Completion Design Review with Focus on

Well Integrity and Productivity

Karianne Skrnes Vgenes

Earth Sciences and Petroleum Engineering

Submission date: June 2012
Supervisor:
Michael Golan, IPT
Co-supervisor:
Bjrn Brechan, IPT

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Department of Petroleum Engineering and Applied Geophysics

NTNU
Norgesteknisknaturvitenskapelige

Fakultetforingenirvitenskapogteknologi

universitet

FacultyofEngineeringandTechnology

StudieprogramiGeofagogpetroleumsteknologi
StudyProgrammeinEarthSciencesandPetroleumEngineering

Instituttforpetroleumsteknologioganvendtgeofysikk
DepartmentofPetroleumEngineeringandAppliedGeophysics

HOVEDOPPGAVE/DIPLOMA THESIS/MASTER OF SCIENCE THESIS

Kandidatensnavn/Thecandidatesname:
KarianneSkrnesVgenes
Oppgavenstittel,norsk/TitleofThesis,

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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Fractures,faultingandfluidflow.FracturingsaltdepositsintheCamargue.
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/earthscienceandengineering/research/fractures(accessed6
June2012)

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.

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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]

87