Drill Stem Test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 1 of 2

Drill Stem Test

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In oil and natural gas extraction, the drill stem includes the drill pipe, drill collars, bottomhole assembly,
and drill bit. A drill stem test (DST) is a procedure for testing the surrounding geological formation
through the drill pipe.

Working in El Dorado, Arkansas, in the late 1920s, E.C. Johnston and his brother M.O. Johnston
developed the first drillstem tester in 1927 and subsequently refined it in the early 1930s. The test is a
measurement of pressure behavior at the drill stem and is a valuable way for an engineer to obtain
important sampling information on the formation fluid and to establish the probability of commercial
production.

In the 1950s, Schlumberger Co. introduced a more advanced method for testing formations. The
Schlumberger formation- testing tool, placed in operation in 1953, fires a shaped charge through a
rubber pad that has been expanded in the hole until it is securely fixed in the hole at the depth required.
Formation fluids flow through the perforation and connecting tubing into a container housed inside the
tool. When filled, the container is closed, sealing the fluid sample at the formation pressure. The tool
then is brought to the surface, where the sample can be examined. The information obtained by this
method is often better than results obtained from drillstem testing.

During normal drilling, fluid is pumped through the drill stem and out the drill bit. Instead, in a drill
stem test, fluid from the formation is recovered through the drill stem, while several measurements of
pressure are being made.[1]

The basic drill stem test tool consists of a packer or packers, valves or ports that may be opened and
closed from the surface, and two or more pressure-recording devices. (A packer is an expanding plug
which can be used to seal off sections of the open well, here to isolate them for testing.[2]) The tool is
lowered on the drill pipe to the zone to be tested. The packer or packers are set to isolate the zone from
the drilling fluid column, and testing measurement begins.

See also
■ Oil well
■ Drilling rig

External links
■ A good DST definition (http://www.northstardst.com/our_services/drillstem_testing.html)
provided by Northstar Drillstem Testers

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Drill Stem Test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 2 of 2

Notes
1. ^ Society of Petrophysicists & Well Log Analysts glossary, accessed on 12 September 2006 at
http://www.spwla.org/library_info/glossary/reference/glossd/glossd.htm
2. ^ Society of Petrophysicists & Well Log Analysts glossary, accessed on 12 September 2006 at
http://www.spwla.org/library_info/glossary/reference/glossp/glossp.htm
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■ This page was last modified on 13 July 2009 at 01:15.

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