
URTeC 2662893 Understanding the
‘Frac-Hits’ Impact on a Midland
Basin Tight-Oil Well Production
by Hao Sun, Chevron et al.
URTeC 2695433 Well Spacing
Optimization in Eagle Ford
development for Pioneer’s Permian
Asset Team.
Ultimately, the company asked com-
petitors in the eastern half of the Perm-
ian Basin if they would be willing to reg-
ularly share fracturing schedules, and a
handful of companies agreed.
The exchange has grown to 23 com-
panies, with only a couple holdouts in
the Midland Basin, Morrison said. In
March the consortia held its first mem-
ber meeting, which approved changes
to streamline the reporting process and
add data on the depth of wells fractured.
Reports submitted every other week
from member companies are combined
on spreadsheets accessible to members.
Pioneer uses the information to create a
digital map for operating teams showing
how far producing wells are from those
being fractured. It helps asset manag-
ers decide if their company needs to
Shale: An Operator’s Experience
by Mehdi Rafiee and Tarun Grover,
Statoil.
URTeC 2691962 Well Interference
and Optimum Well Spacing
for Wolfcamp Development at
Permian Basin by Richard Cao,
Shell Exploration & Production
et al.
take steps to defend their wells, which
include many older vertical wells.
For example, Pioneer uses high-
pressure stuffing boxes to seal the annu-
lus between the tubing and the rods of
the rod pump used for artificial lift. That
seal ensures that a vertical well on rod
pump that might be affected by fractur-
ing in a nearby well will not leak fluid
out of the tubing/rod annulus.
As the group grew, so did the time
required for data management. What
began as a couple of hours taken to com-
pile the emailed reports grew to a proj-
ect requiring the better part of a day,
Morrison said.
The process has recently been auto-
mated. Member companies now file
reports using a standardized Excel
spreadsheet found on a password-
protected FTP site. As a result of those
changes, “what took 7 to 8 hours took
20 minutes to do,” Morrison said.
The group also created an emergen-
cy contact list so field hands can call if
things are not according to plan.
Companies have requested that a sim-
ilar information-sharing organization
be created in the Delaware Basin.
In Pennsylvania, the state Department
of Environmental Protection is consid-
ering a regulation that would require
companies to post notices when fractur-
ing is planned, now normally provided
by neighboring operators as a courtesy,
said Joseph Frantz, vice president of
engineering in the Marcellus for Range
Resources. He said the experience of the
Permian operators could be helpful for
his region. JPT
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
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 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Drilling and Completion Fluids

Badrul Mohamed Jan, SPE, Researcher and Lecturer, University of Malaya

It is no secret that drilling in deep water Drilling-fluid properties ed to crucial drilling parameters mea-
is challenging. It is always associated sured at elevated temperature. One of
with high pressure and high tempera- such as viscosity and the papers highlights a comprehensive
ture (HP/HT). HP/HT is commonly used density are affected approach in the development of novel
to refer to wells with pressures greater magnetite nanoparticles, resulting in
than 10,000 psi and temperatures great-
strongly by pressure drilling fluids with superior properties
er than 300°F. These pressure and tem- and temperature. for HP/HT applications. Another paper
perature ratings may be even higher in discusses a novel high-performance
some cases. brine viscosifier (polymer) for high-
Drilling in HP/HT conditions poses (e.g., fluid properties such as density and temperature applications. The addition
numerous challenges. Drilling fluid is viscosity). On phase diagrams, the iso- of the polymer blend increases the brine
subjected to extreme pressure and tem- volume lines of the reservoir fluid are suspension both before and after aging
perature, and drilling-fluid properties very close to one another. at elevated temperatures. It also shows
such as viscosity and density are affected It is important to ensure that labora- better rheological recovery after aging
strongly by pressure and temperature. tory tests are conducted near the actu- at high temperatures. This is the result
Drilling-fluid viscosity decreases with al reservoir temperature. Unfortunate- of additive synergies within the brine,
temperature and increases with pressure. ly, numerous research and experimental which greatly enhance the thermal sta-
From a reservoir-fluid-behavior perspec- studies are sometimes simplified and bility of the polymers in the brine.
tive, on many occasions, HP/HT reser- the applied test temperatures are set far I hope you enjoy and benefit from the
voirs present fluid that is well above its below the real reservoir-fluid condition. selected and highlighted papers. Other
critical point. In other instances, reser- This may be because of limitations of interesting papers are listed as suggested
voir fluid may exist near its critical point. the equipment used such as pumps, den- additional reading. For further reading,
In the first case, the rheological proper- sitometers, and viscometers. Occasion- the OnePetro online library has addition-
ties of the reservoir fluid may be diffi- ally, a binary fluid is used as a reservoir al papers. JPT
cult to predict because many parameters sample to ensure that operating pres-
are unknown. Fluid near its critical point sures and temperatures are kept practi-
usually is very sensitive. A small change cally and relatively low. Recommended additional reading
in pressure and temperature changes the For this feature, I have selected specif- at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
phase behavior of the reservoir fluids ic papers that present new findings relat-
SPE 183799 Emerging High-Temperature-
Well Stimulation-Diversion Technology
Leads to Significant Increases in
Badrul Mohamed Jan, SPE, is a researcher and academic lec- Conductivity by Naima Bestaoui-Spurr,
turer attached to the Department of Chemical Engineering, Baker Hughes, et al.
University of Malaya, Malaysia. He holds BS, MS, and PhD SPE 183872 Synergistic Effect of
degrees in petroleum engineering from the New Mexico Institute Thermally Stable Polymers for High-
of Mining and Technology. Jan’s research areas and interests Pressure/High-Temperature Brine-Based
include the development of superlightweight completion fluids Drill-in Fluids by Hui Zhou, Halliburton, et al.
for underbalanced perforation and ultralow-interfacial-tension SPE 183946 Studying the Cooling Effect
microemulsion for enhanced oil recovery. He is the recipient of of Nitrified Drilling Fluid on a Bottomhole
the 2016 SPE Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty Assembly While Drilling High-Pressure/
for the Northern Asia Pacific Region. Jan is a member of the JPT Editorial Committee High-Temperature Wells by Abdulrahman
and can be reached at badrules@um.edu.my. Alrumaidh, University of Bahrain, et al.

40 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

New Magnetite Nanoparticles Allow
Smart Drilling Fluids with Superior Properties

T his work focuses on using custom-

made (CM) magnetite (Fe3O4)
nanoparticles (NPs) to improve the
properties. Rheological analysis for the
fluid samples with and without dynam-
ic thermal aging identifies the degree of
salts with NaOH. The synthesized NPs
were characterized with XRD and a high-
resolution transmission electron micro-
properties of bentonite-based fluids. thixotropy of the developed fluids. The scope (TEM). The XRD pattern of the CM
The microstructure qualities and modes study outlines the effect of temperature Fe3O4 NPs showed peaks correspond-
of interaction have been identified, on the yield stress, presents an integrat- ing to pure crystallites of magnetite with
helping to optimize the rheological and ed approach to characterizing raw ma- no impurities, while the TEM image re-
fluid-loss properties of these drilling terials by use of various methods, and vealed the spherical shape of the NPs,
fluids. The better performance of the explores techniques used to examine with a mean diameter of 6–8 nm. Their
CM Fe3O4 NPs can be attributed to their the produced-filter-cake properties and surface area was 100–260 m2/g.
extremely small size, which leads to the size of NPs. Combination of such an Bentonite (45.16 g) was added to
stability in suspensions and effective integrated analytical approach regard- 600  mL of deionized water to give 7%
linking with the bentonite particles, ing the evaluation of the properties of mass concentration and was mixed at
thus allowing the formation of a rigid such suspensions together with the de- high speed for 20 minutes. The suspen-
microstructure network. velopment and use of CM Fe3O4 NPs sion was left for 16 hours to hydrate
with made-to-order properties can lead at room temperature in plastic contain-
Introduction to the development of multifunctional ers. After hydration of bentonite, the
The effects of adding iron oxide NPs on smart drilling fluids. The results of the CM Fe3O4 NPs were added slowly in the
the rheological and filtration properties experiment are discussed in detail in the water/bentonite suspension while agitat-
of aqueous bentonite suspensions have complete paper. ing at high speed for 20 minutes. The
been studied by several researchers. The samples were left in the plastic contain-
results showed that the addition of iron Experimental ers until the rheological or fluid-loss
oxide NPs at low concentrations signifi- Materials and Sample Preparation. measurements were performed. The pH
cantly improves drilling-fluid-filtration The bentonite, in powder form, had a of all samples ranged from 7.8 to 8.2.
characteristics and maintains optimal relative density of 2.6 g/cm3 and was Temperature was controlled using
rheological properties compared with supplied without any polymer additives. a circulating water bath allowing the
the base fluid (BF). Moreover, the cre- It was tan in color with a pH range of water to circulate around the viscome-
ation of a thin and impermeable filter 8–10. X-ray-diffraction (XRD) and X-ray- ter cup, keeping water-circulating tem-
cake and its effectiveness depend on the fluorescence analyses confirmed that perature constant, with an accuracy of
NP concentration. the bentonite was sodium-based, with ±0.5°C. Once the desired temperature
The main objective of the research de- small quantities of illite and quartz. was achieved, the sample to be measured
tailed in the complete paper is to study The bentonite had a mean particle size was stirred for 5 minutes. The sample
the performance of aqueous benton- of 36 µm. was then placed into the measuring cup,
ite suspensions (7 wt%) containing CM The CM Fe3O4 NPs were synthesized and the measurements were conducted
Fe3O4 NPs at 0.5 wt% concentration in by a chemical-coprecipitation method, immediately. An initial step of agitation
terms of their rheological and fluid-loss including reaction of ferrous and ferric at 600 rev/min for 200 seconds was im-
plemented before recording any values.
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of This step was added in order to achieve a
paper IPTC 18731, “A Comprehensive Approach for the Development of New Magnetite temperature equilibration of the sample.
Nanoparticles Giving Smart Drilling Fluids With Superior Properties for HP/HT The temperature of the experiments was
monitored by a temperature sensor em-
Applications,” by Z. Vryzas, Texas A&M University at Qatar; V. Zaspalis, Aristotle
bedded into the viscometer cup.
University of Thessaloniki; L. Nalbantian, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas;
The effect of dynamic thermal aging
O. Mahmoud and H.A. Nasr-El-Din, Texas A&M University; and V.C. Kelessidis, on the rheological and filtration proper-
Texas A&M University at Qatar, prepared for the 2016 International Petroleum ties of the prepared samples was also in-
Technology Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, 14–16 November. The paper has not vestigated in order to examine the abil-
been peer reviewed. Copyright 2016 International Petroleum Technology Conference. ity of the developed fluids to maintain
Reproduced by permission. their properties under such extreme con-

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 41

 ditions. The samples were placed in an
aging cell and pressurized at 300 psi
and then placed in a rolling oven for 16
hours. After cooling down, the appro-
priate rheological or filtration measure-
ments were obtained.
The same sample was used to run
the rheological measurements and, af-
terward, the fluid-loss measurements.
For all the tested samples, the rheo-
logical and fluid-loss measurements
were conducted at 1 and 2 days after
the initial preparation of the samples,
respectively. Before any measurement
and filtration measurements were ob-
tained, the samples were mixed at high
shear for 5 and 10 minutes, respective-
ly. The sample-preparation procedure
for each sample was followed strictly to
ensure consistency.
Rheological Measurements. The rheo-
logical properties of the produced fluids
were measured at ambient pressure and
different temperatures of 77, 104, and
140°F with a rotational standard vis-
cometer. Rheological measurements
were determined at fixed speeds. The
yield stress is estimated from the rheo-
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42
grams (shear stress vs. shear rate) after
extrapolating the curves to zero shear
rate and fitting an appropriate rheo-
logical model. The readings were taken
from high to low speeds, while rotation
lasted for 60 seconds at each rotational
speed, with readings recorded every 10
seconds, thus giving six measurements
for each rotational speed. These six val-
ues were averaged and recorded. The
total duration of the rheological mea-
surement for each sample was 8 minutes
per cycle. The rheological parameter es-
timation was performed according to the
Herschel-Bulkley model.
After dynamic aging of the samples at
350°F, the same measurement protocol
was followed to record the rheological
properties of the aged samples.
High-Pressure/High-Temperature
(HP/HT) Filtration Measurements. Fil-
tration properties of the fresh and the
thermally aged samples were obtained
following American Petroleum Institute
procedures. Data were collected with an
HP/HT filter press operating at 300-psi
differential pressure at a temperature of
250°F. The apparatus includes a 500-mL
cell furnished with a standard cell inlet
cap, four 200-W heaters, and a scribed
outlet cap for the ceramic filter disks
(used as the filter medium). The ceramic
disks are of 0.25-in. thickness and 2.5-in.
diameter, with a permeability of 15 dar-
cies and a mean pore throat of 50 µm.
The samples were poured into the cell,
and the cell was then sealed and put into
the heating jacket. A controlled-pressure
nitrogen source was used to adjust the
pressures at the desired values. The fil-
tration volume was recorded as a func-
tion of time for 30 minutes. The thick-
ness of the filter cake was measured
immediately at the end of the filtration
period using a digital caliper. The filter
cakes were examined for their morphol-
ogy and particle interactions.
Discussion
A bentonite-based fluid system was de-
veloped with the addition of 0.5 wt% CM
Fe3O4 NPs. Extensive rheological analy-
sis and filter-loss experiments revealed
the exceptional rheological and filtration
characteristics of the new fluids. On the
basis of the results obtained, the follow-
ing conclusions can be drawn:
◗ The samples of BF and of nanobased
fluid (NF) exhibited a yield stress
followed by a shear-thinning
behavior, with trends becoming
more Newtonian at higher
temperatures.
◗ The three-parameter Herschel-
Bulkley rheological model
provided a best fit with all of the
experimental data.
◗ Yield stress and apparent viscosity
became increasingly sensitive to
temperature. Yield stress increased
linearly with temperature up to
250°F. Apparent viscosity also
increased at higher temperatures
over the entire range of shear
rates. The linear dependence of
yield stress with temperature was
identified for the first time.
◗ The NF exhibited a flat type of gel-
strength profile compared with the
progressive-type gel strength of
the BF.
◗ Dynamic thermal aging of the fluids
at 350°F for 16 hours affected the
properties of the BF adversely. On
the other hand, the NF maintained
its good rheological properties,
and its filtration properties were
considerably improved.
◗ Addition of 0.5 wt% CM Fe3O4
NPs yielded a 40% decrease of
HP/HT fluid loss compared with
that of the BF before aging, and an
even greater reduction of 43% after
thermal aging.
◗ The spurt losses decreased by 100%
upon addition of CM Fe3O4 NPs.
Filter-cake thicknesses increased
upon addition of NPs before aging,
but decreased after thermal aging.
◗ The complex morphology of the
filter cakes produced upon addition
of NPs, a process that gives rise to
superior filtration characteristics,
was investigated, showing that the
CM Fe3O4 NPs are finely dispersed
among the bentonite plate-like
particles.
◗ Use of the CM Fe3O4 NPs increases
the ability of bentonite-based fluids
to control filtration losses at
HP/HT conditions and shows the
ability of the NFs to build a thin and
impermeable filter cake, resulting
in improved and cost-effective
drilling operations. JPT
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
Deepwater HP/HT Drilling-Fluid Development
and Applications in the South China Sea

T hirty percent of the deepwater

wells in the western South
China Sea have high-pressure
well temperature is 167°C. The estimat-
ed reservoir temperature of the Lingshui
Block is 176°C, with the maximum pres-
During the drilling operations in the
HP/HT deepwater Lingshui Block, es-
pecially when drilling in the reservoir
and high-temperature (HP/HT) sure coefficient reaching 2.01. formation, the drilling fluid not only
characteristics. After incorporating had to prevent the occurrence of the
analyses of engineering and geological Challenges Encountered drilling-fluid gelling effect under low
environments for deepwater HP/HT in Use of Drilling Fluids temperatures but also had to prevent
wells in the Lingshui Block, the authors in the Western South China Sea the degradation of drilling fluid in the
suggest in the complete paper that The major challenges encountered in HT interval, which may greatly reduce
the solution for drilling problems in the use of drilling fluids in deepwater cuttings-carrying capability. Therefore,
deepwater HP/HT wells should start HP/HT wells in the Lingshui Block can deepwater HP/HT drilling can face more
with drilling fluid. Researchers have be placed into two general categories technical challenges than conventional
developed a novel water-based-drilling- as follows: deepwater drilling does.
fluid system compatible with deepwater ◗ The deep water and HP cause These technical challenges had never
HP/HT wells in the Lingshui Block on further narrowing of the drilling been never encountered before in the
the basis of a conventional drilling fluid window. western South China Sea. Several com-
and further optimization. ◗ The coexistence of HP and monly used drilling-fluid systems could
HT makes the drilling-fluid not fully meet the requirements of the
Introduction performance difficult to maintain. compound/complex geological envi-
Most of the reservoirs in the South The existence of a water interval of ronment of Lingshui deepwater HP/HT
China Sea are not only deeply buried a few hundred meters or even a few ki- wells. It thus became necessary to de-
with a low seabed temperature but also lometers in deepwater blocks usually velop a novel drilling-fluid system for
have HP/HT characteristics in the lower forms a 2 to 4°C low-temperature in- the deepwater and HP/HT geological
part of the well interval. The low tem- terval from the seabed up to 500 m environment of the Lingshui Block.
perature of the seawater environment below sea level. The low-temperature
causes an increase of drilling-fluid vis- environment gives rise to rheology vari- Construction of Deepwater
cosity in the riser and deteriorates the ations of drilling fluid in the riser, which HP/HT Drilling-Fluid System
rheology, leading to a buildup of equiv- may cause a gelling effect with increas- To prevent drilling-fluid thickening
alent circulating density (ECD) that ing viscosity and density, producing a at low temperatures, low-molecular-
might induce lost circulation. HP/HT higher friction in the wellbore flow and weight polymer is widely used to con-
reservoir conditions will also result in a increasing the risk of formation leak- trol rheology properties in offshore
narrow drilling-fluid window. The drill- age at the casing shoe. Conventional drilling. Flow rates of mud pumps and
ing fluid has to be HT-resistant and must deepwater wells usually only focus on booster pumps are increased to keep
prevent overflow and wellbore instabil- low-temperature resistance without the wellbore clean. In addition, hydrau-
ity, as well as increase the safe drilling- considering the effect of HT. However, lic software is used to perform real-time
fluid window. HT will cause degradation and cross- simulation and calculation during the
The Lingshui deepwater gas field in linking of certain drilling-fluid addi- operation in order to monitor fluctua-
the western South China Sea is a typical tives, weakening the antipollution char- tions of ECD. Furthermore, hydrate will
HP/HT reservoir. Its greatest operation- acteristics and the water solubility of also affect the rheological properties
al water depth is 1688 m, and its highest the additive. of drilling fluid and cementing quality,
which will influence operational safe-
ty. Currently, thermodynamic inhibitors
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
are primarily used to prevent the gener-
of paper SPE 182429, “Deepwater HP/HT Drilling-Fluid Development and Field ation of hydrate in the process of drill-
Applications in the Western South China Sea,” by Hexing Liu, Zhong Li, Yi Huang, ing deepwater wells. Species and quan-
Manzong Fang, and Zhiqin Liu, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, prepared tity of inhibitors can be obtained by
for the 2016 SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Perth, Australia, simulation through laboratory experi-
25–27 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. ments or software.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 43

