The branch of engineering that has close resemblance to well engineering is the petroleum engineering. Free Dictionary (2009) defines petroleum engineering as “The application of almost all types of engineering to the drilling for the production of oil, gas, and liquefiable hydrocarbons and is subdivided into the branches of petro physical, geological, reservoir drilling, production, well and construction engineering”. The complexity and technicality of petroleum engineering has increased over the years and today involves the extraction of oil in very complex situations most of which are near there depletion levels. While this class of engineer faces a lot of challenges, the advancement in computer technology, improved job related materials, the analysis of probability and the inventions of important technologies of enhanced oil recovery and horizontal drilling have made their job easier. This class forms one of the best paid engineering disciplines. Lawndirt (2009) illustrates that “In a June 4th, article, reported “that Petroleum Engineering was the 24th best paying job in the United States”
Roles and responsibilities of a well engineer
Well engineering is on the other hand is the profession in petroleum engineering that deals with the design, construction, drilling and the general maintenance of oil and gas wells drilled during the a gas or an oil extraction. “Working closely with Petroleum and Production Engineers, Geoscientists and contractors, they ensure the best technical, commercial and environmental ways are found to connect the subsurface hydrocarbons with the surface and export facilities” (Shell, 2009). Well engineering is a complex field that requires adequate training to ensure that all the technical aspects of this field are properly understood.
A well engineer is responsible in handling a large number of responsibilities during the extraction of oil or gas. This includes the overall development and facilitation of strategies that involve the contracting plans, formulation, evaluation and negotiation of contracts that relate directly to the provision, handling and maintenance of well services. A thorough knowledge in understanding and accurately evaluating the aspects of well economics and must have an active role in the proposing and recommending technically capable suppliers and contractors in the provision of well services. In addition to the above, a well engineer must be able to understand and undertake the process of subsurface data gathering before the drilling process, undertake the process of safety and environmental management procedures that conform to the guidelines of environmental regulations. A deep knowledge in the optimization of well construction, well maintenance and the operations that involve the process of abandonment of used wells are also essential to a well engineer.
The work of designing and drilling of wells must strictly conform to the accepted industry technical criteria and the regulations that govern this engineering field so that the set goals are realized in a cost reduced manner. In the execution of well design process and activities, a number of technical areas are essential. These include directional design, casing design, planning of well control, and cement design. The procedures underlining these well design processes and activities must be technically valid and correctly used in the specific well conditions. Since this job involves a hands-on kind of role, the engineer must have the capacity to evaluate and monitor the conditions of the well in close relation with his or her seniors. Towards this end, the well engineer must support his seniors in the correct formulation and supervision of HSSE system. Finally, this role involves working under conditions that are at times dangerous in nature and as such the individual must be equipped with the ability to effectively support his seniors and other officers during response to emergency situations.
Physical and mechanical properties of Diamond
Diamond has for centuries been described as the ultimate gemstone that has with it most strengths and a very limited number of weaknesses. It is a common knowledge that diamond is the hardest material in existence. Even though it is the hardest material in nature, diamond on the other hand is not impervious in that it has four directions of cleavages. This refers to one fact that a very strong strike along one of these cleavages will definitely lead to a cleave or a split. In hardness, diamond is ranked at number ten which defines its perfection in hardness and thus appears at the top of list.
The second material in nature after diamond in hardness and ranked at number nine is corundum (sapphire and ruby) and if four times weaker than diamond. This translates to the fact that diamond is still far much harder than most substances in existence with a very large range. Clarity is another important physical property of diamond in that it is very transparent over a very wide range of wavelengths that range from ultra violet and moves further to the far infrared. This means that diamond is the clearest material on earth and none, be it solid or liquid substance comes close to it. In terms of thermal conductivity, diamond is again considered as the best. It conducts heat far better than anything in existence and more surprising is the fact that the second material in nature in terms of thermal conductivity, Silver, is five times poorer than diamond.
In terms of tensile strength, it is considered to have the highest tensile strength than any other material in existence with a tensile degree of 2.8 gigapascals. However, Amethyst Galleries, (2006), illustrates that “ that does not quite translate into the strongest rope or cable, as diamond has cleavage planes which support crack propagation and thus the strongest ropes can likely be made from another material, carbon nanotubes, as they should not suffer from the effects of cracks and breaks but still, if a long, thin, perfect crystal of diamond could be manufactured, it would offer the highest possible pulling strength (in a straight line – don’t try to tie it in a knot!)” (Amethyst Galleries, 2006). In compressive strength, diamond was once considered as the material most resistant to compressive forces i.e. the material that is least compressible in nature. However, research has revealed that a rare metal referred to as Osmium has overtaken it to become the least compressible. It still must be appreciated that diamond still remains the hardest substance.
Amethyst Galleries (2006) “demonstrates this by expounding that diamond has a bulk modulus (reciprocal of compressibility) of 443 GigaPascals (GPa) and the bulk modulus of the metal osmium has recently been found to be 476 GPa, about 7% greater than diamond”. Lattice density of diamond is again the highest in that the atoms that make up its structure are very closely arranged and packed tightly together in comparison to any other substance in nature. Finally, the melting point of this unique substance is as high as 3820 in degree Kelvin. It is therefore true to add that apart from the characteristics above, diamond still has the highest melting point.
Applications of diamond bit in well engineering
The definition of well engineering illustrates that it involves the drilling of oil or gas from underground wells. This demands a material that is not only strong but also capable of withstanding very high temperatures (Amethyst Galleries, 2006). The high melting property of diamond means that it capable of withstanding very high temperatures especially in the end points of the well. Oil and gas are known to exist under very high and extreme temperatures underground. In addition to the above, the processes of drilling demands a very strong a material that can withstand both tensile and compressive forces and pressures since oil or gas wells in most instances exist in very many miles underground. The material must therefore be able to dig very deep without showing any signs of buckling. The lattice density translates to its hardness and thus gives it the ability to stay strong. The property of thermal conductivity aids in the transfer of internal heat in the well to the outer space and thus reduces the excessive accumulation of heat in the wells. This reduces the damage caused by heat on other materials thereby translating to a reduction in time and overall costs.
References
Amethyst Galleries., (2006). The mineral diamond. Amethyst Galleries.(Online). Web.
Free Dictionary., 2009. Petroleum Engineering. Online Dictionary. (online). Web.
Lawndirt., 2009. Petroleum Engineering. An Overview. (Online). Web.
Shell., 2009. Well Engineering. (Online). Web.