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ABSTRACT The use of rotary expansion technology to accomplish solid (non-slotted or perforated wall) tubular expansion goals has been recently been introduced to the Oil and Gas Industry. This rotary expansion technology is contrasted with the fixed cone technique. The effects of compliant versus non-compliant rotary techniques on potential applications are addressed. The effects of the expansion process on mechanical properties and corrosion resistance are presented. Reported results that characterize process effects include full size product performance tests, corrosion rate tests and sulfide stress corrosion cracking tests. The concept of "safe selection criteria" is introduced that ensures successful expansion projects and final product properties. INTRODUCTION The in-situ expansion of tubulars downhole has advanced rapidly in recent years and is becoming an established technology in the oil and gas industry. The opportunities offered by expandable products center on maximizing throughbore in products such as expandable liner hangers, the ability to restore functionality to excessively worn and/or corroded tubulars using remedial casing repair products and, ultimately, a revolution in well design through the use of an expandable drilling liner 1. A dramatic growth in utilization of expandable technologies is predicted in this decade as the benefits continue to be proven. The first generation of expandable tubular products utilized a fixed-dimension conical tool to perform the required deformation. The emergence of an alternative expansion process, rotary expansion, has provided a means by which to overcome some of the pitfalls inherent with conical expansion. This paper introduces rotary expansion technology and details work conducted on expansion demands and performance criteria for various solid expandable products. EXPANSION BASICS The process of expanding a solid tubular involves forcing a tool through the inner diameter in order to generate permanent, plastic deformation in the circumferential direction and a subsequent increase in diameter. An example of an expanded tubular is shown in Figure 1. Naturally, the degree of expansion is dictated by the dimensions and geometry of the tool passing through the bore. The convention in describing expansion ratio has been to use the change in inner diameter from do to df, as shown below. This is useful when discussing throughbore, whilst for cased-hole expansions it is often relevant to discuss expansion ratio in terms of outer diameter, D. The nomenclature is shown graphically in Figure 2 In terms of tubular geometry, assuming conservation of volume and no change in length, the cross- sectional area will not change after expansion. Therefore for a given increase in diameter, the wall thickness will reduce by a predictable amount. In reality, both cone and rotary expansion produce deviations from conservation of cross-sectional area and therefore generate differing wall thickness for the same outer diameter expansion. In simple geometrical terms, for an expansion of initial tubular outer and inner diameters Do and do to a final inner diameter of df, the expanded wall thickness, tf, can be estimated from the extent of elongation, e, which is positive for rotary expansion and negative for cone expansion EQUATION: The reduction in wall thickness during expansion controls the extent of strain hardening in the tubular and therefore the bulk mechanical properties, i.e. yield and tensile strength, ductility, hardness, impact properties, etc. CONE EXPANSION Many of the in-situ tubular expansion successes over the last few years have been accomplished through the u
- Geology > Geological Subdiscipline > Geomechanics (0.35)
- Geology > Mineral > Sulfide (0.35)
- North America > United States > California > Ventura Basin > Ventura Field > Santa Margarita Formation (0.99)
- North America > United States > California > Ventura Basin > Ventura Field > Pico Formation (0.99)
- Asia > Indonesia > Northwest Java Sea > Sunda Basin > Cinta Field (0.99)
Over a number of years production casing leaks have been one of the major issues of oil well operation in Russia. Experts believe that this issue is one of the main reasons of oil well shifting from the active well stock into temporarily shut-in wells. The share of shut-in wells in Russia has reached 15% of the total oil well stock without any significant changes in recent years. It is evident that conventional solutions providing for smaller size production casing running and cementing to surface are not cost efficient. Operators are surely interested in alternative solutions being less material, tool and time consuming. In this context, solid expandable systems deserve close attention as their application will enable to reduce both work costs and nonproductive time. Operator's benefits from using solid expandable systems for production casing leak repairs include: 1. Reduction of production decline rates at brown fields; 2. Extension of field producing life; 3. Reduction of shut-in well servicing costs. Solid expandable tubular systems significantly differ from each other in the design of expandable tubing (patches), the expansion method, and, correspondingly, the complex of equipment applied. This article describes one of the most common solid expandable tubular systems, presents an analysis of its application geography, and provides a case study of this system application in Russia.
