The Development and Use of a Coiled-Tubing Simulation for Horizontal Applications

ABSTRACT Thorough analysis of the many circulation parame- ters and force conditions experienced with coiled tubing has helped to improve job efficiency and eliminated many of the operating difficulties experienced in the past. The arrival of horizontal well technology has pro- duced the need for more diversity and greater reliability from coiled tubing. Many standard completion and work-over operations now require the use of coiled tubing in order to gain access to the horizontal sections. Using recognized correlations for all of the circulation parame- ters involved, and incorporating them into a set of force balance equations, a completely interactive model has been constructed to analyze flow conditions and tubing force effects and predict the outcome of coiled tubing operations. This paper will describe some of the concepts used to develop a coiled tubing simulator, its operating fea- tures and a few horizontal well examples to demonstrate its capability.