IPTC 16601

Calculations of Equivalent Circulating Density in Underbalanced Drilling

Operation

Reza Ettehadi Osgouei, University of Tulsa, William Liew Sin Yoong, PETRONAS Carigali Sdn. Bhd.,
Evren M. Ozbayoglu, University of Tulsa, SPE
Copyright 2013, International Petroleum Technology Conference
This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Petroleum Technology Conference held in Beijing, China, 2628 March 2013.
This paper was selected for presentation by an IPTC Programme Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
presented, have not been reviewed by the International Petroleum Technology Conference and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily
reflect any position of the International Petroleum Technology Conference, its officers, or members. Papers presented at IPTC are subject to publication review by Sponsor Society
Committees of IPTC. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of the International Petroleum Technology
Conference is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous
acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, IPTC, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax +1-972-952-9435

Abstract
Underbalanced drilling using gasified fluids is one of the most widely used methods to drill depleted, low pressure
and highly fractured formations. For ensuring a safe and successful underbalanced drilling operation, accurate
prediction of the equivalent circulating density (ECD) is very important. Nevertheless, estimating ECD of gasified
fluids is not easy due to the complexity of the two-phase fluid flow inside the wellbore. In this study, there are two
major focuses considered; i) validation of the accuracy of Beggs & Brill (1973) model on the prediction of pressure
losses of gasified fluids in underbalanced drilling operation, and modification of Beggs & Brill (1973) model for
pressure loss estimation inside the wellbore, and ii) to propose an ECD calculation procedure for gasified fluids by
using modified Beggs & Brill (1973) model.
To validate the accuracy of Beggs & Brill (1973) model, experiments were carried out using Middle East
Technical University (METU) Cuttings Transport Facility to obtain the pressure losses of gasified fluids in an
annulus and their corresponding flow patterns. Air-water mixtures were used with various in-situ air and water flow
velocities of 0-120 ft/s and 0-10 ft/s, respectively, at wellbore inclinations of 90, 75, 60, 45 and 12.5 without
inner pipe rotation. Pressures were recorded at several points along the annular test section, and pressure
distribution along the test section was measured. Meanwhile, flow patterns were determined by the help of a high
speed digital camera.
Results showed that although Beggs & Brill (1973) model can estimate pressure losses in low gas and
liquid flow rates and low slip ratio between two phases for horizontal and near horizontal annular sections with a
reasonable accuracy, this model cannot accurately calculate pressure losses at inclined and vertical annular
sections. With some modifications, improved Beggs & Brill (1973) model (by applying suggested procedure) can
be used to predict ECD and annular pressure losses of gasified fluids inside the annulus accurately. This
information can be directly applied for underbalanced drilling operations when gasified fluids are used.
1. Introduction

In the early days, the worlds demand for oil and gas was met by the production from easily accessible reservoirs.
Nowadays, the oil and gas industry is facing a situation whereby the exploration is more challenging, the
production cost is increasing, most of the existing reservoirs have relatively depleted pressures, and at the same
time, oil prices are fluctuating significantly [1]. Therefore, application of emerging technologies is important in
order to contribute new reserves, enhance the recovery from existing formations, reduce cost, and increase
revenue. Aligned with this, underbalanced drilling is adopted in many oil and gas fields with the objectives of
preventing formation damage, improving reservoir benefits, improving drilling performance and preventing
conventional drilling problems [1].

