PreprintArticleVersion 1Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Experimental and Numerical Investigations on the Effect of Unconventional Oil Wells Lateral’s Undulating Amplitude on Transient Multiphase Flow Behavior
Khetib, Y.; Ling, K.; Tang, C.; Aoun, A.E.; Fadairo, A.S.; Ouadi, H. Investigating the Impact of Undulation Amplitude of Unconventional Oil Well Laterals on Transient Multiphase Flow Behavior: Experimental and Numerical Study. Fuels2023, 4, 417-440.
Khetib, Y.; Ling, K.; Tang, C.; Aoun, A.E.; Fadairo, A.S.; Ouadi, H. Investigating the Impact of Undulation Amplitude of Unconventional Oil Well Laterals on Transient Multiphase Flow Behavior: Experimental and Numerical Study. Fuels 2023, 4, 417-440.
Khetib, Y.; Ling, K.; Tang, C.; Aoun, A.E.; Fadairo, A.S.; Ouadi, H. Investigating the Impact of Undulation Amplitude of Unconventional Oil Well Laterals on Transient Multiphase Flow Behavior: Experimental and Numerical Study. Fuels2023, 4, 417-440.
Khetib, Y.; Ling, K.; Tang, C.; Aoun, A.E.; Fadairo, A.S.; Ouadi, H. Investigating the Impact of Undulation Amplitude of Unconventional Oil Well Laterals on Transient Multiphase Flow Behavior: Experimental and Numerical Study. Fuels 2023, 4, 417-440.
Abstract
The increasing popularity of unconventional wells has sparked a heightened interest in evaluating and predicting their production performance. With the use of extended reach well structures, these wells are able to generate and access larger reservoir volumes. Hence, it is crucial to understand how the well's lateral trajectory affects its transient production performance. The assessment of lateral trajectory undulating amplitude effect on the flow behavior is performed in the current study based on the experimental results obtained at the University of North Dakota, Undulated Two-Phase (UTP) Flow Loop, injecting air and water mixture through a variable undulating amplitude section followed by a vertical section. The experiments showed that the undulating amplitude increase induced lower translational velocity, frequency, and length, with a consistent slug acceleration through the system profile from the inlet to the vertical section and a decreasing frequency when the slugs travel through the vertical section. Measured data shows that an increase of the horizontal pressure losses and variability is expected with a higher undulation amplitude, translating the fact that larger instabilities are observed for higher amplitudes. The numerical simulation predicted lower translational velocity and frequency, higher slug’s lengths, and similar vertical pressure losses when compared to the experimental results.
Keywords
Unconventional Wells; Slugging; Trajectory; Lateral Undulation; Amplitude; Shale Oil; Transient Flow; Bakken and Three Forks
Subject
Engineering, Energy and Fuel Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
