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Chris Carpenter - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Cement-Integrity-Evaluation Solution in Extended-Reach Wells in the South China Sea
    Journal of Petroleum Technology, 2015
    Co-Authors: Chris Carpenter
    Abstract:

    This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper OTC 25027, “Solution to Cement-Integrity Evaluation in Long Extended-Reach Wells: New Record in the South China Sea,” by Jun Cai, Yongde Gao, and Mingjie Zhang, CNOOC, and Lei Cui and Hongzhi Guo, SPE, Schlumberger, prepared for the 2014 Offshore Technology Conference Asia, Kuala Lumpur, 25–28 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. The combination of ultrasonic pulse-echo and flexural-attenuation measurements was adopted in this project in the South China Sea for cement-integrity evaluation. This new method aids in understanding why integrity losses occur in certain sections, by analyzing third-interface information uniquely provided by flexural-wave imaging, and in formulating improvement actions for future cementing jobs. This method achieves a more-explicit cement-integrity-evaluation result with detailed graphical annulus information compared with the limited output from conventional acoustic measurements. Introduction In the Weizhou field in the South China Sea, most of the development wells are drilled as long extended-reach wells with a deviation greater than 70°. The wells are designed to reach more than 70° deviation at a very shallow depth (approximately 900 m) compared with the total depth of the well (approximately 4500 m). In a typical well, surface Casing (13.375 in.) runs beyond the kick-off point and reaches maximum deviation of the well at a shallow depth (approximately 900 m). Intermediate Casing (9.625. in.) runs from surface to more than 4000 m, with three different fluids/ slurries pumped in the annulus: regular-weight tail cement (1.90 g/cm3), freshwater displacement cement, and lightweight lead cement (1.58 g/ cm3). The completion liner (7 in.) hangs on the Intermediate Casing, with 1.90-g/cm3 cement pumped in the annulus. A campaign was planned to perform cement-integrity evaluation in five wells (A9, A10, A1, A2, and A3). The basic information about these five wells is listed in Table 1 of the complete paper. The objective for Well A9 was to evaluate the 7-in. completion Casing, and the objective for the remaining four wells was to evaluate the 9.625-in. Intermediate Casing. The well profile and completion pose several challenges: Cementing highly deviated wells has uncertainties associated with cement placement because of the likelihood of poor mud removal, which is generally caused by pipe eccentering. Intermediate Casing is cemented with both regular-weight and lightweight cements. A more advanced method to evaluate the material in the annulus independently of its density is required for this project. The geometry of Casing in the borehole is important information in this type of well because it is the main factor affecting the cement placement in the annulus. The logging tool string is not able to be conveyed by wireline only because of the high deviation along the wellbore. An alternative conveyance needs to be performed in an efficient manner.to save rig cost. For a discussion of the conveyance-selection process that resulted in the selection of a wireline tractor, please see the complete paper.

  • Increasing Cement-Sheath Integrity To Reduce Gas Migration in the Marcellus Shale Play
    Journal of Petroleum Technology, 2015
    Co-Authors: Chris Carpenter
    Abstract:

