PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Volume 41, Issue 2, April 2014

Online English edition of the Chinese language journal

Cite this article as: PETROL. EXPLOR. DEVELOP., 2014, 41(2): 257–261. RESEARCH PAPER

Design of conductor soaking time in deepwater drilling

ZHOU Bo1,*, YANG Jin1, LIU Zhengli2, LUO Junfeng2, YE Jihua2, CHEN Bin2, LIU Shujie3,
ZHOU Jianliang3
1. College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China;
2. Shenzhen Company of CNOOC, Shenzhen 518067, China;
3. Research Institute of CNOOC, Beijing 100027, China

Abstract: To decrease the risk in deep water drilling and shorten the drilling period, a conductor soaking time design method for
deep-water jetting was provided and verified by oil field application. Based on the field simulation experiment of soil-pile interaction, the
relationship between soaking time and bearing capacity was achieved, and a real-time bearing capacity calculation model of conductor
was established. The mechanical properties of conductor in two conditions were analyzed, including Cam Activated Drilling Ahead
(CADA) tool releasing stage and surface casing cementing stage, and the soaking time windows of the two stages were designed. Field
application results show that: This method can ensure the safety in deep water drilling, optimize driving depth of conductor, and also im-
prove the drilling efficiency. More than 12 hours per well on average in CADA tool releasing stage and 24 hours per well on average in
surface casing cementing stage were saved.

Key words: deepwater drilling; conductor; jetting; soaking time; bearing capacity

Introduction same in size, therefore, the conductor bearing capacity can be

analyzed by measuring the pulling-up force of conductor in
Deepwater drilling is characterized by high investment and
field test.
high risk etc. Compared with shallow water drilling, it has
In the field test, six groups of conductor were jet into the
stringent requirements on operation process and drilling cycle.
same formation and pulled out when the soaking time was
Conductor jetting is commonly used in deepwater environ-
reached (the soaking time of the six groups was 2 h, 4 h, 6 h,
ment, which involves the running of conductor together with
12 h, 24 h and 48 h respectively), the maximum pulling force
jetting tool down to the hole. When in place, the stability of of conductor during the process was recorded and least square
conductor relies on the shear friction between the conductor method was used to fit the relationship between the friction
and the soil without need of cementing [1−2]. It takes some time and soaking time after the conductor was jetted into place (Fig.
(soaking time) for the subsea soil to refill and compact, which 1). Table 1 shows the average pulling force of six groups of
is different for different soil. Soaking time is a key parameter conductors.
in jetting of conductor, if it is too short, conductor sinking
could occur, and if it is too long, the operation efficiency
could be reduced, increasing cost. Therefore, this paper pre-
sents a method for designing conductor soaking time, which
can strike a balance between operation safety and efficiency.

1 Bearing capacity calculation model for

conductor in deepwater drilling
The bearing capacity of conductor is dependent upon the
friction between the conductor and the surrounding soil. Shear
friction is often referred as skin friction, which is upward in
jetting and downward in pulling up of the conductor, and Fig. 1 Development of skin friction with time

Received date: 27 Oct. 2013; Revised date: 14 Jan. 2014.

* Corresponding author. E-mail: zhoubo103@yeah.net
Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (51274215); National Science and Technology Major Project
(2011ZX05026-001-04- 20120523).
Copyright © 2014, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina. Published by Elsevier BV. All rights reserved.
 ZHOU Bo et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2014, 41(2): 257–261

Table 1 Data of simulation experiment

Soaking Length of Exposed length Length of condu- Pulling
time/h conductor/m of conductor/m ctor in the mud/m force/Kn
11.89 0.85 11.04 20
2 11.56 0.69 10.87 22
11.46 1.07 10.39 28
11.48 0.70 10.78 34
4 11.45 1.20 10.25 38
11.47 1.43 10.04 42
11.56 1.20 10.36 39
6 11.18 1.00 10.18 45
11.34 3.01 8.33 52
11.48 1.20 10.28 51
12 11.47 0.90 10.57 58
11.46 3.94 7.52 63
11.46 2.30 9.16 60
24 11.56 1.00 10.56 68
11.18 2.68 8.50 73
11.89 1.50 10.39 69
48 11.18 1.30 9.88 75
11.51 1.59 9.92 84

Based on relationship of the friction between the conductor

and surrounding soil and soaking time, we got the bearing
capacity calculation model for the conductor:
K r = α ln t + β (1)
By considering the water depth and soil quality compre-
hensively, Equation (1) can be used in engineering design to
obtain the curves of bearing capacity vs. soaking time at dif-
ferent water depth (Fig. 2).
So real-time bearing capacity calculation model for con-
ductor is:
Qut = Qu0 K r = πDLS u (α ln t + β ) (2)
2 Mechanical analysis on conductor jetting
installation
Conductor, the first layer of casing installed in the well
construction process, is used to provide structure support for
Fig. 2 Relationship of bearing capacity recovery factor and
soaking time at different water depth.
Fig. 3 Four key stress stages during conductor jetting installa-
tion
all the casing strings, subsea Christmas tree and BOP
stack [3−6]. Forces working on the conductor are very complex
during the process of installation, which can be divided into 4
key stages [7−11]: jetting stage, CADA tool releasing stage,
cementing stage and underwater BOP installation stage,
among them, the second and third periods are relatively dan-
gerous, so mechanical analysis was done specifically for these
two stages (Fig. 3).
2.1 Mechanical analysis of CADA tool releasing stage
After jetted in place, the conductor must be released from
CADA tool and string before the second section of drilling
can be started. After the CADA tool is released, the formation
will provide support for conductor, low pressure wellhead,
and CADA tool, at this point, due to short soaking time and
low recovery of bearing capacity, the conductor is under high
stress vertically.
Vertically, the conductor side wall and ends are under the
joint work of formation friction, since the cross section of the
conductor ends is small, the formation friction at the conduc-
tor ends can usually be neglected; in the downward direction,
the conductor is under the action of self weight, mud mat, low

