Abstract
Shallow gas is considered one of the most serious geological hazards in deepwater drilling because it has the characteristics of suddenness and is difficult to deal with. To perform a quantitative evaluation of shallow gas risk during deepwater drilling, a numerical model for calculating gas invasion volume is established based on gas-water two-phase flow theory. The model considers the effect of the dynamic drilling process, and the influencing factors which affect the gas invasion volume are analyzed. Results indicate that the gas invasion rate and accumulated gas invasion volume increase with increasing bottom-hole pressure difference. A linear relationship exists between gas invasion volume and bottom-hole pressure difference. The duration of gas invasion increases as the shallow gas zone thickness increases, and the accumulated gas invasion volume grows as shallow gas zone thickness increases. The increase in formation permeability, water depth, and rate of penetration will enhance the gas invasion rate. However, these three factors can hardly affect the accumulated gas invasion volume. The gas flow rate increases significantly with increasing burial depth of shallow gas. On the basis of influencing factor analysis, a series of methods that consider different risk levels is proposed to control shallow gas, which can provide a reference for the prevention of shallow gas disasters during deepwater drilling.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, N. J., and Kuhlman, L. G., 1990. Case history analyses of shallow gas blowouts. IADC/SPE Drilling Conference. Houston, Texas, 97–106.
Avelar, C. S., Ribeiro, P. R., and Sepehrnoori, K., 2009. Deep-water gas kick simulation. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 67(1–2): 13–22.
Bybee, K., 2005. Overcoming shallow-gas drilling difficulties. Journal of Petroleum Technology, 57(1): 55–57.
Cheng, K., Wang, Y., and Yang, Q., 2018. A semi-resolved CFD-DEM model for seepage-induced fine particle migration in gap-graded soils. Computers and Geotechnics, 100: 30–51.
Costeno, H., Roed, H., Erivwo, O., Ngau, C. U., and Harris, A., 2012. Managing shallow gas drilling risk with casing drilling technology in Brown Field re-development campaigns. IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition. Tianjin, 1–7.
Floodgate, G. D., and Judd, A. G., 1992. The origins of shallow gas. Continental Shelf Research, 12(10): 1145–1156.
Galdino, J. F., Oliveira, G. M., and Franco, A. T., 2019. Gas kick detection and pressure transmission in thixotropic, compressible drilling fluids. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 180: 138–149.
He, J. X., Su, P. B., Lu, Z. Q., Zhang, W., Liu, Z. J., and Li, X. T., 2015. Prediction of gas sources of natural gas hydrate in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea and its migration, accumulkation and reservoir formation pattern. Natural Gas Industry, 35(8): 19–29.
Hu, L. T., Zhang, K. N., and Gao, T., 2011. Numerical studies of gas production from gas hydrate zone using heat injection and depressurization in Shenhu area, the South China Sea. Geoscience, 25(4): 675–681.
Hu, Y. J., Huang, Y., and Li, X. Y., 2014. Automatic de-noising and recognition algorithm for drilling fluid pulse signal. Petroleum Exploration and Development, 46(2): 378–384.
Li, P., Du, J., Liu, L. J., Cao, C. X., and Xu, Y. Q., 2010. Distribution characteristics of the shallow gas in Chinese offshore seabed. The Chinese Journal of Geological Hazard and Control, 21(1): 69–74.
Lin, C. M., Gu, L. X., Li, G. Y., Zhao, Y. Y., and Jiang, W. S., 2004. Geology and formation mechanism of late Quaternary shallow biogenic gas reservoirs in the Hangzhou Bay area, eastern China. AAPG Bulletin, 88(5): 613–625.
Marken, C., Hansen, S., and Øregaard, J., 2000. Shallow gas kick: Simulation and analysis for top hole drilling without a riser. SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. Dallas, Texas, 1–10.
Mayer, J., and Sachsenhofer, R. F., 2013. Shallow hydrocarbons in lower Austria: A drilling hazard and a valuable exploration tool. Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences, 106(1): 62–71.
Mazzetti, M. J., Skagestad, R., Mathisen, A., and Eldrup, N. H., 2014. CO2 from natural gas sweetening to kick-start EOR in the North Sea. Energy Procedia, 63: 7280–7289.