    This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 168650, “Cement-Sheath Durability: Increasing Cement-Sheath Integrity To Reduce Gas Migration in the Marcellus Shale Play,” by Jessica McDaniel, SPE, and Larry Watters, SPE, CSI Technologies, and Arash Shadravan, Texas A&M University, prepared for the 2014 SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference, The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 4–6 February. The paper has not been peer reviewed. This study examines the effects of drilling, completion, and production operations and their associated cyclic stresses on a cement sheath. The operations performed after cement placement can damage cement-sheath integrity and the bond with the Casing or formation, resulting in loss of zonal isolation and in sustained Casing pressure, often requiring remediation and reducing productivity. Introduction The study reported here is a derivative of a long-term investigation aimed at improving zonal isolation for horizontal wells drilled in the Marcellus shale. The impetus for this long-term study is to optimize drilling and completion practices to reduce cost, improve zonal isolation, and improve well-success rate. One of the initial actions of the study was assessment of well performance in the Marcellus play. Interestingly, the well-success rate was much lower in the Intermediate string than in either the production Casing or the surface Casing. This observation was unexpected. The Intermediate Casings of Marcellus wells were set in straight hole at relatively shallow depth. Mixing and placement procedures were implemented similarly on all of these Intermediate-Casing cement jobs. Sufficient spacer volume, large excess cement volume, and cementing to surface ensured optimal drilling-fluid displacement. With no weak zones creating the risk of lost circulation and with normal drilling fluid and cement densities, adequate displacement rates, and routine use of gas-flow-control cement systems, the loss of zonal isolation in the Intermediate/ surface annulus did not point to a short-term zonal-isolation issue. Rather, the potential flow path more likely resulted after the cement had set. The loss of zonal isolation was noted after the drilling and completion processes, indicating that mechanical cement-seal damage might be leading to flowpath creation. Cyclic stresses applied to the Intermediate-Casing system, in the form of cyclic impacts from drillpipe whip during drilling or pressure stresses induced during fracture treatments pumped down the production Casing, are considered to be potential stress sources. One significant result noted is the success rate of System 1 vs. System 2 (Fig. 1). This led to a thorough study of the mechanical properties and seal effectiveness of two Intermediate cement blends, to test the mechanical-damage hypothesis. Durability and seal endurance of the cement compositions were compared and correlated to mechanical properties. Results of the investigation support the hypothesis of gas-flow-path creation through or around the hardened cement. Comparison of mechanical properties, laboratory-seal durability, and field performance of two cements substantiate that cements developing higher tensile strength and other mechanical properties lower the incidence of sustained Casing pressure. Initial attempts to correlate seal performance empirically as a function of applied stress were unsuccessful, but indications are that sufficient laboratory and field data will yield a correlation as a deliverable of the overall project.

Ahmed Elgibaly - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Well Design Optimization Through The Elimination of Intermediate Casing String
    Journal of King Saud University - Engineering Sciences, 2021
    Co-Authors: Amir Shokry, Ahmed Elgibaly
    Abstract:

    Abstract Oil and gas industry continues to the increasing demand of more cost-effective well design and operations. Thus, team successfully eliminated Intermediate Casing string from the design thereby achieving not only a 33% reduction in dry hole cost/meter, but also delivering wells and producing oil 25% faster than before. Removing an Intermediate Casing string resulted in a longer open hole (more than 2,000 mMD) which by default created new challenges which had to be dealt with and solved without compromising the targeted cost saving. The challenges can be summarized as follow: - Combining loss of circulation zone with unstable shale formations in one section. - PPFG uncertainties. - Bit selection and design optimization. - BHA selection and drive optimization. - Running wireline logging through a long open hole. - Running Casing and having good quality cement. - Hole cleaning and displacement efficiency when changing mud systems. - Proper contingencies in place to meet the required completion strategy. Risk assessment, feasibility studies, workshops, and co-operation among all involved personnel has been conducted to ensure that this design optimization would result in positive outcome. Since the first implementation in 2019, more than 17 wells have been successfully delivered and completed in Best in Class performance based on latest update of Rushmore data tracking. The longest open hole section of 2,790 m measured depth (MD) with total depth (TD) of 3910 mMD has been achieved generating above 800 Kusd saving per well, thus setting new benchmarks for the field and opening up new opportunities for the future. All this ensure Process Safety and compliance with Well Delivery process. This paper not only describes how two string design was successfully engineered and executed but also serves as a guide for selecting proper candidates for this design and an operational guide for two section wells design to ensure that these challenging long open hole will be successfully drilled while minimizing risks.

