Experimental Investigation of Gas Kick behavior during Shut-in Condition

Chinemerem E. Obi*, A. Rashid Hasan, Luis Abril, Kaushik Manikonda, Mohammad A. Rahman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The fluid flow pattern in the annulus when a gas kick occurs, changes as the kick migrates towards the surface. Experimental investigation of the evolution of this flow behavior is performed in the annulus of a 2.375-inch drill-pipe and a 5.5-inch outer-casing 140 ft tall. Gas kicks were initiated at 75 psi and 85 psi injection pressures. The gas kick time ranged from 30 to 500 seconds and rates from 0.03 ft3/min to 0.3 ft3/min for air and carbon dioxide. The kicks simulate different gas-liquid mass ratios of about 2 to 230 micro-units for air and 800 to 1540 micro-units for carbon dioxide. The observation shows that kick pressure and duration of the kick do not affect the initial Taylor bubble or kick impact significantly. However, the initial kick pressure and injection time significantly affected the flow pattern, trailing the initial impact "After Taylor bubble" flow. The "After Taylor bubble" flow pattern changed from bubbly flow to dispersed bubbles and then to churn flow as the kick pressure and duration increased. These observations are more appreciable towards the surface, especially when the influx type is carbon dioxide, due to the higher gas solubility of carbon dioxide in water as the pressure increases downwards. The onset of turbulence following the initial kick sign changes with the initial kick pressure and influx of mass. The drill-pipe eccentricity also affects the in-situ flow pattern of the rising fluid influx. This work also presents gas kick data for shut-in wellbores with air and carbon dioxide influx.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)141-150
Number of pages10
JournalProceedings of the Thermal and Fluids Engineering Summer Conference
Volume2022-May
Publication statusPublished - 2022
Externally publishedYes
Event7th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference, TFEC 2022 - Las Vegas, United States
Duration: 15 May 202218 May 2022

Keywords

  • Gas Kick
  • Kick Migration Index
  • Shut-In. Kick detection
  • Taylor bubble

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