t,

..

RUSSIAN
PETROLEUM
1NDUSTR%

French Engineers Report on Petroleum Technology

In the U.S.S.R.
BERNARD

J. SiVE

MEMBER
AIME
Editors Note: This article is the first in a series to be
dealpublished in JOURNALOF PETROLEUMTECHNOLOGY
ing with Russian achievements
in pet<oleum research,
drilling andprocluctio
noperations. TheoriginaI paper, /irst
published inthe.lan,,
1962 issue o~llt?w-m DE LINSWWT
visits to
FRANCAISDU PETROL%stemmed from aseriesof
Russia made by three teams of French engineers in late
1960 and early 1961. It has been translated from the
French for publication in JPTby T. V. Moore, petroleunt
consultant in Houston, Tex,
The original French document required approximately
100 magazine pages for publication.
While translating,
therefore, Moore has worked with the JPT editors in an
effort to logically divide the French paper into a series
of shorter, self-contained articles. suitable for publication
in JPT.
This first ariicle in the series was written by Bernard.t.
She, head of the Production, Drilling and Equipment
Dept. for the Bureau de Recherchesde
P{trole, Paris, He
sunsmurizes activities in the Russian producing industry
and reviews the oil exploitation methods being etnployed
in the Soviet Union at the begintdn~of 1961. In the April
JPT, She describes his teams.visit to three of the largest
oil-producing fields in the U.S.S.R.
Subsequent articles in the series will describe visits to
three of the most important Russian scientific institutesthe Ufa Oil Scientific Research Institute, the Moscow
Institute for Oil Production and the Moscow Scientific
[nstitute of Petroleum Geology, At rhese[ast two, various
research studies being carried out on oil reservoir exploitation and oil recovety are described, and laboratory data
are presented to give an idea of the types of model,~ being
used, a fibld in which the Russian enghaeers have made
interesting contributions.
Finally, the Soviet drilling industry is examined in detail, The different drilling sites visited are described fo[Iowed by an ihrtration
of studies in applied research
being copducted, particularly on drillability and electrq:
drilling.
SIASICSi,

196s

BUREAU DE RECHERCHES
PARIS, FRANCE

DE PiTROIE

This excelbst study of the Russbus petroleum industry merits the readhtg of every conscientious
petrohxmi engineer. The Freneh engineers who wrote
the material did a very fine job of analyzing the
atrersgths and weaknesses of petroleum essghwerhsg
in Russia. Journal of Petroleum Technology and Mr.
T. V, Moore are to be congratulated for their etforta
in translating and pub,llehing this series of articles.

If the systemization of methods were not the essential

feature of Russian oil operations, it would be rash to
discuss petroleum production in the U.S.S.R, after a stay
of only 15 days, Because the various institutes of technology (principally the MOSCOWInstitutes) plan all of the
projects throughout the country, we were able to quickly
get a picture of the types of field operations taking place in
the Bashkir, Tatar, Stalingrad and Baku oil fields. Once
the philosophies followed by these institutes are understood, one can quickly comprehend the field operations
because these institutes plan all development projects and
follow them during the course of exploitation, The role
of the local trusts is reduced to the practical execution
of these projects and tocost reduction.
Development of Reeervofrs
When a positive test has been obtained on an exploration
well, it appears that an estimate of probable reserves is
made by the Geological Institute of Moscow; unfortunately, however, we have no details of the methods
employed,
The area is then surveyed with an extension drilling
program, the make-up of which, though loose enough+
appears to be the same for all fields. On the basis of the
results of this campaign, the institute responsible undertakes the reservoir study, judges the producibility and
establishes a definite plan for development, fixing the
number of wells, the annual rate of production and the
general method of exploitation (usually, water injection),
Systematic development of the reservoir is then carried
out;. it is put on production, often bit by bit (as in the
Romashkino field, Tatar. Republic), according to the ,plan
dete~ined
by the institute and approved by. $UperiOr.
authorities.
2ss

One of the disadvantages of this system is that the

project-definitive
in principleis based only on a partial
knowledge of the reservoir, and information gathered during the development apparently is not used to modMy the
initial plan. This often causes surprises after the beginning
of production, such as the invasion of the D-1 zone by
water injected into the D-2 zone at Tuymazy (Bashkir
Republic), bad drainage at Romashkino, and too great
distances between injection and producing wells,
From this a second phase of development often results,
aimed at sts?mgthening the first arrangement (drilling of
new rows for production or injection).
Different Types of Reservoirs
Reservoirs in the Bashkir and Tatar republics are of a
very particular typenumerous sand zones, more-or-less
lenticubr, with very flat reservoirs where the water-oil
contact extends over a large surface, The depth is not very
gredt (basement is at 2,000 m, or 6,600 ft ) and the oil is
undersaturated. This is probably the region of the U.S.S.R.
where the largest oil fields are foundTuymazy produces
12 million tons/year (242,000 B/D), and Romashkino
more than 30 million tons/year (600,000 B/D).
In the Stalingrad region the structures have only slight
dip, but more pronounced than in the preceding region;
gas caps occur frequently. The depth is still relatively
shallow. The exploration is relatively recent, but the basin
is deeper than that of the Urals-Volga (Devonian encountered at 3,500 m, or 11,500 ft, at Zhirnovsk), especiaffy
in the eastern region where it sinks toward the Caspian
depression.
Genersd Methods of Exploiting Reservoirs

Reservoirs generally are exploited by water flooding

natural water drives in some cases, but mostly by water
injection.
Water injection has been used for a dozen or so years.
Apart from some cases of five-spots used in the exhausted
reservoirs of the Azerbaidzhan Republic, water flooding is
carried out with concentric lines of injection and producing weils.
For reservoirs of moderate size, water is injected at the
flanks through a ring of wells spaced from 400- to 600-m
(about 1,3oO- to 2,000-ft) apart. The lines of producing
wells are concentric to the line of injection wells, the first
being located 1,300- to 2,000-m (4,2S0- to 6,600-ft)
away. There are two, three, or four (occasionally five)
such fines, the interior lines often being dri[led or augmented when the water has invaded the exterior rings of
wells, which are then used for injection (as in the
Zhirnovsk field).
For the large reservoirs (greater than 6- to 8-km wide,
about 31/2 to 5 miles) this method is considered inefficient,
and the reservoir is then divided by lines of interior ifijection wells into several sections which constitute so many
distinct reservoirs; this is the method which, used by force
of circumstances at Tuymtwy, is applied on a large scale
at Romashkino (wldch is divided into 23 distinct parcels),
Each of these parcels is then treated as a separate reservoir, with injection on the flanks, This system is sometimes expanded by a new line of interior injection wells
(as in the Romashkino field),
The wi?lls intended for injection are first produced in
order to lower the pressure as much as possible; then
water is injected in afternate wells in. or&r to drain the
oii. fn the neighborhood of the row ..of. injectors before
injecting water in all of the weiis.

Injection was started 10 years ago after several years

of production; since the pressure had then been reduced,
an effort was made to increase it to its original value, Now,
they tend to inject and to maintain pressure from the
beginning (as at Zhirnovsk). Injection pressures are quite
high, often more than 50-kg/sq cm (700-psi) higher than
the initial pressure (related to the mean pressure at the
row of injection wells, and not to the real reservoir pressure during injection). This obviously increases the productivity of the wells, but may cause significant losses in
the aquifer which has been repressured. On the other hand,
the displacement of the oil is accomplished substantially
below the bubble point, which is not favorable to high
recovery.
Gas injection, whether or not in miscible condition, is
not contemplated at the moment.
Caicttlation of Reserves
In most cmes reserves are estimated only by tire vohJtnetric method, since production at constant pressure does
not permit a material balance, Only in an advanced stage
of exploitation can the estimate of recoverable reserves be
confirmed.
It is surprising to see that the percentage ot wells cored
is so smalll O to 15 per cent at maximum we were told
at the Geological Institute of Moscow, but not less than
50 wells per field according to the Institute of Ufa, On
the other hand, the recovery is very poor (50 per cent
maximum). Finally, it must be noted that the development
csf electric logging is not very advapced (neither Laterolog,
Induction log, Sonic log nor MicroLaterolog) and that the
technologists of the Geological Institute of Moscow have
told us that they avoid, as much as possible, estimating
values of porosity from Iogs because the error committed
can be very great!
Thus, it seems that the accuracy obtained may not be
very good, but one should note that at least in Bashkir and
Tatar, by reason of the high proportion of sand and sandstone res~rvoirs, the high value of the porosity (about 20
per cent) should reduce the error.
Concerning the determination of effective thickness, it
seems that the Russians usc a threshold permeability, but
the 100-md value given at Baku, Azerbaidzhan Republic,
seems surprisingly high.
Finally, the value of the recovery factor seems to be,
uniformly, 60 per centsometimes 70 per centwhich
seems high, even considering sweep by water in reservoirs
as heterogeneous as those at Romtwhkino, The explanation
lies perhaps in the restrictive definition of the reserves in
place.
Weii Spacing and Production Rate
The spacing problem is very controversial in the, U.S.S.R.,
with two opposing schools ieeming to existto increase
or to decrease spacing as the productivity of the wells
increases,
Historically, the Russians have witnessed a very substantial increase in well spacing over the last 10 years.
From 3 to 4 hectares/well (7,4 to 9,9 acres/well) in the
old reservoirs of Azerbaidzhan, they have passed 20 hectares/well (about 50 acres/well) at Tuymazy and Bavly
(Tatar Republic field), Actually, a costly and curious
experiment is now being conducted in an attempt to
resolve thk problem from the technical and economic
points of view. They have shut in one weli out of two+
. . . . ..
~Thus,

90

wells

me

useless,

:.
JO UIINAL

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TECHNOLOGY

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without changing the total production from the field, and

they will compare the loss of oil occasioned by doubling
the spacing with the savings achieved in investments and
operating costs (theoretically, the number of wells is
reduced ),
The results of this experiment have been anticipated at
Romashkino where the spacing varies from 24 to 54
hectares/well (59.3 to 133.4 acres/well).
Finally, the opinions of technologists at Azerbaidzhan
seem fixed, Prof. Cherkatchov having demonstrated that
recovery increases as well spacing decreases.
The field production rates, which should depend on
well spacing, apparently are independent of it and quite
small (2 to 4 per cent of the recoverable reserves per
year); we have not found the technical oreeonomic justification for these figures. This small production evidentIy
introduces a great flexibility in the exploitation. The experiment tried at Bavly shows that, by letting the wells pro:
duce, they could have just as easily increased production
substantiallyinsofar as the heterogeneity of the formation
would have permitted an increase in the rate of water
injection.
The flow of individual wells is pr~bably determined in
a certain number of cases by considerations such as waterconing, but it generally appears to be determined by the
over-tdl production rate of the field and by the spacing
adopted-both
of which appear to be fixed emptilcally.
ProbIems of Gas
Gas-capfields are treated like ordinary reservoirs-that
is, with water injection and, eventually, withdrawal of gas
to limit the extension of the gas cap, In any case, production by gas-cap drive, with or without gas injection, is not
contemplated,
If the gas cap is sufficiently important, it can even be
exploited as a gas field at the same time as the underlying
oil is produced, the two zones being separated by water
injected at the gas-oil contact (as at Karadag inthe Baku
region).
The Russians attach suchgreat importance to gas that
they seem to recover it from all oil fields, even if the
separation mnst be made at pressures of 0,2 to 0.4 kg/sq
cm (3 to 6 psi), which would make its economic value
dubious. Itisthen
recompressed in two stages, Aseriesof
first-stage stations distributed throughout the t%ld raises
the pressure to 6 kg/sq cm (90 psi); the gas then is
treated in a gasoline extraction plant and the pressure is
raised high enough to transport it long distances by
pipelines.
Production Processes
By virtue of the maintenance of pressure at a high
value, a large part of the wells produce by flowing; the
others are generally pumped, (We noted the use of electric
deep-well pumps, and some hydraulic pumps of the Kobe
type. ) Akliftand gaslift are used also.
Separation is made at the wellhead where there is a
small low-pressure separator (0,2 to 0,4 atm, sometimes
higher), an automatically emptying tank of several cubic
meters capacity and, finally, a crude-oil pum . One of the
reasons for this separation at the wellhead(t ould be the
need to purge the oil of its gas in order to avoid, as far
as possible, the deposition of paraffin in the lines. The
separation may be bad, but this is not important since the
..heavy gas products are subsequently recovered,
Paraflin cleaning isdone as follows.

1. In flowing wells-with scrapers activated by a winch

which operates automatically every four or eight hours;
the automatic scraper (without cable), developed and presented as the ideal solution by the Institute of MOSCOW,is
used less and less because it often jams.
2, In tanks and gathering lines-by periodic injections
of steam (two or three times a month),
3, in pumping wells-by small plates tied on the rods.
Gathering is done, where possible, by simple gravity AS
far as a small storage station (one for each brigade); ihe
oil is then picked up by pumps and sent to a central station, where it may be desalted,
Injection water is gatheredwhether it be from the
producing zone, in which case it is reinfected without
treatment, or directly from a river or the sea, when it
is subjected to filtration and chemica} treatment before?
reitijection.
The large mimber of wefls and the great dispersion of
producing installations make automation of operations
very desirable, and the Russians are experimenting with
this in several ffelds. In the majority of cases, they have
only installed teletransmission to a central instrument panel
indicating the. functioning of certain equipment (scrapers,
tank levels, etc.) and telephonic communication with a
, mobile brigade of operators; in some cases they also have
remote control to the pumps and tele-indication of measurements (flow of wells, functioning of scrapers, etc.).
Transmission is made either by aerial telephone wire,
one wire to a weli (which entails a forest of telephone
poles in the fields), or by radio.
The results seem inconclusive; at least for elaborate
automation; particularly, interest in tbe telerecording of
measurements does not appear to be proven by the experiments shown to us at Bavly; only two wells were functioning properly (out of 85). Radio communications functioned poorly (interference between sections or neighboring fields). They are now oriented in their thinking toward
underground cable, with a single cable for several wells,
We did not see (or hear them mention) either multiple
completions or multiple deviated wells, except at the
Moscow exposition,
Scientific Research
Institutes are numerous in the U.S.S.R, and monopolize
all technical activity in the petroleum industry. In addition
to routine measurements (cores, fluids, etc.), they do the
reservoir engineering work on the oil fields, develop new
methods and do scientific research.
It would have been interesting to have gone somewhat
into detail concerning the elaboration of a development
project, but that was not possible. It always appeared that
the basic tool was the electric analyzer, on which they
study. several solutions for the location of lines of injection
and producing wells, weli spacing and annual production.
As far as we could learn, these last two elements do not
vary over wide limits; the recovery factor chosen apparently is not selected from studies of flooding cores or from
studies of sweep efficiency on physical models.
We will not dwell on the creation of new technique;
the instruments developed are interesting, even though
their claimed benefits are not always contlrmed in the ileld,
We passed through the institutes too rapidly to give an
authoritative opinion as to their scientitlc research effort+
The most interesting project was certajnly that of Prof.
wlor,,
at Mcyow, apd their most remarkable accomplishment hthe giant aniljvzer-of 20,000 mesh points, One
.-.

Iwl

,.

obviously can ask some questions about the difficulties of

putting such an apparatus mto operation, and about the
problem of leakage in the electric circuits, but the users
seem to have overcome them and consider a reservoir
study as routine work.
The existence of analyzers more modest but still of
respectable size shows definitely that the Russians use the
electric analog as the basic tool for all reservoir studies.
It is necessary to add, with due respect to the work
accomplished by the Russian engineers, that the construction of such an apparatus actually is no longer justitled,
at least in Western countries, because of the great progress
made in the field of numerical computers, The means for
numerical calculation at the disposal of the Russian institutes in the petroleum field are really very limited, and
this certainly explains the great development effort devoted
to the studies on models. At the Institute of Petroleum
Production of Moscow, two apparatuses (study of waterconing and hydro-integrator)
are in fact mathematical
models, and one may que=tion their useflilness, in spite
of tbe difficulty of the direct calculation of :iuid mechanics.
The study of displacement fronts of injected water,
undoubtedly from the fact that this is done by lines of
injection and producing wells, has only been conducted on
simplified linear models. The adaptation of the model of
expansion of dissolved gas to displacement by water has
recently shown that the recovery is maximal when the
pressure is slightly below the bubble point. This result,
well known to Western engineers, was new to the Russian
engineers accustomed to maintaining the initial reservoir
pressure. Nevertheless, their work constitutes an interesting
experimental demonstration. Other models, like that of the
horizontal sweep of oil by wafer or the transitory movements of coning, are too new to enable one to be sure that
they will give really quantitative results,
The research effort reserved for such problems as the

microscopic study of the displacement of od by water,

capillary pressure, the influence of strathication and heterogeneity, and imbibition appears very modest.
In pulling together these impressions of the general
practice in the U.S.S.R. of maintaining the initial reservoir
pressure, one might ask if the scientific bases for the
studies of recovery and profitability are well founded. It is
difficult to be affirmative on this point which makes the
connection between operations and research. Furthermore,
it is necessary to donsider the evolution of techniques up
to the present time. A more thorough study of the manner
in which development projects are evolved, in relation to
the research work in progress, would be ws interesting
subject for a later mission or for a period of study at the
Petroleum Institute of Moscow. This would permit a definite idea on these subjects to be formed.

T. V. MOOREis a petroleum consultant in Houston, He retired on Sept. 1,

[962, ufter 32 years of service with
Standtird Oil Co. (N. J.) with his law
assignment being research advisor for
the Producing Coordination Dept. After
May 1, 1960, he was on leave of absence f rotn Jersey to serve for two years
as teciutical advisor to the Drilling, Production and Reservoir Div. of tile {nstitut Francais du P6tro1e, in Paris.

BERNARDJ. SEVE iwctds tite Production, Drilling and Equipment Dept. of

tile Bureau tic Reciterciles de P4role,
Paris, France. A kraduate front Ecole
Polytecit nique, Paris, he iroi<is mining
and production
engineering
degrees
frotn Ecole Nntionule Sup&ieure des
Mines de Pari.- and Ecoie Nationaie
Supe%ieure du P;trole, Pativ. She joined
the Bureau de Recilercites de Pktsoie
in 1956.

.\\

Conclusion
In summation, the Soviet petroleum industry does not
appear to have developed any original production methods
-except, perhaps, for the systematic use of wuter injection
and its application to the low relief structure of the UralsVolga region, and the simultaneous exploitation of an oil
reservoir and its gas cap.
It is remarkable to no~e that, besides theoretically
important research (and we were scarcely able to estimate
the impact of this on practical reservoir calculations), the
Soviet technologists do not hesitate to msh into large-scale
experiments, like the one at Bavly.
Finally, it is necessary to emphasize the organization of
the Russian petroleum in~us(ry, which clearly distinguishes
between the planning an$ the execution phases, This system obviously insures a great uniformity among the different operations but does not seem to permit, at least in
practice,,a maximum profit to be realized from information
***
gathered during the course of operation,

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JOURNAL

OF-PETROLEUM

TECHIYOL(SGV

RUSSIAN
PETROLEUM
1NDUSTR%

Case Histories of Three Large Soviet

Oil Fields
BERNARD

J, SEVE

MEMBER

AfME

Editors Note; This urticle is the second in a series

dealappearitrg in JOURNALOF PE~RSXEUMTECHNOLOGY
ing with Russian cwhievements in petroleam research,
drilling and pro[iaction operations. The original paper,
first ptihlisiteci io the Jan,, 1962 issue of REVUE DE
DU l%TROLE,
stemmed jrons a series
LlNsIUW FRANCAW
of visits to Russia made by three teams of French etlgineers in late 1960 and early 1961. It [lCISbeen translated
from the French forpnb[ication
in JPTby T,. V. Moore,
petroleatn consultant in Hoaston, Tex,
In tlri,rit~,~t([llttlettt BernordJ. Salve, headof the Production, Drilling and Equip nletrt Dept, for the Bnreati tie
Recherches de Piltrole in Paris, describes his teanls visit
to three of the largest oil-prodacing jields in tile U.S.S.R.
.$obscqtte
ntar(iclesin the,veries wil[ describe visits to three
of the most in~p4rtant Rnssian scientific iristitutes, and will
exanlin etheSovie tcirillin gindustry in detail.

TUYMAZY

FIELD (Basbkir Republic)

The Tuymazy field, on which the town of Oktyabrskiy

was built, is the most important in the Bashkir Republic;
it is located in the far western portion of BashK~r on the
Tatar Republic frontier,
Geology
In Bashkir, the rocks are chiefly calcareous.,with a little
dolomite; the sands and shales are comparatively rare.
The geoIogic section encompasses the. Permian, Carboniferous, Devonian (Frosnien, Famenien) and Basement formations.
Tuymazy production comes primarily from two sandy
Devonian zones, the D-1 and D-2. There is also a littlc
production from the lower Carboniferous.
Reservoir Characteristics
Size of the structure is 18 X 30 km, or about 11 X 19
miles (the producing zone is somewhat smaller). A very
slight dip is evident of the order of 10 toward the west
and 2,5 toward tlm south.
The two sandy producing zones, D-1 and D-2 of the
lower Devonian, are iocdted at a depth of 1,700 m
(5,576 ft). Characteristics of these producing zones are
listed in Table 1.
558

BUREAU
PARIS,

DE RECHERCHES

DE PilROIE

FRANCE

Tbbt excellent study of the Russism petroleum industry merits the readfng of every consclentha
petroleum engineer. The French engineers who wrote
the material did a very tine job of atudyzistg the
strengths and weaknesses of petroleum engineering
in Russia. JourneJ of Petroleum Technology and _~.
T. V. Moore are to be congratulated for their efforts
in translating and publishing this series of ardcles.
ARTHURLUBmSKI

Producing Conditions
Producing wells are spaced from 400- to 500-m apart
(1,300 to 1,650 ft ), averaging 22 hectures/well (about
54 acres/well).
Production began in July, 1945, with a limited number
of welis, ,There was no gas cap. Pressure had falien from
172 to 119 kg/sq cm (from 2,440 to 1,690 psi) up to the
time when water injection was startedin June, 1948, in
Zone D-1 and in June, 1949, for Zone D-2.
Water injection stabilized the pressure at 119 kg/sq cm
(1,690 psi) until 1955 when it was increased; since then,
a constant pressure of 135 kg/sq cm (1,920 psi) has been
maintained-definitely
above the bubble point.
There are now 800 producing wells, 52 injection wells
in service and 70 more. injection wells pianned.
The amount of water injected is alout 50,000 cu nl/D,
(315,000. B/D) of which 36,000 to 40,000 cu nl/D
(220,000 to 250,000 B/D) are injected into the D-1 zone
(this rate is not increased on account of the heterogeneity
of the reservoir) at a pressure of 200 to 210 kg/sq cm
(2,850 to 3,000, psi).
The first injection wells in Zone D-1 were drilled 4 to
5 km (2U to 3 miles) from the interior contour and 1,5
km (just under 1 mile) from the exterior contour of the
oil-water contact. This distance has proven too great, and
.
the wells have since been drilled closer together,
For the D-2 zone, the injection wells have been located
inside the oil zone of the D-1. The separation between the
D-1 and D-2 zones is not perfect, and the injection of
water in the D-2 results in-a flooding of the D-1 in certain
central wells, Instead of opposing this behavior, an attempt
JOURKAL

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will be made to correct it and transform the zones thus
invaded into lines of injection wells, thus cutting the D-1
zone into from three to six sections. The nearest distance
from the new injection wells to production wells will be,
at most,. 2 km (1 ?4 miles), The project has been studied
by the electric analyzer, presurnhig a vertical front of
advancing water, for a projected period of20 years.
Injection water is taken from the aquifer (at a constant
temperature of 25 C). Generally, the injection wells are
hydraulically fractured.
The folIowing measurements are taken on the wells:
.- 1, lnifial testswhen a well is placed on production,
tltey make a continuous temperature log of the shut-in
well and a measurement of pressure each 200 m (6S6 ft).
After a week of production, a bottom-hole sample is taken
and the pressure build-up studied with the well shut-in.
least four
2. Frequency of pressure measurementAt
times a year, each wefl is closed in for two or three hours
and the pressure is measured by a differential pressure
gauge. Five crews make these measurements continuously
on two or three wells per day.
In pumping wells they lower a special pressure gauge
which operates for seven days, but the pump must be
pulled each time to put the gauge in place and recover h.
Production

Current prodtiction is of the order of 12 million tons/

year (84 million bbI/year) or 40,000 tons/day (280,000
B/D)$of which 28,000 tons (196,000 bbl) come from the
D-l zone, accompanied by4,000 tons/day (25,000 B/D)
of water from the. D-1.
Cumulative production since the beginzsing of exploitation will be more than 100 million tons (740 million bbl),
of which about 80 million tons (600 million bbl) were
produced from the D-1,
Water production is about IS per cent and continues
to increase.
Thirty percent of the wells, are flowing and furnish 70
percent of thi production. The others are equipped with
several khids-of pumps. The best producers yield 150 cu
m/D (980 B/D).
The average productivity index of the wells is about 5
to 10 tons/D/kg/sq cm (2.6 to !$,2 B/D/psi). The pressure reduction in the reservoir varies from 2 to 10 kg/sq
cm (28 to 140 psi).
They estimate the increase in production obtained by

AND FLUID PROPERTIES--ZONES

D-1 AND D-2, TUYMAZY
FIELD, SASHKIR REPUBLIC, U.S.S.R.
.,

TASLE 1-RESERVOIR
Swf.ace Area,
0.1
D.2 Zone . . .
PW Thlcknewt
:;&.
> .
. . .
Porosity Range,
D-1 ond D. ZZones
Ava~g; P#,ablllty:
. .
D.2 Zone . . .

zone. , . ...

Initlol Sottem-hole
Gcs.Oil Ratio . ,

.,

,,

.,.

!,..

. . . . . . .

.300 kms (116 w miles]

miles)
50 km: (19.3

sq

9 m (29,5 ftl
IS m (59 fll

lSto23Parce@

.
.

.
.

.
.

.
,

.
,

.
.

.
.

.
,

450 md (100 PO 1,000 md)

g$lrnd (more homogeneous then

Preswre
. . .

.
.

.
.

,
.

,,.

.>

Density of Sfock.Tank 01[ ,

011 DansItY at Sottom.hoIe Conditlom
Bettom. hole Temperature . . . .
SubblwPolnt Pressurv:
Affhe
Canter .
. . . . .
On fh- Flanks . . . . . .
Sallnlty of Rworvolr Water .
. .
ProductIon Oblnlnsd,
From D.1 Zone . . . . .. .
From D.2 Z6n0 ... . . . . .
Prom Carbonlferouc
. . . .
*HIahar In thm central part.

95 ks/cmg (1 ,3S0 PSI)

SS ke/cmz [1,240 PSI]
200 gm/llt*r

70 w
cent
26 por cent
* gor cmt

water injection by comparing the production with injection to a theoretical production by natural drainage oh-,
tained by estimating a constant decline rate of 2 per cent/
month, which would be an over-all statistical average.
Visit To the FieI& Organization of the DMrIct
Station for C4dlecttng Injection Water
Water is taken from the aquffer in the river beds by
wells about 12-m (39-ft) deep. The gathering station we
visited takes water from about live wells, The station itself
is excavated to a depth of 10 m (33 ft) and the water
w-rives there by siphoning in t.ivo 30FCUm (1,000 cu ft)
reservoirs where a drop of 450 mm of mercury prevails.
The water is dkpatched to several distribution stations,
The flow in such stations is from 16,000 to 20,000 CU m/D
(100,000 to 125,600 BP). There are three or four such
stations for the field, One man supervises the station,
Wa:er-Injectfon Station
We visited a station which took care of 14 injection.
wells by an 8-in. pipe at a pressttre of 90 to 100 kg/sq
cm (1,270 to 1,420 psi).
Each pumping unit consists of two pumps in series,
permitting the pumping of 1$0 cu m/hr (940 bbl/hr) at
100 atm, The power is about 850 kw. In the station there
are five groups of electric motors, supplied at 6,000 v
and turning 3,000 rpm,
The actual flow is 6,000 cu m/D (37,500 B/D), which
can go as high as 12,000 cum/D
(75,000 B/D).
Water arriving at the pumping station is stored in a
1,000-cu m (35,000 cu ft) reservoir, the operation of
which is semi-automatic, Operation of the station requires
one man per station, and surveillance of the wells is
carried on by a mobile crew.
Station
Gas Compressor
All gas in the field is collected at the wellheads (separation from 0.2 to 0.4 atm, or 3 to 6 psi) and conducted
by 4-in, feeders and, a gathering line of 6, 8, 10 and 12
in. to 10 compressor stations, of which three are more
important than the others. These stations cover 100 to
150 wells; their flow is about 250,000 cu m/D (9 MMcf/
D). The total flow from the field is about 1.5 million cu
m/D (53 MMcf/D).
Gas arrives under vacuum (at a pressure of 60 mm of
mercury) and is compressed in two stages to 8 atm, The
station we visited consisted of six groups of 300-hp reciprocating compressors with a unit capacity of 50,000 cu
m/D (1,75 MMcf/D). The station is operattid by two
men.
Gas is sent to a plant which treats the field gas, extracting propane, isobutane, butane and gasoline and then
sending the gas by two lines (16 arid 18 in.) to Ufa
(220 km, or about 137 miles) and Magnitogorsk.
Vhvit to Production Iistalhstion
The field has six production installations which employ
376 people. One of these controls 240 telemeasured wells,
producing 7,000 tons/day (52,000 B/D)-2,5
million
tons/year. From the control house of the production center, the attendant can follow at a distance the proper functioning of the scrapers, the separators, and the, emptying
of the tanks when concerned with pumping wells; he cannot operate them, however, and ,is restricted in controlling
them.
Another installation visited, which comprises 145 wells,
is semi-automated. Pumps are started and stopped_ by re.
mote control, signals on the central control board permit
sa9

supervision of the regulation of fluicl levels in the separators and tanks, and of the proper functioning of the paraffin scraper.
There are 103 people at the installation, 90 of whom
are operators. Actually, most of these people are only
concerned with testing the automation equipment; if all
goes well, two-thirds of the force will be relieved.
They employ the following methods to fight paratlln,
which is deposited from 700 m (about 2,300 ft ) in the
tubing:
1. In pumping webs-by little plal.es attached to the
sucker rods, which an ingenious ratchet device turns
slightly at each stroke.
2, Zn flowing wef[sby scrapers of two types: (a) an
automatic scraper which makes a cycle about every 30
minutes (these are rapidly being abandoned); and (b) a
scraper operated by a small automatic winch which functions every four or eight hours.
3, In gvukering L%es-by steam injections, Three times
a month, they inject steam for 20 minutes into each well
at a flow rate of 2 tons/hmtr.
Centra[ Field Laboratory
This laboratory, whose budget for 1961 was 2.2 million
rubles (an increase from 1,5 million rubies in 1960),
carries out the program fixed by the institute for the
Tuymazy field, It consists of four principal departments:
(I) cheutkd-analysis
of produced water, demulsification,
crude-oil desalting, and analysis of oil and gas; (2) gee.
logicalbottom-hole pressures, isobaric maps, interference
between zones, and core and log studies; (3) production
pumping, etc.; and (4 ) core analysis
metitods-tlowing,
porosity and permeabiIhy determinations,

Historical Review of Romashidno*

The Romashkino field is of great size with iimits which
are.~ot yet precisely known. Several 1:.3icuiar producing
horimns exist in the Carboniferous, bui ;t.e principai re.
serves are contained in the Devonian--+articuiarly
in the
D-1 zone, the D-2 zone being water-bearing.
The D-1 zone is reaily made up of five more-or-less
lenticular sandy horizons, the totai thickness of which
varies from 2 to 35 m (6,5 to 115 ft), with an average
of 10 m (33 ft ) over the whole field, On the other hand,
the field is characterized by its very slight dip. It is practically flat, and the water-oii contact covers 80 per cent
of its surface,
With a reservoir of this large size, simple flank injection
of water was judged to be ineffective, To reduce the time
required for exploitation, the field was divided into 23
sections by interior lines of iitjection, with each section
to be deveioped separately as an individual reservoir, This
plan was approved in 1955 by the Council of Ministers
of the U.S.S.R. The development, incomplete as yet, is
being carried on in several phases, as explained in the
following sections of this paper,

Development of [he Centrai Zone

Development began in 1952-1954 around three areas
in the central regiori Minnibaievsk, Abdrakhmanovsk
and Pavlovsk. Each of these areas was surrounded by a
row of injection welis spaced 500 m ( 1,640-ft ) apart.
Three rows of producing weils were driiled l-km
(0,62 137-miies) apart, with the first row located 2 km
from the row of injection wells and the producing ,wells
spaced 600-m (about 1,968 ft) apart.
.

