Petroleum Engineering 411

Well Drilling

Lesson 27
Dual Gradient Drilling

1
 DESIGN PROJECT

Your PETE 411 Design Project will be

assigned on Friday, November 15

The Project Report is Due in Dr. J-W’s

Office by 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9

2
 What is Dual Gradient Drilling?
(DGD)?

 In dual-gradient drilling the pressure

profile in the annulus appears to have
two distinct pressure gradients
 An example would be a heavy mud
below the mudline and a seawater
gradient above the mud line

3
 Conventional Riser Drilling
- Wellbore Pressures
FLOATER
SEA WATER
DRILLING RISER
HYDROSTATIC
CHOKE LINE
MUD HYDROSTATIC
BOP

DEPTH
SEAFLOOR

PRESSURE 4
A T
 Static Wellbore Pressures
FLOATER
MUD MUD
RISER HYDROSTATIC HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE PRESSURE
CHOKE DGD Conventional
LINE
BOP

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE PRESSURE
DGD
5
Dual Gradient Drilling Projects

 Subsea Mudlift Drilling (SMD)

 Hollow Glass Spheres
 Deep Vision
 Shell
 Gas Lift
 H.P. Riser
6
 Subsea
Mudlift
Drilling

( SMD )

Note Pump
and Return
Line

7
Subsea Mudlift Drilling

 What is Subsea Mudlift Drilling?

 How does it work?
 Why do we need it?
 Pore pressures and fracture pressures
 Mud weights and casing programs
 What about connections and trips?
 What about kicks?
8
References

1. “Riserless Drilling: Circumventing the Size/cost

Cycle in Deepwater,” by Allen D. Gault.
May 1996, Offshore, p.49

2. “Subsea Mudlift Drilling JIP:

Achieving dual-gradient technology,”
by K.L. Smith et al., World Oil - Deepwater
Technology, August 1999, pp 21-28.

HW #15 (due 11-15-01)

9
 Current SMD Concepts
 A water-filled drilling riser
 One or more separate small-diameter
mud return line(s) from seafloor to
surface (e.g., two 4.5-in ID lines)

 A “dual mud density” system (DGD)

 Seawater gradient from surface to
seafloor
 Heavier drilling mud inside the wellbore
10
Current SMD Concepts - cont’d

 A seafloor mud pump to lift mud to surface

 Pressure inside wellbore at seafloor is
~ the same as the pressure in the
ocean at seafloor
 Theoretically the well is always dead
 Important in case of drive-off
 Retains a Riser Margin
11
 Current Problems
Deeper water results in longer, larger diameter and
heavier drilling risers
High pore pressures and low fracture pressures
lead to more casing strings
This leads to larger wellheads, even larger and
heavier risers, and finally to bigger and more
expensive rigs
Well control is more difficult - because of the pore
pressure / fracture pressure proximity, and long
choke lines with high friction pressure drops
12
Effect of Increasing Water Depth

Weight of drilling riser increases

with depth. In 10,000 ft of water:
– 21-inch riser has an internal capacity
of ~ 4,000 bbls! (value ~ $1 million)
– Weight of riser ~ 2 million lbs.
Weight of 16 lb/gal mud inside riser
~ 2.7 million lbs
13
What About Subsea Mudlift Drilling?

 Two 4.5” ID return lines with

~ 400 bbls capacity can do the job
 Requires much less weight and volume
for storage!
 A smaller vessel can do the job
 A smaller vessel can easier be upgraded
to do the job
14
 What is Subsea Mudlift Drilling?
 SMD refers to drilling where mud returns
DO NOT go through a conventional,
large-diameter, drilling riser
 Instead the returns move from the seafloor
to the surface through two small -
diameter pipes separate from the
drillpipe (outside the main riser pipe)
 A Mudlift system is used in the Return Line
TM
A 15
Equivalent Mud Density, ppg
Fig. 7.21 ADE
Pore
pressure
Fracture gradient and
Gradient fracture
0.5 ppg gradient data
for Jefferson
0.5 ppg
Parish, LA.
Pore
Pressure
Gradient
16
Conventional Casing Seat Selection
SEAFLOOR

Frac Pressure

Max Mud Wt

Min Mud Wt

Pore Pressure

17
Equivalent Mud Wt, lb/gal
 17.3 ppg
Typical
Overburden
Pressure
grad.vs. Depth

Ref: “Fracture gradient

prediction for the new
generation,” by B.A.
Eaton and T.L. Eaton.
World Oil, October
1997.
11.5 ppg

18
 Conventional Riser Drilling
- Wellbore Pressures
FLOATER

STATIC PRESSURE
CIRCULATING PRESSURE

BOP
DEPTH

SEAFLOOR

Drill String
SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC PBI
PRESSURE T

PRESSURE
T
A M 19
 Static Wellbore Pressures
MUD MUD
HYDROSTATIC HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE PRESSURE
SMD Conventional
SEAFLOOR

DEPTH

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE

PRESSURE

TM
A 20
 Example: Static Wellbore Pressures

At 30,000 ft, in 10,000 ft of water, the

pore pressure is 21,000 psig.

For conventional drilling, what is the

minimum mud weight that can control this
pressure?

