Applications of aerospace technology to petroleum extraction and reservoir engineering

Through contacts with the petroleum industry, the petroleum service industry, universities and government agencies, important petroleum extraction problems were identified. For each problem, areas of aerospace technology that might aid in its solution were also identified, where possible. Some of the problems were selected for further consideration. Work on these problems led to the formulation of specific concepts as candidate for development. Each concept is addressed to the solution of specific extraction problems and makes use of specific areas of aerospace technology

Practical Applications of NMR to Solve Real-World Problems

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) has developed from primarily a method of academic study into a recognized technology that has advanced measurement capabilities within many different industrial sectors. These sectors include areas such as national security, energy, forensics, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, etc. Despite this diversity, these applications have many shared technical challenges and regulatory burdens, yet interdisciplinary cross-talk is often limited. To facilitate the sharing of knowledge, this Special Issue presents technical articles from four different areas, including the oil industry, nanostructured systems and materials, metabolomics, and biologics. These areas use NMR or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies that range from low-field relaxometry to magnetic fields as high as 700 MHz. Each article represents a practical application of NMR. A few articles are focused on basic research concepts, which will likely have the cross-cutting effect of advancing multiple disciplinary areas

Methods

Information assembled in this chapter will help the reader understand the basis for the preliminary conclusions of the Expedition 302 Scientists and will also enable the interested investigator to select samples for further analyses. This information concerns offshore and onshore operations and analyses described in the "Sites M0001–M0004" chapter. Methods used by various investigators for shore-based analyses of Expedition 302 samples will be described in the individual contributions published in the Expedition Research Results and in various professional journals

Well seismic surveying and acoustic logging

Approaches that are typically applied in deep exploration geophysics, combining different seismic and logging methods, can be technically adapted for certain geotechnical or hydrogeological surveys or some site characterizations in the framework of seismic hazard studies. Currently it is entirely feasible to implement this type of geophysical surveying if the situation requires. After reviewing the current state of knowledge regarding borehole measurements of subsurface shear velocities applied to the geotechnical field, this book illustrates the feasibility of carrying out vertical seismic profiles (VSPs) and logs in this field. This approach also illustrates the value of combining velocity measurements of formations provided by borehole seismic tools (VSP) and acoustic (sonic) tools. An innovative example of the application of borehole seismic and logging methods is then presented in the case study of a relatively near-surface (from 20 to 130 m) karst carbonate aquifer. It shows how a multi-scale description of the reservoir can be carried out by integrating the information provided by different 3D-THR surface seismic methods, full waveform acoustic logging, VSP with hydrophones, borehole optical televiewer and flow measurements. In this book the authors provide readers with guidelines to carry out these operations, in terms of acquisitions as well as processing and interpretation. Thus, users will be able to draw inspiration to continue transferring petroleum techniques and other innovative methods for use in near-surface studies

Offshore drilling blowout risk model : an integration of basic causes, safety barriers, risk influencing factors and operational performance indicators

We would like to thank Witt O’Brien’s Brasil and Pemex Exploration and Production for partially sponsoring this work, and most of all: Adriano Ranieri, Greg Fenton, Flavio Andrade, Dr. Faustino Fuentes Nucamendi and Eduardo Zavala Nacer. Thanks also to Mr. Thiago Molina for providing his expertise on latest generation Deepwater MODU's, which enabled to add current and practical aspects to the academic research on kick detection and well control issues.Peer reviewedPostprin

Development of real-time early gas kick detection model

Gas kicks occur during oil and gas drilling operations due to pressure imbalances between reservoir pressure and bottomhole pressure. Uncontrolled gas kick results in blowouts which has severe consequences including death of rig personnel. For deepwater, High Temperature High Pressure, and depleted wells, early gas kick detection may mean the difference between a successful drilling operation and a catastrophic drilling operation. Modeling the physics of gas kicks is therefore an important aspect of well control in order to detect kicks and raise appropriate alarms that demand remedial action from the rig team. Also important is the quantification of the amount of kick already in the annulus and an estimation of the kick front, all in real time. Various kick models have been developed over the years to model wellbore-reservoir interactions and aid early detection of gas kicks. Some of these models and simulators are numerical and analytical; others are based on extensive collection of well data of kick events to model drilling events signatures including kicks of various sizes. In general, for non-data driven models, the accuracy of models depends on the amount of simplification done and the validity of the assumptions made. Steady state, semi-steady state and transient models exist, but if accurate detection is to occur in real-time, it is crucial that transient models are used, that the assumptions are valid, and that oversimplification is avoided in order to reflect as closely as possible, the complex physics of wellbore-reservoir interactions. The important issues to consider include the type of fluid property model used, such as compositional or black oil models; the type of frictional model used, such as Power law or Bingham plastic model; the flow regime considered; slip velocity between the phases, and the extent to which first principles are applied to problem solving, as opposed to using correlations. Our study is on real-time estimation of gas kicks during drilling using a two-phase, fully implicit, transient flow model in a vertical wellbore. The wellbore and reservoir are coupled, and a pressure gradient is introduced at the bottomhole causing gas influx into the wellbore. The gas front is then monitored in real-time as it is transported in the circulating mud to the surface pits. The model equations are the mud and gas continuity equations, the momentum conservation equation as well as sub-models, consisting of state equations and two-phase flow correlations, where needed. Much of the complex physics of gas kick is modeled, and the outcome of this research provides a tool for gas kick prediction, detection and control, and also for the estimation of the volume of kick occurring at the bottomhole in real-time.Mechanical Engineerin