IPTC 16601

Underbalanced drilling is defined as the drilling operation where the wellbore pressure is less than the
pore pressure in the formation rock in the open-hole section [2,3]. According to IADC Well Classification System
for Underbalanced Operations and Managed Pressure Drilling, underbalanced operations (UBO) are performed
with returns to surface using an equivalent mud weight that is maintained below the open-hole pore pressure [2].
In UBO, there are five types of fluid systems used, as classified by IADC, which are gas, mist, foam, gasified
liquids and liquids.
Underbalanced drilling (UBD) provides many benefits, such as increasing penetration rates, minimizing
lost circulation, prolonging bit life, minimizing differential sticking, improving formation evaluation quality, reducing
formation damage, and providing earlier oil production [1,4,5,6,7]. Although this method of drilling is very
beneficial, Alajmi and Schubert (2003) pointed out that UBD is not a solution for all formation damage problems.
Indeed, damage caused by poorly designed and/or executed UBD programs may exceed those occur with a welldesigned conventional overbalanced drilling program [8]. They also mentioned that it is generally accepted that
the success of UBD operations is depending on maintaining the wellbore pressure between the boundaries
defined by the designed UBD pressure window. Therefore, the ability to accurately predict wellbore pressure is
critically important for both designing and applying the UBD operation. In general, for simplicity, in order to predict
the ECD and annular pressure, it is assumed that the slip ratio between the two phases (gas and liquid) is
negligible. This assumption can cause significant errors in annular pressure distribution calculations, and
consequently will lead to failure in predicting the wellbore pressure, thus, might cause operations failure.
The equivalent circulating density of a drilling fluid can be defined as the sum of the equivalent static
density (ESD) of the fluid and the pressure loss in the annulus due to fluid flow [3, 9]. In underbalanced drilling,
the presence of two phases in the drilling fluid makes the estimation of ECDs more difficult. Therefore, phase
concentration distributions and mixture density changes due to temperature and pressure variations inside the
wellbore should be taken into consideration during the ECD calculation.
The complexity in simulating real borehole conditions has made it difficult to develop an accurate as well
as practical method. Nevertheless, there are many available methods that can be used to predict pressuregradient in pipe flows. By assuming that the flow of drilling fluid in the annulus between drillstring and borehole is
similar as flow of the fluid in pipe, these methods can be incorporated into the calculations of ECD. The main
guiding principles behind all these methods are the principles of conservation of mass and linear momentum.
2. Literature Review
Developed models to predict the behavior of two phase flow (gas-liquid) and consequently to estimate ECD can
be divided into two major categories; i) general models, and ii)mechanistic models.
General models, which are the earlier models developed for two-phase fluid flow, did not take into consideration
of the effects of flow patterns. In those models, two-phase fluid flow was considered as a single phase flow, or
flow of two totally separate phases. Later on, some of the more significant models were developed by Wallis
(1969), Lockhart and Martinelli (1949), and Duns and Ros (1963) [10,11,12]. They marked the beginning of
development of two-phase fluid flow modeling. These mechanistic models involved studies concentrated on the
determination of the flow pattern. The fluid mechanics of two phase flow systems were independently examined
for each flow pattern and main flow equations were obtained. Then, comprehensive and unified models were
developed for further understanding of flow properties of two phase fluid systems. As determination of flow
patterns was the main concern in mechanistic modeling, many studies were developed with the aim of estimating
the flow patterns of two-phase fluids in pipes for the major flow conditions, such as liquid and gas flow rates, fluid
properties, pressure and temperature, pipe diameter, etc. Beggs and Brill (1973), Mandhane et al. (1974), Taitel
and Dukler (1976) and Barnea (1987) studies are the most important research in this area [13,14,15,16]. Beggs
and Brill (1973) conducted an extensive study on two-phase flow in circular pipes for a wide range of inclination
angles. They firstly developed correlations to predict the existing flow pattern using Froude number and no-slip
holdup. Then, the actual holdup was determined. Subsequently, pressure losses for each flow pattern were
determined separately by developing a new friction factor for two phase flow.
Although there are a lot of studies regarding with two-phase flow in circular pipes, limited investigation have been
conducted for two-phase flow through annulus. Some examples are; Aziz et al. (1972), Beggs and Brill (1973),
Sadatomi (1982), Caetano (1992) and Kabir (1988, 1992) [13,14,17,18,19,20,21]. Sunthankar (2002) modified
Taitel and Dukler (1976) transition equations for determining the flow patterns for annular geometries by using the
definition of hydraulic diameter [15,22]. He also compared the estimated results by experimental results. Zhou
(2004) suggested a similar approach like Sunthankar (2002), and modified the model to be used at higher
pressures and temperatures [23]. Experiments were also carried out under high temperature and pressure
conditions. In both studies, significant differences were observed between the experiments and calculated
frictional pressure losses. Lage et al. (2000) experimentally and theoretically studied two-phase fluid flow in

