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SummaryIn this paper, we describe measured and simulated downhole pressure variations (“surge and swab”) during drillpipe connections when drilling an ultradeepwater well offshore Brazil on Bacalhau (former Carcará) Field. Floating rig motion caused by waves and swell (“rig heave”) induces surge and swab when the drillstring is suspended in slips to make up or break a drillpipe connection and topside heave compensation is temporarily deactivated. This is a known issue in regions with harsh weather, such as the North Sea, where pressure oscillations of up to 20 bar have been reported during connections. Recorded downhole drilling data from Bacalhau Field reveals significant pressure oscillations downhole (in the same order of magnitude as in the North Sea) each time the drillstring was suspended in slips to make a connection in the subsalt 8½-in. section of the well. Mud losses were experienced around the same well depth, and they might have been caused by surge and swab.Measured surge and swab pressure variations have been reproduced in an advanced proprietary surge and swab simulator that considers rig heave, drillpipe elasticity, well friction, non-Newtonian drilling mud, well trajectory, and geometry. Moreover, findings in this paper suggest that surge and swab was in fact significantly higher than recorded by the measurement while drilling (MWD) tool. The true magnitude of surge and swab is not captured in the recorded MWD data due to low sampling frequency of the downhole pressure recording (one measurement every 6 seconds, a standard downhole pressure sampling rate used on many operations today).This work shows that surge and swab during drillpipe connections on floaters may challenge the available pressure window for some wells, even in regions with calm weather such as Brazil. Managed pressure drilling (MPD) is a technique that improves control of the downhole pressure. It is, however, not possible to compensate fast downhole pressure transients, such as heave-induced surge and swab, using MPD choke topside. This is due to the long distance between the choke and the bit, which translates into a time delay in the same order of magnitude as typical wave and heave periods. A downhole choke combined with continuous circulation is one of the potential solutions.Surge and swab during drillpipe connections can result in a loss or an influx and should be considered in the well planning phase when mud weight, section lengths, etc. are selected.

This paper describes a novel method for utilization of advanced surge and swab simulations during drilling and completion operations. Outcomes are reduced waiting on weather and increased safety. Results are achieved through improved planning by introducing an additional metric – Dynamic Rig Heave Limit. This metric is meant to be used as guidance during offshore operations and indicates how much rig heave is acceptable at any given depth in the well before limits of the well itself, or of the tools in the well, are breached. There are several key differences between this approach and the current practices. The most important difference is that the rig heave limits we describe in this paper focus on the effect that the rig heave has on downhole parameters, i.e. well pressure margins and downhole tool limitations. Present practices focus on topside conditions, for example safety of the rig crew and integrity of the equipment. We do not argue that these traditional rig heave limits should be substituted; we rather suggest that the Dynamic Rig Heave Limit should be used in addition. A number of simulation inputs such as sea state and rig response data, well and geomechanics data, well fluid parameters and drill- and completion string data were used to calculate downhole surge and swab as it was induced by rig heave during tubular connections. The simulation model used has been developed in-house and is field-proven, as described in several earlier publications. Its special feature is that it has sufficient temporal and spatial resolution to accurately capture the influence of rig heave on annulus pressure and flow. The focus of this paper is not on the model itself, but rather on how the modelling results were utilized during well planning and communicated during offshore operations. We discuss results from two case studies, one from a well completion operation on the Knarr field (Norske Shell) and another one from drilling operation on the Hades/Iris prospect (OMV Norge). Hades/Iris is an HPHT field in the harsh Norwegian Sea, where an exploration well was drilled wintertime. Knarr is a mature field with depleted pressure margins in the North Sea. These two very different cases each represent a unique set of challenges where introducing the Dynamic Rig Heave limits is shown to be of a benefit. Introducing a limit for rig heave related to well and completion tool limitations is shown to reduce NPT by one or more rig days per well. The main mechanism behind the NPT reduction is that rig heave limits, specifically tailored to each well and calculated throughout the well trajectory, allow halting and resuming operations during periods with high heave based on precisely tailored calculations, rather than relying on experience, gut feeling and generic best practices. Knowing precisely how the downhole limits are related to rig heave for each well also increases safety since there is less risk of damaging the well and/or completion tools or swabbing in reservoir fluids.

