Compósitos Portland-biopolímeros para cimentação de poços de petróleo

The oil production in mature areas can be improved by advanced recovery techniques. In special, steam injection reduces the viscosity of heavy oils, thus improving its flow to surrounding wells. On the other hand, the usually high temperatures and pressures involved in the process may lead to cement cracking, negatively affecting both the mechanical stability and zonal isolation provided by the cement sheath of the well. The addition of plastic materials to the cement is an alternative to prevent this scenario. Composite slurries consisting of Portland cement and a natural biopolymer were studied. Samples containing different contents of biopolymer dispersed in a Portland cement matrix were prepared and evaluated by mechanical and rheological tests in order to assess their behavior according to API (American Petroleum Institute) guidelines. FEM was also applied to map the stress distribution encountered by the cement at bottom bole. The slurries were prepared according to a factorial experiment plan by varying three parameters, i.e., cement age, contents of biopolymer and water-to-cement ratio. The results revealed that the addition of the biopolymer reduced the volume of free water and the setting time of the slurry. In addition, tensile strength, compressive strength and toughness improved by 30% comparing hardened composites to plain Portland slurries. FEM results suggested that the stresses developed at bottomhole may be 10 to 100 times higher than the strength of the cement as evaluated in the lab by unconfined mechanical testing. An alternative approach is proposed to adapt the testing methodology used to evaluate the mechanical behavior of oilwell cement slurries by simulating the confined conditions encountered at bottornhole

Estudo da molhabilidade de ligas de adição à base de prata sobre insertos cerâmicos para aplicação em brocas perfuração de poços de petróleo

Metal-ceramic interfaces are present in tricone drill bits with hard ceramic inserts for oil well drilling operations. The combination of actions of cutting, crushing and breaking up of rocks results in the degradation of tricone drill bits by wear, total or partial rupture of the drill bit body or the ceramic inserts, thermal shock and corrosion. Also the improper pressfitting of the ceramic inserts on the bit body may cause its total detachment, and promote serious damages to the drill bit. The improvement on the production process of metal-ceramic interfaces can eliminate or minimize some of above-mentioned failures presented in tricone drill bits, optimizing their lifetime and so reducing drilling metric cost. Brazing is a widely established technique to join metal-ceramic materials, and may be an excellent alternative to the common mechanical press fitting process of hard ceramic inserts on the steel bit body for tricone drill bit. Wetting phenomena plays an essential role in the production of metal/ceramic interfaces when a liquid phase is present in the process. In this work, 72Silver-28Copper eutectic based brazing alloys were melted onto zirconia, silicon nitride and tungsten carbide/Co substrates under high vacuum. Contact angle evolution was measured and graphically plotted, and the interfaces produced were analysed by SEM-EDX. The AgCu eutectic alloy did not wet any ceramic substrates, showing high contact angles, and so without chemical interaction between the materials. Better results were found for the systemns containing 3%wt of titanium in the AgCu alloy. The presence os titanium as a solute in the alloy produces wettable cand termodinamically stable compounds, increasing the ceramics wetting beahviour

Avaliação do comportamento reológico de pastas de cimento para poços de petróleo com adição de plastificantes

The isolation of adjacent zones encountered during oilwell drilling is carried out by Portland-based cement slurries. The slurries are pumped into the annular positions between the well and the casing. Their rheological behavior is a very important component for the cementing process. Nowadays, several alternative materials are used in oilwell cementing, with goal the modification and the improvement of their properties, mainly the increase of the fluidity. And this can be reached by using plasticizers additives able to account for different oilwell conditions, yielding compatible cement slurries and allowing enough time for the complete cementing operation. If the rheological properties of the slurry are properly characterized, the load loss and flow regime can be correctly predicted. However, this experimental characterization is difficult. Rheological models capable of describing the cement slurry behavior must be capable of predicting the slurry cement deformation within reasonable accuracy. The aim of this study was to characterize rheologically the slurries prepared with a especial class of Portland cement, water and plasticizers based on lignosulfonate, melamine and polycarboxylate at temperatures varying from 27°C to 72°C. The tests were carried out according to the practical recommendations of the API RP 10B guidelines. The results revealed a great efficiency and the dispersive power of the polycarboxylate, for all temperatures tested. This additive promoted high fluidity of the slurries, with no sedimentation. High lignosulfonate and melamine concentrations did not reduce the rheological parameters (plastic viscosity and yield stress) of the slurries. It was verified that these additives were not compatible with the type of cement used. The evaluated rheological models were capable of describing the behavior of the slurries only within concentration and temperature ranges specific for each type of additive