Markus Kober - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Development of optimized washer-shape for damage-free load application to composites
    Composite Structures, 2010
    Co-Authors: Markus Kober, Arnold Kühhorn
    Abstract:

    Abstract With the help of an optimization algorithm, the best combination of fiber orientations and layer thicknesses of a composite-made flange connection between the Intermediate Casing and the bypass duct of an aero engine was determined for 20 load cases. For a detailed stress analysis of the optimization result the fracture plane based failure criterion LaRC04 was implemented in ABAQUS. The failure criterion showed effort values higher than one (appearance of damage) in the region under the washer, which is part of the bolt connection of the flange. A reduction of the preload force of the bolt connection and an enlargement of the washer leads only to a slight improvement of the situation. So, firstly a simplified FE-model for the identification of the damage-relevant stress coordinate was used. In a second step the minimization of this stress coordinate was the objective in a topology and shape optimization aiming at a better washer-shape. Since the whole optimization process was very successful, it can be shown that the effort values of the failure criterion in the composite under the washer can be reduced dramatically with the newly shaped washer.

  • Topology-Optimized Intermediate Casing of Aero Engine and Comparative Evaluation of Titanium and Composite Architecture in Terms of Load Capacity and Weight Reduction
    Volume 5: Structures and Dynamics Parts A and B, 2008
    Co-Authors: Markus Kober, Olaf Lenk, Thomas Klauke, Arnold Ku¨hhorn
    Abstract:

    From Aero Engines of the future it is demanded to provide more power, while the fuel consumption and the mass should decrease. In order to reach the goal of an increasing specific power or a decreasing specific mass, respectively, structural optimization methods, like the topology optimization, find their way into the design process to a greater extent. Additionally one is going to consider more and more fiber reinforced composites as a substitute for titanium alloys in the “cold” structure of the engine. Composite materials offer significant advantages especially concerning the specific mass and the adjustability of their stiffness properties. Unfortunately it is very difficult to predict damage and fracture of such orthotropic materials. The presentation will show the results of a topology optimization of the titanium Intermediate-Casing of a Rolls-Royce aero engine. Further on the material of the Casing will be substituted by a carbon fiber reinforced composite. The fiber orientations and layer thicknesses of the composite are optimized under certain strength constraints, which are described by a modern fracture plane based failure criterion (NASA LaRC04 criterion [6]). Such a failure criterion has a lot of advantages compared to classical ones like Tsai-Hill, Tsai-Wu , ..., which e.g. do not distinguish between fiber and inter-fiber fracture and are therefore not able to predict the type of inter-fiber fracture. Finally the results of the optimization with the current material titanium will be compared to the results of the composite-made Intermediate Casing in terms of their load capacity and weight.Copyright © 2008 by ASME

Fred Sabins - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT CEMENT
    2002
    Co-Authors: Fred Sabins
    Abstract:

    The objective of this project is to develop an improved ultra-lightweight cement using ultra-lightweight hollow glass spheres (ULHS). This report includes results from laboratory testing of ULHS systems along with other lightweight cement systems: foamed and sodium silicate slurries. Comparison studies of the three cement systems examined several properties: tensile strength, Young's modulus, water permeability, and shear bond. Testing was also done to determine the effect that temperature cycling has on the shear bond properties of the cement systems. In addition, analysis was carried out to examine alkali silica reactivity of slurries containing ULHS. Data is also presented from a study investigating the effects of mixing and pump circulation on breakage of ULHS. Information is also presented about the field application of ULHS in cementing a 7-in. Intermediate Casing in south Texas

Fred Sabins - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT CEMENT
    2001
    Co-Authors: Fred Sabins
    Abstract:

    The objective of this project is to develop an improved ultra-lightweigh cement using ultralight hollow glass spheres (ULHS). Work reported herein addresses Task 1: Assess Ultra-Lightweight Cementing Problems, Task 2: Review Russian Ultra-Lightweight Cement Literature, and Task 3: Test Ultra-Lightweight Cements. Results reported this quarter include a review and summary surface pipe and Intermediate Casing cementing conditions historically encountered in the US and establishment of average design conditions for ULHS cements. Russian literature concerning development and use of ultra-lightweight cements employing either nitrogen or ULHS was reviewed, and a summary is presented. Quality control testing of materials used to formulate ULHS cements in the laboratory was conducted to establish baseline material performance standards. A testing protocol was developed employing standard procedures as well as procedures tailored to evaluate ULHS. This protocol is presented and discussed. finally, results of initial testing of ULHS cements is presented along with analysis to establish cement performance design criteria to be used during the remainder of the project