bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sand Transport in Stratified Flow in a Horizontal Pipeline
Authors: Dabirian Ramin , Mohan Ram S. , Shoham Ovadia , Kouba Gene 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
The entrainment of sand in crude oil occurs during production from reservoirs with low formation strength. The stationary sand bed at the pipe bottom can cause operational problems such as production decline, excessive pressure loss, equipment failure, erosion and corrosion. Sand deposition can be managed by operating above critical sand deposition velocity, which is the velocity that keeps particles moving all the time at the pipe bottom. A comprehensive analysis of sand flow regimes in stratified flow in horizontal pipeline is presented here, which is a novel contribution in this paper. Also, the effect of concentration on the sand flow regimes and identification of critical sand deposition velocities for various concentrations are investigated in this paper.
The understanding of sand flow regimes in pipelines for any given set of operational conditions is important to identify the nature of particle interaction and movement. Experimental studies have been conducted at stratified flow regime with air-water-glass bead at relatively low sand concentrations (&lt;10,000 ppm). The effects of different experimental conditions such as gas velocity, sand concentration, and particle size have been investigated in this study. Six main sand flow regimes in horizontal air-water flow are identified, which can be distinguished visually: fully dispersed solid flow, dilute solids at wall, concentrated solids at wall, moving dunes, stationary dunes and stationary bed. Therefore, the critical sand deposition velocities are determined based on the transition between moving (concentrated solids at wall/ moving dunes, as appropriate) and stationary (stationary dunes/bed, as appropriate) sand particles. The experimental data shows that with small particle size, the critical sand deposition velocity is almost independent of concentration, while with bigger particle sizes, the critical velocity increases with the concentration.
Measurement of Key Shale Petrophysical Properties
Authors: Zamirian Mehrdad , Aminian Kashy , Ameri Samuel 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
Even though the advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal well technology have unlocked considerable reserves of hydrocarbon contained in shale formations, quantification of the key petrophysical properties in shale reservoirs still remain challenging. The unconventional formations such as shales typically have permeability values in nano-Darcy range. It is not practical to measure the permeability of the shale samples by conventional steady state techniques because of very low flow rates and length of time required to reach the steady state condition. Therefore, unsteady state methods such as GRI and pressure pulse decay which have been extensively used to estimate permeability of the shale samples. However, the measured permeability values for similar samples by these techniques can differ by 3 orders of magnitudes. This large margin of uncertainty and non-uniqueness of the results can be attributed to the interpretations of the data obtained from transient techniques and reproducibility problems. Furthermore, the unsteady-state measurements are not performed under the reservoir effective in-situ stress and temperature which introduces more limitations.
This paper describes the design, construction, and application of a laboratory set up and test protocols for accurate and repeatable measurements of the rich organic shale porosity, permeability and sorption characteristics under reservoir stress conditions. The near steady-state measurements can be performed in minutes up to hours, depending on the characteristics of the sample. This allows the permeability measurements to be performed as many time as need to produce repeatable results. Furthermore, the absolute permeability of the sample can be calculated by applying the gas slippage (Klinkenberg) and/or gas double-slippage corrections. The monitoring of the flow rate during the experiment allows to determine when the sample is fully saturated (adsorbed or desorbed). Therefore, there is no need for gas sorption correction.
The paper also present the results of measurements on several Marcellus shale sample which clearly indicate that shale's porosity and permeability to a larger extent, are sensitive to stress and the stress impact on permeability is non-reversible. This could be attributed to flow of gas through micro-fractures, which do not contribute to porosity significantly. In addition, the analysis of the measurement results indicated that only gas double-slippage corrections can provide reliable values for the absolute permeability of the sample. The sorption characteristics, although not the primary objective of the measurements with laboratory setup, are compatible with published values.
Estimating Permeability Anisotropy From Downhole Distributed Temperature Measurements
Authors: McCabe K. , Horne R. N. 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
In many reservoir studies, anisotropic permeability is often ignored or considered to have only simple relationships. Often, permeability anisotropy is modeled only between the vertical and horizontal directions, while permeability values in a horizontal plane are considered equal. In reality, the depositional history of the reservoir results in more complex behavior. Knowledge of the permeability anisotropy has important implications in several types of devlopment scenarios, thus it is important to have accurate estimates of these directional permeability values. For example, a partially-penetrating well that allows for vertical flow at depths below the completed interval requires knowledge of the vertical to horizontal permeability anisotropy. As another example, improved estimates of horizontal permeability anisotropy would have significance for directional drilling design.