IPTC 16601

horizontal and inclined annulus [24]. Equations from Taitel and Dukler (1976) were used to determine flow
patterns. Comparison between theoretical and experiment data for frictional pressure losses, Aziz et al. (1972)s
model and Beggs and Brill (1973)s model showed that the developed model gave more successful results.
Osgouei et al. (2010) conducted an extensive experimental study related to the behavior of gas- liquid two phase
fluids flow in inclined and horizontal annuli and developed a flow pattern map as a function of superficial flow
velocities of liquid and gas phases, and proposed a new classification of two-phase flow patterns by using
discriminant analysis [6,25].
Sorgun et al. (2011) simulated gas-liquid flow inside horizontal eccentric annulus using an Eulerian-Eulerian
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and compared results by experimental data. Results showed that CFD
model predicts frictional pressure losses with an error less than 20% for all two-phase flow patterns when
compared with experimental data [27].Based on experimental observations, Osgouei et al. (2012) developed also
a mechanistic model for determining the total pressure losses and volumetric distribution of two phase fluids flow
within the inclined wellbore for a particular drilling condition [26]. Their proposed model is reasonably accurate for
estimating the frictional pressure losses when compared with the measured values.
3. Methodology
As Beggs& Brill method was the first one to predict the flow behavior of two phase flow for all inclination angles,
this model was chosen to predict the pressure-gradient in this study, because of its capabilities as well as its
practical nature. A computer program is developed based on this model. Results from air-water two-phase flow
experiments were chosen as the database for comparison. Computer program results were then compared by the
experimental results to determine whether Beggs & Brill (1973) model can be incorporated for the prediction of
equivalent circulating density in underbalanced drilling using aerated fluids, or not. The calculation methodology
and equations used in the computer program are presented below.
Step 1: Determination of flow pattern.

Calculate Froude number, NFr:

. (1)

Vm

 =

= gravitational acceleration (32.174 ft/sec )

= hydraulic diameter of annuli (ft)



= mixture velocity (ft/sec)

2

Calculate no-slip liquid holdup, L:

=








(2)

VSL

= liquid superficial velocity (ft/sec)

VSG

= gas superficial velocity (ft/sec)

Determine modified flow-pattern transition boundaries:

= 316

.


...... (3)

=

0.000925


.


= 0.10


.

(5)

=

0.5


.

...

(6)

(4)

and

From the NFr, L and flow pattern boundaries, determine the flow pattern according to the
following inequalities:
Segregated.
L< 0.01 and NFR<L1
or
L 0.01 and NFR<L2

IPTC 16601

Transition.
L 0.01 and L2 NFR L3
Intermittent.
0.01 L < 0.4 and L3< NFR L1
or
L 0.4 and L3< NFR L4
Distributed.
L < 0.4 and NFR L1
or
L 0.4 and NFR > L4
Step 2: Determination of liquid holdup.

Calculate liquid holdup HL(0), assuming flow is horizontal:

(
) =



(7)

a, b and c are obtained from the Table 1, depending on flow pattern.

Table 1: Beggs & Brill Empirical Coefficients for Horizontal Liquid Holdup.
Flow Pattern

Segregated

0.980

0.4846

0.0868

Intermittent

0.845

0.5351

0.0173

Distributed

1.065

0.5824

0.0609

For the effect of inclination, the liquid holdup is corrected with the following formula:
(8)

(
) =

(
)

whereas the factor to correct liquid holdup for the effect of inclination is given by:

= 1.0 +

 1.8
0.333

1.8

(9)

where is the actual angle of the flow from horizontal and C is defined by:

= 1.0










. (10)

with the restriction that C 0. e, f, g and h are obtained from Table 2, for the appropriate
horizontal flow pattern.
Table 2: Beggs & Brill Empirical Coefficient for C.
Flow Pattern

Segregated
Uphill

0.011

-3.7680

3.5390

-1.6140

Intermittent
Uphill

2.960

0.3050

-0.4473

0.0978

Distributed
Uphill
All patterns
downhill

No correction: C = 0; = 1
4.700

-0.3692

0.1244

-0.5056

IPTC 16601

When the flow pattern falls in the transition region, the liquid holdup must be interpolated between
the segregated and intermittent liquid holdup values using following formula:


(
)
 =


(
)
 + (1
)

(
)


(11)

where

=



...

