Effect of Drillpipe Rotation on Hole Cleaning
Chapter Two:
Literature review
2.1 Introduction:
Effect of Drillpipe Rotation on Hole Cleaning During Directional-Well Drilling
R. Alfredo Sanchez,* SPE and J.J. Azar, SPE, U. of Tulsa; A.A. Bassal, SPE, Gearhart United Pty. Ltd.; and A.L. Martins, SPE, Petrobra´ s
Summary
The effect of drillpipe rotation on hole cleaning during directional-well drilling is investigated. An 8 in. diameter wellbore simulator, 100 ft long, with a 4 1 2 in. drillpipe was used for the study. The variables considered in this experimental work are: rotary speed, hole inclination, mud rheology, cuttings size, and mud flow rate. Over 600 tests were conducted.
The rotary speed was varied from 0 to 175 rpm. High viscosity and low viscosity bentonite muds and polymer muds were used with 1 4 in. crushed limestone and 1 10 in. river gravel cuttings. Four hole inclinations were considered: 40°, 65°, 80°, and 90° from vertical. The results show that drillpipe rotation has a significant effect on hole cleaning during directional-well drilling, contrary to what has been published by previous researchers who forced the drillpipe to rotate about its own axis. The level of enhancement due to pipe rotation is a function of the simultaneous combination of mud rheology, cuttings size, and mud flow rate. Also it was observed that the dynamic behavior of the drillpipe ~steady state vibration, unsteady sate vibration, whirling rotation, true axial rotation parallel to hole axis, etc.! plays a major role on the significance in the improvement of hole cleaning. Generally, smaller cuttings are more difficult to transport.
However, at high rotary speed and with high viscosity muds, the smaller cuttings seem to become easier to transport. Generally, in inclined wells, low viscosity muds clean better than high viscosity muds, depending on cuttings size, viscosity, and rotary speed level.
SPE Journal 4 ~2!, June 1999
References
1. Jalukar, L.S.: ”A Study of Hole Size Effect on Critical and Subcritical Drilling Fluid Velocities in Cuttings Transport for Inclined Wellbores,” MS Thesis, U. of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK ~1993!.
2. Larsen, T.: ”A Study of the Critical Fluid Velocity in Cuttings Transport for Inclined Wellbores,” MS Thesis, U. of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK ~1990!.
3. Bassal, A.: ”The Effect of Drillpipe Rotation on Cuttings Transport in Inclined Wellbores,” MS Thesis, U. of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK ~1996!.
4. Martin, M. et al.: ”Transport of Cuttings in Directional Wells,” paper SPE 16083, Presented at the 1987 SPE Drilling Conference, New Orleans, 15-18 March.
5. Kenny, P., and Hemphill, T.: ”Hole-Cleaning Capabilities of an Ester-Based Drilling Fluid System,” SPEDC ~3 March 1996!.
6. Kenny, P. et al.: ”Hole Cleaning Modelling: What’s ‘n’ Got To Do With It?,” paper SPE 35099, Presented at the 1996 SPE Drilling Conference, New Orleans, 12-15 March.
7. Luo, Y. et al.: ”Flow Rate Predictions for Cleaning Deviated Wells,” paper SPE 23884, Presented at the 1992 SPE Drilling Conference, New Orleans, 18-21 February.
Sensitivity Analysis of Hole Cleaning Parameters in Directional Wells
J. Li and S. Walker, BJ-Nowsco Well Services Ltd. 1999 1999 SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing Roundtable
held in Houston, Texas, 25-26 May 1999.
Abstract
The major differences between conventional rotary drilling and Coiled Tubing drilling are the absence of pipe rotation and the continuous circulation of drilling fluids.
- In rotary drilling the circulated fluid must be selected to support the cuttings while making a connection. In slide drilling, the circulated fluids can be continuously circulated.Â
This capability greatly aids the use of gasified fluids in underbalanced drilling.
