Michael Prohaska

Modeling Transportation Logistics, Water Use, and Surface Footprint for Shale Gas Field Developments

Optimizing operational efficiencies in unconventional resource developments is one of the key success drivers for improved economics. In this work, an approach for exactly that problem is presented, designed for a field development scenario in Germany. Starting with a model that captures all key parameters which are influencing a development program such as the gas market and prize scenarios, political situation, environmental regulations, logistical requirements, etc., it immediately turns out that the highly complex model has to be significantly simplified and a sub-model with clear and precise boundary conditions has to be generated. This sub-model is tuned to problems of particular interest, considering technological parameters such as the impact of various state of the art drilling technologies or different fracturing methodologies on the entire development program. It is possible to identify interrelations of various procedures and allows estimating project costs. Operational scenarios can also efficiently be tested, and validated and the financial key parameters of different scenarios can be compared. Moreover, short- and long-term benefits and drawbacks of various solutions can be assessed and optimized. Also, limitations of System Dynamics for that kind of simulation are pointed out, and it is shown how to solve the problem with an Agent Based Modeling approach.

Reverse Engineering: A New Well Monitoring and Analysis Methodology Approaching Playing-Back Drill-Rate Tests in Real-Time for Drilling Optimization

Departamento de Mecanica (DME) Faculdade de Engenharia-Campus de Guaratingueta (FEG) Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Av. Ariverto Pereira da Cunha 333

Diagnosing drilling problems using visual analytics of sensors measurements

One of the major challenges in the drilling industry is the quick detection of problems that can occur during drilling a deep well due to high cost implications. These problems can occur for various reasons and can exhibit varying symptoms, which make them difficult to identify or prevent automatically. Visual Analytics has emerged as an alternative approach for data analysis. It combines both the computational power of computers and the experience of domain experts to analyze and gain insights into large data. This paper describes a procedure for analyzing and identifying drilling problem using Visual Analytics techniques. It provides results of an elaborated analysis of sensor measurement datasets that contain “Stuck Pipes” situations - one of the most common drilling problems. Statistical features are calculated from the dataset using the sliding window method. We show how visual analysis by means of linked scatter plots enable relating the problem patterns to the computed features and can hence help in identifying “Stuck Pipes” problems.

Modeling Early-Time Gas Migration Through Cement Slurries (includes associated papers 36370 and 36766 and 37387 and 37684)

This work identifies a mechanism that could be responsible for substantial gas invasion into a cemented column after placement. A model is developed to predict the risk for gas invasion and to aid in the design of a cement job suggesting a ``tail`` and a delayed ``lead`` slurry. The model provides the absolute theoretical migration height when cement properties and formation parameters are known. The work accounts for the calculation of the hydrostatic pressure drop, for the estimation of the inflow rates resulting from shrinkage and filtration, and for the description of the bubble-rise process. A sensitivity study on important design and well parameters is included.