In this work, the utility of temperature data as a matching parameter was investigated to estimate these directional permeability values. The study utilized a full-physics, thermal reservoir simulator and a nonlinear, least-squares regression algorithm for parameter estimation. By modeling block temperatures near the well, the study attempted to replicate the temperature data gathered from Distributed Temperature Survey (DTS) tools which use fibers to measure temperature history at the well. Using this method, the permeability anisotropy in two scenarios (vertical-horizontal and horizontal-horizontal) was estimated successfully with a high degree of accuracy. Even with the addition of synthetic noise to the temperature signal, the regression was robust in estimating the values successfully in the majority of anisotropy scenarios that were tested.
Quantifying Flow Rates From Temperature and Pressure Measurements in Deepwater Wells
Authors: Venkatraman A. , Hasan A. R. , Sohel R. H. , Patni S. , Elshahawi H. , Yousif M. H. , Abbasi F. R. 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
Quantifying production from different producing reservoirs is critical, especially in deepwater fields where interventions are either not possible or prohibitively expensive. In this study, a model is presented for a well producing from multiple reservoir sections to estimate flow contribution of each reservoir section using temperature and pressure measurements. The production from a well is modeled as a series of producing (vertical flow along with radial flow from a producing reservoir section) and non-producing (only vertical flow through the production tubing) zones. In addition to the sand face temperature measurements, surface temperature, total surface flow rate as well as pressure and temperature measurements in the producing tubing are used as input to the model. The temperature measurements in non-producing sections are critical to quantify flow from producing sections. These measurements are used to obtain thermal properties of the reservoir and particularly useful to quantify error in the flow rate estimates obtained from the model. The presented model can be adapted to any well producing from multiple reservoir sections. The temperature data can be used to diagnose problems with producing zones as well as identify locations of producing and non-producing zones as the well continues production. The model can also help determine the location as well as the number of temperature and pressure sensors required to estimate flow rates from individual reservoir sections in a specified error range. This is particularly useful for reservoir sections, which are difficult to characterize. The sensors along with the model have the potential to become an integral part of production monitoring for reservoir management.
Novel Uses of Multifinger Calipers Utilizing 3-D Visualization: Case Studies From the North Slope of Alaska
Authors: Burton Joey , Julian Jennifer 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
Historically, multi-finger calipers have most often been considered tools for assessing internal corrosive damage to tubing and casing strings or evaluating wellbore obstructions. With the development of high resolution digital tools in the early 1990's and subsequent development of 3D caliper data viewing utilities at the turn of the century, these tools have expanded their roles into more complex well work diagnostic operations. On the North Slope of Alaska, the practice of exploiting new pay zones by drilling and completing side-tracks from existing well bores has grown significantly as the fields mature. The development of coiled tubing drilling and its application to thru-tubing side-track drilling has made a sizeable contribution to the battle against production deline on the North Slope. The practice of utilizing a ‘used’ wellbore to drill and complete a new well brings an increased need for diagnostics in assessing the integrity of existing completion components, evaluating new drilling practices and confirming the integrity of new completion designs.
On Alaska's North Slope, multi-finger calipers have been used extensively in the optimization of thru-tubing side-track drilling and completion operations. Before any drilling begins, they are used to evaluate existing well bores for sufficient integrity to support new drilling/completion operations and cost effective production of the new pay zone. During drilling operations, they are often used to confirm borehole geometry and integrity prior to moving forward with re-completion procedures. Once the new completion components have been installed, multi-finger calipers are used to confirm and document the proper placement and integrity of the new completion components. The development of 3D Visualization tools for multi-finger caliper data has played a key role in extending the utilizing these tools to complex drilling and completion diagnostic applications. The application of 3D multi-finger caliper data visualization toward advanced drilling and completion diagnostic needs on Alaska's North Slope are discussed in this paper.