Service

Of the 13 service units, 10 are equipped with masts

for use on new wells which have no permanent derricks.
Drilling
About 50 per cent of the wells are cored, but they
do not make a systematic test on finishing a hole. Samples
are taken every 20 cm (about 8 in, ) from. the core,
TO separate the water and the oil zones, they often
fracture at the oil-water boundary, followed by cementing
which checks the entrance of water [20 tons of cement
or the injection of 50 to 80 tons of very visc&s critde
oil ).
ROMASHKINO

that of the Romashkino field. Since that date more than

a dozen reservoirs have been discovered, chiefly in the
Devonian, which is the most important horizon because
of its thickness, its reserves and the productivity of its
wells.
All. of these reservoirs, especially those of the lower
Carboniferous, are characterized by the existence of ttumerous superimposed producing horizons,

*This
account
takes
Into cons[dmatlon
view Niaftiauoie
I<lwziniatro
( 195S) No.
mnps and graphs
were taken,
.

an article
nublisherl
!), from which
mme
..

.. . . ....

in the rentirtlculm,
- ..

FIELD (Tatar Repttidic)

IEstoricai Review of Exploration in Tatar

T~e first geological expiration in the Tatar Republic
began in the early 19th Century with the formation in
1804 of the Geologic Institute of Kazan, The outcrops
are of Permian, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary ages.
The structural investigation, begun in i930, ,permitted the
reconnaissance of about 100 structures, the most interes~ing of which were studied in more precise fashion by
core drilling. The first deep wei] was driiied in 1939.
The fist field was discovered in 1943 at Chougourov,
30 km (18.7 miles) to the scuthwest Gf Leninogorsk, in
the middie Carboniferous limestone, The flows were of
the order of 10 to 15 tons/day (70 to 105 BOPD).
In 1945 a new reservoir was discovered on the same
structure between 900 and 1,200 m (2,950 and 3,940 ft )
in the lower Carboniferous where coal beds are often
found. It. was. in 1946 that. the first discovery was made
in the Devonian at Bavly, followed two years later by
S60

,=.-.,/

+.<.

i,..>

11NE5
M EXMOI?AIION
WELLS
ONESOF INMCIION
WEllS
,,~,Q
L,M,TS

.
-

.,

.!

FM l-fi;e
JOUEtNAL-OF

Romashkino fieid.

PETROLEUM-TECHNOLOGY

..

,.
1

During a first stage, the developers proceeded with the

rapid production of wells intended for injection, and this
caused a rapid reduction in the reservoir pressure. Then
they began injection in one of every two wells, leaving
the others on production in order to recover the maximum
amount of oil from the row of injection wells,
Injection began in 1954 at Minqibaievsk and Abdrakmanovsk and in 1955 at Pavlovsk. Table 2 gives the increase in the number of injection wells and the amount
of water injected between 1954 and 1958,
Injection was carried on at a wellhead pressure of 80
to 100 kg/sq cm (about 1,140 to 1,425 psi), and the
amount of water injected per well varied from 80to 200
cu m/D (500 to 1,260 B/D), Hydraulic fracturing is
generally doneon all injection wells,
Until 19S5 the quantity injected wasless than thequantity of oil produced, so that the reservoir pressure continued to decline. However, the amount of oil produced
per kilogram-per-square-centimeter
reduction of pressure
increased markedly. At the end of two or three months
the amount injected surpassed the amount produced and
the pressure began to build up, first at the injection front
and then in the producing zone.
Tiible 3 gives the minimum pressure attained, the date
on which the pressure began to increase and the pressure
attainedin 1958. The curves of Fig. 2, on the other hand,
show the history of the injection in these three zones.
During the first period of pressure reduction, 86 wells
ceased to flow, but 30 resumed flow when the reservoir
began to berepressured. No water hasarrived at the producing wells.
The development of the D-1 horizon has demonstrated
communication with the water-bearing D-2 zone. The
effects of this communication are followed by eight observation wells in which the pressure in the D-2 is measured
regularly. Four of these are located in the rows of injection wells andfour among the producing wells.
At the time of the first phase of exploitation, the water
level fell in seven of the observation wells. The injection
of water caused the build-up of this level in the injection
zone, However, in the rows of exploitation wells, the
pressure continues to fall, the pressure in the D-2 zone
still being lower than that in the D-1 by 15 to 20 kg/sq
cm (215 t0285 psi).

The points of communication between the D-1 end D-2

levels are not yet completely known, and the action has
not yet been explained entirely. Thus the study of this
phenomenon, which might eventually lead to a loss of
,oil, is being pursued,
Exploitation of the Central Zone Intensified
The
fist
phase of development brought to light certain
shortcomings due chiefly to the heterogeneity of the reservoir. In effect, the project was established on the basis
of information furnished by a preliminary, relatively wide
network of irdiii weils; only when the producing wells
were drilled could the complexity of the reservoir be
demonstrated,
.In view of this complexity, the distance between the
producing wells and the injection wells was shown to be
too great, and the interior rows did not react to water

1Owu

*0000

8000

0
s

1950

W303c40ds6e7

J), :,*

15000,

loom

40

+
i

we

19s2
TASM

AV8 , Vel .
Iniected
Per Wall
(CU
_,_ m/fM*

MINN16AIEVSK
Q

zones
Minni.
baIev$k

Years

End 1954
End 1955
End 1?56

17

700

10. I

57
120

6s0

21

650

End 1957

T35

610

18.1
19,7

1.6

Total
-iF

8.1
13,9

4
10.2

33.1
d2,2

19.9

14.6

54,2

..

1
J\$~

15030

,/;

600

25

l?4.b

14.6

64.2

Iooao

! k

TASIE

Initial
Minimum
Data
Pressure Pressure Rein$;&m!
lkd/cm)
(atml

2nd1~5rtor
175
132
134.6

175
175

*1 ks/cm2 =

In

!
#./

6000

643

dth quarter
1956
3rd}ygter

40

.. .

Pre$sureln lniecllOn ZOne

Pwlovsk

!70

iV

142
I w m = 6.2S9S bbl.

MInnlbtde~$k
Abdrakhnianovsk

Pmoy

m~/j of

Abdrakh,manevsk Pavlovsk

Flr;\$uartor

ZO~S

MWS6&S75S

2
Inlectlon Record
(1 ,000 c. ml

No. of
In$:ep

AEDRAKHMANOVSK

Praswre In Exploitation Zone

To Mlnlmum
TO
1-4.58
Pres$ure
Rej&#on
l.4.5s
[atm)
(atm)
..
_
_,(atm)
13s.s

126,6

.lif9.7
1$5.t

429,7
140.7

$th quarter
19s5
1tt ,ty~;for

.ir

lsa

5Z

El

96

05

129.9
2rd Quarter 146
19s7
-

AVSRAGE PRESSURE

------

Fig, 2-Injection

REPORTED 1NJE1310N

.
.

histories for the eekrai ,ZORM

.

,.

129.2

14.22 psi,

57

PAVLOVSK

S61

TABLE 4

injection, This required that the wells either be pumped

or shut-in. (This was especially clear at Abdrakhmanovsk
and Pavlovsk where the D-1 is very heterogeneous.) Then
again, the great distance between injection wells and producing wells can result in the flow of water along.Preferential channels and, thus, to trapping of oil.
Because of the discoritinuous character of the zone, no :
wells inject simultaneously in all horizons of the D-1 zone.
For example, Fig, 3 shows that there are strong possibilities of 10ss of oil in the Beds a andrwith injection on one side being made only in Zone b, and on the
other side in Miss b, g and d.

Mlnnlb.aleivsk
E$tlmated

Abdrakhmcmev$k

Actual

Inlection Rates
[CV mlD)*

Estlmalad
.

25,000 2%100

24,400
Pressure at lnlectlen
Wells (kg/sq cm)**
209
1B5
1 cu m =- 6,2S9S bbl of water,
kg/$q cm = 14,22 pd.

177,9

Actuml -

Pavlowk
-.
Ihtlmsted
-..

26,000

Actual

14,000
.

166,3

14,600

I 9s

I so

*I

TABLE S
Distance Setwemn ROWS Distance Between Well$
(ml*
(m)*
.Inloctlan.
Enplnttatlen

Under these conditions it appeared desirable to drill

supplementary lines of injection wells, especially for Zones
a and v, The project to drill an additional ring of
injection wells at Minnibaievsk and an extended line in
the longest part of Abdrakhmanovsk was approved by the
Central Commission for Reservoir Development in 1957.
Furthermore, it was decided to drill four supplementary
rings of producing welk at Mittnibaievsk, two at Abdrakhmanovsk and one at Pavlovsk, which brought the minimum distance between injection wells and producing
wells to 1,300 m (4,264 ft ). The execution of this program was begun in the latter part of 1957,
At the beginning of 1958, the total amount of water
injected was 23.5 million cu m ( 148 million bbl) at
Mismibaievsk, 14 million cu m (88 million bbl) at
Abdrakhmanovsk and 8.6 millicm cu m (54 million bbl)
at Pavlovsk. The rates of injection and the pressure at the
injection wells are given in Table 4, These quantities were
increased in 1959 and reached 90,000 cu m/D (566,000
B/D), equivalent to 25 million CUm/year (157.25 million
bbl/year), for all three central zones.

Ramashklno South
Zelenosorsk
%ulelewk

E.mt

ExplOltatlOn .ExpfOltatlen

400
600

1200
~~

Almetlevsk

1200
f 200.1400

600
dOO
Soo

1300

I$oo.,
400
650

.lnlotl[an
SW
500
500

Soo

I m = 1,2S1 ft,

wells outside and three rows of producing wells, The distances between wells are shown in Table 5, This development, .whlch should have been finished in 1958, has
suffered some deltry due to poor organization in the field.
(according to the article cited in Nieftiotmie Khoziutktro).
Development of the Remninder of the Field
The part discussed here covers less than one-half of the
fields total area. The remainder of the field is being
developed, but we do not have much information on this
matter except in the part managed by the Aznakaievo
trust. In fact, there are 2,000 producing wells and 350 to
400 injection wells; the mean flow to the injection wells
being about 565 cu m/D (about 3,550 B/D).
The spacing varies from 24 to54 hectares (6OO to 1,350
acres) per well, The adoption of this sprtcing was the
object of considerable discussion, there being several
schools of thought on this subject in Russia, Some think
that the well spacing shou[d increase with productivity;
others, with M. Kuilov, feel that the spacipg should be
even greater as the productivity of the wells is lower. Our

Development of the Peripheral Areas

At the beginning of 1955-56, development around the
central zone was carried on by bringing into production
four new areas in the. shape of a semicircleRomashkino
South, Zelenogorsk, Souleievsk East tmd Almetievsk. These
areas were developed as previously, with a row of injection

Quest

Est.
Exploltatton

lnjecton

Explolfotlon

[njscfion

5
-..<,-

,---

. .

. .

,..

.s

Fig. 3Schenlatic moss.section of the reservoir.

362

]Ol:RIqJSL

!,

-.

0S.

PETROLEUM

TIjCtEiYOLCiGY

locally as high as 50 per cent, M on the itverage only

I. 17 per cent.
Fig, 3 gives the history of injection and the pressure
behavior of this section. The project has been planned for
a duration of 30 years. Estimated recovery is 60 per cent,
of which they have already recovered 13 per cent.
The production of the trust is about 27,000 tons/day ,
(189,000 BOPD), of which 20,000 tons (140,000 bbl)
come from Minnibaievsk-around
3 to.4 per cent of the
reserves per year. (The rate for the rest of the tleld is
about 2 per cent on the average.)
Actually, water is injected at the rate of 34,000 cu m/D
(213,850 B/D) which is i.4 times the volume of oil
produced.

interpreters thought that the spacing should be fixed w

that all wells can produce about the same amount of oil.
Detaiis Concerning Different Trusts Visited
++ stated previously, the fieldis, divided into 23 separate
sectlc(ns; to our knowledge, eight of these are developed or
are now being developed. From the standpoint of organization, it is managed by four trusts of Which We have
visited three.
Trust of Minnilstsievsk (Fig. 4)
As stated before, the development of this zone began
with the drilling of a ring of injection wells and three
rows of producing wells. This arrangement was later considered insutiicient and was complemented, beginning in
1957, by the drilling of (1) an additional row of producing wells only 1,300 m (4,264 ft ) from the outside row,
(2) then by a second ring of injection wells and (3) by
three additional rings of interior producing wells,
This zone comprises the most prolific part of the reser- ~
voir. The water-oil contact here covers only 50 per cent
of the area (as against 80 per cent for the whole reservoir), and the average sand thickness is greater than in
the rest of the ffeld (of the order of 12 m, or about 40 ft ).
The permeability ranges from about 500 to 600 md.
There are 480 wells, of which 340 are producers and
only 24 are on the pump, It is necessary to call attention
to a certain inconsistency in these Iigures: 340 wells at
80 tonslday give 2,700 tonslday (at 560 B/D, 18,900
BID), which we had understood to be the production of
the trust and not of the Minnibaievsk zone alone, From
this one must conclude either that the Minnibaievsk zone
effectively produces 27,000 tons/day (189,000 B/D) or
that the 340 wells relate to the entire trust and not to the
Minnibaievsk zone alone,
The average ,production of the exploitation wells is 80
tons/day (560 B~PD); the average input to the injection
wells is 500 cu m/D (3,145 BWPD), the maximum
being 1,000 cu m/D. The water percentage, which is

--------------

-.+*

LINE

+-

LINE

Trust of Almetievsk
We do not have many details of this trust, whose insta[Iations we visited especially. We only Icqow that its production is 38,000 tons/day (266,000 BOPD), which comprises
not only the production of the Almetievsk section, but
also that of other sections managed by the trust.
Trust of Am&kaievo
The Aznakaievo section is in the process of development. It is separated from the neighboring section by a
slight saddle. The heterogeneity of the D-1 zone is particularly pronounced, with its thickness varying from O to
12 m (40 ft). Only Beds a and b are productive, the
others being water-bearing.
The characteristics of the zone are: mean thickness?
6 to 7 m (about 19 ?A to 23 ft); porosity, 20 per cent;
water saturation, 10 to 15 per cent; and mean permeability,
250 md. Injection and producing wells are located along
lines parallel to each other and perpendicular to the structure (Fig. 5). There are actually two lines of injection
wells 4.8-km (about 3-miles) apart, and five rows ,of producing wells 1 km from the preceding lines and 700 m
(2,300 ft) from each other.
,
Development is carried on toward the exterior of this
arrangement, and three or four rows of producing wells
have already been partially drilled. The distance between

-----..
,.---(-]

OF EXPLOITATION
OF INJECTION

----=

WELLS

.,,

---

WELLS

--z---- -------. ,---- -----,/

,./ # #------- -------

------------

.=

%,

-.

------. *
1 ,
II
/, <::---...
, f , ,
t
I 1 J

~ 0---
-----.,
/
, I ,1 ,1
I(
----------llt~
,,\,
,,.
N
,1,
.fl

l
II
.% ----------/
, fl, ,
,,\f\
.----q.#-,,t, \,, ,
. I , 1
N
.
-.
-
t,
1
~h , . ------------- ------ ~.~ I !
..
k
+
.+
.~. b
--

)/;//

(>
._..------

~..

. ------

..

-L --

**$*

A%&-/
---.__
...
----

:..
(41
Fig. 4-The
,\i

KIL,

196S

.(B)

Minniisnievsk zone showing (A) the tirst phase of exploitation, sind (B) the second phase.
...-.
.,

.- .;.
96s

..

,.

..
wells is 500 m (1,640 ft), the length of a row about 12 km
(about 7% miles) and the wefl spacing 38,5 hectares
(about 96% acres) per well. The first row of injection
wells was drilled in. 1958 with interspersed producing wells
whose average production was 450 tons/day (3, 150 BOPD)
and whose oil was recovered in about a year.
when the percentage of water in one of the wells
increases, they close in the neighboring well from which
the water is supposed to come until the percentage of
water has diminished and becomes stabilized. Then they
recommence injection in the wells which had been closed
in. The recovery is maximal when they inject as much
water as they produce oil.
It has been observed that the salinity of the produced
water begins to increase, then diminishes. The safinity of
the reservoir water was said to be about 8 gin/liter of
NaCl equivalent; however, this figiire seems doubtful since
they .later gave us a figure .of 1.15 for the density of water.
Actually, there are 120 wells drilled for production, of
which 15 per cent are pumping, but some produce OIIIY
about 1 to 5 tons/day (7 to 35 BOPD), The mean flow of
the wells is 40 to 50 tons/day (280 to 350 BOPD). Certain wells in the injection row are stiil producing and
yield 80 to 100 tons/day (560 to 700 BOPD).
Productivity indices vary from 1 to 20 ton;ldaylkglsq
cm (0.5 to 9.5 B/D/psi). Bottom-hole pressure is from
110 to 130 kg/sq cm (1,565 to 1,8$0 psi). There are 40
injection wells, to which the average flow is 400 cu m/D
(2,5 16 BWPD); they inject 1,5 cu m of water/ton of oil
(9.4 bbl water/7 bhl oil). Injection is done at a wellhead
pressure of 100 kg/sq cm (1,422 psi), with the capacity
to go in certain cases to as high as 150 kg/sq cm (2,133
psi). Productivity from this section is about 6,000 tonsl
day (42,000 BOPD) on the average.
The trust of Aznakaievo manages another section if the
The program of production
was made by the Petroleum Institute of Tatar, located at
Bougoulina (Tatnii). An exploration institute planned the
development, and an equipment institute planned the gathering, pumping, etc.

field with equal production.

Pressure surveys made four times a year permit drawing

isobaric maps ,of the reservoir, Tests of the wells are made
over a period of 10 to 15 days on different chokes.

Detalie of the Operation

FIeld Organization
The field is managed by four trusts, each including
several sectionsfor example, four for that of Minnibaievsk. We visited one of the sections of Minnibaievsk
which managed 200 wells, with spacing 600 to 850 m
(2,000 to 2,800 ft), total surface area of 100 sq km
(about 39 sq miles), and with average production of 40
to 45 tons~day/well (280 to 315 B/D/well), Twenty-five
per cent of the wells are pumping, about half by electric
pumps and the rest by mechanical pumps, (This is the
section where the most flowing wells are located. ) The
section employs 280 people, of whom 20 to 25 are engineers and technologists.
Thfs section is divided into three brigades, each inchrd.
ing a gathering station, The wells produce by natural flow
into thk station? then the oil is pumped to a central station
where it is desalted, We visited two brigades, One consisted of 40 men for 50 wells; the second was automated,
and the data on level of tanks, control of pumps and
anomalies of the se~aper operation were carried on a
central panel. The staff of 51 men for 68 wells will be
reduced by 30 per cent when the brigade is fully automatqd,
Desalting (Section of Minnibaievsk Trust)
The crude produced by oue section is gathered in a
central station where it undergoes desalting, in order to
reduce its salt content from 1,500 mg/liter (for 0.3 per
cent of water) to 50 mg/liter. The process employed is
electrostatic; the heated and diluted crude passe~ between
electrodes supplied by a current of 2,500-cycle frequency
at 80,000 v for the purpose of accelerating the separation
of water and oil.
Plow to the station is 2,500 tons/day..( ?f,~OOB/D).
(This seems smalf in comparison to the,, & in% for the
section given previously: 200 wells, at 40 to 45 tons/day
, each, equals 8,000 to 9,000 tons/day?) The crude, to
which they add 20 per cent fresh water and 2 to 3 kg/ton
of demulsifier, passes through. a heat exchanger where the
crude leaving preheats it, It is then heated to 65 to 80 C
and passes through a battery of electrostatic tanks (four to
six in ~}~. The crude leaving has a salt content of 50
mg/liter, The treated oil has a density of 0.86 and a sulfur
content of 1.4 to 2 per cent. The reservoir water has a
density of 1.15.
Water InjeetiOn

5. . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . ...
....... . ... . . .... . . . . . . . . . . .....
es
. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
... ............. .. .. .... . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. .. . .. . . ... . . ---S

..+.*..*

. . . . . . . . ..-

------------

. .

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i: . .. . ..
..-----::::::::~
i-------------x---------

.-~

~.y~...

[Zawm

--------------

.-:

LINE

OF

INJECTION

LINE

OF

EXPL01TATlC2N

.,
FIE, 5The Aanakaievo zone.
%

.,

In the Trust of Minnibaievsk the PumPing station>

similar to that of the Tuymazy field, supplies the entire
section at the rate of 15,000 cu m/D (94,350 BWPD ).
The injection station we visited serves four wells, Here,
pumping is done by two axial flOWpumps, about 2-m long
and consisting of 32 impellers of rubber-covered steel 25to 30-cm in diameter, The power of each pump is about
1,000 kw and the flOWabout 50 to 60 liters/sec at a Pressure of 120 kg/sq cm (1,700 psi),
,
In the Trust of AlmetiWsk for reasons of convenience.
(distance to the river is too great, and flow of the wells is
too small), the water is pumped directly from the river.
This requires that it be treated at a water-treating station.
At the water-treating station they add coagulant, then the
water passes through settling basins and over sand filters
to reduce the solids content to 1 mg/liter. The station
treats 60,000 cu m/D of water (377,400 BWPD), of
which 15,000 to 20,000 cu m (94,500 to 125,800 bbl) is
sold to .otier trustg on leavhlg the stt3tiOIL
The treatedwater is pumped to the injection stations
j6U~N~L

OF

FBTEtOLEUMTECHNOLOGY

~
!

-:

,,

by Iuto 12 pumps with 300-cum/hr

(about 79,200-gW
hr) capacity. The pressure is 36 kg/sq cm (512 psi) on
leaving, and 15 to 20 kg/sq cm (213 to 285 psi) on
arrivaL The 10injection stations, some of whlchare 30-km
(18.6-miles) away, areoperated byradio or bycable from
the central station. 13ach of these is equipped with three
centrifugal pumps which can be stopped or started from
the central station; On the other hand, the pumps can
disengage themselves in cases of overheating of the motor,
breakdown of the pump, rupture of the line or low intake
pressure. Shot.ddth epumpsdisengage, .thisis indicatedon
a panel at the central station. This same panel records the
amount of water injected into the wells, There are as
many as 10 injection wells for each station, and the crew
is composed of 10 persons at each station and eight for
a brigade.
At the injection station at the Trust of Almetievsk,
injection is effected under 100 to 120 kg/sq cm (1,422 to
1,700 psi) on leaving the station, The low-permeability
wells are fractured, increasing injectivity from 50 to 600
cum/D (315 to 3,375 BWPD); ontheother hand, certain
wells will take up to 5,oOO cu m/D (31,500 BWPD), On
the average, the input is 570 cu m/D/well (3,585 BWPD/
well), Bottom-hole pressure is 250 to 270 kg/sq cm (3,555
to 3,840 psi).
Since the injection is done through 6-in. tubing, the
pressure drop occurs primarily on the surface and can
amount to 15 to 20 kg/sq cm (213 to 285 psi). The
output of the injection pumps is about 150 cu m/hr
(39,630 gal/hr) under 100 kg/sq cm (1,422 psi). Actually, the ordinary output is about 120 cu m/hr (31,700
gal/hr).

Production-Water

It was in this reservoir that the first water injection in

Tatar was accomplished in 1952. They drilled a ring of
injection wells surrounding the producing wells, drffied on
a spacing of 20 hectares (49,4 acres) /well by analogy
with Tuymazy.
,~ey thought at the start that an injection pressure at
the bottom of the injection wells of 175 kg/sq cm (2,49~
psi) would be high enough. Experience has shown that. it
is necessary to inject at 220 kg/sq cm (3,128 psi) at the
bottom.
Prior to 1958 they produced at the following rates:
inject ion, 18,000 cu m/D (113,216 BWPD); production,
10,500 tons/day (73,500 BOPD); 193 exploitation wells,
of which 185 were producers with 137 flowing and 48
pumpih% mean production of the wells, 55 tons/day (385
BOPD)65 tons/day (455 BOPD) for the flowing wells.
from which one deduces 25 to 30 tons/day ( 175 to 210
BOPD) for the pumping WWS.
A long study on the electro-integrator of the Imtitute
of Moscow then showed that they could obtain the samti
production using about half the number df producing
wells,
From this came the idea of the experin~ent now underway at Bavly, At the end of 1958 they shut in about half
of the wells while injecting and producing the same qurrntities, Seventy wells wereshut in within three weeks, apparently followed by others (26?).
About 100 to 110 producing wells remain, under the
following Conditions: 26 injection wells; producing wells
spaced at 40 hectares per well (replacing the 20-hectare
spacing previously employed); injection, 20,000 cu m/D
(125,800 BWPD); production, 10,000 tons/day, or 3.6
million tons/year (7,000 BOPD), or 25,2 million bbliyear.
The average production per well is 93 tons/day (651
BOPD) with production from flowing wells at 135 tons/
day (945 BOPD). The average reservoir pressure is 144
kg/sq cm (2,048 psi), with the lowest bottom-hole pressure of the producing wells 110 kg/sq cm (1,564 psi).
Cumulative water injection to the end of 1960 was 51.5
million cu m (324 million bbl), and cumulative production to the end of 1960 was 43 million cu m (301 million
bbl) at bottom-hole conditions with 8 per cent water. By
the end of 1960, 25 per cent of the recoverable reserves
had already been produced.

Tretmmmt of Gus
All the gas from the field, whose production must be
about 4 to 5 million cu m/D ( 140 to 180 MMcf/D ) with
GOR of 50 cu m/cu m, is treated in a single plant
where they extract gasoline, propane and butane. The gas
is then sent to points of consumption, For some wells
which produce with a high wellhead pressure, the gas is
sent directly to the plant, For other wells, where the separation is made at 1.5 kg/sq cm ( 2 I psi), gas is first sent
to a compressor station.
There are six compressor stations for the entire field.
We visited the one which belongs to the Almetievsk trust.
On arrival, the gas undergoes a new separation at 0.0
kg/sq cm, then it is compressed to 3 kg/sq cm (42 psi)
by three piston compressors (each with a capacity of 37
cu m/qtin, 1.3 Mcf/min ). Two other identical turbocompressors are contemplated, Actual throughput of the station.is 12,000 cu m/hr (423.72 Mcf/hr).
il

The extensive shutting-in of wells has permitted making

a large-scale interference test, The production of the wells
has changed greatly, but the isobaric maps and the advance
of water have remained unchanged,
To determine the residual oil saturation in the invaded
zone so as to determine the inlluence of spacing on recovery, two methods arc possible,
1. Drilling (now in progress) of some observation wells
in the invaded zone on which they will determine the
residual saturation by core analysis and well logs.
2. Putting in production the wells closed-in during 1958
when the injection front will have passed two or three
rows of them, in order to see if there will still remain oil
which would have been lost had the exploitation we!l
spacing been 40 hectares.