(12)

Step 3: Determination of friction factor.

Calculate mixture density with the below equation:

=



+

(1

) .. (13)
= mixture density (lb/ft )

= gas density (lb/ft )

= liquid density (lb/ft )

3

Calculate the two-phase viscosity with the below equation:

=



+

1

. (14)
= two-phase viscosity (cp)

= liquid viscosity (cp)

= gas viscosity (cp)

Calculate Reynolds number, NRe:

 =

..

(15)

Calculate normalizing friction factor, fn:

=





.





.


.. (16)

Calculate the friction factor with the below equation:

where

=

=

. (17)



.


.




.
(

)


.
(

)

..

(18)

and

=

(
)

(19)

Step 4: Determine friction pressure loss and Hydrostatic Pressure gradient.

=



/144...(20)


=


/144..(21)

=



(
) +

(1

(
) )

where

.. (22)

Pf

= friction pressure loss (psi/ft)

Phyd

= hydrostatic pressure gradient (psi/ft)

IPTC 16601

= friction factor obtained from Step 3

3

= nonslip mixture density (lbs/ft )

= mixture velocity (ft/sec)

= slip mixture density (lbs/ft )

Step 5: Estimation of Total Pressure Gradient

4. Experimental Setup

 =

 +


+

...(23)

The characterization of two-phase fluids flow in annuli was studied experimentally in the Middle East Technical
University, Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering Department Cutting Transport Facility (METU-PETE-CT). The
facility consists of pumps, compressor, control valves, flow meters, pressure transducers, annular test section, a
separator and storage tanks, high speed camera and data acquisition system (see Fig. 1). The 21 ft. long annular
test section consists of a 2.91 inch ID transparent acrylic casing with a 1.85 inch OD drill pipe. Test section can be
adjusted to any inclination angle from 90 (horizontal) to 10 (near vertical). The experiments were performed in
an eccentric annulus using water air at 90, 75, 60, 45 and 12.5 wellbore inclinations, without inner pipe
rotation, with constant temperature of 25 C (298.15 K, 77F). The eccentricity ratio () in the horizontal section
was 0.623. The pressure in the annular test section had a range of 15.7 27.7 psi depending on water and air
flow rates.

Figure 1: Schematic view of experimental setup; METU-PETE-CT

The standard experimental procedure adapted was as follows; water was first pumped at a constant flow rate into
the annular test section using a centrifugal pump of 250 gpm flow capacity. The flow rate was measured and
controlled using a magnetic flowmeter and a pneumatic controller, respectively. Then, air was injected with the
desired rate using a compressor of 120 scfm. The rate was also measured and controlled by a mass flow meter
and a pneumatic flow controller respectively. Once both the air and water flow rates were stabilized, data such as
flow rates, pressure at critical points and pressure drop inside the test section were collected. At the same time,
flow in the test section was recorded using high-speed camera for analysis of flow patterns and identification of
gas and liquid volume fractions in dynamic condition.
5. Comparison of experimental results with Beggs & Brill (1973) model
As shown in figures 2 and 3, in terms of frictional pressure losses, the calculated values match with the observed
values with less than 10% deviation in low gas and liquid superficial velocities. By increasing the gas and liquid
superficial velocities, Beggs & Brill (1973) model starts overestimating the frictional pressure losses. It can be
concluded that in low superficial velocities, the characterization of gas and liquid two phase fluids flow in

IPTC 16601

horizontal annuli is similar to its characterization in pipe geometry because of low shear stress between two
phase fluid interface in stratified and elongated bubble flow patterns, i.e., an insignificant slip between the phases.