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pressure wellhead and the CADA tool joint. The vertical load
of conductor after the release of CADA tool can be expressed
as:
Gr = Wc + WLPWH + Wm + WCADA (3)
where,
Wc = λkb L
In order to prevent the conductor from subsidence when the
CADA tool is released, the following condition must be met:
Fr ≥ Gr (4)

2.2 Mechanical analysis of surface casing cementing

stage

The maximum load the conductor bears is likely to occur in

the cementing of surface casing. In the process of second sec-
tion cementing, vertical bearing capacity for subsea wellhead
is only provided by conductor, the vertical load is the largest
when the slurry reaches the bottom of well but not the annular
between the casing and conductor; at this point, the sinking of
conductor and wellhead instability are likely to happen [12−17],
the vertical load the conductor borne at this point is: Fig. 4 Real-time bearing capacity of 914.4 mm conductor in the
South China Sea
Gc = Wc + Ww + Wm + k (Wca + Wcs + Wce + Wmr ) (5)
In order to prevent the conductor from subsidence in this
stage, shear friction must meet：
Fc ≥ Gc (6)

3 Design of conductor soaking time in jetting

According to Equations (1)—(4), from jetting of conductor
to the release of CADA tool, the soaking time of conductor
must meet:
λ k L + W LPWH +Wm + WCADA β
ln tr ≥ b − (7)
α πDLS u α
According to Equations (1)—(2) and Equations (5)—(6), in
order to ensure enough support for the wellhead in the second
stage of cementing, the soaking time must satisfy:
λ k L + Ww + Wm + k (Wca + Wcs + Wce + Wmr ) β
ln tc ≥ b − (8)
α πDLSu α
According to Equations (7)—(8), the design of soaking
time is closely related to the weight of low pressure wellhead,
mud mat, CADA tool and conductor, anti-shearing strength of
soil around conductor, and bearing capacity recovery factor. Fig. 5 Soaking time calculation model for conductor from jet-
ting in-place to CADA tool release stage
4 Field application
Based on the bearing capacity calculation model of con- It can be seen from Figs. 5 and 6, supposing the designed
ductor, the real-time bearing capacity of 914.4 mm conductor depth of conductor below mudline is 65 m, the soaking time
in the South China Sea calculated is shown (Fig. 4). should be no less than 3 h before the CADA release stage and
According to Equation (3) and actual engineering parameters, 120 h before the cementing stage.
we can get the relationship between bearing capacity and the The method presented in this paper works well in deepwa-
depth of conductor jetted into mud (Fig. 5), which in combina- ter well design in the South China Sea, West Africa and other
tion with the real time bearing capacity curves of conductor in waters. On average, more than 12 hours from the jetting stage
Fig. 4, can give the soaking time design template for conductor to the CADA release stage, and more than 24 hours during the
from jetting in place to the CADA tool release stage (Fig. 5). In surface casing cementing stage are saved for each well, and
the same way, we can also get the soaking time design template no inclination or sinking of wellhead have been seen in the
for conductor in second section cementing stage (Fig. 6). process.
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Nomenclature

Kr—conductor bearing capacity recovery factor;

α—correction coefficient, 0.04 in the south China sea;
t—soaking time, h;
β—empirical coefficient, related to the soil, 0.02–0.03 in the south
China sea;
Qut—real-time bearing capacity of conductor, N;
Qu0—original skin friction, N;
D—conductor diameter, m;
L—the depth of conductor jet into the mud, m;
Su—unit skin friction between soil and cement sheath, MPa;
Gr—the vertical load of conductor after CADA tool release, N;
Wc—wet weight of conductor, N;
WLPWH—weight of low pressure wellhead, N;
Wm—wet weight of mud mat, N;
WCADA—weight of CADA tool, N;
λ—unit weight of conductor, N/m;
Fig. 6 Soaking time calculation model for conductor at surface kb—buoyancy coefficient;
casing cementing stage
Fr—friction at CADA tool release stage, N;
Fc—friction at cementing stage, N;
Table 2 Application of soaking time window design method in
Gc—the maximum vertical load of conductor at cementing stage, N;
deepwater conductor jetting
k—safety factor;
From the jetting stage Surface casing ce-
Ww—wet weight of wellhead, N;
to the cada release stage menting stage
Well Wca—wet weight of conductor, N;
Soaking Time Soaking Time
Wcs—wet weight of cementing string, N;
time/h saved/h time/h saved/h
Wce—wet weight of cementing slurry, N;
South China Sea NH-2 2.75 14.0 72 36
Wmr—wet weight of CADA tool, N;
South China Sea NH-5 3.50 12.5 72 36
tr—soaking time from the jetting stage to the CADA release stage, h;
Ceiba W-1 4.50 11.0 84 12 tc—soaking time from the jetting stage to cementing stage, h.
Ceiba G13-4 4.00 11.5 72 24
CG-1 4.25 11.0 96 24 References
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