Cuttings transport in horizontal and highly deviated wellbores

Abstract

Deviation from vertical path makes drill cuttings to accumulate on the lower side of the wellbore that induces the formation of cuttings bed. Subsequently, relative problems occur while drilling. Excessive torque and drag, difficulties in running casing in hole and accomplishing good cementing jobs and mechanical pipe sticking are few of the classical examples of such problems. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of influential parameters on hole cleaning seems to be essential. This paper presents results of an experimental study that was carried out to evaluate cuttings removal efficiency of three types of drilling fluid. Experiments were conducted using a 17 feet long opaque flow loop of 2 inch diameter as test section. For each test, the amount of cuttings transport performance (CTP) was determined from weight measurements. Three operating parameters were considered, namely drilling fluid viscosity, fluid velocity, and hole inclination. It showed that the use of high-viscosity drilling fluid improved CTP if the flow regime was turbulent. However, increasing viscosity when flow regime was transient or laminar flow lessened CTP gradually or sharply respectively. It was also revealed that an incremental increase in hole inclination from 60° to 90° has a positive effect on CTP. The most influential parameter in this study was fluid velocity in which a small raise of fluid velocity resulted in a substantial positive effect on hole cleaning.