Figure 2: Comparison between the calculated (Beggs & Brill (1973)) and observed frictional pressure losses in horizontal annulus

Figure 3: Comparison between the calculated (Beggs& Brill (1973)) and observed pressure gradient at 75 and 60 inclination

IPTC 16601

By increasing the gas and liquid superficial velocities and slip ratio between two phases, the effect of annular
geometry properties such as inner and outer diameters and eccentricity on the variation of flow patterns
significantly increases. Therefore, the liquid holdup cannot be predicted accurately by using Beggs & Brill (1973)
model.
At mid-range inclination angles, frictional losses, hydrostatic pressure gradient and convective acceleration losses
are the three components to be considered in determining total pressure gradient for steady-state flow. For the
flow rate ranges during UBD, it is relevant to neglect acceleration losses term for simplicity. So, frictional pressure
losses and hydrostatic pressure gradient components are required to be determined for vertical and inclined
cases. The combination of gravitational acceleration and annular geometry properties effects play a major role in
increasing the slip ratio between two phases which cause an increase in liquid holdup and consequently an
increase in pressure loss and ECD. Therefore, Beggs & Brill (1973) model which was developed to estimate two
phase fluid flow behavior in pipes could not predict frictional pressure losses accurately in inclined wellbores.
Figure 4 shows that Beggs & Brill (1973) model underestimates the pressure loss of two phase fluid flow in
annulus when compared with the observed values for wellbore inclination angles of 45 and 12.5.

Figure 4: Comparison between the calculated (Beggs & Brill (1973)) and observed pressure gradient at 45 and 12.5
inclination

6. Modified Beggs & Brill (1973) model

The comparison between the model and experimental results shown in figures 2-4 indicated that Beggs & Brill
(1973) model requires modification in order to estimate pressure gradient accurately in annular geometries. The
pressure gradient mainly consists of frictional pressure losses in horizontal and near horizontal sections. To
modify Beggs & Brill (1973) model, a new friction factor has been developed by using measured friction pressure
losses in horizontal test section by applying regression analysis method (see eq. 24 and 25)

= 1.4113 + 20.38

0.03244

0.1381
n


+ 0.611
n


.. (24)

IPTC 16601

where


=
n
.... .. .. .. .. .(25)

Figure 5 shows that by using the modified friction factor proposed in this study, instead of using equation 17,
Beggs & Brill (1973) model can estimate frictional pressure losses with acceptable accuracy in horizontal and
near horizontal annuli.

Figure 5: Comparison between modified Beggs & Brill (1973) model and observed frictional pressure losses in horizontal
and 75 inclined annulus

The main component of pressure component is the hydrostatic pressure gradient caused by elevation and fluid
density changes at inclined and vertical wellbore sections. Assuming that the frictional pressure losses do not
depend on inclination variation, modified friction factor is also used to estimate the frictional pressure losses at
vertical and inclined wellbore sections. To develop a new correlation for hydrostatic pressure gradient estimation
in UBD operations, the effects of pressure, temperature and void fraction on the density of drilling fluids should be
considered. In this study, it is assumed that the effects of temperature and pressure on the density of liquid phase
are negligible. The effect of temperature and pressure on gas phase density can be calculated by using the ideal
gas law.

=






.... .. .. .. .. .(26)

Where
3
= gas density (lb/ft )





= gas molar mass (lb/mol)
3.
-1


= gas universal constant (ft psia/R.lb-mol )


= pressure (psia)


= temperature (F)
The liquid holdup correlation should be modified to consider the effect of void fraction in the annular geometry.

10

IPTC 16601

For this purpose, firstly, the hydrostatic pressure gradient was determined by subtracting the calculated frictional
pressure loss value from the measured pressure gradient for inclined and vertical test sections. Then, equations
21 and 22 can be successfully used to calculate mixture density and liquid holdup, respectively, using the
experimental data. The theoretical values for liquid holdup were also evaluated via Beggs & Brill (1973) model for
the experimental conditions. Finally, the correlation between obtained liquid holdup from experimental data and
Beggs & Brill (1973) model was developed via equations 27-28.
If 0
60
If 60
90
Where


(
)


(
)


(
) =

= 1.0064

(
) + 0.0917.... .. (27)

=

(
) .... .. ... (28)

Liquid holdup in annular geometry

Combining the results of equations 27 and 28 to step 2, the determination of liquid holdup, the effect of annular
geometry can be taken into the account in Beggs & Brill (1973) model. Figures 6 and 7 indicate that replacing the
new developed friction factor correlation (eq. 21) and adding liquid hold up correlations can improve the accuracy
of Beggs & Brill (1973) model for inclined and vertical annular geometries.
7. ECD Calculation Procedure by Modified Beggs & Brill model Well Simulation
The following procedure can be applied to calculate ECD in a well drilled with gasified fluids.
1. The pressure and mass flow rates should be measured at the surface, and superficial velocities and
density of gas are calculated for a short interval (i.e., around 50 feet) using equation 22 and following
equations


=
.

