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Drilling Technologies and Process Safety
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Drilling Technologies and Process Safety

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 45471

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Saeed Salehi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Interests: well construction; integrity and well control; wellbore geomechanics; human factors; drilling optimization; plugging; abandonment and decommissioning; deepwater drilling and technologies
Dr. Catalin Teodoriu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Interests: drilling; wellbore integrity; process safety; automation; wellbore construction technologies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Raj Kiran

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071, USA
Interests: Drilling, Wellbore Integrity, Process Safety, Automation, Wellbore Construction Technologies
Dr. Mahmoud Khalifeh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dept. of Energy and Petroleum Engineering, University of Stavanger, Norway, Stavanger
Interests: Well Integrity, Permanent Plug and Abandonment (P&A) of Wells, Geothermal Well Design & Construction
Mr. Jan David Ytrehus

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Drilling&Well, SINTEF AS, Trondheim, Norway
Interests: Drilling hydraulics, Drilling fluids, Well integrity and P&A

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The advancements in drilling technology is moving with rapid speed in adopting new ideas and concepts. The current technological advancements require intensive testing before deployment in order to ensure safe well construction and completion for life of the well. Safety is the key of successful and sustainable development of any activity, in particularly for drilling processes.

We invite you to help us to disseminate the latest advancements in drilling technology and process safety by sending us papers covering case studies and research work related to our topic. Successful papers will help our community to understand the role and importance of adopting new technologies for drilling activities for oil, gas and geothermal wells.

Following topics are of special interest to this Special Issue:

  • Well Integrity During Operation and Plug and Abandonment (P&A)
  • Advancement in Drilling Technologies such as Mud, Cement, and other Well Construction methods
  • Process Safety while Drilling such as Well Control and Human Elements Consideration
  • Advanced Drilling Technologies or “Technologies of Tomorrow”

Dr. Saeed Salehi
Dr. Catalin Teodoriu
Dr. Raj Kiran
Dr. Mahmoud Khalifeh
Mr. Jan David Ytrehus
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Drilling technologies
  • optimization
  • automation
  • well integrity
  • process safety

