Suer,Canal Universitlt

Facultyof Petroletm & Mining Eng.

PetroleumEngineeringD ept.

HonrzoNTALOnWprr
DTIuNG TBcmxoLoGY

Dr. Mohamed ShehataFarahat

(2000)

Suen Canal University

Faculty of Petroleum & Mining Eng.
Petroleurn Engineering Dept.

HOruZONTTAL
On WpLL
DTLLII{G TpcHNoLoGY

Dr. Mohamed ShehataFarahat

(2000)

CoNrsNrs
SELECTIoNANDREAsoNs FoRDRILLING
HORIZONTAL WELLST AND DRATNHOLES
l.l Seleclion of horizontal wells and drainholes

Page #
I

1.2 Reasonsfor Drilling Horizontal Well and Drainholes

1.3 Main Aoolications of Hoizontal llells and Drainholes

1,3.1 Thin Formatious
1.3.2. Verticsl Natumlly Fractured Fornrations
1,3.3Lotv PermeabilityFormations
1.3.4Heterogeneous
Reservobor Formstions
1.3.5Applicttion in Resemoitsrriflt Botton Water or
with o GasCap
1,3.6 Advantages of Horizontal lVells in Offshore
Applications
1.3.7HeavyOil Applications
1.3.8SandProduction

3
5
5
o
o
8
9
9

Typns oF HoRTzoNTALWELLS AND

DrproRnnt Dnrr,r,rNcTncnNrquns

Usno
2.1 Utru-shott Turnins Radius
2.1.1 SystemProcessesa,td Equipmentfor Multiplc

ll

t2

Radisk

2.2Short Tarnins Radius

22

2.3 Medium-TurningRadias

27

t-

Prye#
2.i.1 Dil!fins rttt Mulinn-Rutlius Dtilling
2.3.2 Metliunt-Rsdius Dri!!iug MoJorsan{ SlsteuLs2.3,3 HigbMedium and Lott-SoeedDrilling
2.3.4 Medium-Radius-Horizotrtttl lltell Sections
2.3,4.I VerticalSection
2.3.4.2CurvedSectiau
2.3.4,2HorizoutslSection
2.4 Lottg-RadiusHorizontgl lyell
2.4,1VerticalSection
2.4.2 Cumed(Turning) Section
2.4.3H orizoutalSection

2A
30
34
34
35
36
39
4l
43
43

43

WnLl,s
or lloRrzoNTAL
Pt,nNNtNc

AND DRAINHOI,ES G NOUNTRY

j. Geontetrvof Horizontsl WelI or Drainhole
3.1 lf ell Diameter

3'2VplLltpllle
3.2.1Fktt wells
3.2.2 I) ntlulatiug wells
3.2,j Llpt'ardinclineduells
3.2.4Dou,nwardittclinedwells
3.2.5Multilet el t'ells
3.2.6Multi brtuch
3.2.7 Grsvit! drsinage wells
3.2.8Complexwell shryes
3.3 D esistlEqip ntal-lysll f&i949!!

I
I

46
46
47
47
47
48
48
48
48
48
48

48

t
Page #

Dmrlrxcl PRosr-svsAssocnrso wttH

HoRtzoNteL
WBU- DzuLLINGaNo THBTRREMEDY
4.1 DeliNery Weisht to the Bit

54

4.2ReducingTorqueandDrsg Forces

57

a3 Epls_ekutus ale ftliag;4e

58

4.4 Protectian of lyater SensiliveShales

s9

4.5 Direclional Control

4,5.I Classifrcationof hotto,n4.5.2Measurfugit'.slrune ls
4,5,2,1Steeringtool
4.5,2,2 M essurcntent-whiletuillittg (Mll/D)
4.5.2.3Geosteering,Equipnrcnt and Irrstrume tfltiort

60

DRILLSTRING DESIGN

6l
6l
62
62
68

72

HonrzoNrat, WELLConrplnrroN

TncnNreuns
6.1 Comoletion Technolosict :fu-U!X4:[!!!41-LglL!s
H orizontal Radial Borelrcle

89

6.2 Conpletion Oltion for Short-Rtttlius, Mediam-Radius,

ond l-ong-Radiusof Horizotrtslly'elkDraiflholg;6.2,1Openhole cotn elion

94

|ll

II

95

Ij
i

6.2.2 Tail completionand slottedliner completiott

Poge #
95

AppucarIoNoF COILEDTueINc TN
HoRIZoNTALDRILLING
AND MULTI-LATERAT,CASB STUOII]SAND

HlsroRms
7.1Coiled Tubins Drilli,tg

t00

7.2 M&LUels I Ci?,ts]J:t

lldtet
7,2.1Case1
7.2.2Case2
7.2.3Case3
7.2,4Csse4

t02
103
t05
t07
109

7.3Multilatersl CaseHistot! Case1

lll

RunnnpNcns

lv

lt

I l-l

Cn. I

llotizort\t lre s Dtiuhry |

Cu,rprnnI

SELECTIONAND REASONSFOR
DRILLING TIORIZONTALWELLS.
AND DRAINHOLES

1.1 Selectiono-fhorizofial u,ellsarul drainltoles:

llorizontal wells are ofgrcat intelestto thc petrolcutnindttstrytodaybecattsc
they proviclcan attractivcnrcansfor improving both plodtrctionratc and
'l'hese
are due to that horizontalwellsprovide a latger
rccovery efficiency.
area of contactwitll tlrclcscrvoifthando vcttical;wclls ancl,irl addition,thcy
provide a means for the latetal tlansPodationof fltlid. Thus,the horizorrtal
drilledto revitalrze
wells can be drilledasnew u,ellsor ho zontalsidctracks,
ttrc pcrformanceof exiting verticalwclls thatarecallcddrainholesl llc past
Dcvelopments
in drilling technology.
fcw years havcseengreatimprovement
suclr as tlre use of bent,downholedrillingrnotors,top driveligs, andMWD
tcchnique,
(measurcment
whilc dLilling)or advanccdN4WDcallcdgcoslecring
togcther with stccrable drill systcms have grcatly rcduced costs. Recent
horizontalwclls havc costno morapcr lnctctofrvcll tltillcd lhltnconlpatablc
conventional wells. Thus, great advanceshave also bcen in nlcthodslor
drainholesftom crislingvel1icalwcl1s.
drilJingshort-radius
The construction and placing ofhorizontal wells hasbecomerautine Usually
it is no longer speculativeas to whether horizontal rvellscan be drilled- Tn
but
most casesno|, the choicc is not whethcr one can dlill horizontally,
whethclon should.

l),-.M.S. Farrhat

CIl- I

IIo

urtutl lrt

s D'lllinA

Grcat advancosin the technologyof drilling and locatinghorizontalwells

continue to be made. Today much attentionis being paid to thc problemsof
re-entering existing vertical wells using smaller diameter,mcdium-radiusand
short-radius equipment. These improvements will allow a much larger
proportion of existing conventional wells to have their live extendedby recompletionwith long,hofizontaldrianholcs.
1 hc provisionof M WD toolsthat
will opemte in smaller diameterholes is a particularly active area.Thorc arc
developmcnt, too, in logging tools. Tools arc now availablethat can be
opcrated while drilling to providc irlfornratiotrabout lhc rcscrvoirbeing
encountored.
Locating the logging sensorscloser to the drill bit to allow a
nore timely evaluation of the bit positionand o f the rock bcingpenctrated
is
anotherareaof active dcvclopment.
Thus, drilling a horizortal well to exploit a reservoirusually involvesseveral
Thcsequestions
importantquestions.
areas lollows:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5,

Whcrcshouldthewell be located?
lr whatdirection
shouldthc wellbc drillcd?
Whcrcshouldthckick-offpoint(KOI')to horizontllbc?
IIow longshouldthehorizontal
section
be?
ls it neccssary
to stirnulatc
thcwcll?

The answerof these questionsrequiregatheringinformationaboutthe

reservoitandtheconditions
existingin thcarca.I[o[izontalwellshouldnotbe
drilled in all cases,catefulstudyof tcchnicnlfeasibilityand economical
potcntialof holizontaldrilling is neededbeforcits application.
For these
lcasors,accuratc
resewoirard adjustrvclldatashouldbc collected.
Therefore, the horizontal wells are corsideredfeasibleprimarily in the
followingareas:
l. Thin permeable
formation.
2. Verticalnaturally-fractured
formation.
3. Low permeabilityfomation.
with sandproduction.
4. Formation
5. Fomationwith waterconing.
with gasconing.
6.FoImation
D,: Nl.S.Frrahrt

AL I

ottzo,tk lllrtts Drtltl t! 3

7.Offshoreapplications.
8 .t l c a v yo i l a p p l i c a t i o n s .
9.Fonnationaccessblowouts.

1.2 Reasonsfor Drillitts Horizontal Well and Drsinlrcles

'l hclc arc scvcmltcnsorrs
lo tllill a lrolizorrlul
wcll nrllrcrtlriura vctlicalwcll.
'l'hcscrcasons
are:
l. Increasing
oil productivity.
2. Connecting
velticalnaturallyfractures.
fromlow-permeability
3. Producing
reser.roits.
4. Stayingawayfi-omoil-gasandoil-watercontacts.
5. Injectingstream(thcrrraloil rccovery).
6. Controlling
sandproduction.
7. I'r'oducing
thinhydrocarbons
reservoirs.
8. lncreasing
injcclivity.
gasliorncoalscanlsandprovingbcttcrswccpcfficicncy.
9. l'roducing
(ROl).
l0.lncreasing
theretumon theinvestment
Sornctimes,the cost of a drilling a horizontalwell is more thanthatofa
v c r t i c a lw c l l a n d c o m p l e t i o rcro s t sa r c u s u a l l yh i g h c r ' l.l o w c v c r , n t o l c o i l
'[hus,
would be ultiuratclyrccoveredby thc horizontalwcll.
horizontalwcll is
justifiedin view ol'quickerreturnon well investment.

1,3 Mgitr A

licntionsof Hori ntal ,Y'ellsa,td Drainltoles

Horizontal wells and drainholecan be mainly applied for the following

circumstance
or pay zollcs(reservoir-s)
chalactcristics,
namcly:
l. Thin permeablefornrations.
2. Verlicalnaturallyfracturedlonnations.
3. Low pelmeabilityl'ornrations.
4. Formzrtion
with sandproductionandconingproblems.

Iha izintal

llitlk

Dj iIIi

1.3.1Thin Formstions
When consideriirg
thjn fonnationfor homogeneous
fcrnration,it shoulclavoid
dtilling a horizontalwell into this fonrationthickcrthan200 ft. however,tlris
maximum pay zone thjcloress does not hold tnrc for formatiolls with
helerogeteous fonnation or fotmaljon with verlical naturally fractures, as
shownin Figure1.1andFig. 1.2.

Thlrr produclilg zonos

W a l e rc o n l n gp r o b l e m s

c a s c o n l n g . p r o b l e m' s

O t h e ra p p l l c a ( i o nfsl e
: a v yc r u d e c, o n l s c a m s ,
f o r m a l i o an c c e s sb, l o w o u t s .
Fig. 1.1 A4oinapplicotiottsofhorizottttl trll,r.

INTERSECTION
OF VERTICALFRACTURS
BY I.JORIZONTAL
WELL

Fig. 1.2.
, / . M . S .F r rx h r i

C .I

llorizofttdl

lYc4s Dtiqi!ry

'lhus,

the productivityindex (PI) for a lroriT-ontal

rveilreflectsthe increases
'l'ypically,
arca ofcontact ofthc well with the reservoir.
the Pl for a horizontal
well maybe increased
by a factorof4 comparedto a verticalwell pcnctrating
the same reseloir, although enhancementby a factor of l0 or more may be
aclrievable
in certaincircunrstance,
asshownin Figure1.2.