- In slide drilling, the pipe does not rotate; while in rotary drilling, the pipe rotation enhances the cuttings transport by the agitation effect due to the pipe rotation and vibration.
For a typical Coiled Tubing drilling job, the challenge is achieving the circulation rate required to keep the hole clean.
Current field practice is to perform frequent wiper trips. The economics of hole cleaning are crucial to the industry and therefore we seek answers to questions such as:
- What is the change in the cuttings bed height when the fluids flow rates are altered?
- How long does it take to clean out an existing cuttings bed?
- Is there a need to remove the cuttings bed fully before resuming drilling?
In this study, 600 tests were conducted and a new computer program was developed for the prediction of cuttings transport in the multi-phase system (gas+liquid+cuttings). The sensitivity of cuttings bed height with respect to liquid/gas volume flow rate ratio, in-situ liquid velocity, ROP, inclination angle and circulation fluid properties was conducted. The hole cleaning time with both circulation mode and wiper trip is also discussed. The results from the sensitivity analysis presented in this paper indicate that: i) the fraction of the circulation liquid has a significant impact on the cuttings transport in underbalanced drilling with gasified fluids, ii) among different variables, the in-situ liquid velocity is the most important variable for cuttings transport,iii) the hole cleaning time decreases non-linearly with increasing fluid circulation rate.
References
1. Azar, J.J. and R.A., Sanchez: “Important Issues in Cuttings Transport for Drilling Direction Wells”, paper
SPE 39020 presented at the Fifth Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference and
Exhibition held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 30 August – 3 September 1997.
2. Pilehvari, A.A., J.J., Azar and S.A., Shirazi: “State-of-Art Cuttings Transport in Horizontal Wellbores”, paper SPE 37079 presented at the 1996 SPE International
Conference on Horizontal Well Technology held in Calgary, Canada, 18-20 November 1995.
3. Tomren, P.H., Iyoho, A.W. and Azar, J.J.: “Experimental Study of Cuttings Transport in Directional Well Drilling”, SPE Drilling Engineering, pp43-56, February, 1986.
4. Larsen, T.I.: “A Study of the Critical Fluid Velocity in Cuttings Transport”, MS thesis, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA., 1990.
5. Jalukar, L.S.: ” A Study of Hole Size Effect on Critical and Sub-critical Drilling Fluid Velocities in Cuttings Transport for Inclined Wellbores”, MS thesis, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA., 1993.
6. Bassal, A.A.: “The Effect of Drillpipe Rotation on Cuttings Transport in Inclined Wellbores”, MS thesis, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA., 1995.
7. Peden, J.M., Oyeneyin, M.B., Ford, J.T., Zarrough, R. and Gao, E.: “Comprehensive Experimental Investigation of Drilled Cuttings Transport in Inclined Wells Including the Effects of Rotation and Eccentricity,” SPE paper 20925 presented at Europec 90, The Hague, Netherlands 22-24, October, 1990.
8. Sifferman, T.R. and Becker, T.R.: “Hole Cleaning in Full- Scale Inclined Wellbores”, SPE Drilling Engineering, pp115-120, June, 1992.
9. Zamora, M., Jefferson, D.T. and Powell, J.W.: “Hole- Cleaning Study of Polymer-Based Drilling Fluids”, SPE paper 26329 presented at the 68th Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition of the SPE held in Houston, Texas, 3-6 October, 1993.
10. Brown, N.P., Bern, P.A. and A. Weaver: “Cleaning Deviated Holes: New Experimental and Theoretical Studies”, SPE paper 18636 presented at the 1989
SPE/IADC Drilling Conference held in New Orleans, Louisana, February 28-March 3, 1989.
11. Martin, M., C. Georges, P. Bisson and O. Konirsch: “Transport of Cuttings in Directional Wells”, SPE paper 16083 presented at the 1987 SPE/IADC Drilling
Conference held in New Orleans, Louisana, March 15-18, 1987.