Aditivação de pastas geopoliméricas com tetraborato de sódio e látex não iônico para cimentação de Poços de Petróleo

The development of activities in the oil and gas sector has been promoting the search for materials more adequate to oilwell cementing operation. In the state of Rio Grande do Norte, the cement sheath integrity tend to fail during steam injection operation which is necessary to increase oil recovery in reservoir with heavy oil. Geopolymer is a material that can be used as alternative cement. It has been used in manufacturing of fireproof compounds, construction of structures and for controlling of toxic or radioactive waste. Latex is widely used in Portland cement slurries and its characteristic is the increase of compressive strength of cement slurries. Sodium Tetraborate is used in dental cement as a retarder. The addition of this additive aim to improve the geopolymeric slurries properties for oilwell cementing operation. The slurries studied are constituted of metakaolinite, potassium silicate, potassium hydroxide, non-ionic latex and sodium tetraborate. The properties evaluated were: viscosity, compressive strength, thickening time, density, fluid loss control, at ambient temperature (27 ºC) and at cement specification temperature. The tests were carried out in accordance to the practical recommendations of the norm API RP 10B. The slurries with sodium tetraborate did not change either their rheological properties or their mechanical properties or their density in relation the slurry with no additive. The increase of the concentration of sodium tetraborate increased the water loss at both temperatures studied. The best result obtained with the addition of sodium tetraborate was thickening time, which was tripled. The addition of latex in the slurries studied diminished their rheological properties and their density, however, at ambient temperature, it increased their compressive strength and it functioned as an accelerator. The increase of latex concentration increased the presence of water and then diminished the density of the slurries and increased the water loss. From the results obtained, it was concluded that sodium tetraborate and non-ionic latex are promising additives for geopolymer slurries to be used in oilwell cementing operation

Adição de poliuretana em pastas de cimento para poços de petróleo como agente de correção do filtrado

Chemical admixtures, when properly selected and quantified, play an important role in obtaining adequate slurry systems for quality primary cementing operations. They assure the proper operation of a well and reduce costs attributed to corrective cementing jobs. Controlling the amount lost by filtering through the slurry to permeable areas is one of the most important requirements in an operation, commonly controlled by chemical admixtures, such as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). However, problems related to temperature, salttolerance and the secundary retarding effect are commonly reported in the literature. According to the scenario described above, the use of an aqueous dispersion of non-ionic poliurethane was proposed to control the filter loss, given its low ionic interaction with the free ions present in the slurries in humid state. Therefore, this study aims at assessing the efficiency of poliurethane to reduce filter loss in different temperature and pressure conditions as well as the synergistic effect with other admixtures. The temperatures and pressures used in laboratory tests simulate the same conditions of oil wells with depths of 500 to 1200 m. The poliurethane showed resistance to thermal degradation and stability in the presence of salts. With the increase in the concentration of the polymer there was a considerable decrease in the volume lost by filtration, and this has been effective even with the increase in temperature

Cinemática de partículas em fluidos de viscosidade variável com o tempo e sua aplicação na construção de poços de petróleo: avaliação durante paradas operacionais

