Alfred W. Eustes

An Assessment of Risk of Migration of Hydrocarbons or Fracturing Fluids to Fresh Water Aquifers: Wattenberg Field, CO

I have been asked by several people that have seen my presentations on the work I am involved with as part of a 5 year project funded by the NSF on the Sustainability of Natural Gas Development, of which hydraulic fracturing is a large part to participate in the March 7 Public Teleconference concerning the EPA SAB Draft Report, and I am writing to you to ask to be included. I attached a PDF of my latest presentation to the GWPC UIC Conference.

Advanced Trajectory Computational Model Improves Calculated Borehole Positioning, Tortuosity and Rugosity

Wellbore tortuosity, defined as the degree of wellbore deviation from the smooth trajectory, and wellbore rugosity, defined as the degree of wellbore diameter irregularity, are critical elements in determining torque and drag (T&D) magnitudes in the drilling of long-reach horizontal wells and deep verticals. Current three-dimensional well trajectory models represented by the minimum curvature method (MCM) tend to mathematically smoothen the wellpath between survey-stations creating an artificially low tortuosity expressed as dogleg severity (DLS). This can lead to the miscalculation of the actual true vertical depth (TVD), leading to the underestimation of T&D magnitude. A robust three-dimensional trajectory model, the Advanced Spline-Curve (ASC) model, has been developed by the Colorado School of Mines to overcome these limitations. The ASC model provides realistic results and accurately calculates the spatial course of the wellpath. The principal method proposed using the ASC model is a step toward more accurate representation of wellbore trajectories, as compared to other methods using constant curvature, minimum curvature or tangential calculations. This curve has continuous derivatives up to the third order (C3) along the entire wellpath. It is fairly straight-forward and has the robustness and flexibility to calculate complex, three-dimensional wellbore trajectories. Mr. Mahmoud Abughaban is a PhD candidate at the Petroleum Engineering Department of the Colorado School of Mines. 2016 PETROLEUM ENGINEERING DISTINGUISHED SEMINAR SERIES Thursday 01/28/2016, 4:00pm, MZ226

Petroleum Engineering Education: The Road Ahead - A Summary of Major Actions at CPEE 2000

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s).