Industrial University of Tyumen (IUT) informed it had set up a test installation to explore various approaches to addressing fluid accumulation inside gas and gas-condensate wells. The university's project "Theoretical and experimental studies on upward gas-liquid flow in vertical ducts to solving applied problems of oil and gas industry" won the first joint contest for grants allocated by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) and Government of Tyumen Oblast.
IUT's research team, headed by Nail Musakaev, Doctor of Science in Physics and Mathematics, expects that through combining theoretical studies with applied work done on the test stand, they will take the global lead in researching froth flows under pressure. Nowadays, this topic is one of the hottest in petroleum engineering. The flow patterns of gas-liquid mixtures in a well are so intricate and various that science cannot yet provide the theoretical description of flow behaviour, with more empirical data needed.
"The testbed has transparent pipes allowing to see with one's own eyes the patterns that multiphase flow follows. The visualisation comes with high-precision measurements of pressure, temperature, and phase flow. Next, we should carry out a set of experiments at different parameters. We are hoping to get thus coefficients and correction factors which will constitute the most valuable part of the physico-mathematical model we are developing," explains Anton Yushkov, Associate Professor at IUT.
The IUT's project is of exceptionally high importance to Tyumen Oblast, which accounts for most of Russia's natural gas production. Many fields are nearing the end of the development stage there. Its characteriс feature is a drop in pressure in the gas-saturated portion of the reservoir, resulting in water accumulation in the oil strings and at the bottom hole.
"Quite a few wells are having this kind of problem - over 20% of the total count, and with each year, we'll be getting more of them. For instance, Gazprom VNIIGAZ forecasts that by 2030 approximately 500 wells at the Urengoyskoye field will have switched to the self-kill mode. There are various solutions to keep such wells operating. One such is the technology of adding surface-active foaming agents into a well, which is widely spread both in our country and globally. This technology's notable advantages include relatively low capital investments and high efficiency, particularly the economic one. However, successful implementation of the solution requires a scientific understanding of processes taking place in a well, with specifics of upward gas-liquid flow in vertical ducts among them.
Hopefully, by executing this project, we will deepen our understanding of the flow phenomena at a fundamental level. And as for practical benefits, we expect it to result in higher efficiency of gas production from productive strata," says Nail Musakaev, head of the project.
RFBR and the Government of Tyumen Oblast signed an agreement on jointly financing scientific research on 27 February 2020. According to it, each party ensures 50% of the total sum allocated for grants. The contest's winners receive from 400 thousand to 1.6 million roubles annually. They shall implement their projects within three years.
Let us remind that the Russian Science Foundation and the National Natural Science Foundation of China held their first competition for grants awarded for joint inter-country studies. The results came in late in 2020; one notable winner is the National University of Science and Technology MISiS, whose two scientific projects were among the 30 winning ones. MISiS, likewise IUT, is a member of the Nedra University Consortium.