Wellpath Tortuosity Prediction for Drilling Event Avoidance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Drilling issues such as stuck-pipe situations, wellbore collapse, and excessive torque and drag often arise due to the undulations and curvature of wellpaths in hydrocarbon-bearing formations, which existing methods fail to predict and mitigate effectively.

Innovation Solution

Calculating the tortuosity and wellbore energy of planned wellpaths to predict drilling events, allowing for adjustments to the wellpath parameters to reduce the likelihood of such events, using equations to combine tortuosity and wellbore energy values to assess the probability of drilling issues and making necessary adjustments before and during drilling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If wellpath tortuosity is reduced to improve drilling efficiency, then drilling speed and productivity increase, but the ability to access complex hydrocarbon formations and navigate undulating wellpaths deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedrilling speedVSAvoidwellpath navigation capability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary calculations of expected tortuosity and wellbore energy before drilling begins. By analyzing the planned wellpath and formation characteristics in advance, the system identifies potential drilling issues and allows for wellpath optimization before actual drilling, thereby improving drilling efficiency without compromising the ability to access complex formations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system continuously monitors actual wellbore energy consumption during drilling and compares it to expected values. This feedback mechanism allows real-time detection of deviations from the planned wellpath or unexpected formation conditions, enabling operators to adjust drilling parameters or wellpath trajectory to maintain optimal drilling efficiency while navigating complex formations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Adaptability or versatility

If wellpath curvature is increased to access complex formations, then adaptability to different formations improves, but drilling issues such as stuck-pipe, wellbore collapse, and excessive torque increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveformation access capabilityVSAvoiddrilling operation stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system calculates expected tortuosity and wellbore energy for the planned wellpath before drilling begins. By analyzing the interaction between the planned wellpath geometry and formation characteristics, the system identifies sections with high risk of drilling issues and allows for wellpath optimization to reduce curvature in problematic areas while maintaining access to target formations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary assessments of wellbore stability risks by calculating expected wellbore energy consumption in different formation sections. By identifying high-risk areas before drilling, the system enables preventive measures such as adjusting wellpath trajectory, modifying drilling parameters, or implementing wellbore stabilization techniques to counteract potential drilling issues before they occur.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

3Device complexity

If traditional drilling methods are used without tortuosity analysis, then device complexity remains low, but the ability to predict and prevent drilling events deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem simplicityVSAvoiddrilling event prediction accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces complex mechanical wellbore stabilization devices with a computational approach. By using software to calculate expected tortuosity and wellbore energy based on wellpath geometry and formation characteristics, the system achieves accurate prediction of drilling events without requiring additional complex mechanical equipment, thereby maintaining system simplicity while improving reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces computational modeling as an intermediary between wellpath design and drilling execution. By using software calculations of expected tortuosity and wellbore energy as a mediator, the system enables prediction and optimization of drilling performance without directly modifying the physical drilling equipment, thus maintaining device simplicity while enhancing prediction accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP2932031B1Method and system for predicting drilling events

Publication Date: 2022.06.15 LANDMARK GRAPHICS CORP

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Figure 3A~3B

AI summary

Calculating wellbore energy. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods including: calculating an expected wellbore energy for a planned wellpath, the calculating by a computer system; calculating an expected tortuosity of the planned wellpath; calculating a first value indicative of probability of occurrence of a drilling event for drilling along the planned wellpath, the first value based on the expected wellbore energy and the expected tortuosity; and then drilling a wellbore along at least a first portion of the planned wellpath if the first value indicates the probability of the drilling event is less than a predetermined threshold.