Characterization of the criteria and conditions in sweet and sour borehole environments for the materials selection and design of sand retention devices

Research output: ThesisMaster's Thesis

Abstract

In oil and gas industry, sand production is one of the problems costing oil and gas companies large sums of money. Due to recent developments in drilling technology, deeper formations can now be reached, and as a result new materials that can withstand these environments are desirable. These environments are predominantly combinations of CO2, H2S, high temperature and high pressure, hence further investigation into appropriate materials is required. In this master thesis, different sand control methods are introduced and typical materials which are generally used for these methods are listed. One of these materials used in different sectors of oil and gas industry, especially in sand screens is alloy316L. Alloy316L and 12 other alloys that are most common in sand screen manufacturing for sweet and sour conditions are compared. The results of these assessments show that alloy316L is not a suitable option for highly corrosive media such as environments containing H2S and CO2. It is suggested that other superior alloys that can withstand these environments are used instead. After detailed research into corrosion resistance in different physical conditions and mechanical properties of a set of candidate materials, it was found that C276 is by far the best option among all alloys that can be considered by oil companies. Although all other candidate alloys have mechanical properties inferior to C276, each provide a cheaper alternative in certain physical conditions and environments. Companies could achieve an optimum balance between cost and quality of the solution by taking into account the detail properties of the working media and then choosing the most appropriate material accordingly.

Details

Translated title of the contributionDarstellung der Kriterien und Eigenschaften von Equipment zur Sandprävention in Hinsicht auf Materialart und Design in sauren und süßen Bohrungen
Original languageEnglish
QualificationDipl.-Ing.
Supervisors/Advisors
Award date21 Oct 2016
Publication statusPublished - 2016