E&P
Modern Engineering Methods Enhance Understanding of Well Operations and Reduce Technical Risks Meeting today’s demand for energy requires the tapping of reservoirs that are more and more difficult to reach. Access to such deposits is made possible by advances in technology enabling wells to be drilled ever deeper, further and in more complex ways. This pushing of the boundaries results in wells operating in extreme conditions, meaning that traditional engineering methods are no longer adequate in the design of downhole equipment, tools and tool systems. Further adding to these technical risks and challenges, are increasingly strict environmental and cost pressures.
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orking in extreme wells usually means having to deal with extreme downhole conditions that place great demands on tools and equipment. This makes reliability and robustness of tool systems and processes critical in controlling technical, environmental and cost risks. High temperature and pressures push tools and materials to their limits, necessitating a deep and integrated understanding of statics, dynamics, chemistry, materials science, fracture mechanics, etc. for their conceptualization and development. Additionally, the proliferation of tool systems required in meeting all the functional demands of extreme operations means that the interactions between them are increasingly complex. As a result, traditional engineering methods and simple design approaches are in many cases no longer sufficient. Instead modern, holistic engineering methods (such as those pioneered by the aerospace industry decades ago) are now required. In the past the oil and gas industry has not generally kept up with the advances in engineering methods made in other industries because it hasn’t needed to. It is only with the increased technical demands of modern operations that the necessity to improve the approach becomes apparent. It is generally the smaller and younger companies that need to differentiate themselves by adopting the latest technologies and be ever more innovative in the way they approach their work, that lead the push. This provides opportunities for companies like Engenya GmbH to offer highly specialized services and innovative products to those wanting to gain a competitive advantage. Services typically offered range from engineering analysis for the purposes of risk mitigation, tool integrity and performance evaluation, design audit and support, and failure analysis, to complete system development including tool design, testing and qualification. Projects almost always require a
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A comparison between measured and simulated strains in a down hole tool test. multidisciplinary understanding and approach, and the breadth of experience and depth of technical knowledge on offer is a reassuring element for any client. The value and the high level of insight which can be gained through the use of modern engineering analysis methods can be best illustrated through some concrete examples.
within the gun string’s perforation interval. The data was then used to calibrate simulation parameters so that a reliable fluid and structural dynamic response could be calculated for any job for the purpose of identifying failure risk before actually running anything into the well. The tool has successfully demonstrated its versatility in improving gun and tool string
Redefining tool design via real-time measurement systems and state-of-the-art simulation
To develop more robust tool strings and avoid failure a client sought to understand the true well fluid and tool string dynamics in response to the detonation of perforation charges. This led to the development of a simulation tool as well as a data logging sub to retrieve previously un-captured data aimed specifically at supporting the validation of simulation results. To do this, the sub had to be developed to be able to measure and record a number of environment variables from
A study of a shaped charge detonation using advanced meshless methods