 





.... .. .. (29)

Where










.



=
.

 





...(30)

= Mud Mass Flow Rate (gpm)

3
= Injection Gas Volumetric Flow Rate (sft /bbl)
= Outer Diameter (inch)
= Inner Diameter (inch)

2. Based on the superficial velocities and fluid properties, flow pattern and liquid holdup in the first interval
of wellbore are calculated by applying step 1 & 2 described in section 3 and equations 27 and 28.
3. Mixture density and friction factor are determined using equations 22 and 24, respectively, in the first
interval of wellbore.
4. The pressure at the bottom of the first interval is calculated by using steps 4 and 5, described in section
3.
5. ECD is calculated using following equation



.(31)
ECD =

.
 

6. The pressure at the bottom of first interval is used to estimate the fluid properties and superficial
velocities at the second interval by repeating steps 1-5.
7. The procedure is repeated until ECD at the bottom hole or at the interested depth is predicted.
It is time consuming to perform these calculations by hand. Therefore, spreadsheets can be used to perform the
calculations faster.

IPTC 16601

11

Figure 6: Comparison between modified Beggs & Brill model and observed pressure gradients at 45 and 12.5 inclined
annulus

The following two examples illustrate the comparison of modified Beggs & Brill model performance with the
procedure presented in the GRI Underbalanced Drilling Manual [28] (which is referred as GRI method in this
paper).
Example 1
Consider a well that is to be drilled to 6000 feet. Determine pressure and ECD variation profile versus depth. The
3
air injection ratio is 34.59 ft /bbl of drilling mud. The drilling fluid rate is 250 gpm. The hole size is 8.5 in. and the
outer diameter of the drillpipe is 4.5 inches. It is assumed that the surface temperature is 60 F and the
geothermal gradient is 1F/100 feet. The returns are being vented through a mud/gas separator and the surface
pressure is assumed to be 14.7 psia. The calculation interval length will be 100 feet. The plastic viscosity of
drilling fluid is 10cp [28].The results of the ECD calculations using the GRI method and modified Beggs & Brill
method are presented in Figures 7 and 8.

12

IPTC 16601

Figure 7: Comparison between the calculated ECD by modified Beggs & Brill model and GRI method for Example-1

Figure 8: Comparison between the calculated annular pressure distribution by modified Beggs & Brill model and GRI
method for Example-1 (vertical well)

Example 2
A build-and-hold pattern-type well is to be drilled to 8000 feet at the TVD of 3600 feet. The kickoff point is at 2500
feet and the built rate is 5/100 ft. Pressure and ECD distribution profile versus depth will be determined. The air
3
injection ratio is 34.59 ft /bbl of drilling mud. The drilling fluid rate is 250 gpm. The hole size is 8.5 in. and the outer
diameter of the drillpipe is 4.5 inches. It is assumed that the surface temperature is 60F and the geothermal
gradient is 1F/100 feet. The returns are being vented through a mud/gas separator and the surface pressure is

IPTC 16601

13

assumed to be 14.7 psia. The calculation interval length will be 100 feet. The plastic viscosity of drilling fluid is 10
cp.