 Construction Scheme. Stemming from
the technical challenges encountered by
deepwater HP/HT drilling fluids, and
with an existing conventional deepwa-
ter drilling-fluid system as a basis, an
HT-­resistant filtrate reducer was in-
troduced. Meanwhile, the hydrate-­
inhibition ability of the entire system
was considered. In this way, construc-
tion of a drilling-fluid system suit-
able for deepwater HP/HT wells could
be achieved.
L o w -Te m p e r a t u r e - R e s i s t a n c e
Scheme. Current measures to inhibit
gas hydrates include semi-inhibition:
inhibiting the generation of hydrates
during the drilling process. Inorgan-
ic salt and ethylene glycol are the most
important hydrate inhibitors. Further-
more, potassium salts can significantly
improve the temperature-resistance ca-
pability of polymer. Thus, the research-
ers selected NaCl and a potassium for-
mate compound (KCOOH) as hydrate
inhibitors. According to the software
simulation, when 5% NaCl and 10%
KCOOH are deployed together, the criti-
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44
cal temperature for hydrate generation
is 14°C at 15 MPa and 15°C at 20  MPa,
reaching the requirement of semi-­
inhibition. The critical temperature of
the system at 20  MPa is 16.63°C; this
can effectively inhibit the generation
of hydrates.
HT-Resistance Scheme. The optimiza-
tion of an HT-resistant filtrate reduc-
er for deepwater HP/HT drilling fluid
should follow the principles of steady
rheology, low filtration loss, exten-
sive sources, and acceptable cost. The
imported HT-resistant filtrate reduc-
er DT and the domestic reducer HTFL
were evaluated. The results show that
the viscosity effect of HTFL in the sys-
tem is minor, while its filtration loss at
HP/HT conditions is similar to that of
DT, meeting the requirements of the
HP/HT geological condition in the
deep­water Lingshui Block. In this case,
HTFL was selected as the HT-resistant
filtrate reducer.
Drilling-Fluid Formula. On the basis
of the early optimization of a single
additive, HT-resistant filtrate reducer
HTFL  and polysulfonate HT-­resistant
filtrate reducers SMP HT and SPNH
were selected to conduct ­filtration-loss
control of the system. NaCl and the po-
tassium formate compound HCOOK
were selected as hydrate inhibitors.
The inhibitor CP1 consists of three
types of polymer compounds. The lost-­
circulation material CP2 consists of
three types of material with different
particle sizes. Experiments were ini-
tially performed according to formu-
lae with pressure coefficients of 2.1 at
180°C. The formulae and results gath-
ered in comparing the HT-resistant fil-
trate reducer HTFL with DT are shown
in Tables 2 and 3 of the complete paper.
Formula 3 was chosen for the deepwater
HP/HT drilling-fluid system.
In the experiment, rheology and fil-
tration loss under HP/HT conditions
were considered with the use of HT-­
resistant filtrate reducers HTFL, SMP
HT, and SPNH HT. As the dosage of
HTFL increases, the viscosity of the sys-
tem increases and the amount of fil-
tration loss reduces. When the dosage
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
 of the temperature-resistant filtrate re-
ducer is 0.8%, dosage of CP1 is 2%, and
dosage of CP2 is 5%, the rheology of the
system remains stable, HP/HT filtration
loss is less than 10 mL, and mudcake
quality is sound.
Performance Evaluation
of the System
The rheology of the deepwater HP/HT
drilling-fluid system was evaluated in
low- and medium-temperature and HT
conditions. The results show that the
rheology of the system from low tem-
perature to HT is stable. As the tem-
perature increases, the viscosity of the
system tends to be steady and the trend
of the yield point is also stable, meeting
the technical requirements of deep­water
HP/HT drilling fluids in the Lingshui
Block. The system also demonstrates an
antipollution capacity.
A dynamic filtration-loss instrument
was used to evaluate lost circulation and
pressure-holding capability of the drill-
ing fluid at 10 MPa and 150°C, and the
filtration loss was recorded at a differ-
ent time. The filtration-loss rate of the
system became stabilized and was less
than 0.08 mL/min after 15 minutes. This
indicates that the system has formed
highly effective sealing in the core cross
section, preventing solids and filtration
from entering the core. The system also
can increase the formation-pressure-
holding capability to some extent. Sag
stability is also seen to be stable.
According to a standard  laboratory-
testing method of evaluating for-
mation damage by drilling and com-
pletion f­luids, results show that the
­permeability-recovery factor of the sys-
tem is greater than 89.26% and the
formation protection of the system
is excellent.
Researchers acquired 22 pieces of
slough from the second member of the
Yingerhai Formation, which is rich in
shale and which used base mud to con-
duct soak tests to evaluate the inhibi-
tion of shale hydration. Although sev-
eral cleavages can be seen after soaking
120 hours, the slough still keeps its in-
tegrity well, which indicates that this
type of drilling fluid is capable of inhib-
iting shale from being hydrated as a re-
sult of soaking and can maintain well-
bore stability in the Lingshui Block.
Conclusions
◗◗ A drilling-fluid system compatible
with deepwater HP/HT wells
features a pressure coefficient of
2.10 at 180°C. Its rheology at low
temperature is steady, and hydrate
does not appear in the operation.
It also has good sag stability,
strong antipollution properties,
and good formation-pressure-
holding and reservoir-protection
ability.
◗◗ The optimized drilling-fluid system
could also enhance the formation-
pressure-holding capability to a
certain extent.
◗◗ The operation went smoothly
and without complex situations
caused by the deepwater HP/HT
conditions, with an average
operational period of 42 days (with
an average 4400-m well depth),
average timeliness of 98.97%, and
average nonproductive time of
8.6 hours. JPT

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 High-Performance Brine Viscosifiers
for High Temperatures

M any viscosifiers currently used in

high-density solids-free reservoir
drilling fluids (RDFs) and completion
fluids (CFs) are incompatible with
high-density brines or require the
use of prohibitively expensive brines
to achieve target densities. There is
substantial commercial benefit to
developing a brine viscosifier with a
higher temperature tolerance than is
currently offered. A supramolecular
viscosifier package has been developed
that uses noncovalent associations
between additives to enhance the
thermal resilience of divalent brine
fluids. Static aging-test data indicate
that the supramolecular viscosifier
outperforms high-performance,
commercially available starch/xanthan
brine viscosifier.
Background
The exploitation of oil and gas reser-
voirs found at increasing depths and
the development of horizontal and slim-
hole drilling have increased the demand
for high-density solids-free RDFs, CFs,
and workover fluids (WFs). The use
of divalent brine-based drilling fluids
and CFs in well sections with temper-
atures exceeding 260°F is limited be-
cause of degradation of the polymers
used to viscosify the fluid and suspend
drill cuttings.
Effective drilling fluids have numer-
ous functions in well construction. They
must have the physical properties re-
quired to carry cuttings from beneath
the drill bit up the annulus of the well
for separation at the surface. They must
also provide cooling for the bit and be
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of
paper SPE 183964, “High-Performance Brine Viscosifiers for High Temperatures,”
by Peter J. Boul, Suhaib Abdulquddos, and Carl J. Thaemlitz, Saudi Aramco,
prepared for the 2017 SPE Middle East Oil and Gas Show and Conference, Manama,
Bahrain, 6–9 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
able to reduce friction between the drill-
string and the formation being drilled.
This must be accomplished without
damaging the formation. The inflow of
fluids or solids from the drilling mud
can cause formation damage, which can
reduce the rate of penetration during
drilling and can also decrease the rate
of hydrocarbon production from a pro-
ducing well.
RDFs, CFs, and WFs must be
density-adjusted to provide the hydro-
static head to preserve the integrity of
the wellbore walls and to prevent blow-
outs. Although drilling through much
of the well can be accomplished with
oil- or water-based fluids weighted by
solid particles of such minerals as bar-
ite, the reservoir sections offer a dif-
ferent challenge because of the concern
that these solids could plug pores in the
formation and reduce hydrocarbon-flow
rates. It is for this reason that opera-
tors look to brines to provide density in
RDFs. Recently, research in nanomate-
rials has revealed the potential of low-
solids nanofluids for the prevention of
formation damage.
Low-solids brines are also typi-
cally sought in CFs and WFs. CFs are
those fluids used to flush potentially
formation-damaging materials from the
wellbore after drilling and before perfo-
ration. These materials include drilling-
fluid additives such as fluid-loss agents
that may adhere to the formation face,
formation cuttings and clays entrained
in the drilling fluid and deposited on
the face of a formation, and filter cake
on the formation left from the drill-
ing fluid. The filter cake typically con-
tains solid materials from drilling-fluid-
additive residue from the drilling fluid.
CFs control well pressure, prevent the
collapse of tubing from overpressure,
and provide fluid-loss control. Fluid-
loss-control agents can be added to the
bulk CF or supplied as a pill. Typical
fluid-loss pills include oil-soluble res-
ins, calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and
ground salt.
WFs are typically used in cleaning and
repairing old wells to increase produc-
tion. CFs, WFs, and kill fluids are typi-
cally designed to prevent fluid from the
formation from intruding into the well-
bore while preventing wellbore-fluid
leakoff, which is known to cause for-
mation damage. Brines are used in WFs
just as they are in RDFs and CFs to miti-
gate the formation damage imparted
through the use of fluids with insoluble
particulates such as barite.
Material costs, as well as the required
brine density, typically drive the selec-
tion of the brine. The brines typical-
ly used—with corresponding density
ranges—include the following:
◗ potassium formate,
8.4–13.1 lbm/gal
◗ potassium chloride,
8.3–9.7 lbm/gal
◗ sodium chloride,
8.3–10.0 lbm/gal
◗ sodium bromide,
8.4–12.5 lbm/gal
◗ calcium chloride (CaCl2),
8.4–11.8 lbm/gal
◗ calcium bromide (CaBr2),
8.4–14.2 lbm/gal
◗ CaCl2/CaBr2 mix,
11.8–15.2 lbm/gal
◗ CaCl2/CaBr2/
zinc bromide (ZnBr2) mix,
14.2–19.2 lbm/gal
◗ ZnBr2,
14.2–19.2 lbm/gal
◗ cesium formate,
15.0–19.2 lbm/gal

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

46 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

The Need for Viscosifiers This thermally resilient synthetic The supramolecular viscosifier out-
Brines require viscosification to suspend viscosifier is proposed as a direct re- performs the high-performance, com-
cuttings and to help limit fluid loss to the placement for the xanthan/crosslinked- mercially available starch/xanthan
formation. Typical polymers currently starch system. This viscosifier results brine viscosifier. The addition of this
used to viscosify brines are carboxy- from the combination of polymer and new polymer blend increases the brine
methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, surfactant. Polymer A is known to form suspendability both before and after
xanthan gum, guar gum, and hydroxy- tight associations with certain surfac- aging at high temperature. The result-
propyl guar. Fluid loss is an important tants. The proposed structure formed ing fluid displays enhanced perfor-
issue for brines. For this reason, poly- from this association is a “necklace- mance over the leading commercially
mers are typically used in tandem with and-bead”-type structure, as depicted available solids-free fluids. This viscosi-
bridging agents to regulate fluid-loss in Fig. 1. fier package involves synergies of ad-
control in brines. The polymers used
for fluid-loss control are usually cross-
linked starch, while the bridging agents
are sized particles of CaCO3. The CaCO3 Basic Emulsifiers
is available in sizes from several millime-
ters to several microns. These particles
are readily solubilized in acid. In order
to allow the fluids to maintain their vis-
cosities and yield points at higher tem-
perature, pH buffers, antioxidants, and
oxygen scavengers are often added.
Monoethanol amine is commonly used
as an antioxidant to protect the viscosi-
fier by inhibiting hydroxyl radicals from
degrading the polymer structure. Mag-
nesium oxide (MgO) is often added as a
buffer to the pH and to inhibit hydrolysis
of the polymers in the brine.
The commercially available fluids re- WHY PAY FOR THIS,
ported in the complete paper contain
a dual-functional viscosifier and fluid-
loss additive (xanthan and crosslinked
starch), a high-surface-area grade
of MgO for a pH buffer, a silicone de- WHEN ALL YOU NEED IS THIS?
foamer, monoethanolamine, and sodi-
um thiosulfate as an oxygen scavenger.
In addition to these additives are the
bridging agents (CaCO3), with an aver- The same goes for your emulsifier purchases.
age particle size from 2 to 12 μm. XPLORTM Basic emulsifiers offer an economic alternative by meeting
The viscosifier described in the rudimentary performance requirements combined with the quality you
complete paper can be applied as a expect from the emulsifier experts, Georgia-Pacific Oilfield Chemicals.
drop-in replacement for xanthan and
crosslinked starch in a standard brine-
formulation package used in RDFs, CFs,
• Meet the requirements, meet the budget.
and WFs. The resulting fluids with this
viscosifier display temperature toler- • Get the job done. Don’t pay for unnecessary features.
ance superior to that of the RDF cur- • Available for both mineral oil and diesel solvents.
rently used in divalent brines. The prod-
uct is described as a supramolecular
viscosifier package using noncovalent
associations between additives, enhanc- Contact us at 1-866-447-2436 or
ing the thermal resilience of divalent visit www.gp-chemicals.com/JPT5
brine ­fluids. The product performance
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pared with that of a standard starch- ©2016 Georgia-Pacific Chemicals LLC All rights reserved.

based RDF.

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 47

 Much of the complete paper is de-
voted to a detailed discussion of ex-
periments describing the use of some
polymeric and surfactant additives that
may serve as “drop-in” replacements
for xanthan and starch in completion
brines and RDFs.

Conclusions
A brine viscosifier has been devel-
oped from multiple molecular build-
ing blocks.  The viscosifier  was  tested
in  comparison with the industry-
standard crosslinked-starch/xanthan.
Where the standard fails to perform
(above 260°F), the supramolecular vis-
cosifier maintains substantial struc-
ture and thermal resilience such that
a brine formulated with this viscosi-
fier could suspend drill cuttings as its
intended purpose. The ability to sus-
Fig. 1—Generalized illustration of the association of a polycation with an
pend cuttings is evidenced in post-
anionic surfactant. In the case of the brine viscosifier described here, the blue thermal-aging yield points greater than
structures are Polymer A and the yellow structures are the surfactant. 2 lbf/100  ft2. It is proposed that the
combination of the materials and the
ditives within the brine that greatly performance is highlighted through dy- molecular interactions of the additives
enhance the thermal stability of the namic and static aging tests from 300 with one another enhance the ther-
polymers in the brine. The enhanced to 325°F. mal resilience. JPT

НОМИНИРОВАТЬ
NOMINATE
INDIQUE
提名
Excellent work should be recognized everywhere.
Visit www.spe.org/awards for more information.
International award deadline is 15 February. Regional award deadline is 1 March.
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Horizontal and Complex-Trajectory Wells

Stéphane Menand, SPE, President, DrillScan US

With the long-term price of a barrel The industry has already data is sufficient and representative of
of oil projected to hover around $50, all possible situations.
all actors in the oil and gas industry begun its transition, However, machine learning or arti-
have been forced to change or adapt going from more-traditional ficial intelligence should not necessar-
their processes to try to reduce costs ily be seen as a magic tool applicable to
and sustain profitability. Accompanying
mechanized systems any engineering problem, many of which
the downturn, the oil and gas indus- in the hands of humans can still be treated with more-traditional
try has entered a new era of digitaliza- to more-computer-controlled physical models that are more-easily
tion, introducing new buzzwords to our understood by engineers. Even though
industry such as artificial intelligence, drilling systems engineering is still undertaken mostly
digital twin, machine learning, neural that will eventually lead with traditional and deterministic mod-
network, industrial Internet of Things, els, it is highly plausible that this digi-
and cloud computing, just to name a to full drilling automation. tal transformation will redefine the tra-
few. The industry has already begun its ditional drilling-engineering job in the
transition, going from more-traditional near future. An increasing number of
mechanized systems in the hands of tors and plots for drilling engineers is traditional tasks will be handled by com-
humans to more-computer-controlled fantastic and within reasonable reach, puters (e.g., data analytics, simulations/
drilling systems that will eventually lead because it obviously facilitates the tasks modeling), but one must keep in mind
to full drilling automation. of drilling engineers dealing with real- that decision making will still require
If it has been proved in the past that time data entry. Machine learning, on engineers able to understand the funda-
innovative technology is excellent for the other hand, such as neural networks mental principles of the problem fully.
bringing more-efficient solutions is not new just for the drilling industry Coupling physical models with machine-
to reduce costs, will digital technolo- but has re-emerged recently with the learning techniques smartly is probably
gy be the panacea for the whole indus- growth of big data and requires data- something to explore. Last, but not least,
try? While some segments of the drilling science process skills to implement vari- I think that millennials, digital natives,
and completion industry could logically ous algorithms properly. Complex, non- will have a big role to play in this trans-
and more easily benefit from it, some linear, and multiphysics phenomena that formation because they are more prone
others require great caution and exper- involve many parameters and are diffi- to adapt naturally to the technology they
tise to leverage digital technology in cult to measure directly, such as stuck- have always been living with. JPT
its many forms and levels of complex- pipe events, washout, fatigue, wear, and
ity. Being able to digest, filter, and ana- maintenance of equipment, can be tack-
lyze a huge amount of data in real time led through machine learning with rela- Recommended additional reading
to provide useful and readable indica- tive success as long as the training set of at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 181788 Optimizing the Multistage
Stéphane Menand, SPE, is the president of DrillScan US, based Fracturing Interval for Horizontal Wells
in Houston. Previously, he held a research position at Mines in Bakken and Three Forks Formations
ParisTech. Menand holds a PhD degree in drilling engineering by Kegang Ling, University of North Dakota,
from Mines ParisTech. He has 19 years of experience in the oil and et al.
gas industry, mainly as a research-and-development project SPE 183125 Application of Real-Time
manager in drilling engineering, more specifically in directional Geomechanics on a Horizontal Well
drilling, drillstring mechanics (torque, drag, and buckling), drill- by Osman Hamid, Saudi Aramco, et al.
ing dynamics, and drill-bit performance. Menand has authored or SPE 184875 Evaluating Stresses Along
coauthored more than 25 SPE papers and other technical papers and holds several Horizontal Wells in Unconventional
patents. He serves on the JPT Editorial Committee and is an associate editor for SPE Plays by Marisela Sanchez-Nagel, OilField
Drilling & Completions. Menand can be reached at stephane.menand@drillscan.com. Geomechanics, et al.

