Functions, property or ingredient?

Task 6. Complete the sentences:

Задание 6. Закончите предложения:

1. The basic ingredients of mud are…

2. Two of the most important functions of mud are the…

3. Additives are used in mud to modify it…

Практическое занятие 15

Drilling Problems

Сложности бурения

rathole скважина с обсадной колонной

kelly ведущая бурильная труба

downhole нисходящая скважина

fishing services партия, производящая ловильные работы

blowout внезапный выброс, фонтанирование

jar бурить ударным буром

drillstring бурильная колонна

deviation отклонение скважины

dogleg резкое искривление ствола скважины

sloughing обрушение

reamer райбер, инструмент для расширения скважины

embrittlement хрупкость, повышение хрупкости

Task 1. Read the transcript of the conversation between Alan Noughty, a journalist working for a local newspaper in Aberdeen, and Jo Mcleod, a platform manager, who is giving him a tour of the rig and showing him some of the day-to-day operations. Answer the questions:

Задание 1. Прочитайте запись диалога между Аланом Ноти, журналистом местной абердинской газеты, и Джо Маклеодом, менеджером платформы, который водит его по вышке и рассказывает о ее работе. Ответьте на вопросы:

What is the problem? How is the problem being solved?

Alan Noughty: There doesn’t seem to be a lot going on here today. The rotary table isn’t going round and there’s nothing on the Kelly.

Jo Mcleod: No, you’re right, we’ve tripped out and put the kelly into the rathole for the time being. You can see the drillpipes are stacked over there in the rack.

AN: Why? What’s the problem?

JM: There’s a fish down the hole.

AN: A fish? How did that get there?

JM: I don’t mean a real fish. It’s what we call stuff that gets lost downhole. We also call it junk.

AN: So what have you lost today?

JM: It’s not exactly lost, it’s at the bottom of the hole. It’s one of the bit cones. So we have to suspend drilling and bring in a fishing services company to retrieve it.

AN: How long will that take?

JM: Well, hopefully not too long. They’re very expensive, and every minute were not drilling is time and money wasted. Once they’ve arrived and set up, it doesn’t usually take too long to latch onto a fish. They’re due to turn up in about thirty minutes or so. All being well, we’ll be up and running again sometime tomorrow.

Task 2. Read the discussion of some other problems that can occur during drilling. Make a list of the problems. Tell how these problems are solved:

Задание 2. Прочитайте разговор о проблемах бурения. Составьте список проблем. Расскажите о том, как эти проблемы решаются:

AN: So, what other problems can occur while you are drilling?

JM: Well, fortunately, technology has improved so much in the last few years that the number of incidents is declining all the time. Nevertheless, the pressure to increase drilling speeds does mean that the chance of making mistakes has gone up. The most dangerous and potentially expensive problem is a blowout. These are extremely rare, thank goodness.

AN: What is the most common?

JM: I suppose fish are the biggest problem, but we also get stuck pipe from time to time.

AN: What happens then?

JM: You mean how does it happen? Or what do we do about it?

AN: Well, both, I guess.

JM: Well, it can happen when the drill pipe gets literally stuck to the walls of the well. We call that differential pipe sticking, and we can usually free the pipe by jarring it, using a sub in the drill string called, funnily enough, a jar. Sometimes we need to use a spotting fluid in the area where the sticking happens. Other times you get a deviation in the well - we call it a dogleg - which causes the drill pipe to stick. We can free it by reshaping the hole using a piece of kit called a reamer.

AN: I see. Anything else?

JM: Let me see. You can have different types of damage to the formation. Sometimes this means lost circulation, where the mud flows into the formation, for example. And you can also get sloughing.

AN: Sloughing? What’s that?

JM: That’s when the formation collapses.

AN: And how can you prevent these problems?

JM: Well, in most cases, the mud is the key. You can use particular types of mud; you can thin it down, thicken it, add different substances to it, and so on.

AN: So it’s pretty complicated.

JM: That’s right.

Task 3. Complete the sentences using one word from each box:

Задание 3. Заполните пропуски в предложениях словами из текста:

1. A fish is a piece of drill string, part of the bottom hole assembly or a tool that _____ the hole.

2. Stuck pipe is when suction causes the pipe to _____ the wall of the well or the hole is too narrow to allow the drill string to _____.

3. Sloughing shale is material from the formation that forms large balls which cannot be _____ by the mud.

4. Formation damage occurs when the drilling fluid is _____ the formation.

5. Lost circulation occurs when the formation is porous or highly fractured and an amount of mud _____ the well.

6. Corrosive gases, such as carbon dioxide (C0₂) or hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), can ______ corrosion and embrittlement of a steel drill string.