1.3.2. Vet'tic

Natt,trallv Fr'flct.rred Forut

ions

A horizontal well provide a means of communicatingwith natural vertical

fractures,e. g., a high fractured limestone.lfthe well is orientedto intcrcst
thcscfracturesthe productivityindexcanbe substantially
increascd
cvcnrvhcn
thc lrac(ure density is low. Unfottrnatcly,this can also accclcratcthc
movementofgas or waterto reachthe wellbore.

l. 3. 3 Low Pernrcabilitv

Fornntio

tts

One qucstion is often asked by the opcratol tlrat is how low should thc
pcrnrcabilily be in a horrrogcnous
fornrationbcforc consi<icring
clrillinga
lroriz-ontal
wcll?. Gigcr detcrnrincdtheanrountofoil thatcouldbc lno(luccd
undcr the sameconditionsfor lrorizontaln'ell and velticalwell usingtlresame
lromogcncousreservoirfor valiousrcscrvoirpcrmcabilitics.
Thc tesultsofhis
study are prcsentedln Figuic 1.3. This figulc showsthrt thc honrogcncous
fomration witlr rssetvoi| pcrnrcabiliticsgrcatcr than 10 md should not be
considclcdfol a horizorltalwcll conrplction.
For I00 nrd thc sanrcoil volume
rvould be producedafter about 200 days from either typesofwells. Even
during the first 200 days,thcrcis littlc cliffcrcnccin thc anrountproduccdfrotn
a horizontalwell versusa veflical well becauseformation is not homogeneous.
However, thc productivity,obtainedby drilling a holizontal well partially
dependson the magnitudeof thc verticalpelmeabilityandthe lengthofthe
drainhole. Where the ratio ofvertical permeabilityto holizontal permeability
is high a horizontal well may prcduce more cost effcctively than a vertical
well.

Dr. M.S. Ih' rlat

CII. I

lln,ito

d lITtts Dti i"p

PEBMEN
BILITYEFFECT

75

lronizoNl t wErt
vlntl:At. wn.t

Irig. I -.1Penrcdbili0 effcc|.

Heterose

Rese ir or Fo,'ntsti

A l r . l i z o r r l , I r v c l l r r r r r y1 r . . v i r l cr r r r r r r r r l x, r ' r r r r ' r r r r ( r r 1r1' rer sc r rr r . s c r r ' i r .

hclcrogencityexisls in thc horizonlalplanc. A horizonlallvcllborc irr lhc
lescrvoir provides potential for far more informationabout the reservoirthalr
would nornrallybc availnblc.As loggingandconrplcliontcchrrirlucs
bccorno
more sophisticated,this aspect of horizontalwells is likely to be usecl
advantage.
Frotn a prodrrctionviewpoint,a horizontalwell in an irregularrcservoirnray
providea mcansofaccessingisolatedproductivezoncswhich nrightother.wisc
be missed.Furthermore,in beterogeneous
reservoirs,the influenceof the
hctclogcneousalongthc wcllbolc is r.ctlucccl
lry thc cornpositc0or,vgcon]clry,
so thrt productionrltcs arc gclrcrlllycnhlnccdin lhcsccit.crrnrs{anccs.

L3.5 Applicationin Reselyl|I tl'ith BottQnlyqlqor

with n Gns Cor2

In nrany cascs,l h c t n o s li n t p o r l l n l i r c l o lri n r i t i n gl h c p l o c l r r c t i o n

f o i l f i o n rn
rosclvoil is thc tcndcncy lbl rvtrtcllionr atr urrclcrlyilgacluitlr.,
or-gasliorl
1]r.M.S.l,:rr,'hxt

Ctl- I

lloti.

ti l lYdts Dti ing 7

gas cilp, to bc dlawn vcr(iciilly to thc prod(rction

wcll. llor.izontalwcllscan
have substantialadvantagesin such lcsctvoirs. The conventional rvay of
reducing thc effect of coning is to completethe vertical well over a linritcd
vcrlicnl distaDceto tnaxinlizcthc standoff frontlhc watcror gascap,as thc
cascmay bc.
Becauseof its extendedcontact with the reservoir,a lrorizontalwcll usually
has lcss pressuredrawdown for a givcn productionratcihandocsa vcrticill
wcll. This reduceddrawdownlessens
the tendencyfot thc coningofwater or
gas with the producedoil. Thus, for example,horizontalwells may be
operatedat ths santclates as aonventionalwells but rvith less-sometimes
much
less-coning,i.e., witlr bctterwater-oilratiosor gas-oilratiosor both,in some
case,productiol without coniDgnray be economicusing horizontalwclls,
whcrc it would be plohibitively slow with conventionalwells. In situations
where the jlitial rate for production without fiee gas coning would be
impractical \a,ith vcrtical wells, it may be possible with horizontalwells to
aclrieveeconomicproductionby gravitydrainagcwilh onJya smallratcofgas
injcctionto maintaingascapplessure.
Even if oporation below thc critical rate for coning is impracticalbccauscof
economics, thero can still be a large advantagefor horizontal welis. This
situationis conlmonwhenviscous,conveutioual
heavyoils ale producedlronr
abovc a watcr layer. When the high oil viscosityand thelow diffcr.encc
in
tlcnsity between the oil and waler makcsconing, or more concctly fingcrrng,
occLucven at vcty low productiolrratcs.[n thcsecascs,thc volumeofoi] thnl
is produccd is approximatcly proportional to thc volurne swept by thc watef
finger. As is shown in Figure 1.4, horizontalrvellshavcan advantage
ovcr
vcrlical wells herebecause
the figure(reallya crestshapedliked the roofofa
house along the length ol-thehorizontalwell) hasa much lar.ger
volumeand
this lalgercrcstdisplaces
a nruchlargervolurueofoil.

Dr. M.S. I:rrahrt

LI1. I

Ilotito

rl ll'clls Dtilti

A CohparLon_or.a
$dcr .rre Leto* , v.r cat Udt ent, - (, e.t
treror, s.ciion ora fizontat iveu

7,'\
VEBTICAL
WELLWITII
RISING
CONE

HORIZONTAL
WELLWI'rH
RISING
CREST

Fis. 1.4.

1.3.6 Atlttantageso.fHorizontnl rySAtjlt O:fit!!!!!,4tU,lk!l!!!j

Many horizontal welis have beendrilled from offshoreplatforms.Such wells
oflct savingsin Plalfolrl rursls il nrkiilionlo llt('it{l!illlit[,r.ti
ftrlrrrlorrslrrtr,,
Fot example,one operatorstatcsthat thecostofhis North Seaplatforrnsis
a p p r o x i m a t c l$y 6 m i l l i o n p e r . r v c l ls l o t . [ J s i n gh o r i z o n l a lr v c l l sl,h c s a n r c
nunrbcrof well slots on a platfonrrcanproclucc
sincccachhorizonlalwcll is
note productivethan each convcntionalwcll. I\rr.thcrntorc,sinceollbhore
wells are nolmally highly dcviatcd in any cascthccxlla costlbr horizontal
dlilling canbe relativelysrralJ.

/)r'.l\{.S.Farrh^t

a:lL t

Ilotitotthtt tl'! rDti

it|')

Commcrcialofl'shorehorizontalrvell projectsin various aleaincludingthe

ArI iillic, llrc North Scnil||(l(lrc.lirvnScasurc tlosclihc(lill lllc lilclr(lrrc.

1,3.7 IIeu_y Oil Annlicttions

arcafor usinghorizontalwells lies in thefield
Probablythc most prospective
of heavy oil recovery,particularlythcmralrecoveryusingstrcarn.For
to rccover
exanrplc,tlre bitunrendepositsis Canada,which arc intpossiblc
methods,have a volttnreof oil in placc
economicallyby corlvcntional
crudcoil tn thc
equalto that of all the known couvcntional
approximately
is operrpit nrining.
uscdto rccovclthcscrcsourccs
world. One approaclr
l l o r v c v c r 't,h i si s l i r r r i l c rklr l h c s n r i r llli a c l i o rot f l l l c A t l r i r l ) r s cr -i tc s c t v ot ihr a ti s
close to the surfaccand thc approaclrinvolves handling vastqurntiiicsof
natclial. In situ lhclmal lccovctyis trolc gcnclallytp;tlicablc,cltcrtpcra<llcss
crvirorrntcntally.
danragirrg
lravc
lhcrnral rccovcrynortnallylequircscloscwcll spacings.Iypical pr.ojccts
a spacirrgol'2.5 to 5 acfcspcr woll and.in mary cascs,thcscarc Ialtcl in filled
a i { hs p i t c i t r gass l o w
l o i r r r p l o vlcc c o v c r y .S l t c i t t nl l t x p t o j c c l si r r( a l i l i r r t r iw
a sirtglchofizorlttl
as 5/8 acfc arc bcing opcratcd.In such oifcunrsta|]ccs,
ofhorizontal
wclls. This may bccomeotrcofthc mostinrportantapplicalions
opelationsof ficld pilot in Cold [,akc.thc l,loydrninstct'
wclls. I he succcssful
gtavity
arca and in Athabascausing horizontalrvclls an<l strcants-assistctl
drainagc (SAGD) are discusscdin thc litcralurc.A t)lllicularly irlrportarrt
featule of tlrc uscofhorizontalwclls fol strcanrrccovcryis tlratit is possible
to operateand obtainhigh rccovcrieswith littlc strcanlproduction,i. c., with
littlc sllcarnsbypassingtry crcstillg.with horizon{ulrvclls,it is possiblcto
prodrce econornictrllybclow thc criticalratc for strcanrby pass;with vcltical
wilhoutthc bypassofs{rcanrcxccpton
wclls, s(r'carrIloo<lingis itrrpractical
very losospaclngs.

1.J.8 Sanl Production

sand production is a commonproblem,
At higlrer drawdown-pressure,
and firc grainedsand.Sand
espccialJy
the productionfrom uncorrsolidated
D/. iV.S.Frrahat

CI. I

llo,izont.tl llcls Drillirrs

l0

crodes and plugs the equipmcnt and rcstrictiog thc flow rates.Scrccnsand
gravel placing limit sand entry into thc rvcllborc and in somc casesrcduces
productions rates, less pressuredrawdowneliminatesthe necd for screenand
gravcl placingand allorvshiglrcrproductionratcsfrorlrdrainholcor horizontal
wcll.

ti.

.,t

D/ Nl.S.Fxr.hxl

CII. II

Dti i'tg Tcchttiques

ll

c[AP'ftrR lt
TypES OF HoRIZoNTAL WELLs Ar'ln DlnrnnsNr

PsUssu
TpcuntQu
DRrr,r,rNG
The choice of drilling me0thoddependsupon drilling cost,well spacingand
the mcchanicalconditionofa verlicalwellboreis existing Also, the rcsctvoir
consideratiols are also important in sclectingthe drilling method.During thc
last decade, the incrcmental cost ofdrilling horizontalwells and drainholes,
over a vcrlical well cost,has come down considerably.But today oil industry
in tum the cost
grains tnore experienccandrtsesnewcrdrilling lechnologics,
thc practical
of drilling horizontalwclls nraybe furthcrreduced.Accorclingly,
holizontal drilling methods can be classified into four broad categoriesas
shownin Figure2.1,dependinguponthc turningradiusrcquircdto turn fionr a
vertical to a horizontal direction.Also, theuseofa top-clrivcdt.illingsysfenr
(TDS) is essentialto the successfulimplementationofa horizontaldrilling
program fol: deeper wells; larger wellborcs; ouler-rorv wells (olfshore
platforrns);Gumbo or bentonitichole sectiouswhcn drilledwith waterbase
mud; whcre simultaneoushigh torque and tensionis requiledto be applicd
drillstring.A discussionofvariousdlilling methodsaregivenbelow for caclr
typesofhorizontalwell anddrainhole.