12. Martins, A.L., Sa, C.H.M., Lourenco, A.M.F. and W. Campos, W.: “Optimizing Cuttings Circulation in Horizontal Drilling”, SPE paper 35341 presented at the international Petroleum Conference and Exhibition of Mexico Held in Villahemosa, Mexico, March 5-7, 1996.
13. Doron, P., D.G., Granica and D. Barnea: “Slurry Flow in Horizontal Pipes – Experimental and Modeling”, Int. J.Multiphase Flow, 13, 535-547, 1987.
14. Doron, P.,and D. Barnea: “A Three-Layer Model for Solid-Liquid Flow in Horizontal Pipes”, Int. J. Multiphase Flow, 19, 1029-1043, 1993.
15. Gillies, R.G., C.A., Shook and K.C. Wilson: “An Improved Two-Layer Model for Horizontal Slurry Pipeline Flow”, Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, V69, February, pp173-178, 1991.
16. Gavignet, A.A. and Sobey, I.J.: “A Model for the Transport of Cutting in Highly Deviated Wells”, SPE paper 15417 presented at the 61st Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition of the SPE held in New Orleans, LA, October 5-8, 1986.
17. Walton, I.C.: “Computer Simulator of Coiled Tubing Wellbore Cleanouts in Deviated Wells Recommends Optimum Pump Rate and Fluid Viscosity”, SPE paper 29491 presented at the Production Operations Symposium held in Oklahoma City, OK., USA, 2-4 April, 1995
18. Martins, A.L., M. Santana, E. Gaspari and W. Campso: “Evaluation the Transport of Solids Generated by Shale Instabilities in ERW Drilling”, paper SPE 50380 presented at the 1998 SPE International Conference on Horizontal Well Technology held in Calgary, Canada, 1-4 November 1998.
19. Nguyen, G and S.S. Rahman: “A Three-Layer Hydraulic Program for Effective Cuttings Transport and Hole Cleaning in Highly Deviated and Horizontal Wells”, SPE Drilling & Completion, September, pp182-189, 1998.
20. Li, J. “Cuttings Transport in a Multi-Phase Flow System”, internal report, BJNowsco Well Services Ltd., 1997.
21. Martins, A.L., W. Campos, F.S. Liporace, X. Wei and J. Van Riet: “On the Erosion Velocity of a Cuttings Bed During the Circulation of Horizontal and Highly Inclined Wells”, paper SPE 39021 presented at the Fifth Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference and Exhibition held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, 30 August – 3 September 1997.
22. Elsborg, C., J. Carter and R. Cox: “High Penetration Rate Drilling with Coiled Tubing”, paper SPE 37074 presented at the 1996 SPE International Conference on Horizontal Well Technology held in Calgary, Canada, 18-20 November 1996.
23. Leising, L. J. and I. C. Walton: “Cuttings Transport Problems and Solutions in Coiled Tubing Drilling”, paper SPE 46005 presented at the 1998 SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing Roundtable held in Houston, Texas, 15-16 April 1998.
24. Okrajni, S.S. and J.J. Azar: “The Effects of Mud Rheology on Annular Hole Cleaning in Directional Wells”, SPE Drilling Engineering, August, 1986, pp 297-309.
25. Wilson, K. C. and D. G. Judge: “Analytically-based Nomographic Charts for Sand-Water Flow”, Paper A1, Hydrotransport 5, Fifth International Conference on the Hydraulic Transport of Solids in Pipes, held on May 8th- 11th, 1978, in Hannover, Federal Republic of Germany.
26. Wilson, K. C. and J. K. P. Tse: “Deposition Limit for Coarse-Particle Transport in Inclined Pipes”, Paper D1, Hydrotransport 9, 9th International Conference on the Hydraulic Transport of Solids in Pipes, held on October
17-19, 1984 at Rome, Italy.
