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Wellbore Tortuosity - Do We Need To Worry About It?: DR - Robello Samuel

This document discusses wellbore tortuosity, which refers to the unevenness of a wellbore path. It affects drilling performance and other downstream operations. The document outlines different types and proposed methods for quantifying tortuosity, including indices that consider factors like deflection, curvature, and torsion. However, it notes there is no industry standard and methods have limitations. An energy-based approach using curvature and torsion along the entire wellpath is presented as a potentially more precise method for quantification, though industry adoption of standards remains a challenge.

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Jose Manuel Lezama Santaella
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157 views14 pages

Wellbore Tortuosity - Do We Need To Worry About It?: DR - Robello Samuel

This document discusses wellbore tortuosity, which refers to the unevenness of a wellbore path. It affects drilling performance and other downstream operations. The document outlines different types and proposed methods for quantifying tortuosity, including indices that consider factors like deflection, curvature, and torsion. However, it notes there is no industry standard and methods have limitations. An energy-based approach using curvature and torsion along the entire wellpath is presented as a potentially more precise method for quantification, though industry adoption of standards remains a challenge.

Uploaded by

Jose Manuel Lezama Santaella
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 14

Wellbore Tortuosity – Do we

need to worry about it?


Dr.Robello Samuel

1
Tortuosity related to..

 Medical field

XX
– Arteries
– Retinal vessels
 Geology
– Ground water

X
 River
 Drilling
– Wellpaths
Tortuosity related to..

 Wellbore undulation
 Wellbore oscillation
 Wellbore spiraling
 Wellbore smoothness
 Wellbore quality
 Wellbore profile energy
Types of Tortuosity

 Micro
 Meso
 Macro
 2D – undulation (sinusoidal)
 3D – spiral (helical)
Claimed benefits..

 Enhanced drilling performance!


– torque and drag – low tortuosity, friction
– weight transfer – ROP, friction
– vibration – ROP
 Improved hole cleaning!
– hole cleaning – gauge hole
 Ease of running casing!
 Better-quality logging tool response!
 Superior cement jobs!
 Smooth completion runs!
Quantification

 D HT 
Drilling Difficulty Index DDI  log 
 S 

Mechanical Risk Index


TRI  logTDI  R cl  R tq  R d  R bu 

Modified Mechanical Risk Index

Trajectory Risk Index • Qualitative Prediction

Tortuosity Index • Subjective

• Weighting factors needed


What is the shape of the wellpath?

 What are the assumptions?


 What is the required survey interval?
 What is the predetermined shape?
 What parameters are used to determine the shape?
 Is the shape same between all the survey intervals?
Vanishing Tortousities

  deflection

  deflection

  deflection
The product EI, (= M/κ) called the flexural rigidity of the
pipe
The product GJ, called the torsional rigidity of the pipe
Wellbore Smoothness – Quantification: Pitfalls
Wellbore quality based on openhole surveys for rest of the phases results in
• Low/high torque and drag values
• Lower/higher swab and surge values
• (fluid & mechanical forces are coupled)
• Low weight transfer calculations
• Decreased hole cleaning
• High friction and sideforce values
• Wrong friction factor calibration
• Higher casing wear estimation
• Higher stretch values and thereby positional error
• Higher fatigue calculations
• Overestimation of safety factors for casing design
• Lower estimation of reach
• Wrong calculation of packer setting forces
Methodology for Correction - Theoretical
Use both curvature and torsion

Curvature is the bend of the wellpath Curvature

    2   2 sin 2 

Torsion measures the departure of the wellpath


from a plane, or how sharply wellpath turns

         2 
 sin      1  2  cos 
 2
  
Energy Based Approach

Elastic Energy of a thin beam - it is characterized by bending and twisting least


while passing through a given set of points.

 x  

E  x  dx
2 2

Energy 0

 n
 
   i  i D i
2 2 

E abs n   i 1 
Absolute Energy  D n  D n 
 
 

Relative Energy E s  rel n  E tor


s ( abs ) n E notor
s ( abs ) n
Example
deg/100ft
-5.00
-50.00 0.00 5.00
50.00 10.00
100.00 15.00
150.00 20.00
200.00 25.00
250.00
0
DLS
Torsion

5000

10000
Depth(ft)

15000

20000
Conclusions
• No industry standard for quantification

• Various methods and indices provide some form of reference but


have to be used with caution

• Wellbore curvature and torsion at survey stations determine the


shape of a wellbore trajectory

• Energy based method is very simple to calculate

• Quantification results are more precise when the curvature and


torsion are synchronously involved over every course length.
Thank You

14

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