- Europe > Russia (1.00)
- Asia > Russia (1.00)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.70)
- Well Drilling > Drilling Operations (1.00)
- Well Drilling > Casing and Cementing > Casing design (0.92)
- Well Drilling > Wellbore Design > Wellbore integrity (0.88)
- Production and Well Operations > Production Chemistry, Metallurgy and Biology > Corrosion inhibition and management (including H2S and CO2) (0.69)
ABSTRACT A review of technology and applications for the in-situ expansion of solid tubulars is presented. The techniques used to accomplish expansion are compared and contrasted with respect to post-expansion performance and suitability for different construction and remediation applications. The evolution of tool designs for both cone and rotary systems and the influence of expansion simulation techniques are discussed. A review of mechanical and environmental performance of steels and corrosion resistant alloys (CRAs) is summarized and the results of recent testing work introduced. INTRODUCTION Industry utilization of solid expandable technology has become established in recent years. As of November 2004, the principal expandable service companies have made more than 320 installations. The range of applications has been fairly diverse but can be broadly categorized into well construction or completion/remediation functions. The impetus for solid expandable tubular development can be traced to early work by operators in the late eighties1,2. The original drive, and still a major aspect in current products and new developments, was to reduce or eliminate the tendency for telescoping in the casing program. The potential primary and secondary cost benefits generated are significant and have been sufficient to initiate long-term research and development programs within operator and service companies. Subsequent opportunities for expandables in different functions, e.g. hanger, isolation, casing repair and sand control devices, were identified and developed concurrently with well construction technologies. In addition to testing and development work on functional and operational aspects of expandable technologies, operators and service companies have been working to determine the effects of expansion on material performance; including both mechanical and corrosion-related aspects. This paper aims to provide an overview of solid expandable technology, applications and testing and to cover some new areas of development.
- Materials > Metals & Mining (1.00)
- Energy > Oil & Gas > Upstream (1.00)
Abstract Economics is a universal driving force in the oil and gas industry whether offshore or on land, and the "all or nothing" gas market of the Netherlands is no exception. With extremely heavy demand in the winter and very low demands in the summer, the capacity to cover the peak demands pays very high returns. The capability to boost significantly the production capacity of existing wells by increasing the size of the completion is both economically and environmentally attractive. The development of a 13% chromium (13Cr) solid expandable tubular production quality liner enables the operator to gain extra capacity without drilling infill wells or building more surface facilities. Furthermore, abandonment costs are not affected. Solid expandable tubular technology also provides operators with the flexibility to respond to the sudden increase in future gas demands as dictated by the market. Development of new sealing systems, expansion assemblies, and gas tight expandable connections were required to make this technology a reality. This paper discusses the planning, testing, and application of this environmentally sound and economically advantageous technology. In this particular application, productivity of the well increased from 38.5 mln scf/d to 63.5 mln scf/d. The paper also expounds on the potential impact this technology will have on the future of the oil and gas industry. Reviewing Energy Requirements A 1999 annual review of the Groningen field in the Netherlands revealed that capacity requirements could exceed the installed capacity of the field by 2006. This production differential, in addition to cyclical customer needs, led the producer to search for a means to increase production and still remain within economic parameters. Two major well engineering options considered that had potential for generating low-cost capacity consisted of the following:Infill drilling of conventional new wells Application of expandable tubular technology For simplicity, the preliminary economics of the project were based on comparing the estimated cost of generating additional unit volume of gas in the field, referred to as cost of capacity (COC), for the different well engineering capacity measures. Weighing cost factors with technical feasibility, the study showed that solid expandable tubular installations provided a viable solution to the capacity-measures dilemma. For the expandable system to be a viable option, several factions of the industry had to perform extensive development or product enhancements. Enventure Global Technology enhanced their expandable system; Vallourec/Mannesman developed an expandable gas-tight connection; Halliburton Energy Services developed a pressure compensating system; and Shell evaluated materials and developed material specifications. Addressing the Challenges Further development of solid expandable tubular technology would provide cost effective conversions of existing wells. In addition, it would also help expedite the longer term goal of a cost effective monodiameter infill well. Many preplacement issues needed to be resolved before the actual installation in well Eemskanaal-2 (EKL-2) in the Groningen field. The well chosen for this clad expansion produces sweet gas with sufficient CO2 to be corrosive to carbon steel; therefore, 13Cr was chosen for the production tubing. The same material, 13Cr, was chosen as the expandable clad liner.
