PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Volume 39, Issue 4, August 2012

Online English edition of the Chinese language journal

Cite this article as: PETROL. EXPLOR. DEVELOP., 2012, 39(4): 528–533. RESEARCH PAPER

A model of calculating the circulating pressure loss in

coiled tubing ultra-short radius radial drilling
MA Dongjun1,*, LI Gensheng1, HUANG Zhongwei1, NIU Jilei2, HOU Cheng1, LIU Mingjuan3,
LI Jingbin1
1. State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China;
2. China University of Petroleum, Dongying 257061, China;
3. China Oilfield Services Limited, Tianjin 300450, China

Abstract: By analyzing the relationship between measured values of pressure loss in a high-pressure hose and calculated values of met-
al tubing pressure loss formula under the same condition, a calculation formula of pressure loss in a high-pressure hose is revised on the
basis of the existing formula, and a model of calculating the circulating pressure loss in coiled tubing ultra-short radius radial drilling is
established by theoretical derivation. The effects of tubing diameter, tubing length, pump delivery and fluid dynamic viscosity on each
part of pressure loss in circulation system are studied by the pressure loss calculating model. The pressure loss in coiled and straight parts
of 0.025 4 m (1 in) coiled tubing is about 8-10 times bigger than the pressure loss of 0.038 1 m (1.5 in) coiled tubing, and the pressure
loss in high-pressure hose accounts for a large proportion in circulation system, about 86% in this study; and with drag reducer added in
clear water, the pressure loss is about half of clear water pressure loss under the same condition.

Key words: coiled tubing; radial drilling; high-pressure hose; circulation system; friction factor; pressure loss

Introduction
Coiled tubing ultra-short radius radial drilling came about
in the late 20th century. It involves two steps: the first step is to
make a cut through the well casing by a milling bit, and the
second step is to use a self-propelled nozzle to pull the high-
pressure hose through the cut and jet into the formation to drill
a small diameter horizontal well [19]. Compared to the tradi-
tional sidetrack drilling, this technology can reduce operation
cost and increase the drainage area of reservoir and then im-
prove the individual well productivity greatly. It can be used
in both old wells and new wells, and is especially suitable for
the productivity improvement of old oilfields and the devel-
opment of offshore marginal fields and small fields [1012]. It is
a new drilling technology and has already been applied suc-
cessfully abroad and shown a huge potential [1315].
The circulating pressure loss of coiled tubing ultra-short ra-
dius radial drilling consists of coiled tubing pressure loss,
high-pressure hose pressure loss, annulus pressure loss at
horizontal section and vertical section. Scientists at home and
abroad have done a lot of researches on pressure loss calcula-
tion in coiled tubing and annular space. Srinivasan et al. pre-
sented a method to calculate pressure loss in spiral tube by
experiment [16]. Gallego et al. studied the pressure loss law of
polymer solution in the straight part and coiled part of the
coiled tubing [17]. Zhou researched the power-law fluid flow in
coiled tubing by theoretical analysis and experiment [18]. Niu
et al. researched pressure loss laws in slim hole circulation
system [19]. Song et al. established the forecasting method for
the circulating pressure loss in slim hole annulus [20]. Chen et
al. proposed a formula for calculating pressure loss in annulus
space under regular drilling conditions. However, there are not
any researches on the calculation of pressure loss of high
pressure hose. And the model for the circulating pressure loss
calculation in coiled tubing ultra-short radius radial drilling
has not been established. By analyzing the relationship be-
tween measured values of pressure loss in high-pressure hose
and calculated values of metal tubing pressure loss under the
same condition, the calculation formula of pressure loss in
high-pressure hose is revised on the basis of the existing for-
mulas. A model for the circulating pressure loss calculation in
the technology is established by theoretical derivation. And
the effects of tubing diameter, tubing length, pumping rate and
fluid dynamic viscosity on each part of pressure loss in circu-
lation system are studied with the pressure loss calculation
model, which provides the theory basis for the selection of
equipment and operation parameters in coiled tubing ul-

Received date: 31 Aug. 2011; Revised date: 16 May 2012.