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2701 KiB  
Article
Digital Cement Integrity: A Methodology for 3D Visualization of Cracks and Microannuli in Well Cement
by Torbjørn Vrålstad and Ragnhild Skorpa
Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4128; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104128 - 18 May 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3134
Abstract
Leakages of greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide from wells, may have considerable environmental consequences. Although much emphasis is currently put on understanding well barrier failures, and thus, preventing well leakages, especially for an important barrier material as cement, there are [...] Read more.
Leakages of greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide from wells, may have considerable environmental consequences. Although much emphasis is currently put on understanding well barrier failures, and thus, preventing well leakages, especially for an important barrier material as cement, there are still several knowledge gaps and unknowns. However, a step-change in well integrity understanding may be obtained by applying advanced characterization techniques and scientific approaches to studying well barrier materials and their failure mechanisms. This paper describes the development of an experimental methodology that uses X-ray computed tomography to obtain 3D visualizations of cracks and microannuli in annular cement sheaths. Several results are included that demonstrate the value of using such digital methods to study well cement, and it is shown that such experimental studies provide an improved understanding of cement sheath integrity. For example, it is seen that radial cracks do not form in symmetrical patterns and that microannuli do not have uniform geometries. Such experimental findings can potentially be used as benchmark to validate and improve cement integrity simulation tools. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drilling Technologies and Process Safety)
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15 pages, 3938 KiB  
Article
A Novel Solution for Severe Loss Prevention While Drilling Deep Wells
by Salaheldin Elkatatny, Hany Gamal, Abdulmalek Ahmed, Pranjal Sarmah, Shiv Sangaru and Maryam Alohaly
Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1339; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041339 - 12 Feb 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4266
Abstract
The loss of circulation is a big problem in drilling operations. This problem is costly, time-consuming and may lead to a well control situation. Much research has investigated the effectiveness of using different chemicals as lost circulation material (LCM) to stop mud and [...] Read more.
The loss of circulation is a big problem in drilling operations. This problem is costly, time-consuming and may lead to a well control situation. Much research has investigated the effectiveness of using different chemicals as lost circulation material (LCM) to stop mud and cement slurry losses. However, there remain many limitations for using such LCM types, especially when it comes to field applications. This paper presents a new high strength lost circulation material (HSLCM) that could effectively be used for managing severe lost circulation cases. The HSLCM could easily be pumped into the thief zone where it forms a gel that solidifies after a setting time to provide sealing between the wellbore and the thief zone. With this technique, the material stops the circulation losses, and hence enhances the well bore stability by reducing the well bore stresses. The HSLCM has a high compressive strength and it has a high acid solubility of around 96%. Because the HSLCM has high tolerance towards contamination, it can be utilized with water-based mud or invert emulsion-drilling fluids, hence providing a wide window of applications with the drilling fluids. In this study, laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the rheology, thickening time, compressive strength, and acid solubility of the HSLCM. The results showed good performance for the HSLCM as LCM. In addition, a case field study is presented which shows a successful field treatment for severe losses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drilling Technologies and Process Safety)
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17 pages, 4082 KiB  
Article
Analytical and Experimental Investigation of the Critical Length in Casing–Liner Overlap
by Mustafa Al Ramadan, Saeed Salehi, Chinedum Ezeakacha and Catalin Teodoriu
Sustainability 2019, 11(23), 6861; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236861 - 2 Dec 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5741
Abstract
Offshore drilling operations exhibit various difficulties attributed to shallow flows worldwide. One of the most common practices for drilling offshore wells is to use liners and liner hangers rather than using full casing strings. This reduces the cost of drilling operation. Liners and [...] Read more.
Offshore drilling operations exhibit various difficulties attributed to shallow flows worldwide. One of the most common practices for drilling offshore wells is to use liners and liner hangers rather than using full casing strings. This reduces the cost of drilling operation. Liners and liner hangers are required to pass certain standards prior to their deployment in the field. This ensures their ability to withstand harsh downhole conditions and maintain the integrity of the well. A liner hanger contains an integrated seal assembly that acts as a barrier to prevent fluid migration. The cement that is placed within the casing–liner overlap is also considered a barrier, and it is critical that it maintains the integrity of the well by mitigating fluid migration to other formations and to the surface. The failure of this dual barrier (cement and seal assembly) system to seal the annular space can result in serious problems that might jeopardize a well’s integrity. Typically, in field applications, the length of a casing–liner overlap is chosen arbitrarily. In some cases, shorter overlaps (50 to 200 ft) are chosen because of the lower cost and easy identification of leaks during pressure tests. However, some loss of well control incidents (particularly the incident that motivated this study) have been linked to fluid leakages along the casing–liner overlap. This paper investigates the critical length of the casing–liner overlap by modeling gas leakage through the cement placed within the overlap using analytical and experimental approaches. Leakage scenarios were developed to mimic gas migration within the cement in the casing–liner overlap. The results showed that the longer the casing–liner overlap, the higher the leakage time. The results also showed that the current casing pressure test duration of 30 min may not be adequate to verify the integrity of the cement within the overlap. Based on the results and analyses, it is recommended to increase the pressure test duration to 90 min. In addition, the results suggest that the length of the casing–liner overlap should not be less than 300 ft to maintain the integrity of the well in the case of gas influx. Further details are highlighted in the results section. In practice, the current rationale behind the selection of a casing–liner overlap length is not sustainable. Thus, the major advantage of this study is that with field data, it provides both scientific and research-based evidence that can be used to inform the decision behind the selection of the casing–liner overlap length, especially in gas migration-prone zones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drilling Technologies and Process Safety)