Hole Cleaning Program for Extended Reach Wells
G.J. Guild, T.H, Hill Assocs.; I.M. Wallace, Phillips Petroleum Co. U.K.; and M.J. Wassenborg,
Amoco U.K. 1995 SP131ADC Drilling Conference.
Abstract
This paper presents a hole cleaning program developed in the field by Amoco UK over the course of three extended reach wells. This program has be effective in cleaning the hole as well as increasing drilling progress.
Introduction
Over the last decade many hole cleaning recommendations have been based on laboratory experiments under controlled conditions. These experiments normally involved a flow loop with an inner pipe which was meant to stimulate a drill string in a wellbore. The inner pipe may not have been rotated during these experiments. If it was rotated the revolutions were often low (<100 rpm). Also, the pipe was nearly always laterally restrained.
Under these conditions, several of these experiments have indicated that pipe movement is not a primary factor in hole cleaning. ‘” 2) Despite this, field personnel engaged in extended reach drilling operations have not only shown pipe movement, i.e. high rpm, to be important in the hole cleaning ‘3’4) but have used pipe movement as a basis for developing effective hole cleaning programs. This paper describes one such program developed by Amoco UK over the course of three extended reach wells. The objectives of this hole cleaning program have been to improve extended reach drilling performance by:
1. Avoiding stuck pipe.
2. Avoiding tight hole on connections and trips.
3. Maximizing the footage drilled between wiper trips.
4. Eliminating hole cleaning backreaming trips prior to reaching casing point.
5. Maximizing daily drilling progress.
A discussion of how this hole cleaning program has been implemented and its positive impact on extended reach drilling performance is presented below.
References
Hemphill, T., Larsen, T.I., “Hole Cleaning Capabilities of Oil based and Water-Based Drilling Fluids: A Comparative Experimental Study:’ SPE 26328, Presented at the 68th Annual Technical Conference SpE, Houston Texas, 3-6 Oct. 1993,pg 142
2. Tomren, P.H., Iyoho, A.W., Azar, J.J., “Experimental Study of Cuttings Transport in Directional Wells,” SPE Drilling Engineering, Feb. 1986, pg51.
3. Alfsen, T.E., Heggen, S., Blikra, H., Tjotta, H., “Pushing the limits for Extended Reach Drilling, New World Record for
Platform Statfjord C, Well C2″, SPE 26350, 68th Annual SPE Technical Conference and Exhibition, 3-6 October, 1993, Houston, ws.-.
4. Guild, G.J., Jeffrey, J.T.: “Drilling Extended Reach High- Angle Holes Through Overpressured Shale Formation in the Central Graben Basin, Arbroath Field, Block 22/17, U.K. North Sea”, SPE/IADC 25749, February 1993, pg 679-688.
5. Brett, J.F., Beckett, A.D., HoIt, C.A., Smith, D.L.: “Uses and Limitations of Drill String Tension and Torque Models for
Monitoring Hole Conditions,” SPE Drilling Engineering (September 1989).9
6. Johancsik, C.A., Friesen, D.B., Dawson, R.: “Torque and Drag in Directional Holes-Prediction and Measurement,”JPT (June1984), pg 987-992.
Hole Cleaning in Large, High-Angle Wellbores
Marco Rasi, Exxon Production Research Co.
IADC and SPE Member Copyright 1994, IADC/SPE Drilling Conference.
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 1994 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in Dallas, Texas, 15-18 February 1994.
ABSTRACT
Beds of cuttings are usually formed on the bottom of large, high-angle wellbores during drilling. When the drill string is moved axially along the wellbore, large bottom-hole assembly elements such as drill bit and stabilizers tend to plow the cuttings bed, thereby causing the formation of plugs of cuttings which give rise to high overpulls, loss of circulation, continuous need for operations such as backreaming, and stuck pipe. To reduce the likelihood of these costly hole problems occurring, it is necessary to minimize the height of the cuttings bed which forms while drilling, and to minimize the tendency of tile bottom-hole assembly to form plugs of cuttings. This can be done with a new hole cleaning tool described in this paper.