The new oil reservoirs discoveries in onshore and ultra deep water offshore fields and complex trajectories require the optimization of procedures to reduce the stops operation during the well drilling, especially because the platforms and equipment high cost, and risks which are inherent to the operation. Among the most important aspects stands out the drilling fluids project and their behavior against different situations that may occur during the process. By means of sedimentation experiments, a correlation has been validated to determe the sedimentation particles velocity in variable viscosity fluids over time, applying the correction due to effective viscosity that is a shear rate and time function. The viscosity evolution over time was obtained by carrying out rheologic tests using a fixed shear rate, small enough to not interfere in the fluid gelling process. With the sedimentation particles velocity and the fluid viscosity over time equations an iterative procedure was proposed to determine the particles displacement over time. These equations were implemented in a case study to simulate the cuttings sedimentation generated in the oil well drilling during stops operation, especially in the connections and tripping, allowing the drilling fluid project in order to maintain the cuttings in suspension, avoiding risks, such as stuck pipe and in more drastic conditions, the loss of the well

Influência da adição de gres porcelanato no comportamento mecânico e microestrutural em pastas de cimento portland para cimentação de poços de petróleo

Cementation operation consists in an extremely important work for the phases of perforation and completion of oil wells, causing a great impact on the well productivity. Several problems can occur with the cement during the primary cementation, as well as throughout the productive period. The corrective operations are frequent, but they are expensive and demands production time. Besides the direct cost, prejudices from the interruption of oil and gas production till the implementation of a corrective operation must be also taken into account. The purpose of this work is the development of an alternative cement paste constituted of Portland cement and porcelainized stoneware residue produced by ceramic industry in order to achieve characteristics as low permeability, high tenacity, and high mechanical resistance, capable of supporting various operations as production or oil wells recuperation. Four different concentration measures of hydrated paste were evaluated: a reference paste, and three additional ones with ceramic residue in concentrations of the order of 10%, 20% and 30% in relation to cement dough. High resistance and low permeability were found in high concentration of residues, as well as it was proved the pozolanic reactivity of the residue in relation to Portland cement, which was characterized through x-ray and thermogravimetry assays. It was evident the decrease of calcium hydroxide content, once it was substituted by formation of new hydrated products as it was added ceramic residue

Análise de agrupamentos dos dados de DFA oriundos de perfis elétricos de indução de poços de petróleo

The main objective of this study is to apply recently developed methods of physical-statistic to time series analysis, particularly in electrical induction s profiles of oil wells data, to study the petrophysical similarity of those wells in a spatial distribution. For this, we used the DFA method in order to know if we can or not use this technique to characterize spatially the fields. After obtain the DFA values for all wells, we applied clustering analysis. To do these tests we used the non-hierarchical method called K-means. Usually based on the Euclidean distance, the K-means consists in dividing the elements of a data matrix N in k groups, so that the similarities among elements belonging to different groups are the smallest possible. In order to test if a dataset generated by the K-means method or randomly generated datasets form spatial patterns, we created the parameter Ω (index of neighborhood). High values of Ω reveals more aggregated data and low values of Ω show scattered data or data without spatial correlation. Thus we concluded that data from the DFA of 54 wells are grouped and can be used to characterize spatial fields. Applying contour level technique we confirm the results obtained by the K-means, confirming that DFA is effective to perform spatial analysis

Análise de DFA e de agrupamento do perfil de densidade de poços de petróleo

In recent years, the DFA introduced by Peng, was established as an important tool capable of detecting long-range autocorrelation in time series with non-stationary. This technique has been successfully applied to various areas such as: Econophysics, Biophysics, Medicine, Physics and Climatology. In this study, we used the DFA technique to obtain the Hurst exponent (H) of the profile of electric density profile (RHOB) of 53 wells resulting from the Field School of Namorados. In this work we want to know if we can or not use H to spatially characterize the spatial data field. Two cases arise: In the first a set of H reflects the local geology, with wells that are geographically closer showing similar H, and then one can use H in geostatistical procedures. In the second case each well has its proper H and the information of the well are uncorrelated, the profiles show only random fluctuations in H that do not show any spatial structure. Cluster analysis is a method widely used in carrying out statistical analysis. In this work we use the non-hierarchy method of k-means. In order to verify whether a set of data generated by the k-means method shows spatial patterns, we create the parameter Ω (index of neighborhood). High Ω shows more aggregated data, low Ω indicates dispersed or data without spatial correlation. With help of this index and the method of Monte Carlo. Using Ω index we verify that random cluster data shows a distribution of Ω that is lower than actual cluster Ω. Thus we conclude that the data of H obtained in 53 wells are grouped and can be used to characterize space patterns. The analysis of curves level confirmed the results of the k-means

