Faster Rate of Penetration in Hard Chalk:

Proving a New Hypothesis for Drilling Dynamics

L arge areas of the North Sea contain

Cretaceous sediments, which
form a massive hard layer of chalk
a basic strategy was formulated by the
team leader: Drill with a high point load,
and preserve a defined bottomhole cut-
that historically has presented a major ting pattern. The strategy was built on
drilling risk and expense to operators the hypothesis that the drill-bit cutters
in the area. To mitigate such problems, are not the primary source of stick/slip
a Norwegian operator gathered an vibrations in hard chalk.
integrated team to thoroughly analyze
drilling records and lessons learned Key Considerations
from previous offset wells and to Eliminating Vibrations. Consistent with
re-engineer the drilling process. the hypothesis, it was assumed that the
The positive results of this effort primary source of vibrations was bore-
are described in the paper. hole friction. Three main contributors to
friction were identified:
Introduction ◗ Interaction between the stabilizers
In 2011, an operator initiated prepara- and the borehole wall
tions for drilling a series of deep, high- ◗ Pinching of stabilizers in
pressure/high-temperature exploration “microdoglegs” or ledges from
wells in the Norwegian part of the cen- lateral bit walk
tral North Sea. Given the depth of the ◗ Friction on other parts of the
exploration objectives, the first three drillstring and the bit at high weight
wells in the program had to penetrate a on bit (WOB)
massive body of hard Cretaceous chalk Consequently, the replacement of in-
belonging to the Shetland geological line stabilizers with roller reamers was
group. Acknowledging the challenge prioritized. The use of a modern rotary-
and the fact that a discovery would lead steerable system (RSS), which claims to
to the drilling of successive wells though improve wellbore quality and the preser-
the same troublesome interval, an inte- vation of a well-defined cutting pattern,
grated team representing both the oper- was deemed adequate for minimizing the Fig. 1—Illustration showing the
ator and technologists from the key sup- risk of the hole-pinching effects. To re- perceived challenge to the left with
pliers was assembled. Individuals from duce friction from the drill-bit wear-flat the proposed solution requiring less
this same group are the authors of this and other parts of the bottomhole as- WOB to the right.
paper. The team’s task was to produce sembly (BHA), the drill-bit specialists on
and execute a strategy that made it pos- the team presented a design with a more- ◗ Overload when breaking through
sible to drill the entire 12¼-in.-hole sec- aggressive cutter projection. contrasting interbedded layers
tion, including the hard chalk, in one of rock
bit run. Preventing Cutter Damage. Two main ◗ Backspin
In order to accomplish the goal of com- sources of potential cutter damage were On the basis of the risk from contrast-
pleting the entire section in one bit run, identified: ing layers, a new dynamic depth-of-cut-
control technology was considered.
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
Power Reserve for Continuous Cut.
of paper SPE 173068, “Faster ROP in Hard Chalk: Proving a New Hypothesis for
The overall strategy was dependent on a
Drilling Dynamics,” by Eirik Akutsu, SPE, and Mads Rødsjø, SPE, Det Norske; John surplus level of rotary power. The team
Gjertsen and Mats Andersen, SPE, NOV; Nils Reimers, SPE, and Morten Granhøy- found the required increase in power
Lieng, SPE, Tomax; and Ellen Strøm, SPE, and Kjell Arvid Horvei, SPE, Halliburton, from two sources:
prepared for the 2015 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, London, 17–19 ◗ Reduced loss through friction and
March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. vibrations