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 49

 Optimizing Lateral Well Spacing
by Improving Directional-Survey Accuracy

T he effect of inaccurate directional

surveying on lateral wellbore
spacing is commonly overlooked. The
purpose of this paper is to demonstrate
how inaccuracy in standard directional-
surveying methods affects wellbore
position and to recommend practices to
improve surveying accuracy for greater
confidence in lateral spacing.
Introduction
Determining optimal wellbore spac-
ing for a given field requires consider-
ation of several factors such as hydraulic-
fracture geometry and reservoir quality.
These variables are simulated using ad-
vanced reservoir models to identify ideal
parameters, such as lateral spacing dis-
tance, which will lead to the greatest pro-
duction value. Models are then validated
against field spacing tests to confirm re-
sults. However, an important consider-
ation that is usually ignored is wellbore
positional accuracy.
Most reservoir models assume accu-
rate wellbore placement. When reservoir
models do account for wellbore position-
al uncertainty, the approximation is only a
fraction of the actual positional error ex-
pected from standard wellbore-surveying
techniques. This creates a problem when
positional errors occur during spacing
tests, because the actual lateral spacing
distance could vary significantly from the
values used to create the reservoir model.
If production and reservoir simulations
are misinterpreted because of wellbore
positional errors, then economic conse-
quences could be significant.
Horizontal wells are directionally
drilled using measurement-while-drilling
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
of paper SPE 181772, “Optimizing Lateral Well Spacing by Improving Directional-
Survey Accuracy,” by Shawn DeVerse, Surcon, and Stefan Maus, Magnetic Variation
Services, prepared for the 2016 SPE Liquids-Rich Basins Conference—North America,
Midland, Texas, USA, 21–22 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
(MWD) surveying to characterize the well
path. Standard MWD surveying is subject
to many error sources that lead to signif-
icant positional uncertainty and can re-
sult in inaccurate well placement. How-
ever, enhanced surveying methods such
as use of multistation analysis (MSA) in
field referencing can be an effective strat-
egy for reducing a majority of errors. Po-
sitional uncertainty can be modeled by
3D ellipsoids of uncertainty at each sur-
vey point in the well path, which repre-
sent a statistical distribution of where the
actual survey might exist.
Methods
In-Field Geomagnetic Referencing
(IFR). IFR is a means of predicting the
local magnetic field at a specific geo-
graphic location. It can be used to support
MWD operations as a reference frame for
magnetic measurements. IFR accounts
for three of the four contributing factors
of the geomagnetic field. These are the
main field (generated by the Earth’s core),
crustal field (magnetic minerals in the
Earth’s crust), and steady external field
(generated by charged-particle flow in
the Earth’s atmosphere). The remaining
contribution to the geomagnetic field is
the magnetic disturbance field (generated
by electric currents in near-Earth space).
An IFR model must capture a wide spec-
trum of wavelengths in the geomagnetic
field. Satellite measurements account for
the long-wavelength (266 to 2500 km)
crustal field as well as the main field, sec-
ular variation, and steady external field. A
local magnetic survey provides the short-
er wavelengths through accurate map-
ping of local crustal-field anomalies. To
provide a model that is continuous across
the geomagnetic spectrum, the local mag-
netic survey is extended by merging it
with a larger regional survey. The merged
grid that results is then further extend-
ed to cover the longest of wavelengths
by merging with the satellite measure-
ments. The merging of these different
data sets must be evaluated at the same
altitude and must make a seamless tran-
sition across their boundaries. The local
magnetic survey specifies only the total
strength of the magnetic-field vector;
however, MWD requires accurate model-
ing of the direction of the magnetic-field
vector. It is possible to determine the di-
rection of the magnetic field accurately
by representing its vector as the gradient
of a scalar potential, found by solving La-
place’s differential equation using ellip-
soidal harmonic basis functions.
MSA. MSA is a method for reducing sys-
tematic errors in MWD measurements.
By comparing the measured total mag-
netic field, magnetic dip angle, and total
gravity field from multiple survey stations
against the theoretical values obtained
from an IFR model and a global accelera-
tion reference model, bias and scale errors
can be resolved for the MWD accelerome-
ters and magnetometers. This enables a
correction to be applied to the raw MWD
measurements, which reduces uncertain-
ty from instrument calibration, magnet-
ic drillstring interference, and magnetic
mud. Because magnetic drillstring inter-
ference is one of the largest contribut-
ers to azimuth error as expressed by the
MWD tool code, correcting for it leads to a
substantial reduction in positional uncer-
tainty. If the bottomhole-assembly com-
ponents are strongly magnetized while
drilling, then MSA-corrected surveys may
result in a significant change in wellbore
position. Because MSA relies on the accu-
racy of the magnetic reference model for
determining MWD error, it is critical to

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

50 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

 45

40
Results
A comparison of magnetic declination
35
values computed from the Permian IFR
Number of Wells

30 model against the International Geo-

25
20
15
10
5
0 a maximum difference of 0.50°. Because
(1–26) (26–51) (51–76)
Fig. 1—Difference in horizontal distance between originally reported BHL and
corrected BHL.
use an IFR model to achieve the most ac-
curate survey analysis.
Drilling Operations. Advanced survey
analysis was performed on 138 wells
drilled in the Eagle Ford Shale and the
Permian Basin of Texas. For the majority
of these wells, survey analysis was per-
formed in real time while drilling in order
to steer the well path accurately accord-
ing to the well plan. The process for real-
time survey analysis occurs with each sur-
vey station. When an MWD survey is shot,
the raw measurements are uploaded to a
(76–101) (101–126) (126–151) (151–176) (176–201) (201–226) (226–251) (251–276)
Difference in Horizontal Distance (ft)
Web application where the survey under-
goes a validation process to ensure that
the survey is free from gross errors. Once
the survey passes the initial validation, it
is stored in a cloud-hosted database and
accessed by analysts in a remote operat-
ing center where it is analyzed further for
systematic errors such as magnetic drill-
string interference or instrument bias and
scale errors, by use of IFR and MSA. After
the systematic errors are identified and
corrected, the corrected surveys are de-
livered to the rigsite through the Web in-
terface and used for directional steering.
magnetic Reference Field (IGRF) model
showed a root-mean-square (RMS) differ-
ence of 0.26° and a maximum difference
of 1.32°. A similar comparison with the
Eagle Ford IFR model and the IGRF model
showed an RMS difference of 0.14° and
declination is directly applied to magnet-
ic azimuth when calculating directional
surveys, the RMS positional error for an
11,000-ft lateral wellbore resulting from
use of the IGRF model would be 50 ft in
the Permian and 27 ft in the Eagle Ford.
Bottomhole locations (BHLs) for all
138 well paths corrected with IFR and
MSA were compared with the BHLs of
the original well paths computed from
each wellbore’s orginally reported MWD
surveys. The RMS of the BHL horizon-
tal positional change was 78 ft, and the
maximum horizontal positional change
was 269 ft. Fig. 1 summarizes these re-
sults. For wellbores that were analyzed
after drilling, the difference in position
represents how far the BHL was actually

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 placed compared with what was origi-
nally measured. For wellbores that were
evaluated and corrected in real time (the
case for the majority of wells), the differ-
ence in position represents how distant
from the plan the BHL would have been
if advanced survey management had not
been applied.
An important consideration is that the
change in wellbore position does not al-
ways occur in the same direction. De-
pending on the polarity of drillstring
magnetization, the wellbore direction,
and the direction of the magnetic declina-
tion error, the standard MWD-­measured
wellbore could be to the left or right of
the actual position. This is especially con-
cerning because it means that horizontal
wellbores are very likely to converge and
diverge, which decreases and increases
lateral spacing at the BHL.
If one considers an entire field of hori-
zontal wells drilled with standard MWD
surveying, it is easy to realize that the
resulting lateral well spacing will be less
than ideal. Furthermore, one should
consider how inaccurate well placement
could affect infill drilling. If enhanced-
recovery applications or new well-­
completion techniques required future requirement for maximizing shale reser-
voir value. Horizontal shale wells should
infill drilling, it could be quite challeng-
be drilled as close to planned spacing as
ing to place wells in a field of inaccurately
drilled wellbores. possible to effectively drain the entire
field while avoiding overcapitalization
Conclusion from excessive drilling.
Reservoir permeability and fracture The most cost-effective method for
area are often considered the most im- achieving a substantial improvement in
portant factors regarding lateral well-­ wellbore accuracy is to apply IFR and
spacing optimization in shale reservoirs. MSA corrections to standard MWD sur-
How­ever, reservoir simulations and pro- veying. IFR will greatly improve the ac-
duction models can be completely in- curacy of geomagnetic reference dec-
validated if underlying assumptions are lination, which can reduce positional
incorrect, such as measured lateral spac- uncertainty by greater than 30%. MSA is
ing distance. As demonstrated by the one of the most powerful forms of survey
study in the complete paper, standard quality control and is highly effective at
MWD surveying methods are subject to identifying gross errors and reducing sys-
large errors, which can lead to inaccurate tematic errors. This can achieve a further
well placement. Because most reservoir- reduction in uncertainty for a total reduc-
simulation methods do not fully account tion of up to 60% compared with stan-
for wellbore positional uncertainty, it is dard MWD surveying. A major advantage
recommended to reduce standard MWD of IFR and MSA is that they can be applied
error by applying advanced survey cor- in real time while drilling, which enables
rections such as IFR and MSA in real the wellbore to be steered with the most
time to ensure that the wellbores are accurate surveys available. Placing well-
placed accurately. Not only does accurate bores accurately to begin with will have a
well placement help reduce misinterpre- positive effect on field-development and
tation of well-spacing-test results, but will increase the feasibility of future infill-
well-placement accuracy is also a critical drilling programs. JPT

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AIME, and companies that allow their professionals to serve as lecturers.

52 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

Horizontal Drilling With Dual-Channel Drillpipe

A new drilling method provides

a solution for challenges
encountered in drilling of long Flow In
horizontal wells, incorporating a dual Flow- Return Flow
drillstring with a separate channel for Topdrive Adapter Control
the return fluid from the well. This Unit Passive Fluid
arrangement enables managed-gradient
drilling (i.e., to drill with a constant
downhole pressure gradient that can be
controlled to be nearly independent of
the flow rate). The solution is similar to Passive Fluid
managed-pressure drilling (MPD) but
Active Fluid
differs in that the downhole pressure
gradient is managed instead of the
pressure at one depth in the well. Inner-Pipe Valve BHA
Dual Drillstring

Introduction
The technology for drilling and com-
pletion of long horizontal sections
has improved significantly in recent
years. However, challenges such as Fig. 1—Schematic of the dual-drillstring drilling method.
hole cleaning, equivalent-circulating-
density (ECD) control, and torque-and- ◗ Torque and drag: A heavy-over-light bottomhole assembly (BHA) by means of
drag reduction still exist. ECD is linked fluid solution reduces torque and an inner-pipe valve, which contains en-
to hole cleaning and is often a limiting drag through buoyancy. trance ports for the return fluid and iso-
factor. Long-reach horizontal wells can Fig. 1 presents a schematic of the lates the well during pipe connections.
also be limited by the torque and drag of drilling-fluid flow for this arrangement. The dual-drillstring configuration al-
the drillstring. The dual drillstring allows drilling mud lows two different types of fluid to be
The dual-drillstring configuration to be pumped down the annulus inside used in the well during the drilling op-
has specifically been developed to pro- the drillpipe, with the return flow up the eration. A low-density and low-viscosity
vide solutions to these challenges, concentric inner pipe. The system can active drilling fluid is circulated inside
as follows: be installed on a standard drilling rig. A the dual drillstring and around the BHA
◗ Hole cleaning: Drill cuttings are topdrive adapter connects the rig’s top- and is optimized for efficient cleaning
removed from the bottom of the drive to the top of the dual drillstring. capability and ECD control. The annu-
hole through a separate flow The adapter contains a swivel that al- lus outside the dual drillstring is filled
channel inside the drillstring. lows for pumping mud into the drillpipe with a near-static passive fluid, prefer-
◗ ECD control: Managed-gradient annulus and for the return flow from the ably a fluid optimized for torque-and-
drilling creates a constant inner pipe to be directed back to the sur- drag reduction and for downhole pres-
downhole pressure gradient face mud system. The lower end of the sure control.
independent of the flow rate. dual drillstring connects to a standard This heavy-over-light configuration re-
sults in the passive well-annulus fluid
having a greater density than the active
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
fluid inside the dual drillstring. When
of paper SPE 184683, “Horizontal Drilling With Dual-Channel Drillpipe,” by O.M. using the heavy-over-light solution, the
Vestavik and J. Thorogood, Reelwell; E. Bourdelet, Total; and B. Schmalhorst and dual drillstring is exposed to positive
J.P. Roed, DEA Deutsche Erdoel, prepared for the 2017 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference buoyancy forces because of the differenc-
and Exhibition, The Hague, The Netherlands, 14–16 March. The paper has not been es in fluid densities inside and outside the
peer reviewed. string. The buoyancy forces result in a re-

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 53

 duction of wall-contact forces, thereby
leading to a reduction in torque and drag
during drilling. Additionally, the heavy-
over-light solution means that surface
backpressure on the well annulus can
be kept low during operation, enabling
managed-gradient-drilling operations to
be performed with little or no wellhead
casing pressure.
Operation
An onshore wellsite in Alberta was se-
lected for a verification of the new tech-
nology. The target for the horizontal
well was a zone between approximate-
ly 450- and 470-m true vertical depth
(TVD) predicted to be a relatively ho-
mogeneous sand with no hydrocarbons
and therefore suitable for the trial well.
The rig was capable of handling Range
3 drillpipes. The flow-control unit, in-
stalled in the driller’s cabin, enables re-
mote control of system functions, data
logging, and sensor monitoring. The
control-unit software provides auto­
­ the target at 1510‑m MD and 452-m TVD
mated procedures for pump startup,
shutdown, pressure control on selected
set points, and alarms with associated
recommended actions.
Society of Petroleum Engineers
CALL FOR
PAPERS
Paper Proposal
Submission Deadline:
29 January 2018
Learn more and
submit your proposal
online at
www.atce.org/CFP2018
Two different types of dual-channel
drillpipes were used during the opera-
tion: 6⅝-in. steel dual drillpipes, mainly
for use in the vertical section of the well,
and new aluminum dual drillpipes, main-
ly for use in the horizontal section of the
well. The intermediate 13½-in.-hole sec-
tion was directionally drilled with con-
ventional 5-in. drillpipe to 803-m mea-
sured depth (MD) and 465-m TVD. The
10¾-in. casing was cemented in place,
and formation integrity was tested.
The specialized dual drillstring com-
bined with a conventional rotary-
steerable-system BHA was used for
drilling the 9⅞-in. horizontal section.
A 1.1-specific-gravity (sg) water-based
drilling fluid was used for both active
and passive fluids to a depth of 1100-m
MD. The fluid in the annulus outside the
dual drillstring was then displaced to
a 1.6-sg-­density fluid to continue drill-
ing the horizontal section in heavy-over-
light mode. The remaining section to
was drilled in this mode with active/pas-
sive-fluid densities maintained at 1.1 sg
and 1.6 sg, respectively. The effect of the
heavy-over-light fluid configuration on
torque and drag was measured at total
depth. Torque-and-drag readings were
obtained first with the 1.1-sg/1.6-sg light/
heavy fluid configuration. The well was
then displaced to 1.6 sg in the well annu-
lus and in both channels of the drillstring,
and the measurements were repeated.
The well-control procedures with the
dual drillstring were tested as a last part
of the trial. After setting a bridge plug
in the 10¾-in. casing at 783 m, nitro-
gen was displaced through the dual drill-
string and trapped in the casing at the
plug to create a volume of 430 L of com-
pressed gas. During the subsequent cir-
culation, the nitrogen was detected and
circulated out of the well successfully
in accordance with the established well-
control procedure. The well was then
abandoned in accordance with local reg-
ulations. Results of the operation are de-
scribed in detail in the complete paper.
Discussion
The drilling operation from spud to
abandonment was completed in 15 days,
which went according to plan. There
was no downtime on the downhole drill-
ing tools and equipment during the op-
Annual Technical
Conference and
Exhibition
24–26 September 2018 È Dallas, Texas, USA
Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center
erations. All the planned activities were conducted as per
the program.
The surface and downhole logging results show that high HOST

rates of penetration were obtained at relatively low flow rates

when compared with values seen in conventional drilling,
which demonstrates the capability of the dual-drillpipe sys-
tem to drill and clean the hole effectively. The results indicate
that the downhole pressure gradient is held constant to within
50 kPa during starting and stopping of the mud pumps. Detailed Supported By Knowledge Partner

analysis of the downhole pressures indicated that the pressure

variations during connections were in the range of 5 bar, when
using start/stop times for the pump of 1–2 minutes under auto-
mated mud-pump-control procedures. If necessary, smaller One global industry. One city. One meeting place.
pressure variations can be achieved by taking longer to ramp FORGING TIES, DRIVING GROWTH
up from pump startup to full circulation flow. The torque-and-
drag measurements show that the torque of the drillstring was
reduced by approximately 30%, which is in agreement with REGISTER TO HEAR FROM GLOBAL
the model.
Large cuttings were observed at the shale shaker when drill- OIL & GAS BUSINESS LEADERS
ing hard stringers while approaching the final well depth. Nor-
mally, the cuttings were very fine and had a particle size of less
than 1 mm. The observed large cuttings may have been cre- AT ONE OF THE WORLD’S
LARGEST OIL & GAS
ated as a result of bit vibrations when drilling the hard string-
ers because of relatively large cutter elements on the bit. It is
interesting to note that the bottoms-up transport time for the CONFERENCES
cuttings is estimated to be 9 minutes at total depth. Hence,

