Map showing location of natural gas wells in British Columbia

1919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Gas Wells

Split Estate and Wyoming’s Orphaned Well Crisis: The Case of Coalbed Methane Reclamation in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Bills Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Coalbed Methane ◽  
Powder River Basin ◽  
Gas Wells ◽  
Mineral Rights ◽  
Split Estate ◽  
Legal Condition

This case presents the stakeholder conflicts that emerge during the development and subsequent reclamation of abandoned natural gas wells in Wyoming where split estate, or the separation of surface land and mineral rights from one another, occurs. From 1998 to 2008, the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming experienced an energy boom as a result of technological innovation that enabled the extraction of coalbed methane (CBM). The boom resulted in over 16,000 wells being drilled in this 20,000 square-mile region in a single decade. As of May 2017, 4,149 natural gas wells now sit orphaned in Wyoming as a result of industry bankruptcy and abandonment. The current orphaned wells crisis was partially enabled by the patchwork of surface and mineral ownership in Wyoming that is a result of a legal condition referred to as split estate. As the CBM boom unfolded in this landscape and then began to wane, challenges emerged most notably surrounding stalled reclamation activities. This case illuminates these challenges highlighting two instances when split estate contributed to issues between landowners and industry operators which escalated to litigation.

Chemical Deliquification of Unconventional Gas Wells

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.. Francis-LaCroix ◽  
D.. Seetaram
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Large Deviation ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Offshore Platforms ◽  
Gas Wells ◽  
Current Production

Abstract Trinidad and Tobago offshore platforms have been producing oil and natural gas for over a century. Current production of over 1500 Bcf of natural gas per year (Administration, 2013) is due to extensive reserves in oil and gas. More than eighteen of these wells are high-producing wells, producing in excess of 150 MMcf per day. Due to their large production rates, these wells utilize unconventionally large tubulars 5- and 7-in. Furthermore, as is inherent with producing gas, there are many challenges with the production. One major challenge occurs when wells become liquid loaded. As gas wells age, they produce more liquids, namely brine and condensate. Depending on flow conditions, the produced liquids can accumulate and induce a hydrostatic head pressure that is too high to be overcome by the flowing gas rates. Applying surfactants that generate foam can facilitate the unloading of these wells and restore gas production. Although the foaming process is very cost effective, its application to high-producing gas wells in Trinidad has always been problematic for the following reasons: Some of these producers are horizontal wells, or wells with large deviation angles.They were completed without pre-installed capillary strings.They are completed with large tubing diameters (5.75 in., 7 in.). Recognizing that the above three factors posed challenges to successful foam applications, major emphasis and research was directed toward this endeavor to realize the buried revenue, i.e., the recovery of the well's potential to produce natural gas. This research can also lead to the application of learnings from the first success to develop treatment for additional wells, which translates to a revenue boost to the client and the Trinidad economy. Successful treatments can also be used as correlations to establish an industry best practice for the treatment of similarly completed wells. This paper will highlight the successes realized from the treatment of three wells. It will also highlight the anomalies encountered during the treatment process, as well as the lessons learned from this treatment.

Erosion Mechanism and Sensitivity Parameter Analysis of Natural Gas Curved Pipeline

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Hao Yi ◽  
Zhuo Huang ◽  
Jiadai Du
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Wear Rate ◽  
Shape Factor ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Solid Particles ◽  
Parameter Analysis ◽  
Particle Collision ◽  
Erosion Wear ◽  
Gas Wells ◽  
The Impact

With the deepening of natural gas exploitation, the problem of sand production in gas wells is becoming more and more serious, especially in high-yield gas wells. The solid particles in natural gas are very likely to cause erosion and wear of downstream pipelines and throttling manifolds, which makes the pipeline ineffective. Once the pipeline is damaged, the natural gas leaks, which may cause serious catastrophic accidents. In this paper, the impact of sand particles on the pipeline wall is predicted by the analysis of the research on bent and continuous pipeline combined with particle collision model. The parameters of different particles (particle shape factor, particle velocity, and particle diameter), different bent parameters (angle, diameter, and curvature-to-diameter ratio), and the influence of different continuous pipeline parameters (assembly spacing and angle) are explored on the erosion and wear mechanism of curved pipeline. The results show that the shape of the particles has a great influence on the wear of the curved pipeline. As the shape factor of the particles decreases, the wear tends to decrease. The bent area is subject to erosion changes as the particle parameters and piping parameters. The increase in pipeline diameter is beneficial to reduce the maximum and the average erosion wear rate. When the bent angle of the pipeline is less than 90 deg, the maximum erosion wear rate is basically the same. But when it is greater than 90 deg, it decreases with the increase in the bent angle. When the assembly angle of double curved pipeline is between 0 deg and 60 deg, the elbow is subject to severe erosion wear. At the same time, increasing the assembly spacing is beneficial to reduce the erosion wear rate. The research can provide a theoretical support for subsequent engineering applications.

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