* Corresponding author. E-mail: madongjun1985@qq.com
Foundation item: Supported by the National Key Basic Research and Development Program (973 Program), China (2010CB226700) and the National Oil and Gas
Major Project (2011ZX05009-005).
Copyright © 2012, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina. Published by Elsevier BV. All rights reserved.
 MA Dongjun et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2012, 39(4): 528–533

tra-short radius radial drilling. tual drilling. The following assumptions have to be made in
circulation system engineering calculation. 1) Drilling fluid is
1 Mathematical model of pressure loss in the
Newtonian fluid; 2) Drilling fluid in each part of the circula-
circulation system
tion system is isothermal turbulent flow; 3) The tubing is
Pressure loss in the circulation system (Fig.1) of coiled concentric with the borehole; 4) Borehole is in circular shape;
tubing ultra-short radius radial drilling mainly includes tubing 5) Drilling fluid is incompressible fluid; 6) The shape of de-
pressure loss (ǻpi) and annular pressure loss (ǻpa). The tubing flecting shoe (the length is very small relative to well depth)
pressure loss (ǻpi) is made up of pressure loss in the spiral has no significant effect on the pressure loss in annular space.
part and straight part of coiled tubing, and high-pressure hose
1.1 Reynolds number calculation and flow state
pressure loss, while the annular pressure loss (ǻpa) only in-
judgement
cludes the pressure loss in annular space of the horizontal
section and vertical section. The shapes of these parts are Reynolds number of Newtonian fluid can be calculated by
quite different from each other, so we calculate pressure loss the following equations:
of each part separately. First, use the basic parameters, such as For pipe flow:
flow rate (v), density (ȡ), fluid dynamic viscosity (ȝ), tubing vd U
Rei= i (1)
inner diameter (di), tubing outer diameter (do), borehole di- P
ameter (dh), borehole absolute roughness (ǻ), reel diameter For annulus flow:
(D), and tubing length (L), to calculate each part’s Reynolds v d h  do U
number (Rei) of pipe flow and Reynolds number (Rea) of an- Rea= (2)
P
nular flow. Then, decide the flow state (in this paper all flow
states are turbulent flow) according to Reynolds number and 1.2 Calculation of friction factor
select the corresponding mathematical model to work out the 1.2.1 Friction factor of straight part of coiled tubing
hydraulic friction factor ( f ). At last, substitute f and v, ȡ, ȝ, di,
do, dh, L into Fanning equation to calculate each part’s To be convenient, Gallego et al. used an approximate equa-
pressure loss. tion to compute the friction factor of metallic inner plane tub-
During the coiled tubing ultra-short radius radial drilling ing whether the fluid was Newtonian or non-Newtonian flu-
process, fresh water is usually adopted as drilling fluid in ac- id [17].
a
f (3)
Rei b
where, a and b are calculating coefficients. For laminar (Reİ
2 000), a=16, b=1.06; For turbulent flow (Re>2 000), the
values of a and b depend on flow index n as follows:
lg n  3.93
a (4)
50
1.75  lg n
b (5)
7
Under normal conditions the fluid state in the tubing should
be discriminated first, and pressure loss should be calculated
separately. When coiled tubing is applied in ultra-short radius
radial drilling, pumping rate is increased to keep a high power
of nozzle blaster. And so the flow state of drilling fluid in the
tubing is always turbulent flow.
Fresh water is often adopted as drilling fluid in coiled tub-
ing ultra-short radius radial drilling. The flow index (n) of
fresh water is 1. Then n=1 is substituted into Equation 4, 5
and we can get a=0.078 6 and b=0.25[17]. Then a and b are
substituted into Equation 3 and we can get the friction factor
of the straight part of coiled tubing (fctiz ).
0.078 6
f ctiz (6)
Rei 0.25
Substituting the Equation 1 into Equation 6 gives
0.25
§ P ·
Fig. 1 Scheme of the circulation system of coiled tubing ul- f ctiz 0.078 6 ¨ ¸ (7)
tra-short radius radial drilling technology © vd cti U ¹
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 MA Dongjun et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2012, 39(4): 528–533