2.1 Ultra-shortTurning Ra irls

Ultra-shor1turn-radius horizontal lroles, sometinres called drainhole.Inthis
mothod,it utilized waterjefto drill 100-200ft long drainholcswith a tulrrirrg
radius of 1 to 2 ft. these arc drilled in ptcviously cascdoften mrrlliplc
horizontal laterals are drilled lrom the samewcllbore, as shown in Iiigure 2.2.
may be donewith a whipslockdeviatingtool
It is repofiedthat, sidetmcking
with a curwedguide.Also, a long slenderstceltubcfits insidethe drillpipeinto
the top of the whipstockguide,asshownin Figurc2.2.Tbe upperendofthe
tube has a pressurc seal to containpressuleand divert drilling flrrid through
the tube. Thejet nozzlefits on the iower erd ofthc tubc.'l'hus,dtilling rateis
controlledwith a letainingcableconncctedto tlretop ofthe tubc as shownin
D,: M.S. Fnrahat

CH.ll

D lli E T..huiques

t2

Figure 2.2. The hole is prepared first by plugging the lowcr requiredand
removing a scction of casingby nrilling the sectionis undcr-reamed
to
increasethe holediamctet,i.e.theproccssinvolt,esurdcr-reaming
thc vertical
wcllbore and then driliing severairadialsfionr the under-rearned
zone.
Howevcr,tlte length of the sctionand diameteroftlieunder lcamedhole
bascclupon thc specificationof deviatingtool.A spccialpackeris placedin
thc casingwith a curved guide bclow thc milled section. Ihe whipstock
tlcvittirg tool is conncctcdto thc cl.illpipcrntl usscrlblyturrirrlullrc lrolo
positionedat the kicl(-off point. 'l'he whipstockis orientedand setontne
packer.Then, tlre slendertubc is loweredwith the rctainingcablc..l.hernud
purnp is stattccland circulatiotrbcgins downs thc drillpipctlrroughslcnclcr
tube and ort thejet nozzlcs.Ilydtaulicnrudpressure
againsttheptcssurescal
on lhc tol) oflhc tubcforccsit downward.Iltc tlll)ct)asscs
througljthc cur.vcd
'l
guidcs ol lhc r,vhipstock.hcscturn thc tul)cthrough 90 anglclirrrrrvcltrcal
to horizolttal.A strcam ofhigll prcssurcrrrucllionr thcjcl rrozzlcsctorlcsthe
lor.nralion
anddrills thc lrolchorizontallywhcnthc horizonlalsccliorris <lrillccl
by this rnanner,thc tLrbcis pullcdblck into thc pipc with tlrc rctainingcablc.
A l s o , l h c a d d i t i o n ahlo l i z o n t ahl o l cr n r r yb c r l r i l l c i l i . o r ut h cs r r n rrcv c l l b o rrcr y
turning thc whipstockin anothcrrlircctiorr
(irsshorvrrin Irigurcs2.-jantl2.4)
(
h
c
n(l lcpcillillg
p r o c c c l u f c l.l r r r s , l r i g . 2 . _ l l r t r l l ; i g . 2 . 4 s l x ) w l l w o
anangcmentsof multiple r.adialsin nrul(iplc laycrs. 't.hc chr.riceofradial
lcnglh, nunrbcrof radials,and radial array is a function of thc r.cscrvoir
pfopottios.lhcsc pl.oporticsarc: rcscr.voiIllriokrrcss,
vcrLiclrl
arrdlroriz0rrlul
permcabilities,oil plopertics,wcll spacing,outcr-bountlary
lcscr.voir
prcssure,
gravily dlnilugc, tl)crntillnon-lllcfntillproccsscs,
arrrlltr.csclccol.irrrpcrnrclblo
l ) r r l i n g s w i l l l i n l l t c r c s c l v o i r .l.l o r v c v c t ,l l r c c l r o i c co l . r x l i l t l l e l g l l r n l x l
al-rangcncnt
gcnerallyis uniqueto eachrescryoir.

2.1.1Slstent Prccesses!t4!! E41liltmenUat lvutliple Rsdj!ils

Thc basicrrltrn-short
radiusradialsystern(( tRRS)uscsan crcclablcwhinstock
lowered downhole by 4.5 in. workilg into an urrrlcrLcarrcd
cavity or
hydraulicaflysiottedopeningof 22 in. dianclcr.Thc whipstock(Fig. 2.2) is
designcdfor use in a 7-in. casing.1'he dr.illsh.ingnraybcprovitlcdfirma
coiledtubingrig or it may be fabricatcdon sitc fron 30 to 40 fr rubing.ioirts.

Dr-.M.S. Farahltt

CIL II

.fi' li"A

Dti i,l4 lcchltiqrcs

./ii,.'

T-

{i "t')'*
,1+

1l
ri o""r'
l
\'r-

100 - 300 ll

r.soo_ 3.ooort

rr --2,OOOS,OOO

-:-

:'I

Fig.2.1.
Molion Controuer
O.ill String
WorkingString
HighPrssur,
RmovablSal

Fig. 2.2 URRS.

=-:-

- undrreamdzon

Drill Skiilq
Fadial Bor Hole

D/. M.S.Fnrahat

IJ

Cll,

Dt lhtUll'dt,tltlurN

R.dlal Compl.tlongyit.n

PERSPECTIVE

16!Ftrr=ll11'11

lr''"'"'''1,,,'
l!Orl
rr".rL,rl
1[:

s-a

l: l

ill, ""''''

Fig.2.1 URRS.

llll

ll-llt-.--,r lll
-rt 1|=lll
|-'
Sectlon A

|.utto
PaY

Fig, 2.4.Multiple-rodiolcotnpletion.
,l),rM.S.Frrnh:ra

t4

A lry<lrnulicdrill hcadis wcldcdto thc noscof thc first.iointofltlrcdrillstring

30 to 40 ftjoints
on sitc,sttbsccltront
(radialtubc).If thc drillstringis labricatccl
weldingon the fig
of drillstring areweldedby automaticcomputer-controlled
floor to form the drillstring.A hydraulicmotion controllerthat regulatesrate
is weldedto its tail.
of pcnctration
it is lowcrcdinsidcthc vcrtical4.5 in. rvofking
As thc drillstringis fablicatcd,
scalat
removable
The nosc(drill head)of the drillstringentersa high-pressure
'l-lre
scal providcsthc bottom closurcof thc
tho top of the whipstock.
workstring.Ilence, the 1.25in. drillstlingis fully continucdwithin the4.5 in.
workstringat the outsetof drillstringas shownin Figure2.2.
A wireline as attachedto the tail of thc drillstringruns to thc surfacewithin the
workstring and passesthroughthc top closureof the workstting.'llrus'a long
cablcis
sealedchanrbercontainingthe 1.25in. drillstringand its connccting
workstring.
crcatcdby thc 4.5 in. vcr-tical
Watci drilling fluid at 8000 to 10000 psi is pumpedinto the long vertical
workstring at the surfacewith a conventionalfi'acturepunrp.The drilling fluid
is then pumped down the wotkstling rvhcre it entcrs tlrc dlillstring. The
internalwaterpressureof the dtilling systetrrpropelsthe dlillstr-ingtlrrotrghthc
Irigh-prcssurebottom scal and through the bendinganclconfiningslidcsand
rollers of the whipstock.Travcrsingthe 12-in radius and 90
The drillstringis
horizontally.
whipstock,the drill hcad entcrsthe fornration
not rotated.

and the whipstock-combhreto propel and to control the motion of the

drillstling into, through, and out of the whipstock, r'csultingin threeload
c o n d i t i o nosf t h cd r i l l s t r i n s .
The first URRS conrponentrelatedto propulsionand control is the drillstring
(radial tube), which is propellcd out of the verticalworkstringby the fluid
pressurewithin the workstring.

/)/. l\1.S. li:rIalrflt

Drillirtg T,

CIL II

I
tal

o w r a t e d et e r r n i n e s

D r i l lS t r i n gs p e e d
C o n t r oO
l r iifc e
M o t i o nC o n t r o l l e r
D i r e c t i o r to f M o t i o r r

II
I

V e r t i c aTl u b i r t g
String

T r a p p e dW a t e r

;l

D r i l lS t r i n g

Seals

ril
t

F l o w t o C o n i c a lJ e t
I'ig. 2.: Penelral iorr corrIt'ol v,lti Ie dri IIi ng.

DrillStrins [:"_..1t;-d
H i g l rP r o s s u f S o a l
W h i p s t o c k w , l r ,t r i l , ! ' r ' , r' . n r , r!
nnl sh4.:sla br,,{r d,id .onrr'.
l l , c D , , l l S l ,t r , q

- . - D r i l lS l r i n q l i o ' l ' , ' , t l I

DrilS
l t r i n g l 1 ' el,r ' r r r

nrirsr,rqsrr",r";, r r , 'l ' ' l r w

b::li,;tl
Er,-

tl

llrr , r'r\lr lx,,,l

.r{rc.,j ll,f
Gr,P5,jc5
o,,rsr,r,,r

e l ' J s l kh , 1 , 1

'ir,,r;.;r,',::r.:
, r , l \ . 1 , , wl i , .
lsr.irii ctl Drrt

.1,'ili, r i'l

on drillstring.
Fig. 2.6 Stres,ses

/)r'. I\l.S. ltur:thnt

The second component is the motioncontroller(Figure2.5) on the tail of the

it is a pistonwitlr
In csscncc,
dlillstring,rvhich acts as a hydraulicrestraint.
external seals that slide within a special snroothborehole portion of the
'fhc
wettcrpushcson thc top of tholnotion
high-plcsstrrc
vcrtical wolkstring.
sealat the
controller, and water is trappcd bctrveen it and the high-prcssure
bottonr of the workstring. Water can escapeonly througha centralorificc
rc{r:ritr,
or trt'akc
on
witlrin thc corrlrollcr(Fig. 2.5). tlrcrcsttltsis a hy<h-atrlic
thc forwardrnotionof the 1.25in. drillstring.

The third URRS componentof the propulsion atrd control system is the
whipstock,which bendsthe drillstringfrom verticalto horizontal.
Figure 2.6 slrows the loadson the drillstringthat resultsfi'ornpropulsionand
rcslraint fbrces. In its passagcinto, through, and out of thc wlripstock,thc
andbendingloads.
is subjected
to axial,internal-pressure
drillstr:ing
scal),thc
From Figurc2.6,sectionA of thc dlillstting(abovcthc higlrprcssure
drillstring stressesare below the clastic linrit. In section B, rvhcre tltc
scal and within thc whipstock,thc
drillstling is bclow thc high-prcssurc
drillstring stressesexceed tlre elastic limit and thc drillstring dclbrnrs
plastically.
and is constrainedby rollers
Becauscthe drillstring is internally pressurized
and slideswithin tlrc whipstock, it docsrrotbucklcu,hilcit is beingbcnt.In
Thcseit is
sectionC, the 1.25in. drillstringexiststhewhipstockhorizontally.
loads.Again,thc strcsses
arcbclowthc
undcr only axialand irrtcnral-pressurc
c l a s l i cl i n r i t .
The pressureon the water drilling fluid in the systemnot only propelsthe
drillstring,but alsodrillsthe horizontalborcholein the formation.'fodrill tlre
throughtheconical-jet
drillfonnation,the water drillingfluid is accclerated
head nozz,le,creatinga conicalshell of waterparticlestravellingat 800 to 900
fVsec.
Dr".M.S. Farahat

CII. II

Drillirtg'I.echniqtcs

t8

ltig. 2.'ltt showszlsclrcnlatic

of tlrocorricaljct.At tlrr:top ol tlrc liigrrrc2.'/t is
jet nozzle.The additionof fixed vaneswithin the nozzle
a standardcrrllirnated
causesa conical shell of high-velocity water particlesto fonl a conical.iet
'l'hc
(I;ig. 2.7b).
sizc of tltchoriz.orrtal
bolcholcis cstablishctl
by lhc lwist of
thc vattcs,'uvlrich
irrlttrncotrtrols,
llrciutglcoIrlivclgcnccof tlrt:corrcof wir{cr'
patticlcs.Fig.2.7candFig. 2.7dshowvancsl'or1wodiffclcntconicalanglcs.

n)LE CII A D w^r kEn CONTtOUnAItON

tr) COl.llCAl-

JET NO77Lf

tN SECTTON

n ) v ^ l { L :r r a [ t , t a o ' c o u t c ^ l . . , r r N o z z t F

d ) v A N E U S E D t N 1 0 " C O N T C A JL E r N O Z Z L E

Fig. 2.7 Cotticuljet nozzle.

Fig. 2.8a slrows water jets resultirrgfronr variorrsdeglees01'vanctu,istin ljct and two clillcl.cnt
microsccolldllash photoglaphsoI a colliltratod
corrical
pressure.
iets. The conicalangleis not affectedby drilling-flrrid
Theseconical
jets functionat both ambientand clcvatcd back-pressurcs.
At highcrbackpressules,
cavitationdoesnot appearto be an importantcuttingrtrechanisrn.
Fig. 2.2 sltows thc basic rvhipstockcolt[igulitliorr,
a rlorrblycrrlvotlirrvcllctl
qLrcstion
nrark.Insidcthc IJRRSwhipstocl<
is a scricsof rollcr.s
anrlslidcslhrrt
causesa progressive
dcflcctionanclbcndingofthc 1.25in. drillingas it nrovcs
thtoughthe w,hipstock.
/)r'. Nl.S, lrl r-rrhuI

CII.