This tool was developed using a combination of analytical modeling based on fluid mechanics first principles, experimental data, and field data. The tool enables -establishment of pump flow rates, drilling fluid rheological properties, drill string configurations, and well profiles for minimal risk of experiencing problems associated with tile existence of a cuttings bed.
REFERENCES
1. Nikuradse, J., “Stromungsgesetze in Rauhen Rohren, VDI-Forschungsheft, No. 361, 1933. Translation available in NACA Tech. Mcm. 1292. Nikuradse’s curves can also be found in V. L. Streeter, Handbook of Fluid Dynamics, p. 3-11, McGraw-Hili Pub. Co., 1961.
2. Dodge, D. W., and Metzner, A. B., “Turbulent Flow of Non-Newtonian Systems,” A.I.Ch.E. Joumal, Vol. 5, No.2, June 1959.
3. Shields, A., “Anwendung der Aehnlichkeitsmechanik und der Turbulenzforschung auf die Geschiebebewegung” (Application of Similarity Principles and Turbulence Research to Bcd-Load Movement), Mitteilungen der Preuss. Versuchsanst fur Wasserbau und Schiflbau, Berlin, No. 26 (1936). A description of Shields’ work can also be found in F. M. Henderson, Open Channel Flow, p. 413, McMillan Pub. Co., N.Y., 1966.
4. Larsen, T., “A Study of tile Critical fluid Velocity in Cuttings Transport for Inclined Wellbores,” U. of Tulsa MS Thesis, 1990.
5. Pilehvari, A., “Modeling of Cuttings Transport in Highly Inclined Wellbores,” U. of Tulsa Advisory Board Meeting, May 1992.
The Effects of Mud Rheology on Annular Hole Cleaning in Directional Wells Siavomir S. Okrajni, U. of Tulsa
J.J. Azar, SPE, U. of Tulsa
Summary. The effects of field-measured mud rheological properties on cuttings transport in directional well drilling were studied experimentally. Water and bentonite/polymer muds were used, and angles of annulus inclination ranging from 0 to 90° from vertical. Experimental data were processed to express the cuttings transport quantitatively through annular cuttings concentration (vol%) at steady state.
Three separate regions of hole inclination can be identified regarding cuttings transport: 0 to 45°, 45 to 55°, and 55 to 90°. The effect of laminar flow dominates cuttings transport in low-angle wells (0 to 45°). In highangle wells (55 to 90°), the effect of turbulent flow predominates. In the range of intermediate inclination (45 to 55°), turbulent and laminar flow generally have similar effects.
In laminar flow, higher mud yield values and yield-point/plastic-viscosity (YP/PV) ratio provide better cuttings transport. The effect of mud yield value is significant in the range of 0 to 45 ° hole inclination and becomes small or even negligible in the range of 55 to 90°. The effects of mud yield value and YP/PV ratio are more significant for lower annular fluid velocities.
References
1. Tomren, P.H.: “The Transport of Drilled Cuttings in an Inclined Eccentric Annulus,” MS thesis, U. of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK (1979).
2. Iyoho, A.W.: “Drilled-Cuttings Transport by Non-Newtonian Drilling Fluids Through Inclined, Eccentric Annuli,” PhD dissertation, U. of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK (1980).
3. Becker, T.E.: “The Effect of Mud Weight and Hole Geometry Variations on Cuttings Transport in Directional Drilling,” MS thesis, U. of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK (1982).
4. Iyoho, A.W. and Azar, J.J.: “An Accurate Slot Flow Model for Non-Newtonian Fluid Flow Through Eccentric Annuli,” SPEJ (Oct. 1981) 565-72.
