Mechanism of pressure management by injecting nitrogen in casing annulus of deepwater wells

Abstract

The influence factors of annular pressure buildup are analyzed, and the temperature and pressure characteristics of annulus trap medium are simulated for deepwater wells. The method of pressure management by injecting nitrogen in casing annulus is proposed based the experiment result. Limited by the well structure and subsea system, long casing annulus exists between technical casing and production casing and it is filled with water-based, synthetic based or oil-based drilling fluid. In the process of oil/gas test and production, the temperature of the trapped fluid rises significantly under the influence of the well-bore fluid and the trap pressure buildup appears because of liquid heat expansion. Experiments show that isothermal compressibility coefficient and thermal expansion coefficient are the key influencing factors for annulus pressure buildup. Trap pressure is very sensitive to the type of trapped medium (liquid, gas). Injecting 5%−20% volume fraction of nitrogen into the annulus can effectively control the annulus pressure build-up, and avoid casing collapse. Field practice shows that the method, convenient and highly reliable, can ensure the borehole safety during testing and production of deepwater oil and gas. Key words: deepwater well, annular pressure buildup, annular temperature, nitrogen foam, pressure management