For SMD, what is the minimum mud weight

that can control this pressure?
TM
A 21
 Static Wellbore Pressures

P = 0.052 * MW * Depth
For conventional drilling, Minimum mud wt.
MWmin = 21,000/(0.052 * 30,000) = 13.5 lb/gal

Seafloor pressure = 0.052*8.6*10,000 = 4,472 psig

For SMD, Minimum mud weight

= (21,000 - 4,472)/(0.052 * 20,000) = 15.9 lb/gal

TM
A 22
 Solution: Static Wellbore Pressures
SEA WATER 15.9 lb/gal
HYDROSTATIC
13.5 lb/gal
PRESSURE SMD Conventional
8.6 lb/gal

DEPTH

4,472 psi 21,000 psi

ATM 23
 Wellbore Pressures
MUD
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE
Conventional
SEAFLOOR

FRACTURE
DEPTH PRESSURE

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE PORE PRESSURE

PRESSURE

TM
A 24
 Wellbore Pressures
MUD MUD
HYDROSTATIC HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE PRESSURE
SMD Conventional
SEAFLOOR

FRACTURE
DEPTH PRESSURE

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE PORE PRESSURE

PRESSURE

TM
A 25
 Casing Requirements - Conventional
MUD
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE
Conventional
SEAFLOOR

DEPTH FRACTURE
PRESSURE

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE PORE PRESSURE
PRESSURE

TM
A 26
 Casing Requirements - SMD
MUD
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE
SEAFLOOR SMD

DEPTH FRACTURE
PRESSURE

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE
PORE PRESSURE
PRESSURE

TM
A 27
 Pressure Considerations
MUD MUD
HYDROSTATIC HYDROSTATIC
SMD PRESSURE PRESSURE
SMD Conventional
SEAFLOOR

FRACTURE
DEPTH PRESSURE

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE PORE PRESSURE

PRESSURE
TM
A 28
 Wellbore Pressures - Conventional
FLOATER

STATIC PRESSURE
CIRCULATING PRESSURE

SEAFLOOR
BOP
DEPTH

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE PBIT
PRESSURE

TM
A 29
 Static Pressures - SMD
FLOATER

ANNULUS AND
RETURN LINE

SEAFLOOR
BOP

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE

PRESSURE

TM
A 30
 Drillstring Circulating Pressures
CONVENTIONAL
SMD
SEAFLOOR

DEPTH

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE PBIT
PRESSURE
TM
A 31
 Annulus Circulating Pressures
CONVENTIONAL (13.5 lb/gal)

SMD (15.9 lb/gal)

SEAFLOOR

PPUMP
DEPTH

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE

PRESSURE
TM
A 32
 Circulating Pressures - SMD

DRILLSTRING PRESSURE
ANNULUS AND RETURN LINE
SEAFLOOR
PPUMP

DEPTH

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE PBIT
PRESSURE
TM
A 33
 Circulating Pressures - Summary

CONVENTIONAL
PBIT

PML_PUMP

SMD

TM
A DISTANCE FROM STANDPIPE 34
 Transients

Transient Behavior when Stopping Rig Pump

(U-tubing or Free-fall)
 Why does the drillpipe fluid level fall?
 How fast does the Fluid Level in the
drillpipe drop?
 How far does the Fluid Level drop?

TM
A 35
 U-Tubing in SMD
FLOATER

~SEAWATER
Drillstring

HYDROSTATIC
Annulus
STATIC PRESSURE
FLUID
LEVEL
BOP MUDLIFT

ATM 36
 Static Pressures - SMD
Static Fluid
ANNULUS AND RETURN LINE
Level in DP
DRILLSTRING PRESSURE
SEAFLOOR

DEPTH

SEA WATER
HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE

PRESSURE
ATM 37
 U-Tubing Rate vs. Time after Pump OFF
800
Mud Flow Rate, gpm

3-in ID
600 4.276-in ID
6-in ID

400

200

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Elapsed Time, min

TM
A
10,000 ft Water Depth 38
 Fluid Level vs. Time after Pump OFF
5,000
Fluid Level in Drillpipe, ft

4,000

3,000

2,000
3-in ID
1,000 4.276-in ID
6-in ID
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Elapsed Time, min

TM
A
10,000 ft Water Depth 39
40
 Well Control Considerations
How do you shut a well in after taking a kick?

 With a DSV this is almost routine

 Better still, it is not necessary to shut the well in.

The wellbore pressures can be increased by
temporarily slowing down the mudlift pump

 Friction in the choke line is handled by the

Mudlift Pump and is not seen by the
weak formations
TM
A 41
42
43
 General Summary
Dual Gradient Drilling is a method that offers
potential for lowering drilling costs in very deep
waters:
• Fewer casing strings
• Smaller rigs
• Less time on location

The method utilizes one or more small-diameter

return lines from the seafloor to the surface. The
drillpipe is separate from the return lines
TM
A 44
 Summary - cont’d

A mudlift system (pump) is used to feed the

return lines, thereby making a “dual-density”
mud system possible
Wellhead pressure is maintained at seawater
hydrostatic, so well is “dead” at all times
Well control is quite similar to that in
conventional drilling with a riser, but offers a
number of significant advantages

TM
A 45
 THE END

TM
A 46
 Gas Lift?
Pumps?
Dual Gradient Glass Beads?
Gas Lift?
Alternatives Glass Beads?

How to Handle
Connections?
Rotating BOP Trips?

47
 Advanced SMD System
FLOATER

~SEAWATER
HYDROSTATIC
SEAFLOOR PRESSURE
10,000’
BOP MUDLIFT

Circulation Rate 650 gpm

Drillpipe OD 6 5/8 in 30,000’

Return Line ID 6 in
Hole Size 12 1/4 in

ATM 48