Christmas tree (oil well)

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In petroleum and natural gas extraction, a christmas tree is an assembly of valves, spools
and fittings for an oil well, named for its resemblance to a decorated tree. The term
"Christmas Tree" has now become something of a misnomer as complexity has increased
and they are more frequently manufactured from a single block of steel rather than made
from multiple flanged joints. Especially in subsea applications the resemblance no longer
exists given the frame and support systems into which the main valve block is integrated.
It is also more usual now to determine either "Subsea Tree" or "Surface Tree".
The function of a christmas tree is to both prevent the release of oil or gas from an oil
well into the environment and also to direct and control the flow of formation fluids from
the well. When the well is ready to produce oil or gas, valves are opened and the release
of the formation fluids is allowed through a pipeline leading to a refinery, or to a platform
or to a storage vessel (known as a Floating Production Storage (and) Offloading Vessel or
FPSO).
It may also be used to control the injection of gas or water injection application on a
none-producing well in order to sustain "producer" volumes. On natural gas wells, the
Christmas Tree may be outfitted with a lubricator/catch assembly to catch a mechanical
plunger that returns to the surface to clear fluids from the tubing pipe.
On producing wells injection of chemicals or alcohols or oil distillates to solve
production problems (such as blockages) may be used. Functionality may be extended
further by using the control module on a subsea tree to monitor, measure and react to
sensor inputs on the tree or even down the well bore. Crucial to safety the tree will
probably also control the downhole safety valve.
Christmas trees are used on both subsea (current technical limits are up to around 3000
metres and working temperatures of -50 f to 250f with a pressure rating up to
15,000psi) and surface wellheads and both are available in a wide range of sizes and
configurations, such as low- or high-pressure capacity and single- or multiple-completion
capacity or horizontal or vertical in their primary valve bore axis.

Christmas tree (oil well)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Interested in contributing to Wikipedia?

Jump to: navigation, search

In petroleum and natural gas extraction, a christmas tree is an assembly of valves, spools
and fittings for an oil well, named for its resemblance to a decorated tree. The term
"Christmas Tree" has now become something of a misnomer as complexity has increased
and they are more frequently manufactured from a single block of steel rather than made
from multiple flanged joints. Especially in subsea applications the resemblance no longer
exists given the frame and support systems into which the main valve block is integrated.
It is also more usual now to determine either "Subsea Tree" or "Surface Tree".
The function of a christmas tree is to both prevent the release of oil or gas from an oil
well into the environment and also to direct and control the flow of formation fluids from
the well. When the well is ready to produce oil or gas, valves are opened and the release
of the formation fluids is allowed through a pipeline leading to a refinery, or to a platform
or to a storage vessel (known as a Floating Production Storage (and) Offloading Vessel or
FPSO).
It may also be used to control the injection of gas or water injection application on a
none-producing well in order to sustain "producer" volumes. On natural gas wells, the
Christmas Tree may be outfitted with a lubricator/catch assembly to catch a mechanical
plunger that returns to the surface to clear fluids from the tubing pipe.
On producing wells injection of chemicals or alcohols or oil distillates to solve
production problems (such as blockages) may be used. Functionality may be extended
further by using the control module on a subsea tree to monitor, measure and react to
sensor inputs on the tree or even down the well bore. Crucial to safety the tree will
probably also control the downhole safety valve.
Christmas trees are used on both subsea (current technical limits are up to around 3000
metres and working temperatures of -50 f to 250f with a pressure rating up to
15,000psi) and surface wellheads and both are available in a wide range of sizes and
configurations, such as low- or high-pressure capacity and single- or multiple-completion
capacity or horizontal or vertical in their primary valve bore axis.

[edit] Drilling
The well is created by drilling a hole 5 to 30 inches (13 76 cm) diameter into the earth
with an oil platform which rotates a drill bit. After the hole is drilled, a steel pipe (casing)
slightly smaller than the hole is placed in the hole, and secured with cement. The casing
provides structural integrity to the newly drilled wellbore in addition to isolating
potentially dangerous high pressure zones from each other and from the surface.
With these zones safely isolated and the formation protected by the casing, the well can
be drilled deeper (into potentially more-unstable and violent formations) with a smaller
bit, and also cased with a smaller size casing. Modern wells often have 2-5 sets of
subsequently smaller hole sizes drilled inside one another, each cemented with casing.
To drill the well,

The drill bit, aided by the weight of drill string and drill collars above it, breaks up
the earth.
Drilling fluid (aka "mud") is pumped down the inside of the drill pipe and exits at
the drill bit and aids to break up the rock, keeping pressure on top of the bit, as
well as cleaning, cooling and lubricating the bit.
The generated rock "cuttings" are swept up by the drilling fluid as it circulates
back to surface outside the drill pipe. The fluid then goes through "shakers" which
strain the cuttings from the good fluid which is returned to the bit. Watching for
abnormalities in the returning cuttings and volume of returning fluid are
imperative to catch "kicks" (when the pressure below the bit is more than that
above, causing gas and mud to come up uncontrollably) early.
The pipe or drill string to which the bit is attached is gradually lengthened as the
well gets deeper by screwing in several 30-foot (10 m) joints of pipe at surface.
Usually joints are combined into 3 joints equaling 1 stand. Some smaller rigs only
use 2 joints and newer rigs can handle stands of 4 joints.

