PETE 411

Well Drilling

Lesson 37
Coiled Tubing

1
 Coiled Tubing

 What is Coiled Tubing?

 Uses of Coiled Tubing
 Properties of Coiled Tubing
 Drilling with Coiled Tubing
 Buckling

2
 Buckling of Coiled Tubing

 Buckling Modes
 Sinusoidal and Helical Buckling
 Buckling in Horizontal or Inclined Sections
 Buckling in Vertical Section
 Buckling in Curved Wellbores
 Prediction of Buckling Loads
 “Lockup” of Tubulars

3
Truck-Mounted Coiled
Tubing Reel Assembly

4
Coiled Tubing Reel Assembly

5
6
7
8
Hydraulic Coiled Tubing Unit

9
 Cut-away
view of the
Injector Head
Drive
Assembly

10
11
12
13
Some Applications of Coiled Tubing
• Cementing
• Plug Cementing (e.g. P&A)
• Squeeze Cementing
• Logging
• Drilling
• Producing
• Fishing
• Scale Removal
Ref: SPE Reprint Series NO. 38 “Coiled Tubing Technology”
14
Sidetrack Procedure

15
 From
OGJ
July 8,
2002
p.62

Coil
Tubing
Drilling on
the North
Slope

16
 Coil Tubing Drilling on the North Slope

 Drilling Rates routinely in excess of

250 ft/hr - drilling in sandstone
 Laterals longer than 2,500 ft
 Good incremental oil production
 Used electrical umbilical for MWD
 Used mud motors and 3 ¾-in PDC bits

17
 Advantages

 No rig required
 No connections - fast tripping

Disadvantages

 Fatigue life limit (cycles)

 Pressure and tension
 Diameter and ovality
18
 Reference:

“Coiled Tubing Buckling Implication in

Drilling and Completing Horizontal Wells”
by Jiang Wu and H.C. Juvkam-Wold, SPE
Drilling and Completion, March, 1995.

19
20
21
22
23
Sinusoidal Buckling in a Horizontal Wellbore

When the axial compressive load along the coiled

tubing reaches the following sinusoidal buckling
load Fcr, the intial (sinusoidal or critical) buckling
of the coiled tube will occur in the horizontal
wellbore.
0.5
r
Fcr  2 (E I We / r )

24
 Consider: Fcr  2 (E I We / r )0.5

2" OD, 1.688" ID; 8.6 # mud

gal

 2 2 12 * 65.45 lb
W  (2  1.688 )  3.07
4 231 ft

 8.6  lb lb
We  3.07 
* 1    2.67  0.2225
 65.45  ft ft
in

E  30,000,000 psi (steel)

25
 Consider: E I We
Fcr  2
r
 4 4  4 4 4
I  (OD  ID )  (2  1.688 )  0.3869 in
64 64

D HOLE  OD 3.875  2
r   
= 0.9375 in
2 2
0.5
 30 *10 * 0.3869 * 0.2225 
6
Then, Fcr  2 
  3,.317 lbf
 0 . 9375 

26
 Sinusoidal Buckling Load

A more general Sinusoidal Buckling Load

equation for highly inclined wellbores (including
the horizontal wellbore) is:

EIWe sin 
Fcr  2
r 

27
 Sinusoidal Buckling Load

o
For the same 2” OD coiled tubing, at  = 45

EIWe sin 
Fcr  2
r

0. 5
 30 * 10 * 0.3869 * 0.2225 sin 45
6 o

Fcr  2 
 0.9375 
Fcr = 2,789 lbf
28
29
Helical Buckling in a Horizontal Wellbore

When the axial compressive load reaches the

following helical buckling load Fhel in the horizontal
wellbore, the helical buckling of coiled tubing then
occurs:

Fhel  2 2 2  1  E I We
r

 
6
30 * 10 * 0.3869 * 0.2225
Fhel  2 2 2  1
0.9375

Fhel = 6,065 lbf

30
 General Equation

A more general helical buckling load

equation for highly inclined wellbores
(including the horizontal wellbore) is:

 
Fhel  2 2 2  1
EIWe sin 
r

31
32
 Buckling in Vertical Wellbores:

In a vertical wellbore, the buckling of coiled tubing

will occur if the coiled tubing becomes axially
compressed and the axial compressive load
exceeds the buckling load in the vertical section.

