The present invention relates to the field of offshore drilling technologies, and in particular to a method for offshore shallow core drilling with dynamic vessel positioning and double drilling driver heads under surge compensation at mouths of outer casings and heave compensation during drilling of the casings.
Unlike land drilling, offshore core drilling operations are confronted with strong winds and waves and complex seabed bottoms, leading to difficulty in core drilling. As a result, casings are usually required for wall protection. At present, land core drilling technologies have been well established, but drilling technologies over waterways, in particular offshore core drilling technologies have not been well developed. There is no safe and applicable core drilling method for strata where it is difficult to perform core drilling.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and to provide a method for offshore dual-drive core drilling with three layers of casings under surge compensation, which may be used in core drilling of strata that are difficult to drill in the seabed.
To achieve the above object, the technical solutions of the present invention are as follows.
A method for offshore dual-drive core drilling with three layers of casings under surge compensation includes the steps of:
Further, the method further includes:
Further, the method further includes:
Preferably, the outer casings are
casings.
Preferably, the inner casings are casings each having an outer diameter of 116 mm.
Preferably, the drill pipes each have an outer diameter of 97 mm.
Preferably, the mud is xanthan gum mud for taking away the rock debris and lubricating the drill pipes to prevent borehole collapse.
Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:
Description of reference signs: 1—traveling block; 2—top driver; 3—hydraulic elevator; 4—pulley; 5—winch; 6—vertical-spindle type drill; 7—drilling vessel; 8—moon pool cover; 9—pneumatic slip; 10—moon pool; 11—rock stratum; 12—seabed template; 13—casing and drilling tool; 14—mud recovery joint; 15—mud recovery pool; 16—mud filter; 17—mud pool; 18—mud pump; 19—drill guide rail; 20—counterweight; 21—drawing head; 22—steel wire rope; 201—drill pipe; 202—inner casing; 203—outer casing; 301—surge compensator.
To make the above objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easier to understand, the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and particular embodiments.
In this embodiment, a method for offshore dual-drive core drilling with three layers of casings under surge compensation includes two portions.
(I) A device for offshore dual-drive core drilling with three layers of casings under surge compensation as shown in
The drilling vessel 7 includes a dynamic positioning system, which can allow a wellhead position to reside at designated coordinates by enabling dynamic positioning. The drilling vessel 7 has a deck provided with a moon pool 10 and a tower (not shown); the moon pool 10 is provided with a moon pool cover 8 on the top; the moon pool cover 8 is provided with a pneumatic slip 9 in the center; and an elevatable seabed template 12 is suspended in the moon pool 10.
The pneumatic slip 9 is a wedge block connected to a pneumatic piston, and is opened to allow the outer casings to vertically move and closed to clamp the outer casings, thereby limiting the downward movement of the outer casings.
The seabed template 12 is commercially available and is a tower-type steel space framework welded mainly by taking high-strength H-shaped steel as main members, in which individual portions are connected by means of bolts and shaft pins resistant to seawater corrosion. Tools such as submarine cameras and hydraulic calipers are installed for wellbore positioning, drilling guide of casings or the like. During operation, the seabed template is lowered to the seabed to restrain the rotating and drilling of the outer casings and to clamp the outer casings when the drilling of the outer casings is stopped. Meanwhile, the seabed template may also assist the drilling of the inner casings and the drill pipes.
The drilling tool system may be found in
casings each having an inner diameter of 121.44 mm. The inner casings 202 are casings each having an outer diameter of 116 mm. The drill pipes each have an outer diameter of 97 mm. A plurality of outer casings 203, a plurality of inner casings 202, and a plurality of drill pipes 201 are provided, and may be spliced for drilling for sampling at different depths. The surge compensator 301 is commercially available and is retractable for connecting the outer casings 203, in particular, the uppermost layer and second layer of outer casings. During drilling for sampling, the pneumatic slip 9 clamps the outer casings 203, and the surge compensator 301 can prevent the outer casing 203 below from colliding with wellhead equipment.
The outer-casing drilling system mainly includes a traveling block 1, a top driver 2, and a hydraulic elevator 3. The top driver 2 is installed on the traveling block 1 and is hydraulically driven to provide the outer casings 203 with a rotating and drilling power. The traveling block 1 is installed on a tower of the drilling vessel 7 and located directly above a moon pool 10, and is vertically movable to provide a longitudinal feed for drilling of the outer casings 203. The hydraulic elevator 3 is installed on a flying ring of the top driver 2 to pick the outer casings 203 and assist buckling of the outer casings 203 to achieve butt joint of the outer casings 203.
