Automated Alarms for Managing Drilling Pressure and Maintaining Wellbore Stability─New Concepts in While-Drilling Decision Making

摘要

Due to the increased complexity of oil and gas wells being drilled worldwide, many encounter significant geologic uncertainty?during?wellbore?construction. This?uncertainty?can?be?manifested?in?the?form?of?unplanned?drilling?events?such as kicks, lost circulation, and borehole stability problems. These issues expose operators to serious health, safety and environmental?(HSE)?risks?and?frequently?lead?to?significant?cost?overruns. However,?if?a?more?proactive?effort?was?placed on predicting and identifying trouble zones in real time, it may be possible to achieve a substantial reduction in nonproductive?time?(NPT)?while?simultaneously?reducing?safety?risks. With the abundance of drilling and logging data now available in real time,?much of this information can be used to recognize potential problem areas while drilling. Until recently, ensuring that the right person receives the right information?at the right time to?make?an informed?decision?has?been?accomplished?primarily through?manual?processes. However, computer systems available today can automate the filtering and distribution of relevant information to personnel?quickly?for?more?rapid?assessment?of?the?current?situation. In?addition to?data?handling?and?distribution, these systems can?also?provide?automated?alarms that?aid in reducing the probability?of?an?unplanned?event?by?focusing?the?attention?of?personnel?on?the?most important?datasets?as?well?as?their interpreted?relationships. Alarms?can?automatically?interpret?complex?real‐time?datasets?in?the?context?of?pre‐well?models and quickly provide?warnings?without relying solely on the experience of the individual to decipher the information in context and detect potential danger. They also provide assistance for less experienced personnel enabling better risk assessment?awareness?and,?in?turn,?more?reliable?decision?making. This?paper?presents?a?case?study?for?a?system?of?real‐time?automated?wellbore?stability?alarms?aimed?at?identifying?trouble zones and improving ahead of the bit predictions. The goal?was to reduce the potential for kicks, lost circulation and wellbore instability events. Special software is used for processing real‐time data, in the context of geomechanical modeling,?and?raising?appropriate?alarms?when?conditions?cause?drilling?parameters?to?deviate?outside?an?acceptable?level. The case study also discusses how these alarms can be used in a remote services platform by transmitting real‐time information from the?wellsite to experts in town,?which enhances collaboration and improves customer value through better engagement. Finally, the paper describes how automated alarms help to establish and enforce better communication protocols and accountability through an acknowledgment process that includes depth and time‐based comments.