1
119
the large cuttings may be very valuable for formation evalua- OPENING CEREMONY
tion while drilling. In this regard, too, the dual drillstring dif- KEYNOTE & FEATURED SPEAKERS

fers from conventional drilling, during which much of the in-

formation from the cuttings is lost because of long transport
times and the grinding and mixing during transport in the
4 MINISTERIAL
SESSIONS
TECHNICAL SESSIONS

• E&P GEOSCIENCE

4
well annulus. GLOBAL BUSINESS LEADER
• OFFSHORE & MARINE
A steady increase of the drilling-fluid density is evident as SESSIONS
a result of fines accumulating during the drilling process. The • DRILLING AND COMPLETION
NEW
4
TECHNOLOGY
small increase in the fluid density for every joint being drilled GLOBAL DOWNSTREAM
BUSINESS LEADER SESSIONS • PRODUCTION FACILITIES
clearly shows the effect of the cuttings on the return-flow den- TECHNOLOGY
sity, and also proves the efficient cuttings-transport capabil- NEW
ity. Laboratory analysis of the mud samples confirmed that 9 C-SUITE DIALOGUES
SESSIONS
• HSE

• UNCONVENTIONAL OIL
the buildup of fluid density was caused by drilled solids, and
was not a result of intermixing of barite from the heavy fluid
when performing the heavy-over-light operation in the last part
8 INDUSTRY TECHNICAL PANELS
SESSIONS
• UNCONVENTIONAL GAS

• PROJECTS ENGINEERING AND

of the well. MANAGEMENT

The pressure- and flow-measurement recordings made dur- 14 SECURITY IN ENERGY

SESSIONS
• PEOPLE & TALENTS
ing the well-control trial demonstrate the ability to detect gas • GAS TECHNOLOGY
in the well quickly with the Coriolis flowmeter. The ability to
monitor the flow and downhole pressures using the static con- 8 WOMEN IN ENERGY
SESSIONS
• UNCONVENTIONAL RESOURCES

• FIELD DEVELOPMENT
duit in the dual drillstring was also verified. The ability to cir-
culate gas out in a controlled and safe manner was proved by
the two well-control trials performed.
8 OFFSHORE & MARINE
SESSIONS
• OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

• IOR/EOR

• PETROLEUM ADVANCED
1
Conventional MPD imposes a dynamic pressure gradient on YOUNG ADIPEC
ANALYTICS
the well annulus that may require installation of a casing or ANNUAL YOUTH FORUM
liner when the dynamic pressure exceeds the downhole pres-
sure window. Managed-gradient drilling, enabled by the dual-
conduit drillstring, can, by adjustment of flow rates and surface
choking, provide a constant pressure gradient at all times, in-
FOR CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
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dependent of whether the pumps are running or not. Managed-
adipec.delegate@dmgeventsme.com +971 2 444 4383
gradient drilling is thus capable of overcoming section-length
limitations associated with conventional MPD. JPT HostfiCfity fiOffififififififififififi fiTfifihnfififififiConffirfinfifi fiADIPEC
Pfirtnfir Orgfinfisfir OrgfinfisfififiBy

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

 3D Simulator Predicts Realistic Mud
Displacement in Deviated and Horizontal Wells

O ver the past several decades,

the industry has dedicated
considerable attention to the topic of
A third limitation is related to the de-
termination of the annulus geometry.
The widespread soft-string centraliza-
sible to determine centralization at any
time during cement placement and to use
these results instead.
mud displacement. For deeper wells tion model used to determine casing ec- All the inputs needed for the two dis-
with complex trajectories, such as centricity assumes that standoff is always placement simulators are now available:
highly deviated or horizontal wells, oriented in the direction of gravity. When flow rates in pipe and annulus, free sur-
conventional 2D annular-displacement a 3D wellbore is considered, it becomes face position, and 3D annulus geometry.
simulator models face limitations. necessary to consider 3D displacements
The complete paper discusses the and not just those in the vertical plane. Stiff-String Centralization
advancements in mud-displacement Otherwise, unrealistic mud-displacement Simulator
simulation that overcome the results can be obtained. The position of the casing inside the well
limitations of the previous-generation determines the annular geometry used in
simulator and provide a more-realistic Simulation Work Flow the fluid-displacement simulator. Owing
simulation in highly deviated and A complex simulation work flow must to its extreme length/diameter ratio, the
horizontal wells. be followed to obtain cement-slurry tubular string is modeled as an assem-
placement in the annulus at the end of bly of 1D elastic beams. Each beam is
Introduction the operation. characterized by a uniform cross-section
The 2D mud-displacement simulator is The first step consists of running a hy- geometry and Hooke elastic constants
now a standard in the industry. Nonethe- draulics simulation of the operation to- (Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio).
less, because of the growing complexity gether with a temperature simulator. This Beam elements are individually bounded
of well geometries, some of its limita- step accounts for the U-tubing effect and by two nodes, such that a string of N dis-
tions have become apparent. provides the position of the free surface crete elements defines N+1 nodal points.
First, the simulation work flow con- in the pipe and the resulting flow rate in Local deformations occur under the ac-
siders fluid displacement in the annulus the annulus. In addition, the temperature tion of distributed and nodal forces, as
only and neglects what happens as fluids simulation also allows accounting for the well as bending and torsion moments.
travel down the pipe. The assumption is downhole properties of fluids, which Thus, each node has six degrees of free-
that different fluids are perfectly separat- are often temperature- and pressure- dom—namely, displacement and rota-
ed inside the casing, even after hundreds dependent. All these results are needed tion vectors in three dimensions. String
or thousands of meters. In reality, with- as input for the displacement simulators. beams are coupled by displacement and
out a mechanical separator, such separa- As a second step, the centralization of rotation continuity at nodes. This im-
tion is physically impossible. the string that will be cemented is deter- plies in particular that bending moments
Second, as a matter of performance mined. Because the centralization results are transmitted from one element to the
optimization, the simulator was imple- depend on the positions of the fluids next along the string. Hence, the model
mented to simulate only half the annu- within the flow path, the choice is usu- is referred to as “stiff string,” as op-
lus, assuming symmetrical flow in the ally made to consider the moment when posed to the simpler model widely used
other half. This assumption prevents the cement slurry first enters the annulus. in the industry, usually referred to as
determination of azimuthal flow, or flow This situation also usually corresponds “soft string.”
around the casing, which is of great im- to the most critical in terms of standoff, Transverse displacement is con-
portance in deviated and horizontal wells because the apparent weight of the casing strained by the annular clearance be-
with high-density-contrast fluids. string is the highest. It is, however, pos- tween the casing outer radius and well-
bore radius. Hard contact, when it
occurs, is handled by a penalty meth-
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
od, through a return force normal to
of paper SPE 184677, “New-Generation 3D Simulator Predicts Realistic Mud the wellbore wall imposed onto the cas-
Displacement in Highly Deviated and Horizontal Wells,” by P.M.J. Tardy, N.C. ing string at contacting nodes. Contact
Flamant, E. Lac, A. Parry, C. Sri Sutama, and S.P. Baggini Almagro, Schlumberger, mechanics makes the calculation of dis-
prepared for the 2017 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, The Hague, The placements nonlinear, because contact
Netherlands, 14–16 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. points are not known beforehand. The

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

56 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017


Fig. 1—Laminar-flow instabilities for pipe displacement flows. Left: Kelvin-
Helmholtz. Right: roll-wave.
possible presence of bow-spring central-
izers is modeled by an additional spring
force proportional to the local absolute
transverse displacement.
Finally, the obtained solution pro-
vides the nodal displacement and ro-
tation angles satisfying the balance be-
tween internal elastic stresses, buoyancy/
gravity forces, and contact forces. The
relative eccentricity of the string at a
given depth is computed as the ratio of
the absolute transverse displacement to
the local annular clearance. This quanti-
ty is located between zero (centered cas-
ing) and unity (contact). Standoff orien-
tation is not inferred, as in the soft-string
model, but computed from the displace-
ment components in each cross-sectional
plane. Axial resolution for typical field
cases varies from 1 to 5 m. Full resolu-
tion results are submitted as input to the
annular-displacement simulator.
Fluid Displacement in Pipe or Casing.
The pipe/casing interior is modeled as
a series of cylindrical tubes of varying
diameters. The pipe/casing trajectory is
defined by the centralization simulator
for a given hole survey and casing string.
Pipe/casing deviation angles and pipe/
casing azimuths are calculated and sim-
ulated during flow simulations because
they may affect fluid distribution along
the pipe/casing.
The model assumes that the flow may
be locally laminar or turbulent. Where
laminar, the fluid/fluid displacement pat-
tern may be concentric or segregated de-
pending on the effect of buoyancy forces.
Concentric displacement patterns occur
when buoyancy forces are not sufficient
to segregate the fluids and prevent vis-
cous forces from forcing the displacing
fluid to flow preferentially in the region
of the pipe center. With sufficiently large
buoyancy forces, the lighter (denser) fluid
tends to occupy the upper (lower) part of
the pipe, leading to a stratified displace-
ment pattern. The model also detects the
onset of laminar-flow instability such as
the Kelvin-Helmholtz and roll-wave in-
stabilities that may occur at the fluid/fluid
interfaces, as shown in Fig. 1. When these
instabilities occur, the fluids mix and a
homogeneous mixture is generated, sim-
ilar to that observed in turbulent flow
in which the fluids mix because of flow-
velocity fluctuations. Once mixed, fluids
do not segregate back to concentric or
stratified flow, even under laminar-flow
conditions. One pipe/casing-model out-
put is the volume fraction of each fluid at
the shoe at all times. This information is
transferred to the annular-displacement
model that considers the fluids during
their upward flow.
Fluid Displacement in the Annulus. The
annular-gap width varies significantly

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 along the wellbore, both axially and azi-
muthally. Such variations give rise to pref-
erential flow paths and must be captured
as accurately as possible. Before running
the displacement calculation, the simula-
tor analyzes the geometrical variations of
the annulus along the wellbore: standoff
magnitude, standoff orientation, inner
and outer diameters, wellbore-deviation
angle, and azimuth. The axial grid spac-
ing is automatically adjusted to capture
all the details of the actual annular geom-
etry for maximum accuracy.
The simulator assumes that fluid rheol-
ogy follows the Herschel-Bulkley model.
Fluids flow and displace each other de-
pending on the balance of buoyancy forc-
es, viscous forces, and the actual annular
geometry. Casing rotation and recipro-
cation are also accounted for. This latter
feature has proved very useful in show-
ing enhanced mud removal while rotat-
ing the casing during cement pumping.
Flow symmetry is not assumed, stand-
off orientation may take any value, and
the model lets azimuthal buoyancy ef-
fects develop fully without unphysical
symmetry. Simulations have shown that
allowing full development of azimuthal
flow may lead to less-pessimistic mud-­
displacement predictions.
The annular-flow model assumes that
the annular-gap width is small compared
with the wellbore radius. This assump-
tion allows significant simplifications to
take place during the resolution of the
Navier-Stokes equations in the 2D azi-
muthal/axial plan, as opposed to the ac-
tual 3D axial/azimuthal/radial flow, with-
out significant loss of accuracy. Indeed,
the gap-width radial dimension is not ne-
glected but is averaged only. Doing so al-
lows determining only the mean axial and
azimuthal velocity components while still
providing accurate friction pressures.
The main benefit of using this assumption
is that the central-processing-unit time
is reduced significantly, allowing simu-
lation results to be obtained in a reason-
able time while using a high-definition
description of the annular geometry, both
axially and azimuthally (e.g., variations of
the standoff magnitude and orientation).
Coupling the New Annular
and the Stiff-String Simulators
Unlike the traditional soft-string model,
the stiff-string centralization model
couples all simulation points through
the transmission of forces and bending
moments along the entire casing/pipe
string. This structural mechanics ap-
proach provides a more-realistic pre-
diction of standoff, and alleviates all
a priori assumptions on standoff ori-
entation. For example, the centraliza-
tion engine is able to predict helicoidal
buckling when the casing string is sub-
jected to sufficiently large compressive
axial forces. Therefore, stiff-string cen-
tralization results provide a fully 3D
­annular-flow-path geometry in actual
3D well trajectories.
The association of these two simula-
tors thus presents a powerful modeling
tool to assess the efficiency of mud re-
moval and the quality of cement place-
ment in a target zone. Additionally, the
pipe-flow simulator evaluates the se-
verity of undesired mixing as the vari-
ous cementing fluids are pumped into
the well.
The ability of this novel simula-
tor suite to predict real-life cement-
ing fluid placement is demonstrat-
ed with a case study presented in the
complete paper.  JPT

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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Gas Production Technology

Scott J. Wilson, SPE, Senior Vice President, Ryder Scott

In 1980, Professor Dan Bass told fresh- Natural-gas producers outrun the bear, just the next slowest
men petroleum engineering students, camper. Even with significant help from
“Eventually the gas market will become should remain subsidies and mandates, renewables
more liquid and the price per Btu [Brit- happy campers only claim slow and modest inroads into
ish thermal unit] will match that of oil.” electricity generation, clean-coal pilot
When, in 2016, the spot price of lique-
for the foreseeable future. plants are converting to natural gas, and
fied natural gas (LNG) delivered in Asia nuclear-power-plant capacity additions
declined to almost mirror the increase peaked in 1984.
in Australian domestic spot prices, the Bakken/Eagle Ford/Anadarko/Permian In a modern twist on Jevon’s para-
international gas market looked like it basins. The recent targets have solution dox (where increased efficiency in 1865
had flattened, with high and low pric- gas/oil ratios approaching 3,000 scf/STB coal use simultaneously increased coal
es converging on a price that reflected because only low-viscosity light oils can demand), investment bank Tudor, Pick-
the cost of production with a sustainable traverse very tight matrix to find the ering, Holt, and Company estimates
return on investment. fracture network. Even the oil plays are that, if the 0.2% of registered vehicles
But reality rarely follows simple eco- becoming more gassy. In 2010, a new that represent the current US plug-in-
nomic theory. Eastern Australian consum- well in the Bakken started at 800 scf/STB, electric-vehicle fleet grew to replace the
ers were not as happy with the arrange- while current completions are for- internal-combustion-engine vehicles
ment as the Asian LNG buyers. They are tunate to be below 1,500. Operators will (the other 99.8%), natural-gas demand
now asking for first right of refusal on the sell associated gas at a loss if the oil would increase 27%. Natural-gas pro-
deliverability needed to keep their lights revenue justifies it, pushing very cheap ducers should remain happy campers
on. This drama unfolds while a majority of gas into a potentially saturated mar- for the foreseeable future; they are sup-
the Australian population supports ban- ket. Operators are selling now-mature plying an increasing long-term demand
ning the same h ­ ydraulic-fracturing meth- Barnett assets to reallocate capital for at an increasingly stable international
ods that have created a supply renais- ­higher returns. ­market price. JPT
sance in the United States. Good long-term news, however, exists:
The unconventional-resources boom The electricity market continues to
started with the gas-producing Barnett expand. And, like a group of campers Recommended additional reading
Shale but quickly turned to the oil-prone running from a bear, you don’t have to at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 184840 Innovative Diversion
Scott J. Wilson, SPE, is a senior vice president in the Denver Technology Ensures Uniform Stimulation
office of Ryder Scott. He specializes in well-performance predic- Treatments and Enhances Gas Production—
tion and optimization, reserves appraisals, simulation studies, Examples From Carbonate and Sandstone
custom software development, and training. Wilson has worked Reservoirs by Zillur Rahim, Saudi Aramco,
in all major producing regions in his 30-year career as an engi- et al.
neer and consultant with Arco and Ryder Scott. He served as SPE 182208 Conceptual Design for
cochairperson of the Reserves and Economics Technology Maintaining Production of High-CO2 Gas
Interest Group and chairperson of the Denver Section of the in a Marginal Field Offshore by Use of a
Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers and currently serves on the JPT Editorial Thermoplastic Pipe by Hanto Yananto,
Committee. Wilson holds a BS degree in petroleum engineering from the Colorado Pertamina, et al.
School of Mines and an MBA degree from the University of Colorado. He holds three SPE 185045 Adsorbed-Gas Composition
patents and is a registered professional engineer in Alaska, Colorado, Texas, and and Its Effect on Early-Time Production
Wyoming. Wilson can be reached at scott.wilson@ryderscott.com. by G. Walker, Repsol, et al.

