Oil exploration experts do their best to discover the right places to drill for oil, but often the presence of oil cannot be determined until a drill bit penetrates the pocket. This can take many days or weeks of hard work in extreme circumstances. Utilization of the right drilling equipment is essential for a successful and profitable operation.
Once a promising site has been identified by explorers, operators must evaluate the site to determine an efficient drill plan. Geologists assist with this step using techniques such as mechanical earth modelling (MEM). By compiling information from core samples taken at the site, and correlating with information from other wells in the area geologists can generate a picture of the earth strata that drillers may encounter. This information consists of the depth that different types of sediments will be encountered as well as the rock density and hardness. All of this enables drillers to select the appropriate drilling equipment for the operation.
Pre 1900’s most holes were done using percussion drilling. This is when a heavy object is lifted up and dropped to the ground repeatedly. This method only allows for depths of several hundred feet and the work can take many years. With the drive to reach deeper depths in shorter time frames technology has rapidly evolved. Today companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp depend on hydraulic rotary drilling, which allows rig operators to reach the deepest oil reservoirs between 30,000 and 40,000 feet below the earth’s surface and oceans. Beyond 40,000 feet the intense heat from the earth’s core will have vaporized any useable crude oil.
Hydraulic rotary drilling consists of a tungsten carbide drill bit impregnated with synthetic or natural diamonds on the end of a hollow pipe assembly. Drilling mud, a gel like mixture of bentonite, clay, and other additives, is used to lubricate and cool the pipes and drill bit. Cuttings and rock chips travel up the hole on the outside of the drilling assembly. Samples of rock chips are collected at various depths. Drill bits are often between 18 and 26 inches in diameter. The largest drill bit in the world is over 3’ in diameter. Larger holes are required to reach attain higher flow rate of crude, therefore faster production times. If stability of the bore hole becomes a problem, as it can in softer sedimentation, steel collars or casings must be put in place to keep the hole from collapsing. A rotating three cone drill bit, like the one pictured in the popular Bruce Willis movie “Armageddon”, reduces friction and increases wear
One of the latest advancements is a rotary steerable system (RSS). This system allows deviations from the vertical up to several hundred feet. By reducing the friction and wear on the drill bit there is less chance of stuck pipes, or a jammed drill bit twisting off. The benefits substantially reduce production costs by saving time and equipment costs.
About the Author: Robert Jent is President & CEO of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy is an independent producer of oil and natural gas. Located in the Dallas area, the company specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties.
Showing posts with label drilling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drilling. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Dynamic Gas Pulse Loading - A Better Solution
Setting up a drilling platform is a costly endeavour. It is important that the maximum amount of oil or gas be extracted from the reservoir and the fastest rate possible. Running the crews around the clock isn’t enough to accomplish this task. Once the initial oil or gas is released from a reservoir the hydrostatic pressure will drop and the flow rate will be reduced or stop completely. Oil and gas further away from the drill site may not have a clear path to the borehole. Well drillers have come up with a number of techniques to solve this problem.
Hydraulic fracturing, and acidizing are the most commonly used methods, however, The idea behind these two techniques is to create fractures in the rock thereby increasing the radius the well is able to draw oil or gas from. However, certain circumstances may dictate these methods unsuitable. One problem is that they involve using large quantities of fluids, which certain formations may be sensitive to. They may not actually create fractures on an outward horizontal plane.
The Dynamic Gas Pulse Loading (DGPL) system generates high-pressure gasses, which induce and propagate multiple fractures in the targeted zones in very short time frames. The resulting hot gas, contained by a liquid column in the wellbore, expands to generate a fracture network extending from each perforation tunnel in the treatment zone. The DGPL system uses mechanical pressure gauges to monitor the fracture response of the formation. Time-dependent pressure recording provides a more detailed picture of the fracture process. The system is lowered into a well on an electric wire line or by a modified tubing conveyance. A down hole pressure sensor connected by wire to the digital recorder system at the surface provides instant access to the data and does not risk damage to the digital recorder.
Some would argue that dynamic gas pulse loading is a better method to increase the flow rate of gas and oil wells. Certain benefits are obvious. A DGPL system eliminates the need for large storage tanks at the surface and pump trucks. Most importantly, drillers are able to control the direction of the fractures. This eliminates the possibility of damaging the reservoir with hydraulic methods that may only create fractures in a vertical direction, and possibly rendering the well unusable.
Triple Diamond Energy Corporation and others will most surely benefit from continued scientific research in the field of well stimulation.
Chris Jent is the chief marketing officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.
Hydraulic fracturing, and acidizing are the most commonly used methods, however, The idea behind these two techniques is to create fractures in the rock thereby increasing the radius the well is able to draw oil or gas from. However, certain circumstances may dictate these methods unsuitable. One problem is that they involve using large quantities of fluids, which certain formations may be sensitive to. They may not actually create fractures on an outward horizontal plane.
