THE WELL BORE

Once a drilling rig has been positioned, whether it is a land

rig or an offshore vessel, the drilling operation is ready to
commence.

When the surface formation is first penetrated by the bit,

the well is said to have been spudded.

A well is rarely drilled with a single bit run. In fact, usually

te total depth of the well is reached with bits of decreasing
diameters. Each holesection is drilled, cased and
cemented before the next one is spudded. The exact
number of hole sections planned will be dependent on
several factors:
 The main one is that different formations often need to
stay isolated from each other because they have
different pressures.
 Depth, fracture pressure and kick tolerance at the
previous casing shoe dictate length of section.
 Hole/formation problems that may be encountered
such as zones of lost circulation, unstable formations,
abnormal formation pressures, pipe sticking problems
may force to plan extra casing runs.
 Change of mud type to a system that may be
unsuitable or damaging to particular formations.

updated August 01, 2008

 BEFORE DRILLING
 Once the initial conductor hole is drilled, and a conductor pipe cemented into the
ground, it is important to maintain control on the well pressure. This is done with a valve
called BOP – Blow-Out Preventer.

 In general, the BOP stack will be installed once the casing has been set.

 In the case of jackup rigs and land rigs, the BOP’s are installed directly beneath the rig
floor.

 A flow line will then be connected to return drilling mud and cuttings to the surface
circulation system.
 THE WELL BORE

 In the case of offshore floating rigs, the BOP stack is

installed on the seabed where the casing strings
terminate.

 A marine riser, which includes a telescopic or slip

joint to allow for vertical movement of the rig due to
tidal and heave motion, will link the BOP stack to the
rig completing the closed system.

 A divertor is always installed as part of the surface

flowline system, so that, if the well can not be
controlled by the BOP’s, and returns are reaching
surface, gas can be directed safely away from the
rig.
 DRILLING AND MAKING HOLE

 The drilling operation involves lowering the drill pipe into the
hole and applying sufficient weight for the drill bit to break
down the formation.

 During drilling, the drill string is rotated by a rotary table or

top drive while drilling fluid is circulated down the pipe,
through the bit and back up the hole to the surface carrying
drilled cuttings.
 WELL BALANCE

The hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid

column exerted against the borehole wall
helps prevent:

 caving of formation into the hole.

 kicks.

 blowouts.

If the hydrostatic pressure is equal to the

formation fluid pressure, the well is at
balance.
 OVERBALANCE

An overbalance exists when the mud

hydrostatic is greater than the formation
pressure.

In permeable formations, an overbalance

can result in invasion of the formation.

In very permeable formations or when the

overbalance is excessive, flushing can
occur ahead of the bit before the formation
is drilled.
 UNDERBALANCE

Underbalance occurs when the hydrostatic pressure is

lower than the formation pressure.

This may allow an influx, or flow, of formation fluids into

the wellbore which may, in turn, result in a kick.

This influx will be large, or more rapid, where there is

good permeability and/or high formation pressure.

Where formations are impermeable, the formation fluid

is unable to flow freely, which will result in the fracturing
and caving of the formation, leading to:

1. increase of formation fluid entering the drilling mud

2. loading of the annulus with cuttings,
3. squeezing of the hole
4. difficult cuttings analysis
 DRILLING AND MAKING HOLE

As drilling progresses, joints (or stands when

using a top drive unit) of drillpipe have to be
continually added to the top of the drillstring, by
making a connection.

Circulation is temporarily stopped and the drill

string set within slips held in the rotary table, to
expose the top pipe joint.

Tongs are used to unscrew the kelly from the

drill string, a new pipe joint is connected to the
kelly, and then the kelly and new pipe are
connected to the drill string using a pipe spinner
and tongs.

Once these connections have been made, the

drill string is lowered back into the hole and
drilling resumes.

When the bit wears out, it must be replaced by

tripping the entire drill string out of the hole.
 DRILLING AND MAKING HOLE

Pipe Tally

To ensure that the depth is being

accurately monitored, it is important to
record the pipe length before it is run into
the hole (pipe tally), and regularly check
this length with the recorded depth at
kelly down intervals (i.e., the point at
which the kelly has been drilled down to
its fullest extent).

Each length of pipe will be measured, to

an accuracy of 2 decimal places, before it
is added to the string and run into the
hole. These lengths are recorded by the
driller, in a pipe tally book, and a
cumulative total maintained.