Maximizing Drilling Sensor Value through Optimized Frequency Selection and Data Processing
Authors: Baumgartner Theresa , Oort Eric van 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
Downhole high frequency sensors are heralding the era of big data in drilling and have already shown potential to significantly push the limits of drilling performance. Downhole data transmitted in real time can be used to optimally select parameters during drilling and optimize off-bottom operations. The wealth of information from retrieved memory data gives immediate insights in well specific performance limiters.
Nevertheless, downhole data is not yet used to its full potential, as the industry is only just beginning to make sense out of the many gigabytes of recorded data. Often, measurements cannot be unambiguously linked to specific downhole dynamics and their respective dysfunction. Most valuable information is lost directly at the sensor when processing (e.g. averaging) is not done appropriately. In other cases, huge amounts of high frequency data are transmitted and stored without providing much useful information. Large data volumes quickly reach the limits of transmission broadband and memory capacities of downhole tools and pose huge challenges to drilling data analysis and data integration.
As a solution to handling the rapidly increasing amounts of drilling data, this paper proposes a value of information based approach to downhole sensors, data processing and analysis. An extensive set of field data from multiple operations is used to demonstrate the interrelation of dynamic effects and their impact on downhole sensor measurements. Different requirements on sensor type and collection frequency apply to identify different types of drilling performance limiting dysfunction, such as vibrations, well tortuosity or cutting accumulations due to poor hole cleaning.
It is shown that the analysis of frequencies is key to separate multiple downhole effects wrapped into one measurement. For each prominent type of dysfunction, minimum data collection frequencies are specified which allows for the differentiation of unimportant noise from valuable drilling performance limiters. These insights are used to describe more effective methods of data processing, by cross-linking information from multiple sensors.
Evaluation of Solid Particle Erosion Equations and Models for Oil and Gas Industry Applications
Authors: Arabnejad H. , Mansouri A. , Shirazi S. A. , McLaury B. S. 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
The goal of this work is to provide an evaluation of the uncertainties in the calculation and measurement of erosion caused by solid particles that are entrained in the produced fluids in the oil and gas industry. Erosive damage is of great importance in production and transportation facilities, and it has been studied widely utilizing experiments or modeling approaches. The experimental setup used by researchers and uncertainty in determining the particle impact condition were key factors in the erosion measurement results and corresponding derived models. The effect of these parameters is studied in this work, and a guideline is provided to address the resulting error. In order to address the effect of particle velocity on erosion, Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is used and velocity distribution is obtained. The effect of particle velocity is analyzed in both experiments and erosion models. The erosion calculations by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and Erosion/Corrosion Research Center (E/CRC) models have been compared to experimental data collected at the University of Tulsa and available data in the literature. A semi-mechanistic erosion equation which has been developed for some alloys that are being used extensively in the oil and gas industry is implemented in the CFD simulations. Based on the power-law dependency of erosion models on particle impact velocity, it is shown that uncertainty in the determination of particle velocity is propagating to the measured material losses in the experiments or in the predicted values in the erosion models. The erosion model predictions showed general agreement with experimental data in the literature for a wide range of conditions, but over predictions and under predictions have been observed which are due to the uncertainty in the measurements or erosion modeling.
Australia's First Build Own Operate CSG Produced Water Treatment and Beneficial Reuse Project
Authors: Le Hiep , Chalmers Scott 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
The coal seam gas (CSG) exploration and appraisal activities by Santos in Narrabri, New South Wales (NSW), Australia results in produced formation water (PFW) that is stored in specially constructed double lined ponds. The ponds also store legacy brine from desalination of PFW from previous exploration activities. Santos is seeking to treat this water for beneficial reuse in irrigation, dust suppression, construction and drilling, and emergency firefighting purposes.
Santos have outsourced this requirement to Osmoflo under a hybridized build, own and operate model, which includes the design and delivery of a water and brine treatment plant (WBTP), as well as all associated infrastructure (power generation, transfer pipelines etc.), construction management and specialist operation and maintenance services for 3 yrs initially, with a possible extension to 5 yrs.
