Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
NTNU
Norgesteknisknaturvitenskapelige
Fakultetforingenirvitenskapogteknologi
universitet
FacultyofEngineeringandTechnology
StudieprogramiGeofagogpetroleumsteknologi
StudyProgrammeinEarthSciencesandPetroleumEngineering
Instituttforpetroleumsteknologioganvendtgeofysikk
DepartmentofPetroleumEngineeringandAppliedGeophysics
Gjennomgangavproduksjonsryrdesign
Norwegian:
Oppgavenstittel,engelsk/TitleofThesis,
TubingDesignReview
English
Utfyllendetekst/Extendedtext:
Background:
WellsdrilledinHPHTformationsexperienceseverestressbecauseoftheextreme
temperaturesandpressures.Thishasamajoreffectonthecompletiondesignandthe
equipmentthatisexposedinthewell.Findingtherightdesignforthewellplaysan
importantroleforthewellintegrity.
Task:
1) ReviewcompletiondesignforthesubseaHPHTMorvinField
2) Invesitgateloadsontubularstring,andloadstransferredfromthestringtothepacker
3) Discussthewellintegrityandpossibleleakdevelopmentduringthelifetimeofthefield.
Supervisor:
MichaelGolan
Cosupervisor(Statoil):
BjrnBrechan
Studieretning/Areaofspecialization:
PetroleumEngineering,PetroleumProduction
Fagomrde/Combinationofsubject:
Drilling/Production
Tidsrom/Timeinterval:
January16June11,2012
MichaelGolan
II
Preface
ThisprojecthasbeencarriedoutatthedepartmentofPetroleumEngineeringandApplied
GeophysicsattheNorwegianUniversityofScienceandTechnologyasthefinalpartofa
MasterdegreeinPetroleumTechnology.
IwouldliketousethisopportunitytothankProfessorMichaelGolanforproposingthis
thesisandguidanceattheendofthework.
AdeepgratitudegoestoBjrnBrechan,mymainsupervisoratNTNU.Iwouldliketo
thankhimforallthetrainingIgotintheuseofWellcat,alltheinputdatahehassupplied
andalltheknowledgehehasshared.Icouldnothavehadabettersupervisor.
Andlast,butnotleastIwouldliketothankallofmyfriendsatthestudyroomwhohave
madethedaysflybywithlotsoflaughterandcardgames.
Trondheim,11.06.2012
KarianneSkrnesVgenes
III
IV
Samandrag
Idenneavhandlingahareitfulltbrnndesignogdetaljertproduksjonsryrdesignblitt
utviklaforHPHTbrnnenK14.Wellcatforingsryrdesignprogramvareharblittbrukt
forryrstrenganalyser.
K14erutformaetterdesamevilkrasomforMorvinHPHT.Deiviktigsatesprsmla
knytttildennespesifikkebrnndesignenerfullfringaavreservoarseksjonen,
produksjonsryrdesignmedtilhrandelastar,slangendesignmedallerelevantelastar,og
HPHTbrnndesignutviklamedtankepfleksibilitetforintervensjonogmogleg
stimuleringvedhjelpavhydrauliskoppsprekking.
Dreneringsplanentilreservoareterbasertpbrnnarmedhorisontalereservoarseksjonar
foroptimalogkostnadseffektivutvinning.
Produksjonsryretharblittdesignaogkonstruertforallelastanebrnnenkanbliutsattfor
ilpetavlevetida.Detersvrtviktigatallemoglegelastarharblittunderskt,slikat
brnndesigneterisamsvarmedkravaforeinHPHTbrnn.Deilastenesombrnnenser
kandelastitogrupper:lastarforrsakaavproduksjonoglasterrelaterttilinstallasjon
(kvalifikasjon/trykktesting)ogintervensjon.
Fokusetfordettebrnndesignetharvrtoppnoptimaldreneringmedeienkelog
fleksibellysningformtakravasomersattforintervensjon.
EkstremebelastingarkanoppstforbrnnariHPHTfelt.Deterfleireaspekttahensyntil
nreinskaldesignabrnnaravdennetypen,somforeksempelstlogstoffdegradering
nrdeiblirutsettforhgetemperaturar,ogstoretemperatursvingingarfrvarm
produksjonsstraum,tilbullheadingmedkaldevsker.Effektenavekstreme
temperaturendringarsomblirsettavvskeridetlukkaringrommet,ogvilfretil
utviding/samantrekningsomresultererienauke/reduksjonitrykksettavrra.
Temperaturvariasjonarvilogspverkepakningarsomerunderhgttrykk,nokosomkan
gjeramaterialesprttogredusere/mistatettingskapasiteten.
Aspektsompverkarbrnndesignogproduksjonsryrdesignerdiskutertidetaljgjennom
utviklingavHPHTbrnnK14.
VI
Abstract
Inthisthesisafullwelldesignanddetailedtubingdesignhasbeendevelopedforthe
HPHTwellK14.Wellcatcasingdesignsoftwarehasbeenusedfortubingstringanalysis.
K14hasbeendesignedusingthesameconditionsasforwellsintheMorvinHPHTfield.
Themainissuesrelatedtothisspecificwelldesignarethecompletionofthereservoir
section,thetubingdesignwithallrelevantloads,andaHPHTwelldesignwithflexibility
forinterventionandstimulationbyhydraulicfracturing.
Thereservoirdrainageplanisbasedonwellswithhorizontalreservoirsectionsforoptimal
andcosteffectiverecovery.
Thetubinghasbeendesignedandengineeredforalltheloadsthatthewellmaybe
exposedtoduringitslifetime.Itisveryimportantthatallpossibleloadshavebeen
investigated,sothewellcomplieswiththeHPHTrequirements.Theloadsseenbythewell
canbedividedintwogroups:theloadsinducedbyproductionandtheloadsduring
installation(qualification/pressuretesting)andintervention.
Thefocusofthewelldesignhasbeentoachieveoptimaldrainagewithasimpleand
flexiblesolutiontomeettherequirementsforintervention.
ExtremeloadsmayoccurforwellsinHPHTfields.Thereareadditionalaspectstoconsider
whenengineeringthesewells,suchassteelandmaterialdegradationwhenexposedto
hightemperatures,andlargetemperaturevariationsfromproductiontobullheadingwith
coldfluids.Theeffectofextremetemperaturechangesareseenbytheliquidsintheclosed
annuli,theywillexpand/contractresultinginanincrease/decreaseinpressureseenbythe
tubulars.Thetemperaturevariationswillalsoaffectsealingelastomersthatareunderhigh
pressures,makingthembrittleandreduce/loosethesealingcapacity.
Theaspectsofwelldesignandtubingdesignarediscussedindetailthroughthe
developmentandengineeringoftheHPHTwellK14.
VII
VIII
TableofContents
PREFACE........................................................................................................................................................III
SAMANDRAG................................................................................................................................................V
ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................................VII
TABLEOFCONTENTS................................................................................................................................IX
LISTOFFIGURES......................................................................................................................................XIII
LISTOFTABLES.........................................................................................................................................XV
1 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................1
2 INPUTDATA.............................................................................................................................................3
2.1 POREPRESSURE,FRACTUREPRESSUREANDTEMPERATURE..............................................................3
2.2 RESERVOIRFLUID..................................................................................................................................3
2.3 WELLPATH............................................................................................................................................3
2.3.1 DoglegSeverity...............................................................................................................................4
2.4 WELLK14CASINGPROGRAM..........................................................................................................5
2.5 MATERIALSELECTION..........................................................................................................................6
2.5.1 Corrosion.........................................................................................................................................6
2.5.2 Safetyanddesignfactors.................................................................................................................7
2.5.3 Materialdegradingduetotemperaturederation............................................................................8
2.5.4 Casingwearallowance....................................................................................................................8
3 COMPLETIONANDWELLDESIGNK14....................................................................................11
3.1 WELLDESIGNCOMPLETIONOFTHERESERVOIRSECTION............................................................11
3.2 MORVINOPENHOLECOMPLETION..................................................................................................12
3.3 PERFORATING......................................................................................................................................13
3.4 TUBINGSELECTION.............................................................................................................................14
3.5 INTERVENTION....................................................................................................................................14
4 WELLINTEGRITY..................................................................................................................................15
4.1 LOADS..................................................................................................................................................15
4.2 CORROSIONANDEQUIPMENTWEAR.................................................................................................15
4.3 BARRIERDESIGN..................................................................................................................................16
4.3.1 Casingprogram.............................................................................................................................16
4.3.2 Cement..........................................................................................................................................16
4.3.3 Barrierenvelope............................................................................................................................16
4.4 K14WELLINTEGRITY.........................................................................................................................17
4.5 PLUGANDABANDONMENT...............................................................................................................19
4.6 OTHER..................................................................................................................................................20
IX
5 K14STRESSANALYSIS......................................................................................................................21
5.1 LOADPRINCIPALS...............................................................................................................................21
6 RESULTS...................................................................................................................................................23
6.1 TUBINGRESULTS.................................................................................................................................23
6.1.1 Designlimitplot...........................................................................................................................23
6.1.2 DifferentialPressure.....................................................................................................................24
6.1.3 Internalpressure...........................................................................................................................25
6.2 CASINGRESULTS.................................................................................................................................26
6.2.1 DesignLimitPlot..........................................................................................................................26
6.2.2 Differentialpressure.....................................................................................................................29
6.3 PACKERRESULTS.................................................................................................................................31
6.3.1 Tubingtopackerforces.................................................................................................................32
6.4 HYDRAULICFRACTURING..................................................................................................................34
6.4.1 Parameters.....................................................................................................................................35
7 DISCUSSION...........................................................................................................................................39
8 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................41
9 FURTHERWORK...................................................................................................................................43
10
NOMENCLATURE...............................................................................................................................45
11
WORKSSITED......................................................................................................................................47
APPENDIX......................................................................................................................................................51
A.1 ELEMENTSINFIELDDEVELOPMENT.................................................................................................51
A.2 GASCOMPOSITION.............................................................................................................................55
A.3 CASINGDESIGN..................................................................................................................................56
A.4 MECHANICS........................................................................................................................................57
A.4.1 AxialLoads...................................................................................................................................57
A.4.2 HydrostaticForces........................................................................................................................57
A.4.3 HooksLaw.....................................................................................................................................57
A.4.4 Neutralstabilitypoint..................................................................................................................58
A.4.5 Ballooning.....................................................................................................................................59
A.4.6 Temperature..................................................................................................................................60
A.4.7 Buckling........................................................................................................................................61
A.4.8 Burst.............................................................................................................................................63
A.4.9 Collapse.........................................................................................................................................64
A.4.10 Triaxial.......................................................................................................................................65
A.5 WELLCAT.....................................................................................................................................67
A.6 LOADS.................................................................................................................................................69
A.6.1 Cleanupfirstflowingofthewell...............................................................................................69
A.6.2 Earlylifeproduction.....................................................................................................................70
A.6.3 ShutinShort................................................................................................................................71
A.6.4 ShutinLong.................................................................................................................................71
A.6.5 Bullheading...................................................................................................................................72
A.6.6 Killoperation................................................................................................................................73
A.6.7 Breakdown....................................................................................................................................74
A.6.8 Fracturing.....................................................................................................................................74
A.6.9 AnnulusActive.............................................................................................................................75
A.6.10 InitialConditions........................................................................................................................76
A.6.11 PressureTest..............................................................................................................................76
A.6.12 TubingLeak................................................................................................................................77
A.6.13 TubingEvacuation.....................................................................................................................78
A.6.14 Minifracturing..........................................................................................................................78
A.6.15 Screenout...................................................................................................................................79
A.7 PACKER...............................................................................................................................................80
A.8 WELLINTEGRITY................................................................................................................................84
A.9 STIMULATIONFLUIDS........................................................................................................................86
XI
XII
ListofFigures
Fig.11Elementsinfielddevelopment..........................................................................................1
Fig.213DwelldesignforK14......................................................................................................4
Fig.22Doglegseverity....................................................................................................................5
Fig.23Mudwindow....................................................................................................................5
Fig.24Casingwearallowance,5productionliner...................................................................9
Fig.25Casingwearallowance,7productionliner.................................................................10
Fig.26Carsngwearallowance,95/8casing.............................................................................10
Fig.31Crosssectionillustratingperforatingthroughdamagedzone[Schlumberger2012
B].................................................................................................................................................11
Fig.32PressuregradientsforthelowersectionoftheMorvinwell......................................12
Fig.33Wellschematic.Left:K14.Right:Morvin,modifiedfrom[Fitnawanetal.2011]..13
Fig.41Primaryandsecondarywellbarrierduringproduction,modifiedfrom[NORSOK
D010,2004]...............................................................................................................................18
Fig.42Wellbarrierschematicforpermanentabandonmentperfortatedwell[NORSOK
D010,2004]...............................................................................................................................19
Fig.51Pressureactingoncasings,tubingandpacker.............................................................22
Fig.61Designlimitplot,tubing..................................................................................................24
Fig.62Differentialpressure,tubing............................................................................................25
Fig.63Internalpressure,tubing..................................................................................................26
Fig.64Designlimitplot,5ProductionLiner...........................................................................27
Fig.65designlimitplot,7liner..................................................................................................28
Fig.66Designlimitplot,95/8casing........................................................................................28
Fig.67Differentialpressure,5productionliner......................................................................30
Fig.68Differentialpressure,7productionliner......................................................................30
Fig.69Differentialpressure,95/8casing.................................................................................31
Fig.610Productionpacker,drawingno.A2899300[BakerOilTools2008].......................31
Fig.611Packerenvelope;1Annulusactive,2Breakdown,3Tubingleakbelowtubing
hanger,4Tubingevacuation..................................................................................................33
Fig.612Tubingtopackerforce,Tubingevacuation................................................................34
Fig.613Bullheadingandfracturing,WHPandBHP...............................................................35
Fig.614Maximumfracturepressurefortubing,1150bar.......................................................36
Fig.615DesignlimitplotFracturefluidtemperatures..........................................................37
Fig.616TubingtoPackerforce,fracturingbasecase..............................................................38
Fig.617Tubingtopackerforce,Fracturingat100C..............................................................38
Fig.11Marineseismicacquisition[Schlumberger2012A].....................................................51
XIII
Fig.12Seismicmodel[BritishGeologicalSurvey2012]...........................................................52
Fig.43Neutralstabilitypoint,modifiedfromWellcat........................................................59
Fig.44BallooningandReverseBallooning................................................................................60
Fig.45Tubingcrosssection..........................................................................................................62
Fig.46Stresscomponentsoftriaxialanalysis............................................................................65
Fig.47Designlimitplot.Modifiedfrom[Bellarby,2009]........................................................66
Fig.78Productionpacker,drawingno.A2899300[BakerOilTools2008].........................81
Fig.79Tubingtopackerforces,modifiedformWellcat.....................................................82
Fig.910Boricacidcrosslinkingofguargumforhydraulicfracturingfluids[Barron2011].
