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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum EngineeringHarold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Lesson 6Foam Drilling
Read: UDMChapter 2.5-2.6, Pages 2.75-2.130
PETE 689 - UnderbalancedDrilling, UBD
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
The Pattern Of Foam
Classic static
foam pattern onthe left.Foam in flowprobably looksmore like the oneon the right.
1 cm 1/2 inch
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Types of Flow Regimes(Lorenz, 1980)
MISTFOAMLIQUID GAS AERATED
LIQUID
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Fluid Phase Continuity
Mist
(97-100% Gas)Foam or Gaseated
(50-97% Gas)
Air/Gas
Water
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Mist Aerated Foam
50/1
1000/1500/1
100/1
30/1
10/1
99.8%
90%
Injection Ratio
Foam Quality
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Foam and Gaseation
FOAM “Emulsion”.
Hard to Separate. “NO” Pressure Surges. Huge lifting capacity.Plugs lost circulation
and reduces head.
GASEATIONMixture.
Separates easily.Heading and pressuresurges.Normal lifting capacity.
Reduces lost circulationby reducing head.
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Reasons for UB Drilling with Foam
1. Stops lost circulation.
2. Improve drilling rate.3. Protects the reservoir.
4. Avoid differential sticking.5. Hole cleaning with low
fluid volume.
Why Foam?
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Lifting Capacity
Powder
Regrinding AndMud Ring
Formation
LargeCuttings
Foam Air/Mist
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Lost Circulation with Foam
Reduced the mud densityno junk.Foam plugs lost zones.
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Lost Circulation with Foam
The Foam
bubbles arelost zoneplugging
agents!
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Improve Drilling Rate
Low bottom hole pressureincreases drilling rate.For hard rock, the new airhammer works with foam.
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
-500 0 +500 +1000
p p
b p
DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE (psi)
Effect of Differential Pressure
Bit Floundernot
uncommonwith foam
Perfect Cleaning
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Protect Reservoir
No formation damage withno influx into the well bore.Minimal pressure surges.
Controllable pressures.
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Protect ReservoirFoam is Perfect UB Fluid
In underbalancecondition, flow isinto the hole.Fluid does notruin the foam.
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Protect Reservoir
Foam is perfect UB FluidIn overbalancecondition, foambubbles block the matrix.Foam bubblesalso block fractures.
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Differential Pressure StickingDRILL PIPE
FILTER CAKE
DRILL COLLAR
, K P f
PH
PH > P f
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
No Differential Pressure Sticking
DRILL PIPE
NoFILTER CAKE
DRILL COLLAR
, K P f
PH
PH > P f
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Foam Lifting CapacityNeeds Only Limited Fluid Volume
0.2
0.6
0.8
1.0
0
0.4
Dry
1.00 0.60.40.2 0.8
WetFoam
Relative Velocity 2
1
StableFoam
Foam Quality
Actually acts likethis
Theory
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Powder
Regrinding And
Mud RingFormation
LargeCuttings
Foam Air/Mist
Hole Cleaningwith Limited Fluid Volume
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Theoretical Foam Types
Stable Foam: 1-2% Surfactant.Stiff Foam: 1% Surfactant, 3-4% Gel,
Polymer. Use of viscosified waterinstead of fresh non-viscosified waterin the incompressible fluid component.
Viscosity additives: CMC, Xantan Gum,Polymers, etc..
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
General Foam Agents
Foamer to reduce surface tensionof water.
Polymers to strengthen the filmaround the air bubbles.Soda Ash to soften water andraise the pH to 10.
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Fluids for Foam Drilling
Fresh water.Saline or brackish water.Oils not used to date.
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Small Foam Unit
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Large Foam Job
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Foam Theory
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Foam Structure
Required ElementsGasLiquidFoaming Agent• A surface active agent
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
The Pattern Of Foam
Classic staticfoam pattern onthe left.Foam in flowprobably looksmore like theone on the right.
1 cm 1/2 inch
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Transfoam (Weatherford) All of the following may not applyto transfoam.Some of the methods of handlingTransfoam may vary. It is a slightly
different type of foamer.