BAVLY FIELD (Mar Republlc)

The Eavly field reservoir, located in eastern Tatar at the
Bashkir Republic border, is a short ,anticline, 20 X 15 km
(about 12 1/2 X 9 1/3 miles).
Reservoir Characteristics
The Devonian D-1 is the producing horizon (D-2 is
water-bearing), at a depth of 1,700 m (5,580 ft). The
formation structure has a slight dip except toward the
southeast. Major reservoir characteristics include: porosity,
20.5 per cent; permeability, 600 md; mean thickness, 16 m
(52.5 ft); density of stock-tank oil, 0.865; density of reservoir oil, 0,845; viscosity, 2,3 CM GOR, 65 cu m/ton;
initial pressure, 175 kg/sq cm (2,490 psi); bubble point,
93kg/sqcm
(1,323 psi). .
.
:
AF!ItI,L,1968
<.
,

Injection

They rely on the experiment carried on at Bavly to

determine the optimum well spacing for other fields, At
the end of the operation, they will x zke an economic
balance-the
saving of the additional wells and the lifting
cost compared to- the-price of the oil not. ,recover@.
86s
-----

Visit to the Field

Water.injection System
Water is pumped from a sump in the alluvium, as at
Tuymazy. A circular network supplies five, automatic
injection stations which are visited once a day for control
of the records and, possibly, maintenance. They are remotely controlled from the first station, which also supplie.. ~water to the circular network. In particular, the
remote control permits the control of damage, the temperature of the bearings and the stator windings of the motors,
the level of the reservoirs, etc.; declutching is automatic in
case of ,flooding or overheating of the motors,
Transmission is by radio at one station (frequency 40
to 60 megacycles) and by wire for the others, The wire
has the advantage of not introducing interference when
the radio is mixed-up by the remote controls installed in
neighboring fields.
Remote.ControRed Production Statiou
The production is divided into two camps. We visited
the first, which consisted of 85 wells d;vided into six
groups. Each of these is tied into the central station by u
cable, where the following parameters are controlled at a
distance: anomalies in scraper operation, anomalies in
wellhead pressure, overfilling of the tank-, anomalies in
the flow of wells, etc.
The starting and stopping of the pumps is controlled
from the center, but there is nothing analogous for the
flowing wells which me only equipped with automatic
closing valves.

At the production center they regulate the production

of the individual wells-for the flowing wells by gauging
the stock tanks at the battery, for the pumping wells by
counting the number of emptyings of the automatically
emptying tanks (bumpers) located at the wells themselves.
They also register the working of the automatic scrapers,
when they have-them {1,5 to 30 minutes for a complete
cycle).
The automatic scrapers, whose frequency of scraping
is too high (?) and which seem to have operating trouble,
are being abandoned more and more (there are only two
left ) in favor of automatic winches which operate every
eight hours.
There is one operator for every 10 wells for two 8-hour
tours per day. When they wish to communicate with
him, a blast of a siren warns him and he goes to the
nearest well to telephone.
There is one wire per well; relays at the start and at the
tirrival react to the direction and intensity of the impulse,
and thus assure the commutation of the several signals.
The system has worked for five years in a reasonably Satisfactory manner; meanwhile, it seems that they are hesitant
for the moment about their ability to switch to automation.
Several schemes have been abandoned as not being sufficiently attractive, Tbe cost is quite high because of tying-in
one wire per well.
To avoid the forest of aerial telephone wire which
results from this system, they contemplate putting some
underground cables in service in another field which will
**
serve every six wells.

,
..

S.OUti.NAL
.OF PtlTROLEUM.
. TE@fNOL.QCY.

,,

,.
.,

.,

..

RUSSIAN
PETROLEUM
INDUSTRY

Production Research in the U.S.S.R.

BERNARD J. SiVE
MEMBER AIME
J. POTTIER

Editors Note: This artic[e is the third in u series appeardealing with

ing in JOURNALOF PETUOLEUMTECHNOLOGY
Russian achievements in petroleum research, drilling and
production operations. The original paper, @
published
FRANCAIS
in the Jun.,, 1962 i.wue of REVUE DE LlNSTITUT
stemmed frotil a series of visits to Russia
made by three teamsof French engineersin late 1960 and
curly 1961, It has been translated frotn the French for
publication in JPT by T. V. Moore, petroleum consultant
in Houston. Tex.
In this installment Bernard J. Sive, head of the Production, Drilling and Equipntent Dept. for thellureau
de
Recherches de Pktho[e in Paris, and J, Pottier, head of
the Reservoir Engineering Section of the Production,
Drilling and Equipment Dept., Institut Fruncais du P&role,
describe visits to three of the most important Ru.v.rion
scientific institutes.
m.) pETRom,

SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTE

FOR PETROLEUM

OF UFA

Objeet smd Structure of the Institute

The Scientific Institute for Petroleum of Ufa is concerned with all problems in the domain of production,
and is made up of the following sections: (1) geologic,
which deals with the study of petroIeum geology in the
Bashkir Republic (Geologic Museum);
(2) reservoir
developtnem, which handles projects for the development
of new fields and analyses of discovered reservoirs; (3)
drilling, which r
:s drilling technology and slim-hole
drilling; (4) production, which studies methods of increasing production, thermochemical effects in zones around
wells, hydraulic, fracturing and preparation of injection
water; (5) gas, which studies industrial gas production
and gas reservoirs of high gasoline content recently discovered in Bashkir; and (6) economic, which studies
projects forreservoir development,
,
The staff consists of 620 persons, of whom 50 to 60
per cent have received higher education and 20 per cent
are natives of Bashkk.
Geologic section
In our visit to the Geologic. Museum, we particularly
noted the samples from several productive horizons of
Bashkfr, including: the Permian (very porous reef lime4s4

BUREAU DE RECHERCHES DE PiTROLE

PARIS, FRANCE
INSTITUT FRANCAfS DU PETROLE
PARIS, FRANCE

stone) of Ichimbai, the first reservoir discovered in B~shkir; the Devonian limestone of Tuymazy; and sandstone
from the lower Carboniferous of Orlan, the producing
zone most reeendy discovered. In these last sampltis, intercalated beds of coal were noted.
Resemoir Development Section
While visiting this section, we received a description of
the Tuymazy field (see March, 1963 JPT). AIso, we
visited the laboratory of underground hydraulics and
studied the electric analyzer there. It is matte up of two
panels, each containing 16 X 26 mesh points. The regukition of the resistances is made in the classic manner by
the use of knurled knobsnot by rods as at Moscow.
This analyzer makes it possible to represent two superimposed beds and about 100 wells or groups of wells in
all. It permits only the study of steady-state flow; thus, u
reservoir study must be made by superposition, dividing
the history into successive episodes.
The Tuymazy reservoir could be studied on this analyzer
only by dividing it into severai parts, Two or three days
are required to constitute a model, and to study the
complete hktory for 100 wells,
There are 52 analyzers of this type in the different
productive regions of the U.S.S.R. The accuracy is about
2 or 3 per cent for the pressure, but the measure of
flow is exact, The potential is kept constant at the outer
boundary (it can be varied from O to 12 v).
Drilling Section
Mud Laboratory
In the mud laboratory studies are conducted concerning
the drilling muds needed in different regions, the problems
of pollution of muds by connate water, and special muds
for deep drilling, m well as the use of surface-active agents
for drilling through producing zones. Products used for
making muds are approved in this laboratory.
Half the wells are drilled with clear water. Oil-emulsion
muds having a maximum of 20 per cent oil sometimes are
used, but seldom are they used for drilling through producing zones (except in the case of lost returns).
Thbi laboratory also encompasses cement studies-particularly on low filtration cements. However, this study is
only beginning.
JOURNAL OF
I

Pi3TR0.LEUM

TECSSNOLOGY

DrRRng E~pment
Engineers in the drilling equipment laboratory study
problems relating to drill pipe and bits,
The life of drifl pipe is estimated to be good for about
10 wells in Russia. Each joint is followed with the aid of
a paper and is checked after each well. The institute
studies special drill pipe for turbodrilling in small-diameter
wells (145 mm). This drill pipe, which will be used with
5-irr, turbines, has an outside diameter of 3 in. and a
thickness of 6?4 mm.
Some tests with bits of the R-1 type have been made,
and these have yielded results three times better than with
ordinary bits. Some tests were being conducted with
diamond bits, but no results were ready to report. The
carbide buttons used for the R-1 bhs are made of
pobedite, an alloy of 92 per cent tungsfen carbide and
8 per cent cobalt, Their hardness is 98 Rockwell C, with
a load of 60 kg. They have not yet conducted tests with
boron carbide.
The technologists of the institute favor electrodrilling.
From an economic viewpoint, they think that electrodrilling is more advantageous in large diameters and
turbodrilling in small diameters, A meter drilled by electrodriliing can be as much as 25 per cent cheaper than that
drilled by turbodrilling, they conclude,
This laboratory for tillling has a staff of about 60
persons, of whom about 35 are engineers.
Production section
.
Increasing Production
In the laboratory for increasing production, they are
working with a method of hot-acid treating ( 100 to 150 C)
for calcareous reservoirs, especially dolomite. Fifteen per
cent hydrochloric acid is heated at the bottom bf the hole
by a reaction with magnesium buttona placed at the bottom of the tubing over which the acid is pumped rapidly:
Mg 1-2 HC1+MgCl,

-f- H, -t 110 cal.

One kilogram of magnesium gives 4,600 kilocalories,

and they normally use 40 to 50 kg of magnesium per
operation, the proportion being 10 kg of magnesium/cum
of 15 per cent dilute acid; 3.5 per cent of the 15 per cent
acid is consumed by the reaction; thus, it is a 12 per cent
acid which penetrates the formation,
This process, used qttite extensively since 1948, permits
the acceleration of the attack by the acid-especially
in
dolomitic zones; fur~hermore, the paraffins and asphalts
are melted by the temperature, The magnesium generally
is used in buttons 2- to 3-cm in diameter, in rods if the
pressure is low, or in shavings if the prmwtre is high.
Down-hole Equipment
In the laboratory of down-hole equipment, a differential
pressure gauge was examined. It is charged with compressed air at a pressure near that to be measured, and
permits measurements over a range of pressure equivalent
to 20 per cent of the maximum pressure (which can be
fixed arbitrarily at a value between 10 and 500 kg/sq cm).
The advantages of this type of apparatus are the absence
of hysteresis and a precision of 0.05 atm.
The apparatus is contained in a metal case 1,8-m long,
similar to the Amerada gauge, ahd can be run in tubing.
The clocks (12 and 24 hours), the system for reading the
indication, and the method of using seem identical to
those for the Amerada gauge. This instrument was developed by the Bashkir fnstitute and will now be used
throughout me U.S.S.R. (type DG M 4).
MAY, 196S
.. _ ._

:,

To measure fluid level in observation wells, they use

a submerged pressure recorder, which they place 3 to 5 m
under the water level in wells where it can remain for
seven days. Its principle is analogous to the preceding
instrument. It can measure 3 mm of water, but actually
it is used only in Bashkir. Also, they have a bottom-hole
sampler which can operate up to 400 kg/sq cm, a flowmeter, and they are working on an instrument for transmitting bottom-hole data to the surface.
Fluid Analyses
In the laboratory for study of oils and bottom-hole
samples, they study the physical characteristics and composition of oils, Theh purpose is to determine the properties of oils needed for reservoir studies. This laboratory
also worka for other industriesspecifically, for the chemical and geochemical industries. Analyses are made by
saturating the gas and oil, by distillation and by Podbelienak analysis.
PVT studies
The PVT labortttory makes analyses with equipment
which appears conventional, except for a precision pressure gauge which reads to 1/1,000 of an atmosphere. They
have studied the .relationsbip between the bubble point
and the gas-oil ratio, which depends strongly on the percentage of nitrogen (an increase in the nitrogen content
increases the volubility of gas).
Spectroscopic and Thermal Analyges
In the laboratory for spectroscopic and thermal analysis,
spectrographic analysis is used for rocks (for the purpose
of correlation), oils and reservoir water. They chiefly use
the ultraviolet spectrograph. For limestones they measure
the concentrations of r+ilicon,lithium, titanium, chromium,
copper, manganese, vanadium, nickel and sodium. For
detritic rocks they also measure calcium and magnesium.
The measurements are also made on petroleum ash (vanadium and nickel), on bitumen and on asphaltene. (Some
oils contains as much ES 10 per cent asphaltene. ) For
water they measure barium, strontium, lithium and manganese.
An instrument permits the analysis of carbonates and
shales by their thermal curve (not a quantitative analysis).
A heat balance permits quantitative analysis of the character of carbonate (percentage of dolomites), and the
character and amount of water contained in the rocks.
Surfacw-Active Materials
In the laboratory for surface-active materials, systematic
studies are made of all detergents produced by industry,
and some are selected for use in the petroleum industry.
The following tests are carried out: (1) determination of
interracial tensions by measurement of the volume and,
consequently, the radius of the drop formed by injection
of one liquid into another (injection done with pipette);
(2) pH factor, (3) volume of foam; and (4) adsorption
of the products on certain substances.
The detergents selected are used psrticular[y for drilling
zones with clear water (about 1 per cent of detergent).
It is a matter of non-ionic detergents. Some studies have
been made on the use of detergents in injection water,
bearing primarily on the variation of the concentration of
detergent m the water during the course of its flow through
the reservoir. It appears that the process may be economical, E%nally, some studies are being conducted on
the use of detergents (active cations) to prevent corrosion
in particular, corrosion due to HS
Reservoir Physiu
In the laboratory of reservoir physics, studies are made
.
4ss

OD&e mechanism of petroleum production and the means

for increasing production.
Routine Analyses

The percentage of wells cored varies, but they generaliy

core no less than 50 wells per field, Analyses are made
on five or six samples for a bed of 1 m, and on seven or
eight samples for thicker beds. The recovery generally Is
quite poor (50 percent maXimum) onaccotmtof
tlm use
of turbines without diamond bits. They can measure
porosity, permeability toairor
to liquids (water at atmospheric pressure, or oil under bottom-hole conditions),
mean radius of pores, saturation by centrifugation or by
capillary displacement, swelling of shales, and relative
permeability and compressibility of rocks.
Concerning the measurement of permeability to water,
they do not observe a change in the value of this permeability during the course of measurements with highlysaturated reservoir waters. On the other hand, with slightly
salty water they observe, during the course of time, a
decrease of the permeability due to two causes: (1)
swelling of the shale particles and (2) formation of a
film of water along the walls, the thickness of which is
of the order of 0,15 microns and which becomes smaller
as the water salinity increases.
This last phenomenon is especially visible when one
makes an experiment with glass beads over which fresh
water and salt water are passed alternately. The permeability clearly diminishes when the change is made from
salt water to fresh water, then recovers its initial value
when changed again to salt water. (A paper on this subject was given at the Fourth World Petroleum Congress
in Rome.)
Research

Among the xesearch in progress, two studies of miscible

displacement should be mentioned, The 5rst relates to the
displacement of water by a different water and is made
in a core l5-m long made up of sand or pulverized rock
(with permeability as low as 50 rnd). The second is a
conventional displacement of a core impregnated tith oil
by liquelled gas at 70 atm, Irreducible water saturation is
obtained by displacement of the saturated core with kerosene, then with undergassed oil. The recovery obtained
is 97 to 98 per cent. Some tests at 100 and 120 atm will
be made later, but no tests have been made with miscible
gas,
We saw an interesting apparatus used for displacement
from cores under temperature and pressure. The equipment is mounted in a large thermostated glass cabinet,
the temperature being maintained by electric heating; the
pressure can go up to 50 atm. Also, one room of the
laboratory is thermostated and is being used for tests of
swelling of shales.
The G& Section
We only entered the laboratory of the gas section,
which is dohcerned with stabilization of oil, gasoline
extraction plants and condensate reservoirs. They promised to bring us back to thh laboratory later,%ut we dld
not have time.
The Economic Section
..

In he economics section, they study economic problems

of developing new reservoirs and of new techniques to be
. ..
-.
4S6

put into operation. We asked the representative of this

section about the criteria used for selecting the methods
of exploiting a reservoir, but his reply was contined to a
description of the manner in which they present the
different possible variations.
For the Tuymazy reservoir they chose from five Phm
which differed by: the number of producing wells, the
annual production, the injection of water only on the
flanks or simultaneously in the middie of the field in such
a way as to divide it into several parts, and the. waterinjection pressure, It appears that for each variation they
devoted their efforts especially to emphasizing: (1) the
annual production, the production during the next seven
s.~ars and the ~timate production from the reservoir (over
28 years); (2) the investment required; and (3) the cost
per ton produced.
From these three criteria, and undoubtedly from some
others because they try to keep to a minimum the number
of personnel employed, the institute selects one proposal
and submits the entire project to Sovnarkhoze. He likewise chooses one and submits the whole proposal to the
Gosplan of the R.S,F.S.R, The Gosplan of ?he
R, S.F.S.R, chooses for the especially important fieids,
without doubt having referred the matter to the Gosplan
of the Union.
In a general way, the objectives sought do not seem
to be much different from our own, since the producers
try to obtain maximum production in as short a time as
possible with a minimum of capital investment, a producing cost as low as possible, and with the smallest number
of peopleall takhig into account the needs of the republic for the seven years and the requirements fixed by the
Gosplan. In fact, it seems that, generally, they try to
obtain the maximum recovery technically possible.
PETROLEUM PRODUCTION INSTITUTE OF
MOSCOW (V.N.LL) AND INSTITUTE OF
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR PETROLEUM
GEOLOGY OF MOSCOW (V.N.I.G.N.I.)
lntroductfon
The obiective of our mission to MOSCOWwas to acctuirc
informati~n concerning research done by Russian &gineers on production matters and on oil recovery. This
subject covers a part of the field of activity of the two
institutes we visited.
The Institute of Petroleum Production (V. N.I.I. ) is a
research center directly in the service of the Russian
Petroleum Industry (G.N.T.K.).
Its work covers the
domain of production in its broadest sense-estimation
of reserves, reservoir mechanics and recovery, recovery
methods and economics.
The Institute of Scientific Research for Petroleum
Geology of Moscow is a branch of the Academy of
Science of the U.S.S.R. It studies stratigraphy, paleonj
tology, prospecting methods and the origin ,of petroleum
aiso maintains corresponding laboratories, including
h
one for hydrodynamics, which we visited.
On the subject of oil recovefy, these two institutes present complementary aspects. The research which finds
application in industrial exploitation is done at the Institute of Production. The fundamental research is divided
between the two institutes.
The hydrodynamics laboratory of the Institute of Scientific Reseaich for Petroleum Geology is directed by Dr.
Earefiblatt, It consisti of four candidates for the doctorate
four candidates for a therjis and about a dozen technicians.
.
.
.
.
JOURNAL

OF

PETROLEUM

TECHNOLOGY

Its work is carried on by research groups who take charge

of an investigation for a period of one to three years,
The Institute of Petroleum Production gives a good idea
of the concentration of scientific activity in the U.S.S.R.
Its staff is made up of 600 people, of whom 150 to 200
are engineers. It is divided into five departments, each
made up of about 100 people, of whom one-third are engineers, Moreover, the institute includes general services
such as a printing press and general shop; some sections
also have their own special shops. Prof. A. P, Krilov is
the director.
SeetIom and Laboratories of the Institute of Petroleum
Production (V.N.1.L)
Fig. 1A explains the functions of the various sections
of the Institute of Petroleum Production. The function of
the institute is to study new methods and new apparatus,
and to try them in the field. When conducting field tests,
certain crews of engineers and technicians of the V.N.I.I.
go to the field, Accordingly, there is an arrangement with
the regional institutes (such as that at Ufa) for them to
conduct field operations, with the V.N.I,L doing the theoretical work. Some engineers from outlying areas come to
Moscow; apparently, however, they do this to learn a new
or special technique rather than to supervise the execution
of a study affecting their reservoirs, The distribution of
duties between the central and regional institutes wi+s set
up in 1958-59, with the V.N.I.I. abandoning studies Of.
new fields; subsequently, the application of new equipment
developed at V.N.LL was decentralized.
i
We rndde prolonged visits to the Physical llydrodynamics and the Reservoir Development sections.
Reservoir Hydrodfiamies Section
In the Section of ,Reservoir Hydrodynamics, directed by
Mr. Rosenberg, M.D., some original and interesting work
was done on hydrodynamic models of displacement.
These are described later inthis paper.
The laboratory of physical chemistry of reservoir fluids
studies the intluence on displacement in the reservoir (and
also in wells and surface installations) of phenomena of
interracial tension, nettability and precipitation due to
complex compounds (asphaltenes) in crude oils, Thus, it
is concerned with a very specialized field.
The laboratory for mathematical calculation is equipped
with very modest facilities, when compared with facilities
available for research in France--an Ural computer about
half as fast as the IBM 650 and a bureau of mathema-

Sectlon of Applied Geology: Studies retervo!r development problems relntlne 10

step-out wells, methods of calculatfns rewrves, electrlc less and ether low,
hydrology, correlation of productive horizons, physics of reservoirs (perme.
ability, porosity, saturation, fractured and reiervoir flulds.
SectIon of Physical Hvdradynamtcs:

Studies physical properties of reservoirs and

fluld flew Includlns reservoir hydredynamlcs, physical chemistti of m$emair

fluids (asphaltenes, etc.),
mathematlad
and numerical camPutatinn (UK!.
mately, this Iaboralary will offer its services to ether sections of the lnstl.
tute), radie.ttacer$ rind thsir opplicatiom to displacement.
.%ctlen of Rasewc.ir Devnl.apment: Studies reservdrs In fhelr entirety concerning
planning of r6fervolr davetapment. studies of reservoln ond WEII$, onolysls
of the control and recwlotlon of production processes, research and study on
new recovery methods lceefflclent of recovery, mlsclbla displaceme~t, gas
flnlection), hydro-lnfesrater,
elecfrle melyxet or electrn.fntewatar.
SectIon of Petroleum Recovery Techniques, Studiet hydraulic fracturing of forwmfw shuf.off,
expforaflon
of pradaclns
mations, wmface=wtive
a9*nts,
wells (study of recovery methads]. production equipment, precauea of auto.
matlon and electrlfleatlcm applied to expleifat[en of rocervalrs, and b@tomhole resulatois.
Economic Socllon: Studies plannlng for the Industry and far the production of
petroleum, economic analyses ef the activity of the Industry, economic calcu.
[atlsns of reservoir develepmant, and organlzotlon of work within the petro.
Ieum Indu$try.

Fig. lA.-Functions
of sections within the Russian Institute
of Petroleum Production.
MAY,

196S

ticians. No calculations are made, even part-time, on any

macldne outside the V.N.I.L This explains the important
part given to models in Russian research, and for this
reason we dwell in this article on the study of models for
the production and recovery of petroleum when describing
principal laboratories,
Reservoir Development Section
- In the Reservoir Development section, directed by Mr.
Maximov, Ml., we visited in. detail the electric analyzer
which .is described in detail in a later portion of this
article. The hydro-integrator seemed to us to be an original
tool, but adapted to problems which in France would be
solved more readily by numerical calculation. In :he
matter of studying reservoir development, we shall cover
in a later section the ideas of Russian. engineers on the
study of displacement ty] water in heterogeneous reservoirs.
Also, later sections of this paper will describe the work
done in the laboratory of hydrodynamics of the Institute
of Scientific Research for Petroleum Geology, These include the study of drainage by imbMion and in heterogeneous models, study of sweep efficiency, and models for
the study of the mechanism of hydraulic fracturing. In the
same laboratory we were acquainted with the mathematical studies of the behavior of wells drilIed in a heterogeneous reservoir and the application of the Laplace transform to the interpretation of pressure build-up curves.
These questions are diflicult and outside of the general
scope of our presentation.
Studies of Models for Petrohmm ProductionGeneralIth?s
(Editors Note: In the next section of the paper, entitled Classification of Different Models, the authors
~xplain the operation of the hydrodynamic model, the
analog model and the mathematical model, Because this
information is generally known by our readers and is
available elsewhere, this portion of the original article will
not be published here. )
Various TYPOSof Hydrodynamic Modeh
and Gmdklons of Similarity
Hydrvdyunnic

Models

These models, whicls reproduce on a reduced scale the

phenomena which occur in the reservoir, were conceived
to study a particular problem such as single-phase expansion, depletion by expansion of dissolved gas, and twophase flow without mass transfer between phases.
The models of single-phase expansion simulate the
expansion and flow of a compressible fluid in a porous
:medium. One model which we saw was perfected for study
of aquifers. The model, corresponding to two dimensions,
is called the hydro-integrator. Nevertheless, it seems that
in this domain direct calculation (mathematical or numerical) or analog models are better adapted. For this reason
we shall not discuss the hydro-integrator.
Models of depIetion by expansion of dissolved gas cause
the liberation of dissolved gas by reduction of pressure of
a saturated liquid and two-phase flow which results. They
operate under high pressure and the study of their similarity to ours is difficult, as will be discussed in a later
section,
Models of two.phase flow without mass transfer between
phases are more numerous. They are based on the assumption of immiscible fluids and incompressibility, with viscosity and density constant. ~ese models are designed to
take into account tlie actions on dkplacement of gravity,
density and interracial tension. They permit the study of
.
.
4s7

reservoirs with gas caps and natural water drive, including

all problems of water flooding or gas injection. Likewise
they are used to study the behavior of heterogeneous
reservoirs.

TASLE 1-CHARACTERISTICS
Models of ortlflclallwconcolldatod

OF MODELS
sandm

Care: dlametor 3 cm, lwutth 20 cm

Slabl thickness 1 cm, wrfw

Modol$ OF uncentolldsted

30 by 50 cm

mfdio:

Cyllndrlceh d[ctmeter 3 cm, length 60 m

Shoett tectlan 1 cm by 30 cm, Imsth 25

Conditions

of

Similarity

Models

Three dlmonslenal!
Sectlen SO cm by 1 m, Iwwth 2 m

These tno&ls are discussed here only for the case of

two-phase flow, their most frequent use. The physical
quantities which determine the displacement are these:
setting aside the questions of microscopic structure of the
porous medium and the wettabiiity of the fluid-solid systems with density p,, p,; viscosities A, ~; interracial tension
c; velocities of flow V,,V~; acceleration of gravity g;
length L (macroscopic dimension); permeability k (microscopic dhnension, characteristic of pores ~~). The displacement is determined by the following dimensionless
groups:
@ ik V2
,*,,
p, p, V,

d~

gApk
,
p,V,

u~~
IA,V,L

,
p,V,<~
Y,

Perfect similarity cannot be achieved, so it is assumed that

the ratio of the dimensions of pores to the extqrior dimensions is very small and that flow velocities are very low
(that the forces of inertia are negligible at low Reynolds
numbers). This eliminates
q~

,,
L
p,

pxvlqT

[h,

and u4~/p,V,L
are conserved
The groups gAp4~/hV,
witbout change, because they fix physically the ratio of
the forces of gravity and interracial tension to the viscous
forces. If this simpl~fication is justified for a given model,
it will be so a forttori in the reservoir. Under these conditions the system is reduced to the following groups:
p, v, gApk adz
;-lzxm

The expression for viscous forces can be made in practical units. One replaces pV/k by AP/L, AP indicating the
pressure drop over the length L. The group V,/V,
expresses the similitude of the fields of displacement velocity. From the principles of continuity and conservation of
mass, one deduces the equality of saturation at homologous points of the model and the reservoir.
Finally, the similarity of the reservoir model demands
geometric similarity and the identity of saturations, plus
conservation of the groups:
P

,
A

gApk
P.,V,

oV
,.
AV,L

These groups intimately affect the study of models in:

(1) comparing the domain of models and of reservoirs;
(2) presenting results (for example, recovery or water
content of production as a function of time) and (3)
studying the influence of different parameters on dkplacement.
Construction of Models
The characteristics of construction and utilization of
models evidently are speciai for each ease; therefore, we
shall present oniy general principles here.
We saw models of various dnensions,
of which the
largest had characteristics iisted in Table 1.
Materiaia used are glass beads or screened sand. Their
diameter is from 2 mm to 80-100 microns, with the lowest
permeability obtained by adding giaas powder or quartz
pdwder (0.3 dirties). i%&matetials are packed by sedimentation in air with tamping done by hammer (or occa.
.
..
4s%

sionally by vibrator which gives less regular packing).

The porosity is 36.40 per cent for sand, 44 per cent glass
powder.
When using glass beads or siliceous sand, perfect wetting by water is obtained which corresponds to the usual
case for reservoirs. To obtain saturation, air is displaced
with carbon dioxide, then the equipment is evacuated and
the selected fluid is injected dissolving the last bubbles of
glass.
The walls are made of steel in tubular models operated
at high pressure aitd of Plexiglas in flat transparent
models operated at low pressure. Deformation of the walls
of flat models is .a~oided either by exterior metal angles
or by stay-bolts traversing the model. In some cases
they are operated under a vacuum and deformation is
prevented by the porous medium. The sealing of the
assembly is obtained by rubber gaskets and completed by
sealing with resins.
The observation of pherwrnena is carried out in four
ways. {1) Visual observation ia used, with recording on
paper (rarely photographs) of the progress, form and
evolution of the front separating two liquids. Some special
techniques improve the quality of the observations, such
as colored fluids and optical methods. (2) Pressure measurement by manometric tubes is used, (3) Material balance is used for observing the flow rate of injection and
production now it is their only method for determining
saturation, (4) Measurements of saturation are seldom
made; in cylindrical blocks they use electrical conductivity
measurements and radioactive tracers.
Models of Rise of Water (~oning)
Models are used for the determination, in a homogeneous horizontal bed containing an oil-water ,interface, .of
the maximum water-free production from partially penetrating wells, In this situation water rises at the base of
wells and the rise is stabilized at a limiting value if the
flow rate is not too high.
Definition of Analogy
They build their models with closely-spaced non-parallel
plates in which they introduce the flow of a viscous liquid,
The distance e between the plates is of the form e = CV~
x being the abscissa measured in a horizontal direction.
The permeability to the flow is Ac. The indefinite equations of movement of the liquid are:
+

+-s

=7,=+-

div~ = O
(q, the flow per unit of length perpendicular to the direction of flow). One then deduces:
div (e grad P) = O, or
&P a=p
13P
~+#y~=o.
.....
This equation is the same i% that for radial circular-flow
of a viscous fluid, with x designating the radhss. The model
-.
. ...JOURN.4LOSPETEOLEUSSTECENOL6CY
. . .