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 59

 Production Pressure-Drawdown Management
for Fractured Horizontal Shale Gas Wells

Average Apparent Permeability in Stimulated

he primary objective of this study 170
is to address all known causes of
productivity declines in unconventional 160
shale gas formations with horizontal

Reservoir Volume (nd)

multifractured wells and to develop 150
a fully coupled geomechanical/flow
140
simulation model to simulate these
production conditions. The model
130
mimics the effect of depletion-induced
in-situ stress variations on productivity 120
by taking into account several
Non-Darcy Flow
phenomena, such as stress-dependent 110 Non-Darcy Flow, Geomechanics
matrix and natural-fracture permeability Non-Darcy Flow, Geomechanics, Adsorption Layer
and reduction in fracture conductivity 100
because of fracture-face creep and 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
proppant crushing, deformation, Production Time (years)
and embedment.
Fig. 1—Average apparent matrix-permeability variations showing effects of
different mechanisms/models.
Model Formulation
Reservoir Matrix. The gas-storage tion. Clearly, shale gas long-term per- The fracture conductivity can vary be-
mechanism in a shale gas reservoir is formance forecasting will be affected cause of changes in the fracture perme-
conceptually different from that of a con- severely if these effects are not proper- ability or changes in the fracture width.
ventional reservoir. Natural gas is ad- ly considered. This study models changes in both of
sorbed on the organic matter present in these parameters and develops an ana-
shales and, in some cases, on certain clay Hydraulic Fractures. Hydraulic frac- lytical solution for fracture-conductivity
minerals. This adsorbed-gas layer fur- tures are generally kept open and con- variations as a function of in-situ effec-
ther constricts the area for flow through ductive by proppant. After exposure to tive stress.
the pore structure, thus reducing the ef- confining stress for a long period of time, Proppant Crushing—Modeling
fective pore radius. As the pressure in the proppant can become deformed, caus- Changes in Proppant-Pack Permea-
pores reduces, gas is desorbed and the ing degradation of its mechanical and bility. Data describing stress-dependent
effective pore radius increases, result- physical properties. This leads to reduc- evolution in proppant-pack conductivity
ing in an increase in the apparent matrix tions in fracture width and fracture-pack are among the more common and easy-
permeability. It has been suggested that permeability because of intermixing to-find data in the technical literature.
desorption of methane might be partial- and plugging. Although recent procedures have en-
ly responsible for the relatively long and Additionally, the interaction between abled users to evaluate and compare
flat production tails that have been ob- the proppant and fracture surfaces under proppant characteristics under specifi-
served in some shale reservoirs. the same confining stress can result in cally described test conditions for use in
Fig. 1 shows the effects of different embedment, decreasing the fracture ap- hydraulic fracturing, their limitation re-
mechanisms on permeability evolu- erture and impairing conductivity. sides in the necessary conversion to infer
the values of proppant-pack permeability
that are upscaled into discrete grid mod-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
els that constitute the input for numeri-
of paper SPE 181365, “Production Pressure-Drawdown Management for Fractured
cal reservoir simulators. Even within the
Horizontal Wells in Shale Gas Formations,” by Ankit Mirani, University of Houston; most advanced autogridding algorithms
Matteo Marongiu-Porcu, SPE, Schlumberger; HanYi Wang, SPE, The University of used to generate the unstructured grid
Texas at Austin; and Philippe Enkababian, SPE, Schlumberger, prepared for the for the complex fracture patterns predict-
2016 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dubai, 26–28 September. ed by the most advanced complex frac-
The paper has not been peer reviewed. ture models, local grid refinement rarely

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

60 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

 l
t m
h
o m ure. 106
r t
a d f /fu 42 1
o m 0 e
w nl .co 8 9 cod
d 2
Do mlt 44 nse
a fi + e
s er one l lic
w w. ph tria
w hen for
t
 determines cells with characteristic di-
mensions less than 1 ft, whereas reported
fracture widths in such unconventional
reservoirs are on the order of millimeters.
The newly developed integrated res-
ervoir simulator presented in this paper
accounts directly for crushing-induced
evolution of proppant-pack permeability.
Proppant Embedment and Defor-
mation and Fracture-Face Creep—
Modeling Changes in Fracture Width.
Proppant embedment has been defined
as a stress-driven plastic indentation and
subsidence of the proppant into the soft-
er fracture walls, decreasing the fracture
aperture and impairing conductivity.
The total net reduction in fracture
width is given as the summation of the
proppant embedment, proppant de-
formation, and the time-dependent
creep deformation.
A hydraulic-fracture-conductivity mul-
tiplier, defined as a function of the frac-
ture conductivity at any confining stress
and the unaltered fracture conductivity,
can be introduced into analytical mod-
els. This hydraulic-fracture-conductivity
multiplier is conveniently used in the
integrated reservoir simulator present-
ed in this paper to capture pressure-
dependent changes concurrently in the
proppant-pack permeability and in the
proppant-pack width during the produc-
tion life of shale gas wells.
Natural Fractures. Natural fractures
are the principal source of flow capacity
in many reservoirs. Changes in fracture
flow capacity and conductivity are ex-
pected to have a significant effect on res-
ervoir performance.
One of the major tenets in shale gas
stimulation is the beneficial activation of
the contacted natural-fracture network
with fracturing fluid, caused by tensile or
shear failure. Such poorly sealed natural
fractures are generally reported to inter-
act heavily with the hydraulic fractures
during the injection treatments, serving
as preferential paths for the growth of
complex fracture networks.
However, these natural fractures are
poorly propped or even unpropped be-
cause of the difficulty in “turning the
corners” encountered by the proppant
transported by fracturing fluids. There-
fore, the activated natural-fracture-
network conductivity is susceptible to
62
severe pressure-dependent conductivity
impairment during depletion, and this
must be taken into consideration in an
integrated reservoir simulator.
Model Setup
This study addresses all supported
known pressure-dependent phenomena
that have an effect on the productivity
decline of shale gas wells and incorpo-
rates them into an integrated reservoir
simulator. All the derived coupled equa-
tions are solved numerically. The input
parameters used for the presented analy-
sis include reservoir conditions, drainage
geometry, hydraulic-fracture conductiv-
ity, real-gas gas-adsorption parameters,
and the randomly generated discrete
fracture network.
This simulator makes use of a finite-
element-analysis scheme based on the
Newton-Raphson method, which re-
quires evaluating a Jacobian matrix start-
ing from initial-guess values to approxi-
mate the solution throughout successive
iterations. All the variables in the system
are updated at the end of each time incre-
ment and entered as initial values at the
start of the next time increment.
To make a consistent assessment on
how the non-Darcy flow, adsorption
layer, and geomechanical factors affect
the shale-matrix permeability during
production, the reference input values
for porosity, intrinsic permeability, and
pore radius for all models are consid-
ered at standard conditions under lab-
oratory conditions, whereas their cor-
responding values at initial reservoir
conditions are calculated on the basis of
in-situ reservoir-pressure/temperature
and stress conditions.
The propped-hydraulic-fracture sec-
tions are modeled using the sieve-size
analysis of a 20/40 natural sand-
pack exposed to different confining-
stress conditions.
Results and Discussion
Effect of Pressure-Dependent Phenom-
ena on Long-Term Well Performance.
To demonstrate the pressure-dependent
changes in matrix permeability and
hydraulic- and natural-fracture conduc-
tivity, two 10-year production simula-
tions were compared with and with-
out the incorporation of the modeled
pressure-dependent phenomena. A dif-
ference of almost 30% was observed in
cumulative production after the simu-
lated 10 years, reflecting the deleterious
effect of the depletion-related increase
of the effective stress on matrix and frac-
ture flow potential.
Effect of Flowing Bottomhole Pressure
on Long-Term Well Performance. The
model is run for two 10-year produc-
tion simulations under two drawdown
scenarios. The more aggressive draw-
down strategy performs better during
the early life of the well, but, eventually,
the production rate declines much fast-
er compared with the milder drawdown
strategy. Consequently, the cumulative-
production curves cross (after approxi-
mately 3.5 years).
This constitutes relevant evidence of
the concept of pressure-drawdown man-
agement and validates the field-observed
trends that the penalty of lower initial
production rates in unconventional shale
gas reservoirs can yield substantially
higher ultimate recovery.
In an attempt to find an optimal
drawdown strategy that minimizes the
pressure-dependent effects and maxi-
mizes the cumulative recovery for the
synthetic case presented, the authors in-
vestigated a set of drawdown strategies.
The results suggest that the optimal
long-term drawdown strategy should
be determined above an economic op-
timization. Nevertheless, it is impor-
tant to emphasize the value of this in-
tegrated reservoir simulator, which
enables execution of intensive paramet-
ric studies aimed at determining wheth-
er the rapid production declines can
be minimized with proper drawdown
management to improve the ultimate
cumulative recovery.
Conclusion and
Recommendations
The primary objectives of this paper were
to address all the known causes of abnor-
mal productivity decline in unconven-
tional shale gas formations and to de-
velop a fully coupled geomechanical/flow
simulation model to predict and study
these production conditions.
For this purpose, an integrated res-
ervoir simulator was developed that
(Continued on page 68)
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
Perforation and Flowback Highlights
From the Gorgon Field, Offshore Australia

T he Gorgon liquefied-natural-
gas project (Fig. 1) is one of the
world’s largest natural gas projects
and the biggest single resource
development in Australia’s history.
In 2014, eight Gorgon wells were
perforated successfully, intercepting
between three and seven commingled
zones and gross intervals of up to
500 m per well. This paper contrasts
the detailed perforating and flowback
plan with the results of the operation
where a number of planned, and
some unplanned, contingencies
were faced.
Perforation Basis of Design
The main element of the Gorgon-project
well design that affected perforating
was that reservoir sections would be
completed with a cemented 70-in. liner
in 8¾-in. open hole, with the top perfo-
ration approximately 250 m below the
liner top. Each well was to be completed
in multiple formation zones, with the
average gross perforation interval per
well (top to bottom shot measured dis-
tance) expected to be more than 400 m
and an average net perforation inter-
val (sum of perforated zones) of close
to 150 m.
Four perforating alternatives were
evaluated with respect to their relative
operational and subsurface risks:
◗ Tubing-conveyed perforating (TCP)
shoot and drop—guns deployed
into the liner on a gun hanger
before upper completion is run
and then fired and dropped after
perforation
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains
highlights of paper SPE 182420, “Perforation and Rig Flowback Highlights for
the Gorgon Field Development Wells,” by A.K. Morrison, SPE, and J.P. Beinke,
SPE, Chevron Australia, prepared for the 2016 SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas
Conference and Exhibition, Perth, Australia, 25–27 October. The paper has not been
peer reviewed.
◗ TCP shoot and pull—a separate
drillpipe-conveyed perforation
trip before completion with use
of a sized kill pill after perforation
to mitigate losses before the upper
completion is run
◗ Coiled-tubing conveyed
◗ Wireline conveyed
After analysis, the TCP shoot-and-
drop option was eliminated because of
the additional time and well-control risk
of drilling the required rathole to ac-
commodate dropped guns.
Shoot and pull was not considered
a viable option because of a lack of
a temperature-rated, post-perforation
kill pill.
Coiled tubing was rated feasible but
with inherently greater operational
risks when performed from a mobile
offshore drilling unit.
The process concluded that the
wireline-conveyed method was the best
solution despite requiring several per-
forating runs per well. Operational is-
sues associated with this technique were
identified, and plans were developed for
these to be managed safely.
The gun length per trip was expected
to be approximately 30 m, necessitat-
ing at least five wireline trips to perfo-
rate each well, with each run expected
to take between one and two rig shifts.
In the event of failure (e.g., unsuc-
cessful cable development), the select-
ed contingency method for deployment
was coiled tubing, which was considered
a proven alternative.
Laboratory testing was performed as
part of the detailed perforation design
for Gorgon. During testing, the mer-
its of dynamic underbalance (DUB) at
different applied levels were evaluat-
ed against static-overbalanced, static-
underbalanced, and balanced perfora-
tion cases. The main test result indicated
that DUB perforating yields great-
er productivity and cleaner perfora-
tion tunnels.
After testing, the perforating de-
sign basis stipulated that DUB perfo-
rating guns would be used for all runs,
with completion fluid used to pro-
vide static-underbalanced conditions
for the first perforating run and ap-
proximately pressure balanced for
the remainder.
The perforating sequence was planned
to be top down to ensure that guns were
in a liquid column at the time of detona-
tion (a DUB requisite).
Gun-size and individual-perforation-
charge selection were validated by
nodal analysis.
Two gas gun options were considered,
a 4½-in.-equivalent 4.72-in.-outer-
diameter (OD) gun and a thick-walled
3½-in. gun. Because 4.72-in. guns are
heavier, an average of two additional
runs per well are required; however,
the same ballistic performance is as-
sumed because the same charge is used
as in the 4½-in. gun. The 3½-in. option
leads to a small, but relatively insignifi-
cant, reduction in gun runs per well be-
cause it can be run in 90-ft lengths rath-
er than the 80-ft lengths of the 4½-in.
size. This is driven by maximum safe
load on the planned high-strength cable.
However, the 3½-in. gun comes with a
20% reduction in charge performance.
The larger 4½-in. equivalent gun was
chosen, with the 4.72-in. type reserved
as an option when gas surrounded
the guns.
As such, DUB perforating was con-
firmed and 4½-in. gun size was chosen
as the preferred alternative.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 63


Fig. 1—Location of the Gorgon gas field.
Flowback Basis of Design
The well completion fluid was a
9.0-lbm/gal sodium bromide brine.
Upon perforation, density differences
between the brine and the lower-density
reservoir gas were expected to result in
a swap of completion brine for gas in the
wellbore, compounded as the cushion of
highly compressible gas formed below
the flowhead and progressively dis-
placed fluid into the open perforations.
Earlier studies suggest that this would
result in a band of high water satura-
tion accumulating around the wellbore,
trapping the aqueous phase in pore
throats through capillary forces and
leading to an overall reduction in the
relative permeability of the gas phase,
leading to water blockage. This brine-
induced skin would be detrimental to
the collection of representative commin-
gled gas samples and meaningful well-
productivity assessment, so the minimi-
zation of this temporary damage became
a priority.
Flowback of the well first would entail
an unloading stage, during which com-
pletion brine remaining in the wellbore
following perforation would be pro-
duced straight to flare.
64
Following the unloading stage, the
wells were to be beaned up to a maxi-
mum flow rate of 80 MMscf/D, with a set
of predetermined stability criteria cre-
ated to guide the decision on when the
flow stream was considered sufficiently
representative for sampling purposes.
Execution
Perforation. The first well to be perfo-
rated was planned as a top-down opera-
tion with 4½-in. nominal diameter and
5-shots/ft (spf) guns loaded at 4.5 spf
to achieve design DUB. On the fourth
and final wireline run, at a depth of ap-
proximately 4100-m measured depth
from the rotary table, the guns became
stuck immediately after perforation
initiation. This required activation of
the downhole electrical disconnect to
recover the wireline tool string alone,
without the 34 m of guns and associat-
ed wireline tools. A subsequent slickline
run indicated that the guns had dropped
after release and were in a position that
would not restrict the best areas of the
perforation interval from contributing
to flow. A risk-based decision was made
to leave the guns in place rather than
attempt to fish. A review of the inci-
Certified Gas
Discovered Gas
Oil
dent concluded that a combination of
perforation-gun and tunnel debris from
above and a potential for differential
sticking contributed to the issue. Some
operational changes were instituted as a
result of this finding and were applied to
all future runs.
All following wells were perforated
with a bottom-up approach to mini-
mize gun-sticking risks, and an unload-
ing flow period was added to the se-
quence after the initial perforation run
to remove brine that otherwise would
enter the reservoir. The change in phi-
losophy led to only the initial run being
made with DUB guns. Thereafter, be-
cause the wells had been switched to
gas, approximately on-balance perfora-
tion was used. Because these runs were
made largely with guns surrounded by
gas, a move to the thicker-wall (4.72-in.
OD) gas guns was made.
Two separate cable-stranding events
were encountered. Recovery of the
stranded cable involved identifying the
strand-initiation point, working the
lower stranded portion back up through
wireline pressure-control equipment
before dressing off, and then being able
to recover spent guns to the surface. As
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
a result of the cable-stranding events, a number of changes
were made: larger wireline flow tube size, larger-diameter
wireline sheave wheels, reduced running speeds, and a reduc-
tion in gun length run to 60 ft.
Despite some of the significant operational issues encoun-
tered, all eight wells were perforated successfully with 900 m
of loaded gun length and 16,642 shots fired over 69 perforat-
ing runs.

Flowbacks. Hydrate formation was an early issue because of

high pressure drops of up to 4,000 psi across the well test
choke, cool temperatures, and high completion-brine con-
tent on startup. When the hydrate would form was unpre-
dictable, and it appeared to form anywhere from the choke
through to the flare nozzle. This prompted several contingent
reactionary measures, including reductions in flow rate, in- Creating clear perforated tunnels which
creases in methanol injection, and alterations in flow-stream extend beyond near wellbore damage
direction through the opposing flare boom. Subsequently, creates “flow highways” into your well.
all wells were beaned up as quickly as possible to increase
the flow-stream temperature and take the gas outside of the
hydrate window.
Removing DUB in favor of a bottom-to-top, early-unloading steel casing
perforation strategy prevented 600–700 bbl of completion
cement
brine from entering the reservoir; however, this was coun-
tered by the addition of 55 bbl of brine to the wellbore each
time spent guns were pulled, to weight up the gas-filled well
and create equilibrium across the lubricator valves. With the
increase in total perforation runs, this occurred up to 12 times,
resulting in up to 600 bbl of completion-brine injection into clear tunnel
the reservoir. The knock-on effect was increased water block- near wellbore damage
ing and liquid loading of lower zones, removing them from
flow contribution and resulting in additional drawdown.

Lessons Learned
◗ Plan to be flexible. Prepare for the unexpected, and be
plugged tunnel
creative in thinking of contingencies.
◗ Avoid constraining predictions. The creation of
meaningful scorecards should make every attempt to
reflect the full range of outcomes.
◗ Use a range of independent methods to tackle
nonuniqueness, and acknowledge the limits of

◗
data interpretability.
Be aware of design capability of equipment when
That’s the HOLE TRUTH.
Proper perforating systems can yield huge benefits.
operating under new, untested conditions. We’ve improved well productivity by as much as
◗ Understand the balance between hydrate management 400% over API concrete tested perforators.
(particularly during cold startup) and the operating
requirements of surface equipment and beanup-rate Call or go to perf.com/media.html
management. JPT to see how it’s done.
Your well performance is at stake.