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Foam Rules
Smaller bubbles are more stable.
Polymers make the skin aroundthe bubbles tougher.Bentonite makes the skin aroundthe bubbles more stable.
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Foam Rules
Soda ash in the watermakes the foamer work better.Soda ash in the waterbuffers the pH at about 10.
Different foamer may work best in certain areas.
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
After Saintpere et.al.
Effect Of Pressure On Foam Stability,Correlation with Bubbles Man Diameter
B u b b l e s m e a n
d i a m e
t e r
(µ
m )
Pressure ( bar )0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
1.000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
0.700
0.600
0.500
0.400
0.300
0.200
0.100
0.000
D r a
i n a g e v e
l o c i t y
( m l / m
i n )
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Polyhedral Foam ContactTrue Foam
Plateau Border
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Bubble
Pressure RedistributionLesser Pressure Greater Pressure
R r
From high pressure to lower pressureDepends on film permeability
Gas diffusion.
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Foam StructureStabilization
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Stronger Bubbles
Smaller bubbles.More foamer.
Of the right kind. Add a surfactant.
Polymer.Other agent.
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Surface Active Materials
Retard DrainageIncrease surface viscosity.
Oxygen reactive additives.Migrating surfactants.
Ionically charged foamers.
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Migrating Surfactant
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Ionically Charged Foamer
Most foam system and
most foamers are anionicin nature.
If part of the outer wall of the bubble should becomecationically charged theinner and outer wallswould be attracted andthe wall would becomethinner at that point.
+
+++
++
-
- -
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Ionically Charged Foamer
Ionically charged foamerswill cause both walls of each bubble to carry the
same electrical charge.The walls will then repel,becoming thicker.
-
-
--
-
--
-
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Foamer Considerations
Concentration
Contaminants
Temperature
Solubility
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Foamer Concentration
H a
l f l i f e i n s e c o n
d s
% Foamer concentration
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
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FACTOR CHANGE EFFECT onDRAINAGE
EFFECT onSTABILITY
Foamer concentration Increase Decrease Increase
Solubility Increase Decrease Increase
Temperature Increase Increase DecreaseContamination Increase ----- Decrease
Major Factors of Foam Stability
All these factors are interdependent if T
goes up, instability increase, solubilityof the foamer increase. If solubilityincrease, stability increase.
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Causes of Bubble Disruption
Big Bubbles are weakerthan small bubbles.Salt water weakens thebubble surface.Oil weakens the bubblesurface.Some solids weaken thebubble.
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DEFOAM
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Bubble Disruption Defoamers
Most defoamers weaken the
bubble film - like an alcohol or oil.Some defoamers use fine silicatesolids to disrupt the bubble film.
Time and gravity drainage.
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Foaming AgentChemicals
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Straight Foamers
Anionic in NatureEthoxyl Alcohol Ether Sulfates
Alpha Olephin SulfonatesWidest applicability.Excellent solubility.
Good thermal stability.Hydrocarbon tolerance.High Costs.
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Amino-Propyl Betaines (Amphoteric)Will change properties with achange in pH from acid to basic.
Excellent stability.Good thermal stability.Good brine solubility.Fair yield.Relatively expensive.
Foam Boosters
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Alkanol Amides (Cationic)
Good thermal stability.Expensive.Incompatible with most foam
systems.
Foam Boosters
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Sodium Sulfosuccinates (Anionic)
Common.Good fresh-water solubility.Good thermal stability.
Extremely poor brinesolubility.
Foam Stabilizers
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Alkyl-Phenol Ethoxylates (Nonionic)
Excellent surface activity.
Soluble in all waters.Good thermal stability.Compatible with other additives.
Provides poor foam quality.
Foam Stabilizers
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PolymersFoam Stability Improvement
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Polymer Uses
Drill solid flocculation.
Increased viscosity.Increased lubricity.Stabilize clays.Increase foam stability.
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Polymers
Organic or synthetic.Many monomers (repeating units).
