Investigation of the Relation Between Coring Parameters and Formation Representation

Abugharara, Abdelsalam N. A. and Butt, Stephen (2023) Investigation of the Relation Between Coring Parameters and Formation Representation. In: ASME 2023 42nd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, June 11–16, 2023, Melbourne, Australia.

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Abstract

Coring is an essential operation for subsurface formation evaluation. It is a key to recover cores from formation and have them unaltered for best formation representation. Numerous reasons could influence core integrity that could produce data through core characterization that could misrepresent the formation. The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of the (input vs. output) coring parameters and coring bit type on the coring performance and the cored formation property representation in high strength rocks. Such aim was investigated through coring operations applying Weight On Bit (WOB), rotary speed (revolution per minute - rpm), etc. In this research, high strength granite blocks were cored using a fully instrumented large-scale laboratory drilling simulator. Two main types of coring bits were utilized in the coring operations including a thick-wall coring bit and a thin-wall coring bit. The range of the applied WOB varied between a low weight (1kN) and a high weight (15kN) with increment increase of (2.5 kN). The applied rpm ranged between 60rpm and 300 rpm with increment increase of 60 rpm. Granite formation was characterized for rock property determination. The indirect Tensile (IT) Strength Test was conducted for the granite Material Characterization (MC). The analyzed and reported results of the overall coring performance, parameters (parameters vs. type of coring bit), and the IT for granite MC showed an influence of the un-optimized applied coring parameters and the random selection of the coring bit could remarkably impact the coring performance outcome and misrepresent rock property of the cored formation. Results recommend optimal selection of coring bit and applied coring parameters are essential for best coring performance.

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