7. Kicks occur when an abnormally high pressure below the surface _____ an uncontrolled flow of fluids _____ the well.

Task 4. Match the phrasal verbs with their meanings in the table below, using context of the interview to help you:

Задание 4. Сопоставьте фразовые глаголы с их значением в таблице. Используйте содержание интервью в задании 1,2.:

Task 5. Do the following sentences describe preventions or solutions to drilling problems? Place a 'P'or 'S' in each line to indicate 'prevention' or 'solution':

Задание 5. Прочитайте предложения, определите, описывают они решение или предотвращение проблем бурения. Поставьте букву 'P' (предотвращение) или 'S' (решение) после каждого предложения:

1. Chemicals, such as potassium salts, are added to the drilling mud to inhibit sloughing shale.

2. A lost circulation additive, such as fibre, flake or grain, is used when a zone of lost circulation is encountered.

3. A stuck pipe can be freed by jarring the drillstring.

4. Spiral-grooved drill collars are often used to prevent wall sticking.

5. Formation damage in a well can be treated by well stimulation, acidizing or hydraulic fracturing.

6. If you drill the formation using brine (very salty water), formation damage can be reduced.

7. To reduce the risk of corrosion, it is necessary to use more expensive and resistant steel in the drillstring.

8. To retrieve pipe from a well, either a spear or an overshoot is used, screwed into the bottom of a fishing string. (See the below pictures for other examples of fishing tools.).

9. There are various methods of killing a well when a kick is detected, and hopefully it will not turn into a full-scale blowout.

Практическое занятие 15

Preventing Blowouts

Предупреждать выброс

offshore в открытом море

flow фонтанирование

divert отклонять, поворачивать

ignify воспламенять

derrick буровая установка

consequences последствия

prevent предотвращать

fire crew пожарная бригада

cap закрывать пробкой, перекрывать

damage повреждать

destroy разрушать

Task 1. Read the case study of a blowout. In what order did these events take place?:

Задание 1. Прочитайте историю нерегулируемого выброса газа. Расположите события в хронологическом порядке:

1. A well control company was called in.

2. The rig and platform were evacuated.

3. The well caught fire.

4. The well was killed.

5. Weighted drilling mud was circulated.

Blow out on Ensco 51

Working offshore Louisiana, the crew of the Ensco 51 had just set casing when the well experienced an uncontrolled flow, causing a blowout and fire.

Attempts were made to stem the increasing flow of gas and fluids from 10+ valve using sea water and weighted drilling mud, but sufficient volume could not be added to slow the flow. The flow continued to increase and the decision was made to abandon both the rig and platform at 0300 hours. The 10+ valve was opened to divert the flow of gas away from the rig and platform, and all 43 personnel were then safely evacuated via two lifeboats to Platform B.

Specialist personnel from Wild Well Control were called in to help with capping and killing operations, but the gas flow ignited in the early hours of 02 March, due to an unknown ignition source. The well partially bridged on 03 March, causing the fire to go out, and the well was subsequently killed. Production on the platform had been shut in during drilling ops, which probably prevented a greater fire.

During the fire, the Ensco 51’s derrick and substructure were completely destroyed, with the derrick collapsing onto the platform. The platform and its production equipment were also extensively damaged.

Task 2. Read the dialogue. Answer the questions:

Задание 2. Прочитайте диалог. Ответьте на вопросы:

What are the differences between this blowout and the one described in the Ensco 51 case study?

Which incident has the more serious consequences?

Paul Downey: Jose Miguel. How are you doing?

Jose Miguel: Not too good, Paul. We’ve got a big problem.

PD: Go on.

JM: Well, we’ve got a blowout on Number 5 rig.

PD: Number 5? I thought we’d completed on 5.

JM: No, not quite, we were just tripping out when we got a big kick.

PD: Is anybody hurt?

JM: Well, there are no fatalities at least. But Okie’s got a broken arm and both the others have got cuts and bruises.

PD: And you’re OK?

JM: I’m fine, Paul, but it’s a real mess here.

PD: And what about damage?

JM: Yes, there’s quite a lot. One corner of the derrick’s blown off and a big chunk of the drilling floor has gone.

PD: Any fire?

JM: Not so far, but we’re keeping a close watch.

PD: So, what happened exactly?

JM: Well, the string was around 200 metres from the surface and we got a warning from the loggers. We circulated kill mud, but it was obviously too late.

PD: Did you manage to close the BOP?

JM: No, we were just about to close it when it blew.

PD: And what’s happening at the moment?

JM: Well, there’s mud everywhere. The fire crew are standing by and the medics are looking after the guys. I’ve called for the helicopter to take Okie off to hospital.

PD: Have you called well control?

JM: No, I wanted to call you first. I’ll do that right away.