.....................................................................................................................................................86
XIV
ListofTables
Table21CasingandTubingConfiguration,Wellcat...............................................................5
Table22Ratingsfortubingandconnections[VallourecMannesmannOil&Gas2008].......7
Table23Designparameters.............................................................................................................7
Table51Simulatedloadcases.......................................................................................................21
Table61Tubingtopackerforces..................................................................................................32
Table62Pressuresfordifferentfracturefluiddensities............................................................35
Table21GasComposition.............................................................................................................55
Table42Requirementsforbuckling.Modifiedfrom[Bellarby,2009]....................................63
XV
XVI
1 Introduction
Fielddevelopmentoftenstartwithevaluationofthesizeofthereservoir,howmuchitwill
produceforhowlong,howmanywellsareneededandhowmucheachwellhasto
produce.AnoverviewofthestepsrequiredforfielddevelopmentispresentedinFig.11.
Fig.11Elementsinfielddevelopment.
Fromacompletiondesignperspective,thetubingsizeisoftendeterminedbytheplanned
productionrate.Thetubingsizemayberestrictedbytheloadsitisexposedto.Ifhigh
gradeand/orthicktubingwallscannotmanagethese,thesizemustbereducedwhichwill
influencethemaximumproductionrateofthewell.Thecasingdesignmustbemadeto
accommodatethetubing,sothecasingdesignoftenstartswiththerequirementsto
reservoirsectionsizeandtubularslargeenoughfortheplannedtubing.
Thedesignsoftwarethathasbeenusedtoengineertheloadsseenbythetubingand
productionpackerisWellcatbyLandmark.
ForthecompletionandwelldesignforK14thefocushasbeentokeepthedesignassimple
aspossibletoeliminatethepossibilityforfailureandminimizethepossibleleakpaths.The
productionpackerhasbeenplacedin95/8casingtoallowperforationinthe7liner.
ThedefinitionofatypicalHPHTwellisthattheminimumtrueverticaldepthis4000m,
and/orthattheshutinwellheadpressureisgreaterthan690barand/orbottomhole
temperatureisgreaterthan150C.[Fitnawanetal.2011]
TheinputparametersforthewelldesignofK14aredetaileddescribedinChapter2anda
closerdescriptionofthedifferentloadsaredescribedinAppendixA.6.
2 Inputdata
2.1 Porepressure,FracturepressureandTemperature
K14isbasedonsimilarconditionsasthehighpressurehightemperatureMorvinfield
locatedintheNorthSea.Thetopofthereservoirislocatedat4500mdepthreachingdown
to4700m,consistingoftwoproductivesandstonezonesseparatedbyatightshale.The
waterdepthisapproximately350mandtheairgapis25m.Thisgivesapressureof790
baratthetopofthereservoirwhichincreaseto837baratthebottom.Theoverburden
gradientsandtheformationfracturepressurehavebeendeterminedsothatthewellwillbe
similartoalreadyexistingHPHTwellsatMorvin.
Thetemperaturegradientofthefieldisassumedtobe3,65C/100m,andgivenaseabed
temperatureof4Cthetemperatureatthetopofthereservoirwillbe154C.Forthe
simulationsdoneinWellcat,thetemperatureusedistheonelocatedatthebottomofthe
perforations.Thisisat6004.56mmeasureddepthandthetemperatureis162.5C.Thatthe
temperaturegradientisalinearfunctionrelativetothedepthisnotscientificallycorrect.In
reality,thetemperaturewillwarywiththetypeofformationanditsrateofcompaction.It
isreasonabletoexpectagreatertemperaturedecreaseatsealingformationswithlowheat
conductivity.
2.2 Reservoirfluid
Theinitialproductionrateissettobe1100m3/dayandhasaGORof465m3/m3.Theoilhas
anAPIgravityof32andthegashasagravityof1.321kg/m3,thisgivesatotaldensityof
632kg/m3.ThegascompositionislistedinAppendixA.2.Itisthemixedcompositionfrom
alltheproducingzonesthathavebeenincludedintheloadevaluations.Thefieldwillbe
producedbynaturalpressuredepletion,theonlyinjectionintothewellwillbeintermsof
wellcontrol,stimulationorchemicaltreatment.
2.3 Wellpath
DetaileddescriptionofthewellpathisgivenbythesurveygeneratedforK14.Information
likemeasureddepth,trueverticaldepth,inclination,directionanddoglegseverity
providestheinputvaluesforthefollowingwelldesign.
Thewellhasbeendrilledasadeviatedwellwithaninclinationrangingfrom43when
enteringthereservoirto90attheendofthewell.Thisisdesignedtomaximisethe
productionrateandtodelaywaterbreakthrough.ThewellpathforK14isshowninFig.
21.
Fig.213DwelldesignforK14.
2.3.1 DoglegSeverity
ThedoglegseverityprofileofthewellisgivenbyFig.22,andasseenitisnothighinany
pointinthewell.Thismeansthatthereisnoparticularlyplaceinthewellborewherethe
directionofthewellpathchangessharply.Thismeansthatthetubingwillnotsuffersevere
bendingforcesduetodoglegseverity.WellcatincorporatestheDLStothecalculations.
Toaccommodateforthedifferencebetweenplannedwellpathandthereal(oftenless
smooththantheplanned),Wellcatallowsforanerrormargin.Doglegseverityoverride
willleadtocalculationsbeingperformedwithhigherDLSthantheDLSinthetheoretical
plan.
Fig.22Doglegseverity.
2.4 WellK14casingprogram
CasingsettingdepthshavebeenchosenbasedonFig.23below.Thecasingandtubing
designchosenisshowninTable21,andisidenticaltotheinputvaluesinWellcat.
Fig.23Mudwindow.
Table21CasingandTubingConfiguration,Wellcat.
Name
Type
OD
Hanger
MD(m)
Base
Holesize
(in)
(m)
TOC
(m)
(in)
Conductor
Casing
30
374.90
374.90
479.76
36
Surface
Casing
20
374.90
374.90
1390.19
26
Intermediate
Casing
133/8
374.90
1725.00
2200.96
17
Production
Casing
10
374.90
2900.00
3996.23
14
Production
Liner
3846.27
3846.27
4458.92
Production
Liner
4159.00
4159.00
4703.06
77/8
Production
Tubing
374.90
4156.86
Theproductionpackerissetat3796m,sealingofftheannulusbetweentheproduction
tubingandthe95/8productioncasing.TheTRSCSSVisinstalledat525m.
2.5 Materialselection
2.5.1 Corrosion
Whenselectingsteeltypeforpipesandconnectionsitisimportanttoalsoconsiderthe
corrosiveenvironmentthatthesteelwillbesubjectedto.Thereareseveralparametersin
thewellthateffectthecorrosion,liketemperature,chlorideionconcentration,partial
pressureofCO2andH2S,pHandpresenceorabsenceofSulphur[Craigetal.2011].When
selectingamaterialtherearecertainaspectsthathastobetakenintoconsideration
[NORSOKM0012004]:
Corrosivity;
Designlife;
Availability;
Failurepossibility,andtheconsequencesrelatedtofailure;
Resistancetobrittlefracture;
Thesteelselectedforthepipeandconnections,for5linerandfor5tubing,arecarbon
steelsuper13%Cr110.Carbonsteelisknowntohavealowcorrosionallowanceof3mm,
andthecorrosionratecanbeaslowas0.1mm/yearwithinjectionofinhibitors.Thesuper
13%chromealloyplaysanintermediaterolebetweentheconventional13%Crandduplex
stainlesssteel,bothwhenitcomestocorrosionresistanceandmaterialcost.Forthe
simulationsinWellcat,corrosionhasbeentakenintoconsideration,andaminimumwall
thicknesshasbeenidentifiedasatolerancelimit.
2.5.2 Safetyanddesignfactors
Whenselectingthetubingmaterialitisimportanttoconsiderthatisshouldbeableto
withstandacertainload.Safetyfactorsareusedtocomparetheratingofthematerialtothe
actualload,andthiscanbecalculatedforeachtypeoffailureasinEq.(2.1).
(2.1)
ThematerialselectedforthetubingisshownintableTable22,andthesafetyfactorsare
calculatedbasedontheseratingsandtheloadconditionssimulatedinWellcat.
Table22Ratingsfortubingandconnections[VallourecMannesmannOil&Gas2008].
5TubingCrs110
VamTOPHTConnection
3388
3322.8
MIYP[bar]
1148.7
1268.6
Pcollapse[bar]
1199
YieldStrength[kN]
Ifthesafetyfactorisgreaterthan1,thetubingshouldstayintact.Thisisthecaseifall
calculationsarecorrect,loadsscenariosarerecordedaccuratelyandthatthemanufactured
pipesbehaveaccordingtoitsspecificationswhenitisinthewell.Thesafetyfactorsthatare
usedareoftenhigherthan1toaccountforanyuncertainty[Bellarby,2009].Thedesign
parametersthatareenteredintoWellcataredisplayedinTable23.Theyhavebeen
selectedbasedongeneralcompletiondesignfactors.
Table23Designparameters.
Axial
Burst
Collapse
Triaxial
Pipebody
1.3
1.1
1.25
Connections
1.3
1.1
2.5.3 Materialdegradingduetotemperaturederation
Asthetemperatureinthewellincrease,thesteelandCRAstrengthsdecrease.Becauseof
temperaturevariationalongthelengthofthetubingstring,theamountofstrength
degradationdependsonthelocationinthewell[Banonetal.1991].Forthesimulations
doneinWellcattemperatureprofileisgivenandthetemperatureofthefluidsinjectedis
takenintoconsideration.
2.5.4 Casingwearallowance
Thecasingisexposedtomechanicalwearwhendrillingthefollowingsections,when
installingtubing/linerandunderwellintervention.Whendrillingthehorizontalsectionthe
drillbitanddrillstringwillbe,duetogravity,drawntoonesideofthecasingthatisbeing
drilledthrough.Casingwearcanbeaffectedbycasinggrade,rotationofdrillbit,typeof
drillingfluid,doglegseverity,inclinationetc[Directive0102009].
Thesectionsthataremostexposedforthisare95/8casingand7liner.Thewearwill
weakenthematerialbecauseofthereductionofwallthickness.Thecasingwearallowance
isapredictionofthepercentageofthewallthicknessthatcanbewornaway,without
havingconsequencefortheintegrityofthepipe.TheCWAhasbeenestimatedfor5liner,
7linerand95/8casing,basedonthequalificationneededforthesimulatedserviceloads
andthepressuretestofthewell.
5ProductionLiner
Themaximumcasingwearallowanceforthe5productiontubingisshowninFig.24and
is29.28%.Thisisestimatedforthepressuretestsincethisisthehighestloadthewellwill
see,forallotherloadstheCWAwillbehigher.
7ProductionLiner
Themaximumcasingwearallowance(Fig.25)forthe7lineris14.16%forthepressure
testload.Pipegradeofthisliner(Q125)islowerthanforthe5liner,thisiswhytheCWA
issomuchlower.Itisaquestionrelatedtotheactualneedsofthesectionandeconomythat
hastobeconsideredwhenselectingahigherpipegrade.Itisnotexpectedmajorcasing
wearforthissectionbecauseoftheshortdistancethathavetobedrilledforthe5section,
thereforethe14.14%CWAisacceptable.
95/8ProductionCasing
Thepipegradefirstusedforthissectionwasthesameasforthe7liner.Thisleadstoa
CWAof0%.Thepipegradeneededtobeincreasedtoamoredurableone,andQ125was
selected.TheCWAforthisgradeis28.48%atthebottomofthesection(Fig.26).The
CWAisquitelowatthetop(4.27%),butsincethispartinnotexposedtothepressuretest,
thepipegradehasnotbeenchangedinthatpartofthecasing.
Fig.24Casingwearallowance,5productionliner.
Fig.25Casingwearallowance,7productionliner.
Fig.26Carsngwearallowance,95/8casing.
10
3 CompletionandwelldesignK14
3.1 WellDesignCompletionofthereservoirsection
Thereareseveralmethodsforcompletingthewell.Forhorizontalwells,therearecertain
completionpropertiesthatarerequired;possibilityforzonalisolation,goodsolutionsfor
perforatingandstimulation,andeasyinterventionifneeded.Therearetwomainwaysof
completingahorizontalwell;openholecompletionorcasedandcementedcompletion.
Theopenholecompletionissimplyanopenboreholeinthelastsectioncompletedbare
footorwithtubularslikesandscreens,slottedorpreholedlinerthatissegmentedforzonal
control.Theadvantagesofanopenholecompletionismaximumexposedflowareaand
oftenquickertoinstall.Slottedlinerscanonlybeappliedinwellconsolidatedformations,
andisusuallyinstalledforboreholestabilityandwellinterventionaccess.Ifapreholed
linerisinstalleditispossibletodoselectivestimulationofthewell,asfortheMorvinwell
whereswellpackersforzonalisolationhavebeeninstalled.Itisalsopossibletohavea
degreeofsandcontrol,thelimitationmightbeeasyblockageoftheholesintheliner.The
solutionisoftencheaperthancementedandperforatedcasingconfiguration,butif
perforationofthewellisrequiredforthiscasethecostsduetotimeconsumptioncanbe
moresignificant[Next2008].
K14hasbeencompletedwithacementedlinerthathastobeperforated.Thisisdone
becausestimulationbyhydraulicfracturingisplannedforthewell.Byperforatingthe
well,theinflowwillnotbeaffectedbyanypossibledamageorfluidinfiltrationofthenear
wellborezone(asseeninFig.31).
Fig.31Crosssectionillustratingperforatingthroughdamagedzone[Schlumberger2012B].