1.2.2 Friction factor of high-pressure hose By substituting Equation 2 into Equation 11, we got equa-
tion 12:
The inner layer of high-pressure hose used specially in 0.2
coiled tubing ultra-short radius radial drilling, is rubber and ª P º
f va 0.059 « » (12)
outer layer reinforced by the winding steel wire. Because the ¬« v d hv  d to U ¼»
materials of high-pressure hose and metallic inner plane tub-
ing are different, friction factor of the high-pressure hose 1.2.5 Friction factor of annular space of horizontal section
needs to be revised according to that of metallic inner plane Since open hole completion is usually used in radial hori-
tubing. The authors measured pressure loss in high-pressure zontal wells, where the borehole is relatively rough, so the
hose by experiment (Table 1), and calculated pressure loss in friction factor can’t be calculated directly by Equation 11
high-pressure hose by friction factor calculation formula of without considering the effect of borehole roughnesss. Jain A
metallic inner plane tubing. Under the same length and K [22] advanced a formula taking the effect of borehole rough-
pumping rate, the measured values are about twice that of the ness into account.
calculated values. So friction factor of the high-pressure hose 2
1 °­ ª § 6.943 · º °½
0.9
'
can be revised as follows: f ®ln « ¨ ¸ »¾ (13)
4 ° « 3.715( d h  d o ) © Rea ¹ » °
¯ ¬ ¼¿
0.25
§ P ·
fsti 0.157 2 ¨ ¸ (8) Equation (2) is substituted into Equation (13) to get Equa-
© vdsti U ¹
tion 14:
1.2.3 Friction factor of spiral part of coiled tubing 2
1 ­° ª ' 6.943P 0.9 º ½°
f ha ®ln «  0.9 0.9 0.9 » ¾
(14)
Srinivasan et al. proposed a friction factor (fctil ) calculation 4 ¯° ¬ 3.715(d h h  dst o ) v (d h h  dst o ) U ¼ ¿°
formula in spiral tubing based on experiment:
0.084 § d cti ·
0.1 1.3 Calculation of pressure loss
f ctil ¨ ¸ (9)
Rei 0.2 © D ¹ The equations for pressure loss calculation in pipe and an-
Substitute the Equation 1 into Equation 9, friction factor of nular space are given as follows according to Fanning equa-
the spiral part of coiled tubing can be got: tion.
§ 1 · § P ·
0.1 0.2
For pipe flow:
f ctil 0.084 ¨ ¸ ¨ ¸ (10) 2 f U Lv 2
© d cti D ¹ © v U ¹  'pi  (15)
di
1.2.4 Friction factor of annular space of vertical section For annulus flow:
To be convenient in application, predecessors [21] calculate 2 f U Lv 2
 'pa  (16)
the friction factor of annular space of vertical section by an dh  do
approximate equation no matter the fluid is Newtonian or Equations 7, 8, 10, 12 and 14 are substituted into Equations
non-Newtonian fluid in drilling operation, that is: 15 and 16 respectively. Then calculation formulas for each
0.059 part of circulation system pressure loss are derived.
f va (11)
Rea 0.2 1) Pressure loss at spiral part of coiled tubing
P 0.2 U 0.8Q1.8 Lctl
Table 1 Test data of pressure loss in high-pressure hose 'pctil 0.259 6 (17)
d cti4.7 D 0.1
Measured Calculated
Average 2) Pressure loss at straight part of coiled tubing
Hose Measuring Fresh water values of values of
flow rate/ Lctz 1.75
length/m time/s weight/kg 3 1
(m ·s )
pressure pressure 'pctiz 0.239 9 U 0.75 P 0.25 Q (18)
loss/MPa loss/MPa d cti4.75
9.15 13.43 3) Pressure loss at high-pressure hose
20 8.64 13.14 0.001 5 11.45 5.49 Lst 1.75
8.38 12.62 'psti 0.479 8 U 0.75 P 0.25 Q (19)
d sti4.75
9.93 12.70
4) Pressure loss in annular space of horizontal section
20 10.44 12.96 0.001 2 8.2 3.99
10.18 12.22 'pha 0.810 6 U LsthQ 2 u
2
°­ ª
12.77 13.75 0.9 º ½
' 4.600P 0.9 d hh  dsto °
20 10.18 10.89 0.001 0 5.55 2.70 ®ln «  »¾
°¯ «¬ 3.715(d hh  dsto ) U 0.9Q0.9 »¼ °
11.73 11.96 ¿
3 2
14.31 13.27 d hh  dsto d hh  dsto
20 15.60 14.04 0.000 9 4.54 2.25 (20)
15.08 13.15 5) Pressure loss in annular space of vertical section

