AEA Petroleum Services (APS), Harwell, England, is conducting an industry sponsored study to improve the design of mud/gas separators used as well control devices, particularly during gas kicks.
The project has attracted funding from seven oil producers and drilling contractors as well as Britain's Health and Safety Executive, which is responsible for safety in the U.K. North Sea.
APS said the growing need to drill wells with higher downhole pressures and temperatures, along with the use of muds that allow kick gas to go into solution, made design of mud/gas separators more critical.
Currently, separators are designed using rule of thumb methods and might lack capacity for such operations, making the control of gas kicks more difficult, time consuming, costly, and potentially more dangerous, APS said.
APS will use a combination of a pilot scale study and computer modeling to find the optimum separator parameters. It also will review current designs to establish best practices for them.
APS will perform experimental studies on a variety of mud/gas separator type's using pressures and temperatures similar to those found during drilling.
Hydrocarbon gas/mud mixtures will be used, as well as nitrogen/mud analogues to simulate a wide range of flow conditions experienced during control of a gas kick.
Results of the research will be integrated into guidelines for design and selection of mud/gas separators.
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