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Directional Drilling Limits Analysis Based on Downhole Drill String Mechanics for Shale Gas Cluster Well Engineering

  • Research Article-Petroleum Engineering
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Abstract

Under the uniform parallel well pattern widely used in shale gas cluster well, the directional drilling limits (DDL) can better reflect the productivity of shale gas cluster well than extended-reach limits (ERL). In this paper, the concept of directional drilling limits is proposed to predict the productivity of shale gas cluster well. Around this concept, the forecast model of mechanical directional drilling limits is established by introducing the objective function, geometric constraints, mechanical constraints and operation conditions. A shale gas cluster well developed by Sinopec in Fuling field is analyzed. The mechanical directional drilling limits for different constraints are calculated, and the laws of the directional drilling limits under different operation conditions are analyzed. The results indicate that the cluster well optimized by the established model can drill more horizontal wells than that without optimization. The mechanical directional drilling limits firstly increases and tends to stable with the increases in the holding angles. Besides, running-in is the limit operation in sliding and rotating mode, and high friction coefficient is the fundamental mechanical constraint for directional drilling limits. The constrained optimization model established in this paper can provide a theoretical guidance for shale gas cluster well engineering to improve outputs and avoid drilling hazards.

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Abbreviations

c :

Operation conditions

\(C_{\rm L}\) :

Directional drilling limits (m)

d :

Design parameters

D h :

Distance between target sections (m)

D t :

Vertical depth of target sections (m)

D b :

Outer diameter of the tubular string (m)

D bi :

Internal diameter of tubular string (m)

F :

Axial compressive force on the tubular string (N)

F vs :

Axial force on the top of the vertical wellbore (N)

F tes :

Threshold values of axial force for rock breaking (N)

F te :

Axial force on the end of the tubular string in target section (N)

L h 1 :

Length of hold section for p well (m)

L h 2 :

Length of hold section for q well (m)

\(L_{\rm v1}\) :

Length of vertical section for p well (m)

\(L_{\rm v2}\) :

Length of vertical section for q well (m)

\(L_{\rm v}^{\rm l}\) :

Lower limit for kick-off point vertical depth (m)

\(L_{\rm v}^{\rm u}\) :

Upper limit for kick-off point vertical depth (m)

\(L_{\rm h}^{\rm l}\) :

Lower limit for length of hold section (m)

\(L_{\rm h}^{\rm u}\) :

Upper limit for length of hold section (m)

\(N_{\rm w}\) :

Maximum number of wells in one platform

\(M_{\rm T}\) :

Torque on the tubular string (N m)

\(M_{\rm Tvs}\) :

Torque on the top of the vertical wellbore (N m)

\(M_{\rm Trig}^{\rm u}\) :

Rated torque of the drill rig (N m)

\(M_{\rm Tts}\) :

Threshold values of torque for rock breaking (N m)

\(M_{\rm Tte}\) :

Torque on the end of the tubular string in target section (N m)

\(M_{\rm b}\) :

Bending moment on the tubular string (N m)

n :

Safety factor

n t :

Contact force between tubular string and wellbore per unit length (N m)

p :

Constraint parameters

q :

Tubular weight per unit length (N m)

R 1 :

Curvature radius of build section for p well (m)

\(R_{1}^{{\prime }}\) :

Curvature radius of build section for q well (m)

R 2 :

Curvature radius of turn section for p well (m)

\(R_{2}^{{\prime }}\) :

Curvature radius of turn section for q well (m)

\(R_{1}^{\rm l}\) :

Lower limit of build section curvature radius (m)

\(R_{1}^{\rm u}\) :

Upper limit of build section curvature radius (m)

\(R_{2}^{\rm l}\) :

Lower limit of turn section curvature radius (m)

\(R_{2}^{\rm u}\) :

Upper limit of turn section curvature radius (m)

s :

Well depth (m)

\(S_{{pc_{1} }}\) :

Length of the line \(pc_{1}\) (m)

\(S_{{qe_{1} }}\) :

Length of the line \(qe_{1}\) (m)

\(T_{\rm rig}^{\rm u}\) :