The Dynamic Gas Pulse Loading (DGPL) system generates high-pressure gasses, which induce and propagate multiple fractures in the targeted zones in very short time frames. The resulting hot gas, contained by a liquid column in the wellbore, expands to generate a fracture network extending from each perforation tunnel in the treatment zone. The DGPL system uses mechanical pressure gauges to monitor the fracture response of the formation. Time-dependent pressure recording provides a more detailed picture of the fracture process. The system is lowered into a well on an electric wire line or by a modified tubing conveyance. A down hole pressure sensor connected by wire to the digital recorder system at the surface provides instant access to the data and does not risk damage to the digital recorder.
Some would argue that dynamic gas pulse loading is a better method to increase the flow rate of gas and oil wells. Certain benefits are obvious. A DGPL system eliminates the need for large storage tanks at the surface and pump trucks. Most importantly, drillers are able to control the direction of the fractures. This eliminates the possibility of damaging the reservoir with hydraulic methods that may only create fractures in a vertical direction, and possibly rendering the well unusable.
Triple Diamond Energy Corporation and others will most surely benefit from continued scientific research in the field of well stimulation.
Chris Jent is the chief marketing officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.
Stimulation Techniques used in Oil Drilling
Fictional media depictions of oil drilling have given the general public an inaccurate picture of the ease with which oil is removed from its rocky reservoirs. Typically it is not all gushing geysers in response to a little drilling. In actuality an oil-bearing formation may contain a large amount of oil, but low flow rate as a result of low permeability or blockage from debris may slow the extraction process. This is especially true for tight sands, oil shale, and coal bed methane. There are two major categories of stimulation techniques used by oil drillers to help alleviate this problem and restore flow of fluids from the reservoir to the borehole. They are called hydraulic fracturing, and acidizing or matrix treatments.
Hydraulic fracturing is a method that creates new pathways for the oil to travel by injecting fluid underground at high pressures. This causes the formations to fracture, and the oil or gas flows more freely out of the formation .Typically, in order to create fractures a mixture of water, proppants (sand or ceramic beads) and chemicals is pumped into the rock or coal formation. Eventually, the formation will not be able to absorb the fluid at the same rate that it is being injected. At this point, the pressure created causes the formation to crack or fracture. The fractures are held open by the proppants, and the oil or gas is then able to flow through the fractures to the well. Coal bed fracture treatments use between 50,000 and 350,000 gallons of various stimulation and fracturing fluids, and anywhere from 75,000 to 320,000 pounds of proppant during the hydraulic fracturing of a single well.
Chemicals commonly used in combination with stimulant fuels include diesel fuel, which contains benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, methanol, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, glycol ethers, and sodium hydroxide. This fracturing method is performed above the fracture pressure of the formation and creates a highly passable flow path between the reservoir and the borehole.
Acidizing involves injecting the formation with acid, typically hydrochloric acid, which causes the rock to dissolve opening rock pores and allowing fluid to flow more easily. Matrix acidizing is administered at a high rate, but at treatment pressures below the fracture pressure of the formation. This allows the acid to saturate the formation and amplify the depth of treatment while averting further breakdown of the reservoir formation. These methods are sometimes combined to create an acid fracture treatment.
These important techniques are helping companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation to get the maximum benefit out of their wells, by reducing costs and environmental impact of oil and gas drilling.
Chris Jent is the chief marketing officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.
Hydraulic fracturing is a method that creates new pathways for the oil to travel by injecting fluid underground at high pressures. This causes the formations to fracture, and the oil or gas flows more freely out of the formation .Typically, in order to create fractures a mixture of water, proppants (sand or ceramic beads) and chemicals is pumped into the rock or coal formation. Eventually, the formation will not be able to absorb the fluid at the same rate that it is being injected. At this point, the pressure created causes the formation to crack or fracture. The fractures are held open by the proppants, and the oil or gas is then able to flow through the fractures to the well. Coal bed fracture treatments use between 50,000 and 350,000 gallons of various stimulation and fracturing fluids, and anywhere from 75,000 to 320,000 pounds of proppant during the hydraulic fracturing of a single well.
Chemicals commonly used in combination with stimulant fuels include diesel fuel, which contains benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, methanol, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, glycol ethers, and sodium hydroxide. This fracturing method is performed above the fracture pressure of the formation and creates a highly passable flow path between the reservoir and the borehole.
Acidizing involves injecting the formation with acid, typically hydrochloric acid, which causes the rock to dissolve opening rock pores and allowing fluid to flow more easily. Matrix acidizing is administered at a high rate, but at treatment pressures below the fracture pressure of the formation. This allows the acid to saturate the formation and amplify the depth of treatment while averting further breakdown of the reservoir formation. These methods are sometimes combined to create an acid fracture treatment.
These important techniques are helping companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation to get the maximum benefit out of their wells, by reducing costs and environmental impact of oil and gas drilling.
Chris Jent is the chief marketing officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.
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