Drilling Trchniqucs

l9

The whipstock is held in place by downholeanchorjrws engagingthc rvcll

casing. The anchoringjaw aresetby rotatingthe4.25 in. vcrticalworkstting'
To erect the whipstock, the workstringis raisedabout I ft by the blocks,the
resulting verlical motion erects the whipstock,he workstringand whipstock
arc lrelclercct by a set of hydraulic cylindersat thc wcllhcadthatmaintain
tonsion.
cotrstant
Aftcr eachradialplaccnrcnt,the stcpsor","u"r."d. Thc rvhipstockcan thcn bc
cle-erccted,rotated, and re-erecteddownholewithout losing its calibration.A
gyroscopeis usedto set the whipstockazimuth]for eachradial.Thus,nrultiple
radialscan be placedat differcntazimuthsdownholewithout havingto trip the
rarlial.
bctwccncachsttcccssivc
whipskrckbackto thc sttt'lacc
After each radial borehole is drilled, a 3D positionalsurveycan be applied
(Fig. 2.8b). The 1.25in. drillstringcanbe surveyedto determineits trajectory
(ROC) surveytools designedto pass
with special flexible radius-of-curvature
through 12 in (or smaller)bendradiusof the drillstring.The ROC survcytool
was developedto provideboth plan (azimuth)and profile (up/downtrajcctory)
data.'It is pumped down the workstring and enters and passesthroughthe
drillstring as a wireline tool. The tool (Fig. 2.8b) resernblesan animal
backboneand has long slidewires placedat eachquadrantthat rnovewithin
veftebraeattachedto a flexible, torque-resistant,wire-cablebackbone.The
thc nrovetlre
nt of eaclr
slicle wires actuatevery prccise sensorsthat measut'e
slide wire separately,translating directly into the curvaturcof the ROC tool.
rnd a
And, in turn,of thc drillstring.Within theROC tool arc an inclinometcr
roll sensor.All these data are transmittedto the surlace by wireline"l'he
curvature is convertedinto convctrtionalazintuth and inclinationby rrpholc
software,providinga 3D printoutof both the azimuthand the bore inclination'
However,the drilling methodusedfor ultar-shortradiusposesthe following:
l. turningradiusof I to 2 ft.
2. lengthofdrainhole of 100to 200 ft.
zone
3. the first drilling system requiresa 48 in. dianreter under-reamed
while the improvedsecondsystemrequires24 in. diarneterzone.
4. the under-reamedzone length varies lrom 6 to l0 ftdependingon the
systcmutilized.

/)r. M,S. Faraltat

UI.

DrilllngI'r:chuiqres

dtuilrltolcs
at'o
varies1.5to 2.5in. tltttstwoor trtol'c
diamcter
5. thedrainholc
drillccl.
usirrgcillrcrslollcrllirrcrsns
6, fol sarrdcontrol,thc thlirrholcsntc crorrrplclctl
gravelpacking.
7. after completingthe drainhole,the pipe is several,then ifdesired, a slotted
zonc,the dircctiotralsttrvcy
lincr is lincr is inscrtcdin thc uutlcr-rcarncd
8.
9.
At
l.
2.

toolscatt[rcuscd.
irr llrc rrnbonsolidatcd
sarrrls,
rtttrlrcccttlly
hasbccn succcssful
tlrisnrcthocl
it hasbcenusedto drill hard rock suchas grarrite.
zone may posedifficultiesin reservoirswith strong
a largeunder-reamed
bottonrwatcrdrive.
drillingmcthodposcstlrc lbllowing:
lastthc short-radius
l'he processinvolvescuttinga | 5 b 2{) fl lorrgwindowin tlrccasingof an
existingverticalwell and kicking-off the dlainholethroughtbe window.
A whipstockandcurveddrillingerrtryguideassistflexibleshellpipes(30
60 ft) or wiggly drillcollarsin makinga 20 to 40 lt turringraclius.Also,

dilcctionalsurvcymay lrc usodto locatcdr'ainlrolc

path.
'f'lrc
,ll/2
(r
3.
ltotizontitlpor(ion wi{lr t
kt
-ll4 in tlirtrrc:lt:r,
is rrotrrrrrlly
completcdeithelopenholeor by insertinga slottedlincr in thc holc.In thc
case of unconsolidatedsand reservoirs,a wire mesh seven is wrapped
aroundthe liner for sandcontrol.lt is possibleto drill severaldlainholesat
diflcrcntclcvationstlrrougha singlcvcrticalwr:ll.
'l'he
4.
shortturningradiusdrillingntcthodhasbccnvcry succcssful
ilr nrarry
field applications.But the limitationol this method,is that it doesnot offer
0 sclcctivccotlll)lctionoption.lrr otlrcl wotls, it is rrotpossilrlc{o isolrrlc
ccrtainprotlucingzorrcssclcctivoly.'l his coulclcauscdifficulticsin lhc
cilscs whclc frirclrucs intcrsccting lhc drainlrolc flrc in dircct
conrnrun
icatiorrwith eithcrtop gasor bo{toltrwatcr.
5, Moreover,milling a widow in thc casingcan be very expensiveand time
consuming.
If possible,a prefcncdoplionis to drill a drainholcthrougha
new verticalwell with arropenhole section.
6, A 90 ft turning radius drainholc is a succcssfultechnology.This
technologyemploys a downhole nrud motors and articulatcddrillstring.
Also, it hasbeensucccssful
ccrncntccl
tho casingirr a curvcdscotionol'90
ft turningradiushole and harrging,the lolntationevaluationtools can be
'l
u s c d . h i s t l r i l l i n gt o c l r r r o l o gc yo u l t ll r r o b l b l yb c u s c r tl o r h i l l 2 ( )t o 2 ( ) 0l l
t r r t r r i nrga r l i u w
s c l l sb y r n o r l c l i r rt lgr c< l l i l l s t r . i ar rrgl i c u l l r l i o n .
Dr. M.S, Falalrat

CH. II

Drilling

I'echniques

Fig. 2.8a. Waterjets.

S e p aar l o r
c) 3O" Conlcal Jel nozrle at o.4 MP8

Slide Wke

L----

Tool Cross-Section
P ri n t e r
Convgrlor

Computer

Fig.2.8bROC tool.

To FOCTool
lExcitation
f-----'/
I SouryeJ

E l e c t r i c aS
l chematic
1)r. M.S. Farnhat

Cn ll

L,ri i't( 7ilhriqur\

22

2.2Short TurnineRadius
Short-lullrltoIizorrtalp (ctns Ituvca tu|1tmdiusol aboutJ0_00ll, lbr.drilliIg
fiom cascdholcs. Thc proccssbcgins by sicletrucking,
builtlirrgangrc,urru
dtilling thc curvedsectionwith a specialanglcbuildingrsscnrLrly.
l.lrrrs,lol a
re-entrydrilling systemto be tcchnicallysucccssftrl,
it mustbccapablcof
drilling a consistortraclitrsof ourvaturcarrclol dr.illirrg
cut.vcirr thc rlcsitccl
dircction,Thcsclcqrrircnrcnt
nlisc lrorrrllrc lcc<ls;
,To position the endofthe curvewithin a prccisedcpthintcrvalso thatrnc
latcralcanhavcrselhc fay zoncasdcsircrl.
, lo plircc lltc Lrtcnllin a dir.cctiorr
rlictatodby wcll spacirrg,
dcsilcrJswccp
patterns,or other geologicalconsiderations.
a smoothcurveto facilitatcdr.illingthc latcralan<lcorrrplcting
,To establish
the well.
Sevc[al types of shott-radiuscurve-drilling systcnrs arc comrlcrcinlly
'l
availablc. lic mostconrrnonlypcsuscsa nrurlmotorto rotatca dfill bit thatls
titlcd bit drills a curvcd patlr, anrl thc rotationaloricntationof tlrc ruotor
housingin thc boreholcdctermincs
thc dircctionofthc curve.Eithcr.astccling
tool or a measurementwhile drilling (MWD) tool is required to kecp the
motor housing oriented during drilling. The systcm nray be uscclwith
cotrvcntiorral
or workovcr rigs ol witlt coilod-tubingurrits.l.lrisis tlrcrrrost
popular method of drilling a curved borehole,but jt is often too cxpensiveto
be economicalfor re-entcrsin mature ficlds.
Constraincd-rolaty
systcfis afc sccon(lcllcgoty oI coltrrrr:r.cially
irviriltrlrlc
'lhcy
tools.
havc a flcxiblc cfi.ivcshrrli irrsidcnn nr.licrrl:rtc(l
n{)l folNtilg
housing.Since originatedby Zublirr in 1052,this approirch
hnshccngrea y
rclincd. A resilicntcurveguidcactsas a sprilg thatapplicsa sidc li)rccto rc
bit ond forccthc bit to dr.illa curwcdpr{h.'l hc curvcguitlcinilially is or.icrrtcd
in the desireddirectionand then rclies on wcllboie fr.ictionlo nnrntarn
orientation as it advancesalong the curve. Becauseof the considerable
l'rardwarc
requiredandthe associated
opcralillgprocedu[cs,
uscoIconstraincdrotating systclns has dcclined in llvor of llrc nrorc rcliirblc rnuclntotor.
systcrlrs.
,r

ll.S. I,':tr^hnt

CII. II

Dritti"g

luhniqucs

23

Rotating-guidcd systems are a third category of short-radiuscuwe-drilling

'l'hcy
tools. Fig. 2.9 slrowsthc downlroleconrponcntsof onc such systcm.
includethe curve asscmbly,flexible drili collars,and oricntationequipment.
a flcxiblc.jointlhat is pushcd
Thc lclativclyshortcurvcrsscmblyincorpotatcs
to onc sidc of thc holc lo tilt {hc bit.'lhc oricntationcqttipnrcntconrprisca
standard muleshoc sub for gyro orienting or a nonmagnctic collar and
rnulcslrocstrbfor magnclicolicnting-I his basictool corccpthasbcen arotrnd
for decades,but problemsrvith angle builds and directionalcontrol have
limitcd its conrmercialsucccss.Ilolvcvcr, thc apPcalof drilling horizontal
w c l l sc l r c l p l yw i t h s u c hc q u i p r n c rl tc r r r a i r r s .
Fig. 2.10 highiights the evolution of rotary-guidedcuwe drilling tools before
1988.Early describeda tool in 1934that useda flcxiblejoint to allow the bit
to be tiltedto sidetracka well. In 1944,Miller patenteda similarcurve-dtilling
assembly(Fig. 2.10a)in which thc bit tilt directioncouldbc oricntcclto dcflcct
the borehole in a particular dircction. lt was assumed that, aftcf initial
orieniation,the assemblywould continueto drill in a consistentdirection.ln
1952, Sandersused a curve-drillingasscmbly(Fig. z.l0b) whose near-bit
reamercausedthe bit to the inclined. This systemalso incorpolateda flexible
joirrt to allow su{Iicicnt tilt to drill short-radiuscurvcs. The curvc direction
was detcrmincdby the orientationof a whipstock, again it was assunredthat
would continucto drill in a consistent
thc asscnrbly
dircction.
In 1964, (Fig. 2.10c), Frisby proposed an assembly that used an eccentric
stabilizing sleeveto control the bit tilt to orient the tilt in a parlicular direction
and to function as a stabilizer to minimize bit wobbling and oscillation. The
eccentricsleevecould be positioncdeithcr above or below thc flexiblejoint. It
was attashedrotationally to the ddllstrimgwith a pin that was releasedby fluid
pressurewhen drilling mud was cilculated through the tool. This sleeve rs
similar to one proposedby Gilcs in 1955for long-radiusdlilling, cxccptthat
to cngagea lock to
Gilcs slcevewas oricntcdthc drillstringcounter-clockwisc
position the sleevein the desireddirection.
Development was renewed in the 1980's. Holber (Fig.2.10d) and Schuh
radiusofcurvatutccauscdby instabilityat
workcd on drilling an unpredictablc
the drill bit, cspcciallywhenthe bit drilledan oversizehole or became
Dr: lU.S.Farahat

Dri II irt1; 7'c<:

h n i qt es

Nonmagnetic
Drlll Collar

Orlenlatlon
Kcy

F l e xi b l e

D r i l lc o l l a r s

\',

\-:,r\,,rt.rnlIolt"

Fig. 2.

a ! olary)-

ittott niliiiri ctilvi u.s.yint

.fitrcesare,shown.
1)r. l\'LS. Irara hat

CII. II

Drillitg

Tcchniqucs

25

tlreproblemofpoor
unstableas it crossedbedding panes.Burton addressed
eccentric
sleevc(Fig.2.10c)
a tron-rotating
oriclltatiorlcontrol by introducing
with splingJoadedblades to glip the wellboreand to lnaintainorientationas
the drilling assemblyis wellbore and to maintainorientationas the drilling
assemblyis advanced.Burton advocatedperiodicrepositioningof the sleeve
so thata Dlanetcurvccouldbc drillcd.

