D R I L L I N G A N D C O M P L E T I O N
DEEPWATER DRILLING
WITH AERATED FLUID
Underbalanced drilling (UBD) has
increased reservoir productivity in
several areas around the world.
Offshore, UBD has been limited to
fixed platforms. With the increase in
deepwater drilling, it is imperative
that this technology be technically
and economically viable from float-
ing vessels as well. The full-length
paper describes the design and plan-
ning of an offshore well to be drilled
with aerated fluid.
UBD
The most important benefit of UBD is the large
reduction in formation damage that leads to
higher than expected well productivity. UBD
allows better formation evaluation and
improves drilling performance. To overcome
the difficulties involved in UBD offshore, a
joint-industry project (JIP) called offshore
drilling with lightweight fluids was initiated.
The purpose of the first phase of the project
was to identify the critical issues associated
with safety and technical feasibility of applying
aerated-fluid technology from floating vessels.
DEEPWATER CHALLENGES
Use of an aerated fluid to drill a well pre-
sents special difficulties if the operation is
to be done from a floating vessel. The fol-
lowing are directly related to aerated-fluid
applications in deepwater.
Four-phase separator dimensioned to
fit on a platform.
Better hydraulics control to determine
actual equivalent circulating density
(ECD) correctly.
Equipment configuration to control
the well (rotating diverter).
Other important things to be considered when
drilling with aerated fluids, but not restricted
to deepwater applications, are operational pro-
cedures, cuttings transport, and wellbore sta-
This article is a synopsis of paper SPE
52787, Application of Aerated-Fluid
Drilling in Deepwater, by Edson Y.
Nakagawa, SPE, Helio Santos, SPE, and
J.C. Cunha, SPE, Petrobrs, originally
presented at the 1999 SPE/IADC Drilling
Conference, Amsterdam, 911 March.
42
F L U I D S
bility. Equipment modifications to adapt UBD
technology from onshore rigs to jack-up plat-
forms were not as drastic as equipment
changes necessary to allow UBD from semi-
submersibles. Drillships are not being consid-
ered because of their space limitations.
JIP
Petrobrs main hydrocarbon reserves in
Brazil are in the deep water Campos basin.
When the company decided to use aerated-
fluid drilling in the area, it was noted that
complex modifications of operational proce-
dures and equipment would be required. The
key to success for the JIP was to unite com-
panies with experience in the technology and
similar needs with the ultimate goal of suc-
cessfully implementing UBD in deep water.
The first project steps focused on deter-
mining the feasibility of applying UBD tech-
nology offshore, establishing basic opera-
tional and safety procedures, and equipment
conversion. Because of the high cost of
bringing all the necessary equipment
onboard a floating vessel, the project focused
on preparing a rig that was equipped for
UBD at all times. Operations on this rig
should be easily switched from all-liquid
drilling to aerated-fluid drilling. Ultimately,
switching from liquid to an aerated drilling
fluid will be a matter of installing a rotating
diverter and opening the injection-gas valve.
The amount of underbalance or overbalance
could be adjusted for each particular case.
BENEFITS
The benefits of having the capability to add air
or nitrogen (N2) to the drilling fluid at any
time range from reducing formation damage
to freeing stuck pipe caused by differential
pressure. When lost circulation occurs, instead
of diluting the whole system to reduce
drilling-fluid weight, addition of air will have a
similar effect but it will be much faster. Other
benefits usually associated with UBD are an
increase in rate of penetration, more-reliable
hydrocarbon indication at the surface because
of the low ECD, and better log interpretation.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Drilling Hydraulics. A real-scale test facility
with a 1279-m vertical well equipped with
sensors and a data-acquisition system was
used to evaluate ECD and temperature for dif-
ferent gas/liquid ratios. The results were used
to calibrate the correlations in hydraulic mod-
els. Available hydraulic simulators were com-
pared. Each simulator gave a different result
for a specific well configuration, illustrating
the importance of real-scale tests to determine
the best correlation/model for each case.
Cuttings Transport. Both laboratory and
real-scale experiments were conducted to
determine the gas-phase influence on the
carrying capacity of the fluid. Experiments
conducted have proved that gas addition
improves carrying capacity of the liquid.
