DRILLING TECHNIQUES

1) Straight Hole
Drilling contracts often have a clause stipulating that the well deviates no more than 3 per 100 ft (30 m) and is contained within a cone with a maximum angle of 5 (Fig. 1). This is called a straight hole. Because the bit is being turned clockwise (to the right), the wellbore tends to walk to the right in a clockwise corkscrew pattern as it goes down. When rotary drilling rigs were originally introduced, the drillers often could not drill the well straight down because of dipping beds of hard rocks such as limestone (Fig. 2). If the bit hits a subsurface rock layer with a dip greater than 45, the bit tends to be deflected down dip. If the hard rock layer dips less than 45, the bit tends to be deflected updip. A well with an excessive angle in it that has not been drilled on purpose that way is called a crooked hole. An area that has dipping rock layers that cause crooked holes is called crooked hole country. A slick bottom hole assembly that has no stabiliyers can be used to attempt 10 drill ;i straight hole.

Fig. 18 A straight hole

 2- Directional Drilling Modern rotary rigs can be controlled so that the well is drilled out at a predetermined angle during directional ox deviation drilling and ends up in a predetermined location called the target. The angle in which the well goes out from vertical is called the deviation. Two types of deviated wells are straight-in and S shaped wells (figure 3)
Fig. 2 Cause of crooked holes

 2- Directional Drilling
Starting a straight well out at an angle is called kicking off the well. If the well has been cased, a hole, called a window, is cut in the casing with a casing mill to kick off the well. The first device used to kick off a well was a whipstock (Fig. 4), a long, steel wedge designed to bend the drillstring. The whipstock is run into the well on a drillstring and oriented by survey instruments. Weight is then applied to the drillstring to break a shear pin and separate the whipstock from the drillstring that is then pulled out. A small diameter bit is then run in the hole on a drillstring to drill a pilot hole out for 10 to 15 ft (3 to 5 m). The pilot hole is then surveyed. If it has the right orientation, the hole is then enlarged with a normal bit.

(A )

Fig. 3 Deviated wells (a) straight in (b) S shaped

Fig. 4 Whipstock

2- Directional Drilling
In relatively soft sediments, a jet bit can be used to kick off the well. A jet bit is a tricone bit that has one large and two small nozzles. It is run into the well and then oriented with a surveying instrument. If the orientation is correct, mud is circulated at maximum possible flow rate without rotating the drillstring. The hydraulic action of mud jetting out of the large nozzle erodes the well out at that angle. The drillstring is then pulled and the pilot hole is surveyed. If it is orientated right, the pilot hole is then drilled out with a normal tricone bit. A modern method used to kick off a deviated well is to run a downhole assembly with a bent sub, a down-hole mud motor and a diamond bit (Fig.5)

2- Directional Drilling
A bent sub is a short section of pipe with an angle of 1/2 to 2 1/2 in it. Drilling mud flowing down the drillstring drives the turbine or downhole mud motor. The mud strikes either a spiral shaft or blades in a turbine motor to activate the motor. A diamond bit is usually used with a downhole mud motor. The assembly is lowered into the well and oriented in the right direction by survey instruments. The drillstring remains stationary as the mud motor is activated to drill a pilot

hole. The drillstring is then pulled, and the well is surveyed. If it is oriented right, the well is then drilled out with a normal bit. After the pilot hole has been drilled out, the deviated well can then be drilled out straight (maintain angle) or drilled to increase the well deviation (buildangle) or decrease the well deviation (drop angle).

Bent Sub Down hole Motor

Fig. 5 Down hole assembly used to kick off a deviated well. The angle on the bent sub is exaggerated.

2- Directional Drilling
A steerable downhole assembly (Fig. 6) is a combination of stabilizers, bent subs, downhole turbine motor, and diamond bit that can maintain, drop, or build angle. To maintain angle, the assembly is rotated similarly to normal rotary drilling in the rotating mode (Fig. 7a). To build or drop angle, the assembly is oriented in the right direction and not rotated. The downhole turbine motor is activated to drill the well out in the direction the assembly is pointing in the sliding mode (Fig. 7b) as the assembly slides along the bottom of the well-bore. The well is drilled slower in the sliding mode than in the rotating mode. Some steerable downhole assemblies have adjustable bent subs in which the angle in the bent sub can be adjusted from the surface as the assembly is in the well.

Fig. 6 Steerable downhole assembly

2- Directional Drilling
Some wells have been "accidentally" drilled to drain oil out from under adjacent leases in what is called subsurface trespass. Deviation drilling, however, is commonly done for legitimate reasons (Fig. 18-8). Drilling offshore is considerably more expensive than drilling on land. An oil field in very shallow waters can often be more economically developed by deviation drilling from the beach. Offshore drilling and production platforms are very expensive. A deep-water offshore petroleum field is best developed using a large production platform with numerous, deviated wells that radiate out to the sides.

