12

2012-01-12

New tool boosts oil extraction from thin and poor oil layers in Daqing Oilfield

Near-bit geological steering drilling system is recognized by the international drilling community

On December 23, reporters learned from the China Petroleum Drilling Engineering Technology Research Institute that the near-bit geological guidance drilling system (CGDS) independently developed by the institute successfully captured an oil layer of 166 meters in the Fangpu 86-Ping 26 well in the outer area of the Daqing Oilfield, adding a powerful tool for the exploitation of thin and poor oil layers in the Daqing Oilfield.
The near-bit geological guidance drilling system went downhole at 10 PM on November 25 in the Fangpu 86-Ping 26 well and successfully completed drilling at 0:12 AM on December 10, with a completed well depth of 2365 meters. The instrument was in the well for 337 hours, with pure drilling time of 91 hours and 30 minutes, accumulating a footage of 799 meters, without any tripping of drilling tools due to equipment or screw drill string reasons. According to past experience, using foreign downhole measurement equipment in conventional horizontal well construction, there are often more than 2 trips on average due to instrument reasons.
The near-bit geological guidance drilling system is an internationally recognized cutting-edge drilling technology of the 21st century, integrating drilling technology, logging technology, and reservoir engineering technology. It uses near-bit geological and engineering parameter measurements and downhole control methods to ensure that the actual wellbore traverses the reservoir, and adjusts and controls the wellbore trajectory in real time based on the formation characteristic information monitored during drilling, allowing the drill bit to follow the "smell of oil." It has the characteristics of downhole identification of oil and gas layers and strong guidance function. Under the leadership of academician Su Yiniao of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, China Petroleum successfully developed the near-bit geological guidance drilling system in 2007, breaking the monopoly of foreign companies on this technology. Currently, this system has been applied in 84 oil wells in Jianghan Oilfield, Jilin Oilfield, Liaohe Oilfield, and Jiangsu Oilfield. In early 2011, this system was also applied in a Canadian company.
In May 2011, China Petroleum Exploration and Production Branch deployed the near-bit geological guidance drilling system of the Drilling Institute in the Daqing Oilfield and required that the system be used in the well locations with the thinnest and most difficult-to-exploit oil layers. The first well selected was the Fangpu 86-Ping 26 well.
The Fangpu 86-Ping 26 well is managed by the Eighth Oil Production Plant of Daqing Oilfield and is a horizontal well construction project in this block in 2011. Due to the control of the large northern river-delta sedimentary terrain, the single sand layer thickness and other factors vary greatly between north and south, with multiple sandstone layers, large interlayer differences, poor planar continuity, and relatively complex oil-water distribution. The thinnest oil layer is less than 0.5 meters thick, and increasing reserves and production has always been a major challenge.
This construction faced difficulties such as unknown target layer conditions, no comparable data from adjacent wells, and no successful experience in three-dimensional obstacle avoidance wells, plus the harsh winter conditions, bringing many uncertainties to the work environment. In this construction, the system withstood the severe test with stable performance, reducing the number of trips, reducing the labor intensity of workers, effectively shortening the drilling cycle, and saving drilling costs. More importantly, due to the short drilling time, the well greatly reduced the probability of complex situations.

Keywords:

effectively,environment