Flow Diverting for Reducing Wellbore Erosion in Gas-Drilling Shale Gas Wells

With the downturn in natural gas prices, it is vitally important to reduce the cost of drilling shale gas wells. Gas-percussion drilling has been recently employed in shale gas field development. It increases footage capacity by nearly 60%. However, wellbore erosion by the high-velocity gas has been recognized as a problem that hinders further application of the technology. This paper investigates a potential solution to the problem using a new type of flow-diverting joint (FDJ). The FDJ with exchangeable nozzles can be installed at the shoulder of the drill collar to partially bypass gas flow into the annulus between the drill pipe and open hole. Hydraulics computations with a state-of-the-art computer program indicate that this technique will allow for the use of high-gas injection rate to carry drill cuttings while reducing the gas flow rate through the drill bit. As a result, the gas velocity in the drill collar–open hole annulus can be maintained at a safe level to prevent hole erosion. The reduced gas flow rate through the drill bit also minimizes wellbore enlargement at hole bottom. Sensitivity analyses with the computer program show that the FDJ-nozzle area to bit-nozzle area ratio is directly proportional to the annulus area ratio, and the bypassed flow rate fraction remains constant as drilling progresses. This makes the FDJ system easy to design and practical to use over a long section of hole to be drilled.