401
DOI 10.1007/s12182-014-0354-1
Shi Huaizhong , Li Gensheng, Huang Zhongwei and Shi Shuaishuai
State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
© China University of Petroleum (Beijing) and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Abstract:
Offshore drilling has attracted more attention than ever before due to the increasing
worldwide energy demand especially in China. High cost, long drilling cycles, and low rate of penetration
(ROP) represent critical challenges for offshore drilling operations. The hydraulic pulse generator
was specifically designed, based on China offshore drilling technologies and parameters, to overcome
problems encountered during offshore drilling. Both laboratory and eld tests were conducted to collect
the characteristics of the hydraulic pulse generator. The relationships between flow rate and pressure
amplitude, pressure loss and pulse frequency were obtained, which can be used to optimize operation
parameters for hydraulic pulse jet drilling. Meanwhile a bottom hole assembly (BHA) for pulse jet
drilling has been designed, combining the hydraulic pulse generator with the conventional BHA, positive
displacement motor, and rotary steerable system (RSS) etc. Furthermore, the hydraulic pulse jet technique
has been successfully applied in more than 10 offshore wells in China. The depth of the applied wells
ranged from 2,000 m to 4,100 m with drilling bit diameters of 311 mm and 216 mm. The eld application
results showed that hydraulic pulse jet technique was feasible for various bit types and formations, and
that ROP could be signicantly increased, by more than 25%.
Key words:
Pulse jet, offshore drilling, parameter test, oileld application, rate of penetration
Properties and testing of a hydraulic pulse
jet and its application in offshore drilling
*Corresponding author. email: shz@cup.edu.cn
Received November 9, 2013
1 Introduction
Improving offshore drilling rates nowadays encounters
great challenges. Drilling hydraulics may affect the rate of
penetration (ROP) in offshore drilling (Folsta and Martins,
2012; Jerez et al, 2013; Nagib et al, 2011; Tauqurrachman
and Tanjung, 2013). Especially the heavy, high-density
drilling uids used for deepwater drilling to control formation
pressure may reduce ROP significantly (Cheng et al, 2011;
Mohamed et al, 2009). Many efforts have been made to
improve offshore drilling rates, because offshore drilling is
generally considered to be high cost and high risk due to high
offshore platform investment, the harsh natural environments
and complex downhole hazards (Cheng et al, 2013; Poedjono
et al, 2007, Patel et al, 2011; Ranieri et al, 2013). In China,
the costs of offshore drilling on drillships and platforms
have now reached 1 billion dollars and the daily rate reached
from $200,000 to $500,000. Offshore drilling is still going
in despite of the difculties like high cost, high risk and low
penetration rates, because the well could be productive. The
challenges found in offshore drilling have forced oil industry
researchers to develop new technologies to improve the ROP
and achieve cost control in offshore drilling (Guan et al,
2012; Rocha et al, 2003).
In the early 1980s, Johnson et al (1982) proposed the
self-resonant cavitating pulse water jet theory and designed
a nozzle with a structure to generate an acoustic self-
resonant cavitating jet. Ghalambor et al (1988) developed
an intermittent jet nozzle with a rotating disc to change
drilling fluid velocity. Biianti (1990) designed a pulse jet
nozzle which could change the port area and increase jet
impact force by 124% and power by 400%. Subsequently,
Shen and coworkers (Shen, 1987) carried out theoretical and
experimental research in self-resonant cavitating pulse water-
jet technology. On the basis of hydro-acoustics principles and
fluid-transient theory, Li and Shen designed a new efficient
self-resonant cavitating nozzle and veried its high efciency
by numerical simulation and eld experiments (Li and Shen,
1991).
In the 1990s, Kolle and Marvin (1999) developed
hydropulse, a negative pressure pulse tool installed with a
self-circulating lift valve and improved it in the early 21st
century. Waltech in Canada designed a negative pressure
pulse tool (Wang, 2005). Based on fluid transient theory,
researchers in China developed several types of bottom
hole pulse drilling tools, such as the down hole mechanical-
pulse generator (Chen et al, 2000), the low-pressure pulse jet
modulator (Yang et al, 2003), and the down hole hydropulse
vibration drilling tool (Ni et al, 2006a; 2006b).
However, these tools were not applied widely because
they were not fully reliable. To improve drilling rate further,
Pet.Sci.(2014)11:401-407