This could happen when we “slack-off” weight at

the surface to apply bit weight for drilling and
pushing the coiled tubing through the build section
and into the horizontal section.

33
 Buckling in Vertical Wellbores:

Lubinski derived in the 1950’s the following

buckling load equation for the initial buckling
of tubulars in vertical wellbores:
2 1/ 3
Fcr , b  1.94(EIWe )

Fcr , b  1.94(30 *106 * 0.3869 * 0.22252 )1/ 3

Fcr , b  161 lbf

34
 Buckling in Vertical Wellbores:

Another intitial buckling load equation for

tubulars in vertical wellbores was also
derived recently through an energy analysis:
2 1/ 3
Fcr ,b  2.55(EIWe )

6 2 1/ 3
Fcr ,b  2.55(30 *10 * 0.3869 * 0.2225 )

Alternate Fcr, b  212 lbf (Table 1)

35
 Helical Buckling in Vertical Wellbores:

A helical buckling load for weighty tubulars in

vertical wellbores was also derived recently through
an energy analysis to predict the occurrence of the
helical buckling:
2 1/ 3
Fhel, b  5.55( EIWe )

 461 lbf

36
Helical Buckling in Vertical Wellbores:

This helical buckling load predicts the first

occurrence of helical buckling of the weighty
tubulars in the vertical wellbore. The first
occurrence of helical buckling in the vertical
wellbore will be a one-pitch helical buckle at
the bottom portion of the tubular.

37
Helical Buckling in Vertical Wellbores:

The upper portion of the tubular in the vertical

wellbore will be in tension and remain straight.
When more tubular weight is slacked-off at the
surface, and the helical buckling becomes more
than one helical pitch, the above helical buckling
load equation may be used for the top helical
pitch of the helically buckled tubular

38
Helical Buckling in Vertical Wellbores:

The top helical buckling load Fhel,t is calculated by

simply subtracting the tubular weight of the initial
one-pitch of helically buckled pipe from the
helical buckling load Fhel,b, which is defined at the
bottom of the one-pitch helically buckled tubular:
2 1/ 3
Fhel, t  5.55(EIWe )  We L hel

2 1/ 3
 0.14(EIWe )
39
Helical Buckling in Vertical Wellbores:

Where the length of the initial one-pitch of

helical buckling or the first order helical
buckling is:

L hel  (16 2 EI / We )1/ 3 (10)

40
 Helical Buckling in Vertical Wellbores:

From Table 1, it is also amazing to find out that

the top helical buckling load, Fhel,t, is very close to
zero. This indicates that the “neutral point”, which
is defined as the place of zero axial load (effective
axial load exclusive from the hydrostatic pressure
force), could be approximately used to define the
top of the helical buckling for these coiled tubings.

41
Helical Buckling in Vertical Wellbores:

2 1/ 3
Fhel, t  0.14(EIWe )

6 2 1/ 2
 0.14(30 *10 * 0.3869 * 0.2225 )

Fhel, t  12 lbf

42
 Buckling of 2” x 1.688” CT

Horizontal

E I We
Sinusoidal: Fcr  2 = 3,317 lbf
r

Helical:  
Fhel  2 2  1 Fcr = 6,065 lbf

43
 Buckling of 2” x 1.688” CT

Vertical

Sinusoidal, bottom:


Fcr,b  1.94 E I We 
2 1/ 3
 161 lbf

or 
Fcr,b  2.55 E I We 
2 1/ 3
 212 lbf
44
 Buckling of 2” x 1.688” CT

Vertical

Helical, bottom:


Fhel,b  5.55 E I We 
2 1/ 3
 461 lbf

Helical, top:


Fhel,b  0.14 E I We 
2 1/ 3
 12 lbf
45