,.,

is than a thin slit pltaced in a vertical plane; the direction

Ox is horizontal. At the outer limit of the radius R, supplied at constant pressure, the oil zone is maintained m
height h. The well, with radius a, is open over a distance
b from the top of the bed (Fig, 1). In the stabilized
regime, the cone is established at a certain height above
the initial water level.
Dimensional Analysis
The geometric similarity groups are a/R,
b/F =b. Other groupware: pm/p,, kgAp/p.V,

)t/R = h,

The ratio

K./P. does not affect the stabilized flOWwhere the water

is immobile. The summit of the cone is at some distance
from the bottom of the well; for this reason the group
a/Z?, which is always small, affects the pressure gradient
near the wellbore but has no practical inflm?rrce on the
cone. The last group can be expressed by replacing the
velocity V with the group Q/mRs; it then becomes
ligAPR/Qp. and permits the definition of a dimensionless flow Q = Q X p./mRZkgAp.
A stabilized displacement is defined by the terms (h,
b, Q). Studying only the maximum flow for a given well,
the relation q = f (h, 6) is obtained which gives the
reduced maximum flow as a function of the geometry
of the system. It was this relation that was determined by
experiments on the model, We were able to see the corresponding graphs published in Vol. X (1957) of the transactions of V.N,I.I. but this is now out of print, The shape
of this curve is given in Fig, 2,
Gmstruction of Model
The first model was flat, 200 mm high and 1,200 mm
long, with a slit width of 1 to 8 mm following a law of
+x. A photograph of this model was show]t to us; one
or perhaps both faces were of Plexiglas.
A second and more important model consisted of a
rolled slit. Ref. 1 contains a detailed description of this
model. It has a diameter of 50 cm and a height of about
1 m (see Fig. 3). The inside cylinder is steel; it is not

circular but its radius varies from 25o mm at the well to

243 mm at the limit of the reservoir, The exterior is
perfectly cylindrical, taking into account the variation of
thickness of the slit.
The exterior cylinder is made of rings of Plexiglas 2 cm
thick and bound by steel bands every 15 cm, ReguJarIyspaced holes in the Plexiglas were closed with steel bolts,
They served to measure the thicknesses and pressure for
the calibration of the model (verification of the log r law
for total penetration).
Penetration is obtained through several successive sections, which can be made to flow together into the well,
(The production is always single-phase.) Supply at the
outside is made by several points in a vertical cylinder,
open to the slit according to a generator.
The model operates with a mixture (glycerine and
ethyl alcohol) for the immobile phase and with reffned
oil. This annular model has the advantage of operating
under high pressure (1.5 kg/sq cm maximum). Thus it
can be of quite great height, which permits its use for
experiments on anisotropic reservoirs or with three superposed fluids (oil, gas, water).
Because a very viscous aqueous liquid is used, the
model may be turned slowly ( 1 rpm) and inclined without
affecting the oil-glycerine interface, In such cases, gravity
is replaced by its component along the axis of the model;
thus, the value of gAp can be cut in two,
Measurements made on the model are inlet pressure
and dkchar~e flow, with profile
axis
of the interface manually recorded, The results, put in the
form of a chart, are those relatput
ing to the maximum flow which
gives, right at the well, a steeply
sloping profile, For higher values, water reaches the well,
The results of this model can
serve, by appropriate mathematical techniques, to calculate the
transient movement of the rise
of the cone.

Model for Study of Transient

of Coning
LJ

glycerine (water)
Fig. I--Study

of coning.

10: q

lot
1
(s,1

0,01
0,01

0,05

Fig. !&-Presentation
.
MAY,

196S

0,15 b
of the resuhs,
.
.

0,10

This model consists of the redFig. 3Annulm model

uction of a circular reservoir
of coning.
drained by a central well,
Fig. 4. The model is
limited to a sector of
about 30, It has a height
of 70 cm, a radius of 200
cm and an interior arc circumference of 0.3 cm and
an exterior arc of 90 cm
(R/a = 300). The model
is filled with coarse sand.
1 to 3 mm in diameter:
saturated with oil. It is
used to study movement
of the gas-oil interface
which is lowered at the
well when it goes on production,
The model is made with
production wells
Plexiglas over the vertical Ii
facei aid the bottom. It
Fig. ~Modei
study of
is fitted with metal reintransient of coning.
..
4s9
,.

plate

grill

door

rein

grill
/
(- ,

. * .,
. .
P
.

sand

,
,
@

.,.

-.

,!
,
,;*
& ,*
., .-r

for oil

. ,
-,

Fig. 5.

t.,.
(..

:.,

4!...

forcing over the edges and sides (Fig. 5), with upPer
face open, At the outer boundary the level is kept constant; the sand is held in place by a O.S-mm mesh screen
supported by a steel plate 6-mm thick with 1-cm diameter
holes (Fig. 6). The well consists of a 3-mm slot against
which sand of 3-mm diameter is placed to retain the
normal sand. The well is sealed at its upper part by a
rubber gasket. The oil produced. flows into an enclosure
under a partial vacuum (20 cm of mercury) which permits drainage.
The model is fil[ed with oil by three tubes located underneath and contains no interstitial water, The viscosity of
the oil is 200 cp. The experiment lasts about eight hours
during which time the gas-oil contact is observed visually;
however, the present model does not allow observation at
less than 8 cm from the well. (We were told it would soon
he modified. ) The pressure is measured at two points
inside the model near the well and at four points on the
sides at a depth of 19 cm.
This model neglects capillary forces; thus it assumes
that the group u/Apg~~ (the ratio of capillary forces to
forces of weight) is small. In such cases the zone of two-

front

view

Fig. -The

cross-section

steel grill door (scale 1:1 ).

phase mixing is negligible in the model, The dimensionless

groups are those previously mentioned. It is necessary also
to define the reduced time r = c X k~Ap/p@h,This expression shows the need for an oil of high viscosity in order
***
to obtain a long enough time for the experiment,
J. PcmrIER, a graduate from Ecole
Polytechrdque, Paris, holds tnining utui
production
engineering degrees from
Ecole des Mines and Ecole Nationale
Superieure du P@troie, Paris. He ~oined
the French Petroleum Institute in 1959
and is in charge of reservoir engineering section in the Driiling and Production Research Dept. A picture and
J. !WE
biographical sketch of BERNARD
were pubkhed in the Feb., 1963 issue
of JOURNALOF PE~ROI.EUMTECiiiUOL00Y.

.
490

JOURNAL

OF

PETROLEUM

.
TECENOLOCY

RUSSIAN
PETROLEUM
INDUSTliY

French Engineers Review Soviet Modeling Practices

BERNARD

J. SEVE

M.EMBER

AIME

J. POTTIER

BUREAU

DE RECHERCHES

DE

PETROLE

PARIS, FRANCE
INS71TUTFRANCAK
PARIS, FRANCE

DU PE7ROLE

Editors Note: This article is lhe fourd~ in u series

appearing in JOURNAL OF Pt?~Rot.iw%t TECHNOLOGY dealing with Russiun achievements
in petroleum research,
drilling and production
operations.
The original paper,
first published in Jan., 1962 issue of REVIJEDE L~NSTHXtl

The corufitioits of similitude were exp~dined in the following manner, which is not exactly clear. The following
three ratios should be the same in the field and the model.

stemmed from a series of visits

to Russia made by tiwee teams of French engineers in
Ictte 1960 and early 1961, It has been translated from
the French for publicutioti in JPT b> T. V. Moore, petro leun~consultanti nHoustott,
Tex.
In this ins~allrnent Bernard J. S4ve, headof the Production, Driiling and Equipment Dept. for the Bureau de
Recherches de Pt%ole in Paris, and J. Pettier, ilead of
the Reservoir Engineering Section of the Production,
Drilliilg and Equiptnent Dept,, Jttst[tut Fruncais duP&tro[e,
continue the detailed discumion of Russian modeling
practices.

The capillary pressure P. is a function of the saturation S,

whose value is lixed by the ratio v/r or u/~~, of the inter-

FRANCAIS DU ptkROLE,

Models of Displacement by Water

Study of the Linear Displacement or
Two Fluids of Different Visemity
This laboratory studies the displacement of oil by water.
Neglected in this study are the influence of weight and
the absolute pressure level: the fluids are assumed to he
incompressible.
The cylindrical block isinitially saturated with oil (with
interstitial water); water is injected at a constant flow rate.
The Russian engineers measure the production of oil and
of water and from this they estimate the recovery R and
the water/oil ratio F, in the effluent as a function of the
volume injected, as related to the pore volume.
Experiments have beertmade ona mounting having the
same principle as theWelge method for measuring relative
permeabilitya Mock of sand with residual water of
length L = 3 m, permeability k = I darcy, pressure
drop AP about 2 kg/sq cm, The experiment lasts several
days. The sand (80 to 120 microns diameter) is packed
in air. The fluids are distilled water and kerosenes of
viscosity 2 and 8 cp. Saturation measurements along the
length of thepackhavebeen
made by electrical crmductivity and by radioactive tracers.
JlliUt?,l~fi:%

:,

A,=

*,.4+.

A, re-

facia[ tension to the pore radius: P. = ~f(S).

sults from the ratio of P, to the total pressure drop

AP. A, results from the ratio of the gradient of the capillary pressure, estimated over a length related to the
granulometry, to the gradient of the displacement pressure.
The purposes of the experimental study are determination of relative permeability and demonstration of the
essential rat ios of similitude. They seem to have determined experimentally the curves R = f (A,) and R = f (A,)
for several values of the water content of the production
(Fig. 8), These curves have shown that R is constant at
values of .4, below 0.6 and of, A, greater than 2 X 1(Y.
Now the reservoirs are such that A, c= 0.002 and A, = 5
to 10 X 1(Y, that is, in the region where R is constant.
Under these conditions, the experiments will be representative if the model also checks the preceding inequali. \

1. ,

AA
SAND
.,:,.
,..
; .:
,.
: . .
.,.
.

PLEXIGLAS

GRILL

STEEL

XIGLAS

Fi& ?-%etion
bf model
near the wells.
.

iini

tiep. Anarticle by D. A, Efros and V, P. Onoprienko$

specit?es these indications.
Discmsicw

u~k

. The

The parameter ~, is equivalent to the group

pVL

system A,, A, verifies the relation A,= A, L/ti~, which

The above
implies conservation of the group @/L.
experiments thus comprise a study of the capillary forces
A, and of the scale of the porous medium #~/L on the
displacement. Yet, for a valid conclusion, it would have
been necessary to present the results in the form of a
variaticm of R over the field of A, and A, for tbe values
of ~./~m studied (Fig. 9).
The Russian engineers, according to S. A. Kundin,
think that the Welge method should be used with quite
long samples. The Americans, in using small samples, do
not take a position under conditions where the parameter
A, bas no influence on the measurement, Yet there remains
a difficulty with long consolidated samples-no tneasurements have been made, It is possible that measurements
on natural samples might be made in another laboratory.
The engineers dormt think that there is a great difference
between sand and sandstone; they have compared therelative permeability curves for sorted and unsorted sands and
find them to be the same. We did not see the Russialw
make measurements of capillary pressure; the methods
of calculating relative permeability from capillary pressure
are not applied.
Horizontal Displacement of Oil by
Wtiter and Gravity
This displacement was studied on a flat transparent
model which represented the section by a vertical plane
of linear displacement of oil by water in a thick reservoir
(Fig. 10), The chief characteristics are (1) length 25 m,
height 300 mm, thickness 7 mm; (2) glass beads 2 mm
in diameter k = 2,000 darcies; (3) colored oilp, = 90
to 200 cp, p: = 0,86 gmfcc; (4) glycerine and water
p.. = 100 to 500 CP; and (5) p. = 1.22 gin/cc.
The model always contains an initial saturation of the
wetting fhrid left over from the previous experiment. The
displacement takes place under a pressure of half an atntosphere obtained by gravity. The experiment lasts from
several days to a month with the temperature of the
laboratory roughly controlled. They observe the form of
the interface by making records on paper,
Articles
sulted
In
CIU Petmle

by Russian
enfrineers
referred
to
l~rench
trandntions
at the library
at Rueil-i%lmaison.

in this paper
can be conof the Institut
Ihwncais

The first section of 4 m is inclined, and the entry to thg

model is lowered 25 cm, so that the initial oil-coater level
intersects the roof of the model, The entry consists of a
lower inlet for the injected glycerine and an upper outlet
for the withdrawal of oil during the sweeping by oil in
preparation for an experiment,
The producing well is furnished with a tube sliding in
a tube dxed with respect to the model. The outlet tube is
raised when the water arrives at the well so as to avoid
coning; the model is not well adapted for this study,
After many ditllculties, this model was put in service
at the end of 1960, The first experiments showed, for
equal viscosities, an interface at 45. In another case the
transition zone, which had a length of 2 m, was stretched
to more than 4 m at the end of the displacement.
The group which determines the importance of gravity
and which is added to the condition of similitude~

#w

A,A,

can be obtained by taldrrg the ratio of the difference in

hydrostatic pressure over the height L of the modeI
hApg, to the drop in dynamic pressure 4P. This ratio
h~pg

is the equivalent of the group .

Pgk
pv

take either the ratio 1*

One can thus

or 17ApgVX as a measure of
u

the relative importance of the forces of gravity and of

capillary pressu~e,
The limited number of experiments made has not yet
permitted a systematic study analagous to that made of
the parameters A, and A,. They only showed the first
experiments made corresponding

mpg

to a value of ~

of
.
the order of 10. At the moment the project is to take u
pack of lower permeability in order to reduce this ratio,
,
Details of the Construction of the Model
It consists of six straight sections of about 3,5 m and
two small transverse. sections which provide the passages
for observation of the model. The faces of the models are
of, Plexiglas I to 1.5 ~m in thickness. This Plexiglas is
reinforced above and below by metal angles 3 to 4 mm
thick, whose details are shown in Figs, 11 and 12. After
. building, it was seen that the Plexiglas bulged, and they
drilled for two rows of stay bolts, spaced on 15-cm centers
and 8 cm from the edges, These staybolts traverse the
model, and the nuts hold the two faces together.

1
. -----

LogAZ

F:t

4,
F:O

:&

0,8

lo~

F-l

~,6 log AI
b

,k-------
Ir
I

#:o

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W4 +0-S
lo-?w% 1 10

NT
E

w.lo6-

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of recov-

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LABORATORY

05

Al

BEDS

07,5,,.,
,.6

~g. 9-Gmtparison
odes d

of the
f%. 10--Schematic view of horizontttl
displacement model.

w eservo~:
.

.
JotittNAL

OF,.

PETtIOL~UM

TEcttfiOLOGY

.
-t:

The assembly of the model is made by gluing the lower

assembly, which is reinforced with angles. Then they fill
the model with beads; the upper part is not glued, but
consists of a rubber joint in the form of a gasket applied
to the two faces of a T-bar by screws clamping the faces.
The joints between two successive flat sections are made
by overlapping, The elbows of the model have a radius
of about 15 cm. They are reinforced like the straight
sections by sections to which one gives an adequate radius
of curvature. The joining of the several sections is made
by gluing thick Plexiglas bridles which are bolted with
the compression of an O-ring joint.
All of these precautions were not sufficient to prevent
some leaks, which were sealed with glue, The engineers
report that, at the sensitive points of the model (elbows,
joints, etc. ) leaks were numerous and that they did not
spare the glue, The entire model is supported at a height
of about a meter by a free and stable tubular framework,
Model of Expansion

of Dissolved Gas

Description of the Model

This displacement is studied in a radial, circuIar, horizontal porous medium. The model, to permit a structure
resistant to pressure, is a solid of revolution around the
axis of the direction of displacement; the meridian is a
parabola y = Cx (Fig. 13).
The well for withdrawal is placed near the sununit of
this parabola, Its cross-section for flow in the direction

is 7Ty= mC.r, and it varies as the section 2mv7 in radial

circular flow,

Ox

Dimensional Anaiysis
The parameters of displacement are:
inner radius
outer radius
permeability
porosity
relative permeabiiities
viscosities
interfaciai tension
coefficient of diffusion of gas in oil
initial saturation pressure
law of volubility.
The pressure P is related to the saturation pressure
~ =P/P,,. One considers a unit volume of liquid saturated
at pressure P = ~/P,,, One refers this to atmospheric
pressure in separating the liquid and gas, The volume S of
gas is measured at atmospheric pressure (one can then
refer it to the pressure P by the coefficient of contraction
between 1 atm and P), The curve of volubility S(F) is
deduced from PVT tests. In this quick review, we have
neglected the change in density and viscosity as a function
of pressure.
The dimensional anaiysis was explained to us rapidiy, It
is detailed by S. A. Kundinx. It introduces the following
dimensionless groups.
~=

geometric similitude

The same law of volubility, S(F)

relative permeability
~ ,

GLASS BEADS

~=
p.,,

viscosity ratios

$=

permeability to area ratio

and of

QI.L = B = ratio of pressure drop to saturation pressure

kltP,,

u
=

k P,,

. A<
.
PLEXIGLAS

-.

.~~j

~TIGHTENING

ED
.
R

BOLTS

I
Fig. 1lCross-section.

ratio of capillary
pressure

pressure

to saturation

ratio fixing the rate of diffusion

The engineers admit that the last two ratios have iittie
influence on the phenomena. The law of volubility is obtained as indicated, The relative permeabilities are assumed to be the same. The most important conditions
relate to the terms R/k and B. The latter is put in the
Q
:1,,/?
form B = ..

hR k P,,

Now

...,,:..

I@

.:*+
:
a
-
~
I

@@@s@@@)@!
Fig. l=ide

JUNE,

1963

elevation.

Fig. 13~Pa~abolic model

of dissolved gas drive.
..

u-R/~-

Darc~s
kAP
or
.R

law

gives

even

~ 4, ~,

the

velocity

equivalence

and as one has the

pore voium{ VP = T whR2, on: may then replace B by

Qt

= g, the reduced flow rate, dimensionless, characterV

istic of the rate of depletion of the model.
The condition R/k is very difficult to fultlll. They find
that it sufllct?s to achieve similitude through the term
A = q k/R which groups together R/k and B.
fills .

Construction of the Model

The model is 5 m kmg (another model 8 m). The
extreme diameters are 1 cm and 10 cm (R/a = 100). It
can operate under 150 kg/sq cm but at ambkmt temperature (the temperature of the laboratory is controlled).
The porous medium is unconsolidated sand of the
80-120 p fraction, of permeability 1 darcy. The sand is
tamped, the model being vertical; they then apply the
pressure, vibrate the pack again, and compensate the additional packhsg by driving a piston.
The oils are several kerosene cuts (2, 4, 8, 12 cp) and
17 cp transformer oil. The gas is a mixture of CO, and
N,, combined to obtain the same curve S(T). However,
the agreement is poor; we were not shown any curve,
Methane was not used for safety reasons.
The sample is first put in water, displaced with kerosene
to leave 14 to 17 per cent residual water, then displaced
under pressure with kerosene charged with gas (three pore
volumes). During this operation the water also is charged
with gas. Then the experiment begins, lasting about 12
hours.
They measure the pressure at the two ends. (There are
some unutilized pressure measurements along the tube,)
They produce into a separator, where the collected oil is
measured and the gas metered.
Auxiliary

/ipprtratus

Among their auxiliary equipment they have a cell for

saturating kerosene and a cell for saturating water (for
water injection); three pairs of cylinders (Fig. 14) with
a piston actuated by gas-one for pure kerosene, one for
saturated kerosene and one for water, The pistons separate
the gas from the liquid and carry a level indicator which
is displaced along a graduated scale.
Supersaturation
Supersaturation occurs for several minutes, corresponding to about 1 per cent of the liquid withdrawn, Fig, 15
shows the type of pressure drop obtained. The break of

supersaturation is not localized, In some experiments made

in glass capillaries, bubbles showed everywhere, as they
did in experiments on some flat Plexiglas models and with
radioactive tracers. At another Russian laboratory they
tried to promote vaporization with the aid of a high voltage electric needle, but this gave no result.
Expansion of Dissolved Gas Studies
Drainage by dissolved gas drive k being studied in this
laboratory. This is carried out by studying the recovery
before and after arrival of gas at the wells; after arrival
they study the changes of pressure and gas-oil ratio as a
function of the recovery, S, A. Kundin~ reports on this,
Also they study the displacement by water of oil below
the bubble-point pressure. First they saturate the model
with water which is displaced with kerosene containing
dissolved gas. This permits the establishment of reservoir
conditions, particularly by creating an interstitial water
saturation. The experiment is made by displacing the
kerosene by water which is injected at a constant pressure
at the upstream end. The pressure is likewise maintained
constant at the wells, The Russian scientists do not follow
the shape of the injection front, but are interested only
in recovery to breakthrough it seems, They study the
influence of differenf factors on this recovwy, such as
amount of dissolved gas and reduction of pressure in the
reservoir.
The experiments show that the recovery is maximal
when the dissolved gas begins to come out of solution
(which has been known a long time), This shows the
weakness of the theories accepted up to now in Russia,
which are put into practice by the systematic exploitation
of reservoirs above the bubble point, often with injection
above the initial pressure. The study is being continued
with investigation of the optimum pressure for displacement. The viscosity ratio is close to that of the reservoirs
the kerosene is 2S cp, which corresponds to the fields
of Bashkw and Tatar, the displacing liquid is distilled
water of 1 cp.
Hydrodynamic

Modebi with CapIll&y Pressure

The models discussed in this kection were put into operation in the laboratories of the Institute of Geology and
Development of the Academy of Sciences (V.N.I.G.N.I.).
They are of a more fundamental nature than those described in the preceding sections. Also, they are very
interesting since they refer both to drainage of heterogeneous zones by imbibition and to the stability of two-phase
displacement, The modeIs are ffat, made of Plexiglas filled
with a pack with permeabilities varying from 0.3 to 7
darcies.

ft

k=
~

SATURATION
%,.

PRESSURE

..
.-

1,

37

(inn)

Fig. 15Pressure-time
curve showing supersniu.
ration.
.

sphscement
atus.

,..

Porous Packs
The porous packs are composed, of sands screened to
obtain 7 darcies (diameter of 0.105 mm) and for as low
as 1 darcy, mixed with finer sand, Also glass powder is
included to permit permeabilities as low as 0.3 darcies.
The packs are deposited in air. The models are open
on the inlet or outlet face. The deposition of heterogeneous
packs is obtained by means of a distributor which slides in
the model and which is withdrawn as the tilling progresses
(Fig, 16). The outlet of the tubes for the introduc~on of
sand may be direct or may be over a metal plate forming
a deflector which avoids the piling up of a cone (Fig. 17).
The Model is hammered during the deposition to improve
the tamping.

After deposition, the pack is prepared for the experiment. They displace the air with carbon dioxide, apply a
vacuum and inject the liquid, After displacement they
wash with ether, apply a vacuum, dry the model cold and
check the weight.
The porosites obtain~d are 40 per cent for the sand,
44 per cent for the f$ass powder, The porosity and permeability are measured on raference packs prepared under
the same conditions. On packs of sorted glasa beads the
permeability is equal to its theoretical value within 3 or
4 per cent,
of the Model
The models are made of plates of Plexiglas about 1 cm
thick. Screws 4 mm in diameter and spaced 2 cm apart
are placed on two faces to secure the sides, Epoxy resin
is used unsparingly on the contact faces and on the screw
heads to stop leaks. The inlet and outlet faces generally
contain one or two conduits flowing over a grili drilled
with 2 mm holes and covered with nylon or capron cloth,
The Russians told us that it was better to make the upstreant and downstream faces of liurai rather than Plexiglas, The models are reinforced with exterior a~gles spaced
every 20 cm.
The interior faces were not treated against slippage along
the walls, which seems less important in the packs of fine
graius (total thickness, 15 mm), The upstream and downstream faces are often of a higher pemleabiiity over a
distance of 1 or 2 cm, The model can function under a
prvsure of 0.5 atm, but they can also apply a high
vacuum downstream.
A number of models are available iu the laboratory,
but we saw two. Among the auxiliary equipment in the
laboratory is a thermostated falling-ball viscometer in
which the time of fall is taken by a chronometer, Afso we
saw two thermostated apparatus for measuring interracial
tensionone measuring the pressure on a drop, another
the weight of drops leaving a capillary, These devices
have a precision of OS dyne/cm and are preferred to the
Lecompte du Nouy tensiometer because they are more
practical.
Construction

Two-Strata Model
This model with two strata of different permeabilities
has a length of 80 cm and a width of 20 cm, divided into
5 cm of sand of 5 darcies and 15 cm of sand of 1 darcy.
It is used to study capillary drainage to a low permeability
bed from a permeable bed. Two liquids or. a liquid and
a gas may be used in it, There is no initial saturation, but
the addition of this is contemplated for the future although
the model w,illbe difficult to prepare.
They can measure the voiumes injected and produced,
SAND
4

SAND

J
SAND

and spot by sketching the form of the contact. We witnessed an experiment of air displacement by ether at an
injection t~elocity of 1 to 2 cm/mini
The model was piaced vertically; gravity had no influence (the result is the same when they invert the model).
After a displacement of 20 cm the well-defined iuterface
has assumed the profile indicated in Fig. 18 and is thereafter displaced parailel to itself (Fig, 19), Some experiments have been made with a colored injection liquid
which have shown effectively that this liquid is displaced
chiefly in the permeable bed, It crosses the boundary of
the two beds just back of the front, remaining practically
immobile.
The interesting feature of this experiment is to show
the conditions under which a front. of displacement by
water can be stabilized by capillary forces in spite of
variations in permeability, Thus, they obtain an irribibition
effect which assures proper drainage in the low permeability sections of a heterogeneous reservoir. Articles in
this area have been written by V. Ci, Ogandzanjanc and
1, L Egorova,*
Model of the Study of the
Stability of Displacement
This model is a flat one, 40 cm wide and 50 cm deep
(Fig, 20), It is filled with glass powder; the oil used is
either kerosene or a mineral oil to which alpha-bromonaphthalene is added to give it the refraction index of
glass, 1.47. They inject water, measure the flow at the
outlet, and take photographs which permit seeing the
saturation distribution.
The experiment was all right at the beginning, It will
permit the observation of the conditions of stability of
linear displacement as a function of velocity and of viscosity contrast, (1.L./N. varies from 1 to 16, ) In effect, it
is not certain that the plane front calculated by the relative permeabilities and the capiliary pressures (method of
Buckley and Leverett with refinements) will be slable
when the injected fluid is less viscous than the fluid in
place and when the length along the path of flow is quite
large. This phenomenon of instability is well known for
studies of miscible displacement in transparent models, It
can also be produced for non-miscible displacement.
This model shows the influence of the ~nd effect, Furnished with a terminal section of sand of coarser grain
size, they see that the leading edge of water which reaches
the end of the pack does not enter the coarse sand but
grows within the pack. It is certain that these experiments,
especially the water content of the effluent, are influenced
by this phenomenon. The model is horizontal; the influence
of gravity is considered negligible.
The scientists study the stability in two dimensions, This
is easier, but one can argue that the presence of streaks
cf shale close together approximates the problem of twodimensional displacement.
Study- of Sweep Efficiency
These models are made of artificial porous media of
dimensions 8- X 500- X 400 mm, of permeability 2 to 60
ke) k,

Fig. 16Hydrodynamic
model of media of SWOsUf.
ferent permeabilities.

Fig. 17Deta~l of
apparalsis.

m~m
-
..-.
.--:-

Fig.

18Model of
strata.

tfvo

Fig. 19DMusge mech.

anlsm of two strata model.

l -

Stw

darcies, saturated with various oils (kerosene, mineral oil)

into which they inject water.
Reviewing quickly the outline of this study (Fig, 21),
the Russians study the sweep between a front of water
injection, and at a distance L, a row of injection wells
spaced between centers on a distance rr. They study the
recovery R as a function of the volume injected V, and
they thsd that R is not inihrenced by the geometry if
2u/L >1. The other parameter is M. = p./I.L~, and they
find that the law R(V) is the same as for a linear displacement over a distance L with a fictitious viscosity ratio
M = M, + a(2cr/L)n.
We dwell a little more on the method of fabrication
described by A. P, Krylov, A, G. Kovalev and V. G.
Ogandzanjanc.* A natural sand is used which has been
impregnated with a thermosetting Bakelite. They place
this sand in a flat oven which consists of, from bottom
to top ( 1) an insulating iayer, (2) a heating resistance,
(3) a bed of sand to equalize the temperature, (4) a bed
of sand impregnated with resin and (5) a second bed of
sand which contains a metal plate to equalize the temperatures,
The baking lasts 24 hours. The permeability is about
60 darcies, It can be reduced by including in the composition to be cooked some quartz powder called marchallite.
The porosity obtained is 25 to 35 per cent. The slab is
ciosed at its faces by epoxy resin, which also serves as a
seal for the wells, The Bakelite is hydrophoble, A surface
active reagent is added to make it hydrophilic and at the
same time to reduce the interfaciai tension to reduce the
capillary forces.
The packs obtained are homogeneous; the permeability
is constant within about 15 per cent. They can obtain two
layers of different permeability by superimposing two beds
before baking.
In the same laboratory we saw artitlcial cores prepared
in the following manner, The scientists mix quartz sand
and quartz powder with a hydrolyzed alcoholic solution
of ethyl orthosilicate, They mould a core and dry it in
the dark at the constant temperature of the laboratory
for a week (this prevents shrinkage fractures), The core
having dried is baked for three hours at 800C and cooled
very slowly, In this way they get cores 25-cm long and
3 cm or more in diameter.
Experimental Study of HydrauUc Fracturing
Genercdities

The Russian engineers use fracturing techniques extensively. The reservoirs. are indeed exploited systematically
by water injection, the injection wells and producing wells
being arranged in parallel lines. This method can permit
improved drainage and can reduce the number of wells,
It then is necessary to increase the rate of injection per
COARSER SOLIDS

.f{F\.