Themaindifferencesbetweenthesemethodsaremainlyrelatedtotimeandcosts.
Fracturingtreatmentswiththedifferentmethodsshowssimilarresultsforbreakdown
11
pressure,fracturingpressureandproppantplacementsandrates[Schoenfeldetal.2010].
ThesimulationsinWellcatwillnotbedirectlyaffectedbythechoiceofcompletion.
3.2 MorvinOpenHoleCompletion
ThecasingsizeselectionisthesameasfortheK14,exceptforthatthesettingdepthsvary
becauseofthedifferenceinpressuregradientsintheoverburden.Thelowerpartofthe
pressuregradientsiddisplayedinFig.32.
Fig.32PressuregradientsforthelowersectionoftheMorvinwell.
TheMorvinwelldescribedinOTC21476[Fitnawanetal.2011]hasbeencompletedwith5
1
/2productiontubingandpredrilledlinercombinedwithopenholeswellpackersfor
zonalisolationcontrol.HPHTtracersubshavebeeninstalledfordataacquisition.Swell
packersandtracersubsmaybeinstalledinK14wellifneeded.Cementedlinerisplanned
forK14duetotherequirementforstimulationbyhydraulicfracturing.Thecompletewell
designforbothK14andMorvinarepresentedinFig.33.
12
Fig.33Wellschematic.Left:K14.Right:Morvin,modifiedfrom[Fitnawanetal.2011].
3.3 Perforating
BecauseofthehighpressureinHPHTwells,theformationrockwillhaveahighstrength
thatcanreducethedepthofpenetrationintotheformation.Theproductivityofthewell
dependshighlyonthepressuredropinthezonenearthewellbore.Thispressuredropis
affectedbywellboredamage,eitherbyequipmentorbyinfiltratingofwellfluid.By
perforatingpastthiszone,theinflowparameterscanbealteredtoincreasepressuredrop
andtherebyincreasetheinflow.Perforatingparameterslikediameter,perforationdepth,
phasingandperforationconditionsinthewell(underbalance,fluids,etc.)determinehow
effectivetheperforatingwillbe.
FortheMorvincompletionithasbeenchosentoavoidcementingandperforationbecause
thiswillreducetheinflowzonetothewell.WellK14isplannedtobestimulatedby
hydraulicfracturingandthechosenmethodisthesimplesttoensuresuccessfulfracture
halflengths.
13
InperforatedandfracturedHPHTwells,specialexplosiveshavebeenusedandthiswill
reducetheperformance.Perforationgunsarecommonlyrunonelectriclinecables,butwith
thehighpressureinaHPHTwell,thesealsaroundtheelectriclinecablesaredifficultto
maintain.Therefore,perforationcanbedonewithcoiledtubingortubingdeployedguns.
Dependingonthetemperatureofthewell,differentperforatingexplosivesareused.The
mostcommononesareRDXthatarelimitedtotemperaturesof171Corless,andHMX
thatareusedintemperaturesofupto204Cwithonehourexposureinthewell.Ifthe
perforationtakeslongerthanonehour(asfortubingdeployedguns),thereareexplosives
thathavebeentestedat226Cfor200hoursliketheHTX(hightemperatureexplosives).
[Bairdetal.1998]
3.4 Tubingselection
ThesizeoftheproductiontubingwasthoroughlyevaluatedfortheMorvinfieldto
maximizetheproduction.ForwellK14ithasbeenassumedthatthe5productiontubing
willbesufficienttomaintainthedailyproductionof1100m3/D.Whentubingdiameteris
reduced,theflowareofthecrosssectionisalsoreduced.Thismayleadtoasmaller
productionrateforthe5tubing,whichagainleadstolesstotalproductionfromthefield.
3.5 Intervention
Welloperationsdoneafterthewellhasstartedtoproducearecalledwellintervention.Itis
donetoalterthestateofthewell,providewelldiagnosticsormanagetheproduction.
Thereareseveralwaystoperformwellinterventions;followingisalistoftechniques
[Wikipedia2012]:
PressurepumpingSimplypumpingchemicalsintothewell(nodamagetothe
well).
Slicklineusedforfishing,cutting,setting/pullingplugs
Braideslineusedforfishing,loggingandperforating
Coiledtubingchemicalsarepumpeddirectlytobottom(tubingwear)
Snubbingstringisforcedintothewellagainstwellborepressure(morerigidthan
CT)
Workoverreplacecompletionsofoldwells
14
4 WellIntegrity
Wellintegrityapplicationoftechnical,operationalandorganisationalsolutionsto
reduceriskofuncontrolledreleaseofformationfluidsthroughoutthelifecycleofawell.
[NORSOKD0102004]
4.1 Loads
Toplanandevaluateallthepossibleloadsthatthewellmaybeexposedtoduringits
lifetimeisessentialinwellintegrity.Bysimulatingallpossibleloadswhenplanningthe
well,thecompletewelldesignwillfittherequirementsfortheexpectedloads.Ifan
unexpectedloadisidentified,ithastobesimulatedandthenanewpressuretestis
required.
4.2 Corrosionandequipmentwear
Thedegradationofequipmentduetocorrosionandwearplayamajorroleintheintegrity
ofthewell.Differentloggingtoolsareusedtodetermineintegrityofthewell,by
measuringtheeffectofcorrosionandmechanicalwear.
AsdiscussedinChapter2.5.1thecorrosionratedependonthefluidsproducedand
injectedintothewellaswellasthecorrosionallowanceofthepipematerial.Itisimportant
forHPHTwellstoselectamaterialthathasalowcorrosionallowanceduetothe
conditionsinthewell.Hightemperaturesandpressureswillaffectthechemicalreactivity
andofteninducechemicalreactions.ThereforeSuperChromehasbeenusedforthe5liner
andtheproductiontubinginK14.
TheparametersaffectingthepipewearinthewellarediscussedinChapter2.5.4.The
resultsofseverecasingwearduetodrillingandinterventionisoftenthatthepipewallis
unevenlywornandthatcreatesaweakspotinthepipecrosssectionthatismoreeasily
fractured.
15
4.3 Barrierdesign
4.3.1 Casingprogram
Theselectionofsettingdepthsforcasingsisnotonlydeterminedbytheoverburden
pressuregradients,butalsodependentonthetypeofformationsandtheirproperties.Asa
commonruleashoeissetbeforeenteringthereservoir.Theformationabovethereservoir
hashighsealingcapacity,thisisknownbythefactthatithaskeptthehydrocarbonsfrom
escapingthereservoirforaverylongtime.Thismeansthatifthereisaleakintheliner
goingintothereservoir,thesealingrockwillmostlikelybeabletopreventhydrocarbons
fromreachingthesurface.
Anotheraspecttoconsiderisrapidincreaseinporepressureatanypointinthewell.Ifthis
occursinbetweentwocasingshoes,itisimportantthatthetopofcementforthelower
casingishigherthanthepointofpeakporepressure.Thecementwillbeabletoprevent
inflowfromthissection.IftheTOCisnotsufficientlyhigh,hydrocarbonsmayseepintothe
annulusofthetopcasingandescapetheprimaryandsecondarywellbarrier.
4.3.2 Cement
Asdescribedintheprevioussection,theheightofthecementisanimportantfactorinwell
integrity.Theheighthastobeplannedtowithstandthepressureappliedatthecasingshoe.
Variationsinpressureandtemperaturewhencementingmaycausesmallmovementsin
thecasing,whichleadstotheformationofamicroannulus.Amicroannulusisdefinedasa
smallgapbetweenthecementandthetubing,inworstcasepresentaroundthewholecross
section.Thisresultsinanescapepathforthewellfluids.[Schlumberger2012C]
Anotherproblemrelatedtotemperatureandpressurevariationswhencementingisthe
possibilityforpoorbondinginthecement,creatingsmallpathwaysthroughthecement.
Toverifythequalityofthecementjob,thewellisloggedtodetectanyunconformitiesand
possibleleakpaths.
4.3.3 Barrierenvelope
Severalwellbarriersinterlinkedtogetherwillserveasabarrierenvelopeforthewell.The
wellbarrierelementswillwarydependingonwhattypeofwelloperationthatisbeing
16
performed,thatbeingdrilling,production(completiondesignhastobeconsidered),
intervention,abandonment,etc.Foraproductionwellacommonbarrierenvelopeconsists
ofcementedliner,packer,tubing,acrosstheTRSCSSVandbackdownintothereservoir.At
leasttwobarriersarerequiredforwellsinoperation,whiletreeenvelopesarerequiredfor
abandonment[NORSOKD010,2004].Ifonebarrierfails,therewillbeasecondtostopthe
fluidflowtosurface.AdescriptionofthebarrierenvelopesplannedforK14canbefound
ininthefollowingsections.
4.4 K14wellintegrity
FortheK14thereistwomainbarrierstokeepfluidsfromflowinguncontrolledtothe
surface,thesearedrawninFig.41.Theprimarybarrierismarkedingreenonthefigure.
Thisconsistsoftheproductionpacker,thetubingbetweenpackerandTRSCSSV.The
secondarybarrier,markedred,consistsofthecementedcasing,95/8casing,wellheadwith
casinghanger,tubinghangerandthesubseaproductiontree.
17
Fig.41Primaryandsecondarywellbarrierduringproduction,modifiedfrom[NORSOKD010,2004].
Thereshallnotbeanyinjectionintoformationsthathavethepossibilitytopropagate
verticalfracturestothesurface,theinjectionhastobeleadtoonlyeffecttheintendedlayer.
Neithershalltherebeinjectionintolayersthathavethepossibilitytoflow,inthatcasea
TRSCSSVhastobeinstalledinthetubingorhydrostaticpressureofthefluidinjectedhas
tobegreaterthantheporepressure.
Forinjectionthewellhastobeplannedbasedonthefollowingloadcases[NORSOKD010,
2004]:
Materialcapability
Maximumallowablepumpingrate
Maximumexpecteddifferentialpressure
AlloftheloadsabovearetakenintoconsiderationinthesimulationsinWellcat.
18
4.5 PlugandAbandonment
Whenawellistobepermanentlyabandoned,theuseoftwobarrierenvelopeswillnotbe
sufficient.Commonprimarybarrierforaperforatedwelliscementthelinerandinstalla
cementplugacrossandabovetheperforations.Thesecondarybarriermaybethecemented
casingabovethereservoirs,andcementplugseitheracrossthelinertop,oroutsideand
insidethetubing(iftubingispresent).Inadditiontotheprimaryandsecondarywell
barrier,therearethefollowingsolutionsforpermanentabandonment:
Wellbarrierbetweentworeservoirs,toreducepotentialforflowbetweenreservoirs.
Openholetosurfacewellbarrier,toisolateanopenholefromsurfacewhen
plugging.
ThebarriersneededforaperforatedwellareillustratedinFig.42.Theprimarybarrieris
markedinblue,thesecondaryinredandthegreenistheopenholedtosurfacebarrier.
Fig.42Wellbarrierschematicforpermanentabandonmentperfortatedwell[NORSOKD010,2004].
19
Theinstallationofthebarriersshouldbeasclosetothepotentialinflow,andcoverall
possibleleakpaths.Theprimaryandsecondarybarrieristobeinstalledatadepthwhere
theexternalformationpressureishigherthantheinternalpressure,thisistosupportthe
pipeincaseofhighinternalpressures.
Incaseofsidetrackingthewell,theoriginalwellborehastobepermanentlyabandoned
beforeasidetrack/slotrecoveryisinitiated.Forpermanent/longtermabandonmentthe
equipmenthastobeverifiedtowithstandanychemicaldegradationthatwillhappenover
time.
Steeltubularsnoisnotacceptedasapermanentwellbarrierelementunlessitiscemented,
andelastomersusedassealingcomponentsisneitheracceptedforpermanentwellbarrier.
[NORSOKD010,2004]
4.6 Other
Materialselectionofpipesisessentialforwellintegrity.Selectingtherightmaterialand
gradeisdiscussedinChapter2.5.
ForHPHTwellstheproductionpackerneedstobesealedoffbyametaltometal
connectionduetotheextremetemperatureandpressureinthewell.Thewellconditions
haveasevereeffectonelastomers,makingthembrittleandlosethesealingcapacity,and
thereforecannotbeusedinwellbarrier,onlyusedasabackupforthemetalseal.
Otheraspectsthathavetobeconsideredrelatedtowellintegrityaresandcontrol,hydrates,
scale,etc.ThesearedescribedinfurtherdetailinAppendixA.8.
20
5 K14StressAnalysis
StressanalysisforK14comprisesinvestigationsofloadsontubing,packerandexposed
casing.Forthetubingdesigntobecomplete,alltheloadsthatthewellcanbeexposedtoin
itslifetimehavetobeevaluated.Theloadshavebeenselectedonthebaseoftheorderthe
mostlikelywillappear.Table51belowprovidesanoverviewoftheloadsthataretaken
intoconsiderationwhendesigningthewell.Thefirst9loadsdescribed(from1to9)are
productionloads,whiletheremainingloadsaredescribedasinstallation/intervention
loads.
Table51Simulatedloadcases.
ProductionLoads
Installation/InterventionLoads
Cleanup
Initialconditions
Earlylifeproduction
Pressuretest
Shutinshort
Tubingleak
Shutinlong
Tubingevacuation
Bullhead
Minifracturing
Kill
Screenout
Breakdown
Fracturing
Annulusactive
Thepressuretestloadwillcoverandbeagreaterloadthanallotherloadslisted.Thisis
howthewellsarequalifiedforservice.Allthespecificinputvaluesthathavebeenusedfor
theloadsinWellcatareshowninAppendixA.6.WellcatfunctionsandhowK14was
modelledandrunisdemonstratedinAppendixA.5.
5.1 Loadprincipals
ThepressureseenbythetubingandtheexposedcasingsareshowninFig.51below.The
fluidpresentinthetubingandtheareabelowthepackerwillvarydependingonwhatload
caseissimulated.Thepressuresareidenticalonbothsidesofthefigure,buttosimplifythe
figuretheforceshavebeendrawnonlyononeside.Therearefourdifferentpressure
scenariosthathavetobetakenintoconsideration:
21
1. Theinternalpressureactingonthecemented95/8casingsupportedbythe
formation,P1.
2. Theinternalpressureabovethetopofthe5lineractingonthecemented7liner
supportedbythecasing,P2.