- Well Completion > Completion Installation and Operations (1.00)
- Production and Well Operations > Production Chemistry, Metallurgy and Biology > Corrosion inhibition and management (including H2S and CO2) (1.00)
- Well Drilling > Casing and Cementing > Casing design (0.94)
- Management > Asset and Portfolio Management > Field development optimization and planning (0.74)
Abstract Solid steel tube can be readily expanded using forces, either mechanical or hydraulic available on most drilling and workover rigs. The process of drawing or pumping a mandrel through a length of tube can be used to expand the tube in situ. This process can be used to repair casing and tubing, shut off unwanted fluid entry into, and egress from the wellbore, repair sand screens, and act as a contingency liner in drilling applications. The ultimate use of expanded tubulars will be in the mono-diameter well, whereby the entire well is drilled and cased using effectively one hole size. The impact on drilling costs and performance will be dramatic. Expandable tubing technology has been applied in the three market segments of remediation, wellbore construction and sand control. A broad range of products is currently available for implementation in all three segments. A review of the principles of expandable tubing technology leads to a discussion of the likely evolution of the technology towards the monodiameter well. The implementation of expandable tubing will follow a pattern of replacement of conventional technologies, use through necessity, maintenance of diametric efficiency which will lead to the use of the technology within the basis of design of well construction. From this is but a small step to the monodiameter well. The principles of expandable tubing technology are well understood. The complexity arises from the system interactions between the materials, expansion process and the wellbore environment. These are explained and discussed. Introduction The basic principle of solid tubing expansion is simple - take a length of well construction tubular and expand it using a mechanically drawn or hydraulically pushed cone. The implications are dramatic - drill a wellbore from spud to total depth using one hole size. This is the monodiameter well. The monodiameter well concept can be realised if we replace conventional casing and liner sizes with expandable solid pipe. It is easy to visualise the concept. A monodiameter well might be spudded with a driven conductor of say 7 5/8" - 9 5/8" in diameter. From thereon each hole section, perhaps of 7" diameter is drilled using reaming while drilling (RWD), an underreamer, bi-centre bit or equivalent and then lined using an expandable tubing. The annular pressure seal may be cement or some other innovative sealing element. The next section of hole is drilled using the same sized underreamer and then lined again with the same size expandable tubing. The process is repeated to T.D. A well would then be designed based on the hole size required across the reservoir. The rig capacity and all the drilling and completions equipment for the entire well would be sized to the reservoir hole size. The telescoping well design with all its associated and myriad selection of drilling and completions equipment would be consigned to history. The size of the prize is dramatic. The industry E&P spend in 1999 was $65 billion. Of this, around $25 billion was spent on well construction and a further $11.5 billion was spent on facilities construction. The monodiameter well has the potential to reduce annual recurring well construction costs by 50% or more. Table 1 provides comparative data for a conventional well, slim-hole well and a monodiameter well drilled to a total depth of 14,000 feet. In addition, the effect on the sizing of platforms and total field development costs will also decrease by a significant amount. With reductions in well construction costs of this order, the opportunity to develop marginal fields in mature provinces such as the North Sea, cannot be overlooked.
- North America > United States (0.46)
- Europe > United Kingdom > North Sea (0.24)
- Europe > Norway > North Sea (0.24)
- (2 more...)
- Well Drilling > Wellbore Design > Wellbore integrity (1.00)
- Well Drilling > Drilling Operations > Directional drilling (0.94)
- Well Completion > Sand Control > Screen selection (0.90)
- (3 more...)