FL

..

weii, leading to the maximum utilization of the possibilities

of fracturing.
These studies have been carried quite far, On the theoretical side they have made calculations of the propagation, of the longitudinal protiie, and of the injectivity index
as a function of the form of the fissures.
From the experimental point of view, we have seen
some studies on three subjects: ( 1) apparent viscosity of
fracturing fluid, (2) sedimentation of sand in horizontal
or vertical fractures and (3) experiment
on an elastic
.,
model of fracturing,
A domain related to fracturing is th~ behavior of reservoir fissures, wlich aiso brings into play the mechanics
of rocks. Some .Russian engineers are convinced that fractures in reservoir rocks is a very general phenomenon,
even in the case of formations considered to be homogeneous. The vaiues of permeability deduced from pressure
measurements would be due to some extent to flow occurring in such fractures. Some theoretical studies are in
progress. The Russian engineers are also trying to build
some physical models which demonstrate this aspect of
reservoir behavior, but the experimental work has just
begun.
Viscosity of Fracturing Fiuids
They effect the Newtonian flow of a fluid containing
sand in a vertical tube furnished with two manometer
tubes, Thus, they measure an apparent viscosity NC defined
by Ap = ~QIIc

(Ap the pressure drop over the length

L, Q the flow rate, d the diameter),

They study the relation IAC= tAj(C), I-Lbeing the viscosity of the pure liquid and C the concentration of sand.
The results are:
1. They find the relation
Ln~

= 3,18C or PC = pexp (3.18C)

which is vaiid as long as C <0.20

2, This relation applies to viscous flow. They know that
in smooth pipes, with pure iiquid, the boundary between
Iaminar and turbulent flow is determined by
Vdp
Re =
= 2,000
P

When there is some sand in suspension this boundary

is located at Reynolds numbers of about 150 to 200. For
values of Reynolds number greater than this, the value
of YC calculated by the Poiseuille formula is less than p
exp (3.1 tW), The experiments have been made with viscosities in the range of 2 to 600 cp rmd with sands from
0.6 to 0.85 mm.
This study permits the calculation of the pressure drop
in the fracturing string and the estimation with confidence
of the bottom-hoie pressure from the welihead pressure.
. It could be established that some fracture jobs have failed,
the fractures being closed on account of the pressure drop
which occurred because of the commencement of sand
injection,

Movement of Sand in the Fractures

Model

50 cm
Fig. 20---H~~:geneoua

SW

PRODUCTION

WELLS

Fig, 21Plan of model

for- s.tody of sweep
et?kiency.

of a Horizontal

Fracture

(Figs. 22 and 23)

This model establishes a crack 600-mm long, 5-mm

thick, 90-mm wide (50 mm near the well), They inject a
fluid ioaded with sand which freely flows from the extremity of the crack. .The top ..of the mOdel and one. side .aIc .
of transparent Plexiglas.
JOURNAL

OF

PETROLEUM

TECHNOLOGY

,,

They observe visually that the sand is deposited on the

bottom of the model and is disptaced over a fraction
ft = eH of the total thickness H, in giving a regular flow.
This is only valid if s <0.5. If, the sand content is too
great, there is no steady-state flow.
For stable flow, they can make a calculation assuming
laminar flow in an upper level (pure liquid) and a lower
level (liquid with a sand concentration of +), Thus they
calculate the pressure drop Ap over the length of the
crack and they define the reduced coefficient.
HAp
=44(+s)
QII.L
They ~raw the curve C (+, E), 4 (+, S). The experimental points, for which C is measured and A estimated
are in agreement with this diagram.
Model of a Vertical Fracture (Fig. 24)

This model is of Plexiglas and has a thickness of 3 mm,

a length of 50 or 150 cm, a maximum height of 18 cm
(controllable by the solidification of a parafiln in the
crack). The downstream part of the crack is reduced in
thickness and height to create a pressure drop and to
increase the upstream pressure.
No theory has permitted the calculation of this flow;
they can only give a description, When the crack is Klgh
enough, deposition of sand occurs near the well from the
beginning. The deposition increases in height and length,
but the height deposited h tends very quickly toward a
limit from which the sand is displaced horizontally by
water (Fig. 25), In reality, the upper limit of the sand
deposited appears as a poorly defined accumulation, The
shape, of the deposited sand following the arrival of the
fluid at the roof or the wall of the reservoir (Figs. 25a and
25b) is a little different.
This experiment demonstrates a characteristic dimensi&
of the process of sand deposition, The dimensional analysis
can be applied to the parameters of the model.
V= mean velocity
C = sand concentration
/.L= viscosity of the liquid
W == width of the fracture
H= height of the fracture
d = diameter of the sand
P* = density of the sand
P =density of theliquid, Ap =p. -p

One has five dimensionless groups,

B,=~

B,=&

B,=$

B,=c

B,==

Vp

ApgHz

QK
Apg WHY

l?, and B, remain practically constant, 1?, varies a little.

Ordy B, and B, have significant variation. One then studies

The diagram which we were shown reproduces the

variations of h/H as a function of B, for three ranges
of concentration0,02 to 0.06; 0.06 to 0.15; and 0.15
to 0.40.
We give an approximate idea of this in Fig. 26 which
suggests two comments,
1, For a given value of h/H, the value of B, changes
in the same way as P(C) as a function of C.
2, As the height izis a height of sand without motion
where the flow is negligible, it does not affect the displacement, We suggest that the free height of H h be called h,
and that the variation of h/H with Qp/AyWh be studied.
One should find mat this latter group does not vary when
h varies.
The connection between this study and the application
is that H is the most important factor, because the other
parameters, among which the flow rate is most significant,
vary very little, If H is small, the deposition near thti well
is negligible, and the sand fills the fracture beginning at
the end remote from the wells. If H is large, the sedimentation occurs first near the hole. Under bottom-hole conditions, the critical dimensions for H are from 1.5 to 6 m,
In the reservoir, the fractures are produced at the
beginning from existing incipient fractures. Professor
Kristianovitch* (First National Congress of Theoreticttl and
Applied Mechanics) has shown that if two fractures are
produced, the larger develops at the expense of the smaller.

I
b

FIX. 2SDeposition of sand hI a vertical fracture.

INJECTION
*

h_
H o,,

3.

0,8
0,7

/;

0,15 CCCo, a6

2. 0,06 ( C{0,15
1. 0,002{C<0,06

0.6
0,5

Fig. Z2Model of horizontal fractures.

0,4 i
0, 1.
\

0, 2
0,t
I

Fig. 23 and F@, 24-Models

of vertieal fractures.
.
JUNE,

196s

\\

hig. 26C6rrelution of die deptil OF depcpition of

sand in u vertical fracture.
. . ..
. . ..

587

*,*

~ WATER

I+l---k,,nwnw

,---------

,,
Ei._.:#
Fig. 27Model for elastic fracturing.
(The calculation is made for a pure liquid. One can cause
blocking of the fist fracture with spheres of naphthalene,
rubber or plastic which are later dissolved. Americans and
Russians are making some tests in this way.) The- vertical
dimension of the fracture is related to the lithologyit
is stopped in the more plastic zones which enclose the
formation.
The Russian engineers do not think that the alignment
of the perforators along the same vertical gives a better
fracture because this is produced along existing fissures.
In the case of perforated casing, {there is no equipment
giving the number of perforations in communication with
the fissure.
Elastic Models of the Frtwture
The model used is of porous and permeable rubber
(10 to 60 darcies). This rubber is made impermeable over
,its horizontal surfaces. It is covered with a metal plate,
which represents the column of sediment capping the reser-

voir, and is enclosed by a

Q
perforated metal ring which
achieves, through precompression, the lateral stress of
the sediment and permits the
flow df fluids (Fig. 27),
The dimensions are 50 cm
.
in diameter, 10 cm in height,
ox now
The fissures are made in ad- igow~~p~~~~ Iuon
~L~=~
...= An
vance but are closed bv,. rmessure (their surface is made impermeable). The engineers
have studied the vertical fracture and the horizontal fracture. They inject pure liquid in the central well, wait to
obtain a steady flow, and construct a pressure-flow curve
Q = f (AP) (Fig. 28). For low pressure they have only
the flow in the porous medium and Q is proportional to
Ap. Above a certain pressure, the fissure opens and the
flow increases rapidly. They can get an idea of the thickness of the fissure by putting sand in the injected fluid
before stopping the experiment. It would improve the
model to measure the lateral stresses, whether it be by a
piezometer or by calculation from the initial deformation
**
of the rubber.

EDITORS NOTE:

PICTURE AND BxOORApHIcALSKETCHES

OF BERNARD J. SEVE AND J, POTTIER WERE PUBLISHED IN

THE MARCH AND MAY, 1963 ISSUES, RESPECTIVELY, OF
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY.

,.
66s3

.,.

. .

-aJOUBNAL
.

OF
. .

PETROLEUM
.
. .

TEC~~~J.~~y

RUSSIAN
PETROLEUM
INDUSTRY

Further Notes on Soviet Production Research - Radioactive

Tracers, Water Invasion, Electric Analyzers
J. POTTIER

INSTITUT FRANCAIS
PARIS, FRANCE

DU PiTROLE

Editors Note: This article is the fifth irr a series appearing in JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY dealing with
Russian achievements in petroleum research? ~drilling and
productiott operations. The original paper, first published
itr Jan. 1962 issue of REVUE DE LINS~ITU~ J?RANCAISDV

The sand Racks. 1 to 2 in. in diameter and 1- to 2-m

long, are use~at ~elocities of several meters perday. Tbe
tracers are placed either in the fluid in place or in the
fluid injected in concentrations of 0.3 to 0,S millicuries
per liter.

stemmed from a series of visits to Russia made

by three teams of French engineers in Iate1960andeurly
1961, It has been translated from the French jor publicaV. Moore, petroIeum consuhant in
tion in JPT byT.
Houston, Tex.
In thisinstallmentJ.Pettier,
headof the Reservoir Engineering Section of the Production, Dt-iliing and Equipmeht Dem. Institut Francais du Pktrole, conthrues the
detailed discussion of Russian research efforts.

Description of the Laboratory

The laboratory consists of two parts, an installation of
displacement models and a group for detection-and recording.

P;TROLE,

Use of Radiotrstcers
The Laboratory of the Iustituteof Production V.N,I.I.,
which makes these studies, was established around 1956.
It consists of six engineers and nine technicians.
Radiotraeers are used in laboratory experit&nts for
the study of hydrodynamic models in porous -media, and
in field experiments, The laboratory designs bottom-hole
apparatus but does not employ .them.
Applications in the Laboratory
Applications in the laboratory permit observation of
the dhplacement of fluids of comparable physical propixties. The applications observed were:
1. Water-oil displacements, particularly the dkplacement of interstitial water by injection water.
2, Displacement of three phases with radlotraceri in
two phases (oil-water).
3. Miscible displacement, study of the volume of a
slug, and factors which govern the mixing zone in the
models (viscosities, molecular dMusion, diffusion by convection).
Used
Iodine (energy 0,4 mev)Iodides of Ca, ~ Na. It
is noted that these products are not absorbed on quartz;
iodobenzene C&tI in oil.
RubiditrmW (energy 1 mev)AntimonP
was abandoned beeause. of its too high energy.

lJisplaeement

Morfek

.,

The model for the study of molecular diffusion was in

operation. It was 2 in, (50 mm) in diameter, 3-m long,
with five taps for pressure (or perhaps for samples) which
were not connected. The steel tube 4-mn~ thick is scored
on the inside to eliminate slippage of fluid at the wall.
Another model had a diameter of 1 in, and a length of
50 m id a serpentine form (Fig. 29).
Another model intended for experiments with propane
and oil was not in operation.
In addition to the reservoir, the model has a control
panel (manometers, tubing, etc.). The handling of the
radioactive products is done without special precautions.
The amount for the entire laboratory is 10 to 15 millicuries (for about 30 liters of solution), The personnel
work only about six hours in the laboratory,
The thickness of the steel tubes issufiiciently uniform to
require no correction. The constancy of porosity on a
model can be checked by injecting a singie radioactive
TUSING

1 lF~. ID

Rs&omacers

JULY,

DETECTOR

OPENING
/

I DETECTOR

Fig, 29~odel in ,serpen!ine form (Mhn).

.,

..

1969

.:. .

liquid. The engineers measure the porosity prollhs around

the mean; they know. the mean value by material balance.
The ditlusion of the tracer itself should not pose any
particular problem. The engineers fist verified that the
tracers were not absorbed on the quartz or the steel.
Furthermore, they compared the transition curves with
those obtained by other methods, especially that of refractive indices (analysis of the etih.tent and of samples
taken along the length of the model), They obtajned the
same result within a small experimental error. Theoretically, it would be preferable to take radioactive isotopes
of H, O and C. But these give ~ rays which have no
penetrating power,

ments are in accord with the theory. The coefficient of

diffusion was found to be about 0.001 (Fig. 31).
Attempt

to Study Moiecuiar Diflratimt

Under Static Conditions

The engineers inject a viscous oil in some kerosene

(viscosity ratio 15 to 1) and stop the displacement. The
transition zone was initially 20 cm; it increased by 1 to
1.5 cm/day. The experiment was continued for two weeks,
but it was suspected that gravity had some inffuence.
The tube was horizontal (3.5- and 5.O-cm in diameter),
Dhplaeetnent

o~ lntzw~i~

~2;ter

by Injection

Water

.
Detection

and Recording

The detector appeared to be a cylinder 10 cm in diameter and 30 cm in length, It is kept attached to a vertical
post and is moved on two rails parallel to the models.
The detector has a lead collimator (Fig. 30) mounted
ahead of it.
According to the sensitivity desired, the collimator has
a slit of 1 cm, a slit of 2.5 cm, or an opening.7 cm in
diameter, The detector comprises a crystal of adequate
size and a photomultiplier,
The detector ia tied into a cabinet which has four parts:
(1) a high-tension part, (2) an electronic part (standard
industrial), (3) a selector of the frequency of the energy
measured when there are two radiotracers, and (4) a
six-channel recorder,
The selector and detector were developed at the institute; the other apparatuses are made commercially. The
selector separates the energy of two radiotracers used
simultaneously. 1 has weak energy, 0.4 mev; RbW has
1 mev. It automatically gives the value of the energy
at 1 mex, then that of the sum 1 me%+ 0.4 mev at
the same point of measurement.
The recorder can be used with several detectors connected in turit for measurement. This takes 10 to 15 seconds, The number of counts is around 600/sec. We saw it
operate with a single detector. Thus, the recorder repeated
the measurement six times. The measurements recorded
were about 1/2 -cm wide. The recording strip was 30-cm
wide and unrolled about 1 cm/min in the displacement
experiments. Recorded on this strip are the variations
of flow, which are measured regularly.
Experiments with two radiotracers, one in the water
and the other in the oil, have served for some studies of
displacement in the presence of gas, The gas. saturation
was obtained by difference; but, as they did not inject
gas, this saturation varied from zero to 10 per cent, and
the precision was only fair. The engineers propose to
apply the study with two radiotracers to miscible displacement with two fluid phases (water and oil plus solvent,
oil and connate water plus injected. water),

Seven points of measurement were used in this experiment. The interstitial water contained the tracer. The
Russian engineers have found all the interstitial water is
pushed ahead, resulting in the displacement of the oil.
One then has between the interstitial water and the injection water, a mixhtg zone which qualitatively has the same
behavior as a diffusion zone in a fluid, The experiments
were made with a viscosity contrast of 1.2-cp kerosene
with I-cp water, The oil-water transition zone was then
very short. ,The transition zone, interstitial water-injected
water, deveIoped in time and length comparably to that in
experiments with single-phase fluids, kerosene-kerosene.
The experiments were made on sand of 0.7 darcies,
3-cm in diameter, 1- to 3-m long, Initial water saturation
was 23 per cent, final 72 per cent, Experiments were also
made on artificially consolidated silica cores glued end
to end. These cores of 0,12 darcies were 3 cm in diameter, l-m long, and had sand concentration of 31 per
cent. Initial water saturation was 24 per cent, final 68
per cent,
The director of the laboratory indicated that the water
produced with the oil is interstitial water; only if the wells
produce a long time does one observe the arrival of injection water. The phenomenon combines the miscible
displacement of water and the dispersion of velocities due
to the difference of permeability; the interpretation of the
measurements has not yet been attempted.
COUNTS/SEC

lzzzl
TIME (MINI

Fig. 31Curves for the different positions

of the detector.

Effects Studied
EjJect of Dynamic Di@sion in Single-Phase Dhpiaeement
The engineers displace a refined oil (kerosene 1.22 cp)
by a refined oil containing a radiotracer. These experi.
DIAGRAM

INTERSTITIAL

WATER

WITH

TRACER

?F257~::=.TER
DISPLACEMENT

...

S&Lead

Fig.

!OVRNAL

7sa
,.

. .

,,

TUBE

Fig...3%Diagram#

coll!mamrs

OF

PETROLELM

..

TECtKXOLOGY
..-

liottam-Hole Appar&tus for the

Application of Radiotracers
These are oriented toward the determination of f~dCtures. For this the engineers put oxide of iront in the
injected sand. Radioactive resins can also be used. They
can make a gamma-ray log before and after the injection
and detect the peaks which appear; it is thought, though,
that these peaks can be due to collecting sand on the wall
of the hole rather than to a narrow fissure.
They are studying a new instrument, whose principle
is to detect high energy ( 1 mev) and the energy of diffuse rays (50 kev) which are relatively more important
when the source is far from the well, as is the case with
a true fissure.
Invasion of Prnducing Wells By Water
Empirical Method
It is known how to calculate the production of a homogeneous reservoir. The model is for linear displacement
because the average behavior between the line of injection
and the line of production is studied. One applies the
theory of relative permeability and may calculate, knowing the porosity, permeability, thickness and viscosity, the
flow of oil H, the flow of water E, and the percentage
of water F as a function of time,
In fact, H, E, F and generally the displacement itself
depend upon the heterogeneity of the reservoir. The effect
of this heterogeneity is estimated from the production of
the first 12 to 15 wells, giving an average for the operating parameters for the field; they assume that the mean
value does not change and they extend it to the 100 to
500 wells for the entire field.
This method permits the estimation of the production
from the whole field, the probable average production
per well and the progress of water production.
Study of a Heterogeneous Model
An example of a mathematical model, it is designed to
take into accoiint the variation of permeability within the
reservoir. It is obtained by successive approximations of
actual displacement. Located far from the lines of injection and producing wells, the displacement will then be
linear (Fig. 33). If one analyzes the trajectories of singlephase displacement, taking account of the permeability
variation, one finds that, along a streamline, the permeability and the cross-section ,vary (Fig, 34). One reduces
this complex form to a cylinder having the average crosssection and permeability of the tllament.
This scheme is isolated filaments is applied to twophase displacement (displacement by water),

I
o

The curve of permeability distribution in the reservoir

can be deduced from the -study of electric logs, from
cores or from flow tests (Fig. 35), But the model presumes an average permeability throughout the length of
each filament. Thus, the curve S, of permeability distribution for the model is not so dispersed as S, (only u
model of isolated, homogeneous beds would give two
identical spectra S, and S,).
The calculation has been applied to some small fields
(Volga region) invaded by water whose development is
finished, They compare the water percentage observed in
the field Fr with the calculated percentage F,. If the
calculation is based on S,, F. is too high, With a less dispersed profile S,, they obtain a good value. For example,
they found that for S,, 50 per cent is concentrated around
the mean permeability of 400 to 500 darcies, 12 per cent
in the interval 200 to 300; and 20 per cent in the interval
600 to 700,
Regarding the principle of calculation, in each filament
they apply the displacement according to relative permeabilities, with a constant flow proportional to the permeability, At a given time t,the filament of permeability k
is represented by a saturation profile S, (x, t) (Fig, 36),
They calculate the integral

zrid they deduce the flow of oil and the flow of water.
Dhmussion
The hypothesis of stream filaments without lateral communication greatly facilitates the calculation, Even. with
this scheme, the operation of each filament is not at constant flow rate, but at constant pressure difference; the
tlow will be affected by the viscosity ratio and the relative permeabilities in the zone of two-phase flow,
The previously mentioned calculation neglects the capillary pressure, The capillary pressure acts, in thb Case
of water injection, to improve the drainage from the less
permeable zones. This effect, if it is appreciable, should
act in the direction of a less rapid invasion than the spectrum S, ,wotrld indicate, The engineer stated that he did
not know the detai[s of the work done on this matter
relating to imbibition.
Another important factor intervenesthe continuity,
between the injection and producing wells, of the porous
zones subject to injection, Fig. 5 gives a schematic crosssection of a real reservnir with an injection well located at
A and producing wells at B, C and D,
In practice, the reservoir is bordered with a peripheral
line of injection wells, such as at A, and comprises several
interior lines of p~oducing wells, When B is invaded by
water it is shut in and, after a certain time re-opened as
an injection well in place of A.
If the reservoir has a marked Ienticular aspect, the
model of parallel beds, isolated but contil.uous in the

1
...

a
P

Fig. 33Schematic mode[.

..
JULY,

i-h

WATER

oo~-

10A,.
b...
L=

Fig, 3&Form
of the
streaming filaments.

Fig. 3&P~u:::~iliiy

distri-

Fig. 36+isn
le saturation
pro r ile.

719

1969
.-

SATURATION

..

..

direction of displacement, should be replaced by a scheme

such as that of Fig. 37, which comprises not only some
continuous beds, but also lenticukw beds extending over
one, two or three well locations. The distribution of reserves according to the continuity of the beds can he determined by geologic studies, A representative case of
distribution (70 per cent continuous beds) is given in
Fig, 38,
These considerations are important in determining well
spacing, Local conditions in a part of a reservoir can
lead to closer well spacing, or even to abandoning the
arrangement of the injection wells in a line in favor of a
plan approaching that of the five-spot, which would give
better recovery .in the Ienticular parts, This was the case
at the Romashkino field, where the first studies made in
the homogeneous part could not be extended to certain
irregular zones in which only half the reserves were in
lhe continuous horizons,
Electric Analyzer
Principles
The electric analyzer recalls the analogy existing between
the law of. fluid flow in porous media and that of the flow
of electric current in conducting media,
ap

div ~ grad P = ,,/3.%-,

and
divugrad

V=C#.

There is thus an analogy between the characteristics of

the porous medium ~

0# and those of the conductor

r, c between the pressure in the reservoir and the potential

in the electrical network; the latter, made up of resistances

and capacit antes fixed proportionately by the first analogy,
represents the reservoir. There follows a proportional
relation between the flow and the current, and between
the actual time for the reservoir and that for the electrical
network, One withdraws from or puts into the electrical
network a current analagous to, the production history
already known and that forecast; the network reconstitutes the past evolutidn and the future prediction of the
pressure, This reconstitution can be repeated many times
per second, four or five times on the analyzer at Moscow,
which permits observations to be made directly on an
oscilloscope.
Description
This analyzer is located in a room 20x 10 m, It comprises five cabinetstwo units constituting the meshed
network and three units containing the producing elements (Fig. 39). These elements are tied together, At
the center of the room are desks which serve for ordinary
mobile connections. An oscilloscope mounted on wheels
is moved along a central track. This oscilloscope permits
the observation of the voltage at points in the network.
The operation of the analyzer is conducted by seven
people (engineers and technicians) plus the crew of electronic technicians for the apparatus. It was built in 19571958, A study lasts about a month, sometimes longer.
There is an analyzer of this type at Moscow for the
industries calculating Fourier integral (construction and
heat transfer).
The analyzers of the local institutes (Ufa, for example)
do not have capacitances and operate by a superposition
of steady states.
Mesk Network
The network (Fig. 40) is made up according to squares.
It is finer in the central zone than in the peripheral zone,
which is finer than in the remote zone. Characteristics
of these three zones (R,, R,, R,) as shown in Table 1.
Resistances

Each mesh comprises several resistances. The mesh

network of the R, block can in effect form the element
of a reservoir consisting of two beds in communication.
Tb do this, it should consist of five resistances (Fig, 41).
Nevertheless, since the problems of a single bed are more
numerous, the first two resistances have better definition.
The mesh itself is made up of nine piugs arranged in
two lines as indicated in Fig. 42. .The resistances are in
the form of pencils 15-cm long and 1 cm in diameter
which are plugged into the vertical panel of the cabinet
toward the traffic. The plug is coaxial, permitting the
connection of the two ends of the resistance with the
network. The resistance is wound in the central part of
the pencil, It is covered with a tube screwed into plastic
material which carriers at its end a colored notation of
the value of the resistance.
The pencils are available in great numbers for the
values between 30fZ and 14Mfz. The accuracy should be
about 0.1 per cent for the small resistances which are

Fig. 37Cross.section of heterogeneous reservoir.

k,

11.21
I

I,

I
I

70DAOF

,\

RESERVES

-+1

OF RESERVES

TASLE 1

OF RESERVES

E&t,,w
No. of
Meshes
OF RESERVES

.-

Fig. !38

PoIntu

7,030
74x 95
4,500
60X 75
40x401-,600

Equivalent
Reservoir Seetion

(km)

0,125 X 0,125 m 9.25 X 12

15X19
0,250 X 0,250 m
lkm Xlkrn
.,
40.X40

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

7.s0,
.

R,
+
R.

No. of
Mesh

., --
J

_-.

SUPPLY
UNITS
FOR
ANALYZER

ROOM

Capacitances

The capacitances are provided for each four meshes of

the network. Thus, there are 1,750 for R,, 1,125 for R,
and 400 for R,. The condensers are affixed to the other
side of blocks R, and R,. Each capacitance may be formed
by connecting through a switch any of four condensers
whose capacity progresses by a facfor of two. The absolute values are fixed in proportion to the dimensions of
the mesh. The extreme values obtainable are:
0.0125 0.1875jF,
O.75]LF,
0.05
- 12,0pF.
0.8

The discharge of the condensers is caused by connecting them electronically, either singly for the large ones or
in groups of six for the smaller (Block R,).
The mesh points are connected at the inside of the
blocks one part with the neighboring meshes, the other
part with the control desk where there are two panels.
One panel is used to read tha voltage at all mesh points;
the other panel has one plug for each mesh point, when
the point represents a well, is tied into the production
block (there is one plug for each producing horizon. for
R,; the production can be withdrawn separately from
Horizons 1 and 2).

[
zono Rs
*

zono Rt

Ii

71s040

zona RI
c1

1
.1

12:3 ]
40

Fig.4tl-Arrangement

Pa

LAYOUT

made of wire and about 1 per cent for the greater resistances,

Block R,
Block R,
Block R,

#z

d the network.. ,

Production Fun&ions
The time used is divided into 100 equal parts representing in all 0,2 see, that is, 2 milliseconds for a unit of
time u; The model is then reset to zero in a very short
time (10 milliseconds at most).
The production function is developed in three stages
(Fig. 43). One begins with a function f,(t), a voltage
comprisirrg several steps, Then one deduces, by proportional reduction, a function ~,(t) = A~,(t), Then this
function is limited to an interval between t, and t, or between t, and infinity. Then one has /,(,) =AB(t)f,(t),
the function B(t) being first zero, then one, and finally
zero again. The function of f. represents in voltage the
I
production of the wells.
The advantage of this construction appears when one
looks at the details of operation. It is arranged so that
the function /, may be common to several wells, on the
average from 10 to 50 when necessary.
The block P, develops the functions },.
It appears that the division of time into 100 parts is
too fine. The program which was seen in operation had
all its functions defined in steps 4U in length. Actually
the frequency of pressure measurements is limited-every
three or six months.

&$ @zQ@l
r.

Vt

Xa

BIm Rt

Blocs R2 Rt

Fig. 42Diamant of a mesh.

FIIX.41Mesh of
zone R,.
VOLTAGE
1

L-J--l

-z--{.
.....

1fl#~

941J
I;.
Fig. 43Development of the production
.
. . . function
..
. f, for. Well 72.
1

.
72 I

. .

The block P, receives through the ground readings

from P, and P,. Each well has on the panel an element
consisting, at the right, of four plugs for pencil resistors
which permit the selection of the factor A, and at the left
a channel of four plugs which permit the selection of the
resistance C representing the zone near the wells (well
radius, plugging or fracturing),
A central lamp serves
as a monitor and is illuminated at the frequency of repetition when the well is in operation. Thh element also
contains the connection with the line leading to blocks R,
and R!. These lines are of ordinary wire sheathed with
woven metal.
Finally, the functions filled by P, as indicated in Fig.
44 are: (1) to connect the well to the network through C,
(2) to reduce by the coefficient A the orders from the
groups P, and P,, and (3) to stabilize the current withdrawn from the model in proportion to the function f,.
The block P, has the most important functions. It sets
the synchronization of the network in motion and determines the value of the time unit u which can vary between
0,2 and 2 milliseconds, so that a total of 100u equals 0,02
~p to 0.2 sec. The choice is a function of the analogy
between real time and electric time; It also defines the
function f?(t) for each well,
In the study made, th? time was, successively, u, 5 U, 9
u, 13 h, etc, For the well indicated on the figure, a green
wire (engagement) ties the time r, = 5 to a line in the
center part, from which a plug is connected to the upper
left-hand plug of Well 72. A yellow wire (disengagement)
ties the time t, = 17 to another central line, from which
a plug is connected [O the upper right-hand plug of Well
72. The lower plugs are reserved for another opportunity
tor engagement-disengagement at a later period.
The wells me distributed on the lateral panels and the
desk of block P,. They have available, in all, 500 producing
wells and 250 injection wells. On the front of block P,
there is a three-position switch for each well-one posifion allowing the input of the flow, another the pressure,
myi the third (left out in the case of the injection wells)
permitting the change from pressure conditions to flow
conditions: for example, when the pressure reaches a desired value, withdrawal at constant pressure (s carried on
through the block R,,
The systems for stabilization of P, and P, are through
lamps. These lamps are, under high tension; thus, the base
100 which defines f, is about 600 v, The voltage of the
mesh network is & 20 v. The currents are of the order
of several milliamperes.
Oscilloscope
Mounted on wheels, the oscilloscope is normally placed
before the desk for measuring the potential of the mesh
points of R, or R,. In normal operation, this desk iS the
only one open; all the others are covered with wooden
panefs.

The engineers indicated that they could photograph the

curve and the well number, They can read the amplitude
at any point on the curve corresponding to a given time.
This is the technique used for precise measurements and
for constructing the network of isobaths (Fig, 45),
The analyzer can be used in two ways.
1, The engineers charge the condenser and set the
electric analog in operation by discharging the condensers.
This requires more time and energy than the second
method. In particular, it leads to difficulty if the injec!ion
is carried out above the initial pressure.
2, They do not charge the condensers, but they do
charge the production analog. The subsequent injection
is discharged, and can eventually lead to a negative charge
which presents no problem. When measurements are made
for the exploitation of large reservoirs, several oscilloscopes are used.
Operation of the Electric Analyzer
In giving some orders of magcitude, reterencc is mtsde
to the exampfe of the flank injection of water in the
Bavly field.
First PurtAmcmbly

..

of Datu

This work, accomplished at the Moscow Petroleunl

Institute, required three weeks. Among the data assembled were ( 1) value of w,, P,,; (2) maps of k)? and kw,
from which are obtained maps for operation of p/kk-R
and of k/.3 = h (WPI i,, + P,.,t.k ) -C; (3) values of static
pressure ~ isobaric maps; and (4) production curves and
breakdown into groupings of the function f,. Normally,
the reservoir is tkted into the network R,; the line of
injection Yells is in R, but may encroach upon R, (Fig.
46).
Second Part~est

of tke Network

This work required three weeks. If the initial data of

the nelwork does not match the pressure nmps, then the
network is modified to obtain a proper tit with the pressure maps, The 13avly field was given as art example. The
engineers showed the actuul isobaric map and that of the
final model. They exhibit a remarkable similarity. Further
comment will be made on this essential point.
Tkirrf Partf%edictian

oj the Future

From a past history of 10 or 12 years, a forecast is

made for 20 or 25 years. Thus there is a history for tht.
years 1945-1960 and a forecast for the years 1960-1985.