MAINTAIN ANGLE

DROP ANGLE

Fig. 7 (a) rotating mode (b) sliding mode

2- Directional Drilling
If a well is on fire, the wild well can be brought under control by two methods. The fire is first extinguished, often by detonating an explosive on top of the well to remove oxygen. Then, a valve can be lowered and attached to the wellhead and closed. Another method is to drill a relief well at a safe distance from the wild well. The relief well does not have to intersect the wild well in the subsurface but just come close. It drills into the abnormal high pressure zone that causes the blowout, and the pressure is relieved by producing the gas. After the pressure has been reduced, heavy drilling mud (kill mud) is then pumped from the relief well through subsurface rocks and into the wild well to control it. If something breaks off or falls down the well and cannot be removed by fishing, the well can be drilled around the fish {sidetracked). A deviated well can be drilled to test several potential petroleum reservoirs rather than drill several straight holes to test each reservoir. Deviation drilling is also used to overcome a poor drilling location

Fig. 8 Deviated well uses (modified from Beebe, 1961).

2- Directional Drilling
Directional survey's that measure both angle (deviation) and compass orientation (azimuth) were originally run on deviated wells when they were first being drilled (Fig. 9). The surveys were either single (one measurement) or multi-shot. The survey instrument contained a magnetic compass or gyroscope. The magnetic instrument was run when the downhole assembly was made of non-magnetic drill collars called KMonel. The gyroscope instrument was used with magnetic drill collars or when there was magnetic iron such as casing in the area. Today a directional log is continuously made as the well is being drilled by a system called measurements-while-drilling. An extended reach well is a deviated well that has one bend in the well and bottoms out several thousand feet horizontally from its surface location (Fig. 10a). The world record for the horizontal reach on an extended reach well is more than 6 miles (10 kms).

Fig. 9 Directional survey showing depth, deviation, and location of the wellbore

2- Directional Drilling
A horizontal drain well is a deviated well that is drilled along the pay zone parallel to the reservoir (Fig. 10 b). The horizontal part of the well is called the horizontal section. A horizontal drain well contains both a geometric and geosteering section. The top {geometric section) is drilled to a preset plan as a normal straight hole. The non-vertical geosteering section uses real time logs (logging measurements-while-drilling) to show the driller where the drill bit is in relation to the top or bottom of the target formation. The driller then adjusts the steerable downhole assembly to continue drilling to and through the target.

Fig. 10 (a) extended reach well (b) horizontal drain well

2- Directional Drilling
Horizontal drain wells are described by their build angle. It is the rate of change in degrees per unit length as the well goes from vertical to horizontal such as 8/100 ft. The wells are classified as short radius, medium radius, and long radius horizontal wells, depending on how sharp the build angle is. Generally, a horizontal drain hole will ultimately produce three to five times more oil or 5 to 20 times more gas than a straight hole and produce it at higher rates. Horizontal drain wells have been most successful in drilling fractured reservoirs such as the Austin Chalk in Texas because most fractures that drain that reservoir tend to be vertical. A horizontal drain well should penetrate considerably more vertical fractures than a vertical, straight well. Horizontal drain holes are also used in low permeability (tight) formations to increase ultimate recovery from the reservoir. They are also used to prevent coning that produces excessive gas or water from above or below the oil reservoir. Horizontal drain wells are not much more expensive to drill than a comparable, vertical well but are more difficult to log and complete Laterals (Fig. 11) are short, horizontal branches drilled from a well

2- Directional Drilling
The depth of a well can be measured two ways (Fig. 12). Total(TD), measured, logged, or driller's depth is measured along the length of the well-bore. True vertical depth (TVD) is measured straight down and is less than total depth.
Fig. 11 Laterals

Air and Foam Drilling

Air drilling uses a rotary drilling rig with a skid-mounted or trailermounted compressor that circulates air instead of drilling mud (Plate -1). The rig and operations are almost exactly the same as a rotary drilling rig except without the circulating drilling mud system. Air is pumped down the drillstring and out the bit. It picks up well cuttings on the bottom of the well and returns up the annulus to blow out a blooie line'mto a pit adjacent to the rig. A rotating head is used on the top of the well to allow the kelly to rotate through it while maintaining a pressure seal around the kelly.

Fig. 12 Depth of a Well

Air and Foam Drilling

Air drilling has a faster bit penetration rate than using drilling mud and helps avoid formation damage. It, however, does not build up a filter cake along the well walls to stabilize the well. This may allow the sides to sluff in. Air drilling also cannot control formation fluids that flow into the well. Natural gas flowing into the well can cause a flammable mixture with the air.

Air and Foam Drilling

Foam drilling is similar to air drilling but uses detergents in the air to form foam that better lifts water from the well. Soap and water are mixed and injected by a small pump into the air circulating into the well. The foam also does a better job of lifting the well cuttings than air. Completing a well usually costs more money than drilling a well. Because of this, a well must be accurately tested after it has been drilled Will the well produce enough gas and/or oil to make it worthwhile to complete the well? Old pictures and movies show gushers. Those, however, were on cable tool drilling rigs and don't occur today. Well testing is now based on well logs, record of the rocks, and their fluids in the well.