The inner-casing and drill-pipe drilling system mainly includes a vertical-spindle type drill 6 and a winch 5. The vertical-spindle type drill 6 is configured to provide the inner casings 202 and the drill pipes 201 with a drilling power. The vertical-spindle type drill is commercially available and is movably installed next to the moon pool 10. Under the push of an oil cylinder, the vertical-spindle type drill may move away from the moon pool 10 during drilling of the outer casings, and move close to the moon pool 10 during drilling of the inner casings and the drill pipes. The winch 5 is an electric crane winch is installed on a deck and provided with a matched pulley 4, drawing head 21 and steel wire rope 22. The steel wire rope 22 is wound around the pulley 4 to connect the winch 5 and the drawing head 21 to hoist the inner casings 202 and the drill pipes 201 for butt-joint installation. At the same time, a drill guide rail 19 of the vertical-spindle type drill 6 is provided with a matched counterweight 20. The counterweight coordinates with the winch 5 to adjust the drilling pressures of the inner casings 202 and the drill pipes 201.
The mud circulation system mainly includes a mud recovery pool 15, a mud filter 16, a mud pool 17, and a mud pump 18, which are installed on the deck. The inner casings 202 are connected to the mud recovery pool 15 by means of a mud recovery joint 14 and a pipeline; the mud recovery pool 15 is connected to the mud filter 16 by means of a pipeline; the mud filter 16 is connected to the mud pool 17 by means of a pipeline; the mud pool 17 is connected to the mud pump 18 by means of a pipeline; the mud pump is connected to an inner bore of the drill pipe 201 by means of a pipeline and a rotary joint, whereby a mud circulation loop is formed. As shown in
(II) Core drilling is performed by using the device for offshore dual-drive core drilling with three layers of casings under surge compensation. The core drilling specifically includes the following steps.
(1) The drilling vessel 7 is sailed to a designated station; and dynamic positioning is enabled to stabilize a wellhead at a designated sampling position.
(2) An initial position of the vertical-spindle type drill 6 resides next to the right side of the moon pool 10; the seabed template 12 resides in the moon pool 10; the traveling block 1, the top driver 2 and the hydraulic elevator 3 reside on an uppermost end; and the counterweight 20 is limited to an uppermost end of the drill guide rail 19.
(3) The pneumatic slip 9 is opened; the
outer casing 203 with a drill bit is clamped by the hydraulic elevator 3 and delivered into the pneumatic slip 9 which clamps the outer casing; another
outer casing is continuously clamped with the hydraulic elevator 3 and is aligned to the 5½″ outer casing 203 clamped by the pneumatic slip 9; the two outer casings are tightened and buckled; the step is repeated to connect a plurality of
outer casings 203, such that the
outer casings 203 pass through the pneumatic slip 8, the moon pool 10 and the seabed template 12, till the drill bit is close to a seabed; the surge compensator 301 is connected; and then a further another
outer casing 203 is continuously connected, till the drill bit reaches the seabed.
(4) The seabed template 12 is lowered to the seabed.
(5) The top driver 2 is connected to the
outer casings 203; the top driver 2 is started to drill; the
outer casings 203 are lifted after drilling to a certain depth, such that the surge compensator 301 is in a middle position; then the pneumatic slip 9 is closed to clamp the
outer casings 203; the
outer casings 203 are disconnected from the top driver 2; and the top driver 2 is elevated to leave the
outer casings 203 as a first layer of wall protection casings.
(6) The drawing head 21 is connected to the inner casing 202 of 116 mm with a drill bit; the winch 5 is started to draw the steel wire rope 22 to wind around the pulley 4 to drive the drawing head 21 and the inner casing 202 of 116 mm, and to deliver the inner casing into the corresponding
outer casing 203; the inner casing 202 of 116 mm is clamped to a mouth of the
outer casing 203 by callipers; another inner casing 202 of 116 mm is continuously drawn to an interface of the previous inner casing 202 of 116 mm; the two inner casings are bucked and connected; and this step is repeated to connect a plurality of inner casings 202 of 116 mm, till the drill bit reaches the seabed.
(7) The vertical-spindle type drill 6 is pushed by means of an oil cylinder to move leftwards to a wellhead position to connect the inner casings 202 of 116 mm; the counterweight 20 is connected to the drawing head 21; the limit of the counterweight 20 is released; drilling is started to allow the inner casings 202 of 116 mm to begin to rotate; a drilling pressure is adjusted by means of the winch 5 and the counterweight 20; after drilling to a certain footage, drilling is stopped; the inner casings 202 of 116 mm are disconnected from the vertical-spindle type drill 6 to leave the inner casings 202 of 116 mm as a second layer of casings the counterweight 20 is returned to the uppermost end of the drill guide rail 19; the counterweight 20 is disconnected from the drawing head 21; and the vertical-spindle type drill 6 is returned to the initial position.