Figure 9: Comparison between the calculated ECD by modified Beggs & Brill model and GRI method for Example-2
(directional well)

Figure 10: Comparison between the calculated annular pressure distribution by modified Beggs & Brill model and GRI
method for Example-2 (directional well)

14

IPTC 16601

As shown in figures 7-10, the modified Beggs & Brill model predicted annular pressure and ECD higher than the
GRI method introduced in reference no: 28, because the modified Beggs & Brill (1973) model can consider the
effects of slip ratio between two phases and annular geometry during the calculations. It can be concluded that
these factors can significantly affect annular pressure and ECD calculations during UBD operation and ignoring
these factors can lead to some major well control problems.
8. Conclusions
The main objective of this study is to determine whether Beggs & Brill (1973) model can be used to
predict the pressure distribution inside an annulus as well as estimate the equivalent circulating density during
underbalanced drilling operations when aerated fluids are used, or not. The comparisons were made between
Beggs & Brill (1973) model pressure gradient predictions for gas-liquid two phase fluids flow in annular
geometries and the experimental observations. The effect of inclination on the total pressure gradient has been
considered. Experiments have been carried out to measure pressure losses of liquid-gas flow in annulus at five
different inclinations; 90, 60, 75, 45 and 12.5 from vertical. The measurements obtained were used as a
database for comparisons.
Results showed that Beggs & Brill (1973) model is accurate enough in estimating the pressure gradient of
two-phase flow in annuli for horizontal and near horizontal wellbore sections for low gas and liquid superficial
velocities, and low slip ratio between the two phases. However, by increasing the gas and liquid superficial
velocities and slip ratio between the two phases in inclined wellbore sections, the method underestimates the
pressure gradient. This might be due to the fact that Beggs & Brill (1973) model was originally developed to
predict pressure losses in circular pipes. Therefore, the model might not be as accurate when applied to predict
pressure losses for annular geometries. In order the increase the accuracy for annular geometries, modifications
on Beggs & Brill method were developed for two-phase flow in inclined sections. The modifications on liquid
holdup and friction factor to estimate pressure gradient in annular geometries improved the performance of the
model significantly when compared with the experimental results.
Finally, ECD calculations showed that modified Beggs & Brill model results are higher than that of GRI
model, most probably because of the better consideration of slip between the phases.
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully appreciate Middle East Technical University and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS for the
facilities provided throughout this project.
References
[1]
Babajan, S. & Qutob, H. (2010). Underbalanced Drilling Technology adds Reserves and Enhances
Ultimate Recovery SPE Paper 136117 presented at the SPE Production and Operations Conference and
Exhibition held in Tunis, Tunisia.
[2]
Guo, B., & Ghalambor, A. (2002).Gas Volume Requirements for Underbalanced Drilling (pp.1-18)
Oklahama PennWell Corporation
[3]
Guo, B., Sun, K., Ghalambor, A. (2003). SPE Paper 81070 presented at SPE Latin America & Caribbean
Petroleum Engineering Conference.
[4]
Charles, R., & Tian, S. (2008). Sometimes Neglected Hydraulic Parameters of Underbalanced and
Managed Pressure Drilling. SPE/IADC Paper 114667 presented at Managed Pressure Drilling and
Underbalanced Operations Conference and Exhibition, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
[5]
Eck-Olsen, J., & Vollen, E. (2004). Challenges in Implementing UBO Technology SPE/IADC paper
presented at SPE/IADC Underbalanced Technology Conference and Exhibition, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
[6]
Ettehadi, R.O. (2010). Determination of Cutting Transport Properties of Gasified Drilling Fluids (Doctor
of Philosophy Dissertation, Middle East Technical University, 2010)
[7]
Vieira, P., Larroque, F., Al-Saleh, A.M., Ismael, H., Qutob, H.H. & Chopty, J.R.(2007) Kuwait Employs
Underbalanced Drilling Technology to Improve Drilling Performance While Simultaneously Evaluating the
Reservoir SPE Paper 106672 presented at Offshore Europe 2007 held in Aberdeen, Scotland, U.K.
[8]
Alajmi, S.E. & Schubert, J.J. (2003). SPE/IADC Paper 85322 presented at SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling
Technology Conference and Exhibition, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
[9]
Harris, O.O. & Osisanya, S.O. (2005). SPE Paper 97018 presented at SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.

