Presentation
Advanced Well Control using Rapid Cross-linking Polymers
DescriptionLoss of well control is an increasingly low probability event due to the employment of proper drilling practices and design combined with industry wide controls and barriers. The final well-control barrier consists of a blowout preventer (BOP) which is a series of valves designed to seal around or shear off obstructions that might be present in the wellbore. Actuating these valves isolates the well from the drilling rig and the external environment. Although a properly functioning BOP reduces drilling risks concerns still exist, particularly in sensitive environments. Additional well-control tools could further reduce risk to increase the safety of drilling operations and reducing the potential for impacts to the environment.
The paper describes a novel concept for well control that can be added to existing systems and activated if BOP valves fail to seal and isolate a well. The concept involves the injection of a liquid resin and catalyst into the BOP stack below the leak point resulting in a rapid polymerization event and formation of a polymer plug capable of sealing off the well. Preliminary experiments have shown that dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) based resins catalyzed by Grubbs Catalyst Technology produce polymers that have the required properties to withstand axial stresses up to 15,000 psi and resist any significant extrusion or deformation. Likewise, reactivity studies have shown that the system can react quickly enough to match targeted residence times within the BOP stack. These results, along with recent experiments using a scale-model BOP that evaluated the ability of the system to from stable polymeric plugs under dynamic conditions with flowing surrogate reservoir fluids will also be discussed.
The paper describes a novel concept for well control that can be added to existing systems and activated if BOP valves fail to seal and isolate a well. The concept involves the injection of a liquid resin and catalyst into the BOP stack below the leak point resulting in a rapid polymerization event and formation of a polymer plug capable of sealing off the well. Preliminary experiments have shown that dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) based resins catalyzed by Grubbs Catalyst Technology produce polymers that have the required properties to withstand axial stresses up to 15,000 psi and resist any significant extrusion or deformation. Likewise, reactivity studies have shown that the system can react quickly enough to match targeted residence times within the BOP stack. These results, along with recent experiments using a scale-model BOP that evaluated the ability of the system to from stable polymeric plugs under dynamic conditions with flowing surrogate reservoir fluids will also be discussed.
Event Type
Paper
TimeWednesday, May 15th8:40am - 9:00am CDT
Location291-292
Prevention