Nermoen, A., Raufaste, C., deVilliers, S. D., Jettestuen, E., Meakin, P., and Dysthe, D. K., 2010. Morphological transitions in partially gas-fluidized granular mixtures. Physical Review, 81(6):1–11.
Obuba, J., Ikiesnkimama, S. S., and Ubani, C. E., 2013. Natural gas compressibility factor correlation evaluation for Niger Delta gas fields. Journal of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, 6(4): 1–10.
Orange, D. L., García-García, A., Dan, M. C., Lorenson, T., Fortier, G., Trincardi, F., et al., 2005. High-resolution surveys for geohazards and shallow gas: NW Adriatic (Italy) and Iskenderun Bay (Turkey). Marine Geophysical Research, 26(2–4): 247–266.
Rath, J. S., and Podio, A. L., 2000. Advanced transient simulator for studying shallow gas blowouts. IADC/SPE Drilling Conference. New Orleans, Louisiana, 1–25.
Sule, I., Khan, F., and Butt, S., 2019. Experimental investigation of gas kick effects on dynamic drilling parameters. Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, 9(1): 605–616.
Sun, B. J., Fu, W. Q., Wang, N., Wang, Z. Y., and Gao, Y. H., 2019. Multiphase flow modeling of gas intrusion in oil-based drilling mud. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 174: 1142–1151.
Sun, J., Wu, S. G., Deng, J. G., Lin, H., and Zhang, H. Y., 2018. Numerical simulation of mechanical compaction of deepwater shallow sediments. Journal of Ocean University of China, 17(1): 53–64.
Sun, Q. L., Wu, S. G., Cartwright, J., and Dong, D. D., 2012. Shallow gas and focused fluid flow systems in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, northern South China Sea. Marine Geology, 315–318(4): 1–14.
Sun, X. F., and Mohanty, K. K., 2006. Kinetic simulation of methane hydrate formation and dissociation in porous media. Chemical Engineering Science, 61(1): 3476–3495.
Tiraputra, P., Thiravutpinyo, P., Pongorapin, S., Fraboulet, B., Dooply, M., Friedl, W., et al., 2004. Overcoming shallow-gas drilling difficulties in the Gulf of Thailand. IADC/SPE Drilling Conference. Dallas, Texas, 1–13.
Upchurch, E. R., Falkner, S., House, A., Nguyen, C., and Russell, K., 2017. Blowout prevention and relief-well planning for the wheatstone big-bore gas-well project. SPE Drilling & Completion, 32(3): 153–167.
van Genuchten, M. T., 1980. A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 44(5): 892–898.
Wu, S. G., Wang, D. W., and David, V., 2018. Deep-sea geohazards in the South China Sea. Journal of Ocean University of China, 17(1): 1–7.
Yang, H. W., Li, J., Liu, G. H., Wang, C., Jiang, H. L., Luo, K. D., et al., 2019. A new method for early gas kick detection based on the consistencies and differences of bottomhole pressures at two measured points. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 176: 1095–1105.
Zhang, B. L., Yang, J., Wang, L., Di, P. W., and Zhao, Y. Q., 2016. Shallow gas well drilling risk assessment and prevention in the Yingqiong Basin area of high temperature and high pressure. Oil Drilling & Production Technology, 38(6): 766–770.
Zhang, L. B., Wu, S. G., Zheng, W. P., and Fan, J. C., 2018. A dynamic and quantitative risk assessment method with uncertainties for offshore managed pressure drilling phases. Safety Science, 104: 39–54.
Zhu, L. Q., Ma, Y. S., Cai, J. C., Zhang, C. M., Wu, S. G., and Zhou, X. Q., 2021. Key factors of marine shale conductivity in southern China—Part I: The influence factors other than porosity. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 205: 108698.
Zulkipli, S. N. F., Shuib, S. N., Saw, L. J., and Harun, N., 2018. Maximizing value from well abandonment through shallow gas hunting and integrated well surveillance. SPE Symposium: Decommissioning and Abanonment. Kuala Lumpur, 1–13.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 2018CXTD346), the Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City Program (No. SKJC-2020-01-009), the Hainan Provincial Major Science and Technology Program of China (Nos. 521 MS069, ZDKJ202019), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFC0312301).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lei, Y., Sun, J. & Wang, G. Simulation of Shallow Gas Invasion Process During Deepwater Drilling and Its Control Measures. J. Ocean Univ. China 21, 707–718 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-022-4855-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-022-4855-z