Survey and comparison of petroleum well electrologging tools

The principles used in the design of electrologging tools used in the petroleum industry are reviewed. Examples of tools and methods are taken from Gearhart Industries, Schlumberger Ltd and Western Atlas Ltd who are the three major electrologging companies accounting for 93% of the world market share. The survey and comparison of the tools in each of the category used both during the exploration and development stage of a well and reservoir are made. The results are presented and discussed. Furthermore an insight to the future of this industry is presented

Integrated characterisation of mud-rich overburden sediment sequences using limited log and seismic data: Application to seal risk

Muds and mudstones are the most abundant sediments in sedimentary basins and can control fluid migration and pressure. In petroleum systems, they can also act as source, reservoir or seal rocks. More recently, the sealing properties of mudstones have been used for nuclear waste storage and geological CO2 sequestration. Despite the growing importance of mudstones, their geological modelling is poorly understood and clear quantitative studies are needed to address 3D lithology and flow properties distribution within these sediments. The key issues in this respect are the high degree of heterogeneity in mudstones and the alteration of lithology and flow properties with time and depth. In addition, there are often very limited field data (log and seismic), with lower quality within these sediments, which makes the common geostatistical modelling practices ineffective. In this study we assess/capture quantitatively the flow-important characteristics of heterogeneous mud-rich sequences based on limited conventional log and post-stack seismic data in a deep offshore West African case study. Additionally, we develop a practical technique of log-seismic integration at the cross-well scale to translate 3D seismic attributes into lithology probabilities. The final products are probabilistic multiattribute transforms at different resolutions which allow prediction of lithologies away from wells while keeping the important sub-seismic stratigraphic and structural flow features. As a key result, we introduced a seismically-driven risk attribute (so-called Seal Risk Factor "SRF") which showed robust correspondence to the lithologies within the seismic volume. High seismic SRFs were often a good approximation for volumes containing a higher percentage of coarser-grained and distorted sediments, and vice versa. We believe that this is the first attempt at quantitative, integrated characterisation of mud-rich overburden sediment sequences using log and seismic data. Its application on modern seismic surveys can save days of processing/mapping time and can reduce exploration risk by basing decisions on seal texture and lithology probabilities

Advanced Formation Fluid Evaluation While Drilling with a New Heavy Gas Detector

In this paper, a chromatograph which exploits the benefits of FID technology optimized for the high resolution detection of heavier hydrocarbon gas components is described. The components analyzed span from n-hexane to toluene. Flame Ionization Detector (FID) technology is not new to gas detection on the field, however it had never been applied to the detection of gases heavier than n-pentane. The instrumentation has been installed and run on a number of wells in different fields and countries, and it has operated as a complement of an advanced surface logging system for a period of two years. Unlike other technologies presently utilized for this scope, this system reduces dedicated equipment and personnel to a minimum. The results presented show the clear identification of formation fluid contacts with higher accuracy than standard light gas detectors, the recognition of contaminants within the drilling fluid, and the practicality of operating an advanced gas detection system with minimal operational and logistic footprint. Some of the indications obtained challenge common beliefs about gas detection: consistent extraction of heavy hydrocarbon gases from the drilling fluid is possible at relatively low temperatures, provided that the entire gas extraction system is rigorously controlled in terms of gas sample pressure, flow, and temperature. Furthermore, gas data analysis can yield indications on the fluid composition even when the gases analyzed are in extremely low quantity. The system utilizes known technologies, developed and optimized to obtain new results. The system supports formation evaluation when LWD or wireline can be inconclusive, in the presence of a low porosity pay or fresh water. It can also guide and optimize the MDT testing program. Furthermore, the system takes into account the constraints of drilling operations, and strikes a balance between data accuracy and practicality of the application