Annulus pressure buildup (APB) is still a serious problem in offshore gas wells, which threatens the safety of wells for the entire phases of drilling, completion, and production. The existing methods for mitigating APB are technically complex and highly costly. Setting top of cement (TOC) below the outer casing shoe to mitigate APB is easy to implement and can significantly reduce costs. However, there are no unified methods of determining TOC for this purpose. Nevertheless, existing petroleum standards give ambiguous regulations on the setting of TOC. This article brings a new and cheap method of mitigating APB by determining best TOC settings using a mathematical model for calculating APB from both annulus fluid expansion (AFE) and sustained casing pressure (SCP). Field data from gas well X are inputted to the model to describe how it serves this purpose. Calculation results for well X show that setting TOC's above and below the upper casing shoes for production and intermediate casings annuli, respectively, can greatly avoid the problem of APB and the costs associated with the existing mitigation methods. This technique can be used to other wells following the same procedures. The developed model reduced greatly the ambiguity of TOC determination as it helps to get the clear TOC combinations that control APB at the lowest cost of well construction while maintaining good and safe well operation.
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October 2019
Research-Article
Mitigation of Annulus Pressure Buildup in Offshore Gas Wells by Determination of Top of Cement
Alex W. Mwang’ande,
Alex W. Mwang’ande
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development,
Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
(China University of Petroleum (East China))
,Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
China
;School of Petroleum Engineering,
Qingdao 266580,
e-mail: lb1702009@s.upc.edu.cn
China University of Petroleum (East China)
,Qingdao 266580,
China
e-mail: lb1702009@s.upc.edu.cn
Search for other works by this author on:
Hualin Liao,
Hualin Liao
1
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development,
Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
(China University of Petroleum (East China)),
Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
China
;School of Petroleum Engineering,
Qingdao 266580,
e-mail: liaohualin2003@upc.edu.cn
China University of Petroleum (East China)
,Qingdao 266580,
China
e-mail: liaohualin2003@upc.edu.cn
1Corresponding author.
Search for other works by this author on:
Long Zeng
Long Zeng
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development,
Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
(China University of Petroleum (East China))
,Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
China
;School of Petroleum Engineering,
Qingdao 266580,
e-mail: zenglong1995@126.com
China University of Petroleum (East China)
,Qingdao 266580,
China
e-mail: zenglong1995@126.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Alex W. Mwang’ande
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development,
Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
(China University of Petroleum (East China))
,Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
China
;School of Petroleum Engineering,
Qingdao 266580,
e-mail: lb1702009@s.upc.edu.cn
China University of Petroleum (East China)
,Qingdao 266580,
China
e-mail: lb1702009@s.upc.edu.cn
Hualin Liao
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development,
Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
(China University of Petroleum (East China)),
Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
China
;School of Petroleum Engineering,
Qingdao 266580,
e-mail: liaohualin2003@upc.edu.cn
China University of Petroleum (East China)
,Qingdao 266580,
China
e-mail: liaohualin2003@upc.edu.cn
Long Zeng
Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development,
Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
(China University of Petroleum (East China))
,Ministry of Education,
Qingdao 266580,
China
;School of Petroleum Engineering,
Qingdao 266580,
e-mail: zenglong1995@126.com
China University of Petroleum (East China)
,Qingdao 266580,
China
e-mail: zenglong1995@126.com
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Petroleum Division of ASME for publication in the Journal of Energy Resources Technology. Manuscript received November 10, 2018; final manuscript received March 26, 2019; published online April 17, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Ray (Zhenhua) Rui.
J. Energy Resour. Technol. Oct 2019, 141(10): 102901 (9 pages)
Published Online: April 17, 2019
Article history
Received:
November 10, 2018
Revision Received:
March 26, 2019
Accepted:
March 28, 2019
Citation
Mwang’ande, A. W., Liao, H., and Zeng, L. (April 17, 2019). "Mitigation of Annulus Pressure Buildup in Offshore Gas Wells by Determination of Top of Cement." ASME. J. Energy Resour. Technol. October 2019; 141(10): 102901. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4043338
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