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3.1.1 Introduction
The term drilling indicates the whole complex of
operations necessary to construct wells of circular
section applying excavation techniques not requiring
direct access by man. To drill a well it is necessary to
carry out simultaneously the following actions: a) to
overcome the resistance of the rock, crushing it into
small particles measuring just a few mm; b) to remove
the rock particles, while still acting on fresh material;
c) to maintain the stability of the walls of the hole; d)
to prevent the fluids contained in the drilled
formations from entering the well. This can be
achieved by various drilling techniques. In this chapter
rotary drilling rigs will be examined. These are, in
practice, the only ones operating today in the field of
hydrocarbons exploration and production. The drilling
rigs used on land are complexes of mobile equipment
which can be moved in reasonably short times from
one drill site to another, drilling a series of wells. In
particular, the typical rotary rig for drilling onshore
medium to deep wells, indicatively more than 3,000
metres, will be described below. Rigs for shallower
depths use analogous but somewhat simpler
techniques because of the smaller stresses to which the
rig is subject. See Chapter 3.4 for offshore drilling.
In rotary drilling the rock is bored using a cutting
tool called the bit, which is rotated and simultaneously
forced against the rock at the bottom of the hole by a
drill string consisting of hollow steel pipes of circular
section screwed together. The cuttings produced by the
bit are transported up to the surface by a drilling fluid,
usually a liquid (mud or water), or else a gas or foam,
circulated in the pipes down to the bit and thence to
the surface. The rotation is transmitted to the bit from
the surface by a device called the rotary table (or by a
particular drive head), or by downhole motors located
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27 degasser
28 reserve pit
29 mud pits
30 desander
31 desilter
32 mud pumps
33 mud discharge lines
34 bulk mud components storage
35 mud house
36 water tank
37 fuel storage
38 engines and generators
39 drilling line
14 weight indicator
15 driller's console
16 doghouse
17 rotary hose
18 accumulator unit
19 catwalk
20 pipe ramp
21 pipe rack
22 substructure
23 mud return line
24 shale shaker
25 choke manifold
26 mud gas separator
1 crown block
2 mast
3 monkey board
4 traveling block
5 hook
6 swivel
7 elevators
8 kelly
9 kelly bushing
10 master bushing
11 mousehole
12 rathole
13 drawworks
2
39
36
37
34
4
35
38
28
31
29
32
32
27
26
24
17
29
33
30
23
33
13
9
15
16
25
10
11
14
21
12
18
20
22
19
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drilling rig.
drilling rig.
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crown block
fastline
drawworks
drilling line
travelling block
hook
deadline
drawworks
drum
drum brake
deadline anchor
supply reel
crown block
drilling
line
derrick
travelling block
B
drawworks (hoist)
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electric
motor
electric
motor
output shaft
sand reel clutch
chain
and sprocket
drive
sand reel
drum shaft
hoisting drum
driller
console
high drum
clutch
auxiliary
brake
309
hook
swivel
rotary hose
master bushing
swivel coupling
rotary table
master bushing
rotary table
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slips
rotary table
master
bushing
311
rotary hose
mud house
kelly
standpipe
mud return line
shale shaker
shale slide
drill pipe
annulus
drill collar
borehole
mud pump
bit
suction line
shaker tank
dump
valves
suction tank
reserve tank
mud mixing
hopper
centrifugal
mixing pump
chemical tank
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generator 1
diesel
engine
314
electric generator
control cabinet
electric motor
mud
pump
heavy load
generator 2
rotary table
control driller's
panel
lightest load
drawworks
in an AC-DC plant.
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swivel
tool joint
box member
drill pipe
swivel stem
swivel sub
tool joint
pin member
crossover sub
kelly cock
upper upset
drill collar
kelly
lower upset
bit sub
protector rubber
bit
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pin
box
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Accessory equipment
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flow
rotation
stator
flow
rotor
rotation
3.1.8 Bits
The bit is connected on to the end of the drill string. The
bit is the tool that bores the rock, transforming it into
fragments called cuttings, which are then transported to
the surface by the drilling fluid. The choice of the type
of bit depends on the hardness, abrasiveness and
drillability of the rock formation. There are three basic
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A
A
BB
C
C
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cone
thrust
bearing
roller
bearing
seal
lubrication
hole
lubricant
reservoir
pressure
equalizer
main
bearing
nozzle retaining
system
API pin
connection
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(Hughes Christensen).