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12 pages, 4016 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Weighting Materials on Oil-Well Cement Properties While Drilling Deep Wells
by Abdulmalek Ahmed, Ahmed Abdulhamid Mahmoud, Salaheldin Elkatatny and Weiqing Chen
Sustainability 2019, 11(23), 6776; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236776 - 29 Nov 2019
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 3616
Abstract
In deep hydrocarbon development wells, cement slurry with high density is required to effectively balance the high-pressure formations. The increase in the slurry density could be achieved by adding different heavy materials. In this study, the effect of the weighting materials (barite, hematite, [...] Read more.
In deep hydrocarbon development wells, cement slurry with high density is required to effectively balance the high-pressure formations. The increase in the slurry density could be achieved by adding different heavy materials. In this study, the effect of the weighting materials (barite, hematite, and ilmenite) on the properties of Saudi Class G cement matrix of vertical homogeneity, compressive strength, porosity, and permeability was evaluated. Three cement slurries were weighted with barite, hematite, and ilmenite, and cured at 294 °F and 3000 psi for 24 h. All slurries have the same concentration of the different additives except the weighting material. The amount of weighting material used in every slurry was determined based on the targeted density of 18 lbm/gal. The results of this study revealed that the most vertically homogenous cement matrix was the ilmenite-weighted sample with a vertical variation of 17.6% compared to 20.2 and 24.8% for hematite- and barite-weighted cement, respectively. This is attributed to the small particle size of the ilmenite. The medical computerized tomography (CT) scan confirmed that the ilmenite-weighted sample is the most homogeneous, with a narrow range of density variation vertically along the sample. Hematite-weighted cement showed the highest compressive strength of 55.3 MPa, and the barite- and ilmenite-weighted cement compressive strengths are each 18.4 and 36.7% less than the compressive strength of the hematite-weighted cement, respectively. Barite-weighted cement has the lowest porosity and permeability of 6.1% and 18.9 mD, respectively. The maximum particle size of ilmenite used in this study is less than 42 μm to ensure no abrasion effect on the drilling system, and it minimized the solids segregation while maintaining a compressive strength that is higher than the minimum acceptable strength, which is the recommended weighting material for Saudi Class G cement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drilling Technologies and Process Safety)
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13 pages, 4042 KiB  
Article
Effect of pH on Rheological and Filtration Properties of Water-Based Drilling Fluid Based on Bentonite
by Hany Gamal, Salaheldin Elkatatny, Salem Basfar and Abdulaziz Al-Majed
Sustainability 2019, 11(23), 6714; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236714 - 27 Nov 2019
Cited by 82 | Viewed by 13643
Abstract
The design of drilling fluids is very important for the drilling operation success. The rheological properties play a key role in the performance of the drilling fluid. Therefore, studying the mud rheological properties of the water-based drilling fluid based on bentonite is essential. [...] Read more.
The design of drilling fluids is very important for the drilling operation success. The rheological properties play a key role in the performance of the drilling fluid. Therefore, studying the mud rheological properties of the water-based drilling fluid based on bentonite is essential. The main objectives of this study are to address the effect of pH changes on the rheological and filtration properties of the water-based drilling fluid based on bentonite and to provide a recommended pH range for this drilling fluid for a safe and high-performance drilling operation. Different samples of the water-based drilling fluid based on bentonite with different pH values were prepared, and the rheological properties such as plastic viscosity, yield point, and gel strength were measured. After that, the filtration test was performed under 300 psi differential pressure and 200 °F. The pH for the water-based drilling fluid based on bentonite significantly affects the mud rheology. The shear stress and shear rate relation were varying with the change in the pH. Increasing the pH from 8 to 12 resulted in decreasing the plastic viscosity by 53% and the yield point by 82%, respectively. The ratio of yield point / plastic viscosity was 1.4 for pH of 8 while it decreased to 0.5 for a pH of 11 and 12. There was a significant decrease in the gel strength readings by increasing the pH. The filtrate volume and filter cake thickness increased by increasing pH. The filtration volume increased from 9.5 cm3 to 12.6 cm3 by increasing the pH from 9 to 12. The filter cake thickness was 2 mm at 9 pH, while it was increased to 3.6 mm for 12 pH. It is recommended from the results to keep the pH of water-based drilling fluid based on bentonite in the range of 9 to 10 as it provides the optimum mud rheological and filtration properties. The findings of this study illustrated that keeping the pH in the range of 9 to 10 will reduce the plastic viscosity that will help in increasing the rate of penetration and reducing the required pump pressure to circulate the mud to the surface which will help to sustain the drilling operation. In addition, reducing the filtrate volume will produce a thin filter cake which will help in avoiding the pipe sticking and protect the environment. In general, optimizing the pH of the water-based drilling fluid based on bentonite in the range of 9 to 10 will improve the drilling operation and minimize the total cost. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drilling Technologies and Process Safety)
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17 pages, 3882 KiB  
Article
New Artificial Neural Networks Model for Predicting Rate of Penetration in Deep Shale Formation
by Abdulmalek Ahmed, Abdulwahab Ali, Salaheldin Elkatatny and Abdulazeez Abdulraheem
Sustainability 2019, 11(22), 6527; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226527 - 19 Nov 2019
Cited by 46 | Viewed by 4619
Abstract
Rate of penetration (ROP) means how fast the drilling bit is drilling through the formations. It is known that in the petroleum industry, most of the well cost is taken by the drilling operations. Therefore, it is very crucial to drill carefully and [...] Read more.
