- Prospecting and exploration
- The oil well
- Recovery of oil and gas
- Storage and transport
- Safety and the environment
Advances in technology have occurred in well logging and the evaluation of geological formations more than in any other area of petroleum production. Historically, after a borehole penetrated a potential productive zone, the formations were tested to determine their nature and the degree to which completion procedures (the series of steps that convert a drilling well into a producing well) should be conducted. The first evaluation was usually made using well logging methods. The logging tool was lowered into the well by a steel cable and was pulled past the formations while response signals were relayed to the surface for observation and recording. Often these tools made use of the differences in electrical conductivities of rock, water, and petroleum to detect possible oil or gas accumulations. Other logging tools used differences in radioactivity, neutron absorption, and acoustic wave absorption. Well log analysts could use the recorded signals to determine potential producing formations and their exact depth. Only a production, or “formation,” test, however, could establish the potential productivity.
The production test that was historically employed was the drill stem test, in which a testing tool was attached to the bottom of the drill pipe and was lowered to a point opposite the formation to be tested. The tool was equipped with expandable seals for isolating the formation from the rest of the borehole, and the drill pipe was emptied of mud so that formation fluid could enter. When enough time had passed, the openings into the tool were closed and the drill pipe was brought to the surface so that its contents could be measured. The amounts of oil and gas that flowed into the drill pipe during the test and the recorded pressures were used to judge the production potential of the formation.
With advances in measurement-while-drilling (MWD) technologies, independent well logging and geological formation evaluation runs became more efficient and more accurate. Other improvements in what has become known as smart field technologies included a widening range of tool sizes and deployment options that enable drilling, logging, and formation evaluation into smaller boreholes simultaneously. Formation measurement techniques that employ logging-while-drilling (LWD) equipment include gamma ray logging, resistivity measurement, density and neutron porosity logging, sonic logging, pressure testing, fluid sampling, and borehole diameter measurements using calipers. LWD applications include flexible logging systems for horizontal wells in shale plays with curvatures as sharp as 68° per 100 feet. Another example of an improvement in smart field technologies is use of rotary steerable systems in deep waters, where advanced LWD is vastly reducing the evaluation time of geological formations, especially in deciding whether to complete or abandon a well. Reduced decision times have led to an increase in the safety of drilling, and completion operations have become much improved, as the open hole is cased or plugged and abandoned that much sooner. With traditional wireline logs, reports of findings may not be available for days or weeks. In comparison, LWD coupled with RSS is controlled by the drill’s ROP. The formation evaluation sample rate combined with the ROP determine the eventual number of measurements per drilled foot that will be recorded on the log. The faster the ROP, the faster the sample rate and its recording onto the well log sent to the surface operator for analysis and decision making.
If preliminary tests show that one or more of the formations penetrated by a borehole will be commercially productive, the well must be prepared for the continuous production of oil or gas. First, the casing is completed to the bottom of the well. Cement is then forced into the annulus between the casing and the borehole wall to prevent fluid movement between formations. As mentioned earlier, this casing may be made up of progressively smaller-diameter tubing, so that the casing diameter at the bottom of the well may range from 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 inches). After the casing is in place, a string of production tubing 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) in diameter is extended from the surface to the productive formation. Expandable packing devices are placed on the tubing to seal the annulus that lies between the casing and the production tubing within the producing formation from the annulus that lies within the remainder of the well. If a lifting device is needed to bring the oil to the surface, it is generally placed at the bottom of the production tubing. If several producing formations are penetrated by a single well, as many as four production strings may be hung. However, as deeper formations are targeted, conventional completion practices often produce diminishing returns.
Perforating and fracturing
Since the casing is sealed with cement against the productive formation, openings must be made in the casing wall and cement to allow formation fluid to enter the well. A perforator tool is lowered through the tubing on a wire line. When it is in the correct position, bullets are fired or explosive charges are set off to create an open path between the formation and the production string. If the formation is quite productive, these perforations (usually about 30 cm, or 12 inches, apart) will be sufficient to create a flow of fluid into the well. If not, an inert fluid may be injected into the formation at pressure high enough to cause fracturing of the rock around the well and thus open more flow passages for the petroleum.
Tight oil formations are typical candidates for hydraulic fracturing (fracking), given their characteristically low permeability and low porosity. During fracturing, water, which may be accompanied by sand, and less than 1 percent household chemicals, which serve as additives, are pumped into the reservoir at high pressure and at a high rate, causing a fracture to open. Sand, which served as the propping agent (or “proppant”), is mixed with the fracturing fluids to keep the fracture open. When the induced pressure is released, the water flows back from the well with the proppant remaining to prop up the reservoir rock spaces. The hydraulic fracturing process creates network of interconnected fissures in the formation, which makes the formation more permeable for oil, so that it can be accessed from beyond the near-well bore area.
When the subsurface equipment is in place, a network of valves, referred to as a Christmas tree, is installed at the top of the well. The valves regulate flow from the well and allow tools for subsurface work to be lowered through the tubing on a wire line. Christmas trees may be very simple, as in those found on low-pressure wells that must be pumped, or they may be very complex, as on high-pressure flowing wells with multiple producing strings.