10400 W. Interstate 20 Millsap, TX 76066

817.341.5300 | www.perf.com
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
 Hybrid Microseismic and Microdeformation
Monitoring of a Coal-Seam-Gas Well

P roviding confidence that hydraulic-

fracture geometries are relatively
confined to target coal seams and do not
operator wanted to determine fracture
geometry (i.e., length, height, and azi-
muth), pay-zone coverage, and relative
placement gradient (tilt) attributed to
rock movement. Tiltmeters are like car-
penter levels, except they can measure
grow upward into beneficial groundwater degree of induced-fracture complexity to rotations as small as one nanoradian.
aquifers is a primary concern. A aid in the optimization of future comple- Two orthogonal sensors are used to ob-
hybrid downhole microseismic and tions, well placement, drilling strategies, tain the total tilt vector, and, by applying
microdeformation array was deployed and fracture designs. Hybrid downhole a geomechanical inversion to the tilt data
to monitor fracture stimulation of a microseismic and microdeformation obtained from an array of tiltmeters in an
vertical coal-seam-gas (CSG) exploration monitoring was used on the pilot project offset wellbore, the fracture height and
well in the Gloucester Basin in New to provide independent geophysical mea- depth can be characterized.
South Wales, Australia, to provide more- surements of fracture-height growth and
accurate insight into overall fracture increase confidence in the results. Microseismic. Microseismic fracture
height. These technologies complement mapping provides an image of the frac-
each other by providing unique, far- Hybridized ture by detecting microseisms that are
field determinations of hydraulic- Downhole Diagnostics triggered by shear slippage on bedding
fracture geometry. The hybrid receiver array used to map planes or natural fractures that are adja-
this project is a relatively new technol- cent to the hydraulic fracture. The events
Introduction ogy that uses downhole microdeforma- are located with an array of geophones
Increasing community and regulatory tion tools (tiltmeters) in conjunction with in an offset wellbore that measure com-
concern regarding exploration and pro- downhole microseismic geophones. The pressional and shear-wave arrivals. A
duction of CSG and fracture stimulation purpose of combining these two tech- velocity model of the formation then
has placed extreme constraints on title- nologies, which complement each other, is used to locate the event by minimiz-
holders in New South Wales, to the point is to improve assessment of fracture- ing the error of the observed wave ar-
of the government rescinding some ex- height growth by determining which mi- rivals. Microseismic events can be used
ploration permits and titleholders near- croseismic events are likely hydraulically to infer the fracture height, length, azi-
ing a halt to further exploration. connected and to validate and suggest a muth, asymmetry, dip, and complexity.
The operator is determined to provide more-precise analysis of the measured
evidence that CSG pilot exploration wells microseismic events. Benefits of Hybridization. While mi-
and, in particular, fracture stimulation croseismic is the primary diagnostic tool
are not affecting beneficial aquifers or in- Microdeformation. When a hydraulic for far-field mapping of hydraulic frac-
teracting with faults. It is important that fracture is created at depth, the dilation tures, in many cases, interpreting the
the operator be able to provide scientif- of the fracture results in deformation that microseismicity can be challenging and
ic explanations that are understandable is transmitted great distances. Deforma- additional information is needed to draw
and accessible to the community and as- tion emanating up to the surface and lat- confident conclusions about the frac-
sist in regulatory approval processes for erally to observation wells from deep ture geometry. Coals tend to be aseismic
the industry. fracture sources are often very small, and will highly attenuate seismic signals,
The primary goals of the project were sometimes on the order of 10−3 mm. One making microseismic monitoring diffi-
to assess any fracture-height growth to- approach to measuring this deformation cult, which generally leads to lower data
ward aquifers and possible interaction is through the use of tiltmeters that can quality. This problem is exacerbated by
with surrounding faults. In addition, the detect extremely small changes in dis- the typically low treatment rates and vol-
umes used in CSG formations.
Hybrid monitoring provides addition-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
al insight into fracture-growth behavior
of paper SPE 182300, “Hybrid Downhole Microseismic and Microdeformation because microdeformation responds to a
Monitoring of a Vertical Coal-Seam-Gas Well,” by R. Durant and T. Francis, SPE, different mechanism than microseismic.
Halliburton, and R.L. Braikenridge, SPE, and M. Roy, SPE, AGL Energy, prepared Microseismic activity may be the result of
for the 2016 SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Perth, Australia, a critically stressed zone shearing as a re-
25–27 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. sult of changes in stress from the fracture

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

66 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

without any associated fluid placement or
deformation. Instead of detecting unique
shear-slippage events, which might or
might not be related to actual fluid place-
ment, microdeformation responds direct-
ly to volumetric change, therefore yield-
ing qualifying insight into whether fluid
has been placed in zones where micro-
seismicity has (or has not) been observed.
In addition to providing separate mea-
surements of far-field fracture growth,
the microseismic results can be used to
help constrain the fracture properties
used in the geophysical inverse prob-
lem in the microdeformation analysis.
This increases confidence in the micro-
deformation fracture-height solution.
The physical alignment of the downhole
instruments at each level provides in-
formation on the tiltmeter orientation,
which allows for an additional relative-
source-positioning constraint.
Deployment. A hybrid downhole array
uses geophones and tiltmeters located at
many different levels to map microseis-
mic and microdeformation data during
fracture treatments. For this project, two
geophones and one tiltmeter were placed
at each level in the tool string, with a total
of 12 levels. This arrangement allowed the
seismic signal from the two geophones
at each level to be stacked, which is a
well-known method used to improve the
signal/noise ratio. The tiltmeter tools do
not have their own clamping mechanism
and rely on the clamp arms on the geo-
phones for coupling with the wellbore.
A geophone was placed above and below
each tiltmeter to provide optimal cou-
pling between the tiltmeters and the ob-
servation wellbore. The microdeforma-
tion instruments are also keyed in with
the microseismic tools at each respective
level, which allows the orientation of the
tiltmeters to be determined from the ori-
entation of the geophones. The length of
the array (185.2 m) was selected on the
basis of prejob modeling of the likely de-
formation field created by an assumed
fracture geometry in the target well. The
array must be able to measure the peaks
in the tilt signal created by the fracture
to determine fracture height accurately;
thus, the length of the array is critical.
The deployment depth of the array is
also critical because it must straddle the
target perforations to capture both the
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
Fig. 1—Monitoring depths relative to stage perforations. TVD=true vertical depth.
top and the bottom of the tilt signals.
Because the well in question is a verti-
cal well with 10 planned stages, multi-
ple tool-string positions were necessary
for successful downhole microdeforma-
tion monitoring. Optimal tool-string po-
sitions for each stage were determined
on the basis of prejob tilt modeling, with
six positions being used to monitor the
10 fracture stages. Fig. 1 illustrates the
six monitoring positions relative to the
fracture targets.
Project Results
Although 10 hydraulic-fracture stag-
es were planned in the treatment well,
only nine stages were performed and
mapped using the downhole hybrid re-
ceiver array. The first stage was termi-
nated early because high pressures lim-
ited the pump rate necessary to place the
designed proppant volume successfully.
Microseismic. Although the target for-
mations were coal seams, good quality
microseismic data were obtained, pos-
sibly because of the very thin and lami-
nated coal layers and fractures growing
across adjacent siliceous layers. Micro-
seismic data indicated geometries in line
with expectations from geomechanical
modeling and prejob fracture modeling.
Multiple large faults surround the well,
and some concern existed before the frac-
ture treatments regarding whether the
faults and hydraulic fractures would in-
teract. In general, microseismic inter-
action with natural features results in
large-magnitude events clustering in the
vicinity of the feature. This can be iden-
tified on a magnitude/distance plot as a
cluster of large-magnitude events equi-
distant from the tool string. Because no
large-magnitude events were observed
and few events were observed in the vi-
cinity of the faults, any interaction be-
tween the hydraulic fractures and faults
appears unlikely.
Microdeformation. Microdeformation
analysis was performed on all stages
by measuring the total tilt differential
throughout the entire treatment. The re-
sults of the downhole microdeformation
analysis indicated relatively confined
vertical-fracture-network heights, with
fracturing predominantly occurring in
the target coals.
Combined Interpretation. In gener-
al, good agreement exists between the
fracture-network heights derived from
the microseismic data and those from
the microdeformation data. Overall, no
indication of excessive height growth
was present within any of the nine
mapped stages.
Conclusions
Overall, there is good agreement between
the microseismic and microdeformation
data, which both show there was no un-
67
 constrained fracture-height growth. The
microdeformation data indicate the pres-
ence of a highly dipping fracture com-
ponent on all stages, which would not
have been evident from the microseis-
mic data alone. The high fracture gradi-
ents observed support the presence of
horizontal, or highly dipping, fracture
components, which are likely the result
of the laminated nature of the forma-
tion and the stress regime. Neither the
microseismic nor the microdeformation
data indicated interaction with any of
the numerous surrounding faults. The
combined data set gives a high degree of
confidence that any hydraulic fractures
created in the target formations are un-
likely to approach the depth of beneficial
shallow aquifers. Hybrid microseismic
and microdeformation monitoring is a
valid method to obtain improved far-field
measurements of fracture growth in shal-
low CSG reservoirs where microseismic-
data quality alone is typically poor. JPT

Production Pressure-
Drawdown Management
for Fractured Horizontal
Shale Gas Wells
(Continued from page 62)

Are you on track?

a­ ccounted for various pressure-­
dependent phenomena. The effects of
non-­Darcy flow, reservoir compac-

Or way off course?

Take control of your professional development.
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free online member benefit that allows you
to assess your current capabilities.
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International Human Resources Development Corporation
tion, and a­dsorption-layer factors on
reservoir-­matrix-permeability evolution
with depletion were incorporated. The
effects on h­ ydraulic-fracture conductiv-
ity of proppant crushing, proppant de-
formation, and proppant embedment
with changes in in-situ stress were in-
vestigated and modeled. Last, variations
in n­atural-fracture permeability with
depletion-induced changes in in-situ
­
stress were considered. Numerical so-
lutions for simplified hydraulic-fracture
planar geometries were then obtained
using a finite-element method.
An opportunity to improve the pre-
sented model might reside in the incor-
poration of early-time flowback draw-
down management. This would involve
feeding the integrated reservoir simu-
lator with flowing-bottomhole-pressure
schedules corresponding to the critical
drawdown as a function of production
time and rate. JPT

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Offshore Production and Flow Assurance

Galen Dino, SPE, Senior Consultant, Dino Engineering

Flow assurance and mitigation technical
concerns are some of the more critical
components in the engineering, design,
cost, and operation of offshore produc-
tion facilities. While gas-hydrate han-
dling typically dominates the thermo-
hydraulic design, the mitigation of waxes,
emulsions, asphaltenes, corrosion, scale,
and salt; solids handling; slugging; and
operability of tubing, surface chokes,
and pipelines are all challenging issues
that demand attention and consider-
able technical effort. Among these chal-
lenges, paraffin deposition (interchange-
able with wax) in pipelines has gained
importance in flow assurance. Reliable
wax-deposition-prediction models based
on specially designed flow-loop experi-
ments are an available mitigation option.
Alternative internal pipeline/flowline
coatings or materials present anoth-
er option to address flow-assurance
problems. Addressing these challenges
requires thorough technical investiga-
tion and development of advanced tran-
sient modeling. The three papers here
discuss slightly different approaches to
production continuity and oil/gas fluid-
production assurance. All three have been
scaled up either to demonstration stage
or to actual field implementation and use.
Subsea production faces both fluid
and flow-based challenges that eventu-
ally lead to shutdown, safety concerns, or
flow intermittency in production. The oil/
gas production pipelines typically oper-
ate at a high Reynolds number and low-
wall-shear-stress conditions; however,
current wax-deposition models are based
on laboratory flow-loop data obtained
at low Reynolds number and high shear
stress. Paper OTC 27757 discusses a pres-
ent study that decouples the effect of the
hydrodynamic parameters with specially
designed flow-loop experiments. From
the results, the Reynolds-number effects
are more dominant on the deposited-
wax-mass density compared with the
shear stress and aid in scaleup from the
laboratory to field conditions.
Gas hydrates typically form at high-
pressure and low-temperature conditions
where free water and small hydrocar-
bon molecules exist together in sufficient
concentrations. Once these thermody-
namic conditions occur in oil/gas pro-
duction flowlines/pipelines, solid hydrate
plugs that greatly restrict flow usually
form. One potential hydrate-mitigation
technique involves using a low-adhesion,
protective-surface internal coating to
inhibit deposition. Paper OTC 27874
describes a study evaluating two different
coatings, one a superhydrophobic, anti-
icing coating and one an omniphobic and
corrosion-resistant coating. Hydrate/
surface interactions were studied using
micromechanical-adhesion-force mea-
surements in both liquid and gas bulk
phases. The initial results suggest that
the use of these coatings may be an
effective mitigation technique at low
water content and in significantly cor-
roded flowlines.
The third paper presents the flow-
assurance challenges and associated mit-
igation steps implemented in the high-
pressure/high-temperature North Kuwait
Jurassic (NKJ) fields. An offline transient-
model adviser was built to mimic the
hydrate mechanism and optimize the
methanol injection. Paper SPE  182237
discusses the traditional methods of
hydrate mitigation performed in the
NKJ fields and the way the transient
model was initially built and continual-
ly improved with more data. Currently,
methanol is used for hydrate inhibition
and an antiagglomerate is under trial.
Mitigation of flow-assurance prob-
lems continues to drive new production-
technology applications and approaches.
The three papers highlighted here focus
on minimizing costs while providing
safe, effective, and reliable operations.
I hope you find them as interesting as I
did, and I greatly appreciate the opportu-
nity to offer these new options to you in
this and future Focus sections. JPT

Galen Dino, SPE, is senior consultant and project manager with

Dino Engineering. He has more than 37 years of experience in Recommended additional reading
international and domestic project management, project engi- at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
neering, process design, supervision, fabrication, and construc- SPE 181560 A Pigging Model for Wax
tion. Dino holds a BS degree in chemical engineering from Removal in Pipes by Qiyu Huang, China
Louisiana State University and is a registered professional engi- University of Petroleum, et al.
neer in Texas. He founded the Production Facilities Study Group SPE 183055 Multiphase-Flowmeter
with the SPE Houston Section and has held associate-editor and Performance: A Critical Piece of an
technical-editor positions for SPE Project, Facilities, & Construction and SPE Offshore-Well-Management Toolkit
Production & Operations. Dino serves on the JPT Editorial Committee and can be by V.U. Okotie, Abu Dhabi Marine Operating
reached at gdino@consolidated.net. Company, et al.

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 69

 Wax-Deposition Experiments Decouple
Hydrodynamic Parameters To Aid Scaleup

O il- and gas-production pipelines

typically operate at high Reynolds
number and low wall shear stress.
inhibitors. The assessment of the overall
mass flux from the bulk to the interface
is a prerequisite for accurate prediction
able from the flow loop in order to fa-
cilitate pigging of the wax mass deposit.
The deposited wax mass is collected in
Current wax-deposition-prediction of wax deposition, followed by the pre- order to measure the wax content in the
models, however, were developed diction of aging and growth individually deposit using differential scanning calo-
on the basis of laboratory flow-loop of the deposit. rimetry. The thickness of the wax sam-
experimental data obtained at high shear The existing models predicting paraf- ples was calculated from the mass of the
stress and low Reynolds number. In this fin deposition use nonrepresentative pa- deposit, whereas back-calculated thick-
study, the effects of the hydrodynamic rameters that cannot be scaled up to field nesses from pressure-differential mea-
parameters are decoupled with specially conditions because of the empiricism as- surements are used for the experiments
designed flow-loop experiments. sociated with the parameters. The failure with condensate.
The results enhance understanding of the parameters may partly be because
of the deposition behavior at various of the application of incorrect variables Results and Discussion
hydrodynamic conditions and aid used in development of empirical rela- The thickness of the deposit was calcu-
in scaling up from laboratory to tionships for the parameters. These mod- lated on the basis of the mass collected
field conditions. els show inconsistency in predicting field after each test. The wax mass deposited
data. Selecting the correct hydrodynamic is normalized per unit surface area to
Introduction parameter for scaleup studies, therefore, obtain the wax density in order to elimi-
Subsea production faces both fluid- and is important. nate the effect of pipe diameters on the
flow-based challenges, which eventual- deposit. The wax deposit per unit area is
ly can lead to shutdowns, safety issues, Experimental Program called “wax density.” The wax density is
and intermittency in production. Among Fluid Characterization. The exper- used to investigate the effect of two hy-
these challenges, the deposition of paraf- imental fluids used in this study are drodynamic parameters, Reynolds num-
fin, or wax, in the pipelines has gained at- laboratory-synthesized model oil con- ber and shear stress at the wall, on the
tention as a flow-assurance problem. The taining 5 wt% food-grade wax and deposition phenomenon.
severity can be realized in terms of lost Garden Banks condensate. From the results, it is evident that,
production from reduced flow area, large when the Reynolds number is constant,
changes in the pressure drops across Experimental Facility. A small-scale fa- the amount of wax mass collected per
pipelines, and changes in fluid proper- cility is used to conduct flow-loop depo- unit area does not vary significantly, even
ties such as an increase in viscosity of oil sition experiments. This facility has three though the wall shear stress varies dra-
with wax precipitation. Accuracy in de- 8-ft pipeline test sections with different matically at different conditions for both
termining wax buildup across a pipe is diameters. This enables effectively de- model and crude oil. For further investi-
critical for designing and applying reme- coupling the effect of Reynolds number gation, wax density was plotted for the
diation techniques. For example, accu- and shear stress at the wall on wax depo- constant initial shear stress at the wall
rate prediction of deposition parameters sition. The test sections are configured as and varying Reynolds number. From the
is necessary to manage the pigging pro- pipe-in-pipe to allow for countercurrent results, wax-density values change signif-
cess in production lines—including pig- flow of oil and glycol. icantly for different Reynolds numbers,
ging frequencies and mechanical designs The test sections have 0.5-, 1.0-, and which, in turn, dictate significant chang-
of pigs—and treatment of deposits with 1.5-in. inner diameters and are remov- es in the overall mass flux.
From the available experimental data,
it is plausible to conclude that the Rey-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights of
nolds number has a more dominant ef-
paper OTC 27757, “Effect of Hydrodynamic Parameters on Wax Mass Density: Scaleup
fect on the wax density than the wall
From Laboratory Flow Loop to Crude Production Pipelines,” by N. Daraboina, shear stress at different experimental
SPE, J. Agarwal, SPE, S. Ravichandran, SPE, and C. Sarica, SPE, The University of conditions for both model and crude oil.
Tulsa, prepared for the 2017 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 1–4 May. The The fitting parameters require the
paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2017 Offshore Technology Conference. Reynolds number in order to compute
Reproduced by permission. the thickness. The usage of Reynolds

The complete paper is available for purchase at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.