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 MA Dongjun et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2012, 39(4): 528–533
U 0.8 P 0.2 LoQ1.8
'pva 0.182 3 3 1.8
d hv  d to d hv  d to
Therefore, the mathematical model of total pressure loss in
circulation system of coiled tubing ultra-short radius radial
drilling is the sum of the above five equations:
'pc 'pctil  'pctiz  'psti  'pha  'pva
2 An example of pressure loss calculation for
circulation system
Assuming that operation depth is 2 000 m, horizontal sec-
tion is 20 m, and the diameter of the horizontal section (dhh) is
0.05 m, and the borehole absolute roughness (ǻ) is 2.5×104 m.
Coiled tubing parameters are as follows: overall length (L)
2 500 m (spiral part (Lctl ) 500 m and straight part (Lctz) 2 000
m), inner diameter (dcti) 0.032 56 m and reel diameter (D)
1.828 8 m. High-pressure hose parameters are: overall length
(Lst) 30 m, outer diameter (dsto) 0.017 m, and inner diameter
(dsti) 0.01 m. Tubing parameters are: outer diameter (dto) 0.073
m. Pumping rate (Q) 0.001 5 m3/s; dynamic viscosity of fresh
water (ȝ) 1.005×103 Pa·s; fresh water density (ȡ) 1×103
kg/m3.
By using Equation 17 to Equation 21, pressure losses at
each part of the circulation system are calculated, and their
proportions in total pressure loss are shown in Figure 2.
As you can see from Fig. 2, pressure loss in annular space
(including horizontal section and vertical section) is 0.035 3
MPa which is so small that it can be neglected, so its propor-
tion in total pressure loss can be regarded as 0%. Pressure
losses at the spiral part (500 m), the straight part (2 000) and
at high-pressure hose (30 m) of coiled tubing are 0.624 MPa,
2.016 MPa and 16.477 MPa, accounting for 3%, 11% and
86% of the total pressure loss, respectively, so most of the
pressure loss in the circulation system of coiled tubing ul-
tra-short radius radial drilling is the pressure loss at high-pre-
ssure hose. Therefore, the length of high-pressure hose should
be determined according to the designed length of the hori-
zontal section to avoid too much unnecessary pressure loss in
drilling.
Fig. 2 Pressure loss distribution in the circulation system of the
example
3 Variation law of tubing pressure loss
(21)
3.1 The effect of tubing diameter on pressure loss at the
spiral part and the straight part
According to technical requirements of coiled tubing ul-
tra-short radius radial drilling and coiled tubing technical
(22) manual [23], parameters for pressure loss calculation at the
spiral part and straight part of coiled tubing were determined
(Table 2).
The data in Table 2 were substituted into Equations 17 and
18 to work out the relationship curves of pressure loss in the
spiral part and the straight part (Fig. 3). As seen from Fig.3,
the pressure loss at spiral part is higher than that at straight
part when the length and outer diameter are identical. For
example, when the lengths of the spiral part and the straight
part of 0.025 4 m (1 in) coiled tubing are both 1 000 m, pres-
sure loss at spiral part is 10.061 MPa while at straight part is
8.094 MPa. This is because when the fluid flows in the spiral
part due to the centrifugal force the fluid generates a secon-
dary flow which is vertical to the section of the tubing and
thus extra flow resistance. As to coiled tubing of different
outer diameters , the pressure loss in 0.025 4 m coiled tubing
is obviously greater than that in 0.038 1 m (1.5 in) coiled tub-
ing when their length is the same. For example, when the
length of the straight part of the coiled tubing is 1 000 m; the
pressure loss of the 0.025 4 m coiled tubing is about 8.094
MPa while the 0.038 1 m coiled tubing is only 1.008 MPa.
Thus the author suggests 0.038 1 m or larger outer diameter
coiled tubing be used in field application.
3.2 The effect of pumping rate on pressure loss
Calculation parameters were listed in Table 3. The data
Table 2 Parameters for pressure loss calculation at spiral part
and straight part of coiled tubing
Coiled tubing
ȡ/ ȝ/ Q/
outer diameter/ dcti/m D/m
(kJ·m3) (PD·s) (m3·s1)
m (in)
0.025 4 (1.0) 0.021 00 1.400 0 1u103 1.005u103 1.5u103
0.038 1 (1.5) 0.032 56 1.828 8 1u103 1.005u103 1.5u103
Fig. 3 The effect of coiled tubing length on pressure loss
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 MA Dongjun et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2012, 39(4): 528–533
Table 3 Parameters for flow rate and pressure loss calculation
ȡ/ ȝ/
Tubing type di/m L/m D/m
(kJ·m3) (PD·s)
0.038 1 m (1.5 in)
0.032 56 150 0 1u103 1.005u103 1.828 8