POINT OF
MEASUREMENT

,/

Lr

SUBTRACTING

1-

f. (t)

Fig. 45Oscilloscope of measure.

P{,

+3

INJECTION

LINE

RESERVOIR

Fig. +Functfon

of Block R,.

Fig. 46
JOURNAL OF

PETROLEUM

TECHNOLOGY

,.

Actually, the prdlctions are made by being given the

future production rate. But the operating conditions for
the field are primarily of the constant pressure type. They
must modify the apparatus to get this condition quickly.
The forecasts are presented partly as isobaric curves
and partly as maps of water advancement. Thk advancement is calculated by Darcys law, V = k/p grad P, for
increments of time, It may be noted t!.at the viscosities
are usually quite comparable1.5 CP for the water, 2.3
cp for the oil.
Impro~ement of the Network
The initialdata (R and C) of the network do not
reproduce the pressure history. They observe discrepancies of 20 to 30 kg/cm2. It is necessary to modify the
network so as to obtain discrepancies of only 2.5 kg/cm
for the detailed studies, and 5.0 kg/cm for the less
important ones. To improve these discrepancies it is
necessary to know better how to adjust the characteristics
of the wells.
To determine the discrepancies, engineers determine the
voltage for each three- or six-month period; they prepare
tables listing the values for the field and the values for
the model. The modification of resistances and capacitances is a matter of skill; nevertheless, certain general
rules are noted (Fig. 47).
The most practical periods fortinding the errors are at
thepressure minimum atthebeginrdng of injection (1952]
and the period of pressure stabilization (1957). The real
characteristics are designated by g and those of the
analyzer by i. If the pressure falls too low in 1952 and
builds uptoo muchin 1957, Onehas CfiC,. If the pressure
is always too low and becomes moreso, onehas R, R,. If
,,,
P

,---

P.

the pressure is.correct up to the moment when it increases

(injection) and then builds uptoohigh,
itis because one
has, forthe rates of injection, Q, Q,. It is then n@cessarY
to find if some of the fluid injected is not lost in a permeable horizon distinct from the reservoir,
Thus they change the resistances as well. as the capacitances, but the resistances have greater effect, The remote
capacities and resistances have a small effect, but over a
large area the nearby capacities and resistances affect the
local conformance. The remote resistances only affect the
result if there is a high-flowrate (this wasthecase on one
flank of Bavly because of the proximity of another
reservoir).
The isobaric maps comparing the model and the reservoir were established only for the two significant dates
1952 and 1957. These maps were drawn manually from
measurements on the analyzer and on the reservoir. The
authors were shown also the initial map of kb/p and the
final map. The initial map has smoothed contours such as
geologists draw ,tith some singular points due to some
wells, The final map shows some important differences.
(See the very schematic Fig, 48.)
Certain zones at intermediate distance are represented
by lines parallel to the axes, This suggests the best means
for finding the optimum circuit. As shown in Fig. 48, the
existence of completely impervious. zones of varying extent
are indicated with: ( 1) a single mesh, (2) a linear form
parallel to an axis, (3) the form of a sector of a ring
around a well and (4) a considerable extent.
These considerations show that the circuit obtained is
one which is possible, but not the only one. Meanwhile,
it is considered valid and serves to plan the injection.
Until now there has not been enough time to estimate
the accuracy of the extrapolation. The possibility of making a new study in 1962 is not excluded.. The engineers
will see if the network should be modified; they will consider the effect of the actual flow rates (differences from
the forecasts of 1958), and they will make a new prediction.

NJ-

-..
b
,

\ .

. . . . . ...

..

+0

-----

~. --

+ 1
w

R@<R,

Qt=- Q,

\
Fig. 48--FhIal
Fig. 47Grrection
JULY,

196S

of. ne~work elements.

isobaric map comparing ~in

M
and. reservoir.
:
.

model
. ..

78s

,1-.

P
,
~,,
P,, == Saturation pressure, P

With the present model they can calculate the advance

of water between 1946 and 1947. They get a good check
in some sectors and a great discrepancy in others, This is
not surprising since the velocity of displacement is much
more sensitive to the exact value of the permeability than
to the pressure.
Theoretical problems have not been studied on the
analyzer, The only case that was studied by the gas institute wds the radial flow to a gas well after linearization
of pressure. They found exactly the results obtained by
Bruce on the IBM computer.

q = Superficial velocity
Q = Vo~umetric flow
r = Radius
R = Recovery from a model
R = Electrical resistance
S = Saturation
S,, S, = Probable distribution time
t = Time
u = Unit of time (electric analyzer)
V = Electric potential
V = Velocity of flow
W = Width of a fissure
X ==Abicissa
& = Compressibility
e = Fraction of height plugged
P = Viscosity
p = Density
u = Interf acial tension
r) = Sdnd concentration
., = Porosity

Nomenclature
A = Well radius
A,, B{ = Dimensionless groups
b = Depth of penetration of the wells
C = Concentration of sand in fracturing fluid
C = Electrical capacity

d = Diameter of sand grains

D = Coetlicient of diffusion
e = Thickness of a fissure
E = Water flow
F = Ratio of flow of water and oil in the production
~ = Acceleration of gravity
,,,
h = Height
H = F1OWof Oil
H = Thickness of a fracture
k = Permeability
K, = Relative permeability
L. = Length
M = Mobility ratio, pO/pw
P = Pressure, AP pressure drop
P. = Capillary press~re

.,

Subscripts
~ = Oil
w = Water

g = Gas
s = Sand

EDITORS
NCTE: A PICTURE AND BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH
OF J. POTTIER WERE PUBLISHED IN THE MAY, 1963 ISSUE
OF JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY,,

,..

..
JOURNAL

,:.

OF

PETROLtiUM

rFCII&OLOCY
[~

,..

,.

-.

RUSSIAN
PETROLEUM
INDUSTRY

Drilling-Rigs

and Research in the U.S.S.R.

.
J, DELACGUR
MEMBER AIME

EditorsNote:

Tftisarticle

isthesixth

htaseriesa ppeur-

ing in JOURNAL OF PETROLELM TECHNOLOGY dealing with

Russian achievements in petroleum research, drilling and
production operations. Tile original paper, first published
in the Jan., 1962 issue of IWVUE DE LINSHTUT l%NCAIS
stemmed from a series of visits to Russia
made by three teatns of French engineers in late 1960 and
early 1961, It has been translated from the French for
pub[icution in JPT by T. V, Moore, petroleum consultant
in Houston, Tex.
DU PiTROLE,

In this installment J. De[acour, head of the l?riliitrg

Section of the Drilling and Production Research Dept.,
Itrstitut Francais du Pc%ro!e, describes Soviet drilling efforts
being carried outatthe
Bashkir, Tatttrand Bakuoil,fields.

Introduction
we
objectives of the I.F,P. drilling mission included
on one hand electrodrilling, on the other studies of drillpbility; thus these two points will be emphasized, Meanwhile, to place the observations reported in perspective,
a general description of Soviet drilliug practice, as it
appeared after the visit to the oil fields of Bashkir, Tatar
and Baku, will be attempted first,

It is worth noting that the Soviet drilling methods have

developed relatively little since the return of previous
missions, and are actually distributed as follows: turbodrilling 80percent,
rotary 19 percent andelectrodrilling
1 percent,
The relative importance of turbodrilling is explained
in part by the relatively easy drilling conditions which
characterize vast regions, such as moderate depths .and
the use of fresh water in place of mud. The quality of
rotary equipment actuaIly in service (drill pipe, pumps)
without doubt does not permit matching the performance
attained in France by using the same drilling parameters
of weight on bit, rotary speed and circulation rate.
Finally, electrodrilling was developed primarily with
a view toreplacing the turbodrill for the very deep drilling
which the Soviets are beginning to undertake systemat-ically, especially h-the Baku region.
.

AUGUST.

1965

----

*..

IN.WITUT FRANCA[SE DU PiTROIE

PARIS, FRANCE

The 011 Fields of Second Balm and Beku

General Remarks
The oil producing regions which we visited are divided
into two quite different, groups, as much by geographic
position and climatic conditions as by geologic characteristics, and accordhgly by the condhions under which
the well drilling is done. We will distinguish the areas in
the chronological order in which we came upon them:
(1) theregion known astheSecond Baku, covering tie
fields of 13ashkir and Tatarj adjacent republics located
about 1500 km (900 miles) east of MOSCOW, immediately
this side of the Ural range, whose capitals are, respectively, LJfa and Kazan and (2) the region of Bak% caPital
of the republic of Azerbaidzhan, covering both the oil
fields on land or those under the sea exploited from the
shore, and those under the western zone of the Caspian
Sea around this town.
The fields of the Second Baku region g?nerally are vast,
The Romashkino field, especially, located in Tatar around
the town of Leninogorsk, constitutes, with its length of
200 km and its width of 100 km (124 by 62 miles), one
of the largest oil fields of the world. The productive horizons are found at moderate depth, 2,000 to 3,000 meters
(6,400 to 9,600 ft) at most, and to reach them the drills
traverse only consolidated or edmpetent formations. In the
majority of cases drilling is done with clear water, mud
being used only to drill through certain unimportant zones;
and casing is set only in exceptional cases, Thus, these
conditions simplify considerably the problems of drilling.
The relief of the countryside is only slightly broken, and,
the population density being small, the annual number of
development wells drilled could constitute a spectacular
performance if the very rigorous climate did not slow up
or even stop activity completely during a Iong. winter
during which the temperature can go as low as .- 40C
(40F),
In the Baku region, a situation of a quite different kind
is presented. On land, the reservoirs of shallow or mod~rate depth are on the way to exhaustion; so drilling is
actually being done at depths between 4,000 and ~,000 m
(12,800 to 16,000 ft), through poorly consolidated formations which require the use of heavy mud and the setting
of casing. On water, moderate depths extend quite far to
sea, the drilling of off shore wells is done on a large scale
,accoiding to a very special. and quite spectacular tech-

nique, The prevailing climate of this region is mild, but

it is worth recaiiing that the Caspian is often a rough, sea
where the storms can be violent enough to stop all activity
there also,
Region of the Second Baku
General

Drilling

Conditions

One may give, as a characteristic example of the geologic section of these regions, that of the Tuymazy field:
O- 700 m (0-2,240 ft) Permian
700-1,6,60 m (2,240-5,312 ft) Carboniferous
1,660-2,100 m (5,3 12-6,720 ft) Devonian
The crystalline basement, reached in western Bashkir,
has not yet been reached in eastern Bashkir. Some productive horizons exist in all three formations, those of
the Devonian, in particular; being deveioped, as they have
already been exploited. In these consolidated formations,
some extremely hard siliceous layers are interbedded,
through which tricone bits only last from 10 to 30 cm
(4-1 2 in.), In addition, water flow or loss of circulation
can occur while drilling some formations, these occurrences being generally overcome by placing cement plugs.
In Bashkir and Tatar, turbodrilling is the method generally used, Still, Bashkir is the home of electrodrilling,
which was developed there under circumstances which
will he explained further on.
Drilling

Orgmizatiun

Drilling is done by the drilling trusts whose role is to

furnish to the trust responsible for production, and subordinate to the same local pefroleum management, the
completed wells ready for production (with perforated
casing). The driliing trust is divided into kontors, which
are sub-divided into brigades, each of which is assigned
to a drilling rig.
We were in contact with three drilling trusts. The
Tuymazabourneft, whose general management (director
M.A.M. Blepian) is at Okt yabrskiy in Basbkir, and whose
rudius of activity is 450 km (270 miles), comprises a
complement of 5,000 people for a million meters (3.2
million ft ) drilled in 1960.
This trust consists of ( 1) four driliing kontors of 8 or
10 brigades, each responsible for drilling the wells and the
drilling proper, (2) a cementing kontor which works for
the entire trust, (3) an electromechanical kontor responsible for setting the power lines feeding ~he rigs and for
the electrical installation at the rigs (a special section is
responsible for the control arid installation of ail instruments) and (4) a kontar for construction and erection
of housing and bases.
The Tafbourneft, whose general management is at
Leninogorsk in Tatar, is an organization of about 3,500
people for drilling 500,000 meters (1.6 million ft) in
1960. fMs trust comprises three kontors based 17, 40
and 70 km (10, 24 and 42 rttiies) from Leninogorsk.
Each kontor actually consists of 370 people; but in 1958
the trust was made up of four kontors of 800 people each.
The difference gives a measure of the progress due to
the more efficient use of equipment.
The third drilling kort?or, of the Alemetievbourneft
trust, based at Aznakaevo in Tatar, consists of 411 persons divided into eight drfiling brigades, a preparation
brigade and a completion brigade. Each drilling brigade
is made up of a chief of brigade, a tool pusher, an electrician and 4 X 4 drillers (this distribution dependent
upon the adoption of the 40hour week):
- 83C

This kwnor drilled 227,000 m (726,000 ft) during the

first 11 months of 1960, an average of 29,700 m (95,000
ft ) per brigade-year, which s~ms to set a record. We
add, in concluding this general description of drilling
orgariization, that each konwr has a machine shop. available, as well as a shop for reconditioning turbodrills,
Furthermore, there are one or more shops for reconditioning drill pipe for the entire trust.
Drilling

Equipment

Tbe ijrilling equipment used in the fields of Bashkir

and Tatar has some characteristic features quickly apparent to the visitor. First, a strong emphasis on standardization, All the rigs which we saw, aside from two prototype masts, were of a single type, equipped with the same
model pump and even the same automatic tongs, Even
the turbines and drill pipe were uniform. There was a
great simplification in the auxiliaries and the accessories,
this no doubt depending upon the relatively simple driiiing conditions. The mud tanks were replaced by two
simple pits (about 2 X 120 m6 X 360 ft) dug in the
ground and crudely supported with boards. There were
no shale shakers, the cuttings being removed in wooden
ditches in the first pit, and no blowout preventers at the
well head, which lowered the derrick floor accordingly.
Final{y, there was little care for appearance, the equipment not being repainted, and presenting at first sight a
surprising aspect.
In fact, thanks to the efforts toward rationalization,
strongly stimulated by the care to surpass tbe norms forecast by the plan, it seems that this equipment is used
progressively ,with improved efficiency. The original initiative for the modifications in the use of this equipment
come either directly from the users (they toid us that
one worker in five is a rationalizer) or from the bureaus
of methods which seem to develop even in the midst of
the trusts,
Thanks to planning, material replacement programs are
prepared in advance and orders are passed a year in
advance to some 400 factories which participate in furnishing all the drilling equipment, The director of one
of the drilling trusts which we visited explained to us,
for example, that in 1963 all the rigs of his trust will bc
replaced with the explemental mast model (BU 75)
which will be described beiow, We will describe briefly
the principal characteristics of the equipment found.
Drilling derricks are the Oural Mach 6E type, with
a hoisting capacity of 130 tons, capable of driliing 3,000
m (9,600 ft ) with 5 9/16 in, drill pipe. The source of
power is electricity, except for exploration rigs where they
use diesels. The power installed is from 360 to 400 kw
per pump and from 2 X 160 kw for the drawworks,
The pumps used, generally two per rig, are of the type
U-8-3whose range of utility is as follows:
60 kg/cm
45 liters/see
(850 psi)
(710 gpm)
150 kg/cm
16 liters/see
(2,120 psi)
(250 gpm)
Most of the rigs are equipped with electric or pneumatic
automatic tongs type AK B3, which seem to operate in
a very satisfactory manner and simpIify considerably the
work of the drilling crew.
This equipment is moved by two methods: ( 1) either
in detached pieces on trucks, which requires complete
tearing down and rigging up (Tuymazabourneft, Bashkir)
or (2) in large units comprising the pump unit, the drawworks and rotary tabie unit and the derrick unit, This last.

..

.-

method, used chiefly in Tatar where the slightly broken

terrain lends itself to this operafion, is especially spectacular and merits some explanation, Under the side of
each unit they place trains of caterpillars equipped with
hydraulic jacks which permit raising the load slightly off
the ground. The fore part of each unit rests on a sledge
which permits orienting if during the movement, Finally,
powerful caterpillar tractors are attached to each unit,
some to pull them, ofhers to hold fhem back. For
example there might be five tractors for the pump unit,
five tractors for the drawworks unit and five fractors for
the derrick unit. The whole is put in motion at the same
time at the command of a frxnsporfation foreman, who
moves on foof in fhe midsf of this impressive array of
forces.
In the field in Tatar we were able to see two prototype
models of. drilling masfs intended to replace fhe Ouralmach 6 E rigs, of which the models were displayed at
Moscow at the Petroleum Pavilliotz of the permanent
exposition of Soviet economy.
The BU 75 protofype mast, ready to go into industrial
service, is a frellis A mast supported by two tubular
columns. Its hoisting capacify is 75 tons, either 1,800 m
(5,760 ft) of 6 in. drill pipe or 2,200 m (7,040 ft) of,
4 in, The electric power is 320 kw for the pump and 310
kw for the drawworks. The whole is quite light and can
be moved either by tearing down or in large units. We
mention that we saw on fhis rig an automafic efectri~
steam generator, not cumbersome, with which fhe Soviet
technologists seemed quite satisfied, The generator was
rated at: 60 kw, 80 kg/br of steam at 4 kg/cm or
205,000 btu/hr, 176 lbs/hr, 57 psi.
The Ouralmach 9D prototype mast (No. 2 af this
series) which we were able to see nearly rigged up is
much more originat since it is made up of a single
tubular mast and permits automation of all operations.
The master driller is housed in a glass cab and has available a control desk fo control ~pneumatically the making
up and breaking out, hooking and unhooking, racking
and unracking and the raising and lowering of the drill
pipe.
The mast, 41 meters tall (131 ft) and 110 cm in
diameter (7,8 in.) is supported by two columns which
also serve to raise or lower it. The hoisting capacity is
130 tons and the maximum hook speed is 2.2 m/see
(7 ft/see). The drawworks has four speeds and an electric
brake.
The rig ii equipped with two diesel motors of 900 hp
each. Two compressors (3 cu m/min or 105 cu ft/min)
furnish the compressed air required for the automatic
operations.
The whole weighs 180 tons, and in spite of the unique
mast it gives an impression of clumsiness for a rig whose
capacity is only 3,000 m (9,840 ft) of 4 in, drill pipe. It
appears that this prototype has not yet reached the operational stage.
We will not tarry over the descriptions of drilling turbines which do not constitute the chief object of our frip
and whose characteristics were detailed clearly by some
earlier missions (cf. report cited No, 80). We will indicate
only that in Bashkir and Tatar two models of turbines are
chiefly used:
a 9-in, turbine developing 150 to 200 hp
a 65A-in. turbine developing 100 hp
The turbines are generally used with a string of 5 9/16-in.
drill pipe,
According -to information received at the time .of the
.:

.AUGLIST, 1:65
.. .
/,

visit to the shops of Oktyabrskly (Tuymazabourneff ) and

Leninogorsk (Tatbourneft)
and Aznakacvo (A1emetievboumeft ), each of these shops maintains a stock of 25
to 35 turbines used at the rate of two or fhree per day.
It seems that the time between two successive overhauls
of a turbine is 50 or 60 hours, This figure cart vary
according to the kontor and according fo the drilling
fluid used, drilling with mud entailing more frequent
reworking of the furbines fhan drilling with fresh water.
Steel turbine blades last 400 hours on the average, but
this performance is improved by the use of blades of
plastic material (capron, equivalent of nylon) which have
an additional advanfage of being much less expensive (~
rubles vs 50).
The turbine repair shop~ are very simple, and consist
essentially of ( 1) a washing station, (2) a dynamometric
wrench to control ttre screwing in and out of fhe lower
fhrust bearing and (3) a fraveling crane.
The shop for reconditioning drill pipe which we vis~ted
at the base of ihe Tatbourneft trust was capable of handling 30 or 35 joints per day, It consisted of ( 1) a station
for washing and for hydraulic tests (1 SO kg/sq cm or
2,140 psi), (2) a straightening station consisting of a
bench equipped with a movable press (maximum bend
permitted 6 mm over the entire length, 1 or 2 mm locally)
and (3) a station for mounting tool joints, either by fitting
hot and welding, or by screwing on with a dynamometric
wrench.
We 411SD noted that this shop had a control laboratory
remarkably well equipped with ultrasonic inspection equipment, gauges, and machines for mechanical festing.
Pormrw=s

oj Ihilling

Performance

After setfing 10 or 11 in. conductor pipp between 1S0

and 550 m (492 to 1,76o ft), drilling is carried on to the
+productive horizcms (1,800 to 2,000 m m 5,760 to 6400
ft) either with 103A-in. hole (bit No. 11) with the 9 in.
turbine, or with 73A-in. hole (bit No. 8) with the @4-in.
turbine, The oil string consists of 5 or 5%4-in. casing. The
weights on the bits are respectively 25 to 30 tons for NCI.
11, and 15 to 18 tons for No. 8 bits, with circulation rates
of 30 fo 40 l/see (480-635 gpm).
Under these conditions in Bashkir, it takes an average
of 25 days fo reach 2,000 m (6,400 ft), The average bit
consumption is 70 tricones per well, wirh a penetration
rate of 13 to 23 m/hour (41.6 to 73.6 it/hr), In Tatar,
the performance is comparable, though a little inferior,
because all the rigs are not yet equipped with the automatic tongs. We were told by the Tatbourneft trust that
the commercial drilling rate, or the .average meters drilled
per brigade-month, was 1,411 for 1959 (4,515 ft/month).
The best brigade attained 2,230 meters per month (7,136
ft/month).
Finally, for the same trust, the cost per meter d~lled
in 1960 was established at about 392 roubles (oId roubles
equal to about 50 old francs, and one old franc equals
2 roils or $12 per ft). The cost was distributed in the
following manner:
Operation
.
Preliminary construction and
erecfing derrick . . . .
Drilling material
. i . .
pipe
. . . . . . . .
Saktries
.
. . .. . . . .
Depreciation , . . . . .
. Traneportrttio.q . . .. . . ..

Per Cent
,
.
.

.
.
.

. .
?.. .

.
.
.
..
.
~,

.
.
.

