Drilling/completion fluids
As unconventional hydraulic fracturing matures, completions practices shift from art to engineering best practices.
This paper establishes that the use of a dual-gradient fluid column during the running of large casing in an extreme-reach deepwater well is an effective method to overcome drag and enable the casing to reach total depth.
In this paper, a case study is described in which a software solution enabled prescriptive optimization of well delivery using a physics-informed machine-learning approach for predictive identification and characterization of well-construction risks.
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A long-time energy industry executive and chemical engineer has built a new water treatment system that he says can increase recovery rates from shale wells without using chemicals and will recycle all the water used in the process. -
A challenge in many permeable, water-sensitive, subhydrostatic reservoirs is avoiding the loss of completion fluid when completing or working over wells.
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The inventor of a new water-based drilling fluid believes the chemical process involved with his technology opens up natural fractures as drilling takes place to increase production in shale formations.
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Despite hostile wellbore conditions, an operations team overcame challenges of drilling-fluid design and management to drill the first ultrahigh-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT), deep-gas well offshore Malay Peninsula.
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In an effort to optimize drilling operations and economics, an operator examined the effect of adding hollow glass spheres (HGSs) directly to the drilling fluid instead of performing underbalanced drilling.
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The strength and conductivity of proppant packs are key parameters for assessing their performance. This paper introduces a new analysis technique based on interpretation of acoustic measurements to quantify mechanical damage in propping agents.
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This paper presents experimental research in which a significant fracture-pressure increase was achieved in shale and the predominant wellbore strenghtening mechanism was identified.
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Technology developers are working on a new ultrasonic flowmeter for drilling fluids aimed at obtaining better measurements than current systems with far fewer disruptions to rig systems.
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This paper discusses the laboratory evaluation of potential high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) drilling-fluid designs considered for a deep gas exploration well in Malaysia.
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Mutual understanding and respect when universities collaborate with industry is crucial. A clear policy on harmonizing innovation and higher education should be created. However, caution must be taken not to have a one-size-fits-all approach.