This process is all facilitated by a drilling rig which contains all necessary equipment to
circulate the drilling fluid, hoist and turn the pipe, control downhole pressures, remove
cuttings from the drilling fluid, and generate onsite power for these operations.

[edit] Completion
Main article: Completion (oil and gas wells)
After drilling and casing the well, it must be 'completed'. Completion is the process in
which the well is enabled to produce oil or gas.
In a cased-hole completion, small holes called perforations are made in the portion of the
casing which passed through the production zone, to provide a path for the oil to flow
from the surrounding rock into the production tubing. In open hole completion, often
'sand screens' or a 'gravel pack' is installed in the last drilled, uncased reservoir section.
These maintain structural integrity of the wellbore in the absence of casing, while still
allowing flow from the reservoir into the wellbore. Screens also control the migration of
formation sands into production tubulars and surface equipment, which can cause
washouts and other problems, particularly from unconsolidated sand formations in
offshore fields.
After a flow path is made, acids and fracturing fluids are pumped into the well to fracture,
clean, or otherwise prepare and stimulate the reservoir rock to optimally produce
hydrocarbons into the wellbore. Finally, the area above the reservoir section of the well is
packed off inside the casing, and connected to the surface via a smaller diameter pipe
called tubing. This arrangement provides a redundant barrier to leaks of hydrocarbons as
well as allowing damaged sections to be replaced. Also, the smaller diameter of the
tubing produces hydrocarbons at an increased velocity in order to overcome the
hydrostatic effects of heavy fluids such as water.

In many wells, the natural pressure of the subsurface reservoir is high enough for the oil
or gas to flow to the surface. However, this is not always the case, especially in depleted
fields where the pressures have been lowered by other producing wells, or in low
permeability oil reservoirs. Installing a smaller diameter tubing may be enough to help
the production, but artificial lift methods may also be needed. Common solutions include
downhole pumps, gas lift, or surface pump jacks. The use of artificial lift technology in a
field is often termed as "secondary recovery" in the industry. Many new systems in the
last ten years have been introduced for well completion. Multiple packer systems with
frac ports or port collars in an all in one system have cut completion costs and improved
production, especially in the case of horizontal wells. These new systems allow casings to
run into the lateral zone with proper packer/frac port placement for optimal hydrocarbon
recovery.

[edit] Production
The production stage is the most important stage of a well's life, when the oil and gas are
produced. By this time, the oil rigs and workover rigs used to drill and complete the well
have moved off the wellbore, and the top is usually outfitted with a collection of valves
called a wellhead. These valves regulate pressures, control flows, and allow access to the
wellbore in case further completion work is needed. From the outlet valve of the
wellhead, the flow can be connected to a distribution network of pipelines and tanks to
supply the product to refineries, natural gas compressor stations, or oil export terminals.
As long as the pressure in the reservoir remains high enough, the wellhead is all that is
required to produce the well. If the pressure depletes and it is considered economically
viable, an artificial lift method mentioned in the completions section can be employed.
Workovers are often necessary in older wells, which may need smaller diameter tubing,
scale or paraffin removal, acid matrix jobs, or completing new zones of interest in a
shallower reservoir. Such remedial work can be performed using workover rigs also
known as pulling units to pull and replace tubing, or by the use of a well intervention
technique called coiled tubing.
Enhanced recovery methods such as waterflooding, steam flooding, or CO2 flooding may
be used to increase reservoir pressure and provide a "sweep" effect to push hydrocarbons
out of the reservoir. Such methods require the use of injection wells (often chosen from
old production wells in a carefully determined pattern), and are used when facing
problems with reservoir pressure depletion, high oil viscosity, or can even be employed
early in a field's life. In certain cases depending on the reservoir's geomechanics
reservoir engineers may determine that ultimate recoverable oil may be increased by
applying a waterflooding strategy early in the field's development rather than later. Such
enhanced recovery techniques are often called "tertiary recovery".

[edit] Abandonment

When the well no longer produces or produces so poorly that it is a liability, it is

abandoned. In this process, tubing is removed from the well and sections of well bore are
filled with cement to isolate the flow path between gas and water zones from each other,
as well as the surface. Completely filling the well bore with cement is costly and
unnecessary. The surface around the wellhead is then excavated, and the wellhead and
casing are cut off, a cap is welded in place and then buried.