5. Hussaini, S.M. and Azar, J.J.: “Experimental Study of Drilled Cuttings Transport Using Common Drilling Muds,” SPEJ (Feb.1983) 11-20.
6. Tomren, P.H., Iyoho, A.W., and Azar, U.: “Experimental Study of Cuttings Transport in Directional Wells,” SPEDE (Feb. 1986) 43-56.
Drilling Sweeps Formulation, Evaluation and Usage in Deviated Wellbores
Yezid Arevalo, Schlumberger Drilling & Measurements
This paper was prepared for the G11 control in Houston in August 2004. It is intended for internal review within Schlumberger.
Abstract
Hole cleaning is an important consideration when drilling any type of well and it becomes more difficult in general as hole angle increases. Drilling sweeps are used to improve the removal of solids from the wellbore. However, the indiscriminate use of sweeps can often lead to higher costs and in some cases it can hamper hole cleaning if not used properly. The correct selection and use of sweeps is a critical part of maintaining and running a safe and efficient drilling operation.
The Effect of Drilling Fluid Rheological Properties on Hole Cleaning
A. Saasen, SPE, and G. Løklingholm, SPE, Statoil ASA
Copyright 2002, IADC/SPE Drilling Conference
This paper was prepared for presentation at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in Dallas,
Texas, 26-28 February 2002.
Hole cleaning is still among the most important problems to handle in drilling operations. The difficulty in removing cuttings bed during drilling arises because of the drilling fluid interacts with the cuttings in cuttings bed to form a cuttings bed gel. The drilling fluid composition can be designed to minimize the gel formation in the cuttings bed. At the same time the drilling fluid properties are optimized to ensure a sufficient shear stress on the cuttings particles to be able to remove the cuttings. This technique has been used in several of Statoil’s drilling operations.
The paper explains the effect of the cuttings bed properties on hole cleaning in detail. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates how the drilling operations were improved compared to earlier drilling operations using conventional drilling fluids. From drilling operations in North Sea fields it is shown how the total drilling progress is improved. The torque curves of comparable wells are shown. These curves demonstrate that a significantly improved hole cleaning have been experienced in the wells drilled with the drilling fluid made to minimize cuttings bed gel formation.
References
1. Saasen, A., “Hole cleaning during deviated drilling -The effects of pump rate and rheology”, paper SPE 50582 presented at the SPE European Petroleum Conf., The Hague, Netherlands, 20-22 October, 1998.
2. Martins, A.L., Santana, M.L., Campos, W. and Gaspari, E.F., “Evaluating the transport of Solids Generated by Shale Instabilities in ERW Drilling”, SPE Drilling & Completion, vol. 14, pp. 254-259, 1999.
3. Sanchez, R. A., Azar, J. J., Bassal, A. A., and Martins, A. L.: “The Effect of Drillpipe Rotation on Hole Cleaning During Directional Well Drilling”, paper SPE 37626 presented at the 1997 Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, March 4-6, 1997.
5. Zamora, M. and Hanson, P., “Rules of Thumb to Improve High- Angle Hole Cleaning,” Petroleum Engineer International, January 1991, pp. 44-51.
4. Cho, H., Shah, S.N. and Osisanya, S.O., “Effects of Fluid Flow in a Porous Cuttings-Bed on Cuttings Transport Efficiency and Hydraulics”, paper SPE 71374 presented at the 2001 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in New Orleans, Louisiana, 30 September – 3 October 2001.
6. Drazin, P.G. and Reid, W.H, Hydrodynamic Stability, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1981.
7. Lord Rayleigh, “On the Stability, or Instability, of Certain Fluid Motions”, Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. 11, pp. 57-70, 1880.
8. Saasen, A., Eriksen, N.H., Han, L., Labes, P. and Marken, C.D.: “Good Hole Cleaning – Is Annular Friction Loss the Key Parameter”, Oil Gas European Magazine, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 22-24, 1998.
