240 research outputs found

    Control-Oriented Modeling for Managed Pressure Drilling Automation Using Model Order Reduction

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    Automation of Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) enables fast and accurate pressure control in drilling operations. The performance that can be achieved by automated MPD is determined by, firstly, the controller design and, secondly, the hydraulics model that is used as a basis for controller design. On the one hand, such hydraulics model should be able to accurately capture essential flow dynamics, e.g., wave propagation effects, for which typically complex models are needed. On the other hand, a suitable model should be simple enough to allow for extensive simulation studies supporting well scenario analysis and high-performance controller design. In this paper, we develop a model order reduction approach for the derivation of such a control-oriented model for {single-phase flow} MPD {operations}. In particular, a nonlinear model order reduction procedure is presented that preserves key system properties such as stability and provides guaranteed (accuracy) bounds on the reduction error. To demonstrate the quality of the derived control-oriented model, {comparisons with field data and} both open-loop and closed-loop simulation-based case studies are presented

    Effect of Pipe Rotation on Casing Pressure Within MPD Applications

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    Well control is one of the most crucial sectors in drilling engineering. Human lives and safety depend on the correct execution of the engineering design. Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) is a new technology that has recently emerged in the oil and gas industry. It has special well control abilities supported by the RCD to continue drilling or carry operations that involve pipe rotation, while circulating out a gas kick. This thesis examines the effect of pipe rotation on casing pressure profiles within MPD kick circulation application. The analysis was carried on real scale kick experiments. These experiments were carried in a controlled environment that mimicked downhole conditions with a gas influx entering the wellbore. Both water based mud and oil based mud were evaluated. Then, the real scale tests analysis was coupled with the effect of pipe rotation through the application of correlations. The correlations estimate the change in frictional pressure loss in the annuls for non-Newtonian fluids with pipe rotation. A study of the effect of a larger size gas bubble breakage into smaller size bubbles on the maximum anticipated casing pressure is also included in this research. The thesis was divided into three models: (1) dissolved gas model in OBM. (2) single bubble model in WBM. (3) dispersed bubble model in WBM. The first two models studied the effect of frictional pressure changes on the anticipated casing pressure. The dispersed bubble model studies the effect of breaking the gas bubble into many very small bubbles. The practical outcome is to further the precision of the estimation of downhole pressure limits since MPD address narrow fracture-pore pressure window and to find if casing pressure changes would have any effect on the RCD rating selection and if the rotation can be safely conducted

    Modeling and order reduction for hydraulics simulation in managed pressure drilling

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    Modeling and order reduction for hydraulics simulation in managed pressure drilling

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    A Simulation Study of Factors that Affect Pressure Control During Kick Circulation in Managed Pressure Drilling Operations

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    An university-industry consortium has been studying alternative well control procedures to be used for kicks taken during managed pressure drilling (MPD) operations using the constant bottom hole pressure (CBHP) method. The CBHP method of MPD allows more precise control of wellbore pressure than conventional drilling. MPD surface equipment allows more alternatives for controlling a kick and may support faster detection of kicks and losses which can reduce the severity of a well control event. Nevertheless, the elimination of well control incidents cannot be guaranteed, and the uncertainty in downhole drilling margins are not reduced by adopting MPD methods. The primary objective of this research was to evaluate pressure variation and maximum pressure during kick circulation to properly design and conduct a MPD operation. Three specific objectives were addressed in this project. First, a pump start up method to keep bottomhole pressure approximately constant when beginning kick circulation after shut in is presented. Second, since formation pressure cannot be calculated by using shut in drillpipe pressure during typical MPD operations, a procedure to estimate kick zone formation pressure based on circulating pressure was documented. And third, a simple and practical method to estimate maximum expected casing pressure during well control operations was developed. This method was also used as part of a method for selecting kick circulating rate. Methods for making calculations to achieve each of these objectives were developed. Computer simulations were used for comparison to a range of realistic well conditions. Full-scale gas kicks experiments were done to confirm applicability to a limited range of real situations. The applicability and accuracy of the method developed in this research were tested based on actual drilling practices reproduced in computer simulations and LSU well facility experiments

    Modeling of Swab and Surge Pressures: A Survey

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    Swab and surge pressure fluctuations are decisive during drilling for oil. The axial movement of the pipe in the wellbore causes pressure fluctuations in wellbore fluid; these pressure fluctuations can be either positive or negative, corresponding to the direction of the movement of the pipe. For example, if the drill string is lowering down in the borehole, the drop is positive (surge pressure), and if the drill string is pulling out of the hole, the drop is negative (swab pressure). The intensity of these pressure fluctuations depends on the speed of the lowering down (tripping in) or withdrawing the pipe out (tripping out). High tripping speed corresponds to higher pressure fluctuations and can lead to fracturing the well formation. Low tripping speed leads to a slow operation, causing non-productive time, thus increasing the overall well budget. Researchers used mathematical equations and physics to understand the phenomena and have provided many empirical, mathematical, and physics-based models. This paper starts with a literature study on the swab and surge pressures. After that, this paper concludes with a proposal for a new approach. The new approach proposes developing new models that are more robust, using field data, as we have access to field data from drilling operations. Research using field data would provide data-driven methodologies as new solutions for the rate of penetration, reservoir management, and drilling optimization. The expected outcome will improve the performance of the tripping in and tripping out process within drilling and well construction, and will further reduce the risk related to swab and surge pressures.publishedVersio
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