coiled tubing
High-pressure
0.010 00 20 1u103 1.005u103
hose
Fig. 4 The effect of pumping rate on pressure loss
were substituted into Equations 17, 18 and 19 for calculation.
The relationship curves of pressure loss at spiral part (1 500 m)
and straight part (1 500 m) and high-pressure hose, and
pumping rate are shown in Fig. 4. As seen from Fig. 4, each
part’s pressure loss increases with the rise of pumping rate.
Measured values of pressure loss at high-pressure hose
were added for comparison. As shown in Fig. 4, there is little
difference between measured values and calculated values of
pressure loss at high-pressure hose. When pumping rate is
0.001 m3/s, the calculated value of pressure loss at
high-pressure hose is 5.403 MPa, and measured value is 5.545
MPa; When pumping rate is 0.001 25 m3/s, the calculated
value is 7.984 MPa, and measured value is 8.182 MPa; when
pumping rate is 0.001 5 m3/s, the calculated value is 10.985
MPa, and the measured value is 10.454 MPa. Since the
pump’s maximum rate is 0.001 5 m3/s, the calculated values at
bigger pumping rates can’t be compared. Since the biggest
difference between the calculated values and measured values
is merely 5.08% in these three sets of data, the formula for
pressure loss calculation at high-pressure hose proposed by
the authors can meet the need of engineering calculation.
It also can be seen in Fig. 4, although the high-pressure
hose is merely 20 m long, the pressure loss is much larger
than that at the spiral part (1 500 m) and straight part (1 500 m)
of the coiled tubing. For example, when pumping rate is 1.5
L/s, the pressure loss at high-pressure hose (20 m) is 10.985
MPa while that at the spiral part is 1.860 MPa and that at the
straight part is 1.512 MPa. The main reasons for this are that
the high-pressure hose inner diameter is relatively small and
the material of its inner wall is rubber, thus huge pressure loss
is generated when fluid flows through it.
 532 
3.3 The effect of dynamic viscosity of fluid on pressure
loss
The parameters for the calculation of the pressure loss at
high-pressure hose are as follows: high-pressure hose outer
diameter is 0.017 m; inner diameter is 0.1 m; length is 530 m;
pumping rate is 0.001 5 m3/s; fluid density is 1×103 kg/m3;
dynamic viscosity of fresh water is 1.005×103 Pa·s, dynamic
viscosity of water added with drag reducer is 6.28×105 Pa·s.
The data above were substituted into Equation 19 for cal-
culation. The relationship between dynamic viscosity of fluid
and pressure loss is shown in Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 5, when
the length of high-pressure hose is the same, the fresh water
pressure loss is about twice that of water added drag reducer.
For example, when the high-pressure hose length is 20 m, the
pressure loss of fresh water is 11.01 MPa and that of water
added with drag reducer is 5.49 MPa. The main reason is
that the flow state of fluid in high-pressure hose is turbulent.
The movements of fluid particles generate large and small
vortexes randomly. When a certain amount of drag reducer is
added into fresh water, large vortexes break into small vor-
texes by absorbing energy from the fluid. The action of
viscous force weakens and subsides small vortexes; the en-
ergy carried by them is converted into heat and dissipated.
Especially, in the layers which are close to the wall of tubing,
due to the effect of wall shear stress and viscous force this
process is more obviously. So, moderate drag reducer should
be added into fresh water to reduce pressure loss in circulation
system in site operation.
4 Conclusions
The mathematical model of pressure loss in circulation
system is established for coiled tubing ultra-short radius radial
drilling. Pressure loss laws at each part of circulation system
are researched under different conditions. The pressure loss at
spiral part is greater than that at straight part when coiled tub-
ing length and outer diameter are identical. When pumping
rate is the same, pressure losses at both spiral and straight
parts in 0.025 4 m coiled tubing are much bigger than that in
the 0.038 1 m coiled tubing, that is about 810 times. Pressure
loss at high-pressure hose accounts for a large proportion in
the total pressure loss of the circulation system, about 86% in
this paper. Under the same conditions, pressure loss caused by
Fig. 5 The effect of dynamic viscosity of fluid on pressure loss
 MA Dongjun et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2012, 39(4): 528–533

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