9. Sterri, N., Saasen, A., Aas, B. and Hansen, S.A., “Frictional Pressure Losses During Drilling: Drill String Rotation Effects on Axial Flow of Shear Thinning Fluids in an Eccentric Annulus”, Oil Gas European Magazine, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 30- 33, 2000.
10. Marken, C., He, X. and Saasen, A., “The Influence of Drilling Conditions on Annular Pressure Losses”, paper SPE 24598 presented at the 67th Ann. Techn. Conf. & Exhibition, Washington D.C., Oct. 4-7, 1992.
11. Løklingholm, G., “The Drilling Fluid Inhibition Properties on Hole Quality –A Well Survey”, paper SPE 74544 presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in Dallas, Texas, 26-28 February 2002.
12. Saasen, A., Hoset, H., Rostad, E., Fjogstad, A., Aunan, O., WestgÃ¥rd, E. and Norkyn, P.I., “Application of Ilmenite as Weight Material in Water-Based and Oil-Based Drilling Fluids”, paper SPE 71401 presented at the SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition held in New Orleans, Louisiana, Sept. 30 – Oct. 3, 2001.
Review of Hole Cleaning in Complex Structural Wells
Sun Xiaofeng*,1, Wang Kelin1, Yan Tie1, Zhang Yang2, Shao Shuai1 and Luan Shizhu1 The Open Petroleum Engineering Journal, 2013
Abstract: Complex structural wells are widely used in the development of marine oilfield, old oilfield and low permeable oilfield. However, poor hole cleaning is often occurred in the highly-deviated sections and horizontal sections of the complex structural wells, which affects rate of penetration and downhole safety.
The methods to study cuttings transport can be normally divided into four types: 1) experimental observations, 2) CFD simulations, 3) theoretical correlations and models and 4) field tests. Experimental observations and CFD simulations are mainly used to analyze the effects of different parameters on hole cleaning and obtain some valuable data. Theoretical models and correlations are mainly applied to calculate cuttings bed height, critical velocity and etc to provide the guidance for the design of hydraulic parameters. The accuracy of the first three types are checked by field tests. In this paper, the effects of flow rate, inclination, mud rheology, drillpipe rotation and other factors on hole cleaning, and some typical correlations and models were briefly reviewed before 2000 years, and some new research findings were detailedly addressed. In addition, CFD simulations also were introduced. Although major improvements have been achieved in the past several decades, building a comprehensive and proven model requires much more experimental researches, CFD simulations, in-depth theoretic studies and field tests due to the complexity of cuttings transport under multi-factor interactions.
REFERENCES
[1] C.S. Lu, “Numerical Calculation of Cuttings Transportation in Inclined Borehole and Flow Field Calculation of Cuttings
Removing Tool“, China University of Petroleum (East China), Dongying, China, 2008.
[2] W. B. Bradley, D. Jarman, R. S. Plott, R. D. Wood, T. R. Schofleld, R. A. Aufllck, and D. Cooking, A Task Force Approach
to Reducing Stuck Pipe Costs, at the 1991 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, 1991, pp. 841-846.
[3] A. A. Pilevhavari, J. J. Azar, and S. A. Shirazi, “State-of-the-art cuttings transport in horizontal wellores”, SPE Drilling &
Completion, vol. 14, pp. 196-200, 1999.
[4] Y. Masuda, Q. Doan, M. Ogutoreli, S. Nagawa, T. Yonezawa, A. Kobayashi, and A. Kamp, Critical Cuttings Transport Velocity in
Inclined Annulus: Experimental Studies and Numerical Simulation, at the 2000 SPE/Petroleum Society of CIM International
Conference, 2000, pp. 1-12.
[5] J. Li, and S. Walker, Sensitivity Analysis of Hole Cleaning Parameters in Directional Wells, at the 1999 SPE/ICoTA Coiled
Tubing Roundtable, 1999, pp. 1-10.
