Apply high-power fiber laser in oil/gas wells drilling

摘要

The concept of using lasers to drill through rock has been discussed in the oil and gas industries since the development of the high-power laser. To evaluate the possibility of fielding a laser drilling system, two laser-related problems have to be investigated. The first is the irradiation effects of laser upon rocks; the second is the effects in laser transmission from the source to the rock deep in the well. This transmission includes two stages: the first stage is the transmission inside a fiber, which is packaged in a cable and has about the same length with the well depth; the second stage refers to the transmission process when the laser leaves the fiber and some transforming optics and transmits to the rock surface, during which the well conditions may impose tough restrictions. In this paper, experiment results of laser irradiation upon siliceous sandstone and granite are reported, and the fiber transmission loss is simulated, considering the main absorbing or scattering mechanisms inside fiber. And the laser transmission from the fiber end to the rock surface, in my view, may impose great challenge on the laser drilling technology.