70 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

number does not define any disconti­
nuities in the predictive tool, unlike fric­
tion factor, which has discontinuities in
the transitional regimes. It is also plau­
sible to conclude that the convective
forces in transport of wax molecules are
much stronger than the shear forces act­
ing near the wall. Further investigation
is required on different oils and at dif­
ferent experimental conditions to verify
this behavior.
Conclusions
An experimental analysis of wax mass
deposit is conducted to study the ef­
fect of hydrodynamic parameters (Rey­
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Practices for Optimal Exploration,
Appraisal and Development
20–21 November ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE
Floating Production Systems—Enabler and
Solution for Development
29–30 November ◗ Austin—SPE Learning
From Reservoir Response—History
Matching and Data Analytics
4–5 December ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE
Process Safety and Technical Risk
Assessment
4–6 December ◗ Austin—SPE Performance
and Design of Water Injectors Requiring
Sand Control
4–6 December ◗ Kuwait City—SPE
Production Optimisation—Smart Strategies
and Innovation
6–7 December ◗ Dubai—SPE Lost
Circulation: Natural and Induced
Fractures—Carbonates and Other
Formations
6–7 December ◗ Ahmedabad—SPE
Mature Fields – Enhancing Production and
Creating Value
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
nolds number and shear stress at the
wall) on model oil and condensate using
the parameter normalized wax density.
The wax mass density is an appropri­
ate representation of overall flux of wax
from the bulk to the interface instead of
thickness or wax content. The change
in the wax density is minimal for a sig­
nificant proportional variation of wall
shear stress. These results might suggest
that wall shear is not a governing factor
in the transportation of wax molecules
from the bulk to the deposit. The effect of
Reynolds number on deposition is domi­
nant, causing considerable changes in
the trends of wax mass density. On com­
12–13 December ◗ Dubai—SPE Hydraulic
Fracturing in the Middle East—Lessons
Learnt, Challenges, and Opportunities
22–23 January 2018 ◗ Yangon—SPE
Frontier Deepwater Development
30–31 January 2018 ◗ Dubai—SPE/
EAGE Tar Mats & Heavy Oil: Fluid
Characterisation and Development/
Operational Challenges
CONFERENCES
13–16 November ◗ Abu Dhabi—The Abu
Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition
& Conference (ADIPEC)
23–25 January 2018 ◗ The Woodlands—
SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology
Conference
29–31 January 2018 ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE/
IADC Middle East Drilling Technology
Conference and Exhibition
7–9 February 2018 ◗ Lafayette—SPE
International Conference and Exhibition on
Formation Damage Control
6–8 March 2018 ◗ Fort Worth—IADC/SPE
Drilling Conference and Exhibition
13–14 March 2018 ◗ Calgary—SPE Canada
Heavy Oil Technical Conference
13–14 March 2018 ◗ Calgary—SPE Canada
Unconventional Resources Conference
20–23 March 2018 ◗ Kuala Lumpur—
OTC Asia
25–28 March 2018 ◗ Muscat—SPE EOR
Conference at OGWA
27–28 March 2018 ◗ The Woodlands—SPE/
ICoTA Coiled Tubing and Well Intervention
Conference and Exhibition
14–18 April 2018 ◗ Tulsa—SPE Improved
Oil Recovery Conference
paring the effect of wall shear stress and
Reynolds number, Reynolds number has
a more dominant effect than wall shear
stress on the overall mass transport of
wax from bulk to the interface. Detailed
quantitative and qualitative comparisons
between deposit characteristics at vari­
ous Rey­nolds numbers and wall shear
stresses at laboratory scale provide in­
sight concerning the correct scaleup
parameters. In order to develop more-
accurate wax-­prediction models for op­
erations, particularly for waxy-crude-
oil-production lines, it is necessary to
tune the proper scaleup parameters for
field applications. JPT
SYMPOSIUMS
7–8 November ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE
Production Enhancement and Cost
Optimisation
28–30 November ◗ Banff—SPE Thermal
Well Integrity and Design Symposium
27 February 2018 ◗ Aberdeen—SPE
International North Sea
FORUMS
5–9 November ◗ San Antonio—SPE
Waterless Fracturing—Reducing Fresh
Water Use for Reservoir Stimulation in a
Future Water-Constrained World
5–10 November ◗ San Antonio—SPE
Enhanced Oil Recovery in Unconventional
Reservoirs
CALL FOR PAPERS
SPE Trinidad and Tobago Section
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Trinidad and Tobago
Deadline: 30 November
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and Exhibition ◗ Brisbane
Deadline: 15 January 2018
SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition ◗ Dallas
Deadline: 29 January 2018
Find complete listings of upcoming
SPE workshops, conferences,
­symposiums, and forums at
www.spe.org/events.
71
 Low-Adhesion Coatings Provide
Novel Gas-Hydrate-Mitigation Strategy

W hen certain thermodynamic

conditions exist in oil- and
gas-production flowlines, gas-hydrate
In addition to MMF studies measur-
ing adhesion forces, experiments were
performed in a rocking cell to observe
corroded surfaces has been shown to ar-
rest the spread of corrosion.
A second proprietary coating was de-
plugs can form and greatly restrict more-macroscopic effects of the coatings veloped specifically to prevent ice nucle-
flow. One potential strategy for hydrate on deposition. Rocking-cell tests give a ation, adhesion, and accumulation on
management involves allowing hydrates simulated flow environment and may metal surfaces. This is achieved through
to form but mitigating their ability provide insight into how the coatings the addition of highly nonpolar nano-
to deposit on the flowline walls by respond in the bulk, rather than single- materials to a given substrate, greatly re-
deploying a low-adhesion, protective particle measurements performed with ducing its interfacial energy and impart-
surface coating on the inside wall of the an MMF apparatus. ing superhydrophobicity and near-zero
flowline. In this study, two coatings were water-roll-off angles. This repulsive be-
produced and evaluated to determine Materials havior is so strong that a pseudobarrier
their effect on hydrate adhesion onto An omniphobic-coating system was de- layer against direct water contact with
carbon-steel surfaces. veloped to protect metallic surfaces the surface is formed, and it has been
against corrosion and accumulation of shown to greatly reduce the rate of cor-
Introduction oil and gas precipitates such as carbonate rosion as well as fluid-flow drag over a
In order to test the adhesion of hydrates and sulfide scales. The coating consists wide range of temperatures and pres-
to the two low-surface-energy coat- of a composite polymer coating that pro- sures. This coating requires an applied
ings, micromechanical-force (MMF) ap- vides a low-interfacial-energy exterior thickness of <37.5 µm and, consequent-
paratuses were used at low and high with a fixed base that is impermeable to ly, does not increase thermal resistance
pressures. MMF apparatuses have been both water and olefin phases. By acting as or electrical impedance.
used historically to investigate both a barrier to wetting and chemical contact
hydrate/hydrate interparticle forces and with the protected surface, this coating MMF Measurements
hydrate/surface interactions. The pri- provides protection against extreme acid- For these surface experiments, cantile-
mary mechanism of hydrate cohesion ic and basic chemicals and limits pitting vers were created by giving a glass capil-
and adhesion has been determined to be corrosion in oxygenated and anaerobic lary tube two right-angle bends then af-
capillary bridging. carbonic acid environments. Additional- fixing the coated or uncoated surfaces to
Many of the parameters in capillary ly, the low-surface-energy exterior mini- the end so that they sit below the level of
bridge theory can be altered through the mizes wetting, reduces drag/turbulence the cyclopentane in the experimental cell.
modification of the system (e.g., the addi- in mixed flows, and limits any surface fea- The surfaces were secured to the glass
tion of surfactants or other chemicals or tures that could act as nucleation sites for capillary tubes using a two-part epoxy.
modification of the hydrate or solid sur- precipitate formation and adhesion. Surfaces were soaked in a mixture of cy-
face). Hydrate/surface interactions have Unlike many other coating systems, clopentane and water before each experi-
been studied previously; however, the the coating used here has been designed ment. Without the soaking, no measur-
surfaces used in these previous adhesion specifically to be applied to already- able adhesion forces would be present
studies were always either stainless-steel worn, corroded surfaces, and has shown regardless of the coating or surface type
or mineral surfaces, such that surface excellent abrasion resistance against im- used. The soaking time was varied for dif-
degradation by corrosion was not taken pingement from sand and debris collect- ferent experiments from 2 to 34 hours.
into account. ed within the flowline. Application over Hydrates were formed by freezing
water droplets in liquid nitrogen before
adding them to an environment contain-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
ing hydrate formers (i.e., cyclopentane).
of paper OTC 27874, “Low-Adhesion Coatings as a Novel Gas-Hydrate-Mitigation
Particles were typically annealed for 30
Strategy,” by Erika Brown, SPE, Sijia Hu, Shenglong Wang, and Jon Wells, Colorado minutes. After this period, the surface
School of Mines; Matthew Nakatsuka and Vinod Veedu, SPE, Oceanit Laboratories; was moved from the cyclopentane/water
and Carolyn Koh, SPE, Colorado School of Mines, prepared for the 2017 Offshore bath into the experimental cell. While
Technology Conference, Houston, 1–4 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed. the soaking solution contains water-
Copyright 2017 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. saturated cyclopentane, the experimen-

The complete paper is available for purchase at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.

72 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

tal bath contains cyclopentane with no 1 2 3 4
water present.
∆D
Forty pull-off trials were performed ∆P
for each experiment; each reported data Fig. 1—Procedure for a pull-off trial. ΔD=distance between surface and
point is the average of a minimum of hydrate; ΔP is related to the contact-initiation force.
three experiments. A pull-off trial is de-
picted in Fig. 1. ting the temperature to 20°C. The temper- rocking cell, it is difficult to distinguish
First, the surface (which is remotely ature and pressure during the experiment deposition (hydrate adhering to the sur-
controlled using a micromanipulator) is are recorded at an interval of 30 seconds. face) from plugging (large hydrate that
moved into contact with the hydrate par- physically fills the cell). In either case (de-
ticle. After a 10-second waiting period, Results position or plugging), the hydrates would
the surface is pulled away from the parti- Experiments were performed for six differ- be observed as stationary within the cell.
cle at constant velocity. Once the hydrate ent surface preparations (bare, omnipho- By limiting the water content in the cell,
separates from the surface, the distance bic, and superhydrophobic for both pris- there is not enough water to form a plug,
between them is measured and used in tine and precorroded surfaces), with each thereby making deposition easier to ob-
conjunction with the spring constant of surface soaking in a cyclopentane/water serve. The omniphobic coating was cho-
the cantilever to calculate the force ac- mixture for 4 hours. For the pristine sur- sen for evaluation in this study because
cording to Hooke’s law. faces, the forces decreased with the pres- of its superior performance in lowering
ence of the coatings. For the omni­phobic hydrate-adhesion force and its enhanced
Rocking Cell coating, the force decreased by 53% com- ability to limit corrosion of the substrate,
Rocking cells are in use to study high- pared with the uncoated scenario. For the reducing sample-to-sample variability.
pressure gas and liquid systems and can superhydrophobic coating, the decrease The omniphobic-coating surface at
include salts and antiagglomerants. To from the uncoated baseline was 29%. 5  vol% water content delayed hydrate-
perform an experiment, the testing sec- For the precorroded surfaces, the ef- deposit formation for 24 hours (the
tion (with the carbon-steel surface) was fect of the coatings was even more pro- maximum length of the experiment),
loaded with water and mineral oil at the nounced. The bare-surface forces in- whereas the uncoated surface led to
desired water content and liquid loading. creased more than 10 times, while the hydrate-­deposit formation within the ex-
The system was pressurized to 500  psi coated surfaces each saw a much smaller perimental time. The precorroded sur-
using a gas mixture of 74.7 mol% methane increase. The result of the large increase face also showed favorable performance
and 25.3 mol% ethane and maintained at for the uncoated case was that the re- using the coating surface. Fig. 2 shows a
ambient temperature and 500  psi until ductions in force seen from the coatings comparison of experiments using coat-
the liquid phase was saturated with gas. were much more significant than for the ed and uncoated surfaces in the rocking
The temperature was set at 1°C to provide pristine surfaces. The omniphobic and cell. In the left image, which was taken
a large driving force for hydrate forma- superhydrophobic coatings, respectively, at the end of an experiment after rock-
tion. The cell was kept at constant volume showed forces 96 and 95% lower than in ing was stopped, hydrate agglomerates
during the hydrate formation and deposi- the uncoated precorroded baseline case. are observed growing or depositing on
tion experiments (i.e., pressure dropped Rocking-cell tests with 5 vol% water the sides of the carbon-steel surface. Dur-
as hydrates form). Once the experiment were performed to investigate whether ing these experiments, hydrates did not
concluded (indicated by a stable pres- the coating could prevent hydrate from move when the cell was rocked, indicat-
sure and no further hydrate formation or depositing on the surface sample at lower ing that they were adhered to the surface
after a predetermined time), the hydrate-­ hydrate volume fractions. When a large rather than simply resting in contact.
dissociation process was initiated by set- volume fraction of water is present in the In contrast, the right image shows the
window of the rocking cell during an ex-
periment (i.e., while the cell is still rock-
Hydrate Deposit Hydrates ing). This image shows hydrates pres-
in Bulk ent in the liquid phase, but there is no
evidence of hydrates sticking to the
­omniphobic-coating surface. When the ex-
periment was stopped, the hydrates would
settle onto the surface, but the hydrates
did not adhere to it. In some experiments,
the hydrates would agglomerate, forming
Bare CS No Hydrates a snowball-like aggregate because of the
Surface on Surface rocking motion of the cell. This agglomer-
ation behavior did not affect the outcome
Fig. 2—Images taken through the window in the rocking cell during
experiments using an uncoated surface (left) and a surface with the
of the tests; the omniphobic coatings re-
omniphobic coating (right). Hydrates deposited on the uncoated surface duced hydrate deposition significantly
but did not deposit on the omniphobic surface. CS=carbon steel. under a relatively short time scale. JPT

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 73

 Transient Simulation for Hydrate Mitigation
Aims for Optimal Production in Kuwait Fields

I n the deep high-pressure/high-

temperature North Kuwait Jurassic
(NKJ) fields, the pipelines connecting
jecting MeOH on the basis of past ex-
perience, without knowing the optimal
MeOH-injection rate, could lead to other
coat the whole pipeline and protect it
from corrosion.

the wells to the processing facility are flow-assurance challenges. Hydrate-Inhibition Operational Enve-
neither buried nor insulated. During lope. The available pumps have a maxi-
the winter, the well fluid cools to Slug Flow. Low-condensate/gas-ratio mum capacity of 20 L/h per pump, which
below hydrate-formation temperature and high-water/gas-ratio wells have is not enough. Often, two or three pumps
in the flowline, causing hydrate a tendency to create slug flow in the are installed and connected to a single
crystallization and even plugging. pipeline because of continuous changes injection port at the wellhead to pump
This paper presents the traditional in the phase holdups. Because of wide 40–60 L/h, which is not a proper solu-
methods of hydrate mitigation used in temperature fluctuations between night tion and is not foolproof. Currently, the
the NKJ fields and the way in which a and day, the fluid in the pipeline is al- MeOH injection is performed manually
transient model was initially built and ways in a transient state. The pipeline and pumping is continued throughout
continuously improved. acts as storage because of its large vol- the day during the winter.
ume (1,000–3,000 bbl). In the morning, The injection pumps and the chemi-
Challenges when the pipeline is heated, the fluids cal tanks are not connected to the super-
Hydrate Formation. When the well expand and gas holdup increases in the visory control and data acquisition sys-
forms hydrates, usually at night and line, which pushes the liquid to the fa- tem; therefore, the monitoring of the
early morning in winter, the field op- cility and causes a surge at the facility pumps and chemical consumption does
erators must wait for the ambient tem- inlet. At night, when the pipeline cools, not happen in real time. Pump failure
perature to rise in order to melt the liquid hydrocarbon accumulates in the cannot be detected remotely; thus, rou-
hydrate plugs. In general, well produc- line, increasing the liquid holdup. High- tine checkups are required.
tion declines for 6–8  hours because of water wells always will have a tenden-
hydrates. Because hydrate formation is cy to accumulate water in the low-lying Current Well Modeling. The current
the main cause of concern, a robust so- zones. This water generally moves as a well and pipeline models are steady state
lution is needed to minimize production slug. Modeling of the multiphase fluids and are not capable of simulating the
downtime. No proper flow-assurance to understand the slug behavior is re- real dynamic behavior that causes hy-
study or modeling was conducted to quired for balancing the fluid in and fluid drate and slug flow.
understand the effect of water and in- out of the facility. Long and complicated
hibition details on the hydrate curve. flowline geometry further complicates Liquid Loading. Automated chokes are
To address this challenge, a predictive the system dynamics and will affect the used for hydrate control. Choke reduc-
transient tool is needed to know in ad- flow behavior. tion will result in liquid loading in some
vance when hydrate will start to form, of the low-reservoir-pressure wells,
the location of hydrate formation, and Pipeline Corrosion. An acid-gas envi- which further reduces well productivity.
the required methanol (MeOH) dosage ronment with water production makes Proper design of hydrate inhibition will
rate to avoid hydrate formation. The the system very corrosive. The cur- eliminate the need for the choke reduc-
current practice of hydrate inhibition rent practice is to inject 10 L/h of cor- tion and, thus, avoid liquid loading.
is mainly based on past experience. In- rosion inhibitor, which is expected to
Solution
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights To address some of the challenges, a
transient modeling solution began in
of paper SPE 182237, “Assuring Optimal Production and Enhanced Operational
2014 for the producing NKJ wells. In
Efficiency Through Transient Simulation—A Case Study in North Kuwait Jurassic
the first phase, a pilot of an offline tran-
Fields,” by Mohammad Al-Sharrad, Kuwait Oil Company; Roshan Prakash, SPE, sient solution was deployed, with hydrate
and Christian F. Trudvang, SPE, Schlumberger; and Noura Al-Mai, Abrar A. and surge advisers as the key deliverable.
Hajjeyah, SPE, and Abdulaziz H. Al-Failakawi, SPE, Kuwait Oil Company, prepared Massive data gathering was conducted
for the 2016 SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Perth, Australia, from different disciplines to create a ro-
25–27 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. bust transient solution.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