7.4
~~~
~
5.6
. 21.2
.. 6:5
8S9

.----.., .,

..

-..

..

.,
-,,.

.._
.,

Power,
,,,
,.,
Auxiliary services . . ,
Testing welfs,
, , . ,
Geophysics (probably electric
Miscellaneous
, , . ,
Administration
. . . .
Social Aspecte

of the

,,.
. .
. ,
well
. ,
. ,

, .,5,5
. . .
, , ,
logging)
, . .
. , .

Petroleum

Industry

8.s0

. . . . . . .. .. . ... .

sector, as well as the percentage of their personnel benefiting by this instruction, Furthermore, the higher intellectual level of the technicians met in the petroleum industry was apparent in all echelons.
Putting the great fields of Bashkir and Tatar on production entailed building oil cities such as Leninogorsk and
Alemetievsk, which, though quite new (five or six years)
are nevertheless very important (50-60,000 inhabitants).
These cities are solidly built according to a quite uniform
pattern, and consistently include a cultural center, called
the house of culture, in which the technical library especially occupies a place of prominence,
Alongside these major aspects, we. wish to note that
there exists, in the midst of the smallest cells of an
enterprise, a red corner, where the personnel can
gather and consult newspapers and periodicals,

2,8
1,9
3.7
8,3
3,7

After this technical information, we wish to discuss the

social framework in which the petroleum industry of
F3ashkir and Tatar is placed, The information which we
report on this subject was given to us, in large measure,
by R, C. Mkgareev, director of the petroleum industry
in Tatar, and by E. I. Chvetzov, director of the Tatbourneft already mentioned,
First, we emphasize the basic role played by the plan,
and the norms set within its framework, in the accomplishment of each days work by the Soviet technicians.
Especially in drilling is it easy to demonstrate the performances obtained by the different trusts of a region, or
by the brigades of the trusts themselves, and thus to maintain a kind of permanent competition, whose object k to
surpass the norms.
This rivalry, stimulated by many schemes of propaganda, is spontaneous among technicians at all levels it
seems. In this regard the dynamism and enthusiasm which
we noted in several places and during the course of many
conversations were especially significant.
But it is likewise certain that the level of accomplishment relative to the forecasts determines in great measure
the budgets for the different trusts and the salaries of the
personnel. In fact, the petroleum management of Sovnarkhoze fixes the exploitation budget in advance, after having
determined exactly the development and installation projects for the seven year plan, and their respective costs.
~dch enterprise or trust thus receives a ffxed sum calculated on this basis. A part of the positive difference
between the actual cost and the cost determined in advance constitutes an incentive fund managed jointly by
the directors and the representatives of the syndicates. The
other part goes to the state.
Thanks to the part that remains, whose percentage
depends on productivity, the enterprise can improve the
standard of living of its personnel, either by construction
of housing, social centers, theaters, or by direct distribution of bonuses to the workers, in the case where the
difference between the actual cost and the cost forecast
is negative, the director of the enterprise can be replaced.
Thus the salaries can be increased by quarterly bonuses
as high as 60 per cent of the base salary if the norms
b are surpassed. In addition, several special bonuses may be
granted, such aa for the introduction of new teclmiques
or even for improved efficiency. The director of Tatbourneft gave us as his salary the figure of 3,300 roubles
plus 15 per cent (about $380 permonth), and that for the
engineer in charge of a drilling korstor about 1,800 to
2,000 roubles ($180 to $200), It is likely that some
special~ qualified worker realizing excellent performance
relative to the plan might finally reach salaries near the
latter figures,
In any case, the chances for advancement in the hierarchy seemed wide open, In fact, promotion in the social
scale is one of the most evident aspects of the Soviet
petroleum industr~ and whatever the enterprise or organization we visited, its representatives never failed to indicate ita importance to us by always telling us exactly the
number of, scho@ and ~ening. cou~es .-operating in their
. .
.,.

Region
We spent only two days at Baku, so our observations
on this oil region will be much briefer than the information on Bashkii and Tatar. We will consider three centers
of interest in the sectors which we could visit,
.,
Baku

The

Old oil

Fields

Located in the immediate vicinity of Baku, these shallow oilflelds, produced for a long time, are approaching
depletion. Meanwhile, they contribute to giving this region
an unusual aspect by the forest of derricks raised in apparently great dhorder on all sides.
It is probable that the development of these fields was
not carried on by the systematic modern methods, and
one might ask how those responsible for production can
unravel the apparently inextricable network of tlow lines
which run in all directions through the country, which is
entirely occupied by the pctroletim industry, The majority
of these old wells are served and maintained by specially
equipped tractors operating in pairs.
The

Deep

Wells

Some new producing horizons have been explored and

exploited at depths varying between 4,OOO and 5,000 m.
In particular we crossed the Karadag field, located some
50 km (30 miles) south of Baku and in which several
wells have been drilled to these depths, either along the
edge of the shore or directly in the sea. Under these
conditions drilling requires the use of a mud whose density
~an be as high as 2 (16,6 lb/gal),
The surface formations are only slightly consolidated,
which requires setting casing, and the formations can be
drilled with rotary rigs. For the hard formations at great
depth the turbodrill is used, but the Soviet technicians are
practically unanimous in considering that this method can
no Ionger be used at very great depths. Thus electrodrilling, which might constitute a replacement method, is
being tried very seriously in this area.
We will return later to this point, but we wish to say
here that in the Karadag field we visited an electrodrill
rig whose objective was 4,500 m (14,400 ft ). The depth
reached was 2,086 m (6,675 ft) with a 153A-in, tricone
bit and a string of 5 9/16-in, drill pipe. Four wells were
in progress under analogous conditions.
We noted that, in spite of the need for a bigger
,hydraulic system for wells below this depth, the pumps
were the same as in Bashkk and Tata~ither
two or
three type U-8-3 pumps, and the discharge lines seemed
very light. However, the cuttings were not removed by
settfing, but by a paddle wheel actuated by the current
of mud in the dhch. .: . . .... .
.

JOURN,t
.. . . . .

L OF
. . .

PETROLEUM
.
. . . . ..

TECHNOLOGY
.
.
. .

-.

@#shore

Drifling

Although a well drilled in the sea costs three or four

times as much as one drilled on land, the offshore wells
are quite numerous off ll~ku, where water depths of 18 to
20 m (57 to 64 ft ) extend out as far as 100 km (60
miles) from the coast, These wells can be drilled starting
either from an isolated platform set on piles or from a
pier or artificial jefty also set on piling. The platform can
be tied to the piers with foot-bridges.
On the former Isle of Artem, now tied to the shore by
a dike of artificial fill, we visited the foundations of the
pier set for the development of the Gurgan Mare field.
This pier, consisting of metal girders supporting a wooden
deck and resting on pairs of metal piles or reinforced
concrete, is built, by special machines which drive the
piles and set the girders while advancing progressively
over the part already built.
The level of the deck is 8 or 10 m (25 to 32 ft) above
sea level in order to avoid the waves, which can be very
heavy. The piles are carefully protected from corrosion
by different methods, such as bituminous coatings, paint-.
ing or plastering, galvanizing or covering with rubber.
They quoted us a figure of four million roubles as the.
cost of a km of pier ($24.8 million/mile). In spite of
this, the cost of crude oil is less offshore than on kind,
on account of the higher productivity of the wells.
In order to reduce the cost of the substructure, they
drill as many as 20 wells from the platform. Under these
conditions the inclination of the wells can be as much
iss 35 and the grea:est horizontal displacement 500 m
( 1,700 ft) .These conditions require the use of special
centralizers for setting the strings of casing.
There are numerous productive horizons, about 30,
and the thickness of the beds might be as great as 300 m
(960 ft ). For the field considered, the spacing pattern was
200 m (640 ft ), the current average production 140
BOPD per well, although the initial production (in 1947)
was 1,050 BOPD per well. The pressure has declined
from 250 to 90 kg/cc, The injection of filtered sea water
began in this field in 1953. The crude gathering lines are
placed directly on the bottom of the sea, some gathering
stations being dktributed along the piers.
One of the more spectacular aspects of marine drilling
was shown to us in two films made by Azneft describing
the construction and operation of the famous base of
Rocks of Petroleum, a city of 5,000 inhabitants built
out at sea about 100 km (62 miles) from Baku on a vast
platform on piling, from which radiates more than 100 km
(62 miles) of piers. This impressive and extremely spectacular achievement demonstrates the dynamism of the
petroleum industry of this region.
It should be noted that the city of Rocks of Petro-

Ieum, which is restricted to workers to the exclusion of

their families, has, in spite of its unusual situation, some
clmracteristics of the oil towns of Bashkk and Tatar. Irs
particular, one finds there the house of culture, in the
same style and furnished with the same facilities for
instruction and leisure. The city is connected with the
mainland by boats, speedboats and helicopters, Travel on
the piers ~s by cars or truck, except when the wind is too
violent. .
Note on Drilling in the Sudingrnd Region
Although we did not visit any oilfield around Stalingrad, we received some information about the drilling
done in that region from some of the petroleum technicians of that city. It is interesting to present them here,
The total meters drilled in the Stalingrad region from
1946 to 1959 wds 2.5 million (8.2 million ft ), the nlajority of which was for exploitation. The average depth
of the exploitation wells is, as at Basbkir and Tatar,
around 1,700 m (5,500 ft), while the exploration wells
are considerably deeper at 3,000-4,000 m (9,800-1 3,100
ft),
Geologic condhions can be complex, and the existence
of zones of lost returns, alternating with producing formations, require setting casing. The wells are drilled by
a single trust of five koruors. The trust also includes a
kontor for structure drilling and a geophysics korstor.
The whole represents about 50 rigs, of which 15 can
rciach 3,500 m ( 1I ,200 ft). The drilling conditions applied, according to the Drilling Institute of Moscow, are
analogous to those practiced in Bashkir and Tatar.
Meanwhile, we note that the number of bits used is
considerably higher (an average of 100 tricones per 1,800
m or 5,760 ft), This difference can be accounted f6r in
part by the fact that the 734-in. bits are more frequently
used in the Stalingrad region than the 8$4-in. bits currently distribu~ed in Bashkir and Tatar. Finally, we nlention that tests of electrodrilling were undertaken in 1961
in the Stalingrad region because of the increasing depth of
**
the exploration WCIIS.

J. DES..WOUR is head of the Drilling

Section in the Drillin.g and Production
Research Dept, of the French Petroleum Irrs)itute. He is a drilling and
productio~ engineering graduate O! the
Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale Superieure du P6trole in Paris. He
WCMformerly associated with Schlumherger in charge of explosive
and
shaped charge research in Paris.

.
AUGUST,
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841

196S
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RUSSIAN
PETROLEUM
INDUSTRY

Electrodrilling in the U.S.S.R.

J. DELACOUR
MEMBER

AIME

Editors Note: This article is the seventh in a series

crppearittg in JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY deuling with Russion achievementsi ttpetroleurl~ research, drilling and production operations. The original paper, first
published m Jan,, 1962 issue of REVUE DLL LINSTITUT
FRANCAIS DU P~TROLE, stemmed

from a series o~ visits

to Russia made by three teams of French ettginee~s itt.
late 1960 attd early 1961. It has been translated from the
French for publication in JPTby T. V, Moore, petrolelun
consultant in Houston, Tex.
In this installment J, Delacoar, head of the Drilling
Section of the Dril[ing and Production Research Dept-,
Insiitut Francais da P&ole,
tices in the U.S.S.R.

c[escribes elcctrodrilling

prac.

Electrodrilling
.4ctual Situation of Elertrodrillimg
In the U.S.S.R.
Even though the percentage of meters drilIed by electrodrilling in the U. S.S,R, is still very small (1.5 to 2 per
cent), we were able to establish that the process of electrodrilling at the end of a string of drill pipe had passed
the experimental stage to enter into the industrial stage,
and thatthe Soviet techno[ogista concede great potential
value to this methodin terms of its application to great
depth and as an eventual replacement to the turbodrill.
131ectradrilling is being planned, like everything else in
the Soviet Union, and it is forecast that in 1965, 2 million
m out of a total of 15.6 million m (6.4 million ft out of
49.9 million ft) will be drilled by this process.
Up to the present time the development of the electrodrill can be illustrated as follows:
Meters

i952
1956
1%S9

Drilled by ElectrOdrlll

1950
195s
1959

4,000( 12,800 ft)

62,000
124,000

(19S,400 ft)
(396.S00 St)

Total Meters Drilled

-.
4,2S3,000 [1 3,700,000 ffl
6,887,000
[22,03 S,000 ftl
7,149,000
(22,876,000 ftl

At Baku, a region of deep drilling, 150,000m (480,000

ft) iii all had been drilled up to and including 1960. It
is estimated that in 1965 some 20 per cent of the meters
drilled will be by this method.
The special equipment of the electrodrill, comprising
the electrodrills, the drill pipe equipped with conductor
cable and the surface accessories, was cogce~ved by a
section of the Institute of Drilling Techniques of Moscow (V.N.1,1.B,T,), The electmdril]s were built by a
special factory at ICharkov. (Ukraine). .The process was
,,
St3PT.EMUEfL,

1906
.

.,,
.,

PARIS, FRANCE

put in operation in Bashkir by a kon[or having available

a store of 25. to 30 electrodrills in two diameters [250
and 215 mm or 10 and 8,6 in.), and at Baku by a kontur,
of importance comparable to the preceding, using identical
equipment.
Unfortunately, not having been able to contact the
electrodrill specialists of the V.N .LI.B.T. at Moscow, the
technical information which we received in this domain
came solely from the visits to the kontors of Oktyabrskiy
(Bashkir) and of Baku, and, in particular, from the reconditioning shops installed in these centers.
Equipment in Service
The electrodrill equipment on dril[ pipe actually in
industrial service in the U.S.S.R. is described with precision
and exactitude in (he work of F. N. Fomenko, ~Electrodrills for Drilling Gas and Oil Wells Gostopteknizdat
(Moscow, 1958) ,recently, translated through the good
offices of Neyrfor (G, Glebocki and L. Dicky, 1957), We
will review the chief characteristics of this equipment,
Electrodrills

The electrodrills cpnsist of three-phase induction motors

filled with oil id a slightly higher pressure than the external
environment in order to avoid penetration of drilling
fluid. The tightness is assured by rotary seals which have
flat metallic bearing surfaces at the interior ends of the
rotor shaft. The superpressurc of the oil is obtained by
means of a lubricator, comprised of either a heavy piston
or a light piston reinforced by a spring. The lubricator
includes a reserve of oi[ to compensate for the losses
through the rotary seals. This arrangenient also takes
care of the changes in volume of oil because of heat expansion resulting from the rotation of the motor and the
temperature of the well. The rotor shaft is bored to. let
the drilling fluid pass, which assures efficient cooling of
the electrical windings.
The transmission of the heavy axial .Ioads imposed on
the bit by the string of drill pipe during the course of
drilling is done by (1) a bearing made either of rubber
covered blocks operating directly in the drilling fluid, or
(2) according to a method recently adopted, by thrust
bearings operating in an enclosure filled with oil whose
sealing and supply are accomplished by rotary seals and a
lubricator analagous to that of the electric motor itself.
The electrodrills used at present come in two diameters:
250 ,and 215 mmy ( 10 and 8.6 in.) An electrodrill
of 170
.
.
. . .. . .-. ,

40 tons for the 250-mm (10 in.) electrodrill,

30 tons for the 215-mm (8.6 in.) electrodrill,
20 tons for the 170-mm (6,8 in.) electrodrill.
The principal characteristics of the motors are given
in Table 1 (for each diameter there are several models
whose characteristics differ chiefly in the power and speed
of rotation).
Winding
of
the
Motors-The
winding of the electrodrills is housed in the notches of the exterior stator, made
up of bundles of sheet metal alternately maggetic (length
400 to 650 mm [16 to 25 in.]) and non-magnetic (40 to
50 mm [1.6 to 2,0 in,]]. These last correspond to the
intermediate bearings located at regular intervals along
the rotor shaft. The assembly is clamped in the exterior
casing of the rotor with keys and retaining rings, The
sections of the windings are made up of copper bars 7
mm X 3 mm (0.20 X 0012 in.) (four or five per slot)
whose mechanical rigidity facilitates placing them in long
slots. These bars are previously insulated by means of
superposed layers of glass-mica ribbon (thickness 0.17
mm or 0.6 in.) and glass ribbon (O.1 mm or 0.004 in.)
whose unit-breakdown voltage is between 5 and 12 kv.
The assembly is impregnated with varnish, formed iii a
heated molding press and then pulled into the interior of
the slots with the aid of a cable and a small winch, The
different. coils are joined at the ends of the stators by
short circuiting rings soldered to the correspondhg coils
and insulated between them.
Given the cross section of copper used, the current
density in the winding does not exceed 4 to 5 amp/
sq mm (0,0015 sq in.); thus, the heating of the motor
above the temperature of the cooling fluid remains always
within reasonable limits and, under operating conditions,
the electrodrill motors do not fail as a result of excessive
increase of temperature.
The windings are installed in a special shop of the
reconditioning center for electrodrills. The final operation consists of baking at 120C for 18 hours, The winding is considered satisfactory if the insulation reaches or
surpasses 200 megohms under a test potential of 2,500 v.

4 Iiters for the 250 mm (10 in.) diameter electrodrill,

3 liters for the 215 mm (8.6 in.) diameter electrodrill,
2 liters for the 170 mm (6.8 in.) diameter electrodrill.
The lower roller bearings are supplied with oil by a special
lubricator whose capacity is 2.5 liters (2.6 qt), which
corresponds to a period of operation on the order of
35 hours.
The oil used to supply the rotary seals and interior bearings is an ordinary automobile oil. On the, contrary, they
use a transformer oil with a dielectric strength of 45 to
50 kv for the electric motor. The control of the descent
of the lubricator pistons is accomplished by means of
graduated gauges each time the electrodrill is pulled to
change the bit,
Even though it functions in a satisfactory manner for
sufficient periods of time, it is certttin that this lubrication
aPP~atus would be improved by simplification. Some
efforts have ,already been made in this direction, with the
first result being a modification which supplies the motor
and the rotary seals located at the ends of the rotor shaft
from the same Lubricator with the same quality of insulating oil,
Flat RorurY SeulsIt is worthwhile to emphasize again
the importance and the difficulty of the problem posed by
obtaining a satisfactory seal on the shaft of the electric
motor turning under drilling conditions. The adoption
of fiat seals in the Soviet electrodrills resulted from numerous tests which were conducted, progressively eliminating other possible solutions.
The principle of operation of these seals consists in
creating a high hydraulic resistance between the faces of

The rotor is made up of bundles of magnetic sheet

metaf separated by ball bearings, Each bundle contains
a cage of aluminum for electrodrills of 250 and 215 mm
(10 and 8.6 in,), and of copper for the 170 mm (6.8 in.)
diameter electrodrill. The bearings are practically free
from wear, but in any case their replacement would be
very easy, a single nut clamping fhe assembly of bundles
on the rotor shaft.
Therefore,. operating failures of the electrical part of
the electrodrill occur in practice only by failure of the
winding insulation, which results from penetration of drilling fluid into the airgaps, either by failure of the rotary
TASLE 1CHARACTERISTICS

Rnlad P.awor

250/10
250/S
215/10
21 5/s
170/6

942

In each

cme

50.qclo

current h wed.

OF ELECTRODRI 11 MOTORS*

Rotyq:prent

sm:k!MnOus

(kw)
150
230
120
150
100

VOltOse
1,100
1,650
1,100
1,250
1,000

500
750
600
759
1,000

1 mrn = 0.039

in.,

1 m =

3.2s

ft, 1 ks/m

=. 0,67, lb/ft,

160
160
1W
144
115

Rot;~s~mve
273
330
227
222
106

le#h.

13,2
12.2
12.2

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM
.,,

~C#

3,1

3.5
:::

.
.

seals or as a result of the hygroscopicity of the insulating

oil. To remedy this disadvantage and to increase the
length of life of the electrical windings, some etiorts have
been made in two directions: (1) improvement of the
rotary seals and (2) use of new insulators (epoxy resin
for example) offering better resistance to humidity.
The tinal objective seems to be, according to irsformation received, the complete elimination of insulating oil
and lubricants, the role of the sealing apparatus being
reduced to the dltration of drillhg fluid, so the electric
motor can operate in clear water.
Lubricator
[n the electrodrills of 250 and 215 mm
(10 and 8.6 in. ) diameter the lubricators are made of a
closed reservoir. It is closed by a movable piston equipped
with rings on which the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling
fluid acts directly, the overpressure being developed by
a compression spring, This system has the disadvantage
of putting the walls of the reservoir in contact with the
drilling fluid and cuttings to the extent of the descent of
the piston, which entails the risk of polluting the insulating oil and requires a careful cleaning of the reservoir
before filling. This is why a new mechanism is being
tried in the 170 mm (6.8 in. ) diameter electrodrill, which
consists of a piston and spring lubricator in which the
stock of oil is isolated from the drilling fluid by a rubber
membrane. The capacities of the reservoirs of the hrbricators are as follows:

mm (6,8 in.) diameter is being tested and one of 127 mm

(5 in.) is being studied.
Given the heavy axial loads used in electrodrilling, the
power demanded of the motors must be very great, which
is indicated by the great length of the electrodrills. The
following are maximum bearing loads:

Type of Electrodrlll
(dlam. In mm and
number of pales]

. ..-.
.

TECHNOLOGY

.
,

two rings of which one, mounted on the body of the

electrodrill, is fixed, whereas the other, pressed against the
other by both springs and the hydraulic pressure drop,
turns with the shaft (E. N. Fomenko).
To make the closure better, the rotary seiils are cmployed in pairs in the electrodrill. The fixed rings are
bronze and the moving rings steel (hardness 62 Rockwell). The contact faces are periodically (after about
250 hours of service) restored by lapping on a stone.
The efficacy of this system of seals depends in part on
the precision of mechanical mounting and in part on the
vibrations to which it is s~bjected. Some ring seals are
used on both the moving rings and the fixed rings give a
certain elasticity to the plane faces of these rings, According to the information given to us some intensive studies
are now being made at V.N.I.I.B.T. at Moscow for the
improvement of these joints. In particular they are trying to replace the relatively expensive bronze rings by
bearing surfaces of capron, a plastic material like nylon
already mentioned in connection with turbine blades.
In spite of everything, the most important problem
remains the loss of oil across these seals under the high
differential pressure, principally for the seal on the lower
spindle. It is subjected, on account of the proximity of
the bit, to superpressure of the order of 70 kgtsq cm
(l,o22 psi) and even greater when they use jet bits.
Beariugs- The replacement of rubber bearings working
directly in the drilling fluid, a simple system copied from
the tnrbodrill,, by thrust bearings operating in oil has
increased considerably the power available at the bh, but
at the expense of certain mechanical complications. Thus
some modltications are in progress with the objective of
simplifying the assembly and disassembly of the lower
spindle and reducing its cost. A prototype model for the
250 mm (10 in. ) diameter electrodrill has already operated 500 hours without incident. To simplify it, this
spindle does not have any device to damp vibrations. It is
foreseen that eventually an independent damper will be
added between the spindle and the bit.

receivc it and in which it is fixed by means of flat iron

spacers welded and fixed at each end. This delicate preparation is done in a special shop of the kotztor of electrodrilling, which has a test vat, permitting the cable lengths
to be submitted to an insulation test in salt water under
a potential of 5,000 v applied for five minutes to each
phdse,
Even though the male pins are protected against lateral
shock by a steel bonnet, and in spite of the relative
elasticity of the mounting, this device still remains fragile
imd requires precautions which delay the maneuvers of
makkg up and breaking out the string of drill pipe. The
pins often deteriorate under the effect of either mechanical
shock or vibrations caused by the circulation of drilling
fluid. This evidently results in breakdown between phases
which require reconditioning of the joint in the shop,
It was mentioned to us that a string of drill pipe-so
equipped could be used without reconditioning for six
wells of 2,000 m (6,560 ft). It seems that the failures
are, in fact, much more frequent. This disadvantage explains why a great effort would be made to improve this
system of connection. Several new solutions are in a
more or less advanced stage of study: ( 1) use of a two
conductor cable, the string of drill pipe being used as the
third conductor, and (2) use of a single conductor cable,
a bottom-hole transformer placed above the electrodrill
permitting three-phase current to be obtained from single
phase,
$
These two solutions will offer the double advantage of
simplifying the pin by reducing the number of contacts
and of reducing the cross section of the cable and, hence,
the pressure drop in the string of drill pipea particularly
important point in the case of very deep electrodr~ling.
We finally mention, with all reserve, a revolutionary
solution which was indicated to us, in which tbe electric
cable would be eliminated entirely, the motor being supplied by a down-the-hole battery placed above the electrodrill.
Auxiliary

Drill Pipe

aud Electric Cable

The supply to the electric motor at depth is accomplished by a coaxial conductor cable in the string of drill
pipe, cut into lerigths terminated by pins automatically
connected during the making up or breaking out of the
pipe. It does not seem that the mechanism presently in
service gives complete satisfaction,
Each joint of drill pipe (6%6 in. or 59/16 in, ) of uniform inside diameter (150 and 123 mm or 6 and 4.9 in.
respectively) is equipped with a length of flexible electric
cable of three copper conductors, 50 sq mm (0.075 sq in.)
cross section, insulated from each other and covered by
a common rubber sheath which is resistant to hydrocarbons.

The ends of. each length are equipped with stepped

contact pins, male at one end, female at the other, which
are vulcanized directly over the cable after being connected to the electrical conductors by solder. Because of
the conical form of these pins and their elasticity, the.
sealing of the connection is assured by the fit, and tends
to increase under the influence of the exterior hydrostatic pressure. This presumes that the fitting of the male
and the femaIe contact is always complete after screwing
up two or three joints of pipe, which implies a precise
positioning of the cable on the inside of the pipe.
To achieve this result, each length of cable is. prepared
=and- adjusted in relation to the joint of pipe which should
SEPTEMBER,

196S
f

.. . .

,.

. -.-..

Surface

Equipment

In electrodrilling they keep the square kelly to rotate

the string of drill pipe if necessary. We were able to
determine, in the course of the visit to the electrodrill well
in the Karadag field near Baku (see above), that the
driller periodically pulled up the string of drill pipe several
meters to roWe it briefly. The supply of current to the
coaxial cable in the string of drill pipe is made by means
of a slip-ring assembly screwed on the kelly, These sliprings do no present any remarkable peculiarities. They
are designed for a normal current of 200 amps with overloads reaching 750 amps under a potential of 2,000 v between slip-rings insulated from each other by ebonitetextolite rings.
The control panel availabie to the driller is very simple
and consists essentially of an ammeter, .a voltmeter, a
manual switch and an automatic switch (200 amps for
2 seconds).
The electrodril[ lends itself to automation, so the Soviets
have developed an automatic feed-off device, or B.A.R.,
described in the work of E. N. Fonienko, On the well
which we visited, the B.A.R. was being installed, so it
wis not possible for us to see it in operation. Besides,
the drilIer effectively made up for it, and easily regulated
the descent of the string of drill pipe by watching the
intensity of the electrodrill current read on the ammeter.
The rig also had available an apparatus to measure condnuously the insultion of the whole. electric circuit, de943

.-

..?.-

simed to cut off the surmlv automatically when the ins~lation falks below a fix&i value (10,000 ohms).
Parmnctem d Electrodrilling
Among the advantages of the electrodrill the possibility
of regulating the speed of the induction motor is currently cited as particularly interesting. Practically, one
can obtain different speeds of rotation by adjusting (1) the
number of poles of the motor which presupposes a supply
of electrodrills of different windings and which as a consequence complicates the operation, m (2) the frequency
of the supply current, this last solution being the simpler,
since one can work from the surface by means of a frequency converter. In fact it is on this method that tests
have been m~.,u and are still conducted in the U.S.S.R.
Actually, the speeds used lie between 600 and 700 rpm
for 50-cycle current. Meanwhile, rotary speeds of 1,000
rpm have been tried, especially with the 170 mm (6.8 in.)
diameter electrodrill, and some tests have been made apparently at much higher speeds, reaching 2,000 to 5,000
rpm.
To interpret these tests at their true value, it is necessary to stress the fact that only triconi bits have been used
up to the present time in electrodrilling. The tendency in
the U.S.S.R. toward the adoption for electrodrilling of
medium rotary speeds (650 rpm and, more recently, even
400 rpm) and of relatively high axial loads could then
eventually be modified by the introduction of new bits,
such as diamond crown bits, for example,
Likewise: it should be said that in principIe the optimum
rotary speed should not be of the same order of magnitude in Bashkir where the rocks are hard, as in Baku
where the formations are soft; nevertheless it seems that
at the moment the drilling parameters are about the same
in the two regions. Still, it was indicated to us at Baku
that some tests were in progress to increase the total
power available, which was reduced by low rotary speed,
by using two electrodrills in series,
If the results of these tests are satisfactory, it is thought
that a single electrodrill will be built to avoid the disadvantages of connecting two machhes together, This electrodrill, of 215 mm (8.6 in,) diameter, will measure 18 m
(57.6 ft) long.
In conclusion it does not seem that there is in the
U.S.S.R. a clear-cut doctrine for determining the optimal
rotary speed of the electrodrill, progress in this direction
depending in part upon the laboratory studies of drillability and upon the introduction of new bits. In any case,
its seems that the SoYiet technologists are rather oriented
toward research on the ratio of rotary speed to torque
best adopted to the formation drilled.
Eleclrodrillin& widl Cable
?
A second process of electrodrilling also being studied
in, the U.S.S.R. consists in using an electrodrill suspended
at the end of an electrodrill. The corresponding surface
equipment has been built and tested.
Although this process offers the advantage of reducing
the working time to the winding up and unwinding of
the electric carrier cable by means of a winch, many
basic disadvantages have until now prevented its industrial development.
Among these disadvantages, the lack of circulation is
especially serious and cannot be offset by the eIectrodrill

auxiliary equipment, consisting of a bottom-hole pump

which provides local circulation for recovery of cuttings
in a basket.
The conductor cable cannot withstand the reaction torque of the motor which may be offset either (1) by
periodically reversing the direction of rotation from the
surface, or (2) by allowing the exterior case of the electrodrill to turn in the opposite directfon from the interior
shaft carrying the drill, the reactive torque in this case
being partially offset by friction against the fluid in the
hole.
Finally, the impossibility of increasing the weight on
a tricone has practically limited the penetration rate to
values whch cannot effectively compete with the rates attained by other drilling methods, in spite of the reduction
in the time of pulling the bit.
It seems that the Soviets have really abandoned hope
of achieving an industrial process along these lines and
their intention is to limit the use of electrodrilling with
cable to some speciaI cases, such as, for example, the
drilling-out of cement plugs,
Conclusion

Electrodrilling presents a certain number of difficult

technical problems. .At the pre~mt stage of this development, the Soviet technologists have succeeded in achieving solutions effective enough for commercial application.
Meanwhile, substantial progress remains to be made by
simplifying the equipment and increasing the average
time of operation of the several component parts.
Along these lines, the Soviet electrodrillers are stimulated by the criticism of the turbodrillers who compete
with them by the remarkable simplicity of their own
equipment. They recall that the real arguments in favor
of electrodrillfng are:
(1) The independence of the power available at the
bit and the pressure drop in the fluid circulating in the
drill pipe, a characteristic particularly important at great
depth;
(2) The flexibility of the process in matters concerning the drilling, the knowledge and the control of the
conditions, .wjth all the opportunities for automation; and
(3) Due~ the presence of electrical conductors, the
ease of controlling the inclination of the well, an important point in the U. SS.R. where the percentage of
deviated wells is high for reasons previously indicated.
While these arguments all have merit, it is still necessary to bring about important improvements in the motor
insulation to increase its resistance to humidity and high
temperature and in the electric supply current to reduce
its mechanical fragiiity. Soviet technologists do not doubt
that they will attain their objectives. It will be especially
instructive to follow their progress in this field and to
mark the future episodes in the open competition in the
U.S.S.R, between the electrodrillers and the turbodriHers.
**

EDITORS NOTE: A PICTURE AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

OF J. DELACOUR APPEARED ~N THE Aua,, 1963 ISSUEOF

.
JOUR?iAL

WA
.

A.

JOURNALOF PETROLEtJMTECHNOLOGY.

-,

. . .. -. . .
,.
OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
..

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RUSSIAN
PETROLEUM
1NDUSTR%

Studies of Drillability and Drilling Bits in the U.S.S.R.

.,

J. DELACOUR
MEMBER AIME

Editors Note: This article is the last in a series appearing in JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY dealing wirh
Russian achievements in petroleum research, drilling and
production operations. The origi~al paper, first published
in the Jan., 1962 issue of REWE DE LINSTITUT FRANCAIS
~kTROL13, slet?tmed from a series of visits to Russia
made by three teams of French engineers in late 1960 and

early 1961. It has been translated front the French for

publication in JPT by T. V. Moore, petroleum consultant
in Houston, Tex.
In this installment J. Dehtcour, head of the Drilling
Section of the Drilling mld Production Research Dept.,
Institut Francais du P!tro[e, describes Soviet studies in
rock mechanics.

Studies of Drillabflity
Mechanical and Abrasive Properites of Rocks
The Laboratory for Study of Rock Properties of L. A.
Schreiner at the Moscow Academy of Sciences is devoted
to the study of rock mechanies with a view to obtaining
some practical results in research on the most efficient
drilling parameters.
The work of this research group, consisting of 10
people, has been published under the title Mechanical
and Abrasive Properties of Rocks (translated by Neyrfor), so we will confine ourselves to reviewing the broad
outlines and indicating. possible applications.
On a selection of 400 samples of sedimentary rocks
considered representative of the rocks traversed by the
drill, Schreiner has measured the followhtg group of
mechanical properties: (1) hardness-compressive strength
(kg/sq mm), (2) yield point (@@q mm), (3) coefficient
of plasticity, (4) Youngs Moduhts (lrg/sq cm), arid (5) speciilc work of contact (mkg/sq cm),
The-se values are obtained for each rock from punching
testa under ,the effeet of static or dynarnis loads applied
by means of specially equipped test benches.
The magnitudes of the mechanical properties 1, 2, 3
arid 4 are deduced from the anaIysis of curves of deformation as a function of load recorded during the course
.of me. test. The specific work..of corttaet 5 is determined