3. Thedifferentialpressurebetweenthepressurefromtheproductionstreamandthe
hydrostaticpressureofpackerfluidactingontheproductionpacker,P3.
4. Thedifferentialpressurebetweenthehydrostaticcolumnofproducedfluidandthe
cementedlinerhanger,P4.
Fig.51Pressureactingoncasings,tubingandpacker.
22
6 Results
TheresultsoftheloadsimulationsinWellcatarepresentedinthischapter.Forthe
completiondesigntobecompletealltheequipmentthatexperiencealoadhastobe
evaluated.Whenanalysingtheeffecttheloadshasonthewell,thewellhasbeensplitinto
threecategories:tubing,liners,casingbelowpackerandthepacker.Alltheloadsare
describedindetailinAppendixA.6,wherethemostcriticalloadinallcasesarethe
pressuretest.Thepressuretestwasfirstsetto800bar,butastheexposedcasingsandliner
wereinvestigates,itshowedthatthepressureweretoohighandburstingwouldoccur.The
pressurewasdecreasedto700barandgradeandmaterialforpipesandconnectionswere
increasedtobeabletowithstandthepressuretest.Thefinaltestresultsarepresented
below.
6.1 Tubingresults
6.1.1 Designlimitplot
Thetubingwillbeabletowithstandalltheloadsitmaybeexposedtoduringitslifetime.
Thiscanbeseenfromthedesignlimitplot(Fig.61)andhowalltheloadsareplaced
insidethelimitsoftheVonMisesplot,whichshowsthepipeandconnectionslimits.As
seeninthetoprightquadrant,thepressuretestisthehighestburstload.Turingloadslike
Annulustest,TubingleakandTubingevacuationthetubingexperiencehighcollapseforce
duetothehighexternalpressure.
23
Fig.61Designlimitplot,tubing.
6.1.2 DifferentialPressure
ThedifferentialpressuresfortheloadscenariosaredisplayedinFig.62.Someoftheloads
initiateanegativedifferentialpressuremeaningthatthetubingwillexperiencecollapse
forces,alsoseenfromtheDLP.Asseenfromtheplot,thehighestdifferentialpressureis
createdbythepressuretest.Thisisthemostextremeloadthewellwilleverbeexposedto.
Byperformingapressuretestthatisinsidethelimitofthedesignlimitplot,thetubingis
qualifiedtotakeloadsthathavealowerdifferentialpressurethanthepressuretest.If
futureinterventionsofthewellrequireahigherdifferentialpressurethattheexisting
pressuretest,anewsimulationhastobedoneandanewpressuretesthastobecarriedout.
ThetubingcanItheoryseeahigherloadthanthepressuretest,butinthiscaseitshouldbe
supportedwithpressureintheannulussothedifferentialpressureorabsoluteloadis
notexceedingthesetdesignpressureofthewell(thepressuretest).Anexampleofthis
couldbeduringstimulationbyhydraulicfracturing:Thetubingispressurisedusinga
higherinternalpressureaslongastheannuluspressurereducestheeffectiveloadtoless
thanthepressuretest.
24
Fig.62Differentialpressure,tubing.
6.1.3 Internalpressure
AsseenfromFig.63,alltheloadsappliedtothewellhaveanincreasingpressuretowards
depth,andthepressuretesthasthehighestinternalpressure.
25
Fig.63Internalpressure,tubing.
6.2 Casingresults
Thecasingandlinersbelowtheproductionpackerareexposedtothesameloadsasthe
tubing,sotodoafullcompletiondesignthesecasings/linershastobeinvestigated.Allthe
casingsandlinersthatareexposedarecementedinplacefortheintervalofinterest.This
willgiveanextrapressuresupport,butnodesignphilosophyacceptsusingcementas
supportfortubulars.Therefore,externalpressureprofileforthecasingissettobethe
pressureofthefluidgradientwithporepressure,whileforthelinersthepressureis
determinedbythepressureabove/belowthepriorshoe(thisisWellcatterminologyand
meansthesame,onlythatoneisadaptedforlinersandtheotherforcasing).Initially,when
thepressuretestwassetto800bar,notallcasingsfittedintothedesignlimitplot,
alterationsrelatedtothesteelselectionwereperformedinordertomeettherequirements.
6.2.1 DesignLimitPlot
Alltheloadsforthecasingandlinersarelocatedintheburstsectionofthedesignlimitplot
(exceptforinitialloadthatisneutral).Thisisbecausetheyonlyexperienceinternal
26
pressure,ontheexternalsidecementandformationporepressuresupportthetubulars.
Thehighestburstloadisthepressuretest.
5ProductionLiner
Thewholelengthofthe5productionlinerwillbeexposedtothesameserviceloadsasfor
theproductiontubing,andpressuretestedtoverifythatalltheloadscanbesupportedby
theliner.Asseenfromthedesignlimitplot(Fig.64)alltheloadsthatitisexposedtoare
withinthelimitsoftheVonMisesellipse,andtheconnectionlimits;thelinerwillstay
intact.ThematerialandsteelgradethathavebeenusedforthissectionisSuperCrome110,
whichiscommontouseinHPHTwells,asdescribedinChapter2.5.
7ProductionLiner
Forthe7lineritisonlythetop312mthatisexposed,thecemented5linercoversthe
lowerpart,tosimplifytheplotitisonlytheexposedpartofthelinerthatisshown.The
loadsareinsidethelimitsforthepipeandconnections;thelinerwillstayintact(Fig.65).
95/8ProductionCasing
Thepartofthe95/8productioncasingthatseestheloadsislocatedbetweenthe
productionpackerandtopofthe7liner,andthispartisdisplayedinthedesignlimitplot
(Fig.66).
Fig.64Designlimitplot,5ProductionLiner.
27
Fig.65designlimitplot,7liner.
Fig.66Designlimitplot,95/8casing.
28
6.2.2 Differentialpressure
Thepressuretesthastobethegreatestloadthatthecasingswillse,asforthetubing.When
thetubingispressuretested,thecasingshavetobeabletotaketheloadofthis.Itis
thereforeimportanttocomparedesignlimitplotstothedifferentialpressureplotto
investigatethattheloadiswithinthelimitsofVonMises,andthatthepressuretestisthe
highestdifferentialpressureseenbycasings.Thishastobedoneforeverycasing/linerthat
seetheload.
5ProductionLiner
ThedifferentialpressureofthepressuretestismarkedorangeinFig.67.Thesecond
highestdifferentialpressureissetbythebreakdownoftheformation.Thatisduetothe
highpressurethatneedstobeovercomeinordertoinduceafracture.Hydraulicfracturing
andKilloperationsnormallydonotrequirethehighestpumppressuretobeperformed,
thereforethedifferentialpressureislow.
7ProductionLiner
Thedifferentialpressurethatactsontheexposedsectionofthe7productionlineris
showninFig.68.Thepressuretestismarkedinblue,andisthehighestdifferential
pressure.
95/8ProductionCasing
Thedifferentialpressureofpressuretestforthe95/8tubingismarkedinblueinFig.69,
againshowingthatthisisthegreatestdifferentialpressureofalltheloads.Wherethe
differentialpressurestarttoincreaseat3000mindicateswherethetopofcementis(2900
m).Fromthispointtheexternalpressuredecreasedueto7linerbeingplacedinsidethe
5/8casing,andanincreasedinthethicknessofcement.
29
Fig.67Differentialpressure,5productionliner.
Fig.68Differentialpressure,7productionliner.
30
Fig.69Differentialpressure,95/8casing.
6.3 Packerresults
ThepackerselectedforthiscompletionisSB3HProductionPacker(Fig.610)developed
byBakerOilToolsbasedonthefieldprovenSB3RetainerProductionPacker[BakerOil
Tools2008].ThispackerisnotdimensionedforK14,butithasbeenusedtoillustratehow
toplotthetubingtopackerforces.Thepackerwassethydraulicallyat3796.28mMDatan
initialsetpressureof345barandaplugdepthof3840.48mMD.Theaxialloadchange
afterpackersetis44.48kN,andsealboreispresent.
Fig.610Productionpacker,drawingno.A2899300[BakerOilTools2008].
31
6.3.1 Tubingtopackerforces
Theforcethathasbeeninvestigatedistheonebetweenthetubingandtheproduction
packer.TheresultoftheloadcalculationsisshowninTable61,wherenegativeforcesare
intheupwarddirection.Whenselectingtheproductionpackerthetubingtopackerforce
(axialload,belowabove)andthedifferentialpressure(annuluspressure,belowabove)
havetobetakenintoconsideration.Themostextremeloadsareinvestigates,andhastofit
insidetheproductionpackerenvelope.Thehighesttubingtopackerforceisfromthe
TubingEvacuation,1390kN,andthedifferentialpressureis60585kPa.Negativeforces
areintheupwarddirection,whichmeanswhenthedifferentialpressureisnegativethat
thepressureabovethepackerisgreaterthanbelow.Theschematicoftheforcesappliedto
thepackerisshowninFig.612.
Table61Tubingtopackerforces.
Asanillustration,theloadsselectedforplottinginFig.611are:Tubingevacuation,
Tubingleak,BullheadingandAnnulusactive.Theyallfitintotheenvelopeoftheselected
packer.WhenplottingthevaluesfromTable61thetubingtopackerforcehastochangeto
theoppositenotion,whilethedifferentialpressureisplottedasitis.
32
Fig.611Packerenvelope;1Annulusactive,2Breakdown,3Tubingleakbelowtubinghanger,4Tubing
evacuation.
Asseenfromtheplot,tubingevacuationisthemostsevereloadonthepacker.Allother
loadssimulatedarewithinthelimitsoftheproductionpacker.Thepackerhasbeenplaced
inthe95/8casing.IftubingtopackerforcesanddifferentialpressuresforK14weretoo
highforthepacker,thesolutioncouldbeinstalledthepackerinthe7liner.Thiswould
automaticallygivealargerpackerenvelopeduetothereductionintheareaexposedto
pressure.ThishasnotbeendoneforK14duetolaterperforationofthe7liner.
Packerschematic;TubingEvacuation
TheforcesfromTable61drawnonthepackerschematicisshownbyFig.612.Amore
detaileddescriptionofthetubingtopackerforcecanbefoundinAppendixA.7.Forthe
loadcaseoftubingevacuationthetubingtopackerforceisinthedownwarddirection,
meaningthatthepressureabovethepackerishigherthanbelow.Thisisbecausethe
tubing,whichsuppliespressurebelowpacker,isevacuatedandthepressureisdepleted.
33
Fig.612Tubingtopackerforce,Tubingevacuation.
6.4 Hydraulicfracturing
Thehydraulicfracturingofthewellcanbedividedintofourdifferentoperations;
Breakdown,MiniFracturing,FracturingandScreenout.
Stepsinhydraulicfracturing[VCompletionTeam2012]:
1) Liftpackerfluidoutancreateanunderbalanceinthewell
2) Perforateandflowback
3) Breakdownformationusingseawater
4) Performminifracturing
5) Pump1.6SGfracturingfluid
6) Screenout
Thestepsfrom3to6aresimulatedinWellcat.Theprocessofhydraulicfracturingis
dynamic,whichmeansthatforeachstepofinjection,thepressure/loadswillchange
throughouttheoperation(describedinmoredetailinAppendixA.6.7).
Thebreakdownmagnitudeisaffectedbyparameterslikefluidviscosity,pumprate,
porosityofrock,etc.Forthehydraulicfracturingthedensitiesofthefluidinjectedhasbeen
comparedtorequiredwellheadpressure(WHP)andthematchingbottomholepressure
(BHP).TheevaluationthathasbeendoneforK14istoseetheeffectdifferentfluid
densitiesandpressureswillhaveontubing,casingandpacker.
34
Table62Pressuresfordifferentfracturefluiddensities.
LowDensity(1.03SG)
Highdensity(1.6SG)
WHP[bar]
705.8
161
BHP[bar]
1010
707
AsseeninFig.613theresultfromthefracturingandbullheadinggivecorresponding
resultstowhetheritiswellheadpressureorbottomholepressurethatisused.
Fig.613Bullheadingandfracturing,WHPandBHP.
6.4.1 Parameters
PumpPressure
Thedensityofthefluidpresentinthepipedeterminesthepumppressurerequiredat
wellhead.Thismeansthatifthedensityofthefracturingfluidistobeincreased,the
wellheadpressurehastobereducedtoaccommodatefortheextrahydrostaticpressure.
Ifwellheadpressureistobeincreasedonthe1.6SGfracturingfluid,ithadtobeincreased
to1100barbeforetheconnectionswouldburstandat1150thetubingwouldfracture.It
35
wouldexperienceahighbursttensionforce,andthedifferentialpressurewouldbemuch
greaterthanoftheinitialpressuretest.Whenincreasingthewellheadpressuretosuchan
extent,thepressuretestisnolongervalid.Thepressuretestcannotbeincreasedbecause
thentheexposedcasingsandlinerswillburst.
Fig.614Maximumfracturepressurefortubing,1150bar.
Temperature
Thetemperaturesoftheinjectedfluidplayamajorroleinthedesignanalysis.Theinitial
injectiontemperatureissettobe10C.Itisthecaseofbullheadingthatfirstintroducea
coldfluidtothewarmwell,sowhenfracturefluidisinjectedthewellhasalreadybeen
cooleddownandwillcooldownfurther.Thefracturingfluidhasbeenaltered,both
compositionalandtemperaturewisetoseehowitwillaffectthetubing.
Thefracturingfluidthatwasusedfortheinitialcasehadadensityof1600kg/m3.The
densitywaskeptconstant,whilethetemperaturewasincreasedto100Cand200C.The
resultofthistemperaturechangeisshowninFig.615.
36
Fig.615DesignlimitplotFracturefluidtemperatures.
Asseenforthefigure,therapidheatingofthetubingwillleadtohighcompressionforces,
thisisbecausethetubingmaterialexpandsduetotheheatandcreatesacompressional
forcetowardsthetubing.