The mud logger should keep an

independent record of the pipe lengths
and total, so that pipe tallies can be
cross-checked to avoid errors.
 DRILLING AND MAKING HOLE

Drill Breaks and Flow Checks

A drilling break is a sudden increase in the drill bit's rate of

penetration. This may result simply from a formation change, but
sometimes indicates that the bit has penetrated a high-pressure
zone and thus warns of the possibility of a kick.

A flow check is a method of determining whether a kick has

occurred. The mud pumps are stopped for a short period to see
whether mud continues to flow out of the hole. If it does, a kick
may be occurring, with the formation fluids entering the wellbore
and displacing mud from the annulus at the surface.
 DRILLING AND MAKING HOLE

Reaming
Reaming is performed to open an under-gauge hole to its
original full-gauge size. Reaming may be required as a result of
under-gauge drilling in abrasive formations or excessive wear on
drilling bits. Reaming is also performed to:

 open surface pilot holes,

 open ratholes left after coring and
 remove doglegs and ledges
 prevent an under-gauge hole from pinching a new bit.

A reamer is the tool used to smooth the wall of a well, enlarge

the hole to full-gauge size, help stabilize the bit, straighten the
wellbore if kinks or doglegs are encountered, and drill
directionally.
 DRILLING AND MAKING HOLE

Circulating

Circulating is the process of pumping drilling fluid out of the

mud pits, down the drill string, up the annulus and back to the
mud pits, and is a continual process while drilling.

The most common circulating operations are performed for the

following purposes:

 to circulate out drilling breaks

 to circulate out samples that correspond to drilling changes
 prior to running casing and cementing, to condition the mud,
ensure the hole is clean and to remove filter cake.
 prior to running wireline tools, to ensure that the hole is
clean and the tools won't become stuck.
 CORING

Coring is an operation performed to cut and retrieve a cylindrical

rock sample, or core, from a potentially productive formation of
interest for laboratory analysis.
Through coring, it is possible to recover an intact core sample
that retains more formation properties and fluids than drilled
cuttings.
Coring provides valuable information for determining:
 porosity,
 permeability,
 lithology,
 fluid content,
 angle of dip,
 geological age
 hydrocarbon-producing potential.
 CORING

Coring Methods
Conventional coring is performed in much the same way as
drilling, but more carefully and slowly. The drill string must then
be tripped out of the hole in order to recover the core.
Conventional core samples usually range from 2-5 inches (50-
125 mm) in diameter and from 30, 60 or 90 feet (10, 20 or 30
meters) in length.
Sidewall coring is a technique by which, core samples are
obtained from the wellbore wall in a formation that has already
been drilled but not yet cased. Sidewall core samples usually
range from ¾-1¼ inches (20-30 mm) in diameter and from ¾-4
inches (20 to 100 mm) in length. Because samples may be
contaminated with filtrate, sidewall coring is not as effective as
conventional coring for determining porosity, permeability or
fluid saturation.
 CORING

Core Barrel Assembly

The core barrel is a tubular device installed
at the bottom of the drill string. The
conventional core barrel actually has two
barrels.
A non-rotating, thinwalled, inner core barrel
captures and holds the core after it travels
through the core bit. A heavy, thickwalled,
outer core barrel protects the inner barrel
and takes the place of the bottom-most drill
collar.
Unlike a drill bit, the core bit does not drill
out the center portion of the hole. Instead, it
allows the center portion (i.e., the core) to
pass through a round opening in the center
of the bit and into the core barrel.
 CORING

Retrieval and Handling Operations

 When a sufficient amount of core has been cut, the core

barrel is lifted, causing the rock to break off and leaving the
core trapped inside the inner core barrel.

 In conventional core recovery, when the core barrel arrives at

the surface, it is usually hung in the derrick and specially
designed tongs are used to grip the core for recovery in
sections.

 Once the core has been completely removed from the barrel,
it is measured wiped clean (not washed) to remove drilling
fluid, then rapidly sealed in foil and wax and placed in boxes
for shipping to the laboratory.
 AFTER DRILLING A HOLE SECTION
At the end of a hole section, before drilling can go any
further the hole must be sealed off to provide a closed
system.

A wide diameter pipe, called casing , thus, will be run

into and down to the bottom of the drilled hole.

A cement mixture will then be pumped into the casing

and forcibly displaced so that it fills the space between
the casing and the formation.

Once this cement has set, the well is ‘sealed’ so that

when drilling recommences:

 the drilling fluid as well as any formation fluid

will be safely returned to the surface via the inside
of the casing.

 casing will prevent any collapse of the surface

sediments, which may typically be weak and
unconsolidated, providing a firm foundation and a
firm anchor on which to position the blowout
preventers.