Simulador de dano à formação, aplicado ao Projeto e à execução da perfuração de poços de petróleo

With the high oil price variability, the petroleum and the reservoir engineers are usually face to face on how they can evaluate the well performance and productivity. They can improve high productivity from the well construction to the secondary recoveries, but they have never tried a measurement in the drilling operations about the lower productivity index. As a rule, frequently the drilling operations hear from the reservoir engineering and geology that, if there is a formation damage, probably some drilling operations practices were not done properly or the good practice in petroleum engineering or mud engineering were not observed. The study in this working search is an attempt of how to measure a formation damage just from the project drilling to the drilling operations, with datum from the fields in Brazilian northeast and putting into practice a Simulator developed from the modeling on the theory offered by different experts and sources in formation damage

Desenvolvimento de sistemas de aditivos químicos para aplicação em cimentações de poços de petróleo

The primary cementing is an important step in the oilwell drilling process, ensuring the mechanical stability of the well and the hydraulic isolation between casing and formation. For slurries to meet the requirements for application in a certain well, some care in the project should be taken into account to obtain a cement paste with the proper composition. In most cases, it is necessary to add chemicals to the cement to modify its properties, according to the operation conditions and thus obtain slurries that can move inside the jacket providing a good displacement to the interest area. New technologies of preparation and use of chemicals and modernization of technological standards in the construction industry have resulted in the development of new chemical additives for optimizing the properties of building materials. Products such as polycarboxylate superplasticizers provide improved fluidity and cohesion of the cement grains, in addition to improving the dispersion with respect to slurries without additives. This study aimed at adapting chemical additives used in civil construction to be used use in oilwell cement slurries systems, using Portland cement CPP-Special Class as the hydraulic binder. The chemical additives classified as defoamer, dispersant, fluid loss controller and retarder were characterized by infrared absorption spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyses and technological tests set by the API (American Petroleum Institute). These additives showed satisfactory results for its application in cement slurries systems for oil wells. The silicone-based defoamer promoted the reduction of air bubbles incorporated during the stirring of the slurries. The dispersant significantly reduced the rheological parameters of the systems studied. The tests performed with the fluid loss controller and the retarder also resulted in suitable properties for application as chemical additives in cement slurries

Incorporação de resíduo cerâmico para prevenção da retrogressão da resistência de cimentos de poços de petróleo submetidos à injeção de vapor

Steam injection is the most used thermal recovery method of oil nowadays because of the high degree of development of the technique that allows high recovery factors. However, injection of superheated steam into the reservoir affects the entire structure of the well, including the cemented layer that presents a retrogression of compressive strength and increases the permeability due to formation of more crystalline and denser phases at temperatures above 110 °C. These changes result in failures in the cement that favor the entrance of formation fluids into the annulus space resulting in unsafe operations and restrictions in the economic life of the well. But the strength retrogression can be prevented by partial replacement of cement by silica-based materials that reduce the CaO/SiO2 ratio of cement slurries changing the trajectory of the reactions, converting those deleterious phases in phases with satisfactory mechanical strength and permeability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the behavior of a ceramic waste material rich in silica in partial and total substitution of a mineral additive used to fight the strength retrogression of cement slurries subjected to high temperatures. The evaluation was made by compression, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetry (TG/DTG). The samples were submitted to a cycle of low temperature (38 °C) for 28 days and a cycle of low temperature followed by exposure to 280 ºC and 1000 psi by 3 days. The results showed that slurries with additions of up to 30% of the waste material are not enough to prevent the strength retrogression, while slurries with additions of the waste material combined with silica flour in various proportions produced hydrated products of low Ca/Si ratios that maintained the compressive strength at satisfactory levels