The WBTP is containerized to allow demobilization and future possible re-deployment, and to find an appropriate balance between the often competing drivers of the projects technical objectives, and the commercial requirements of delayed and minimized capital expenditure.
Key technical requirements include: Ability to handle a very wide range of PFW salinities and solids from different sources.Ability to provide 1 MLD irrespective of above water quality and chemistry, in order to maximize disposal opportunities via irrigationAbility to concentrate the PFW and produce a final brine in excess of typical brackish and seawater desalination system in order to provide maximum ‘ullage’ in the fixed volume ponds.Ability to dewater the solids from filter backwashing for off site disposalStrict environmental performance requirements for absolute containment of all PFW, permeate and brine.
The salinity of the PFW and legacy brine ranges widely from 18,000 to 51,000 mg/L. This needs to be desalinated to produce irrigation quality treated water of salinity &lt;600 mg/L. The water sources have algae counts up to 8.8 million cells/mL. In the design process, Osmoflo has selected disc filtration followed by a microfiltration (MF) system to pre-treat the water suitable for treatment through reverse osmosis (RO). The disc filters and microfiltration have proven successful in treating other CSG produced formation water as well as water with high algal counts.
The RO system has been designed with a two stage configuration with an interstage booster pump to allow variable water recovery from 55 to 70% depending on the PFW salinity. The brine from the RO system is further concentrated through Osmoflo's Brine Squeezer (OBS) process which is an innovative, cost effective, ultra-high recovery RO process. The Brine Squeezer process is designed to concentrate the brine to a salinity &gt;90,000 mg/L in order to minimize the brine volumes. The final concentrated brine will be stored in the ponds.
Dual Reaming Reduces Vibration in Deepwater Well
Authors: Goodwin Alex , Salminen Chuck , Valverde Eddie 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
Simultaneous drilling and enlargement is common in deepwater Gulf of Mexico projects. It controls equivalent circulating density, manages pore pressure anomalies, and ensures that casing strings and liners reach total depth (TD). Common hole-enlargement-while-drilling (HEWD) bottomhole assemblies (BHAs) place a concentric hydraulic underreamer above the rotary steerable system (RSS) and measurement-while-drilling/logging-while-drilling (MWD/LWD) package. Although this placement is effective, it could leave up to 200 ft (61 m) of under gauge rathole at TD, which often leads to a dedicated trip to eliminate the rathole. This underreamer placement with the bit off bottom also has limited underreaming capabilities because of vibration caused by drill string instability. These vibrations typically make underreaming an existing pilot hole more difficult than simultaneous drilling and reaming.
On a job for a sidetracked well in the Gulf of Mexico, a drilling team had challenges in a 12 1/4- × 14 1/2-in. section. The team encountered significant vibration and torque when underreaming 423 ft (129 m) of an existing 12 1/4-in. pilot hole in a salt section. After this operation proved unsuccessful, due to low rate of penetration (ROP) caused by severe torque spikes and high shocks and vibrations, the team opted for an alternative solution to achieve the section objectives.
The team designed a unique BHA that included two intelligent underreamers. The first placed above the MWD assembly, and the second placed below the MWD assembly. Historically, placing underreamers below the MWD package and near the bit creates problems because the inside diameter (ID) of the MWD/LWD tools restricts balls that activate the underreamer, and flow-operated underreamers can prematurely activate or fail to activate.
In the new dual-reamer design, radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology provided the capability of activating and opening each underreamer and underreaming with both simultaneously. Wiring through the underreamer below the MWD package connected the rotary-steerable and MWD tools for communication.
The team ran the RFID underreamer below the MWD/LWD package and activated the cutter blocks at the correct depth. The team used both reamers concurrently to ream the 423-ft (129-m) section and then tripped into the hole using the upper reamer to continue drilling the below-salt formation. The operation continued as planned until 500 ft (152 m) before the planned well depth. At that point, downhole problems resulted in losing the BHA in the hole, cementing the openhole interval, and sidetracking the well.
The innovative dual-reamer design delivered a stable BHA to enlarge a wellbore section in one run, which could not have been done using a conventional ball-drop underreamer and BHA design. The drill string operated at 15,000 ft-lb (20,337 N∙m) less torque spikes than with the previous design.