low

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from the volumetric measurement -of the imprint of the

punch on the sample. We note that the abrasiveness,
which depends only upon tbe mineral composition of
the rock, is considered as a separate property and is
evaluated by different tests.
A preliminary classification of rocks can perhaps be
made according to the hardriess. The measurement of
hardness according to the punching procedure is comparable in principle with the conventional tests made on
metals (Brinell, Vickers, Rockwell). L. A. Schreiner
recognizes three principal groups of rocks: Group Isoft
rocks, Group II-intermediate
rocks, and Group III
bard rocks.
Each group, being divided into four categories, has
a hardness scale of 12 classes, ranging from 10 to 800
kg/sq mm (146 to 11,680 psi). For example, certain shales
can be in Class 1 while the quartzites and certain silicified
sandstones will be in Class 12.
One can also classify the rocks as a function of the
other four mechanical properties listed above. This gives,
aeeordhg to L. A. Schreiner, a sufficiently complete and
representative group to predict, a priori, the behavior of
a rock when it is destroyed by the tooth of a tricone.
Finally, each rock is thus earmarked by five successive
numbers indicating its classification in the five scales of
properties: hardness, yield point (scale 1 to 12), coefficient
of plasticity (scale 1 to 16), Youngs Modulus and specific
work of contact (scale 1 to 18).
Practical Application

Schreiner thinks that only the static or dynamic punching methods that he proposes permit obtaining quantitative
data on the mechanical properties of the rocks at small
cost and without resorting to complicated processes.
On the other hand, because the large spread of sedimentary rocks selected baa led to a general classification,
the subsequent studies of the laws of the destruction of
rocks by different drilling processes will be gre: ly facilitated, since the investigators can l~mit their tests to one
or two rocks chsrttcteristiea of eaeh class.
From tdte practical point of view, this classification
should permit the establishment of comparisons between
rocks in different fields. Rocks belonging to the same
class could logically .be drilled in the same manner.
Frog. the fqndarpental angle, L.. A. S@rpiger sta~
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that inasmuch as the laws concerning the mechanical

strength of rock remain inexact, it is not possible to give
a complete explanation of the exponential relation between the penetration rate and the weight on the bit established byV. S. Sedorov and contlrmed by experience.
In comparing his own results on the subject of the
mechanical properties of rocks with the data obtained by
other Soviet investigators from some dynamic teats (drilling inthe laboratory), Schreitier draws a certain number
of concessions, of which the more important may be
summarized as follows. If one increases the rotary
speed, it is likewise necessary to increase the weight on
the bit; but this way of operating, logical for hard rocks,
is not for soft rocks. For this class of rocks, one should
not exceed speeds of 200 to 300 rpm.
Thus it is necessary to pre-determine the axial load as
a function of the hardness of the rock; but, on the other
hand, therotary speeds should vary as a function of
plasticity.
These, finally, are the conditions which led Schreiner
to assert the necessity to establish a diagram of plasticity
and hardness in the geologic section.
According to the information which we received later
on from the technologists of other laboratories, notably at
the V.N.I.I.B.T., it does notseem that themethodsrecommended by L. A. Schreiner, inparticular the elaboration of
adlagram of mechanical properties, have been systematically used up to now in the U.S.S.R, On the contrary, he
assured us that China had adopted these methods and
ordered a series of testing machhm identical to the
model developed by the laboratory of Scbreiner.
Therefore it still seems premature to judge the real
practical contribution of these studies of the Soviet driiling industry.
Formations of Cones of Rupture

The laboratory of M. Eigels, at the Institute of Scientific

Research on Drilling Techniques-V.N.I.I.
B.T.-PankiMoscow, studies the formation of rupture cones in fragile
material.
When a block of polished g[ass is subjected to a steadi[y
increasing load impressed by a punch, one observes in the
block the development of a cone of rupture, whose generatrices are parallel to the principal normal stresses. The
development of this conic rupture as well as the shape
of the splinter broken off under the punch are cheracteristic of the brittle, elastic and plastic properties of materials.
TMs work has given an excellent experimental conilrmation of the classic theory of stresses, but the amount of
work required to generate and develop the cone of rtipture
is not yet known, Voluminous and complicated calculations will be needed to determine their sigticance. Some
have already been made, others will ultimately be undertaken by means of electronic machines according to the
elastic or plastic nature of the rock.
All thhi work done in glass to facilitate obse~ation has
recently been confirmed. by the study of the same phenomena on a block of quartzite, on which they obtain a
vertical section after putting it under stress in such a way
as to set up the outline of the cone of rupture.
Speed of Fracturing and the
Critical Time of Impact
By using high-speed moving pictures, M, Eigeles has
likewise shown that the speed of development of the cone
of rupture, herme the speed of fracturing, was of the
order of 30 m/s~ (98.4 ft/see) in glass. .On the other
..OCTOBER, 1.96S
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hand, he has demonstrated that it is necessary to apply

the work over a minimum time in order that the cone of
rupture might be developed,
By means of strain gauges and an oscillograph, they
record the curve of pressure in the rock as a function of
time. They establish that the pressure at first increases
continuously, passes through a maximum and then diminishes.
The maximum corresponds to the formation of the
cone of rupture and the decreasing portion of the curve
to its development. The time required for the formation
of the cone would be 0.3 to 0,S milliseconds. This numerical value is extremely important in a practical way, because it gives the lower limit of the time of contact of
the teeth of the tricones below wldch the impact becomes
ineffective.
For a tricone-rock system, all things equivalent, the
volume of rock destroyed by the impact of a tooth will
be greater as the velocity of impact is higher. But one
can only increase this vclocit y of impact in two ways:
(1) by increasing the speed of rotation of the tricone; in
this case the velocity of impact iticreases, but the time of
contact between the rock and the tooth diminishes and
can become lower than the critical time necessary for the
formation of the cone; and (2) by increasing the space
between teeth on the roller cone; in this case the time of
rock-tooth contact increases, and thus this solution is ,
I
more efficient.
Because of the difficulty in observing fracturing in
non-transparent materials, it is not really possible to predict how the velocity of fracturing varies as a function
of the nature of the rock.
Influence of Teeth Form of the Roller Cone

The results of a study correlating the work required to

destroy 1 cc of rock, the dihedral angle a of the tooth of
the roller cone and the energy of the blows expressed in
kg/m were shown to us in the form of a network of
curves whose interpretation can be summarised as follows:
1. For the same tooth angle a the energy required for
the destruction of 1 cc of rock varies inversely as the energy of the blow, and
2. With constant energy of the blows, the work required to destroy 1 cc of rock decreases with dihedral
angle. Nevertheless it is not possible to diminish the
angle a without increasing at the same time the fragility
of the tooth.
These studies, which confirm the classic result according to which the desuyction of the rock is more efiicient
as the energy of the blows increases, show finally the importance of the drilling conditions imposed (slow rotary
speed and high weight).
Role of Hydrostatic Pressure on the
Formation of the Cone of Rupture

Although the work on this problem is not yet far advanced, some experiments on the test benches have
shown the influence of hydrostatic pressure on the speed
of penetration of the bit.
If one takes 100 per cent as a reference, the penetration rate of ri tricone in a given marble for certain dry
drilling conditions, the respective penetration rates under
varying hydrostatic pressure are as followw
Dry sample of marble, V = 100 per cent,
Sample of marble under pressure of 1 kg/cm (14.6 psi),
V = 150 per cent,
Sample of marble under presabre of 33 kg/cm (481,8
. . psi),.~ =.84 percent,. and
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1081
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Sample of marble under pressure of 62 kg/cm (905.2

psi) V = 82 per cent.
Those who made these tests do not propose an interpretation of these stilI-too-recent results.
Conclusion

The laboratory of the physics and mechanics of rocks

at V.N,I.I.B.T. centers its activity entirely on the study
of brittle-elastic rocks, and due to this fact, studies the
problem of the destruction of rock by percussion. The
fundamental results obtained by this laboratory on the
subject of velocity of propagation of fractures, or the
determination of the lower limit of effective time of contact are of primary intergst; they permit, in effect, the
estimation of the rotary speed beyond which the percussions lose all practical advantage. On the contrary, one
may formulate

some objections

to the general

character

of these tests and ask in particular how the propagation

of the cones of rupture is effected under high hydrostatic
pressure, or how the efficiency of percussion varies as a
function of the hardness of the rock. On this point the
Soviet researchers consider that a brittle-elastic rock behaves at great depth like a p[astic rock. To simulate the
mechanical and physical state of a marble (brittle-elastic)
placed at great depth, they make tests of percussions of
tricrtnes turning on lead plates at atmospheric pressure.
Still, it seems that the field of activity of these studies
could have extended beyond the case of the tricones and
covered also the drag bits and abrasion bits of the diamond type, for example.
Whatever else it may be, the laboratory of M. Eigsles
seemed to us, finaliy, the most advanced in the studies of
the destruction of rock.
Idea of DrillaMlity

Opposed in ~some, ways to Schreiner, who classifies

rocks by their mechanical properties (breaKIng strength,
elasticity, etc.) obtained from static or dynamic tests, V. S.
VladislavIev, at the V.N.L1.B,T. - Panki-Moscow Laboratory of Classification of Rocks for Drillabilit~, establishes
a classification by drillability.
Still, it is necessary to define the measure of drillability for a rock. The author understands by thk term the
resistance of rocks to destruction by drilling, and proposes
that the penetration rate corresponding to the optimum
drilling regime be taken as a measure of this property.
The classification proBosed by L. A, Schreiner only
depends on some intrinsic properties of the rocks, independent of all the methods used to obtain them.
On the contrary, the classification proposed by V. S.
Vladislavlev would not be based on an intrinsic property
of the rocks, the drillability being presented as a relative
quantity which requires uniform test apparatus. One can
thus see that if the rock classification proposed by L. A.
Schreiner seems more absolute and fundamental than that
proposed by V. S. Vladislavlev, the latter, on the other
hand, should permit some practical applications to be
achieved more directly.,
For V, S. Vladislavlev, everything comes back to determining the penetration rate of the bit under the optimum drilfing regime by means of a specially equipped
small test bench model.
Without going ittto the, descriptive details;- for which
one should refer to the work of V. S. Vladkhwlev, Destruction of Rocks During the Course of Drilling (translation by N,eyrfor, Vol. 1489, Moscow, 1958), we simply
mention that by means of this apparatus they obtain dur. ing the course of the same test a continuous variation de10R2

pendent upon the rotary speed and the weight on the bit.
The variation of these two parameters with time involves
a continuous variation of penetration rate of the bit, which
consists of a 11/4-in. bicone.
They record simultaneously during the course of the
test, as a function of time, the penetration rate, the weight
and the rotary speed,
The penetration rate is thus finally represented as a
bell-shaped curve whose maximum corresponds to a determined rotary speed and weight. This, by de%tition, is
the optimum drilling regime for the whole bit-machinerock complex considered.
,
On this basis, the scale of drillability adop~ed consists
of the six classes shown in Tablel.
In order to mitigate the disadvantages deriving from
the close dependence of this classification and of the bit,
they repeat the tests on the same rock with all possible
bits, and finally keep only the highest value of drillability.
For example, a rock having submitted to the following tests-(a) tricone with dihedral teeth, penetration rate
8 m/hr (26.2 ft/hr), corresponding to Class II; (/3) tricone
with buttons, penetration rate 12 mlh r (39,3 ft/hr), corresponding to C1ass III; and (y) tricone with conical teeth,
penetration rate 16 m/hr (52.4 ft/hr), corresponding to
Class IV would be finally classified in IV (y), the index y
showing the type of bit having given the best performance.
One can think that if, in this particular case, a diamond
bit of the same diameter had been used, the sample could
have been put in Class VI (diamond index).
Taking into account the wear of the bit during the
test, Vladislavlev states that the most etTicient regime corresponds to the greatest penetration rate, because it is not
possible to attain such a rate without diminishing the
amount of energy expended in bit wear. Accordingly, the
determination of the optimum drilling rate entails likewise obtaining the maximum penetration rate, and corresponds to the regime of least bit wear. We will see
later on that these hypotheses are in good accord with
practical results. ,
Laws of Similitude
To complete his theory, Vladislavlev has developed
some similitude which permits extrapolating to the case of
real drilling the results obtained at the reduced model
bench with 1Y4 -in. biconcs.
As an example of extrapolation, we note that, to determine the parameters of optimum drilling conditions in a
rock with a 10%-in, bit turning 700 rpm in turbodrilling,
it would be necessary to operate on the same rock, on the
test bench, with a 1A-in. bit turning 3,000 rpm.
Practical Application

An important statistical study was made on the cores

taken in the wells at Tatar. After determining on the test
bench for each core the optimum drilling regime, then
applying the law of similitude, V1adislavlev finally predicted a mechanical penetration rate for each side of
the field.
The forecasts of rate thus taken from the tests and
computations of the author can be readily c,ompared to
the real penetration rates recorded on the wells. It seems
that the agreement obtained under these conditions is
sat isfactory.

TABLE 1ACALE
I
0.5

Clca
.
P6netratton role m/hr.

OF DRILLABI LITY

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15.20....=.

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TECUNOLOCY
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.
On the other hand tests numbers 3,318 and 3132 made
in Well B with axial loads of 18 to 20 tons have an
efficiency 10 to 15 times greati?r than that of other tests.

These encouraging checks have led to the recommendation, a priori, for specific drilling conditions in Tatar, Yet
the results are not sufficiently numerous to give them a
significant statistical interpretation,

Even thotifih these loads demand higher turbine power,

they should, in the final analysis, lead to more advantageous drilIing conditions on account of the increased life

In conclusion, one may say that the two different ways

in which the studies of drillabiIity are actually being
conducted
in the U.S.S.R.
certainIy show that a more
precise concept of drillability remains to be found. It is
likely that, if agreement on this point could be reached
among the investigators, the result would be a more rapid
convergence of the results obtained by different laboratories.

of the bits, on the one hand, and the achievement of

greater penetration rates on the other.
Incidentally, one will note that thk study offers an
additional example of the great opportunities offered to
the technologists of the V.N.I.I.B.T. to experiment directly
in the field,

Influence of Drilling Conditions on the

output and Wear of Trimme Bits

Drilling

One of the most interesting aspects of the theory proposed by Vladislavlev is the concept of the least bit wear
at the optimum drilling regime. This observation does not
come only from a theoretical study or from laboratory
tests. In effect, it seems that field experience also furnishes
an excellent check, Tables 2 and 3 present a report of
drilling tests made with a turbine on one formation, under
pressures of 180 to 200 kglsq cm (2,628 to 2,720 psi)
at the pumps, on two experimental Wells A and B, at
a depth of about 4,5oO m (14,400 ft). The data of Table
2 correspond to the parameters used in Well A. Con-

The drilling departments of the petroleum institutes

of Baku and Stslingrad do not include a bit section. On
the other hand, at the Institute of Ufa, some engineers
stiidy diamond bhs and tricones with teeth of various
forms (prism, cones, hemispheric). Thus it seems that the
essentiaI activity in the field of drillhg tilts is concentrated
at the V,N.I.I.B.T. at Moscow. The result is an excellent
coordination between the laboratories for the studies of
drjllability and rock destruction and the laboratories assigned to the development of bits. Furthermore the technologists of the V.N,I.LB.T. can be detached to special
factories which handle the industrial manufacture of
drilling bits.
We wiil simply mention several problems studied in
the laboratories of the drilling bit section of V.N.I.I.B.T.
directed by M. Konstrmtinov, which we visited very
rapidly, unfortunately. But we will lay more stress on the
activities of the diamond bit laboratory now being expanded, and on which the Soviets seem to base considerable hope.

sidering the mediocrity of these results, judged especiaHy

by the number of bits used and the low penetration rate,
some systematic tests were run in Well B, through forma-

tions identical to those encountered in Well A.

In Table 3, the wear of the cones is defined as 100 per
cent when the teeth of the rollers have lost 75 per ce~t of
their height. The drilling time for each bit being relatively short, the wear of the bearings is not considered.
One sees at once, according to this table, that the
drilling conditions which give the least wear on the bit
are those leading to the highest penetration rates (tests of
bits 3,318 and 3,132).
From the practical point of view, they deduce from
this that the mediocre performance achieved in Well A is
due to insufficient weight on the bit, which suggests that
the tooth load of, rock bits is very near the breaking
strength of the rock. It results in mechanical work of
fxiction, which accounts for a small volume of the rock
destroyed and entails an abnormal bit wear.

Laboratory Test Bench for Tricones

Consisting of a drilling machine of 4.S kw power modified to permit drilling tests with axial loads of 1.5 tons
and rotary speeds up to 1,100 rpm, this bench takes tricones of diameters between 1I! -in. and 53A-in. The cuttings are removed by lateral air circulation.
They measure the axial load and torque by means of
strain gauges whose readings are recorded by an oscillograph and camera. Auxiliary motion picture equipment
permits the observation of the slip of the bit teeth (4,000
to 8,000 frames/second). This test bench, which has been
in operation since 1952, has permitted the study of the
incluence of the number of teeth on the cone, the tooth
form and the impact velocity.
These studies are now directed toward the determination of the optimum value of the ratio db, a being the
width included between two consecutive teeth and b being

TABLE 2- -PARAMETERS USED IN WELL A*

FIOWto
Turbine
[l/see)

Interval
2,720-3,160
3,160-3,770
3,770-3,896
3,896-4,027
4,02?.4,077
4,077-4,320
4,329.4,473
4,473-4,332
*Cwwersion$:

(tons]

11 O.I2O
11O.I2O
110-120
1 I 5-120
120.125
120-130
I 20.130
1so-l 35

S-10
s-lo
10.12
s-lo
S-12
10-12
6. $
& s

y
;:
32
32
30
2a
28

1 lifer
= 1.05
qt,

1 ks/cm2

TABLE 3--PARAMETERS

How
l!!.

Interval

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.
329S
3296
3212
331 s
339.5
3277
3207
2694
.3132
3132
3075
2832

Meters
Wr Bit

S.o
2.2
1.1

12.5

5.3
S.s

1?:
2.8
3.3
1S.6 PSI, 1

USED

[mlhr)

0.9
0.7
1.0

the width of one tooth.

We shall see further on that they can justify the current trend toward reduction of the length of the teeth h.

0.7
0.6
meter =

3.2S ft.

Tricones with Prismatig Triconi% and

Hemispheric Teeth
According
tq the information
received, it seems
in drilling hard rock, the efficiency of tricones with

iN WELL B
Pene.

fo

Turbine
4,425-4,42S
4,428-4,430
4,430-4,432
4,432-4,435
4.433.4,437
4,437.4,439
4,450-4,453
4,453-4,456
4,4S6.4#0
4,460-4,483
4,46%4,466
4.466.4,469.

Penetr;~~

W#&t
Pressure
(ks/cm2)
.

(l/see]

Weight
Pressure
or! BM
(ke/cm~J
(tans]
.
6.8
125
125
$$
125
1S&o
180
125
6.8
125
6.B
125-130
6.8
125.130
20
200
6-S
125
6-s
12s .
-7*5
:. .. 6.8

Bits

Driliin9 trathan
Metro
lime
Rote
Wetw
per EM [hwrs) [m/hrl ~
.
.
100
3
0.75
90
0.56
:
;:
0.3
10.
3
2
90.
0.5
:.56
2
90
3
so
3
90
0:75
A
16.
:1
3
0.s3
.90
0.7s
..:.90.
0,6

that,

hemispheric buttons is greater than that of tricones with prismatic teeth, In some cases tlds efficiency can be in the
ratio of 3:.1. This result- agrees with Western experience,
and the Soviets propose an interpretation which emphasizes
the role p?ayed by the axial load on the bit aud tie different character of the work of destroying the rock.
They consider. first the case of high axial loads. Some
.drillittg tests in ..a rn.~bl? fiorn Ural .With. ~% -in. .tricone
lolw

1963.
.- >
.

..

?
,4

at constant
load of 2 tons

bits

rotary speed of 300 rpm

gave the following results

and an axial

for the three

kinds of teeth: prismatic teeth, penetration rate 4.2 m/hr,
(13.4 ft/hr); hemispheric teeth, penetration rate of 6.2
m/hr (19.8 ft/hr); and truncated cone teeth, penetration
rate 7.5 m/hr (24 ft/hr). If P is the weight on the bh,
N the number of teeth in contact at the time T, and S the
surface of the tooth-rock contact, the pressure exerted by a
tooth on the rock would be P/NS.
If the three bits have the same number of teeth, at the
contact the pressure P/NS will be
instant of tooth-rock
maximal for the hemispheric tooth for wldch the surface
initially is reduced to a point. Then, in order of increas-

ing surface, come the truncated cone tooth and then the
prismatic tooth.
When the hemisphere continues, to penetrate the rock,
the contact, at first point-like,
spreads out and the
horizontal projection of the surface of contact increases
rapidly with the penetration of the hemisphere, which involves a reduction in the load per unit of tooth surface.
On the other hand, the truncated cone tooth will penetrate deeper into the rock if the apex angIe of the cone is
small, because the load per unit of surface will decrease
less rapidly than in the case of the hemisphere.
As for the prismatic tooth, its contact surface with the
rock being always greater than that of the preceding
teeth, the load per unit of surface will always remain less
and thm its efficiency will be less.
In all these tests it is tv.derstood that the axiaI load is
presumed sufficient at le$.st to reach the limit of rupture
of the rock at the t.Ah-rock
contact surface.
If one now considers the case of low axial loads, of
the order of 500 kg (1.1 ton), the tooth-rock strain remains
well below the elastic limit, and below the breaking
strength of the rock. The nature of the work of destruction thm changes completely.
While for heavy loads the
rock is destroyed by penetration of the tooth to a certain depth and the breaking out of chips, under low loads
the destruction results from surface friction, and its effb

iency is theri proportional to the tooth-rock contact surface. This surface being maximal for the prismatic teeth,
the Soviet technicians explain why at low weights the
results of drilling are completely reversed and give the advantage, in this order, to prismatic teeth, then to truncated
cones and last to hemispheres.
Setting aside the difficulties which their practical fabrication would present, one may ask if teeth of ellipsoidal or
parabolodial form would not be capable of improving the
performance of hemispheric or truncated cone teeth under
heavy loads.
We note, from the technical point of view, that the
projection of the hemispherical buttons on the tricdnes
made in the U.S.S.R. can be as much as 10 mm (0.39 in.).
After some incidents due to button settings insufficient to
resist the centrifugal force developed in turbodrillhg, the
methods of Nlng the buttons seem to be well developed.
Hardened steel and tungsten carbide are both used in
maldng the hemispheres.
Bits with Unsupported Bearings: Retractable Bits
Mentioned repeatedly in the Soviet liter~ture, these
original bits do not seem. to have gone beyond the experimental stage. No practical utilization was pointed out
to us. Meanwhile, M. Chvetzov, director of the drilling trust
of Lertinogorsk in Tatar, told us of having drilled 43 m
(137.6 ft) in a well on Sakhalin Island with a retractable
tricone.
,.

bearings brought to light so many discrepancies in fundamentals as to make it necessary to start the study over
again, They mentioned especially an excessive slip which
entailed rapid tooth wear.

Laboratory fat Photo-Elastic Measurements

Specialized in the study of stress distribution and its
measurement, this laboratory appties the classic techniques
of bhetil~~ence
to the improvement of the component
parts of bits aid turbines.
The laboratory has available a Tardy optical apparatus
for the projection of isoclines and isochromes generated
by compression and tension on a plastic model and a compensator permitting the determination of the principal di- e
rections at each point and the measurement of their differences All applications which can be derived from
these studxes form subjects of discussion with representatives of the specialized factories who thus can modify,
step by step, the models of the bits used in practice.
Diamond Bit Laboratory

This laboratory, set up relatively recently, devotes ik

effort to the development of bits and diamond crowns,
destined ultimately for very deep drilling. The broad
outlines of these studies were explained to us by M. Zarkine, head of the laboratory,
Origin

and Selection

of

Diamonds

The diamonds come from Yakout, a diamond bearing

region recently discovered in Eastern Siberia. These
stones differ from the West African and Congo diamonds,
used by French firms, by their jewelry quality, which
carries the advantages of superior hardness but at the price
of great brittleness.
The sorting of the stones is done in several stages:
(1) a manual sorting, principally concerning the quality
(defects, inclusions); (2) a sieve sorting, selecting the
form (spheroidal diamonds, rounds, etc.); and (3) a sorting
by classifier, distributing the diamonds into 50 fractions
according to the weight, going from 1/10 to 5/10 carat
(the weighing on the classifier is made by 1/100 carat).
Technology

Matrix

Powder metallurgy processes have been known and used

in the U.S.S.R. for 25 years. The matrices for diamond
bits are made by th~ method from powders of tungsten
carbide, copper or from alloys of copper mixed in variable percentages according to two principal considerations
thermal conductivity and mechanical strength.
In effect, if they wish to obtain satisfactory cooling of
the bit by increasing the thermal conductivity of the
matrix by increasing the percentage of copper, it is also
necessary to avoid exceeding a limit beyond which the
wear of the bit becomes too rapid, the mechanical resistance of the matrix decreasing as the percentage of tungsten earbide. The rocks generally encountered in deep
wells in the U.S.S.R. being of moderate hardness or soft,
they may, to a certain extent, adapt the matrix composition to the formations to be penetrated and use relatively
high percentages of copper, which has the additional advantage of improving the bond between the matrix and
the diamonds.
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Bit Design
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The design of the bit (the quantity, quality and distribution of diamonds) should depend upon a certain number
rof principal considerations such ~ (1] uniform wear,
= (2) cooling and sufficient .cleaningi-(3) mutual protection
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of the diamonds, (4) complete covering of the cutting edge

and study of multiple coverage
(qutrdrillage), (5) overall strength of the bit, and (6) minimtim pressure drop
for drilling fluid across the bit.
A plan is established for each type of bit, and the distribution of stones is carefully calculated taking into account the nature of the rock to be drilled and the power
available at the bit so as not to increase the resistance
to rotation beyond the. permissible limit.
Oh the whole, the geometric form of the Soviet diamond bks recalls strongly that of bits manufactured by
French firms, and the laboratory gladly acknowledges that
it was inspired by these. In particular the bit HS-REDD19 is well known. Tests of this bit in the U.S.S.R. were
made with a turbodrill turning at 500-600 rpm, and if
the Soviet technologists consider this model quite suitable
for soft rocks, they think it wears too rapidly in abrasive
and semi-abrasive rocks. According to their opinion, this
is due to. the fact that the dkunonds are not arrsmged in
spirals. H should be noted that the distribution of stones
along spirals seems to constitute the fundamental principle
of the Soviet bits.
As for fluid channels, they were aonceived to assure
cleaning of all of the diamonds under pressure. Their
arrangement was improved, it seems, in relation to that
of French bits tested in the Ukraine and at Baku in which
the movement of the cuttings could disturb the cleaning
action.
The bits studied actuaI1y have diameters between 4 and
8 in. The weight, of diamonds distributed on a 6-in. blt
is about 250 carats, which includes the reaming ring, a
figure lower than the average for French bits.
Some elementary tests, intended to verify the principle
idea of each bit, are made on models fitted with only a
small number of dlamorid spirals, Yet it seems that, in
the laboratory, the use of test benches for diamond drilk
is greatly complicated by the large volume of rock consumed.
Orientation

and Exposure

of Diaownda

problem of the crystallographic orientation of the

diamonds, at least at the present stage of the studies,
does not seem to have claimed the attention of Soviet
investigators. V the work on this question (Albert Long,
Bureau of Mines) is known to M. Za$kine, he apparently
has obtained tbe impression that the skill of the workers
setting the stones in the matrices permits results to be
obtained at least as satisfactory as those which can come
from a systematic and organized orientation.
The exposure, or projection of the diamonds from the
matrix, varies according to the hardness of the rocks to
be drilled, For soft rocks the exposure is of the order of
0.75 to 1 mm for a stone 2 to 3 mm in height, whereas for
hard rocks this is reduced to a few tenths of a millimeter. It is interesting to note that the exposure is zero
for the diamonds set in the reaming ring of new bits, this
in order, to avoid deterioration of the ston~ when running the bit in the well the first time.
Zarkine cannot yet specify the effect of exposure. on
tha size distribution of the cuttings on account of the small
number of experimental results recorded this far. Yet
the observations made at the test bench must be interpreted with caution because of the inflexibility of the
machine-rock-bit system, which is quite different from
real condkions. .
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The

Use

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of

Diamond

Bits in U.S.S.R.

Not haqing had an oppofiunity td vlidt arig using

diamond bits during the course of our mission, the matter of the utilization of these bits will be discussed only
with a certain reserve, Lacking concrete facts one can
do no more than to try to indicate the guide lines of
the Soviet intentions in the light of the information we
received on this subject from the technologists of the
different institutes, especially the V.N. I.I.B.T. It should
also be stated that Soviet experience in the use of diamond
bits being quite limited, it is probable that the actual
conditions of their use will change considerably in the
One may distinguish as follows the principles which
seem to define the application of diamond bits in the

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Fwst, at depths down to 2,S00 to 3,000 m (8,000 to

9,600 ft), the rocks remain brittle?elastic, and the most
efficient means of destruction is percussion, Thus they
remain in a domain reserved for the use of the tricone.
Besides this, tbe time for running and pulling pipe is
relatively short at these moderate depths and the life of
the bit is therefore not a primary factor. In spite of its
performance, the diamond bit cannot be competitive under
these condhions.
On the contrary, below depths of about 3,000 to 4,000
m (9,600 to 12,800 ft), all rocks become phtstic, either
naturally (an intrinsic property of the rock) or under the
effect of stresses due to geostatic and hydrostatic pressure.
In this case percussion loses a great deal of its efficiency
(theory of cones of rupture). It is necessary to abandon
this method of operation, hence the tricone, and to use
new bits, for example the diamond bit, to seek a corn-.
pletely different method of destruction of high efficiency.
Besides, the wear of the diamond bit being less rapid tlran
that of the tricone, one can reduce the number of round
trips, a factor whose importance becomes preponderant at
great depth. Hence under these conditions the diamond
bit becomes competitive.
All these reasons, which work in favor of the use of
diamond bits at great depth, explain at least in part the
fact that the bits of this type being made in the U.S.S.R.
have diameters between 4 and 8 in,
On the other hand, a fundamental matter still remains
unknown in the manner of using diamond bits, In effect,
if it is now generally admitted that rotary speeds in turbodrilling must be reduced to obtain the optimal use of tricones, the Soviet technologists ask themseks if this tendency must be maintained in the case of diamond bits.
It is partly to answer this question that they are now
building a special turbine which will turn between 1,000
and 1,200 rpm and which will be fitted with a diamond
bit, If the results of these tests are satisfactory, it is
probabl$ that a bright future will open for electrodrills
intended for deep drilling with diamond bits.

Varioos Bits ~
In conclusion we will mention a ver~ unusual bit which
we saw at the Petroleum Pavillion of the Permanent Exposition of the Accomplishment of Soviet Economy at
Moscow. It consists of an abrasion bit whose form recalls a paraboloid and whose surface is fitted with hexagonal rods of Pobedite, of a diameter about 5 mm
across the flats and with a projection about the same.
The spacing of the rods is designed to permit easy evaeuation of the cuttings, and in addition, vertical discharge .
channels

are provided

on the surface

of the bit.

According
to the technologists
of the bit laboratory
of the Institute of Ufa, Pobedite VKS is a fritted composition -consisting of 8-peT -emit cobalt ti~d 92-per cent

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tungsten, whose Rockwell hardness at a load of 60 kg

(132 lb) is about 87. This bit was developed at Grozny
as a substitute for diamond bits. It is not used consistently,
but it seems that good results were obtained in drilling
soft rocks comprising formations ranging between 1 and
7 on the hardness scale. Formations of greater hardness,
from 7 to 12, which are characterised by the presence of
flint and quartzite, cannot be drilled economically with this
drill. About 15 bits of this type were manufactured by
A. Zinmach at Baku, and, in some cases, a maximum of
40 m/bit (128 ft) were drilled.
Conclusion ~
If one tries to strike a balance, on the one hand taking
into account the strong research facilities in personnel
and material put at the disposition of the Soviet laboratories, and considering on the other hand the experience
gained through eight w 10 years of work, one may finally
be surprised by the limited practical results which the
studies on drillability and drilling bits have achieved.
Certain progress has been recorded, and statistics such
as those of the Tatbourneft
drilling trust, already mentioned, prove this by the procession in the mean Jife of

a tricone bit, which has been 21 m (67.2 ft) in 1956, 22 m

(70.4 ft) in 1957, 24 m (76,8 ft) in 1958 and 25.5 m
(81.6 ft) in 1959.
Neverthel&s it does not seem that one can now hope

for spectacular progress in tricone technique. One. can

then be surprised that the Soviet research institutes have
not undertaken earlier some fundamental studies of bits
of a different type. For example, it is paradoxical that
when the tlrst diamond bits of Soviet manufacture were
used in the field, the optimum drilling conditions, in the
sense intended by Vladh?lavlev, could not be predicted for
this new case.
Afong the same idea, the commercial use of electrodrills having offered the possibility of using high rotary
speeds, the problem of the behavior under these conditions of diamond bits in hard formations and drag bits in
soft formations remains unsolved. It is possible that the
gap which seemed to us to exist between certain possibilities for practica[ application and the determination of
the best conditions for their use was only apparent, In
any case, it is certain that the amount of work devoted to
tricones in the U.S.S.R. is additional proof of the seriousness and intensity which characterizes the studies con***
ducted by the Soviet research people.

EDITORS NOTE: A PICTURE AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

OF J. DELAcoua APPEARED IN THE AuG., 1963 ISSUE OF
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JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM ,TECHNOLOGY.

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