Dynamic optimization for robust path planning of horizontal oil wells

This paper considers the three-dimensional path planning problem for horizontal oil wells. The decision variables in this problem are the curvature, tool-face angle and switching points for each turn segment in the path, and the optimization objective is to minimize the path length and target error....

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Main Authors: Gong, Z., Loxton, Ryan, Yu, Changjun, Teo, Kok Lay
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2016
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP130100451
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12397
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author Gong, Z.
Loxton, Ryan
Yu, Changjun
Teo, Kok Lay
author_facet Gong, Z.
Loxton, Ryan
Yu, Changjun
Teo, Kok Lay
author_sort Gong, Z.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This paper considers the three-dimensional path planning problem for horizontal oil wells. The decision variables in this problem are the curvature, tool-face angle and switching points for each turn segment in the path, and the optimization objective is to minimize the path length and target error. The optimal curvatures, tool-face angles and switching points can be readily determined using existing gradient-based dynamic optimization techniques. However, in a real drilling process, the actual curvatures and tool-face angles will inevitably deviate from the planned optimal values, thus causing an unexpected increase in the target error. This is a critical challenge that must be overcome for successful practical implementation. Accordingly, this paper introduces a sensitivity function that measures the rate of change in the target error with respect to the curvature and tool-face angle of each turn segment. Based on the sensitivity function, we propose a new optimization problem in which the switching points are adjusted to minimize target error sensitivity subject to continuous state inequality constraints arising from engineering specifications, and an additional constraint specifying the maximum allowable increase in the path length from the optimal value. Our main result shows that the sensitivity function can be evaluated by solving a set of auxiliary dynamic systems. By combining this result with the well-known time-scaling transformation, we obtain an equivalent transformed problem that can be solved using standard nonlinear programming algorithms. Finally, the paper concludes with a numerical example involving a practical path planning problem for a Ci-16-Cp146 well.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-123972022-11-28T04:51:49Z Dynamic optimization for robust path planning of horizontal oil wells Gong, Z. Loxton, Ryan Yu, Changjun Teo, Kok Lay This paper considers the three-dimensional path planning problem for horizontal oil wells. The decision variables in this problem are the curvature, tool-face angle and switching points for each turn segment in the path, and the optimization objective is to minimize the path length and target error. The optimal curvatures, tool-face angles and switching points can be readily determined using existing gradient-based dynamic optimization techniques. However, in a real drilling process, the actual curvatures and tool-face angles will inevitably deviate from the planned optimal values, thus causing an unexpected increase in the target error. This is a critical challenge that must be overcome for successful practical implementation. Accordingly, this paper introduces a sensitivity function that measures the rate of change in the target error with respect to the curvature and tool-face angle of each turn segment. Based on the sensitivity function, we propose a new optimization problem in which the switching points are adjusted to minimize target error sensitivity subject to continuous state inequality constraints arising from engineering specifications, and an additional constraint specifying the maximum allowable increase in the path length from the optimal value. Our main result shows that the sensitivity function can be evaluated by solving a set of auxiliary dynamic systems. By combining this result with the well-known time-scaling transformation, we obtain an equivalent transformed problem that can be solved using standard nonlinear programming algorithms. Finally, the paper concludes with a numerical example involving a practical path planning problem for a Ci-16-Cp146 well. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12397 10.1016/j.amc.2015.11.038 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP130100451 fulltext
spellingShingle Gong, Z.
Loxton, Ryan
Yu, Changjun
Teo, Kok Lay
Dynamic optimization for robust path planning of horizontal oil wells
title Dynamic optimization for robust path planning of horizontal oil wells
title_full Dynamic optimization for robust path planning of horizontal oil wells
title_fullStr Dynamic optimization for robust path planning of horizontal oil wells
title_full_unstemmed Dynamic optimization for robust path planning of horizontal oil wells
title_short Dynamic optimization for robust path planning of horizontal oil wells
title_sort dynamic optimization for robust path planning of horizontal oil wells
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP130100451
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12397