(8) The drawing head 21 is connected to the drill pipe 201 of 97 mm with the drill bit; the winch 5 is started to draw the steel wire rope 22 to wind around the pulley 4 to drive the drawing head 21 and the drill pipe 201 of 97 mm, and to deliver the drill pipe into the inner casing 202 of 116 mm; the drill pipe 201 of 97 mm is clamped to a mouth of the inner casing 202 of 116 mm by callipers; another drill pipe 201 of 97 mm is continuously drawn to an interface of a previous drill pipe 202 of 97 mm; the two drill pipes are bucked and connected; and this step is repeated to connect a plurality of drill pipes 202 of 97 mm, till the drill bit reaches the seabed.
(9) The vertical-spindle type drill 6 is pushed by the oil cylinder to move leftwards to the wellhead position to connect the drill pipe 201 of 97 mm; the counterweight 20 is connected to the drawing head 21; the limit of the counterweight 20 is released; drilling is started to allow the drill pipe 201 of 97 mm to begin to rotate; the drilling pressure is adjusted by the winch 5 and the counterweight 20; after drilling to a certain footage, a first round is ended; the drill bit is lifted for core drilling; a rock core sample is taken out from the core-drilling drill bit of the drill pipe 201 of 97 mm; and the sample is cut, cataloged and sealed.
(10) A new round is started by reconnecting the drill pipes 201 of 97 mm, till the seabed is reached; the vertical-spindle type drill 6 is connected; the mud pump 18 is turned on to pump mud from the mud pool 17 into the drill pipes 201 of 97 mm; the mud is transported to the drill bit of the drill pipe 201 of 97 mm to take away internal rock debris from a borehole and to return from the inner casings 202 of 116 mm; the mud carrying the rock debris is returned to the mud recovery pool 15 via the mud recovery joint 14, and then filtered via the mud filter 16 to return to the mud pool 17 to achieve mud circulation; the vertical-spindle type drill 6 is started to sweep the borehole till a sampling horizon is reached; the mud pump is turned off; drilling is started for sampling; after drilling to a certain footage, the current round is ended; the drill bit is lifted for core drilling; a rock core sample is taken out from the core-drilling drill bit of the drill pipe 201 of 97 mm; and the sample is cut, cataloged and sealed.
(11) Step (10) is repeated to achieve continuous sampling.
(12) When the drill pipes 201 of 97 mm exceed the inner casings 202 of 116 mm by an excessively long distance and with perception of a difficulty in mud returning and a risk of borehole collapse, drilling is conducted to advance the inner casings 202 of 116 mm to a further depth, and then step (10) is repeated for sampling.
(13) When the inner casings 202 of 116 at the second layer exceed the
outer casings 203 by an excessively long distance and a difficulty occurs during continuous further drilling, drilling is conducted to advance the
outer casings 203 to a further depth, and then to further advance the inner casings 202 of 116 mm.
In summary, according to the method for offshore dual-drive core drilling with three layers of casings under surge compensation of the present invention, the drilling vessel is located at set latitude and longitude coordinates by the dynamic positioning system. The drill pipes are stabilized by the seabed template. Torques and drilling pressures can be transmitted during drilling of the casings by means of surge compensation of the casings at a wellhead. During drilling for sampling, the surge compensation can compensate to a certain extent for a change in water depth caused by rising or falling tides or surge, thereby preventing the casings from colliding with equipment and ensuring the safety of wellhead operation. The drilling of three layers of casings is achieved by means of dual driver heads to effectively protect a well wall, such that high core-drilling rate and good core-drilling quality are achieved during drilling for sampling. Compared with ordinary drilling methods, the present invention has the advantages of high drilling efficiency, high core-drilling rate, simple equipment, high reliability, low cost or the like, and is suitable for shallow drilling of general sedimentary rock strata, as well as for reef limestone strata, sand soil strata or other strata where it is difficult to perform core drilling.
The above embodiments are merely for illustrating the technical concept and features of the present invention, and are intended to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to understand and thereby implement the content of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention cannot be limited thereto. Any equivalent changes or modifications made according to the substantial contents of the present invention should be construed as falling within the protection scope of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202111043794.6 | Sep 2021 | CN | national |
This application is the national phase entry of International Application No. PCT/CN2021/118981, filed on Sep. 17, 2021, which is based upon and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202111043794.6, filed on Sep. 7, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2021/118981 | 9/17/2021 | WO |