1987
e

Fig. 2.10 Historical evolution of tlrc rotaryt-guidedslrcrt-radius atrve-drillin.g

tool.
Fig. 2.11 showsthat the flexible a short-radiuscurve.Thus, to tilt sulficiently
to drill a short-radiusallows the bit it hasbeenuseda non-rotatingflexible
tubular steel shellmadeofshoft lengthsofpipe. The lengthsconnecttogether
with articulatedconnectiorrsfor flexibility. This flexible shell carries the
vertical thrust to the bit and acts as a sprirrgto facilitatedbuilding angle.A
flexible liner insidethe shell containspressurefor circulatingdrilling fluid. An
internal drive shaft supportedby bearing packs, carries torque from the
drillstring to the bit. The horizontalsectionis drilled with a similar technique
but longer flexible shell without spting action and stabilizer to control
direction as shown in Fig. 2.11.Thehole is preparedfirst by milling a section
of casing and under-reamed.The whipstock is run ot'ientedto the con'ect
directionand set,the anglebuilding assemblyis run into the hole. Sidetracking
as it guidesoffthe faceof the
begins by rotating the angle-buildingasserr.rbly
1}. l\'1.S,Falahnt

('ll. 1l l\lllttH I'nhu\ttrs

Ltl

w h i P s l o c kS' i d c t r i l c k i r ragn crl l l i l l i n gc o r r l i r r tirrorl h c c u r v c tllr o l os c c t i . .

i r ta r r
i'creasiug upwardanglein thedi'cctionof thewhipstockracc
untirit is bcing
hodzontal. Then the angle building asserrbly is pulled out
of the hole.The
stabilizeddrilling assembryis run, and the str-aight
horizontalsectionis dri ed.
Also, there is anotherversionof thc systcml.otatesthe bit with
an articulatccl
nrotor, which improve lrole guida'ce.'fhe welr is compretetr
as an openrrore
or a specialflexibletypeslottedlincr is r.un.

Fig. 2'I | ,4 scltetnntic.f o 'shorr-t'aditr,s

rrriling racrtttiqrrcrr,sittry
finirtra
drillin g ioirtt.

/)r'. M.S. Fara hat

CIL

DTiIi'tgTcchniqnes

2.3 Mc tl i rtnt- Tur n i ng-Bg1!!4;

Although the long-radius approach to drilling horizontal wclls is highly
developedand very successfirl,
thc radiusrcquircdrestrictsthe applications
possible.Medium-radiusdrilling extendsthc tecbniques
so thatbuild sections
with a radius down to about 300 ft (90nr) can bedrillecl.I lolcs drillcdtry
mdium-radiustechniqucslrave scveral advantagcs
conrparcdto long-radius
wells and almost no disadvantages.
llrey can be drillcd with conventional
drilling rigs, althoughthey requiresome special,but now wcll-developed,
equrpnrent.
Mcrliunr-radiustcchniqucsusc rroir-irrlicrrlalcd
ttill slrings nnd hcntt lnrrrl
nrotors.'lhcscarc thrccprincipalr-ccluircnrcnts:
The bottom-holeassenrbly
mustbe ableto drill alonga trajectorywith the
)
rcquircdradius.
Thc drillstring must be sufficientlyflexible to follow the drill without
mechanicalfailurc.
Tools used in thc hole must be able to be moved aroundlhe curved partsof
the hole.
It is importantto note thatthe third requirement
listedabovelimits the tools
that cau bc used ir the horizontalpartofthe holeevcnthroughthc curvature
'fhese
thcrc is ncgligiblc.
requirctrrctrts
placc linritationson whal can bc
achicvcd by mediurn-radius
drilling.Thc rcquircmentfor drillstringflexibility
mcans drillstringsmust be snrallerin dianreterfor highcrcurvatures.
Atthc
lirnit, it is necessary,e.g., articulatedstrings,coiled tubing type strings
strcsscdbeyond thc clastic linrit, andstringsnr.dc o f cxotic highcr-strength
thc nralcrialssuchastitanium,carbonfiber or steel-reinforced
lroscs.Chargcs
of this sort movethe tcchniquebcyondthc boundaryofnornralmcdiunr-radius
drilling.
The trend to using smaller diameterdrillpipe goesalong with the drilling of
smaller diameterlroles.Anotherdrivingforcemoving(heteclrnology
towards
is the inccntivc1odlill horizontaldrnihsstartingwith cxisting
strlall dianreters
veltical wells.To do this,mctliunt-radius
equiptnent
thdtcarlbc inscftcddown
thc cxistingverticalwell casingis nccdcd.

Dr. M.S. Ferahat

CH.II

DtilingTechniqnls

2a

Driiling motorsfof boththe angle-buildandangle-holdsectionsofa medium_

radius horizontalwcli must bc shorl cnorrghto fass il.oundlhc cut.vilut.c.
Doublo-tilttltolors arc oolllllon,particular'ly
Ibr unglc-hold.l.hctilt in angrc_
build motors is relatively Iargeand thc motorsare not rotatable(steerable).
Medium-radius hole can be drilled fronr the side ofan existing casedvertical
well or from a newly drilled open bole. Ifan existingverticalwell istobe
used, a rvindow is milled in thc cxisting casing at ihc dcsirctlIcvcl anda
whipstock locked to the casingin the designedorientationbelow the window.
'lhis
lvhipstockdirccts thc nrcdiunr-r'adius
ltr(l nrolor rlrill in thc rlcsircd
azimuthdirection.

2.3.1Drillnhrcfor Mediun-R
'Ilrc

litts Driltins

first mcdiurn-radius
dtilling systcnrrvasdcscribcdby Dcch,llcarn,Sclrulr

flnd lcnhart in 1986. It allorvcdholcs l6 in. in diarrrctq.lo b c r l r i l l c rtl o

horizontaldistanceof 1000ft with a build ratcofabout20 30nr( r 0 0 i 0 .

'l'hc

systcrnused a narrow,diarnetcr,
spccialcomprcssivesorviccdrillpipc
(CSDP)carryinglarger-diameter
wearknots.
I.'igurc2.12a showsthctwo conrmoncst
sizcol'compre
ssivcsewiccdr.illpipc.
'lhc pipc
is ficqucnllynxrrlcfirrrrrtr(xt-lltfllcli0,llsl(lrrilic
slccllirl rrscrrrru
magneticsurveyinstruments
andin holesrvherethebuild ratcaregreaterthan
l 5 i t Om ( 1 0 0f t . ) .
In holcsrvilha lowcrbuildratcthan| 5230nr,hcavy-wall
tlrillPipo
(c.g.I lovi'fhis
watc) is uscd.
pipchasa rvalltlrickncss
whichrlakcsit itt)orrt
twoalldil
half timesas lreavyas standarddrillpipc(c. g. 62.5 Kg/rnfor.4.5in.pipc
comparedto 25.3Kg/nrfor standard
pipc).ln adtlition,
I lcvi-rvllcpiqrchus,in
each30 ft length,a centmlupsetsection
uhichbehavcs
sirnilarlyto thewcaf
knotsir CSDP.Thc wearknots(Fig.2.l2b)kccpthcdrillpipcawayfrourthc
wall of the hole in thc curvedsectiol.This rcduccsboth rotatingand
longitudinal
friction,resulting
in lessstrikirrg.
It is alsothroughthewearknots
hclpkecpthccuttingsin suspcnsion
in thcdrillingfluid.

1fr II.S. Faribat

CII. II

Dtillittg

Tcch iqxes

C O M P B E S S I VSEE B V I C ED R I L L P I P E ( C S D P )

2-7tA
3.112

3.1t8

2
213116

10120t3a

Fig. 2.12a

Compressive Strength
Drillpipe

5"

Wear-Knots

2-7 IB"

s-1t2"

Fig- 2.12b Contpressivestrength drillpipe 5 in -wectr-lutots.

/lr. ll.S. I.arahat

CII. II

2.3.2 lf nlinnrllntli

Dti ing lethuiqn.s

30

us Ilrilli rtg ll I ot o,'s .t nrl,l_t'st,'r,,s

Medium-radirrs,
angle-buildmotol'stypically havetwo bcndsin theirlength.
Motors of lhcse types are showr in Fig. 2.13. Arotlrer nrotorsritablefor
building anglein rnediun-radius
holesis shownin Irig.2.14.In this asscnrbly,
a motorwith a bendis jointedto the dlillstringvia a bendsub.'t he totaltiltof
the motor is equalto the sum ofthc two individualtilt angles.'l'ablc2.I shows
thc holc chanrctctisticthat can bc oblailcrl Lrsingnrcdiunr-r'rrrlirrs
drilling
systcms.for fivc differentmotorsizcs.llrc two largcstmotor.sizcllc linrilcrl
kr dlilfing holc wi(h au arrglc-builci
fatcof lcssll]l|i|,14730nr(I00 ll) rr|<lrncv
rcquirc rciatively large vcrtical holes. With thc lower degrecofcurwaturc,
Ilevi-rvatedrillpipe can be uscdanclthereis completeflexibilityin thc useof
MWD.
Iful rlilling shallow, nrccliunr-r'adius
lrolizonllrlwcll, lyl)ictl llrlcc IlllS
tlcsctiptionsarc spccificd lorlhisrvcll rsshowr in fig.2.l5 (con<lrrctor.Jrolc
B l i A ) , I i g . 2 . 1 6 ( s u t f a c c J r o lBc l l A ) a n d F i g . 2 . l 7( h o l i z o n t a l - l r ol l lcl A ) .
Also, liig. 2.18 shows that the invefteddrillslringdcsignfor holizontalholc
scctiou.
Table 2.1 Typical nrediunt-radiusdrillitg paranrctcrs
6314

4 3t4

3 3t4

3 3/r]

121t4
t3 3/B

a 1t2
I 5/8

0
7

4 3l,l
5 1t2

4314
5lt?

NM

85-190
4500
6103

100-260
2800
3798

t00 300
I t00
t000

120 X4()
u90
l 2 A/

t20 340
B00
121)/

"/30nr
lt
nadius,

8-14
715 410

8-14
715410

19-30
300-2B0

20 35
286

20
286

Steerir9
crfnb lily"/30in

2.5

2.4

Uso[rWD

Yes

Yos

Y05

Drllll'lt!'

li
HWDP

4 li'
HWOP

i, //lt ti tt llt"
CSDF /lIWDP

Motor Slze oD 0r.)

Mi,titttwlDianeler al
Vdlic^lWe (inches)
OPenllole
Casing
Molorrlnn
-forqt|o
It ll)

D/: M.S.l.rrrhxf

t' /ltl
CSDP or SDiial

FrwDt,

csr)r,

CII. II

Drilling TcchtiquL's

3l

EA,STMAN
CHRISTENSEN
HORIZONTAL
MOTOHS

Fig. 2.1-t.

DYNA-DRILL
D O U B L EB E N D M E D I U M R A D I U SM O T O R

.,.,ii'tm:i,1{;#tr3,y3;ry1;,;1;,i;

Itig. 2.14.

1)r. N{.S.fiarahat

C .

Dti ittg'Icch iqkcs

32

DrlllPlpe
5" Non-Msgnllc
(He8vyWelght)

6.75"MWDDlrocllonal
Snsor

49'

5" Non-Msgn6tlc
DrlllPlpe
(HeavyWelght)

Itig. 2. | 5 ('rttlrr

tot. ltolt,

nll/l.

11.75"
Stsbllhor
(Non-Mognollc)
8" Bcnl Houslno
- Motor
(SlnoloBend)
12.125"
Stablllzor

12.25"Blt
5" Non-Maono
c Drl ptpe

(HsqvyW6lght)

B'

0.76"MWU
Dhoctlonsl
Sonsor
GemmaRay/Reststtvlty
Snsors

onuo,o.
fn"'xil-$3p;iy"

Fig.2.l6 Stu{at'ehole BII4.

70'

II

Dr. I\,1.S.Fllrrhrf

11.75"Stsblll:sr
(No|FMagnotlc)
8" B.nt Hourhrc
- Motor
(Slngle
Bond)
12.'125"
Stsbtttz.r

12.2!"Btl

CII.