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shoulder
nose
cone
face cutter
interchangeable
nozzle
gauge cutter
gauge pad
gauge insert
back reaming
cutter
breaker slot
shank
weld
groove
make up face
shank bore
API pin connection
diamond table
tungsten carbide
substrate
PDC bits
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TSP bits
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conductor
casing
surface
casing
intermediate
casing
3.1.9 Casing
Drilling a well modifies the mechanical and hydraulic
equilibrium of the rocks around the borehole.
Periodically this equilibrium has to be restored, by
inserting a well casing. Casing is a steel tube that
starts from the surface and goes down to the bottom of
the hole, and is rigidly connected to the rocky
formation using cement slurry, which also guarantees
hydraulic insulation. The casing transforms the well
into a stable, permanent structure able to contain the
tools for producing fluids from underground
reservoirs. It supports the walls of the hole and
prevents the migration of fluids from layers at high
pressure to ones at low pressure. Furthermore, the
casing enables circulation losses to be eliminated,
protects the hole against damage caused by impacts
and friction of the drill string, acts as an anchorage for
the safety equipment (BOPs, Blow Out Preventers, see
below) and, in the case of a production well, also for
the Christmas tree. At the end of drilling operations, a
well consists of a series of concentric pipes of
decreasing diameter, each of which reaches a greater
depth than the preceding one (Fig. 25). The casing is a
seamless steel tube with male threading at both ends,
joined by threaded sleeve joints. The dimensions of the
tubes, types of thread and joints are standardized (API
standards). Special direct-coupling casings, without a
sleeve joint, also exist. The functions and names of the
various casings vary according to the depth. Starting
from the uppermost and largest casing, first comes the
conductor pipe, then the surface casing and the
intermediate casing, and finally the production casing.
As stated, the first casing is called the conductor
pipe, and is driven by percussion to a depth normally
of 30 to 50 m. It permits the circulation of the mud
during the first drilling phase, protecting the surface
unconsolidated formations against erosion due to the
production
casing
reservoir
cement
casing
shoe
Fig. 25. Well casing.
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intermediate
casing
production
liner
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3.1.10 Cementing
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cementing
head
displacement
fluid
displacement
fluid
top plug
cement
slurry
bottom plug
drilling
fluid
float collar
cement
centralizer
guide shoe
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Double-stage cementing
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surface equipment
removes cuttings
wellbore
drill string
drilling mud
drill collars
bit
fluid circuit.
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tubing
hanger
rubber seal
packing
casing
slips
intermediate
spool
rubber seal
packing
casing
head
330
Christmas
tree
tubing
head
casing
head
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remote
control
panel
annular
preventer
ram
preventers
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opening chamber
sealing
element
piston
closing chamber
lower housing
drill pipe
A
Fig. 32. Annular BOP: A, the sealing element seals the annulus between the kelly,
the drill pipes or the drill collars;
B, with no pipe in the hole, the sealing element closes on the open hole.
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grapple
releasing
spear
fish
overshot
fish
fish
released
set
B
A, overshot;
B, releasing spear.
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Bibliography
Bourgoyne A.T. Jr. et al. (1986) Applied drilling engineering,
Richardson (TX), Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Bradley H.B. (1992) Petroleum engineering handbook,
Richardson (TX), Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Chambre syndicale de la recherche et de la production
du ptrole et du gaz naturel, Comit des Techniciens, Commission exploitation, Sous-commission
forage (1981) Blowout prevention and well control, Paris,
Technip.
Chilingarian G.V., Vorabutr P. (1981) Drilling and drilling
fluids, Amsterdam, Elsevier.
336
Paolo Macini
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica,
Mineraria e delle Tecnologie Ambientali
Universit degli Studi di Bologna
Bologna, Italy
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