Prediction and analysis of flow behavior during gas kicks considering wellbore–formation coupling and gas solubility
A gas kick is one of the most dangerous phenomena during petroleum drilling operations, which, if not detected and handled in time, can result in hazardous blowout. To better understand and describe the behavior of gas kicks, this study presents a novel transient flow model by taking wellbore–format...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Earth Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1558305/full |
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| author | Yu Su Yu Su Huiyun Ma Lianbin Xia Chi Peng Jianhua Guo Xinyu Shen Jianhong Fu Yijia Tang |
| author_facet | Yu Su Yu Su Huiyun Ma Lianbin Xia Chi Peng Jianhua Guo Xinyu Shen Jianhong Fu Yijia Tang |
| author_sort | Yu Su |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A gas kick is one of the most dangerous phenomena during petroleum drilling operations, which, if not detected and handled in time, can result in hazardous blowout. To better understand and describe the behavior of gas kicks, this study presents a novel transient flow model by taking wellbore–formation coupling and gas solubility into account during drilling operations. Then, the main flow parameters such as gas void fraction, mixture velocity, and mixture density are analyzed in cases that do or do not consider the coupling effects. Furthermore, the flow behaviors for both oil-based mud (OBM) and water-based mud (WBM) are investigated for comparison. Finally, the reliable indicators of monitoring gas kicks in OBM and WBM drilling are discussed. The results indicate that the gas void fraction increases after an initial decrease with the increased wellbore depth with coupling effects, while it constantly decreases with the increase in the well depth with non-coupling effects. The variation in bottom-hole pressure (BHP) with gas kick time is similar in both cases. Both the mixture velocity and mixture density change more significantly in the middle–lower part of the wellbore compared with non-coupling effects. In particular, the performances of the surface response to a gas kick are quite different compared to the WBM under similar conditions in OBM drilling, and the potentially dangerous gas kick is easily neglected. More importantly, it is confirmed that pit gain is more beneficial for detecting gas kicks compared with the annulus return flow rate (ARFR) for WBM, but neither of these indicators is suitable for gas kick detection in OBM drilling. The results identify pit gain as a reliable indicator for detecting gas kicks in WBM drilling, while real-time bottom-hole pressure (BHP) monitoring is emphasized for OBM drilling under low influx rates. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0424f0debfb34f168b5946786d7f008d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-6463 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Earth Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-0424f0debfb34f168b5946786d7f008d2025-08-20T03:07:09ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632025-04-011310.3389/feart.2025.15583051558305Prediction and analysis of flow behavior during gas kicks considering wellbore–formation coupling and gas solubilityYu Su0Yu Su1Huiyun Ma2Lianbin Xia3Chi Peng4Jianhua Guo5Xinyu Shen6Jianhong Fu7Yijia Tang8Engineering Technology Research Institute, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaEngineering Technology Research Institute, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaEngineering Technology Research Institute, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaEngineering Technology Research Institute, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaEngineering Technology Research Institute, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaEngineering Technology Research Institute, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaA gas kick is one of the most dangerous phenomena during petroleum drilling operations, which, if not detected and handled in time, can result in hazardous blowout. To better understand and describe the behavior of gas kicks, this study presents a novel transient flow model by taking wellbore–formation coupling and gas solubility into account during drilling operations. Then, the main flow parameters such as gas void fraction, mixture velocity, and mixture density are analyzed in cases that do or do not consider the coupling effects. Furthermore, the flow behaviors for both oil-based mud (OBM) and water-based mud (WBM) are investigated for comparison. Finally, the reliable indicators of monitoring gas kicks in OBM and WBM drilling are discussed. The results indicate that the gas void fraction increases after an initial decrease with the increased wellbore depth with coupling effects, while it constantly decreases with the increase in the well depth with non-coupling effects. The variation in bottom-hole pressure (BHP) with gas kick time is similar in both cases. Both the mixture velocity and mixture density change more significantly in the middle–lower part of the wellbore compared with non-coupling effects. In particular, the performances of the surface response to a gas kick are quite different compared to the WBM under similar conditions in OBM drilling, and the potentially dangerous gas kick is easily neglected. More importantly, it is confirmed that pit gain is more beneficial for detecting gas kicks compared with the annulus return flow rate (ARFR) for WBM, but neither of these indicators is suitable for gas kick detection in OBM drilling. The results identify pit gain as a reliable indicator for detecting gas kicks in WBM drilling, while real-time bottom-hole pressure (BHP) monitoring is emphasized for OBM drilling under low influx rates.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1558305/fullgas kickdrilling operationflow behaviorgas solubilitywellbore-formation couplinggas kick detection |
| spellingShingle | Yu Su Yu Su Huiyun Ma Lianbin Xia Chi Peng Jianhua Guo Xinyu Shen Jianhong Fu Yijia Tang Prediction and analysis of flow behavior during gas kicks considering wellbore–formation coupling and gas solubility Frontiers in Earth Science gas kick drilling operation flow behavior gas solubility wellbore-formation coupling gas kick detection |
| title | Prediction and analysis of flow behavior during gas kicks considering wellbore–formation coupling and gas solubility |
| title_full | Prediction and analysis of flow behavior during gas kicks considering wellbore–formation coupling and gas solubility |
| title_fullStr | Prediction and analysis of flow behavior during gas kicks considering wellbore–formation coupling and gas solubility |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prediction and analysis of flow behavior during gas kicks considering wellbore–formation coupling and gas solubility |
| title_short | Prediction and analysis of flow behavior during gas kicks considering wellbore–formation coupling and gas solubility |
| title_sort | prediction and analysis of flow behavior during gas kicks considering wellbore formation coupling and gas solubility |
| topic | gas kick drilling operation flow behavior gas solubility wellbore-formation coupling gas kick detection |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1558305/full |
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