Tubingtopackerforce;Fracturing
Thefracturingfluidisinjectedafterbullheadingofthewell.Thetemperatureofthewell
afterthebreakdownis35C.Thebasecaseforhydraulicfracturingofthewellisdonebya
fracturingfluidat10C
AsseenformFig.616,thetemperatureinsidethetubinghasbeenheatedto31.4C,while
thetemperatureintheannulusabovethepackeris67.9C.Temperaturehasdecreased
fromthebreakdownload.Heathasbeentransferredfromthewarmtubingtothe
fracturingfluid,resultinginawarmerfluidandacoolerpipe.Theresultofthisisthatthe
tubingwilltrytocontractasthemetalcooldown,asdescribedinAppendixA.4.6.Thiswill
leadtoanupwardpullbetweentubingandpacker.Thetubingtopackerforceisinthe
upwarddirection,andhasavalueof527.6kN.Thepressurebelowthepackerislowerthan
thepressureintheannulusabovethepacker,theresultingforceisinthedownward
direction.
37
Fig.616TubingtoPackerforce,fracturingbasecase.
If,forsomereasonthetemperatureofthefracturingfluidisincreasedto100Cthetubing
temperatureatpackerdepthis106.1C.Theinjectionofthehotfluidwillalsoaffectthe
temperatureoftheannulus,heatingthepackerfluidto114.2C.Thisheatingofthetubing
materialleadstoanelongationofthetubingthatcontributestotheincreaseddownward
tubingtopackerforce.Thetubingtopackerforceis395.5kNinthedownwarddirection.
Fig.617Tubingtopackerforce,Fracturingat100C.
38
7 Discussion
BasedonthesimulationsdoneinWellcat,thecompletiondesignthathasbeenchosenfor
K14hasproventostayintactduringalltheloadscenariosthatareplannedforthewellin
itslifetime.
Thecompletionconfiguration,withanopensectionbetweenthelinerandthetubing,and
theproductionpackersetin95/8intermediatecasing,isdonebecauseoftherequired
flexibilityforlaterperforationofthe7liner.Alltheequipmentexposedinthisareahasto
withstandallthesameloadsasthetubing.Itisespeciallyimportantthatthe95/8
intermediatecasingisabletowithstandthestress.Ifthiscasingbursts,thewellintegrityis
atstake.Abovethe95/8casingthereisnomechanicalbarriertostopanymigrationfluids
underpressure,theonlypossibilitytostopwellfluidsfromescapingtosurfaceisifthe9
5/8casingissetinastrongformationwithafracturingpressurehigherthanthereservoir
pressure.AsdescribedinAppendixA.7,theproductionpackerisplacedasclosetothe
reservoiraspossible,butatadepthwheretheformationpressureishigherthanmaximum
wellpressure.Thismeansthatifthereisafailurein95/8casing,theformationpressure
willensurethewellintegrity.
Wheninjectingcoldfracturingfluid,thetubingwillcontract.Whenwarmfluidisproduced
afterfracturing,themetalwillwarmupandexpand.Thiswillcreatealargemovementin
thetubingandpackerarea.Ifthecompletionhadnotbeenabletohandletheincreased
pressurevariations,thedesignhadtotakeadifferentapproach,e.g.aPBR(polishedbore
receptacle)andassociatedsealassemblycouldbeinstalled.InHPHTthisisnotthenormal
design,asaPBRisapotentialleakpath.
Theexposedcasingsandlinerswillenduretheplannedloadexposures.Thiswasachieved
byselectingasuitablematerialgradeforpipesandconnections.Thedesignplotshows
howthepipesreacttoeachload(tension/compression,burst/collapse),andasseenfrom
theresults,theselectedpipeandconnectionsgradeseemstoberight:noloadisoutsideof
anyofthelimits,andtheellipseisnottoobigcomparedtotheloads.Thismeansthatthe
metalselectedisofsufficientquality,butalsonottoohigh.Selectingagradethatistoolow
willleadtofailure,whileselectingagradethatisoverqualifiedwilladdunnecessarycost.
Theselectionofpipematerialisimportantinrelationtoerosionandcorrosionduringthe
lifetimeofthewell.Foracompletewelldesign,thefluidpropertiesoftheproducedand
injectedfluidsaremodelledandevaluatedwiththematerialsplannedforthewelltofind
39
corrosionrates.Fromthisworkthematerialsisdetermined.ForK14,thematerialchosen
forthetubingisSuperChrome,whichisknowntobesuitableforHPHTwellsandisthe
samematerialusedintheMorvinHPHTfield.ForHPHTconditionsmaterialisoften
determinedtobeonthesafeside.
Wellcatisacomplexsoftwaretool,usedbymostoperatorstomodelloadsonthe
equipmentinstalledinthewells.Eachoperatorhastheirowngoverningdocumentation,
whichwouldimplyminordifferencesinregulationsforwelldesign.E.g.safetyfactors/
designfactorscanbedifferentforoneoperatortoanother.Itisthemostadvancedsoftware
usedindrillingandcompletionoperationsduetoitsbuiltinfeatureslikemodellingeffects
ontemperaturechangetothenearwellboreareafromtheplannedoperations.Thisis
importantfortheHPHTwell,wheretheforcesandeffectsfromthelargechangein
temperaturesaresignificant.Formostoperators,Wellcatistheonlyapprovedsoftware
formodellingHPHTwelldesigns.
Thesoftwaretoolhasauserinterfacethatisnotalwaysintuitiveandmayaffectthe
outcome.Wellcatusersfacethechallengeofhowtousetheprogramcorrect;whatinput
valuesareneeded,wheretogivethecorrectinputvalues,knowingandunderstandingthe
informationthatcanbeextracted,etc.Andthereisalwaysthepossibilityofhumanerrors
whenimportingdatafromonesourcetoanother.
40
8 Conclusion
1.
FormingK14tobeasatypicalwellonMorvin;depth,temperature,wellpathand
completionsolutionweresetclosetoidentical.ThedifferenceisthattheK14well
hasbeenmadetoaccommodatestimulationbyhydraulicfracturing.
2.
ThedifferencebetweenK14andatypicalwellonMorvintriggeredafullwell
designreview,discussingallaspectsrelatedtotheequipmentexposedtothe
extremeloadsduringfracturingandproducingforafieldwithHPHTconditions.
3.
Anoverviewoftheloadsthewellwillbeexposedtoinitslifetimewasmade,and
theseweremodelledinWellcatwiththefieldconditionsforK14.Theresults
indicateaHPHTwelldesignthatcanaccommodatefracturing.
4.
Todebatethechallengesoftenmetinformingawelldesignandtoshowthe
implicationsandcomplexityofmodellingthatfollowstherequirementssettowells
inafielddevelopment,theproductionpackerissetin95/8casingandapossible
laterperforationisenabled.Thiswelldesignexposesthe95/8casingbelowthe
packer,the7and5linerstotheextremeproductionandstimulationloads.These
loadsandtheirimplicationshavebeenmodelled,discussedandsolvedforK14in
Wellcat.
5.
AlltheworkwiththedevelopmentofthewelldesignforK14ispartofthewell
integrityofthewell.Aseparatechapterdiscussingthiswasmadetogivean
overviewoftheworkdonetoensureproperwellintegrityismaintainedthroughall
phasesofK14slifeincludingP&A.
41
42
9 Furtherwork
ThesimulationsdoneforK14havebeenbasedonwelldesignandstringanalysisfor
tubing,partofthecasingsandliners,aswellasfortheproductionpacker.Allloadsfora
tubingdesignhasbeeninvestigated.FurtherworkrequiredforthewelldesignofK14:
1.
Obtainamoredetailedformationevaluationthatcanbeusedinthecasingdesign
regardingsettingdepthsofcasings,therequiredheightofcement,etc.Thiscanbe
usedtoensurethewellintegrity.
2.
Evaluatetheneedforsandcontrolforthewellandwhatsolutionsthatcanbe
implementedinthedesign.
3.
Forstimulationbyhydraulicfracturing,asensitivityanalysisshouldbemadetosee
theeffectsofotherfluidsusedthentheonesmodelledinthisthesis.Planning
fracturingiscomplex,asadetailedfracturingdesignisrequiredtoknowtheexact
fluids:theirspecificweight,volume,coolingeffect,etc.Inthisthesis,onlythe
lightestandtheheaviestpracticalfluidsweremodelled.
4.
Inthecompletion,onlythetubingandproductionpackerwereinvestigated.To
completethedesignforK14,thenextstepwouldbetoidentifyaTRSCSSV,tubing
hangerandpossiblyaDHSGsuitablefortheHPHTconditionsandloadsidentified
forK14.
5.
AfullcasingdeignwouldalsobenaturaltoconductinWellcat,asthisisoneof
thefewsoftwarescommerciallyavailableonthemarketcapabletomodelHPHT
conditionsproperly.
6.
Theinformationpackagereceivedontheproductionpackerisdetailed,butitisfora
differentsizethanthewelldesignforK14.Obtainingthecorrectpackerand
analysingthisshouldbedone.
43
44
10 Nomenclature
Force
[N]
Pbh
Bottomholepressure
[Pa]
Pwh
Wellheadpressure
[Pa]
OD
Outerdiameter
[m]
ID
Innerdiameter
[m]
As
Crosssection,tubing
[m2]
Density,fluid
[kg/m3]
Normalforce
[N]
Strain
[]
Lengthchange
[m]
Lengthoftubing
[m]
Stress
[N/m2]
ModulusofElasticity
[N/m2]
Ai
Internalcrosssectiontubing
[m2]
Ao
Externalcrosssectiontubing
[m2]
Pi
Internalpressuretubing
[Pa]
Po
Externalpressuretubing
[Pa]
TVD
Trueverticaldepth
MD
Measureddepth
GOR
GasOilRatio
DLS
Doglegseverity
TRSCSSV
Tubingretrievablesurface
controlledsubseasafety
valve
CWA
Corrosionwearallowance
PBR
Polishedborereceptable
P&A
PlugandAbandonment
DHSG
Downholesafetygauge
45
46
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50
Appendix
A.1
ElementsinFieldDevelopment
SeismicAcquisition
Togetanoverviewofwhatshidingunderneaththeseabedaseismicsurveyisdone.On
theNorwegianContinentalShelfamarineseismicvesseltowslongstreamerswith
hydrophonesattached.Thevesselisequippedwithgunsthatsetoffachargethatwill
generateapressurewavethatwillpropagatethroughthewaterandintotheformations.
Differentformationlayerswillreflectthepressurewaves,sendingasignalbacktothe
hydrophones,asseeninFig.11.Thissignalwillberecordedandstoredandconverted
intoareflectionmodelthatcanbeinterpreted.Themodelcangiveinformationaboutthe
extentandgeometryofthereservoir,compositionandfluidcontent.Anexampleofhow
seismicdataismodelledisshowninFig.12,thefigureisfromtheSleipnerfield.
Fig.11Marineseismicacquisition[Schlumberger2012A].
51
Fig.12Seismicmodel[BritishGeologicalSurvey2012].
.
ExplorationWell
Basedonthegeologicalmodeldevelopedaftertheseismicsurvey,anexplorationwellis
drilledforfurtherdatacollection.Differentloggingtoolsaresentdownthewelltomeasure
andcollectdata.Thesimplesttoolisthecallipertoolthatmeasurestheboreholediameter.
Areduceddiametercanbeasignofporousandpermeableformationsduetothepresence
ofmudcakeorshalethathasswollen.Alargerdiameteriscausedbyformationcollapse
becauseofpoorconsolidatedsandorbrittleshales.Otherdatagatheredarelithology,
porosity,watersaturation,permeabilityanddensity[Glover2012].
ReservoirModel
Thereservoirmodelisbasedonageologicalmodelandreservoirsimulationmodels.The
geologicalmodelprovidesastaticdescriptionofthereservoirpriortoproductionstart,
whilethereservoirmodelsimulatesthefluidflowinthereservoiroverthelifetimeof
production.Thedatacollectedfromtheseismicsurveyandthepetrophysicaldatafromthe
explorationwellprovidestheinputvaluesforthemodel.
Thereservoirevaluationhasestimatedtheneededproductionrateforeachwellto
maintaintheplannedplateauproduction.Itisthisratethatdeterminestherequiredtubing
diameter,andtheholeandcasingsizeareadjustedtofittherequiredtubing.ForaHPHT
wellthedimensioningofthetubingdoesnotonlydependentontherequiredproduction
rate,butalsotheextremetemperatureandpressureconditions.Iftheplannedtubingisnot
52
abletowithstandalltheextremeloadcasesitwillbesubjectedto,thetubingdesignhasto
bereviewedandsohasthewholeproductionstrategy.Asanexample,ifthewellneedsto
becompletedwitha5tubingtomaintainacertainproduction,butitturnsoutthatthis
tubingisnotsuitablefortheextremeconditionsdownholeandhastobereplacedwitha
smallerdiametertubing.Thismightleadtolessproductionfromeachwellduetothe
reducedflowarea,thereforethenumberofwellsneededtodepletethereservoirhastobe
increased.
Theeconomicalaspectplaysanimportantroleinfielddevelopment.Thenumberofwells
drilledhastobecomparedtoeachwellsproductivitytoseeifitiseconomicallyviableto
drill.Ifthereservoirislocatedatgreatdepth,highcompactionmayhaveleadtolow
permeabilitybothhorizontallyandvertically.Toincreasetheproductivityforeachwell,
thesolutionwouldbetoincreasetheinflowarea,theareawherethewellisindirect
contacttothecell.Ahorizontalwellisdrilled,orhighlydeviatedwellisdrilledto
penetratethelengthofthereservoir.Thiswellismuchmoreexpensivetodrillthana
vertical,buttheincreasedproductivitymaybeabletodefendtheincreasedcosts.When
depletingalowpermeabilityreservoirwithhorizontalwells,thenumberofwellsrequired
willdecrease,defendingtheincreasedcostofeachwell.
DrillingandWellManagement
Basedontheinformationretrievedfromthereservoirmodelthewellscannowbe
designed.Thewelldesignisdividedintotwosections:drillingdesignandcompletion
design.Thecompletionistheinterfacebetweenthereservoirandthesurfaceproduction,
andthemaingoalofthecompletionistomakethewellsafeandefficient.Thedrilling
designhastobeadaptedtothecompletionofthewell.Thedrillingcrewsmaintasksareto
planthecasingprogramandperformtheactualdrillingofthewell.