Driuilg'Icchniqu.s

Drlll Plpe
5" Non-Magnellc

(Heavy Welght)

6.75"MWD

E
+6'

r
I
I

37'

Snsor
Olrecllonal
GammaRaySensor
FsslstlvltySonsor
7.75"Stablllzer
(Non-Magnetlc)

6.75"Ooubl6B6nl
Houslng
Motor
8.375"Stnbilizer

lrig. 2.17 Hot izo tal hole BIll

Fig. 2.18 Invertetl drillstring desi.gn

for horizontal lole section.
D/r Nl.S.Frrahat

CII. II

2.3.3 Hieh Medium

Dri hry'lttl'|iquts

34

a d Lov Saeed Drillins

l'he medium-radiustechniquecan be used with both high-speed,medium-and

low speedlnolors: ]'hc types of motor uscddcpcndsupon tlrc contlitions.lloth
rolling cone and fixed cutter (usually polycrystallinediamond compact(PDC)
bits can be used. Rolling-conebits are nearly always used with low and
medium-speedmotors, i.e. for rotary speedslessthan about 200 rpm. PDC bits
can be usedwith either low-speedor high-speedmotors.Both categoriesofbit
hlvc advantagcsan<l thcrc is corrsidclablcovcllap irr lhoil rrpplicrrtiorr.
Rolling-conebits, operatingat low speed,have advantages
in hard rocks and
sorli)wl) t b(jttefto cllbds lo c(nrtlol{llc dircctiorrol {lrolrtrlc.()
thcy rcsp(nl(l
lltc othct llttttl, bccrusctltcy lrtvc tttovirtgplrllslrtrrlbcrrirrlls,lhcy rrc lrr)r(
s l r s c c l ) l i l )l o
l cr v c a ra n dh a v ct o b c r c p l a c r 'rrrl r o r 'fci c q U L - r r lIlIyD ( ' I ) i t sc l n h c
tusodat highcrspecdsand will frequcltly dlill longcrscctionsol holc without
rcplrccnrent.Diamondand thennallystablediarnondbits are usuallyrun on
mcdiutn-andhigh-speed
motors.Fig. 2. l9 shorvsthe additionof hartl lacing
and tungstencarbideinsertsfor protectivcthc lcgs of rolling-conebits. Also,
|lig. 2.20 showsa PDC bit that involvesthc pl'otcctiotr
of thc top ol-thc bit
tlra{can trc rrscrlrvilh (op-ciivc rigs urrtlrvith
rlcvcl with nattral clianrorrds,
backreanring
for rcmovingcuttingrvhilcdtilling thc horizontalscclionof well.
Fig. 2.21 shorvsother designchargesfor lrorizontaldriliing bits at inlprovcd
stecrability.

2.3.4 Mediutr- Rldius-Horizo ntq! Il/ell Sections

Medium-radiushorizontalhole is comntonlydrilledin openlrolc as shownin
Fig. 2.22,but sidetrackingin cascdholesis modemtclycommonwith lorver
turn radiuspattcrnofabout 300 11.Motor asscrrrblics
arc nrustconrmonlyuscd
as mentionedbefore. Tangents are used sornetimes;it is common to use a
measurement
while drilling (MWD).

,r. IU.S.Frrrh:ri

CII. II

Drilling Tcchtiqucs

35

N A T U R A L D I A M O N D SO N T O P O F B E V E L
F O R P R O T E C T I O ND U R I N GB A C K H E A M I N G

Fig. 2.19

Fig. 2.20.

2.3.4.I Vertical Sectiorr

It is the {irst sectiondrilled from surfaceuntil the kick-offpoint (KOP) for a
horizontal well or newerwell (Fig. 2.15) or sectionfrom surfaceuntil milling
windon' for recomoletedmatureor old well for drainhole.
SIIOHTEFIFLAT'IER PDC BITS FOR IMPFIOVED
STEEBABILITYIN I-IORIZONTALI.IOLES
T [ P O C b l o r t l E r i g h tl e a r u , e s
a shotl\ucil.;lnnk, lhl(dki pro
l i l c ! i r d s l u l , r r o , l 0 a ( ( r ol o | ( l l h .
Theso leahrcs atu d{rsn.blo ld

Iton lones 1990

Fig.2.2I.

Dr'. M.S. Farah:rt

ctl.II

lrtiuitru t.thniqn.s

36

D
-lt

vdtla!lhd.
il,lll..l ,nJ .".d ro .r.tico o, t,,r,,rdirroc.jt,)u Dot,,r
V.r'lcrl d.rthnrrnotro!ro,nnrlonc.D,it^j,,o. i,,,t u.i torrt,,,,itl
v . r r l c . l h o l o p l u s o o d . b J c tl o k l c k o t t p . i j r r
C u r ! . d h o l o . u c r l o n d , l t t o dr t v o ! 0 h 9 0 - l r n r r . l i . .
l l o r h o n r . l I ' o l o 6 6 c r l o nd r i l l o d
curv.il ddd ho.ilont.t hotoE.crton, .asod ,nd cuUFv(uu

Ititrg.2.22
A4ttliuutIunt hori;ottIrtIu'tlL

2.3.4.2CurvedSectiatt
'llrc

crrlvcrlscclionofhorizontalholcslrrmst hlouglra 90' curvc lrcrn vc rcnl

lo horizontalwilh an avclageturn lacliusol- 3(X)-tt(X)
li. Ihis cun bc ckrnc
thfoughthe following:
C t r)i dotvfor |ertictl well: At kick offpoint, thc scclionnrill (lrig.2.23)is
t t t t tr t r r l l t cc n s i t r igs,t t r i l l c rrlt g i r r gI i r r r r l t j l o . \ 2 1 1l s i n ! ,l l i V i s g r ' lr r r r r r vl i t l r
lhrccstcps.

'lhlce

diffcrentlrolton-holeassclllblicsafc uscd to sidc thc wcfll alicr sct

whipslockas shown in Frg. 2.24 shows typical conllgurationol notor
dcviationscctionl'orkick-off,brildirrglnrl horizontalnlo(orirsscniblics-uscd
for drainholein Egyptian-westemdeseit.
/lr'.ll.S. I:rurh:rl

CIl. II

Dri i,tg Tcchniqrcs

Hydrulic Jar

61/4

Bit Sub

61/2

T,
oa

5 3/8
4 3/B

5 1t2

Boot Basket

a 1/4

1/8
1/2

S e c t i o nM i l l

I
H t_
I

5 1t2

Taper l,4ill
a 1t4

Fig. 2.23 tuIilIirtg assenfuly.

Dr'.M,S. Farahat

31

CH. II

Dtilti

g Techniqnes

38

Limber

Bent-Housing

Pad and
B e n t- Ho u s i n g

= M o l o r , B = B e a r i n ga s s e m b l y , C : O u i p u t s h a f t a n c l
i l , D = B e n t h o u s i n g, E : P a d , a n d F : B e n t s u b

Fig. 2-24Motor deviati) sectian.

/f/. NI.S,F:rrahnt

Bent
Sub

Benl Sud and

Benl-Housing

CIt- II

Dri hlg Tc.hrirlt.s

39

Anglc-buiklingcontinuouswilh thc sidclrackmotor asscmbly.Dtilling insidc

cascd holcs (usually 7 in. diattrctctor Iilrgcr casirtg)is donc with strtall
diameter,slim-hole tools. A section of casing is removedby nilling, a
sidctrllckingplug is sot and drcsscdoff. Somc opcratorsprcfcr to sidclrack o t
thc build latc allcl dlilling.r
olcascd hole with lowcr build ratc, itrcrcasing
part of curved section. Drilling and angle building operations continue,
rneasuringdrift angle and dircction pcriodically. Inclined or first build arc
dcplh.l'hctt, a dircctional
(curvc),straight(tangcnt)is clrillctlto lhc rcqLtit.ctl
motor assemblyis run, and anglc-buildingcontittucsin a slnoothcurvc unlil
the hole becomeshorizontal. The curved scction of the hole may be cased
before drilling the horizontal section, or both holc may be cased togetller.
Running of the casing dcpendsupon the turn radius,lengtlr of horizontal
section,formation conditions,torquc and drag.

2.3.4.2 HorizontoI S ectiott

Hotizontal section of medium-radiushas angle of about 90o. The horizontal
section is drilled using low angle build stecrablenrotor assctnblyas shown itt
assemblyhasa bendlrousingwith a low angle
Fig.2.25.A commonsteerable
bend of 0.25'- 0.5", possibly with a very tlrin deflcction pad to prevcnt motor
housing (as shown in Ftg. 2.26) wear reaming nonnally is unnccessary
becausethe assembliesare rcflectively limber. Reaming car be done with a
ifrcquircd.Thcn,drilling contirucsuntil thc
rcamingassenlbly,
nonaggressivc
torizontal scctionis conrpleted.
Lastly, the featuresof this drilling method used for medium-radiushorizontal
well, are given as follows:
tn this method, the turning radius from a vertical to horizontal direction is
about 300 to 800 ft.
'l
Two systemsare availableto drill thesedrainholes. hesesystemsusedtn
general are: downhole mud motors and flexible drillpipe. One system
utilize build-motors for angle building al a rate of about 2dl100 ft. thc
horizontalpotlion is ddlled by using anglehole-motorswhich drill at a rate
of about30'/100 ft. Suchsystemhasbccn usedsucccssfulto drill 1000to
1500ft long wells in fracturcd formalions.
/)r. N{.S.F:rrxhnt

(:IL II

l)tilling

40

I-u.hniques

Flcqucntlytlrcscwclls al'c rlso conrplcto(l

usirrgslotlctllirrcr.s.'llrr:
wclls
c i l n l ) c l o g g c t l r r s i t r gc o r n r r r o r o i a l li yr v i r i l i r b lcro: i l o t ll r r l r i r r g
ruorrrrletl
cvnlunlion tools.
fir'rnnliorr

S t a b l l l z e db e n t
l l ou sl n g | n o l o r
Survcy tool

SlecraLrlo
r a c l i l t so f c r r r v a l u r o

P o s l l i v r -r. l i s pl r r c c r rort rt
r l o w t r l t o l c r r t ol o r

Top slablllrer
n = lln(lhts ot curvnll|lo

Degrco ol l)cn(l
R

Benl-houslng
slablllzor

Fig. 2.25 T14ticaI steer altIe s),sten.

/)r. M.S. Iarahal

CH. II

Drilling

I'echniqrrcs

4l

ffiffiHm"TF-l
lH. llw i
-lN
iiffi'1
tffillffil
lrrlrri:ur

r-ir;:trl.iEir

lilrlH-r

Fig. 2.26.

aredrillednrainlyby deviation
Long-turnradiushorizontalwell classifications
in openho1es.Wells in this classificationarecharactcrized
by largerhole sizes
ol longopcnholc
zurdalc vcry susccptiblcto lrigh dragandtorquclrccausc
althoughsrrrallctdiarrcterholes
section. Flolesizerangeup 12.25in cliameter
are lltote conln'loll.

Wells with a radius of crirvatureof about 300 m ( I 000 ft) in the deviated
(asshownin Fig.2.27)a
usingthetcclrniques
sectiorrsare commonly dr-illed
stcerablebcnt nrr.rdnrotor and MWD to locatetheholeas drillingproceeds.
in using top-drivc ralhcrtlrantotary
Also, therc are significantadvantages
table drilling rigs, and top-clrive rigs ate commonly used in offshore
applications.Fer.vland rigs havehad top-drivebecauseof tl-recost installation,
ar-eavailable.
howevcr,nervtop-drivedesignccl
spccificallyfor landopcrations

Dr. M.S. Farahat

CII. II

Drillitrg I'ecluriques

42

[?or long-radiushorizontalwells drilling, the NavigationDlilling Systenr

(NDS) empty a NorTrak streeablemotor with doubletilted U-joint housing
(DT[J) as shown in Fig.2,2B. The systenrcan drill directionalprofilesand
nrakccoutsccorrectionswithout costlyasscnr[rlychanges.

0ouble-bend
U0t0rconli[uration
Drilex
Inlo$r.rl blado
slablilzor

f ' o 5 i l l v or l i r , ) l n o or l r l
willl bonl llousing

Fig. 2.21.

