Numerical Simulation on the Safety and Quality of Cementing by Using Pad Fluid in Horizontal Wells

Ben Qi, Jiawen Fu, Jinfei Sun, Zaoyuan Li, Xin Yang (), Fujie Yang and Xuning Wu
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Ben Qi: The Second Cementing Branch of CNPC Bohai Drilling Engineering Company Limited, Tianjin 300280, China
Jiawen Fu: The Second Cementing Branch of CNPC Bohai Drilling Engineering Company Limited, Tianjin 300280, China
Jinfei Sun: National Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
Zaoyuan Li: National Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
Xin Yang: National Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
Fujie Yang: National Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
Xuning Wu: National Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: The failure of wellbore sealing will cause leakage of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, which will harm oil and gas recovery and environmental safety. Cementing is an important part of wellbore sealing. Only good cementing can keep the wellbore seal for a long time and improve the well life. In this study, we considered the construction of a horizontal shale oil well in eastern China as the background and analysed the rheological properties of the annulus fluid. We developed a displacement motion model and a calculation model for the annulus dynamic equivalent circulation density, and numerical simulations were used to study the impact of the dosage and injection sequence of the pad fluid on the displacement efficiency and annulus dynamic equivalent circulation density. The results show that when the pad fluid is composed completely of flushing fluid, the displacement performance is better than that of the spacer. By increasing the dosage of the flushing fluid from 0.3 times the annular volume to 1.0 times, the displacement efficiency can be increased by 3.3%, and the retention of the drilling fluid is also reduced by 3.6%. However, it can lead to a significant reduction in the annulus dynamic equivalent circulation density and increase in the risk of leakage. After adding the spacer, the structure of the flushing fluid–spacer provides the optimal injection sequence. Considering the application status in the field example well, it was shown that it can not only ensure the safety of cementing operations, but also improve the displacement efficiency. The results of this study have important theoretical significance and application value and can provide guidance for the optimisation design of the engineering scheme.

Keywords: cementing; horizontal well; pad fluid; displacement efficiency; dynamic equivalent circulation density (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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