FieldDevelopmentPlan
ByNorwegianlawaplanfordevelopmentandoperation(PUD)hastobedevelopedand
approvedbythePetroleumDepartmentifthelicenceholderofthepetroleumdeposit
decidestodevelopthefield.Theplanhastoincludeinformationabouteconomical,
resource,technical,safetyandenvironmentalaspects.Informationabouthowthe
equipmentwillbedisposedafterthefieldisabandonedshallbeincluded,adwellas
informationaboutthefacilitiesfortransportationandutilizationthatareneeded.
53
Ifpetroleumdepositsarediscovered,theMinistryofPetroleumhavetheauthorityto
decidethatrecoveryoftheresourcedshallbeprepared,commencedorcontinuedifalready
developed.Thisistobethecaseifitiseconomicalviable,intermsofamountof
hydrocarbonspresentandthepossibilityforanefficienttransportsystem.Ifthelicence
holderdecidestodevelopthefield,aplanfordevelopmentandoperationhastobe
presentedaftertwoyears.Isthelicenceholderdecidesnottodevelop,areporthastobe
presentedthatshowsitisnoteconomicviabletodevelop.Ifthelicenseholderfailsto
deliverareport,oriftheydecidenottodevelop,theMinistrycantakeactionandinitiateor
continueproduction,orrevokethelicenseorpartofit.[Lovdata2003]
54
A.2
Gascomposition
Table21GasComposition
Component
Mole%
CO2
2.90
H2S
0.00
N2
0.44
C1
59.15
C2
7.69
C3
5.18
NC4
2.23
IC4
0.97
NC5
1.11
IC5
0.86
NC6
1.44
C7+
18.03
55
A.3
CasingDesign
Anoverviewofthecompletetubing,linersandcasingdesignusedinWellcat.
56
A.4
Mechanics
Thereareseveralloadscenariosthatwillaffectthetubingdesignofthiswell.Thewellisa
productionwell,andthereforethemainfocushasbeenonstressanalysisrelatedto
productionandstimulation.
A.4.1
AxialLoads
Axialloadsareloadsthatworkonthelengthofthetubing,eitherbycompressionor
tension.Factorsthataffecttheseloadsaretubingweight,pressureandtemperature
variation.Manyoftheloadtypesleadtolengthchangeinthetubing,whichwillweaken
thematerialscapacitytotakefurtherloads.
A.4.2
HydrostaticForces
Whenanobjectissubmergedinafluidhydrostaticforceswillactonthecrosssectionofthe
object.Inthiscase,thecrosssection,As,isatthebottomofthetubingstringwherethe
hydrostaticpressureishighest.ThepressureatthispointisgiveninEq.(4.2).
!!"#$%&'&() = ! !!
(4.1)
!! = !! + !
(4.2)
! =
! !
4
(4.3)
A.4.3
HooksLaw
Whenanelementisexposedtotensileorcompressionalforcestheresultwillbea
deformationoftheelement.ThisdeformationisgivenbyEq.(4.4)andrepresentsthe
lengthchangerelativetothetotallengthoftheunloadedelement.
!
=
!
!
(4.4)
Normalstressisthenormalforcedividedbythecrosssectionalarea,asshowninEq.(4.5).
57
(4.5)
TherelationshipbetweennormalstressandaxialstrainiscalledHookesLawandisgiven
byEq.(4.6).[Irgens2006A]
(4.6)
A.4.4
Neutralstabilitypoint
Thetubingwillexperienceitsaxialloadeitherastensionorcompression.Thetoppartof
thetubingwillbearthewholeweightofthetubing,thisiswherethetensionisgreatest,but
itwilldecreasewithdepth.Thepointofneutralstabilityiswheretheloadswitchesfrom
tensiontocompression,wherethetubingisinequilibrium.
TheneutralstabilitypointcanbedescribedbyEq.(4.7)[Azaretal.2007].
! = ! ! ! !
(4.7)
Where
Fzisthetrueaxialforce
Piistheinternalpressureonthetubing
AiisthecrosssectionalareaoftheID
Poistheexternalpressureonthetubing
AoisthecrosssectionalareaoftheOD
Ifbothsidesoftheequationareequal,thenthestingisatitsequilibrium,iftheaxialforceis
greaterthenthestringwillbestraight.Bucklingmayoccurbelowtheneutralstabilitypoint
iftheforceisgreaterthatwhatthepipecantolerate.Theneutralstabilitypointisillustrated
inFig.43.
58
Fig.43Neutralstabilitypoint,modifiedfromWellcat.
A.4.5
Ballooning
Theaxialtensionthatmayapplytothetubingdoesnotonlygenerateaxialstrain,butalsoa
radialcompressionstrain.Itisthisradialstrainthatisreferredtoasballooning.
Ifahigherpressureisappliedtotheinsideofthetubingitwillcreateanaxialtensileforce,
thiswillcausethetubingtoshrinkifabletomovefreely.Oppositecase,ifthehighest
pressureisappliedoutsidethetubingitwillcauseaxialcompression,whichwillcausethe
tubingtoelongateifabletomovefreely.Thisforceisexpressedas
! = 2(! ! ! ! )
(4.8)
Aftertheproductionpackerisset,thetubingwillbefixedinbothends.Inthecaseofaxial
tension,thetubingwilltrytocontractwhichleadstoexpansionofthetubingintheradial
direction,asseenattheleftsideinthefigurebelow.Theoppositecasewithaxial
compressioniscalledreverseballooningandwillcausethetubingtocontractintheradial
direction,asseenonrighthandsideintheFig.44.
59
Fig.44BallooningandReverseBallooning
Ifthetubingwerefreetomove,thelengthchangecausedbyballooningwouldbeLBAL
andisshownbyEq.(4.9).
!"# =
2
(! ! ! ! )
(! !)
(4.9)
whereistherelationshipbetweenradialstrainandaxialstrainandarerelatedbyEq.(
4.10).[Bellarby,2009]
(4.10)
A.4.6
Temperature
Temperaturechangesinthewellcanhavelargeeffectonthetubing.Ifmetalisheatedit
willexpand,andthelengthexpansion(LT)isgivenbyEq.(4.11).
60
! = !
(4.11)
CTisthecoefficientofthermalexpansionandismaterialdependent.Whenchoosing
material,temperaturechangesthatmayappearinthewellhastobetakeninto
consideration.
Ifthetubingisfixedinbothends,heatingwillmakethematerialexpandandcreatea
compressionalforce.Likewise,ifcoolingtakesplace,thematerialwillcontractandatensile
forcewillapplytothetubing.TheforcethatappliesisgiveninEq.(4.12)below.[Bellarby,
2009]
! = ! (! ! )
(4.12)
A.4.7
Buckling
Bucklingisoftenassociatedwithalongandthinelement,inthiscasethetubingstring.If
thereisasmallexistingbendinthetubingtherewillbepossibilityforittodevelopfurther
whenpressureisapplied.Theareaoftheoutsideofthebendwillbegreaterthanonthe
inside,sowhenincompressionandinternalpressureisgreaterthanexternalthechanceof
bucklingwillincrease.Theoppositecaseofgreaterexternalpressureandtensionwill
reducethechanceofbuckling.Theeffectofaxialload(Ftotal)andpressureonthetubing
leadstoEq.(4.13)andthecrosssectionareasusedareshowninFig.45.
!"" = !"!#$ + ! ! ! !
(4.13)
61
Fig.45Tubingcrosssection.
Therearetwotypesofbuckling,sinusoidalbucklingandhelicalbuckling.Foradeviated
wellthecriticalforceofbucklingisgivenbyEq.(4.14)forsinusoidalandEq.(4.15)for
helical.Inthedeviatedendofthewell,thetubinghastobeliftedup(overcomegravity)
beforesinusoidalbucklingcanoccur.Whenhalfwayupthewalls,helicalbucklingwill
takeover.
Sinusoidalbuckling:
! =
4 sin
(4.14)
Helicalbuckling:
! = 1.41~1.83
62
4 sin
(4.15)
Forbucklingtooccurthenegativevalueofthecriticalforce(Fc)hastobegreaterthanthe
effectivetension(Feff).ThisissummarizedinTable42below.
Table42Requirementsforbuckling.Modifiedfrom[Bellarby,2009].
Situation
Outcome
Feff<Fc
Tubingwillbuckle
Feff>Fc
Tubingwillnotbuckle
ThelengthchangeduetobucklingisexpressedbyEq.(4.16)[Mitchell1999],andwilllead
toshorteningofthetubing.
! =
!
! ! !
8 !
(4.16)
Where:
r=radialclearancebetweencasingIDandtubingOD
E=Youngsmodulus
I=Momentofinteria=!" ! ! ! ! ,wheredo=ODtubinganddi=IDcasing
w=Axialdistributedloadinthetubing
F22F12=Effectiveaxialforceatthebottomofthetubing.
A.4.8
Burst
Iftheinternalpressureofthetubingismuchhigherthantheexternalpressureinthe
annulusthentheyieldstrengthofthetubingwillbesettoatest.TheAPIburstratingfora
thinwalledpipeisgivenbytheformula:
! =
2!
(4.17)
whereTolisthereductionofwallthicknesstolerancefraction(12.5%reductionforAPI
pipe),Ypistheyieldstrengthofthepipe,tisthenominaltubingthicknessandDisthe
outsidediameterofthetubing.[Bellarby,2009]
63
Forburstfailuretooccur,onlyasmallpieceofthetubingneedstofail.Thesmallest
variationoftheminimumwallthicknesswillhaveanimpactontheburstrating,andfor
tubingthemajorproblemisrelatedtocorrosion.
A.4.9
Collapse
Thecollapseratingismorecomplextoestablishthanburstratingbecauseitisaninstability
problemrequiringtheyieldofthewholetubingandallthewayaround.Ratingis
dependentontubingdiameter,wallthicknessandtheovalityofthepipe.Therehavebeen
definedfourdifferentcollapsemodes,dependingontheD/tratio:elastic,transitional,
plasticandyieldstrength.Elasticcollapse(equation(4.18))hasthehighestratio,while
yieldcollapsehasthelowestratio,dependingontubinggrade.[Bellarby,2009]
Elasticcollapse:
! =
46.9510!
1 !
(4.18)
Transitionalcollapse:
(4.19)
(4.20)
! = !
Plasticcollapse:
! = !
ForthetransitionalandplasticcollapsethevaluesforA,B,C,FandGaresuppliedbyAPI
5C3[APIBull.5C31999]viaformulaorfromtable,takingconsiderationtomaterialgrade.
Inthecaseofexternalpressureismuchhigherthantheinternalpressureofthetubingyield
collapseisinduced.
Yieldcollapse:
! = 2!
(4.21)
Thiswayofcalculating(API1999andearlier)theyieldcollapseisveryconservativeand
canleadtounnecessaryexpensivepipesinahighpressurewell.Anewwaytocalculate
theyieldwasdevelopedin2008(Payne,2001),buttheseformulasrequiremeasurement
andcontrolofparameterslikeovality,eccentricityandresidualstress.Toovercomethegap
64
betweenthetwowaysofcalculatingthecollapserating,highcollapsetubinghasbeen
developed.[Bellarby,2009]
A.4.10
Triaxial
Thecombinationbetweenaxialstress,tangentialstressandradialstressiswhatmakesup
triaxialstress(Fig.46)Itistheeffectofhavingbothexternalpressureandtensionorthe
combinationofinternalpressureandcompressionthatwillgeneratehigherstressthan
eitherofthepressureoraxialloadsalone.
Fig.46Stresscomponentsoftriaxialanalysis.
ThemostusedcriterionfordeterminingtriaxialstressistheHuberHenckyMisesyield
condition(4.22).
!"# =
1
2
! !
+ ! !
+ ! !
! !,!
(4.22)
TheradialandtangentialstresscanbecalculatedfromLamsequations.
Radialstress:
! =
! ! ! !
! ! ! !
! !
! !
(4.23)
TangentialStress:
! =
! ! ! !
! ! ! !
+
! !
! !
65
(4.24)
Ifaplanestressconditionisassumed,rissettobezero.ThiswillreduceEq.(4.22)down
toEq.(4.25).[Irgens2006B].
! =
(4.25)
! ! + ! ! ! !
Whenplottingthetriaxialcriterioninthedesignlimitplot,itispossibletocompareittothe
designstressesofthetubinganditsconnections.Ifthetriaxialstressisgreaterthanthe
yieldstrengthforthematerialsused,thentherewillbeyieldfailure.Theprincipleofa
designlimitplotforapipeisshowninFig.47.
Fig.47Designlimitplot.Modifiedfrom[Bellarby,2009].
66
A.5
WELLCAT
ThesoftwarethathasbeenusedtoperformtubingcalculationsisWellcatfrom
Landmark.Thesoftwarehasfiveworkingmodes,butforthisthesisanditstubingstring
calculationsProdmodeandTubemodehasbeenused.
TheProdDesignmodulesimulatesfluidandheattransferduringcompletion,production,
stimulation,testingandwellservicingoperations.[Halliburton2012A].Production
loadslikecleanup,production,shutin,kill,fractioningetc.havebeendefinedinthis
mode.
TheTubeDesignmoduleanalysestubingloadsmovements,bucklingbehavioranddesign
integrityundercomplexmechanical,fluidpressureandthermalloadingconditionswith
standardandautomaticloadcasegeneration.[Halliburton2012A].BothProddefined
loadsandloadsdefinedinTubeModearecalculatedhere.
TheloadsthataredescribedinWellcatareonlyasnapshotofthesituationwiththegiven
wellheadpressureandfluiddensity.Theinputofapreviousoperationmakesitpossible
forWellcattocalculatethetemperaturegradientsandhowtheychangefromone
operationtoanother.
Inventories
Inordertodothesimulationstheinventoriesthatarespecificforthewellhastobedefined.
Someoftheinventoriesusedforthiswellaredefaultvaluesdefinedinthetemplatefilein
Wellcat.Theonesthathavebeenuserdefinedforthiswellaredescribedinmoredetail
belowthelist.
Fluids
Temperaturederation
Pipes
Proprietaryconnections
Drillstring
Bitsizes
Heatconductionproperties
Formationproperties
Coiledtubing
Cementproperties
Gradeproperties
Tubingfilters
67
Wellsurvey
Thisisnotdefinedasaninventory,butitisimportantinputvaluesthatarespecifictoeach
well.Thefirstthatisdonewhenopeninganewfileistoimportwellsurvey,where
measureddepth,trueverticaldepth,doglegseverity,azimuthetc.giveWellcatthe
possibilitytodrawtheplannedwellpath.Porepressureandfracturepressurearedefined
relativetothedepth.Asasimplification,thetemperaturegradientisgivenasalinear
function.