$teeraDle
ntBtqi' iUurati0n
xc0nf
P o s i l i v e( l i s l ) l a c o n ! o n ll o l o r
willt pl(l an(l l)rr|tl lr)l[]in(l

('

'

I:ir:.2.29.
Y ...1 \'l
fL Jcf'^'-'-"'
II
J
J

Also, thc D l'U lrousinghastwo sliglrtbcnds-[r'stirr onc clilccliorr,

tlrorrin thc
opposite-toslightly tilt the bit's axis fronr thc hole axis. ltcsultingol-['sctanglc
can bc configulcclfi'om 25"Io 78'Loplovitlc doglcg capabilityup to 6'1100ft
rvhiledrilling in the orientedmode.\Mren thc rotary tablcis engagedwhile the
NorTrackmotor continuesto run, bit offset is negatedand the NDS assembly
drills straighta head.To keep the well on course,otientedand rotaly sections
'l
c a n b c t l t c r r r i r l ow
d i t h o u tt r i p p i r r go u { o l ' l l t c l r o l o . l r c t l o t r b l c - t i tl tl c s i g l r
brings the motor axis back into alignmentrvith the boreholeaxis, providing
/)r'.Nl.S.ll:tr':rh:rt

CE.II

Dti

i'tg lechniqnes

directional control and consistentwell path curvaturewith low bit offset and
housing,bcaring,anddr-ivcasscmblystrcsses.
nrirrinral

2,4.1 Venical Section

It is drilled ftom surfaceor sea bed until KOP (Kick-off point) using
tools.
convenlional

2.4.2Curved(Turnin
The cuwed section of horizontal tum holes through a 90" angle from
horizontal to vertical with an averagetum radius of 1000-3000ft. The first
'fhe
same gcneral
stcp is to deviatedand bcgin drillirrg thc curved scction.
proceduresare used for drilling the high-angle directional and mcdium-turn
pattcrns.l{cduced anglcsof brrild and longcr opcn holc scctionsmust be
ollowed. tt is necessaryto establislrcurualute and thcn drillcd witlr one of
severalassemblyoptions,as shown irr Fig.2.29 pattemswith longer turn ladii
arc dtillcclusingditectionaldrilling tcchniqucsin thc carlicrpartofthe cuwcd
-l'hen
'I
arr
section. his is mote common where bit walk and angle is about 20o.
angle is about 6d. Drilling continuesto higher angleswith rotary assenrblics
in a few cases, such as a hole with vety long tums- Normally, rotary
assembliesare less efficient for building angle and controlling direction at
lo horizontal with motor assemblies,drilling with steerablemotor assemblies
as often as possible.Tangent sectionsslrould be drilled as needed.Tangents
are often placed at an inclination of 60'. Tangentsare omittcd in some holes
that havc longer turn radii becausedrilling longer sectionsplavidcs tin'le for
morc rvcll path adjustments.

2.4.3 Horizontal Section

Horizontalsectionsof long-turnholeshave anglesof about90o depending
uponfonnationconditionsand well pattems.The horizontalsectionis drilled
with either a hold or low-angle-buildsfeeablemotor assembly.Procedures
Dr. trt.S.Farih,rt

CIl. II

44

lttiUh,E Tt?huiqu.s

similar to dr:illing the horizorltalseclionof tlrclncdium-lunrpattcrnalc uscd.

Ro(ary nsscnrtrlicsarc scldonruscd.Draganrltorqucincrcirscrvillrirrr:rcasing
depth. Torque nay approacb the ma;rimurr linliting torquc-strongthofthe
dlillstring in very deep holes. This hasoccuLred
evenin a complctclycased
hole. Moto[ assembliesshouldbe usedhere,sincetl]e do not requirerotating
the drillstring.Drag and torquemaybe nrinitlizedwith tlrecorrecttypehigh
q u a l i t ym u ds y s l e ma n do t h c ra c t i o n s .

TI;
iJ

II
CJ-r!Fd

q9e!l-srr

,/ / ,'1n"rl^i'r
soction
//

br

\+4rf
Drllllns ll'o

0illliri! ll'o

Fig. 2-29Long hutt horizontal well.

Ilowever, this drilling method (long-lurningmdius) has a turningradiusof
1000 to 3000 ft in most casesalrd uscs mostly convcntionaltools. A
combinationofdrill bits with bcnl subsancldownholenruclrnotorsalc uscoro
drill 2000to 5000ft long horizontalwells,sometimes
reducesto 4000 ft long.
The advantages
and disadvantagcs
or iinrjtations
ofthis drilling methodused
l o r l o r ) gl i d i u s h o r i z o n t awl e l l .c n r rb c s r r r r r r r r r i z rc.df o l l n w s :
1 Thesewells can be cored,loggedand treated.
2. Problems in cetnenting the lrighly deviated wellbores are furtllel
aggravatcdin horizontalwellbotes,especiallyin regaldto displacement
frourthe holeandunifoml comcntplacemcntaroundtlrcwcllbolcs.

D/. M.S. !i,r.rh.rf

(:8. lI

DtillinE li.hriqrcs

45

Rccontadvlrrccs,howovcr,indicatcthc possibilityofccnlcntirrghotizorrttll
wclls andpcrforatingthemsclcctivcly.
oflong radiushorizontal
A selectivecompletionoption,a majoradvantage
wells, would facilitate producing only from the oil bearing zonesand
zones.
shutting-offhighwalcl or gasproducirtg
a
A typical tuming of 1000 to 1500 ft roquiresthatthc well perletrates
rescrvoir 2000to 5000ft a way liom thc spuddingpoint.l'his lrrgc Iatcrrll
spacerequitcmentlimits tho trse of this techniquein many shorcficlds
where the typical vertical well spacing is l0 to 80 acres.However,this
types oftechnique is very useful in offshoredrilling

D,-. Nl.S. F'Ar:rhat

CIL III

Har

tt: ofllotiznalal

tt'c|lr

46

CunprulrIII
PLANNING OF HORIZONTAL WELLS AND
DRAINIIOLESGnonlrTnv

l-Qeagg11y of Horizontal ll/eu or Drainholc

wcll tnrjccloryantlshapcrvithirrlhc rcsclvoirhavca sigrrificarrt
Wcll dianrctcr',
impact on costs and overall rvcll success.c. g. productivityand recovery.
gcometryis a criticalaspcctof horizontalrvcll dcsign.
Consequcntly

i.I lTell Diameter

The diameter of horizontal section is the easiestwell geometry element to
\\,hichu'ill allow thc following:
identify.It shouldbc thesnrallestdianrctcr',
l. Use of controllablcancldtilling asscnblicsand hydraulicprogramsto
objcclivcsanrlholc stlbility.
achicvcplaccrrrcnt
cvaluationtools.
2. Sufficientclcatanccto run thc neccssalv
3, Sufficient clearanceto install the requircd complction, production, and
wolKoverequlpmenr.
4.
Sufficicntdiarnctcrfor ccononricilproducfion.
llowcvcr, tlrc initial hotizontalwcll in a ficld dcvclopmcntshoulclbc dcsigncd
wilh largcr dialnctcrto allow running an cxtra string of casing in caseof
unexpectedhole problems,e. g. influx of rvateror gas. Ilolc diamctercan
possiblybc rcducedoncedrilling/conrplction
placticcsandconcspondingltolc

,D,:IU.S.l':rrrhat

CIL III

I'ttrti'tg

ttl Ilorizotttt

tvctls

4',7

conditiors have been evaluatedon the first well. Also, the well diameter
sclcclionis tcstrictcdby thc cliamclclof cxis(ingvcrticalwcll 1()bc rc-ctltctcd.
'l
he lcsllicteddiametermay litnit well lcngth,cvaluatiorr.
'l'lrcsc
consctptcuccs
utust bc
Completionor produotionopclationoptions.
consideredearly during the wcll trajectoty design.

g!!,ProfiLe
lL lV_
'fhc

nlost increasingwoll goomctly aspectis tlre wcll plofi1e withirr llrc

reservoiras shown in Fig. 3.1 that illustratcshorizontalrvell profilesusedfor'
d i ffcrcrrtappIications.

Fig. 3.1 llasicwellprofilcs.

1.., l, t
3.2.1 Flat wells: are uscd inhornogeneousrcscrvoirs to solvc watcr or gas
coning problems. Thjs is the easiest and least expensive design shape to
but it providethc lcastoptionsover thc well life.
accomplish,
j,2.2 []nddotittg 'ells: ^re used in reservoirs containing impertneablc
iDtotwo oI n]olc isolatcdreservoirs.
barlicrsthatscpalatcthc lscrvoit's
Dr. ['1.S. F:lrnhat

CH. III

Ptautittg ofnotizohtdt

utetls

4a

i,2.3 Upword inclined welk: arc tsed in dirty rcservoirswhere gasconing rs a

problcrn.As the gas intcrlaccnrovcsdownwarl and clr(crsthc lal crrciof lhc
'Ihe
horizontalwcll.
end ofthe wcll canbe pluggedandproductioncontimred.
'lhis
wcll plofilc hasthc advanlagcthrt it loculcsnll of tlrc fluirl lcvelslrrr rr
I l i v c sl l r ( i( ) l l t i ( ) ol l l r l r r g g i r rl rgr r c ltil r cc r r t i r rl .r o r i z o r r tsr rclc t i o rrrr r r rl lr r r x h r c i r r l l
thc well asa vcrticalrvell.
3.2.4 Dotptut'ard itclined *ells: are used in dirty resewoirs where water
coningis a problcnt.As thc watcr interlacemovesupward,waiel comeslDto
the far end of the well first. The inclinedwell can thereforebc pluggcdback
and corrtinuesto bc producedafter watel breaktlrrough.
3.2.5 ll[ultilct'el wells: are used with sand lcnscsand with rcscn,oirssepnrated
'lhesc
by inrpcnncable
banicrs.
v,cllshavea higlrerchallenge/risk
in tcrmsof
hajeclorycontrol but providesfor dual brcak thr.oughin the rvcll s life by
i s o l r r l i ror gr ' q r l r r g . gtilrrrcgl o r v c rs t c pr r l l d u n ( : c ( ) r r r r i$c, t e rl l r x l l l ( - t i ( no rr j r r s _
3.2.6 Mt li hrot,(:h:Sllort radii are widcly uscd.Multi branchrncdiumantr
long radii wells arebeginniugto be uscclandshouldfind widcspr.cacl
uscin thc
lcxt l-cwycafsduc to thcir inrprovcrlccotronrios
and incr-cascd
t|rlrirragc
arca.
j.2-7 Gmrit.1,
drainocc l,clls: ar.ebcirrgdrillcri in dcplctc(lrcscrvoir.s
willl lro
dlivc nechanisnrotherthangravity.It is likcly thatgravitydrainagewclls can
b e t t s e ri ln l r c a v yo i l s t r c n r nl i o , r , l i n pg r o j c c t s .
3.2.8 Conple.r tell sltopes: conbine molc than one oftire abovc well sfierpes
and are useriin rcsovoirs with con4rlcxgcologythrt varicswidcly ovcr lhc
length of horizontalrvell.

1.3 DesigttllOt'i.zot,tol lt ellI!4ie.'tot!

In accordance
with thehorizontal
wcll drilling,ther.c
arcthrcescotionrrarlcly:
yertical
L
sec(iol;it is drilledfrom scabed(rnudlirc) unlil kick-offpoint
(KOP).

l)/'. M.S. Iarahrt

CIL III

Planning of llorizontol

llclls

Ttutting or curvetl or angle build section: it is drilled from kick-off point

(KOP) to theend-of-curve
([OC).'l'his sectionincluclcs
thc first-buildarc,
iu'c.
tlrcstraiglrttangcnt,thc sccontl-llriltl
nrc (llOC) to
3. llorizontal section:it is drill(xl lronr thc cnd of sccond-hrrild
thc end ofproposed distartceto be dr:illedhorizontallyin thc pay zone,ill
accordancc
with tlrctypco['horizorrtalwcll to bc drillcrl.
The designof horizontalwell rnentionedhere is a part of Farahat'sresearclr
publishedby Cairo university.6{r'International
conference,
Feb. |999. l'his
design is baseclon the conccptof tlre sirnpletangentbuild curvc. The three
.
major scctionsthat fomr a horizontalu,ellor drainholcaroshowltin Fig. 3.2.
Thus,from this Figure,the thteesectionmay be designedas l-ollows:
vEnncAL
sEcrioM n

ol

A A S I Cg U t L D C U NV
GEOMETNY

,1 -Ha - V

H-|

Fig. 3.2 Design of ltorizontol v,ell trajectotlt using lhe sinrple

tangent build c:utve nrelhod.
Nl.S.|rarah:rt

CH.III

Planni'ry of Hotizottol tlclk

50

l. Thc build-radiusof the first-buildarc:

R : 5 7 3 0/ B ,

(l)

2. lleightof thefir'st-build
arc:
D' : R(Sinlr-Sin I1),

(2)

3. Heightofstraighttangent
D, : L, CosIr,

(3)

4. lleight ofthe second-build

arc;
(4)

D,: R(Sin!-Sin lr),

5. The iengthofthe first sectionofhorizontalwell: KOP
KOP : TVtLD,-Dr-Dr,

(5)

ofthe first-buildarc:
6. The displacement
II, = R(CosIicos I),
7.

(6)

'l:hc
displaccrncnt
of thcstmightlangcnt:
H, : L2 Sin Ir,

(7)

8. The displacementof the second-buildarc:

lIr : R(Cos Ir-Cos It,

9. The length ofthe first-build arc:

Dr M.S. I'arahat

(8)

CH.III

Platui g of lrorizon,tt Welts

51

(e)

L r : 1 0 0( l i l r ) / 8 ,
10.Thelcngthofthe second-build
arc:
L3 : 100(I,- lr)/B

( l0)

||. Ihc rrcusulcd

dcpthatlhccrxlof lho firct-l)uiltl
afc:
MDr : KOP l- Lr,
l2.