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • FEBRUARY 2016 59

 ◗ Addition of a high-output mud
motor [positive-displacement motor
(PDM)] near the bit
Fig. 1 illustrates the perceived chal-
lenge and the emerging BHA solution.
The effort relied on the bit being capable
of handling significant levels of energy
without initiating stick/slip effects. To
reduce the risk from stick/slip induced
through friction, the standard stabiliz-
ers are replaced by roller reamers and
the drill bit requires less WOB to be effec-
tive. A modern, powerful PDM is includ-
ed on top of the RSS, and the risk of cut-
ter damage is mitigated by an antistick/
slip tool (AST).
A Different Approach
to Bit Selection
A more-aggressive polycrystalline-
diamond-compact (PDC) -bit design was
chosen to improve both drilling efficien-
cy and durability. Historically, more-
heavy-set PDC-bit designs have been
selected when expecting harder forma-
tions, increased levels of vibration, and
severely worn PDC-bit cutting struc-
tures. However, use of a heavy-set bit
with high WOB requirements often in-
creases the compression load on the BHA
and consequential side forces, leading
to friction-induced stick/slip. Therefore,
more-aggressive, lighter-set PDC-bit de-
signs to provide increased point loading
were selected to minimize the require-
ment for high WOB, hence reducing the
risk of generating torsional vibrations.
Directional-Steering Capability
Steering was needed in the chalk section.
Although use of a bent-housing motor
would provide such capabilities, steer-
able motors would be less effective and
also would leave a less-favorable hole
quality compared with an RSS. The pre-
ferred RSS solution was based on point-
ing the bit in the desired direction. The
tool uses a driveshaft that is mounted
with bearings at each end. The drive-
shaft is then deflected midway between
the bearings by a pair of eccentric rings
through which the shaft passes. By rotat-
ing the rings, the shaft can be deflected
to any desired tool-face setting, from 0
to 100% deflection. The deflection of the
shaft results in an angle change of the bit
itself relative to the RSS housing, to force
the bit angle.
60
Dynamic Depth of Cut
A new dynamic depth-of-cut, vibration-
mitigation technology was available that
allows for the use of aggressive cutting
structures in difficult formations. The
AST has a simple mechanical function.
The tool is made up on top of the BHA
and balances the WOB applied from sur-
face against the reactive torque from the
bit. Any abrupt change in torque, such
as a torque spike from the cutters hang-
ing up in the exit of a hard stringer, will
cause a telescopic contraction of the unit
produced through an internal helix. This
contraction instantaneously reduces the
weight on the cutters. The contraction
continues until the weight (i.e., depth of
cut) is reduced enough so that rotation
can continue; as it does so, an internal
spring will reapply the initial weight. If
the torque builds up again, the tool will
repeat the process and needs no reset.
Drilling Results
The library of reference data for rate of
penetration (ROP) and time to drill the
Shetland chalk showed a spread of 14
to 30 days. When considering the wells
drilled in the last 5 to 6 years, the aver-
age number for the sections, including
the Shetland group, is 20 days count-
ing four bit trips. Typical budget figures
used for new wells covering the same in-
terval by experienced well planners esti-
mated 16 days, including three bit trips
with the latter figures representing an
optimistic projection.
First BHA Run (Well A). On bottom,
the drilling of the 12¼-in. section com-
menced at fast rates through the initial
shale layers until entering the Shetland
group. Through the Shetland group, the
penetration rates continued at steady,
fast speed. The team leader approved
that the driller offshore be as aggressive
as prudently possible with the drilling
parameters for maximum speed in order
to establish the boundaries for the sys-
tem. As the ROP increased, the vibrations
transmitted from the measurement-
while-drilling tool remained in the safe
range. The torsional-shock data from the
RSS y-axis accelerometer from this first
run confirmed no stick/slip.
Bit-Wear Analysis. In the process of es-
tablishing maximum loading, the AST
system was compressed outside of its
functional envelope. As the bit was about
to exit a stringer below the Shetland
group, a torque spike snapped the PDM’s
titanium driveshaft. The BHA was pulled
for motor replacement. On the basis of
this experience, the next well in the cam-
paign (Well B) had parameters adapt-
ed to the established limitations and
the 12¼-in. section was drilled to total
depth in one run—including the Shet-
land group. The section took approxi-
mately 8 days to drill—approximately
half the typical budget figure and almost
2 weeks less than the average from re-
cent years.
New Advances in Well C. A different
make of drill bit was selected for Well C.
The bit was even more aggressive and
based on a different design than the first
two. Also, a new-design 8¼-in.-outer-
diameter AST was included. This AST
had an extended operational range com-
pared with the AST used on the previ-
ous two wells. With these changes, the
12¼-in. section was again completed in
one run. Some intervals with a caution
level of risk were seen as the ROP was
taken up as high as 25 m/h in the hard
chalk. The section was drilled in 4 days,
and the bit again had little wear.
Reliable Solution
for Drilling Hard Strata
The results confirmed that the BHA im-
provements and the choice of an aggres-
sive bit made it realistic to drill the prob-
lematic strata in one fast run in all three
wells. The distance between the wells
was significant, and the hard chalk came
in at different true vertical depths. These
observations strongly point to the total
BHA design and the bit as the key con-
tributors to the success in all three wells.
When comparing the wells with the av-
erage from the offset wells, savings in
the range of 12 days could be concluded.
With an average budget allocation of be-
tween 60 and 80 days per well, the sav-
ings from the work would reduce the
overall well cost by 15–20%. Considering
the work was performed from a sixth-
generation rig, the cash savings were sig-
nificant. After the study was completed,
a fourth well was drilled on the basis of
the same work. The 12¼-in. section was
again drilled in one run. JPT
JPT • FEBRUARY 2016