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Presentation

Oil Rocks

Oil Rocks is the first operating offshore oil platform in the world , which plays a very
crucial role in Oil industry of Azerbaijan. This industrial settlement is the part of the
municipality of Çilov-Neft Daşları in the Caspian sea. Oil Rocks located 110km far from the
capital of Azerbaijan –Baku, and 55 km away from the closest shore in the Caspian Sea.
The history of Oil Rocks starts from the middle of the 20th century. The preliminary work for
the drilling the first exploration well at the Oil Rocks started in June 1949. In 24 August
1949 team of the future” Hero of the Socialist Labor” Mikhail Kaverochkin started to drill the
first well#1 (image 2) there and got the result on 7th November of the same year by
exploiting long-awaited oil. Moreover,2280 wells have been drilled and put into exploitation
during 70 years. Nowadays, there are 492 wells operating and the average oil production
per well is equal to 5.5 tones

Christmas tree

Casing and cementing process

Our tutor explained the casing terminology and how casing strings are installed sequentially. The
1st casing string to be run is the conductor therefore it has the biggest diameter. The height is
commonly predetermined at nearly 20 – 30 meters (100ft) below the seabed. The main function of
conductor pipe is to seal off unconsolidated formations at shallow depths and isolate water from the
ground level. The next one is surface casing which is installed after the conductor and fitted about
1000-1500ft below the ground level. The primary functions of surface casing are to block fresh
water sands, to support attached wellhead and BOP apparatuses on the top part, and to provide
suspension of other casing strings. Following this, intermediate or protection casing string is run
with the aim of isolation of troublesome formations from the production casing. The number of
intermediate casing strings can change depending on the number of confronted problems due to
troublesome formations. It was stated that a typical well construction at Neft Dashlari consists of
two intermediate casing strings. The next casing is production casing which is run through the
pay zone or just above the pay zone. It is applied to seal off production zones, to house and protect
tubing. Since casing is performed, next process is cementing whose primary jobs are to entirely
isolate or seal off all of the petroleum zones from the wellbore and to keep the casings firmly.

Drilling methods applied at Neft Dashlari

Moreover, we were informed about the main drilling methods applied at Neft Dashlari. Our tutor
especially mentioned two of those techniques: turbine and rotary drilling. It was stated that in
terms of turbine drilling, a turbodrill powered by drilling fluid or mud is attached to the end of drill
string which causes the bit to rotate. Geologist also emphasized the great role of drilling mud.
There are a lot of applications of drilling mud during drilling operations: to bring rock cuttings to the
surface of the earth, to lubricate and cool the drill bit, to provide hydrostatic pressure against
formation and so on. It was noted that the density and viscosity of drilling mud is increased as drill
bit moves to the deeper part of formation and formation pressure increases. Another frequently
used drilling technique was rotary drilling. In this drilling process, the drill bit on the end of drill
string is rotated with the help of rotary table. Rotation process can be
carried out by top drive mechanism as well which is more innovative
technology. Rotary drilling is usually applied for vertical and slightly angled
drilling which are conventional drilling types for Neft Dashlari.

Electric Drilling: In this drilling process, the special electric engine is


lowered the bottom of the well and placed on the drilling bit.

Oil Extraction methods

Gas-Lift:

The gas-lift valve was introduced to students and the engineer gave
detailed information about these valves and the working principle of them.
He mentioned that gas-lift valves were applied in United States in 1940 for
the first time while their application at Neft Dashlari happened in 1979.
A gas-lift system requires valves through the production tubing inside Figure 12: Gas-lift Valves
the well. These valves open automatically in order as the gas is
injected which causes fluid to come to the surface. Valves are connected to tubing annulus via the
mandrel so that valves are installed to the tubing inside the mandrel. The engineer mentioned that
gas-lift valves used at Neft Dashlari are divided into two types: Q25 (mainly for shallow wells) 5Q25
(used for deep wells). Typically, valves should be run at a specified interval through the tubing.
Intervals are measured before the valves are installed into the tubing. It is highly important to pay
attention to the sequence of valves in the well. If they are not located at the correct intervals and
sequence, unfortunately, lifting system will fail. As it is noted before, valves open automatically
when they meet a specific pressure. As soon as gas is injected to the tubing, initially, 1 st valve is
opened and gas contacts with the fluid. Due to the pressure difference through the tubing, valves
are opened and closed sequentially. This process continues till the whole column has been injected
with gas.

Problems in oil production and its solutions

. Oil produced from Palchig Pilpilesi is rich in paraffin, asphaltenes, resins, and waxes so that it is
heavy oil and difficult to produce. Pore volumes and wellbore tubing can be plugged by the
depositions of solid asphaltenes which prevents the flow of liquid. Typically, pressure and
temperature changes are the driving forces for asphaltene deposition. There are various
techniques that are used for coping with asphaltene precipitation. Applying chemical solvents
against asphaltene deposition is one of the common methods used at Neft Dashlari. We were
informed that solvent injection to the pipeline should be continuously performed because chemical
solvents have short-term effects (nearly for 1-2 month period) against precipitation.

Another reason behind producing problems is paraffin deposition which can lead to a
considerable decrease in oil production unless some remedial procedures are taken. Engineer
mentioned that there is a range of methods to use for removal of paraffin accumulations.
Mechanical removal can be stated as one of the most commonly applied methods for Neft Dashlari.
It was highlighted that since 2014, the equipment called “PADUS” is used at Neft Dashlari to
remove paraffin deposition. This apparatus is ordered from Russia and satisfies with its
effectiveness. With the help of scrapers and knives, “PADUS” removes a paraffin accumulation in
the wellbore. One of the main advantages of “PADUS” is that the equipment is used when the well
is in production which means that there is no need to stop the production.

The next remedial action taken for the removal of paraffin deposits is usage of solvents. Engineer
notified that the most popular and common solvent in order to remove paraffin is crude oil itself.
The method is called “hot oiling” being very cost-effective and successful. In this technique, crude
oil is taken from the stock tank and heated up which is then injected into the tubing. High
temperatures provide the solubilization of paraffin accumulation in the injected oil.

Another problem which can be encountered during oil production is sand production. Sand
production is undesirable because it can cause sand plugs in wells, erosion of equipment and
decrease in production rate. As a solution to these problems, different sand control methods are
operated. In order to recover well productivity, sand plugs need to be cleaned out from the well.
One technique for sand cleanout is to install the sand plug bailer on wireline into the tubing or
casing. Engineer mentioned that it may be required to repeat sand cleanout processes periodically
which give a rise to loss in production and additional maintenance costs. Moreover, sulfanol acid
can be pumped to pipeline in order to prevent plugging of sand in the tubing. If large amount of
sand is plugged in the wellbore and all operated remedial actions failed, exploitation of the well is
stopped and it is shut off for heavy repair.

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