Rate of penetration (ROP) means how fast the drilling bit is drilling through the formations. It is known that in the petroleum industry, most of the well cost is taken by the drilling operations. Therefore, it is very crucial to drill carefully and improve drilling processes. Nevertheless, it is challenging to predict the influence of every single parameter because most of the drilling parameters depend on each other and altering an individual parameter will have an impact on the rest. Due to the complexity of the drilling operations, up to the present time, there is no reliable model that can adequately estimate the ROP. Artificial intelligence (AI) might be capable of building a predictive model from a number of input parameters that correlate to the output parameter. A real field dataset, of shale formation, that contains records of both drilling parameters such as, rotation per minute (RPM), weight on bit (WOB), drilling torque (τ), standpipe pressure (SPP) and flow pump (Q) and mud properties such as, mud weight (MW), funnel and plastic viscosities (FV) (PV), solid (%) and yield point (YP) were used to predict ROP using artificial neural network (ANN). A comparison between the developed ANN-ROP model and the number of selected published ROP models were performed. A novel empirical equation of ROP using the above-mentioned parameters was derived based on ANN technique which is able to estimate ROP with excellent precision (correlation coefficient (R) of 0.996 and average absolute percentage error (AAPE) of 5.776%). The novel ANN-based correlation outperformed three published empirical models and it can be used to predict the ROP without the need for artificial intelligence software. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drilling Technologies and Process Safety)
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11 pages, 3715 KiB  
Article
One-Stage Calcium Carbonate Oil-Based Filter Cake Removal Using a New Biodegradable Acid System
by Salaheldin Elkatatny
Sustainability 2019, 11(20), 5715; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205715 - 16 Oct 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3007
Abstract
Removal of the oil-based filter cake is a complex task especially in horizontal and multilateral wells. The presence of oil makes the removal process more challenging because the oil coats the weighting materials and prevents acid–filter cake interaction. Therefore, different additives are required [...] Read more.
Removal of the oil-based filter cake is a complex task especially in horizontal and multilateral wells. The presence of oil makes the removal process more challenging because the oil coats the weighting materials and prevents acid–filter cake interaction. Therefore, different additives are required to change the wettability of the filter cake to enhance the removal efficiency. This paper introduces a new biodegradable acid system (NBAS) that can efficiently remove oil-based filter cake in horizontal and multilateral wells where calcium carbonate is used as a weighting agent. The new biodegradable acid system (NBAS) consists of 50 vol.% biodegradable acid and 5 vol.% mutual solvent, and the remaining percent is deionized water. High-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) filtration experiments were performed to evaluate the filter cake removal efficiency and the retained permeability. The filtration and removal experiments were conducted using real core samples (Indiana limestone and Berea sandstone) at a temperature of 212 °F and 300 psi differential pressure. Afterward, the NBAS was evaluated by measuring physical properties and conducting corrosion, compatibility, and thermal stability studies. The obtained results showed that the NBAS was compatible and thermally stable for more than 48 h at 212 °F and 300 psi. The NBAS has a density of 1.05 g/cm3, viscosity of 1.47 cP, and surface tension of 32 dynes/cm at room temperature. The corrosion rate of the developed system was 0.03 lb/ft2, which is acceptable according to oil and gas industry best practices. Removal experiments showed that the filter cake was completely removed from the core samples. For Berea sandstone, 100% of the permeability was regained, while the retained permeability for Indiana limestone was 122.5%, confirming the complete removal of external and internal filter cake as well as core samples stimulation. The new acid system can be considered as an efficient solution for oil-based filter cake removal that is biodegradable and cost-effective, where the reservoir permeability can be regained in one-stage only. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drilling Technologies and Process Safety)
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14 pages, 5217 KiB  
Article
Prevention of Barite Sag in Oil-Based Drilling Fluids Using a Mixture of Barite and Ilmenite as Weighting Material
by Abdelmjeed Mohamed, Salem Basfar, Salaheldin Elkatatny and Abdulaziz Al-Majed
Sustainability 2019, 11(20), 5617; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205617 - 12 Oct 2019
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 6441
Abstract
Drilling high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) wells requires a special fluid formulation that is capable of controlling the high pressure and is stable under the high downhole temperature. Barite-weighted fluids are common for such purpose because of the good properties of barite, its low cost, [...] Read more.
Drilling high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) wells requires a special fluid formulation that is capable of controlling the high pressure and is stable under the high downhole temperature. Barite-weighted fluids are common for such purpose because of the good properties of barite, its low cost, and its availability. However, solids settlement is a major problem encountered with this type of fluids, especially at elevated downhole temperatures. This phenomenon is known as barite sag, and it is encountered in vertical and directional wells under static or dynamic conditions leading to serious well control issues. This study aims to evaluate the use of barite-ilmenite mixture as a weighting agent to prevent solids sag in oil-based muds at elevated temperatures. Sag test was conducted under static conditions (vertical and inclined) at 350 °F and under dynamic conditions at 120 °F to determine the optimum ilmenite concentration. Afterward, a complete evaluation of the drilling fluid was performed by monitoring density, electrical stability, rheological and viscoelastic properties, and filtration performance to study the impact of adding ilmenite on drilling fluid performance. The results of this study showed that adding ilmenite reduces sag tendency, and only 40 wt.% ilmenite (from the total weighting material) was adequate to eliminate barite sag under both static and dynamic conditions with a sag factor of around 0.51. Adding ilmenite enhanced the rheological and viscoelastic properties and the suspension of solid particles in the drilling fluid, which confirmed sag test results. Adding ilmenite slightly increased the density of the drilling fluid, with a slight decrease in the electrical stability within the acceptable range of field applications. Moreover, a minor improvement in the filtration performance of the drilling fluid and filter cake sealing properties was observed with the combined weighting agent. The findings of this study provide a practical solution to the barite sag issue in oil-based fluids using a combination of barite and ilmenite powder as a weighting agent to drill HPHT oil and gas wells safely and efficiently with such type of fluids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drilling Technologies and Process Safety)
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