Varied structures.
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Polyacrylamides
Widely used.
MW = 8-10 million.
Varied ionic charge.
Synthetic
Polymers
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Partially-Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide
(PHPA)
Synthetic polymer.
Powder or liquid.
Synthetic
Polymers
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Natural, OrganicCar boxy-methyl Cellulose
(CMC)Natural polymer from plants.
Cotton. Viscosity control.
Polymers
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Hydroxy-Ethyl Cellulose (HEC)
Anionic.
Fluid loss control.
Viscosity control.
Natural, Organic
Polymers
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Guar Gum
Natural polymer.Non-ionic, Branched chain.
MW = 200,000Low temperature.
Natural, Organic
Polymers
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Biopolymers Xanthan gum (XC)
Viscosity control. Fresh or salt water compatible.
Shear thinning.Increase foam stability, butwith poor lifting ability.
Polymers
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Clay and Shale Stabilizers
Hole Stability
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Clay Swelling Mechanisms
Simple adsorption.
Osmotic swelling.
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Stabilizing Agents
KClExcludes water attraction.
Ammonium chlorides. Amine salts.
Cationic polymers.
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General Foam Types
Stable foamFoaming agentPolymer
Stiff foamFoaming agentPolymerBentonite
pH sensitive foam (amphoteric)Transfoam
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Foam Quality
Gas phase percent by volume
Expressed as: %Whole number
Decimal equivalente.g. 75, 75%, or 0.75
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Foam Quality (In theory)
0-55% Aerated Fluid
55%-94% Foam94%-99.9% Mist
100% Gas/Air
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Powder
Regrinding And
Mud RingFormation
Large
Cuttings
Foam Air/Mist
Hole Cleaning
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
FactorsEffecting Foam Quality
Pressure.Depth.Gas content.
Liquid content.
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Maintaining Foam Quality
Gas and liquid injection rates.
Back-pressure on the system.Measurement.Calculation (computer models).
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Foam Texture
The “stability” of Foam
Not measured at present. Assumed in all the Math. A source of error, but we don’tknow how much.Best available guess is “half life”.
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Foam Texture
The Foam Strength
Small bubbles -mixed at jet bit.Good foaming agent.
Polymer for film strength.
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Liquid Volumes
Begin with 1/10 of ConventionalMud Rate required to give a120 ’/min (40m/min) annularvelocity.
EXAMPLE: In an 8.75 ” hole, 400gpm is a normal mud rate. Forfoam start with 40gpm as aninitial try.
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Liquid Volume
This may have to be increased up to50-70% of normal mud volume tobuffer the steering tool or EM-MWD.Gas then likewise has to increase.
Be careful of friction dominatephase.
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Rheological Models
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Bingham Plastic
The fluid will not flow until acertain minimum shear stress isexceeded. Once that minimumstress has been exceeded,additional shear stress isdirectly proportional to theshear rate.
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Shear Stress and Shear Rate for a BinghamPlastic Fluid (Bourgoyne et al., 1986)
g=
0
t
- t g
+ t g
g Shear Rate,
p
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Power Law
A Power-Law fluid withthe application of anyshear stress.Shear stress is a functionof shear rate for aPower-Law fluid, it is nota linear relationship.
Sh St Sh R t f P
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Shear Stress vs. Shear Rate for a Power-Law Fluid
(Bourgoyne et al., 1986)
t = k g
t
S h e a r
S t r e s s ,
. n
n < 1
Shear Rate, g
t = k g g. . n- 1
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The Published Experts Don’t Agree About Foam Fluid Behavior
Bingham Plastic Mitchell
KrugBeyer
Power Law OkpobiriIkoku
Sanghani
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ActuallyFoam sometimes flows as a plug.
And sometimes with a velocityprofile across the hole crosssection.
Viscosity changes with pressureand temperature as well aschemical content.
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Foam Flow
Foamsometimesflows as aplug.
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Foam Flow
Foamsometimesflows highviscosityprofile.
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Foam Testing
It is difficult to measure theviscosity of a foam.Instead a half-life test is used.
