Methods and systems for wellbore friction profile

Abstract

Systems and methods determine friction in a borehole during drilling operations. A drilling system applies movement of a drill string located in a wellbore during drilling of the wellbore by the drilling system, and, using information from one or more surface and/or downhole sensors, the drilling system determines a friction between the borehole and the drill string. This can be repeated during drilling of the wellbore to determine multiple friction values, which can correspond to various depths of the borehole and/or the length of the drill string. Based on the determined friction values, the drilling system can generate a friction profile of the wellbore and can perform one or more actions resulting in modified drilling operations. The systems and methods also include oscillating a casing in the borehole, measuring the torque and angular position of the casing, and determining a friction value, which can be repeated to develop a wellbore friction profile.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A drilling system comprising:
 a drill string located in a borehole;   one or more processors; and   a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory comprising instructions configured to cause the drilling system to:   determine a plurality of friction values between the borehole and the drill string, wherein each of the plurality of friction values corresponds to one of a plurality of measured depths;   generate a profile of friction at the plurality of measured depths in the borehole based on dynamic data obtained from one or more surface or downhole sensors and measured with respect to each of the plurality of measured depths in the borehole; and   based on the determined plurality of friction values as a function of the plurality of measured depths, alter at least one drilling operation.   
     
     
         2 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of friction values are determined and the profile of friction is generated when a bit of the drilling system is on bottom. 
     
     
         3 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of friction values are determined and the profile of friction is generated when a bit of the drilling system is off bottom. 
     
     
         4 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the dynamic data comprises a plurality of torque values corresponding to torsional movement of the drill string. 
     
     
         5 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the dynamic data comprises a plurality of torque values corresponding to oscillatory movement of the drill string. 
     
     
         6 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions configured to cause the drilling system to alter at least one drilling operation comprise instructions configured to cause the drilling system to perform one or more of:
 adjusting a spindle position based on one or more of the plurality of friction values in the borehole;   responsive to an identified increase in friction, adjusting one or more drilling parameters to mitigate one or more of: hole cleaning, a stuck pipe, tortuosity;   increasing a block velocity upon determining an increase in the one or more of the plurality of friction values; or   applying a modified torque on a bottom hole assembly during rotary drilling, including increasing the block velocity by an amount corresponding to a computed lost torque as a function of the one or more of the plurality of friction values.   
     
     
         7 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the drilling system to:
 display a visualization of the determined plurality of friction values on a display of the drilling system.   
     
     
         8 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions configured to determine the plurality of friction values between the borehole and the drill string comprise instructions configured to determine one or more of: a forward static friction, a reverse static friction, or an average static friction. 
     
     
         9 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , the instructions further comprising instructions configured to cause the drilling system to:
 determine whether a friction value of the plurality of friction values exceeds a threshold or falls outside a target range therefor, and   perform a corrective action responsive to determining that the friction value exceeds the threshold or falls outside the target range therefor.   
     
     
         10 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions configured to determine the plurality of friction values comprise instructions configured to cause the drilling system to fit a model to a measured plurality of torques to determine one or more of a reactive torque, a spring torque, a dynamic torque, a forward static friction, a reverse static friction, or an average static friction. 
     
     
         11 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions configured to determine the plurality of friction values comprise instructions configured to cause the drilling system to:
 determine a first friction parameter at a first measured depth of the borehole;   advance the drill string in the borehole; and   determine a second friction parameter at a second measured depth of the borehole.   
     
     
         12 . The drilling system of  claim 1  wherein each of the plurality of measured depths are different. 
     
     
         13 . The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of friction values is determined at a survey point. 
     
     
         14 . A method performed by a drilling system comprising:
 applying movement to a drill string of the drilling system, the drill string disposed in a borehole;   determining a plurality of friction values between the borehole and the drill string, including generating a profile of friction at a respective plurality of depths in the borehole based on data measured with respect to each of the depths in the borehole; and   based on the determined plurality of friction values as a function of the respective plurality of depths, altering at least one drilling operation.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of friction values are determined and the profile of friction is generated when a bit of the drilling system is on bottom. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of friction values are determined and the profile of friction is generated when a bit of the drilling system is off bottom. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the movement comprises one or more of: torsional movement or oscillatory angular movement. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein altering the at least one drilling operation comprises one or more of:
 optimizing a toolface control in sliding by adjusting an angular spindle position based on one or more of the plurality of friction values in the borehole;   identifying an increase in friction during drilling, correlating the increase in friction to a hole cleaning issue, stuck pipe, or tortuosity, and adjusting one or more drilling parameters to mitigate the hole cleaning issue, stuck pipe, or tortuosity;   using the determined plurality of friction values to optimize a weight on bit and a rate of penetration, including increasing a block velocity upon determining an increase in the one or more of the plurality of friction values during drilling; or   using the determined plurality of friction values to apply a modified torque on a bottom hole assembly during rotary drilling, including increasing the block velocity by an amount corresponding to a computed lost torque as a function of the one or more of the plurality of friction values.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 determining whether a friction value of the plurality of friction values exceeds a threshold or falls outside a target range therefor; and   performing a corrective action responsive to determining that the friction value exceeds the threshold or falls outside the target range therefor.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein determining the plurality of friction values comprises:
 determining a first friction parameter at a first measured depth of the borehole;   advancing the drill string in the borehole; and   determining a second friction parameter at a second measured depth of the borehole.