Estudo do comportamento de pastas compósitas cimento/sílica/poliuretana para poços de petróleo HPHT

Os poços HPHT atravessam zonas anormalmente pressurizadas e com altos gradientes de temperatura. Esses poços apresentam elevadas concentrações de tensões produzidas pelas operações de perfuração e fraturamento hidráulico, flutuações da pressão e temperatura, forças dinâmicas geradas durante a perfuração, formações inconsolidadas, entre outros aspectos, podendo resultar em falhas mecânicas na bainha de cimento. Tais falhas comprometem a estabilidade mecânica do poço e o isolamento das zonas produtoras de óleos e/ou gás. Para que operações corretivas não se façam necessárias, é preciso adequar as pastas às condições de cada poço. Sistemas de pastas de cimento para poços HPHT requerem um bom controle de suas propriedades termo-mecânicas. Visto que a temperaturas superiores a 110 oC (230 oF) o cimento, após alcançar um valor máximo de resistência, inicia um processo de perda de resistência (retrogressão). Para prevenir esse efeito substitui-se parcialmente o cimento Portland por sílica com objetivo de incrementar a reação pozolânica. Esta reação modifica a trajetória do processo natural de hidratação do cimento, o gel de silicato de cálcio hidratado (C-S-H) se converte em várias outras fases com maior resistência. Polímeros também são adicionados para proporcionar maior flexibilidade e agir como barreira à propagação de trincas desenvolvidas sob tensão. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o comportamento do sistema cimento/sílica/polímero quando submetido às condições de alta temperatura e alta pressão. Foram formuladas pastas de cimento puro, pastas contendo 40 % BWOC de sílica flour e pastas com diferentes concentrações de poliuretana (5 % a 25 %) e 40 % BWOC de sílica flour. O peso específico das pastas foi fixado em 1,87 g/cm3 (15,6 lb/gal). Os resultados demonstram que as resistências da pasta contendo 40% de sílica e das com adição de polímero foram muito superiores a da pasta de cimento puro, não ocorrendo o efeito da retrogressão. As pastas com polímero apresentaram um crescente aumento da tenacidade com o aumento da concentração da mesma, sendo assim capaz de suportar as tensões. Além de se manterem estáveis termicamente acima de 180 ºC. O sistema também apresentou excelentes resultados de filtrado, reologia, água livre, estabilidade e permeabilidade. Sendo assim, o mesmo mostrou ser aplicável a poços HPHT

Sistema supervisório para poços de petróleo baseados no método de elevação artificial Plunger Lift

The several existing methods for oil artificial lifting and the variety of automation equipment for these methods many times lead the supervisory systems to be dedicated to a unique method and/or to a unique manufacturer. To avoid this problem, it has been developed the supervisory system named SISAL, conceived to supervise wells with different lifting methods and different automation equipments. The SISAL system is working in several Brazilian states but, nowadays, it is only supervising rod pump-based wells. The objective of this work is the development of a supervision module to the plunger lift artificial lift method. The module will have the same characteristics of working with automation hardware of many manufacturers. The module will be integrated to the SISAL system, incorporating the capacity to supervise the plunger lift artificial lift method.

Processamento Inteligente de Sinais de Pressão e Temperatura Adquiridos Através de Sensores Permanentes em Poços de Petróleo

Originally aimed at operational objectives, the continuous measurement of well bottomhole pressure and temperature, recorded by permanent downhole gauges (PDG), finds vast applicability in reservoir management. It contributes for the monitoring of well performance and makes it possible to estimate reservoir parameters on the long term. However, notwithstanding its unquestionable value, data from PDG is characterized by a large noise content. Moreover, the presence of outliers within valid signal measurements seems to be a major problem as well. In this work, the initial treatment of PDG signals is addressed, based on curve smoothing, self-organizing maps and the discrete wavelet transform. Additionally, a system based on the coupling of fuzzy clustering with feed-forward neural networks is proposed for transient detection. The obtained results were considered quite satisfactory for offshore wells and matched real requisites for utilization