Rated pick-up force of the drill rig (N)

\(T_{\rm rig}^{\rm l}\) :

Minimum slack-off force of the drill rig (N)

\(X_{t}\) :

Distance from wellhead to target sections in horizontal profile (m)

\(\Delta x_{{c_{1} d_{1} }}\) :

Projection length of line \(c_{1} d_{1}\) on the x-axis in horizontal profile (m)

\(\Delta x_{{e_{1} f_{1} }}\) :

Projection length of line \(e_{1} f_{1}\) on the x-axis in horizontal profile (m)

\(\left| {\Delta y_{{c_{1} d_{1} }} } \right|\) :

Projection length of line \(c_{1} d_{1}\) on the y-axis in horizontal profile (m)

\(\left| {\Delta y_{{e_{1} f_{1} }} } \right|\) :

Projection length of line \(e_{1} f_{1}\) on the y-axis in horizontal profile (m)

\(\left| {\Delta y_{{p^{\prime}q^{\prime}}} } \right|\) :

Distance between outermost wells in platform (m)

\(\alpha\) :

Inclination angle (°)

\(\alpha_{\rm h}\) :

Inclination angle of hold section (°)

\(\alpha_{\rm h1}\) :

Inclination angle of p well hold section (°)

\(\alpha_{\rm h2}\) :

Inclination angle of q well hold section (°)

\(\alpha_{t}\) :

Inclination angle of target section (°)

\(\mu_{1}\) :

Axial friction factor

\(\mu_{2}\) :

Circumferential friction factor

\(\sigma\) :

Equivalent stress (N/m2)

\(\left[ \sigma \right]\) :

Allowable stress (N/m2)

\(\sigma_{s}\) :

Yielding strength of the tubular string (N/m2)

\(\sigma_{m}\) :

Average axial stress (N/m2)

\(\sigma_{b}\) :

Maximum bending stress (N/m2)

\(\tau_{c}\) :

Maximum shear stress (N/m2)

\(\varphi_{{h_{1} }}\) :

Angle between positive y-axis and line \(pc_{1}\) (°)

\(\varphi_{{h_{2} }}\) :

Angle between positive y-axis and line \(qe_{1}\) (°)

\(\varphi_{t}\) :

Angle between positive y-axis and projection line of target section in horizontal profile (°)

\(\varphi_{\rm h}\) :

Angle between positive y-axis and projection line of build and hold section in horizontal profile (°)

\(\varphi_{\rm h1}^{\rm l}\) :

Lower limit of the angle between positive y-axis and line \(pc_{1}\) in horizontal profile (°)

\(\varphi_{\rm h1}^{\rm u}\) :

Upper limit of the angle between positive y-axis and line \(pc_{1}\) in horizontal profile (°)

\(\varphi_{\rm h2}^{\rm l}\) :

Lower limit of the angle between positive y-axis and line \(qe_{1}\) in horizontal profile (°)

\(\varphi_{\rm h2}^{\rm u}\) :

Upper limit of the angle between positive y-axis and line \(qe_{1}\) in horizontal profile (°)

\(\varepsilon_{cd}\) :

Dogleg angle of turn section for p well (°)

\(\varepsilon_{ef}\) :

Dogleg angle of turn section for q well (°)

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51821092 and U1762214). This research is also supported by other projects (Grant Nos. 2017ZX05009-003, 2017ZX05005-005-007, 2018YFB0605502, 2016YFC0303303).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MOE Key Laboratory of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China

    Yue Gu, Wenjun Huang, Deli Gao & Jin Yang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Engineering, Beijing, 102249, China

    Yue Gu, Wenjun Huang, Deli Gao & Jin Yang

Authors
  1. Yue Gu
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  2. Wenjun Huang
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  4. Jin Yang
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Correspondence to Wenjun Huang or Deli Gao.

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Gu, Y., Huang, W., Gao, D. et al. Directional Drilling Limits Analysis Based on Downhole Drill String Mechanics for Shale Gas Cluster Well Engineering. Arab J Sci Eng 47, 11255–11267 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-021-05967-z

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