This paper describes a flow assurance method known as "cold flow". The method is suitable for deepwater liquid dominated fields and reduces costs and carbon emissions compared to conventional flow assurance methods by letting hydrate and wax deposits travel as inert solids with the production stream to the host fascility (e.g. an FPSO). A compact subsea unit that utilizes the cold flow method is presented and an experimental test setup at SINTEF's Multiphase Flow Laboratory is described. The unit consists of a recycle stream that seeds dry particles to a place where the bulk flow temperature is close to the hydrate formation temperature (HFT) and the wax appearance temperature (WAT). Water droplets coat the dry particles and become a part of the particles absorbing free water in the flow. In addition to the seeding mechanism, a robot operated induction coil removes inner pipe wall deposits by heating the pipe locally. Results from the tests show no build-up of solids inside the cold flow unit itself or downstream the unit. The flow system is also robust in terms of shutdowns and the production flow is regained easily. Measurements also show that the unit is robust with respect to increasing water cut (WC).

The most important contributer to Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) on mature fields is drilling of infill wells. Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) and Continuous Circulation System (CCS) techniques can be used for improved control of bottomhole pressure when drilling wells in depleted fields with narrow pressure windows, but rig heave is a challenge when drilling from floating drilling units. Rig heave, caused by sea waves, induces pressure oscillations downhole that may exceed the operational pressure window. These oscillations are called "surge & swab" and occur both during tripping in and out of hole as well as during drill pipe connections, when the topside heave compensation system used during drilling is disabled because the drill pipe is put in slips. Downhole choking was introduced as a method to reduce downhole pressure oscillations induced by the rig heave and the concept was tested in laboratory scale and using computer simulations (Kvernland et al., 2018). The simulations were perfomed using a purpose-developed software which utilizes such input variables as wave height, pump flow, drill pipe movements, rig characteristic (RAO), drilling fluid properties as well as well design, drill pipe and Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) data to simulate downhole pressure, induced by rig heave. The simulator is designed to model dynamic interactions between the drilling fluid and the drill string in a rigorous manner, which gives it ability to accurately predict fast downhole changes, such as ones induced by ocean waves. This paper gives an overview of the surge & swab simulator, describing its capabilities and limitations. Data from drilling of a North Sea well is then used to validate the simulations made using the software. The well, used as example in this paper, was drilled conventionally from a floating rig. The downhole pressure variations recorded during three different drill pipe connections are compared with simulated downhole pressure. The simulations are based on the recorded rig heave as well as the actual drilling fluid, well design and drill pipe data. Results show that there is a good correlation between simulated and actual measured downhole pressure. The surge & swab simulation software is then used to simulate the same drilling pipe connections using three different techniques and combinations of techniques utilized for improved downhole pressure control: (1) Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) (2) Managed Pressure Drilling combined with Continuous Circulation System (CCS) and (3) MPD combined with CCS and a downhole choke. Results show that rig heave-induced downhole pressure variations are reduced to a level which is considered acceptable for drilling a well with narrow pressure window for the last two cases, while utilization of backpressure MPD alone is not sufficient. The combination of MPD and CCS reduced surge & swab for two out of three connections. For the third and deepest connection, the surge & swab increased. The largest reduction in significant downhole pressure variations (43-68 % vs. conventional drilling for the three connections) occurs when MPD and CCS are combined with downhole choking. Future work will consist of further developing the surge & swab simulator so that it will be possible to utilize it in well planning and as real-time decision support during drilling operations. The simulator will also be developed to include possibility of simulating various well completion operations such as running casings and liners. A prototype of the downhole choke is currently being tested at the mud loop of the Ullrigg test rig facility in Stavanger, Norway, and the next development phase consists of designing and building a complete downhole tool for testing in a well.

SummaryA novel method of utilizing simulations of surge and swab induced by floating rig heave is presented in this paper. The intended applications are in well planning and follow-up of drilling and completion operations. We focus on rig heave during drill pipe connections when the rig's heave compensator cannot be engaged. The method consists of: (1) estimating a dynamic, well- and operation-specific, rig heave limit based on surge & swab simulations at different depths in a well and (2) clearly communicating the dynamic rig heave limit to the rig crew and onshore organization as a simple metric. We present cases where this novel methodology has been tested during the drilling and completion of two offshore wells in Norway, and we elaborate on the operators’ view of the method's advantages. We conclude that complementing the traditional fixed rig-specific heave limit with the dynamic one that is based on the properties of the actual well and the actual drilling/completion parameters offers an opportunity to improve management of risks related to breaching well pressure margins or damaging downhole equipment and to reduce costs through reduction of weather-related non-productive time. We show that the dynamic rig heave limit may differ significantly from well to well and also throughout the same well depending on the kind of operation in the well, depth in the well, well geometry and other parameters related to well and operation properties. Our conclusion is that care should be taken when generalizing a maximum allowed rig heave value as is the industry practice today. The benefits of utilizing dynamic well-specific rig heave limit should be assessed during well planning for any well drilled and completed from a floating rig. Well planning software existing today does not offer this functionality.