IPTC 16601

15

[10]
Wallis, G.B.: One-Dimensional Two-Phase Flow, McGraw-Hill Book Co. Inc., New York City (1969).
[11]
Lockhart, R.W., and Martinelli, R.C.: Proposed Correlation of Data for Isothermal Two-Phase, TwoComponent Flow in Pipes, Chemical Engineering Progress 45, No. 1, 39-48 (1949).
[12]
Duns, H.Jr. and Ros, N.C.J.: Vertical Flow of Gas and Liquid Mixtures in Wells, Proc., Sixth world
Petroleum Congress, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany (1963) 451.
[13]
Brill, J.P. & Mukherjee, H. (1999). Multiphase Flow in Wells (pp. 28-48). Texas Society of Petroleum
Engineer
[14]
Beggs, H.D., and Brill, J.P.: A Study of Two-Phase Flow in Inclined Pipes, JPT (May 1973) 607; Trans.,
AIME, 255.
[15]
Taitel, Y., and Dukler, A.E.: A Model for Predicting Flow Regime Transition in Horizontal and Near
Horizontal Gas-Liquid Flow, AIChE J. (1976) 22 No. 1, 47.
[16]
Barnea D. A unified model for predicting flow-pattern transitions for the whole range of pipe inclinations
Int. J. Multiphase Flow 13 (1987), pp. 112.
[17]
Sadatomi, M., Sato, Y., and Saruwatari, S.: Two-Phase Flow in Vertical Noncircular Channels, Int. J.
Multiphase Flow 8, 641-655 (1982).
[18]
Caetano, E.F.; Shoham, O.; Brill, J.P.; 1992a, Upward Vertical Two-Phase Flow through an Annulus,
Part-I: Single Phase Friction Factor, Taylor Bubble Velocity and Flow Pattern Prediction, J. Energy Resource.
Technol., 114, pp 1-13.
[19]
Caetano, E.F.; Shoham, O.; Brill, J.P.; 1992b, Upward Vertical Two-Phase Flow through an Annulus,
Part-II: Modeling Bubble, Slug and Annular Flow, J. Energy Resource Technology, 114, pp 14-30.
[20]
Hasan, A.R.; Kabir, C.S.; Rahman, R.; (Feb., 1988), Predicting Liquid Gradient In A Pumping-Well
Annulus, SPE Prod. Eng., 3, pp 113-120.
[21]
Hasan, A.R. and Kabir, C.S.; 1992, Two-Phase Flow in Vertical and Inclined Annuli, Int. J. Multiphase
Flow, 18, pp 279-293.
[22]
Sunthankar, A.A.: Study of the Flow of Aerated Drilling Fluids in Annulus under Ambient Temperature
and Pressure Conditions, Ms. Thesis, the University of Tulsa, 2000.
[23]
Zhou L., Ahmed R.M., Miska S.Z., Takach N.E., Yu M., Pickell M.B., Experimental Study and Modelling
of Cuttings Transport with Aerated Mud in Horizontal Wellbore at Simulated Down hole Conditions SPE Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 September 2004, Houston, Texas
[24]
Lage, A.C.V.M., Rommetveit, R. and Time, R.W. An Experimental and Theoretical Study of Two-Phase
Flow in Horizontal or Slightly Deviated Fully Eccentric Annuli, SPE paper 62793, IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling
Technology, 11-13 September, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
[25]
Reza Ettehadi Osgouei, Evren M. Ozbayoglu Murat A. Ozbayoglu and Ertan Yuksel, 2010 Flow pattern
identification of gas-liquid flow through horizontal annular geometries SPE Oil and Gas India Conference and
Exhibition, 20-22 January 2010, Mumbai, India
[26]
Osgouei R.E., Ozbayoglu M.E., and Ozbayoglu A.M. 2012 A Mechanistic Model to characterize the Two
Phase Drilling Fluid Flow through inclined Eccentric Annular Geometry SPE Oil and Gas India Conference and
Exhibition, 28-30 March 2012, Mumbai, India.
[27]
Sorgun M, Osgouei R.E, Ozbayoglu, M.E. and Ozbayoglu, A.M., Gas-Liquid Flow Through Horizontal
Eccentric Annuli: CFD and Experiments Compared, Proceedings of ASME-JSME-KSME Joint Fluids Engineering
Conference 2011, July 24-29, 2011, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
[28]
Gas Research Institute Underbalanced Drilling Manual Chapter 5- Page 12-14, 1997 GRI Reference
No: GRI-97/0236