Formation Damage. In addition to studies to
estimate reservoir damage caused by conven-
tional drilling, laboratory tests are being con-
ducted to evaluate reservoir damage caused
by aerated fluid. Such effects as changing the
rock wettability might be important factors.
Four-Phase Separator. Aerated-fluid drill-
ing requires an efficient surface separator.
This separator should be capable of sepa-
rating water, oil, gas, and cuttings. This is a
critical issue for the project because of
space limitations on offshore platforms. A
new conceptual separator is being devel-
oped with a significant footprint reduction
compared with ones currently available.
Rotating Diverter. Rotating diverter type
and position, as well as configuration of all
related equipment used for well control, are
important issues. The rotating diverter will
be placed at the surface because no subsea
rotating equipment was available on the
market. The two most likely locations for the
rotating diverter were below the ball joint or
on top of the slip joint. After 6 months
intense discussion among the JIP compa-
nies, it was decided that, for the first well
drilled underbalanced, the rotating diverter
would be located on top of the slip joint.
Operational Procedures. Many of the con-
ventional operational procedures regularly
used onshore could not be used offshore. In a
deepwater environment, the method usually
NOVEMBER 1999
 D R I L L I N G
used to pull the drillstring out of the hole
onshore could not be used. This procedure
would keep the entire riser empty during trip-
ping. This topic and other practical procedures
are being discussed with offshore specialists.
FIELD TEST
The first well to be drilled with an aerated fluid
from a floating vessel will be in waters less than
500 m deep. This is because the collapse pres-
sure the riser can sustain when full of gas lim-
its water depth to 500 m. Although this limita-
tion can be overcome by use of a differential-
pressure valve, every potential problem area is
being eliminated for the first application.
The drilling schedule is another impor-
tant restriction. Two possible rigs were visit-
ed to check layout feasibility. Petrobrs XVII,
a semisubmersible, was selected. Lines, sep-
arator instrumentation, and all related
equipment were designed. All modifications
were planned to allow the rig, in the future,
to have the capability of using aerated fluid
any time with minimal modifications. After
the rig is prepared, N2-generation equip-
ment will be the only system part that will
need to be transported onboard. Switching
from liquid to aerated drilling fluid will
require only small rearrangements.
NOVEMBER 1999
A N D C O M P L E T I O N
The well selected as the best candidate for
this application will be drilled in the Albacora
field in the Campos basin off the coast of
Brazil. The well will be drilled with aerated
fluid (N2 and liquid) but still slightly over-
balanced. Aerated fluid will be used only in
the last well section when drilling into the
reservoir. Because the reservoirs are already
depleted, use of lightweight aerated fluid is
expected to reduce drilling risks and costs.
FUTURE NEEDS
After the conclusion of the first phase of the
project, the JIP member companies decided
to continue the venture. Several additional
items were added to the original list and
will be addressed in the second phase of
the project.
Formation Damage. During feasibility stud-
ies, it is extremely difficult to estimate expect-
ed formation-damage reduction that will
result from use of a particular lightweight
fluid. In the second phase of the JIP, the effect
of differential pressure and timing on perme-
ability variation for specific reservoir rocks
will be evaluated. The objective is to develop
a quantitative model that could be used in
feasibility analyses of potential applications.
F L U I D S
Wellbore Stability. Because shale has an
extremely low permeability, lower fluid
pressures will cause stresses on the well-
bore wall that can cause rock failure.
Several wells have been abandoned when
drilling underbalanced because of shale
collapse. Understanding shale mechanical
properties and interaction with drilling flu-
ids is essential for prediction of wellbore-
wall failure.
CONCLUSIONS
After its first year, the JIP has advanced the
goal of drilling the first deepwater well with
aerated fluid. When fully developed, UBD
from floating vessels will allow more effi-
cient drilling of horizontal and multilateral
wells in depleted deepwater fields. Use of
an aerated-fluid drilling technique from a
floating vessel, even if slightly overbal-
anced, will represent a tremendous step for-
ward in advancing this technology.
Please read the full-length paper for
additional detail, illustrations, and ref-
erences. The paper from which the
synopsis has been taken has not been
peer reviewed.
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