F T ti g
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Foam Testing
Half Life Procedure
Waring Blender Stop Watch 1000ml Cylinder
Foam Testing
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100mlwater
Foaming Agent0.5% (0.5ml)
Waring Blender Stop Watch 1000ml Cylinder
gHalf Life Procedure
Foam Testing
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Mix on high for 30 sec
Waring Blender Stop Watch 1000ml Cylinder
gHalf Life Procedure
Foam Testing
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Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
Pour into cylinderand measure timefor 50ml of waterto appear
Water
FoamTime is half life
Waring Blender Stop Watch 1000ml Cylinder
Foam Testing Half Life Procedure
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Foam DrillingEquipment
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Stable Foam Mixing System
(Hutchison)This is not a very good method
Detergent
Additives
Water
BlenderFor
DetergentSolution
Compressed Air or Gas
MeterFoamGenerator
Meter
20 Gpm PositiveDisplacementPump
Work string
Annulus
Blowdown
Foammanifold
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Modern Foam Mixing System
Chemical
Chemical
MeteringPump
MeteringPump
ToMud Pump
F D illi g Eq i t
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Foam Drilling Equipment
Rotating Head
Foam Drilling Equipment
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Gas Fluid Mixing System
Foam Drilling Equipment
Foam Drilling Equipment
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Foam Mixing
The real key to
satisfactoryoperation is theuse of precision
injectionpumps.
Foam Drilling Equipment
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Foam Drilling Equipment
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Weatherford Foam Unit
Foam Drilling Equipment
Foam Drilling Equipment
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CompressorUsed in Foam Drilling
Foam Drilling Equipment
Foam Drilling Equipment
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Rotary Primary Compressor in aUnitized Package
Foam Drilling Equipment
Foam Drilling Equipment
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Booster Compressor ina Unitized Package
Foam Drilling Equipment
Foam Drilling Equipment
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Bakermodel Fbit float
Foam Drilling Equipment
Foam Drilling Equipment
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Bakermodel GBstring floatmaybe usedevery 500’
Foam Drilling Equipment
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Recyclable FoamWeatherford TransFoam
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Weatherford Transfoam
It is an amphoteric material -capable of reaction as either an
acid or base. A combination of two (or more)foaming agents that causefoam at a high pH and interfereand cause the foam to go flat ata low pH.
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Transfoam Applications
Environmental concern.
Space limitations.
Limited disposal options.
Transfoam
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Process DescriptionIntentional de-stabilization.
Decrease pH (10 to < 5)Foam immediately disappears.
Gas removal in separator.Liquid cleaning in shaker, cycloneand centrifuge.
Add make up foamer.Re-activation.
Increase pH
Si lifi d T f
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Simplified Transfoam
Foam/DeFoam/ReForm Cycle
Foam(100% Volume)
Liquidless than 5%
Foam
Activator
Foam(100% Volume)
+ Acid
Transfoam Recyclable Foam System
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Recovered SolutionReady for Reuse
Supplemental Defoamer Addition(if necessary)
Separator pH Signal to Control Acid Feed
Acid FeedCuttings
Blooie LineTo Air Pit
Separator
ShakerRecirculation
Line
P
pH Signal to Control Alkaline Feed
P AcidStorage
pH LimeHopper
Lime Feed
Mud Pits
Polymer Flocculant Addition if Necessary
Solids
Control
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Considerations
Limitless cycles.Make-up foamer requiredfor loss to formations andsolids.Water soluble, non-toxicadditions.
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Advantages
Cost EfficientLess Chemical UsedLess Make-up WaterLess Space
EnvironmentalOffshore
Less Disposal
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Advantages
Adaptable fluid. Any water base drilling mudcan be used.
Limitations
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Limitations
Acid environment.Corrosion ?
Good separator required.Defoamer possibly required. Availability.
Personnel.Equipment.
Canada
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Concord Unit-foam
A conventionalfoam used with
a defoamer.Foam is killedwith defoamer,
then rebuiltwith foamer.
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