SPE-173681-MS

Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to

Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang, Stefan Miska, Mengjiao Yu, Evren Ozbayoglu, Nicholas
Takach, Reza Ettehadi Osgouei
The University of Tulsa Drilling Research Project (TUDRP)

Slide 2

Outline

Introduction
Background
Flow Pattern
Simulation Program
Chart Development
Reliability Analysis
Conclusions
SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 3

Introduction
Casing
difficulties

Drilling
time lost
Massie (1995)

70%
33%

Drill pipe
stuck

Hopkins
(1995)

Poor
hole
cleaning

Low
ROP

Poor borehole
quality
SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 4

Background
Cuttings
Concentration/
Critical Flow rate

Correlations

Mechanistic
Models

CFD
Method

Complex computation
Program required
Difficult for rig-site application
SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 5

Background
Luo, et al. (1994) developed charts to
determine hole cleaning requirements
in deviated wells.

(Adari et al., 2000)

Did not include the effects of drillpipe size

and drillpipe rotation
Hole sizes were limited to 8.5 in., 12.25 in.
and 17.5 in
Only able to predict the CFR, which restricts
their application in highly deviated wells

SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 6

Cuttings Flow Pattern

SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 7

Simulation Program
Input
Parameters
ROP

Flow Rate
Geometry

Flow Configuration
Map
Constant
Bed
Waved Bed

Inclination
Fluid properties

Packed Dune

Mechanistic
Models
Layer
Model
Segment
Model

...

Dispersed
Dune

Dispersed Model

SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 8

Inclination

0 ~ 15
15 ~ 25
25 ~ 35
35 ~ 40
40 ~ 45
45 ~ 50
50 ~ 55
55 ~ 90
SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 9

Estimation Graphs
25~35 degree, 10< 100 <20
Cuttings concentration (%)

16
14
12
30 ft/hr

10

60 ft/hr

90 ft/hr

120 ft/hr

150 ft/hr

2
0

2.5

3.5
4
Fluid velocity (ft/s)

4.5

SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 10

Rheology
High viscosity fluids gelation inside the
cuttings bed
Low viscosity leads to insufficient shear
At low inclination angles, suspension
dominates the cuttings transport process,
and high viscosity fluids perform slightly
better (Sifferman, et al., 1974).

Inclination
angle
0o ~ 25o

Thin fluid

Thick fluid

1.1

0.8

25o ~ 45o

1.0

1.0

45o ~ 90o

0.9

1.3

In highly inclined sections, cuttings tend to

settle at the lower side of the annulus. High
viscosity reduces the fluid velocity in the
near-wall region and increases the cuttings
bed strength
SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 11

Drill pipe Rotation Effect

1

DEF

0.9

0.8

20 RPM

0.7

40 RPM
60 RPM

0.6

80 RPM

0.5

100 RPM

120 RPM

0.4
0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Inclination Angle (degree)
SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 12

Fluid Density

Drill pipe

Density

Rheology

SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 13

Reliability Analysis
Compare with Larsens data
30

+20%
-20%

Chart prediction (C%)

25

20

15

10

0
0

10

15

20

25

30

Test data (C%)

SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 14

Conclusions
A series of charts have been developed to quickly estimate cuttings
concentration. The charts consider the majority of drilling parameters that
have significant effects on cuttings transport. These charts can be used for
rig-site applications and as a quick reference during well planning.
Experimental data is used to verify the reliability of the charts. Results show
that the charts are within a reasonable accuracy range for drilling applications.
The worst part for hole cleaning in an ERD well is between 45~55o. If the hole
cleaning requirement is satisfied for this part, it should not be a problem for
other parts of the well.

SPE-173681 Is Well Clean Enough? A Fast Approach to Estimate Hole Cleaning for Directional Drilling
Feifei Zhang

Slide 15