Presentation Identifier (Title or Location), Month 00, 2008

Office of Research and DevelopmentEarth & Mineral Sciences DivisionWilliam J. Ayers, Jr., P.E.

EXTREME DRILLING LABORATORYProject Summary (May 2009)

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NETL Mission

Implement research, development, and demonstration programs to resolve the

environmental, supply, and reliability constraints of producing and using domestic energy resources

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R. Boyle, 01/06/2009

Only DOE GO/GO National Lab Research spans fundamental science to technology

demonstrationsIn-house and Contracted Efforts

National Energy Technology LaboratoryMore Than 1,800 Activities in the United States and 40+ Other Countries

West VirginiaPennsylvaniaOregon

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R. Boyle 09/06/2008

• Partnering & transferring collaborative research with universities and industry

• Applying advanced computational techniques and experimental facilities to solve problems & to facilitate development of advanced energy technology

Office of Research and Development

• Four primary focus areas:– Computational & Basic Sciences:– Energy System Dynamics: George – Geological & Environmental Systems– Materials Science

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CO2 Storage– Capacity, injectivity, long-term fate– Seal integrity (cement durability)– Potential impacts

(fluid-rock interactions)– Monitoring and assessment

(airborne, surface, subsurface; GIS; risk assessment)

• Oil, gas, unconventional fossil fuels– Extreme drilling – Environmental impacts– Unconventional oil & gas– Methane hydrates– CO2-EOR

Geological/Environmental Research AreasScience and engineering research of natural systems

to enable the clean production & utilization of fossil energy.

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EPACT 2005, Subtitle J, Section 999Funding

Oil & Gas Lease Income Oil & Gas Lease Income -- $50 million/year$50 million/year• Allocation:

– 35 percent for Ultra-deepwater; $15 million*– 32.5 percent for Unconventional Resources; $14 million*– 7.5 percent for Small Producers; $3.2 million*– 25 percent for NETL In-house; $12.5 million– Management and Admin; $5.6 million

• 5 percent for NETL oversight; $1.88 million*• 10 percent for Consortium Admin; $3.75 million*• Applies only to Program Consortium funding (1-3)

– $100 million is authorized to be appropriated– Cost Share 20% for R&D and 50% Demonstration– 2009 Call - August/September Time Frame

(Refer to RPSEA or NETL web site)* rounded

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Research Objectives

Mission: Advance the state-of-the-art of ultra-deep drilling technology by conceiving, testing and developing emerging technology, conducting experiments, and performing proof of concept testing.

Research Thrusts• Rock Mechanics• Drilling Fluids• State-of-the-Art

Enhancements• Smart Drilling Systems

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XDL Components•Ultra-deep Drilling Simulator

– Installation Completed– Shakedown Testing

Underway– Baseline Tests

•XDL Support Labs – Rock Lab (3-4 Months)

– Mud Lab (1-2 Months)

•Modeling– Finalizing Road Map– University Initiatives

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Drilling Simulator (UDS)

Artist’s rendering of UDS internals showing cutter

contacting rock test specimen

Objective: Explore the fundamental and essential parameters required to characterize cutter versus rock type interdependencies under extreme conditions.

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Ultra-deep Drilling Simulator (UDS)

Shadow image on UDS back side. Image shown is an artist perception of cutter/rock interface and generated cuttings.

Front view of X-ray beam path into UDS window. PDC shown in line of sight.

Current Activities: Tuning Essential Instrumentation Sub-systems.Integration of subsystems.

Planned Activities:Baseline Validation of Unit OperationsExtreme Conditions Testing

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Rock Laboratory

Primary Functions: • Data Integration• Analysis of Intrinsic Properties• Experimental Rock Mechanics• Scoping Studies

Confocal Microscope

TeraTekScratch TesterCNC Water Jet Cutter

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Rock Laboratory (cont.)

GEOTEKMulti Sensor Core Logger

Hardness Tester

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Fluids Laboratory

• Drilling fluids preparation and handling for UDS.• Verification, modeling and exploration of drilling fluid properties.

Chandler Model 7600 Viscometer

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Modeling

• Developing Modeling Road Map• Closing on Initial Phase of University Work

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Current Modeling Efforts• Rock MechanicsIdentify and develop discrete and continuum analysis methodologies suitable for predicting reliably the reaction forces on PDC cutter bits and the rock fragmentation process from drilling.

Drilling FluidsModeling: Combine and arrange atoms to form molecules with desired properties. The challenge being to determine interactions with solids under extreme conditions.

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Current Modeling Efforts

Objectives•Develop an experimentally-validated in-house CFD model of filter cake formation on a porous surface•Construct a lab-scale filtration test rig for filter cake formation experiments•Measure the evolution of the filter cake formation•Benchmark in-house CFD model vs. commercial ANSYS Fluent CFD•Compare model to filtration/filter cake experiments

Challenges•Filtration test rig has required specialized parts which have delayed experimental setup•Fluent Eulerian multiphase model not made to handle particle structures and multiphase flow; CMU drilling fluid CFD code being developed for this.•Difficult to obtain digital images of filter cake

Drilling fluid flow and filter cake formation process

Drilling fluid

Filter cake

Fluid injection point

Rock formation (porous)

Drill cutter

Figure modified from wikipedia.org

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Deep Trek Data

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Deep Trek Data