Summary This paper describes measured and simulated downhole pressure variations ("surge and swab") during drill pipe connections when drilling an ultra-deepwater well offshore Brazil on the Carcará field. Floating rig motion caused by waves and swell ("rig heave") induces surge and swab when the drill string is suspended in slips to make up or break a drill pipe connection and topside heave compensation is temporarily deactivated. This is a known issue in regions with harsh weather such as the North Sea, where pressure oscillations of up to 20 bar have been reported during connections. Recorded downhole drilling data from the Carcará field reveals significant pressure oscillations downhole (in the same order of magnitude as in the North Sea) each time the drill string was suspended in slips to make a connection in the sub-salt 8 ½" section of the well. Mud losses were experienced around the same well depth and they might have been caused by surge and swab. Measured surge and swab pressure variations have been reproduced in an advanced proprietary surge and swab simulator that considers rig heave, drill pipe elasticity, well friction, non-Newtonian drilling mud, well trajectory and geometry. Moreover, findings in this paper suggest that surge and swab was in fact significantly higher than recorded by the MWD (Measurement While Drilling) tool. The true magnitude of surge and swab is not captured in the recorded MWD data due to low sampling frequency of the downhole pressure recording (one measurement every six seconds, a standard downhole pressure sampling rate used on many operations today). This work shows that surge and swab during drill pipe connections on floaters may challenge the available pressure window for some wells even in regions with calm weather such as Brazil. Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) is a technique that improves control of the downhole pressure. It is, however, not possible to compensate fast downhole pressure transients, such as heave-induced surge and swab, using MPD choke topside. This is due to the long distance between the choke and the bit, which translates into a time delay in the same order of magnitude as typical wave and heave periods. A downhole choke combined with continuous circulation is one of potential solutions. Surge and swab during drill pipe connections can result in a loss or an influx and should be considered in the well planning phase when mud weight, section lengths, etc. are selected.

Harsh weather conditions result in severe heave motion on floating drilling rigs. The drill string is heave-compensated during drilling ahead, however, when slips are set during drill pipe connections, the topside heave compensation system is disabled, and the drill string is then moving up and down together with the rig. Pressure oscillations below and around the drill bit, induced by such movement, are known as "surge & swab". These oscillations can be in the order of 20 bar or more during drill pipe connections in the North Sea and pose a serious challenge to drilling of wells with narrow pressure margins from floating rigs in harsh weather environment. A managed pressure drilling (MPD) choke at the surface cannot be used to control rig heave-induced surge & swab due to the fast nature of the pressure oscillations in question, stochastic character of the sea waves that cause them and long time-delay between topside choking and bottomhole response. Continuous Circulation System (CCS) might be able to reduce the pressure oscillations somewhat by maintaining constant mud flow during connections. Computer simulations and laboratory experiments were previously used to investigate a novel method for attenuating surge & swab by utilizing an autonomous choke to be installed in the bottom-hole assembly (BHA). The bottomhole pressure oscillations can be effectively reduced through dynamic in-situ control of the mud flow through BHA by a downhole choke. This paper presents the downhole choke system and the results from the first pilot trial conducted in a mud flow loop at Ullrigg test rig in Stavanger utilizing a full-scale version of the choke. The prototype was subjected to drilling mud with flow rates up to 2500 lpm and differential pressure up to 250 bar to investigate its ability to accurately control the flow while at the same time withstanding the demanding conditions. Satisfactory choke valve characteristics were obtained, indicating ability to control the flow with sufficient precision. Flow testing resulted in severe erosion of carbon steel components while wolfram carbide components were able to withstand the erosive nature of the flow. The test also uncovered challenges related to operation of the choke with high differential pressure and flow rates which could later be related to the motor, used to control the downhole choke assembly. The next phase of the project is to design a downhole prototype and test it in an onshore test well to achieve Technology Readyness Level (TRL) 4 qualification ("ready for first use offshore"). The final goal is to qualify the downhole choke together with MPD and a Continuous Circulation System (CCS) for use on floating drilling rigs in harsh weather environment.

In this paper, a new tool to be placed in the bottomhole assembly (BHA) is introduced for the purpose of counteracting heave-induced down-hole pressure oscillations in offshore drilling. The tool contains a control choke, sensors and computing capability, and will operate autonomously with minimal implications for standard drilling procedures. A small-scale prototype is developed and successfully tested in laboratory experiments showing significant reduction in down-hole pressure oscillations. Realistic, full-scale cases investigated using computer simulations also show good performance. The paper gives a description of the small-scale lab as well as the mathematical model used for the computer simulations. A full-size autonomous choke prototype is currently being constructed for further testing under more realistic conditions. Design aspects of the prototype are presented in the paper.