74 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

Hydrate Adviser. From the initial
hydrate-prediction results, additional
water-sample analysis was conducted to
account for different salts in the forma-
tion water. On the basis of the transient-
modeling and sampling results, NKJ wells
can be divided into three categories.
Category A Wells: Wells That Pro-
duce No Formation Water. These wells
have no brine production because water
present in the gas condenses when the
fluids reach the surface during flow. The
water content in these wells is so low
(<5%) that it falls out of the water-
measurement range of available mul-
tiphase flowmeters. The modeling of
Category A wells was performed by sat-
urating the fluid composition to the res-
ervoir pressure and temperature to ac-
count for the condensed water from
the gas phase. A hydrate curve is gen-
erated for the case of no hydrate in-
hibition. Fig. 1 shows the modeling
result—which matches actual field ob-
servation—where hydrate starts to form
when the ambient temperature drops
below 20°C.
To model the effect of hydrate-
inhibitor injection, the same well was
modeled with a 40-L/h injection rate, as
shown in Fig. 2. The hydrate curve shifts
to the left, which will result in hydrate
formation at lower ambient tempera-
ture. This also has a fair match with the
actual field data.
Category B Wells: Wells That Pro-
duce Saline Formation Water. For
these wells, a more detailed overview
of the concentrations of different types
of salt is required to reduce the uncer-
tainty of the hydrate-formation temper-
ature predicted by the model. Sensitiv-
ity analysis was conducted for different
salt types and their effect on the hydrate
curve. Because different salts have dif-
ferent inhibition effects, having the ac-
tual salt distributions is important to
achieve a realistic hydrate curve. The hy-
drate curves with detailed salt descrip-
tions have a close match with actual
field conditions.
Category C Wells: Wells That Pro-
duce High-Salinity Formation Water.
Paying special attention to the wells that
are producing formation water with high
salt concentrations (>280,000 ppm)
is important. Overdosing with MeOH
is not recommended for high-salinity-
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
water wells because of the “supersatu- Corrosion and Gas Velocity. In general,
rated salt” or “salt-out” effect. the fluid velocity in gas pipelines should
be less than 60 to 80 ft/sec to minimize
Surge Adviser. The surge adviser is part noise and to allow for corrosion inhibi-
of the transient modeling solution and is tion. A lower velocity limit of 50 ft/sec
important for accounting for changes in should be used in the presence of known
the flow behavior in the pipeline result- corrosive agents such as carbon dioxide.
ing from various factors. The surge ad- The minimum gas velocity should be be-
viser predicts the surge at the inlet of the tween 10 and 15 ft/sec, which minimiz-
facility and allows production balancing es liquid fallout. If the velocity is high,
to be accomplished. the fluid will disturb the corrosion-
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75
 Hydrate Pressure/Temperature Curve Mixed Hydrate Pressure/Temperature Curve Mixed
200 200

180 180
160 160
140

Pressure (bara)
140
Pressure (bara)

Operating Envelope
120
120 Operating Envelope
100
100
80
80
60

40 60

20 40

0 20
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0
Temperature (°C) Temperature (°C)
0.000 mol inhibitor/mol produced water 21.964 mol% of produced water + inhibitor

Fig. 1—Hydrate curve for well producing condensed water Fig. 2—Hydrate curve for well producing condensed water
without MeOH injection. with MeOH injection.

inhibitor coating and generate corro-
sion sites.
Conclusion
Hydrate Formation. Transient mod-
eling can mimic field conditions if ac-
curate water properties are used to
generate the hydrate curve. The ef-
fect of the salts present in the forma-
tion water and the MeOH injection is
well-understood, and MeOH injection
can be optimized by the use of tran-
sient modeling. The solution should be
scaled up to include all the new wells,
and the system should be used to min-
imize the production losses resulting
from hydrates.
Slug Flow. The sensitivity analysis con-
ducted for ambient temperature and
the choke changes clearly demonstrates
that the flow from wells will always have
slug behavior at the inlet of the facil-
ity. The long pipelines of the NKJ fields
act as fluid storage, and their geometry
adds to the slug behavior. When the sys-
tem is on line, the slug adviser can be
used to optimize fluid flow in and out of
the early-production facility.
Transient Modeling. The steady-state
models are capable of simulating flow-
assurance scenarios. Dynamic hydrate

SPE BOOKSTORE and surge advisers can be used with

the transient modeling. The key func-
SPE has you covered with books to meet every technical challenge. tion of the hydrate adviser is to moni-
tor the temperature margins of potential
­hydrate-formation regions throughout
the production network. The hydrate
margin calculation takes into account
actual local pressure, temperature, and
amount of inhibitor.
Similarly, the key function of the
surge adviser is to calculate the forma-
tion, location, and size of terrain slugs
or liquid surges in the production sys-
tem. The surge adviser provides a fore-
cast of the effect of upcoming slugs/
surges on the early-production-facility
high-pressure-separator conditions (liq-
uid levels and pressure) and provides
advanced warning if the alarm limits
are exceeded.

Pipeline Corrosion. Modeling of the gas

velocity in the pipeline is important for
predicting pipeline corrosion. This study
GET WHAT YOU NEED will be expanded in the future to include
www.spe.org/store the effects of the type and rate of corro-
sion inhibition. JPT

76 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

MEMBER SOCIETIES
Honoring SPE’s Heritage and Fellow SPE
Members through AIME, UEF, and AAES Awards
Kate Baker, Past President, SPE Foundation, and Roland Moreau, Vice President Finance, SPE Board of Directors
You may have heard or recall that SPE
was originally part of what is now the
American Institute of Mining, Metallur-
gical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME).
In 1985, SPE and the other three AIME
member societies, the Society for Mining,
Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME); The
Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society
(TMS); and the Association for Iron and
Steel Technology (AIST), became sepa-
rately incorporated from AIME.
AIME, founded in 1871, was one of the
first national engineering societies estab-
lished in the United States. In 1904, AIME
and two other engineering societies—the
American Society of Mechanical Engi-
neers (ASME) and the American Institute
of Electrical Engineers—formed what
is now called the United Engineering
Foundation (UEF) to advance the engi-
neering arts and sciences for the wel-
fare of humanity. UEF received a gift of
$1 million from Andrew Carnegie to build
a common headquarters building in New
York City and house their joint and sever-
al libraries. By 1958, two other engineer-
ing societies had joined UEF: the Ameri-
can Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and
the American Institute of Chemical Engi-
neers (AIChE).
SPE is the largest engineering soci-
ety among the AIME member societies,
but by no means as large as some of the
UEF founder societies. For example, the
successor organization to the American
Institute of Electrical Engineers, IEEE
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers), is the world’s largest techni-
cal professional association with roughly
450,000 members.
Both AIME and UEF founder societ-
ies have awards for which SPE members
are eligible. Some of these are exclusive
to SPE and administered by SPE award
JPT • NOVEMBER 2017
committees. They are familiar names: the
DeGolyer and Lucas awards, and Hon-
orary Membership. Others are available
to SPE members as well as those belong-
ing to one of the four AIME member
societies. These include the
◗ Charles F. Rand Memorial
Gold Medal, honoring
distinguished achievement in
mining administration, including
metallurgy and petroleum
◗ Robert Earll McConnell Award,
which recognizes beneficial service
to mankind by engineers through
significant contributions that
advance a nation’s standard of
living or replenishes its natural
resources
◗ Rossiter W. Raymond Memorial
Award, given for the best paper
written by a member under age 35
Each of AIME’s member societies
administers its own process for making
these awards. Each member society can
confer a Rand and a McConnell award
every year, but the Raymond award is
given rotationally among the four mem-
ber societies. It will be given next at SPE’s
2019 Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition banquet. Rossiter Raymond
edited the Engineering and Mining Jour-
nal from 1867–1890. More than 100
years later, it is still a leading trade jour-
nal for the mining business.
You can find details of eligibility and
how to nominate your colleagues for all
the above named awards on SPE’s website
at: www.spe.org/awards/
Through AIME, SPE members are also
eligible for selected awards administered
by UEF founder societies beyond the
AIME member society family. AIME is
pleased to endorse nominations put for-
ward by SPE for such awards and to assist
in preparing an awards submission pack-
age. These awards include the
◗ Hoover Medal—recognizing
outstanding extra-career services
by engineers to humanity (award
administered by ASME, see
www.asme.org/about-asme/get-
involved/honors-awards/unit-
awards/hoover-awards/apply-now).
The award is named for Herbert
Clark Hoover, who retired as a
successful mining engineer in 1912,
served as AIME President in 1920,
then was later elected the 31st
President of the United States
◗ Washington Award—for
professional attainments that
have pre-eminently advanced
the welfare of humankind
(award administered by the
Western Society of Engineers,
see www.thewashingtonaward.
com/nomination/). This award,
established by hydraulic and
sanitary engineer John Watson
Alvord in 1917 was first conferred
on Herbert C. Hoover in 1919.
It was allegedly named the
Washington Award as a reminder
that the first president of the
United States was, in many
respects, an engineer.
In addition, AIME automatically sub-
mits the Raymond Award recipient for
the Alfred E. Noble Prize—for a techni-
cal paper of exceptional merit by a lead
author under the age of 35 (award ad-
ministered by ASCE, see www.asce.org/
templates/award-detail.aspx?id=1497).
Noble was an American civil engineer
famous for his work on canals, partic-
ularly the Panama Canal and the Soo
Locks between the Great Lakes of Huron
and Superior.
77
 AIME is also a member of the Ameri-
can Association of Engineering Societ-
ies (AAES). This group includes all of the
UEF members plus 12 other engineer-
ing associations. Here again, AIME is
pleased to endorse nominations put for-
ward by SPE, and to assist in preparing
an awards submission package. These
awards include the
◗ AAES Chair’s Award—recognizing
an individual who has made
outstanding contributions to the
welfare of the United States
◗ National Engineering Award—
presented for inspirational
leadership and tireless devotion
to the improvement of engineering
education and to the advancement
of the engineering profession,
as well as to the development
of sound public policies as an
engineer-statesman
◗ Kenneth Andrew Roe Award—
presented on behalf of the
engineering community to
recognize an engineer who has
been effective in promoting
unity among the engineering
societies. Roe was instrumental
in founding AAES, served as its
first president, and had previously
been president of ASME.
◗ Norm Augustine Award for
Outstanding Achievement in
Engineering Communications—
presented annually to an engineer
who has demonstrated the
capacity for communicating
the excitement and wonder of
engineering. The award is to be
conferred on those rare individuals
who can speak with passion
about engineering, its promise
as well as its responsibility, so
that the public may have a better
understanding of engineering
and a better appreciation for how
engineers improve our quality
of life.
◗ John Fritz Medal—presented each
year for scientific or industrial
achievement in any field of pure or
applied science. It was established
in 1902 to honor the “Father of the
US Iron and Steel industry” whose
name it bears and who was its
first recipient.
◗ AAES Engineering Journalism
Award—recognizes outstanding
reporting of an event or issue that
furthers public understanding of
engineering
◗ Joan Hodges Queneau Palladium
Medal—established by the
National Audubon Society in 1977
for recognizing an individual
who encourages cooperation
between engineering professionals
and environmentalists to
create innovative solutions to
environmental problems.
Details of eligibility and how to nom-
inate your colleagues for all the above
AAES awards are available at www.aaes.
org/awards. AIME also has information
on its website at aimehq.org/programs-/
honors-awards about all of the awards
mentioned above as well as others with-
in the larger engineering and scientific
community for which SPE members may
be eligible. JPT

PEOPLE
ALASDAIR FERGUSSON, SPE, was appoint-
ed managing director at flow assurance
and production optimization company
ClearWell Oilfield Solutions. Fergusson has
more than 25 years of oilfield management
and marketing experience, having worked
for major service companies in Europe and
the Middle East. Most recently he was the business manager
Europe and Africa for production technologies at Schlumberg-
In Memoriam
This section lists with regret SPE members who recently
passed away. If you would like to report the passing of a
family member who was an SPE member, please write to
service@spe.org.
Earle T. Casler Jr., Redding, California, USA
William C. Corea, San Ramon, California, USA
Howard B. Moreland, Casper, Wyoming, USA
Kevin S. Riley, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, UK
David C. Shaw, Denver, Colorado, USA
T. Fred Stephens, Wichita Falls, Texas, USA
Jack C. Wallace, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
er’s M-I SWACO, based in Paris, where he led and grew busi-
ness capability in new markets. Before joining Schlumberger,
Fergusson was director for eastern hemisphere, engineered
chemistry, at Weatherford. This was preceded by his 10-year
stint at Baker Hughes in production chemistry, drilling fluids,
and completion tools businesses with a sales and marketing
focus. Fergusson’s appointment follows FrontRow Energy
Technology Group’s recent acquisition of 50% of ClearWell
from previous owner MSL Oilfield Services, which retains the
remaining 50%.
GARY SMART, SPE, was appointed CEO at
Well Centric, a company operating in the
well integrity and production technology
sectors. Smart has 30 years’ oil and gas
industry experience in technology devel-
opment, commercialization, and global
market expansion. He has held a variety of
management positions throughout his career, spending 11
years at Weatherford before joining Tendeka in 2009. He was
CEO of Tendeka for 6 years, and played a major part in leading
the integration of five separate entities which resulted in the
formation of Tendeka. Smart holds an MBA from Henley Man-
agement College in Reading, UK.

78 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

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A&A F T I
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SPARTAN OPERATING CO., INC.

P L AT T S PA R K S 310 South Vine Avenue, Tyler, TX 75702

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• Consulting Petroleum Engineers
• Reservoir Engineering smithjames@jes-engineer.com • http://www.jes-engineer.com
AVASTHI & ASSOCIATES, INC. • Geophysical Studies and Analyses
• Reservoir Characterization and Simulation James E. Smith, P.E., Registered Professional Engineer
Worldwide Energy Consulting • Oil and Gas Reserves Evaluation
Since 1990 • Fair Market Value and Acquisition Valuation
Field Development Planning/Modeling,
Engineering, EOR/IOR, Geomechanics,
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lenandersen.com
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Global Head Office: 800 Rockmead Drive, Suite 212
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Austin, Texas 78746
Tel: + 1 512 327 6930
Experts@FTIPlattSparks.com
Fax: + 1 512 327 7069 800-428-4801
Worldwide Petroleum Consulting
LONQUIST & CO. LLC
HOT Engineering Petroleum Engineers • Energy Advisors
Exploration / Field Development / Training
www.lonquist.com
• Hydraulic Fracture Modeling Integrated Reservoir Studies • Lead & Prospect • Reservoir Engineering • Merger & Acquisition Support
• Unconventional Reservoir Generation • Reservoir Characterisation • Field • Reserve Determinations • Mineral and Royalty
Management Development Planning • Enhanced Oil Recovery • Economic Evaluations Management
• Gas Storage Studies • Microfludic Solutions • Underground Gas • Underground Storage • Regulatory Filings and
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Please Contact: www.hoteng.com • Supply Studies • Disposal Well Design
Telephone: 469-222-5436 Parkstrasse 6, 8700 Leoben, Austria • Mining Engineering • Graphical Information Systems
E-mail: dbiswas@activereservoir.com Phone: +43 3842 430530 / Fax: +43 3842 430531
hot@hoteng.com, training@hoteng.com Austin — Houston — Denver — Wichita — Calgary
www.activereservoir.com
Huddleston & Co., Inc. M.J. ENGLAND, P.E.
CONSULTING PETROLEUM ENGINEER

CG A & Domestic and International

Petroleum & Geological Engineers
9805 Katy Freeway, Suite 500
Houston, TX 77024-1271
Ph: (713) 209-1100 Fax: (713) 209-1104
Reserve Reports
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215 Union Blvd., Suite 350
Lakewood, CO 80228-1840
Telephone: 303/298-0860
CAWLEY, GILLESPIE & ASSOCIATES, INC. e-mail: info@HuddlestonCo.com Facsimile: 303/298-0861
PETROLEUM CONSULTANTS
SINCE 1960 SERVING THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY FOR
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— WORLDWIDE PETROLEUM CONSULTANTS — • Reservoir characterization
and simulation Two Houston Center Phone: (713) 651-9455
Waterflood & EOR Studies 909 Fannin St., Ste. 1300 Fax: (713) 654-9914
• Environmental studies Houston, TX 77010 e-mail: mail@millerandlents.com
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Reservoir Simulation www.intera.com ipcinfo@intera.com Web pages: http://www.millerandlents.com
Austin • (512) 425-2000 Houston • (281) 560-4560
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Gas Storage & CO2 Sequestration Analysis International Reservoir
Expert Witness • Technical Training

William M. Cobb & Associates, Inc.

Technologies, Inc.
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Phone (972) 385-0354 www.wmcobb.com Seismic Interpretation & Modeling Fractured Reservoir Characterization/Modeling
FAX (972) 788-5165 office@wmcobb.com Stratigraphy & Petrophysics Gas Storage • Unconventional • EOR • CO2 CCS Black
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COUTRET AND ASSOCIATES, INC. Enhanced Oil Recovery Studies
Petroleum Reservoir Engineers Well Test Design & Analysis Provider of LYNX®, MatchingPro®,
PlanningPro® and ForecastingPro® Software
Property Evaluation, Reservoir Engineering Well Completion Optimization
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www.irt-inc.com IRT_Information@irt-inc.com www.NITECLLC.com
www.coutret.com

JPT • NOVEMBER 2017 79


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Tarek Ahmed & Associates Ltd.
Taking Petroleum Engineering Training
to a New Level
For dates & descriptions
of courses held worldwide, please visit us at
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ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE

ADIPEC 2017 NCS Multistage, LLC Rock Flow Dynamics
Page 55 Page 4 Cover 3

Advanced Technology Valve SpA Netzsch Pumps & Systems Serafim Ltd
Page 37 Page 23 Page 61

ARCHER Nissan Chemical America Corporation (NCA) TAM International

Page 57 Page 13 Page 9

C&J Energy Services OneSubsea, a Schlumberger company Tenaris Global Services Corp.
Page 27 Cover 2 Page 33

Cameron, a Schlumberger company Paradigm Visuray

Page 7 Page 2 Page 3

Cortec Fluid Control

Page 75

Enventure Global Technology JPT ADVERTISING SALES

Page 31

GEODynamics, Inc.
Page 65 Mike Buckley Jane Bailey
Advertising Sales Manager Advertising Sales Manager
Georgia-Pacific Chemicals Americas, Asia Pacific, and South Asia Europe, Middle East, Russia, and Africa
Page 47 Companies (A–L) Tel: +44 (0) 1227.266.605
Tel: +1.713.457.6828 jbailey@spe.org
Hunting mbuckley@spe.org
Page 51 Craig W. Moritz
Dana Griffin Assistant Director Sales & Exhibits
Interwell AS Advertising Sales Manager Tel: +1.713.457.6888
Page 29 Americas, Asia Pacific, and South Asia cmoritz@spe.org
Companies (M–Z)
K&S Kali GmbH Tel: +1.713.457.6857
Page 45 dgriffin@spe.org

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Mohawk Energy OF PETROLEUM TECH­NOLOGY (ISSN 0149-2136) is published monthly by the Society of Petroleum
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80 JPT • NOVEMBER 2017

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