PD: Jose, I’ve got to get back to my meeting. I’d better tell them what’s going on - they’re paying after all! You’re doing a great job. There’s nothing more you can do. Keep me informed, won’t you.

JM: Yes, of course. Bye.

Task 3. These sentences are connected to the situations described in tasks 1 and 2. Choose the best verb to complete each sentence:

Практическое занятие 16

Optimized Drilling

Оптимизированное бурение

slant drilling направленное наклонное бурение

reservoir месторождение, нефтеносный слой

wellbore ствол скважины

slimhole drilling бурение скважины малого диаметра

bottomhole забой

coiled tubing коил тюбинг

rubble обломки, галька

insulation изоляция, изолирование

conventional drilling обычное, стандартное бурение

multilateral многосторонний

cuttings обломки выбуренной породы

gas emission выделение газа

environment окружающая среда

directional drilling наклонное бурение

offshoot боковая ветвь

reel барабан

Task 1. Read and translate the text:

Задание 2. Прочитайте и переведите текст:

Drilling Technologies

With conventional drilling, oil and natural gas wells were drilled vertically at depths ranging from a few thousand feet to as deep as five miles. But new directional drilling (also known as slant drilling or deviation drilling) and horizontal drilling technologies allow drills to deviate from the vertical plane and go horizontal - or beyond. For oil and natural gas producers, this means reaching reservoirs that are not located directly beneath the drilling rig, and avoiding sensitive surface and subsurface environmental features.

Advances in directional drilling now permit multilateral drilling, where multiple offshoots of a single wellbore radiate in different directions and can contact resources at different depths. Development of this technology is recent and rapid, and promotes the use of one site instead of many sites.

At the same time, drilling away from the vertical plane has produced new challenges in extracting oil and natural gas from sophisticated drilling units. Coiled tubing technology has helped the industry meet this challenge. Coiled tubing is a continuous-length hollow steel cylinder of varying widths. Stored on a reel, coiled tubing is flexible, contains no joints and can be uncoiled or coiled repeatedly as needed. Since a significant percentage of oil production takes place from costly offshore platforms, coiled tubing has proven to be especially economical. The equipment can be set up quickly, it runs at higher speeds and it can work in existing wells.

But it isn't just the direction of the drill bit that has been revolutionized. Every time a drill bit enters rock below the surface, it displaces bits of rock called 'cuttings', which then become rubble. Recent advancements in slimhole drilling have significantly reduced cuttings volumes. As the name suggests, the slimhole drill is smaller and displaces less rock. For example, a slimhole drilled to more than 2 V.г miles in depth and ending with a 4 Ys-inch-diameter bottomhole, produces one-third fewer cuttings than a standard well at the same depth.

Both coiled tubing and slimhole drilling enable less disruptive, quieter drilling operations, minimizing the noise for wildlife or humans near the well site. Since coiled tubing is a continuous pipe, most noises associated with conventional drilling pipes are avoided. Efficient insulation and the equipment's smaller size further reduce noise levels. For example, the noise level of a conventional rig from a quarter-mile away is 55 decibels (less than the hum of an air conditioner), while a coiled tubing unit's noise level at the same distance is just 40 decibels (27% quieter). The smaller size of coiled tube drilling also cuts fuel use and reduces gas emissions when compared with traditional drilling.

Task 2. Match one of these summaries to each passage:

Задание 2. Сопоставьте эти предложения с каждым абзацем текста:

This passage is about…

a) benefits to the environment of new technologies.

b) drilling in wells with a very small diameter.

c) drilling formations which are not directly beneath the rig.

d) drilling with flexible piping instead of steel joints.

e) drilling several formations at the same time from the same rig.

Task 3. Make comparisons between yesterday's technology and the more efficient technologies of today by completing the following sentences. Use the phrases in the box:

Задание 3. Закончите предложения, используя слова, данные в рамочке:

1. Directional drilling is _____ because sensitive formations can be _____.

2. Multilateral drilling enables production rates up to _____ conventional drilling.

3. Coiled tubing has proved to be _____ than conventional piping because it is _____ and reuse.

4. Coiled tubing also produces _____ because it is _____.

5. Slimhole drilling allows oil and gas companies to comply with environmental laws _____ because it produces _____.

6. Slimhole and coiled tubing drilling are _____ and _____ than traditional methods.

Task 4. These sentences describe a method of drilling called underbalanced drilling (UBD). Use a dictionary to check the meaning and use of the words in the middle column and then make a suitable connection. For 1-4, write two sentences for each. For 5-7, write one sentence for each:

Задание 4. Эти предложения описывают метод бурения под названием «бурение при пониженном гидростатическом давлении в стволе скважины». Определите с помощью словаря значение слов в средней колонке, затем соедините части предложений:

Практическое занятие 17

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