[6] M.E. Ozbayoglu, A. Saasen, M. Sorgun, and K. Svanes, Effect of Pipe Rotation on Hole Cleaning for Water-Based Drilling Fluids in Horizontal and Deviated Wells, at IADC/SPE Asia Pacific DrillingTechnology Conference and Exhibition, 2008, pp. 1-11.
[7] Z.S. Qiu, J.F. Xv, W.A. Huang, L. Jiang, and L.X. Yu, “The Experimental Facility of Cuttings Transport and Borehole Stability
in Deep Water Drilling“, China Patent 200910250325.4, December 4, 2009.
[8] S.G. Valluri, S.Z. Miska, R. Ahmed, M. Yu, and N.E. Takach, Experimental Study of Effective Hole Cleaning Using “Sweeps” in
Horizontal Wellbores, at the 2006 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, 2006, pp. 1-13.
[9] R.M. Ahmed, and N.E. Takach, “Fiber sweeps for hole cleaning”, SPE Drilling & Completion, vol. 24, pp. 564-572, 2009.
[10] E. Cheung, N. Takach, E. Ozbayoglu, R. Majidi, and B. Bloys, Improvement of Hole Cleaning Through Fiber Sweeps, at the SPE Deepwater Drilling and Completions Conference, 2012, pp. 1-11.
[11] S.S. Okrajni, and J.J. Azar, “The effects of mud rheology on annular hole cleaning in directional wells”, SPE Drilling
Engineering, vol. 1, pp. 297-309, 1986.
[12] A. Saasen, Hole Cleaning During Deviated Drilling-the Effects of Pump Rate and Rheology, at the 1998 SPE European PetroleumConference, 1998, pp. 161-167.
[13] J.M. Peden, J.T. Ford, and M.B. Oyeneyin, Comprehensive Experimental Investigation of Drilled Cuttings Transport in
Inclined Wells Including the Effects of Rotation and Eccentricity, at the 1990 European Petroleum Conference, 1990, pp. 394-405.
[14] N.P. Brown, P.A. Bern, and A. Weaver, Cleaning Deviated Holes:
New Experimental and Theoretical Studies, at the 1989 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, 1989, pp. 171-180.
[15] T.R. Sifferman, and T.R. Becker, “Hole cleaning in full-scale inclined wellbores”, SPE Drilling Engineering, vol. 7, pp. 115-120,
1992.
[16] R.A. Sanchez, J.J. Azar, A.A. Bassal, and A.L. Martins, “Effect of drillpipe rotation on hole cleaning during directional-well drilling”, SPE Journal, vol. 4, pp. 101-108, 1999.
[17] H.G. Wang, X.S. Liu, H.Q. Li, and G. Ding, “An experimental study of transport of drilling cuttings in a horizontal well”, Acta
Petrolei Sinica, vol. 16, pp. 125-132, 1995.
[18] A.A. Bassal, “The Effect of Drillpipe Rotation on Cuttings Transport in Inclined Wellbores“, University of Tulsa, Tulsa,
Oklahoma, USA, 1995.
[19] A.L. Martins, C.H.M. Sa, A.M.F. Lourenco, and W. Campos, Optimizing Cuttings Circulation in Horizontal Drilling, at the
international Petroleum Conference and Exhibition, 1996, pp. 295-304.
[20] S. Walker, and J. Li, The Effects of Particle Size, Fluid Rheology, and Pipe Eccentricity on Cuttings Transport, at the 2000 SPE
/IcoTa Coiled Tubing Roundtable, 2000, pp. 1-8.
[21] M.E. Ozbayoglu, Z.M. Stefan, Troy Reed, and N. Tahach, Analysis of the Effects of Major drilling Parameters on Cuttings Transport Efficiency for High-Angle Wells in Coiled Tubing Drilling Operations, at the SPE /IcoTa Coiled Tubing Conference andExhibition, 2004, pp. 1-8.
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