PipesandConnections
Forthepipedesign,severalpipegradesandmaterialqualitiesarestandardinthe
inventorieslist,ifadifferentgradeisrequiredthishastobeentered.Thesamegoesforthe
pipeconnections.Afterthepipegradeandmaterialhasbeendefined,typeofpipe(drill
pipeorHWDP)andsizecanbedefined.Thepipesusedforcasingandtubingarefromthe
sameinventorylist.
Fluids
Differentoperationsinthewellrequirefluidsthataredevelopedtofunctionatanoptimum
atthespecificoperation.Thefluidsthathavebeendefinedforthiswellarestandard
hydrocarbons,muds,brinesandpolymers.Defaultvalueshavebeenusedforcement.
68
A.6
Loads
A.6.1
Cleanupfirstflowingofthewell
Beforethewellstarttoproducethewellhastobecleanedouttoremoveremainingcuttings
anddrillingfluid,thisisdonebyproducinghydrocarbonsthroughtheproductiontubing
atfullproductionrate.Agoodcleanupisimportanttoavoidfuturecomplicationslike
settingofplugs,packersandprematuresettingofpackers.
Thecleanuplastsfortwodaysandoperatewithasupportingannuluspressure.During
thisperiodthetubingandsurroundingsareheatedupwithwarmproductionstream.
Wellcatonlyregisterpressureandtemperature,soitdoesnotdetectcuttingsand
differentcompositionalfluids,likewellcompletionfluid,thereforetheloadswillbemuch
thesameasforearlyproduction.
Asthewellfirststarttoproducethespacebetweentheareabetweentheproductionpacker
andtopofthe5linerwillbefilledwithfluid.Therewillbelittlecirculationand
replacementofthisfluidasthewellisproducing,sothereisaminimumamountof
corrosioninthisarea.
Thewellheadpressureiscalculatedtobethe
porepressureatperforationssubtractingthe
hydrostaticcolumnofthehydrocarbonfluid
thatisinthewell.Thedensityofthereservoir
fluidwascalculatedtobe632kg/m3.The
temperatureisestimatedformthegiven
temperaturegradient.Annuluspressureisset
tobeequaltothehydrostaticcolumnof
seawaterontopofthewellhead,thisisdoneto
getmaximumpressuredifferentialbetween
tubingandannulus.
69
A.6.2
Earlylifeproduction
Thisisthetimeinthelifeofthewellwhereproductionrateisthehighest.Thewellhasa
lifetimeofapproximately16years,andithasbeenassumedthatearlylifeproductionlast
fortwoyears.Inthisperiodthereservoirpressureis837baratperforations,theproduction
rateis1100Sm3/Dandthegasoilrateis465Sm3/m3.Theannulusisshutinandhasa
hydrostaticpressureequaltothefluidpresent.
Earlylifeproductionisbasedonprioroperationtobecleanup.Asmentioned,thismeans
thatthewellhasalreadybeenexposedtothewarmproductionstream,sotherewillnotbe
asignificanttemperaturechangeinthewell.
Incompletewelldesignmidlifeandlatelifeproductionisalsotakenintoconsideration,
butforthisthesisithasbeenassumedthatearlylifeproductionisthecasewheretubingis
exposedforthehighestloads,andhasthereforebeenusedasprioroperationtoseveralof
thefollowingloadcases.
Thewellheadpressureandthetemperatureare
thesameasforthecleanupoperation.The
earlylifeproductionissettolastfortwoyears,
Wellcatwillsimulatethetemperature
change.Theannuluspressureissettobe
hydrostaticcolumnofseawater.
70
A.6.3
ShutinShort
Ashutiniswhentheproductionfromthewellisstoppedtodomaintenanceonthewell,
thedurationoftheshortshutinperiodissettobeoneday.Theshutinisbasedonearly
lifeproductionwithhighpressureandproductionrates,andboththeproductiontubing
andtheannulusareshutin.Thepressureinthetubingissettobemaximumwellhead
pressureatshutin,andtheannuluspressureissettobethehydrostaticpressureofthe
packerfluid.Asthereisnoflowinthetubingthetemperaturewilldrop,butnotsignificant
becauseoftheshortshutintime.
Theshutinwellheadpressureisthesameas
forearlylifeproduction.Annuluspressureis
settohydrostaticcolumnofseawater.
A.6.4
ShutinLong
Shutinlongisbasedontheparametersandtheresultofshutinshort.Thedurationofthe
shutinperiodissettobeoneyear,andgivewaytodomajormaintenanceofthewell.
Whenthereisnolongerawarmproductionstreamflowingthroughthetubingthetubing
willgraduallycooldown,andformationwillreturntoambienttemperature.Asudden
startupofproductionwillleadtoagreattemperaturedifferencebetweentheproducing
fluidandthecoldtubing.Theinternalandexternalpressurewillbethesameasforshutin
short.Thecoolingofthetubingwillbegreaterforthisloadcase,butnotsignificantforthe
strengthofthetubing.
Bothwellheadandannuluspressureisthe
sameforshutinlongasforshutinshort.The
durationisoneyear,whichleadstogreater
coolingofthetubing.Annuluspressureissetto
hydrostaticcolumnofseawater.
71
A.6.5
Bullheading
Sincethewellislocatedoffshore,thereisanunlimitedsupplyofseawaterandthisisused
fortheinjections.Thedensityusedforseawateris1030kg/m3andthatwillgivea
hydrostaticpressureof475baratperforations.Theinjectedfluidwillforcehydrocarbons
backintotheformation.Thisoperationisoftenusedifitissuspectedthattheformation
fluidscontaintoxichydrogensulfide,orifnormalcirculationcannotoccurduetofore
exampleaboreholecollapse.Themethodisusedwhenitisimportanttoquicklygetthe
wellundercontrol,andthereisnotimetosetupapropercirculationsystemtokillthe
well.
IntheWellcatsimulation,bullheadingisfollowingearlylifeproductionwherereservoir
pressureis837bar.Thejobstartbydisplacingthehydrocarbonthatisalreadypresentin
thetubing,beforemoreseawaterisinjected.Thepumppressureneededfortheinjection
willbehighestatthestartbecauseofthelighthydrocarbonsoccupyingthetubing.Asmore
seawaterisinjected,therequiredpumppressurewilldecreasebecauseofthehydrostatic
pressureoftheseawatercontributemoretothedownholepressure.Theloadcasethathas
beencalculatedinWellcatiswhenthetubingiscompletelyfilledwiththeinjectedfluid,
thisisthesameforalltheinjectioncases.
Thepressurelossduetofrictionalongthetubingandthroughtheperforationshastobe
overcome.Ithasbeendoneasimpleassumptionthatthepressurelossduetothisis10
psi/100ft,whichis2.26bar/100m[Brechan2012].Inadditionasafetymarginof35barhas
beenaddedontopofthistoincludeuncertaintiestowhentherockwillfracture.
Theminimumrequireddisplacementrateneededtoaccountforgasmigrationis1m/sec.
Twotubingvolumesaretobeinjectedintothewellinabout30minutes.Tofinishthe
bullheadwithinthistime,theinjectionratehastobeincreasedto3,7m3/min.
72
Tubingisfilledwithseawater.Wellhead
pressureiscalculatedbysubtractingthe
hydrostaticcolumnofthetubingfluidandthe
assumedpressuredropfromtheporepressure.
Ontopofthisfrictionpressuredropanda
safetymarginof35barhasbeenadded.Itis
assumedthatthetemperatureoftheseawater
injectedissomewhatlowerthanotherinjected
andprocessedfluids,temperatureistherefore
setto4C.Annuluspressureissetto200bar.
A.6.6
Killoperation
Themainconcernsrelatedtokilloperationsarethestartofthekillandtheendofthekill.
Atthestartthewellheadpressureishighandthefluidinjectedishot,attheendthe
pressureislow,butcoolingissignificant.[Bellarby,2009]
Tokillthewellahigherdensityfluidisinjectedintothewell.Thefluidthatisusedinthe
simulationisaCaCl2CaBr2ZnBr2brinewithadensityof2061kg/m3.Thehydrostatic
pressurewiththisfluidis950bar,whichishigherthanreservoirpressureandwill
thereforebeabletopreventformationfluidsfromflowingintothewell.Thepump
pressurerequiredwillonlybethepressurelossduetofrictionandthesafetymarginof35
barontopofthat.Thevelocityrequirementisthesameasforbullheading,butonlyone
tubingvolumeneedstobeinjected.
Thewellheadpressureneededforthis
operationislowerthanforbullheadingbecause
ahigherdensityfluidisused.Otherwise,the
sameprocedureforcalculatingpressurehas
beenused.Thetemperaturehasbeensetto
15C.Annuluspressureissettohydrostatic
columnofseawater.
73
A.6.7
Breakdown
Breakdownpressureiswhentherockformationfracturesandallowsfluidstobeinjected
intotheformation.Toestablishtheaccuratebreakdownpressure,afluidispumpeddown
thewell.Atthestartoftheinjectionthetubingisfilledwiththepreviousoperations
bullheadingfluid(seawater).Thisisthesameasfluidasusedduringbreakdown.
Sincethetubingisalreadyfilledwithseawaterfrompreviousoperation,thedurationwill
onlybeforashortperiod.Thepumppressurethatneedstobeappliedisbreakdown
pressureoftheformation(formationfracturepressure+60barsafetyfactor)minusthe
hydrostaticpressureoftheseawaterplusasafetyfactorof35barandpressurelossalong
thetubing.
Thesameinlettemperatureasforbullheading
hasbeenused.Annuluspressureissetto200
bar.
A.6.8
Fracturing
Followingthebreakdownistheactualfracturingofthewell.Inthiscaseafluidwitha
densityof1600kg/m3ispumpedintotheformationtocreatefracturesintothereservoir.
Thefluidalsocontainsproppantsthatwillflowintothefracturesandkeepthemopenafter
thestimulationjobisdone.Theannulusshutinduringthisoperation,andtheannulus
pressureisequaltothehydrostaticpressureofthefluidpresent.
Thewellheadpumppressureistobecalculatedinthesamewayasforthebreakdowncase.
Theformationfracturepressureisassumedtobe950baratperforations,butsince
fracturingisfollowingthebreakdownontheformation,thepressurerequiredis70%ofthe
pressureneededtobreakdown,thisgivesafracturingpressureof707barthathastobe
overcome.
74
Thewellheadpressureiscalculatedby
subtractingthehydrostaticcolumnofthe
fracturingfluidandaddingthefrictional
pressuredropandthesafetymarginof35bar.
Annuluspressureissettohydrostaticcolumn
ofseawater.
A.6.9
AnnulusActive
Duringthisoperationtheproductiontubingisshutin,leadingtheproductionstream
throughtheannulus.Thepriorconditionsforthisoperationisaundisturbedwell,sono
productionhasgonethroughthetubingpriortothisloadtest.Thewellheadpressureinput
isthesameonbothsidesofthetubing.
Wellheadpressureandannuluspressureis
equaltomaximumshutinpressurecalculated
thesamewayascleanup,earlylifeproduction,
etc.Earlylifeproductionratesareproduced
throughannulus.
75
A.6.10
InitialConditions
Inthiscasenoexternalloadsareappliedtothetubing,theonlyloadthatisimplementedis
theaxialforceactingonthetubing.ThisisapredefinedloadscenarioinWellcat,
thereforenosimulationenvironmenthasbeenentered.Itisimportantthatallinput
parametersarecorrect,sinceallotherloadscenariosarecalculatedrelativetothis.The
tubingwillexperiencethehighesttensionloadatthetop,sincethispartofthetubinghasto
holdtheweightofthetubingbelow.Tensionwilldecreasegraduallyfurtherdownthewell
andwillswitchoverttocompressionatthebottomofthewell.
A.6.11
PressureTest
Thehighestloadthatthewellhastobedimensionedforisthepressuretest.Thisisto
ensurethatthewellcanwithstandanyloadthatitissubjectedtoduringitslifetime.Thisis
goodpractisebecausethetubingisoftenconsideredasawellbarrier.Itisagoodmarginto
dimensionthecompletiontowithstandapressuretestthatis10%abovemaximumtubing
differentialpressureduringserviceloads.Theloadscenarioshouldbeshutincaseoran
injectioncase.[Bellarby,2009]
Setpacker
Thepressureisappliedatthewellheadontopofthefluidthatispresentinthewell.There
isaplugattheendofthetubing,andthepressurebelowtheplugiscalculatedaccordingto
thehydrostaticcolumn.Theannuluspressureisequaltothehydrostaticcolumnofthe
fluidpresent.Anundisturbedtemperatureprofileisassumed.
Pumppressureisadjustedsothatthe
differentialpressurewillbethegreatestofall
theloads.Annuluspressureissetto
hydrostaticcolumnofseawater.
Annulus
Themainpurposeofanannuluspressuretestistotestpackerandtubinghanger.Inthis
pressuretestthetubingpressureissettobeequalthehydrostaticcolumnoffluidpresent,
sonopumppressureisappliedatthewellhead.Theannuluswellheadpressureissettobe
500bar.Anundisturbedtemperatureprofileisassumed.
76
Theannulusispressuretestedbyapplying500
barattopofannulus.Pumppressureissetto
bezero,Wellcatincludehydrostaticpressure
fromseawater.
A.6.12
TubingLeak
Inthecaseoftubingleak,thepressurewillbeequalizedsothatitisthesameonbothsides
ofthetubingwheretheleakisdetected.
BelowTubingHanger
Thisloadcaseisbasedonearlylifeproduction,andrecallsalltheloadsrelatedtothat
stage.Tubingpressureisappliedtotheannulusatthesurface,thiscanleadtosevere
pressureinannulusatpackerdepthwhichcanresultinhighcollapseloads.Theloadispre
definedinWellcattubemode.
BelowclosedTRSV
ThisloadiscustomdesignedinWellcat.Inthiscasethereisaleakbelowtheclosedplug
thatissetat525meters.Thepressureabovetheplugisbleedofftohydrostaticpressure,
andbelowtheplugthepressureisequaltotheshutinpressureatthegivendepth.
Annuluspressureisequaltoshutinpressureontopofthehydrostaticcolumn.Tubing
temperatureprofileislinkedtoearlyproduction,whichwillbeoneofthescenarioswith
thehighesttemperatureexposure,anexceptionmaybeinjectionofawarmerfluidforwell
treatment.
77
A.6.13
TubingEvacuation
Thisloadwillsimulateworstcasescenariowherethetubingisfilledwithair,leadingto
zerosurfacepressure.Itisreallyaseverecollapsetestofthetubing[WellcatManual
2001].Thetemperatureprofileisbasedonearlylifeproduction.Theannuluspressureisset
to37.89bar,whichisequaltothehydrostaticpressureoftheseawaterabove.
BecauseofthehighGORforthiswell,openingthewelltoatmosphericpressurewillmore
likelyleadtoevacuationofthegas,leavingonlydeadcrudeinthewell.Butiftheliquid
levelofcrudeleftinthewellisbelowthebaseofthetubing,itwillpracticallybethesame
asassumingfullevacuation.[Bellarby,2009]
A.6.14
Minifracturing
Thisisatransientinjectionofafluidthatonlylastsforashorttimeperiod(inthiscase
seawaterhasbeeninjectedfor30minutes).Theinjectionpressureisthesameasforearly
stageinjectionfollowingbreakdown,whichhasaninjectionpressureof705.8bar.
78
Pumppressureissettobethesameasforthe
breakdownloadbecauseseawaterhasbeen
usedforinjection.Annuluspressureissetto
hydrostaticcolumnofseawater.
A.6.15
Screenout
Screenoutiswheninjectionoffracturefluidleadstoblockageofperforations.Whenthis
happensthereisarapiddecreaseinfluidflow,whichleadstoasuddenincreaseinpump
pressure.Theprioroperationtothisloadisthefracturingwith1.6SGfracturefluid.The
pumppressureisthesameasforthefracturecase,161bar.
ThisloadispredefinedinWellcat,pressure
andfluidhadbeeninserted.Pumppressureis
thesameasfortheinitialfracturingload.
Annuluspressureissettohydrostaticcolumn
ofseawater.
79
A.7
Packer
Theproductionpackersealsofftheannulusbetweentheproductiontubingandthecasing,
andissetasclosetothebottomofthetubing,andabovethetopperforations.Itislocked
intoplacebymetalwedgescalledslipsthatdigintothecasing.Theactualsealingis
completedbyalargerubberelement,andinthecaseofthepressureexceeding345bar,
metalringsareusedoneithersideoftherubberelementstosupportandpreventcollapse
oftheseal.
Theplacementoftheproductionpackershouldbeasclosetothereservoiraspossibleand
atadepthwherethecementedcasingcanwithstandthepressureofthewell.Incaseoflow
penetrationwhendrillingthroughthisarea,thedrillstringmayhavewornthecasing,soit
isalsoimportantthatthecasingexposedinthisareahasacceptablecasingwear.Incaseof
casingandcementfailure,theshallowestallowablesettingdepthiswheretheformation
stillisstrongenoughtowithstandmaximumreservoirpressure.
FortheK14welltheproductionpackerhasbeenplacedbetweenthe95/8casingandthe
productiontubing.Itcouldhavebeenplacedclosertothereservoirinthe7liner,ifthat
werethecasethestrengthofthepackerwouldbegreaterduetothesmallercrosssection.
Thissolutionwasnotselectedbecausethepossibilityfordrillingasidetracktroughthe7
wouldnotbepossiblewithoutchangingofpacker,andthatwouldresultinhighcosts
relatedtonewproductionpackerrequiredandtimeconsumingoperation.
InpreviousHPHTcompletionsontheKristinfieldithadbeenincidentsofprematuresets
ofpermanentpackers,thisleadtothedevelopmentofanewretrievableHPHTpackerwith
antipresetfeature.
ThepackerselectedforthiscompletionisSB3HProductionPacker(Fig.78)developedby
BakerOilToolsbasedonthefieldprovenSB3RetainerProductionPacker[BakerOilTools
2008].Thepackerwassethydraulicallyat3796.28mMDataninitialsetpressureof345bar
andaplugdepthof3840.48mMD.Theaxialloadchangeafterpackersetis44.48kN,and
sealboreispresent.
80
Fig.78Productionpacker,drawingno.A2899300[BakerOilTools2008].
Therearetwowaystoconstructapackerenvelope,eitherbytestingorbycalculations.The
packersmadebyBakerOilToolsaretestedtoitsextremetodeterminethedesignlimit.
Thismethodisveryreliableandcanguaranteenofailure.Ifthepackerenvelopeisbased
oncalculationstherearenoactualguaranteethatitwillworkinawellsituationwithhigh
differentialpressuresandvaryingtemperatures.Theadvantagewithcalculatedenvelopes
arethattheycanincludeboththepressureaboveandbelowthepacker,comparedtoa
packerthathasbeendesignedfromtestingthatonlyseesthepressurefromunderneaththe
packer.
Followingisadetailedevaluationofthetubingtopackerforcesthatarecalculatedby
Wellcat.Thepressuretestloadcasehasbeenusedasanexampletoshowtheforcesthat
affectthepacker.Forpackerswithsealboresthetubingtopackerforceisasfollows:
81
Fig.79Tubingtopackerforces,modifiedformWellcat.
where:
Ao+,tubingoutsideareabelowthepacker
Ao,tubingoutsideareaabovethepacker
Ai+,tubinginsideareabelowthepacker
Ai,tubinginsideareaabovethepacker
Pi,insidepressure
Po+,outsidepressurebelowpacker
Po,outsidepressureabovepacker
Fa+,axialforcebelowpacker(tensionispositive)
Fa,axialforceabovepacker(tensionispositive)
Theaboveequationcanbereducedtothefollowing:
82
(7.26)
where:
Fabove=Fa(axialforceabovepacker)
Ftail=Fa+(axialforceontailpipe)
83
(7.27)
A.8
WellIntegrity
Wellintegrityapplicationoftechnical,operationalandorganisationalsolutionsto
reduceriskofuncontrolledreleaseofformationfluidsthroughoutthelifecycleofawell.
[NORSOKD0102004]
SandProduction
ArockmechanicsstudyhasbeencarriedoutfortheMorvinwell,anditconcludedthat
sandcontrolwouldnotberequiredforthefield.Butsincethisisafictivefieldandnorock
evaluationhasbeenperformeditcanbeassumedthatsincethewellisproducingfroma
sandreservoir,thereisapossibilityforsandproduction.Thewearandtearonpipesand
equipmentaretotakenintoconsiderationwhendesigningthewell.Whethersandscreens
areinstalledornot,itisalwaysimportanttocontinuously(oratleastataregularinterval)
monitortheamountofsandthatisproduced,eitherdownhole,subseaoratsurface.This
willmakeitpossibletoestimatetheeffectithasontheequipment,andtoevaluatethe
possibilityforequipmentfailure.
Sandproductionthroughaperforatedlinermayleadtoseriouserosionofthetubinginthe
lowercompletion.Byidentifyingtheamountofsandproducedbyeachlayer,andlocate
thecontributingzone,itispossibletoinstallinflowcontrolontheparticularzoneto
minimizesandproductionandtheerosiononequipment.
Scale
ScaleformationinthewellcanleadtoblockageorinoperablevalvesliketheTRSCSSV.
Thisismaybefataltotheprimarybarrier,iftheTRSCSSVcannotclose,onlysecondary
barrierislefttopreventuncontrolledoutflow.Theproducedandinjectedfluidshavetobe
chemicallyanalysed,andifthereisapossibilityofscaleformationscaleinhibitoror
dissolvershallbeestablished.Asolutiontothiscouldbetoinstallachemicalinjectionsub
withdualcheckvalvesbelowtheTRSCSSV.ThiswasdoneontwooftheKristinwells,and
thewellsexperiencedleakagethroughthesevalves.ScaleispredictedinMorvinwellsdue
totheCaCO3contentoftheproducedwaterwhenwaterbreakthroughhasbeenreached.
Thesolutiontotheproblemhasbeendownholescalesqueezefrominterventionvessel
onceayearafterwaterbreakthrough.
84
Erosionandcorrosion
Chemicalsinjectedintothewellorfluidsthatareproducedcanhavealargeeffectonthe
wearandtearoftheequipment.Iftheproducedfluidshasahighcontentofthesourgases
hydrogensulfide(H2S)and/orcarbondioxide(CO2)therewillmostlikelyhaveasevere
consequenceforthematerialsinthewell.ThehighpressureandtemperatureofaHPHT
wellonlyrequireasmallamountofsourgasfortheenvironmenttobehighlycorrosive.
MorvinisexpectedtohaveaH2Scontentbetween1215ppm,andbecauseofthehigh
pressure,thisisenoughtobringthewellintothesightsourserviceregionwhichisrequire
corrosionresistantalloys.
TheloadscenariosthathavebeencalculatedinWellcathavebeenbasedonearlylife
production.Atanearlystageinthelifetimeofthewell,pipesandequipmenthasnotbeen
exposedtoerosiveenvironmentsforlong,whichmeansthatmaximumerosionhasnot
takenplace.Attheendofthelifetimeofthewell,thecorrosionanderosionofthepipes
mayhaveincreasedtothepointthatfailurewillhappenwhencertainwelloperationsare
executed.Thisscenariohastobeevaluatedwhendesigningthewellintermsofmaterial
selection,sandcontrol,etc.Theareaundertheproductionpackerwillnotlikelybeaffected
bythelongtermproductionbecausethisareaisshieldedandoncetheareahasbeenfilled
withfluidthedisplacementoffluidwillbeveryslow.
Hydrates
Atthestartofthelifetimeofthiswellithasbeenassumednowaterproduction,but
eventuallythewellwillexperiencewaterbreakthrough.Hydrateformationmayoccurin
environmentswithhighpressureandlowtemperature.Inthecaseofahighpressure/high
temperaturewell,thereislimitedchanceofhydrateformationduringproduction.Inthe
caseofalongshutinperiodthetemperatureinthewellmayhavedroppedsufficientlyso
thathydratedcanform.Thechemicalcompositionoftheproducedfluidshastobe
evaluatedtodeterminewhenhydrateformationcanbeexpected,andproceduresfor
hydratepreventionshallbeestablished.
Annulusbleedsystem
Theannulusshallalwaysbefilledwithafluidifpossible,andtheannulusmastervalve
andtheASCSVshallbeopenatalltimes.Theannuluspressureshallbemonitoredto
complywiththeshutinwellheadpressure,incidentswherethisisnotthecaseshallbe
investigatedfurther.
85
A.9
StimulationFluids
Somewellsrequirestimulationtokeepuptheproductivity.ForaHPHTwellthe
stimulationcanbeleftuntilthewellheadpressureisreducedtoamoremanageable
pressureduetothedepletionofthereservoir.Thismayleadtoanunevenfracture
distributionduetodifferentialdepletion.Consequencesofthiscanbepreventionof
fracturegrowthintosealingformation(good),orpreventfracturegrowthintoundepleted
zones(bad)[Bellarby,2009].Forthesimulationsforthisthesisthewellhasbeenstimulated
basedonearlylifeproduction,sothereservoirpressurehasnotbeenreducedfromstartup
pressure.Thiswillgiveamoreextremeloadscenario.
Thereareseveralstimulationfluidsdevelopedandadjustedtofitthespecificationsof
differentwells.Itisimportanttoselectafluidthatcancandletheextremetemperaturesina
HPHTwell,sothatitschemicalpropertiesdonotalter.
CrosslinkedGelFluids
Acommonfluidusedforstimulationisacrosslinkedfluid.Thisisatypeofgelthatis
goodforproppanttransport,hasastablerheologyupto148C,lowfluidpropertiesand
goodcleanupproperties[Halliburton2012B].Thecrosslinkedfluidutilizeborateionsthat
interlockwithhydratedpolymers(Fig.910),andthatwillincreasetheviscosityofthe
fluid.ChangingthepHofthewellcanreversethecrosslinking,thismakesthecleanup
moreeffective,whichresultinagoodregainedproductivity.
Fig.910Boricacidcrosslinkingofguargumforhydraulicfracturingfluids[Barron2011].
Forthiscasethewellhasbeentreatedwithseawaterbybullheadingsothetemperatureof
thewellhasalreadybeenreducedbeforeinjectionofthecrosslinkedfluid.Thismeansthat
thetemperatureseenbythefracturefluidislessthat148C.
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CrosslinkedOrganometallicFluids
Themostpopularfractioningfluidtypeiscrosslinkedorganometallicfluid.Thistype
providesanextremestabilityupto204Candprovidesabettercontrolofthecrosslinking
properties.Itiscommonlyusedfortightgassandwherelongfracturelengthisrequired.
Mostusedfluidsarezirconateandtitanatecomplexesofguar,hydroxpropylguarand
carboxymethylhydroxypropylguar.[Halliburton2012B]
GelledOilFluids
Byusingthistypeoffracturingfluidstheformationdamagecanbeminimizedincertain
formationslikeparticlemigrationfromwatercontainingclays.Thefluidiscompatiblewith
mosttypeofrockformationsandisveryconvenientincoldconditions.Withnoneedfor
premixingofthefluiditrapidlydevelopaconsistentgelviscosity,whichcaneasilybe
controlledwhilethetreatmentisbeingpumped.[Halliburton2012B]
LiquidGelConcentrates
Thistypeoffracturingfluidisatypeofslurrywithconcentratedpolymersinaliquidform
thateliminatehandlingandmixingofdrypowderattherig.ByaddingLGCtoanalready
hydratedgeltheviscositycaneasilybechanged,oritcanbeaddedtowaterandpremixed
tocontrolviscositywhilepumping.[Halliburton2012B]
FoamedFluids
Foamedfracturingfluidsusuallycontainaliquidgel,afoamingagentandagas(typically
6080%ofN2orCO2).Thegasinthefoamingagenthelpsfluidrecoveryafterfracturing.
Thefoamcanbewidelyusedinalltypesofformationsandpressures,andareoftenused
whereminimizingformationdamageisimportant.Becauseofthelowliquidcontentofthe
foam,therewillbelessfluidtoremovefromthewellafterstimulation.Thegelinthefoam
canalsobecrosslinkedtoincreasetheviscosity.[Halliburton2012B]
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