'l

(l t)

h c r n c l r s rcrrrl d c p l l )a t t l r cc n ( l( ' f s t | 1 r i g ht |t r o g cl :

MDr=MD,+Lr,

(t2)

13.Themcasured
depthat theendofthe second-build
arc:
MD3: MD' -FL3,

(13)

The lengtbofsecondsection= L, + L2 + L3 or MD3-KOP.

t4. The length ofhorizontal sectionor third section: H

(14)

This length is selectedaccordingto the tuming radius of horizontal well to be

ploposcd.
EX. l: During drilling a horizontalwcll in Egyptiandrilling concession,
the
follorving data wcre requircdto designthis well trajcctorl, namely:
Minimum expectedanglcbuild fate:8?100 ft.
Minimum tangentlcngth= 120ft
r anScnrrngte = )u.
Tarrgcnlangle90'al S000ft TVD.
Designwell trajectory.

EalJlti!2!f
'Ihe
l.
build-radius
ofthe first-build
arc:
R : 5 7 3 0 t 8= 5 7 3 0 / 8 : ' 1 t 6f t
Dr: iU.S.Ihr:rhnt

cn.III

Phn iry ofrrotizontat ttlerts

MD, = 16P 't t, = 8206+ 625- 8831ft.

12.Themeasured
depthat theendofstraighttangent:
MD, : MDJJ Lr : 8951-F500= 9451ft.
I-cngthofsccondscction: Lt J [_,+ Ll

: 625+120+ 500: 1245ft.

14. Length of horizontalsectionor third section= H proposcdlength in
a c c o r d a nw
ce
i t hR : 7 1 6f t , w h e r eR : 8 0 0 f t I , I : 3 0 0 0 f t . t h u sR
, : 7 1 6f t ,
H will be 2685ft.
1'hus,theproposed
lcngthofholizontalsection:26g511.
The measured
or drilling depthofhorizontalwell
: KOP + Iengthof tumingsectionI lenglh
ofhorizontalsection.
= 8206+ 1245+ 2685- i2136ft.
The displacement
oflrorizontalrvellpathor trajectory
: Ilr + II2 + FI3+ Il :265 -t 92 1, 460+2685:
3502ft.
The tnreverticaldcpthofhorizontalwe pathor trajectory: 9000ft.

,r. ^t,S. Fr|.ahrt

53

CI{. It

Dtilli'ry Probt.ns

54

Csaprer IV
Dnrr,r,rNcPRonr,nnrs
AssocrarnDwlTlr
HonrzoNur,Wrll
DRIT,T-INcAun TIIIiIR REMEDY

l'herearefournrainproblems
duringdrillinghorizontal
wells and drainlrolcs,
narncly:
l . D c l i v c r i nwgc i g htto l h cb i t .
2. I{cducing
torqueanddragforccs.
3. llolc cleaning.
4, I'rotcction
of watcr-scnsitive
shalcs5, I)ircctionillcontrol.

4.I DeQ'r:e
ry,Wihlt la theBitApplyingsufficientbit weightfor optinraldrilling ratethat is oftcn a proorcrn!
cspccially at highcr anglcs ancl whilc dlilling the hofizontitl; scction.
Corlverrtiorral
bit rveightfor efficientdlilling is about2000 5000 lbfpcl inch
'l
ofbit dianrctcr. he availablebit weiglrtflom a givcnasscnrbly
thcorelicallyis
teduccd by a lactor relatedto the cosine of thc dlilt angle.'llris cosinc
approachcszcro as the holc angle rpp|orclrcsq{t'. Mot.rl asscrnblics
drill
efficiencywith lessbit weightthanro(alyassernblics.
They cornpensate
for bit
weight with highor rotationalspeedof turbincsand motors.

Bit wcightmaybc increased

by rcducingdragandkrrque.Bur oftenthisis not
sufficientIbr an optinraldrilling rate in holcswith highcranglcsand in
sections.
Bit weightis o{Ienincreased
horizontal
by usingthe split assembly

,/. M,S. Frrrhat

CI

IY

Dt illit'8 I'knttuLs

:r:t

which diving the botton hole assemblyinto two partsas shorvnin Figure4.1a
a r r d4 . 1 b .

D
ll 3-1,/2'

or illll C o l l a r s
fi.0'..,,
U

Er D e r i e n l a l c o m p r e s s l v e
\se, v ic e O r i l l t

';:,h

[.4WI Pulser rReslricter

[.4WD
s u b1
I sub

tEtllloEl'.lffiD

I I *.*"^"\ ./

c::

_-l o

l"No
-Downhore\
l.-.------____Ic c o l l a rs - j
Molor
--------

\
\

Fig. 4.1a Generalizcd,lt illstring conf gtrnliott

c5.

Fig. 4.1h Achievirtguleighton bit tllrouglt contpresstve

forces usingsplit a,tsentblies.
Dr. M.S. Frrihrt

(11. ll

lrilli4

hr

o't

5('

'l'hc

l o w c rp a r t o f t h e a s s e n r b l yi t,r c l L r d i nl hgc b i t , n r o t o rd, i r c c l i o n acl o n h o l

(ools,and the nonmagnetic
coilatsare lcll at lhc bottomol thc dr.illslring.Ihc
fcnlaindcrofthc drill collarsarc placcdin lhc vcllical holc or irr an up1rcr
ourved hole that has a low drift. The two sectionsare connectedwith
pipc or in sourccaseshcavylvcightor rcgulartlrillpipcus strown
conlprcssion
'fhe
in Fig. 4.2.
drillstring is completcdin the conventionnlrnannerrvillr
<hillpipefrom the top of uppor sectior to thc surf'ace.Split bottom hole
assemblics
reducedrag and torqueso that nlore weighl can bc applieclto the
h i t f o r d ri l l i r r gf t r s t e r .

I reav}1,leight Compp,po
roorivo
pipe

Drj[
cotiar
drill

I"ig. 4.2 ConponentsoJltot<ttnlnle assenbll,.

'fhe

heavicrdrill collarcate more cflcctivcplaccdin thc vcrticalholc scction

as conrparcdto placingthem in the horizontalor.highlydeviatcdholescchon.
'lhcy
cxcrt ntorcdown q,ardfolcc to thc lorvcrdrills0ing and lcss folcc on tltc
sidc of lhc rvcllbore.'l'heforcc is trarsnrittcdby lhe comprcssion
or drillpipc
to the lower half of the assembiyin the high argle or horizontalhole section.
Partofthe dowtq,ardlorceis stili lost dueto sonredragandtorque.
'l'he

cornprcssionpipe or drillpipe connectingthe two assonrblysectiorr

logcthcropcr tcs in contprcssion,
so thal lllc risk of hilurc inclcascs.l)r.illing
rvi{lr a sllccablc assenrblyand rotating thc drillstr.ingslowly, also is
/)/: l,l.S. Fxrnhnl

CII. lt'

Irtilliug

hlnn!

:r/

' l l r c j r r r l r t t t r t l x 'ttc r l r r i r clrl rt t t r ' I t l i v t ' r h i l l ( . t ' l i r f t il t r r r r r lti r r lltv

r r ' (r . p l r l ) l ( . .
t r r r rllr t t t t r p i l t gl h. i s i t t c t c r t s cl hs c w c i g l r li r r l l t c
r r l r o v ci l l i r I c l l c c t i v c . j t l r i t t g
lowcr asscmbly.One athactiveis positioningthejar butnpcrsub olr top of thc
lower half the assemblyand let tlre compressionpipc pl'ovideswoigh lol the
jarring action. Also, a jar bumper sub should always be placednear the top of
thc upperhalfofthe assembly.

4.2 Reducins Torque and Dras Forces

Drag is a lorcerestrictingthe movdmentof the drill tools indirectionsparallcl
'l
Drill s{rirlg
to the wcll path. orqueis thc lorcc rcsistingrotationallrrovonrcnt.
rub and slideagainstthc wall oflhc |olc duringrotationand nippittgaspartof
of this frictional
rcgula[drilling activities.Drag and torqucare nleasurcrncnts
to thc movementofthe drill tools.
Icsistance
Drag is rncasuredin thousruds of pounds over or undcr the free hanging
wcight ot thc drillstring.1'orqueis tncasurcdin loot poutrdsofapplied torqttc.
ittg
It is inlportant to have a good weight in<licatotattd torquc-ttrcasttt
cquipnrcnt.llxoess drag and torque causc dircctional drilling pr'obtcrls
espcciallyin turning and horizontalsoctionsof horizontalwell, oftctt vcry
scvcrcin thiswell. lhc dlillslling can lail [tom lctrsiontluc kroxccssdragot'
twist olf clucto exccsstolquc. Ilithcr casclcavcsan obsttttctionin thc holc
requiringfishing,Open holc drag causcskey seatsthat, in turn increascdrag
and torquc.Drag increascsthe risk of stickingin kcy scalsancldiflcr.cntial
prcssurcsticking.Dlag also lcducc availablcbit wcighl scvcrcly al hrghcf
anglcs.
actionslcdrrccs
Eliminatingall dragand torqucis not practical,but prcvcrrtive
thcnrto acceplablclcvcls.ll is bcst to dcsignthc wcll pattcrnfor a minitttLtttr
l r r l r o p .l i x c c s st l t i t gi r r l r l
c l b t t i l to
r r r r r b c lo l - c l r a n g cosl i t n g l ca r t ral l o w i r r t g l o
torquearc tcducedby placilg casingin tlrehole.Drag incrcascsas thc sincol'
holc anglc incrcases.As lhis anglc apptoachcs90", thc stling wcight is
transfeued from hook load to drag weigh. Reatning reduccsdtag and torquc
causcdby key seatsand rough rvcllbore.Thus, it is itnportant to drill smooth
cr.u.resand straightinclined or ttuning scction.Reducingdrillstringwcight
rcduccsdtag and torque at high quality of tnttd with goocl chcnticalarrtl
,r),..M.S. Frr.hxt

CE.II'

Dtiuinql'toblens

56

physicalpropcrticswhich are essential.

Oil bascnrudshouldbe considctcdfot
more demandingsituationsbecauseof its good lubricating qualities.

4.3 Hole Cleanins or Cuttinss Removol

problemthatarisesin drillinghorizontal
wellsis thc difficultyo[
A particular
-l
seclionof thc rvcll. hc sourccof
removingrockcuttingsfrornthc horizontal
Ihc ploblctuis tlll{ cullirgs tondto scttlc in lhc bollontol thc lrolc rrtttlitllorv
the mud to pass above without tmnsportingthenr. Seltled cutlings are
rrndesirable
sincc they increasethe friction in the hole and, if it is latcr
colncntcd,proclrrccpoor ccnrcntbonds-A grclr{ irnprovcnlcrlirr rcrrrovirg
cullingshas bccn achicvcdby using top-drivcdrilling rigs. lr lhcscrills, lhc
dtillstling is rotilted by a largc. gcatcd clcctric ol hyrfiaulic(lrivc nrok)f
(typically400 hp to 1000hp) rvhichslidcsup and dosn thc dlill nrirslon rails
(scc llig.4.3) rathcrtlranby tlrcconvenlionalrot.ry tableao(lKclly. With this
it is possiblcto rotdtcthc drill s{rirrgand kr cilculirtcrrrr,ul
arr?llgcnrcnt,
its llrc
s l f i l g i s l c r r o v c ( lf i r ) n rl h c l x ) l c . l h i s l c r r r l st o k c o l )l l r c r I i l l c r r l l i r g si r r
susponsionand to proviclca nruch clcancl hole. lhc rcnrovalof crrllirrgs
rcducesl'rictionbctwecnthc drill pipc and thc holc and rcduccsthc lcndcrrcy
l i n s t i c k i r r !l1l o. r v c v c rt'h, c l I n s p o rol l ' c u l l i | l g bs y l h c n r u ( li s r r r o r ct l i l l i c r r li{r r
a hofizontrlholc thanin a vcrlicalonebccausellrecultingstcnd to scl(lcat {hc
botlulr of tlrc holc and thc fluid tcndsto passabovc.I Iigh fluitl vclocilicsarrtl
tnlbulcnceprornotcthe transpoi of lhe cultings,but lhis can bc linri{cdby a
tenclcncy
for washoutsin thc wall ol thc holearrclalsoby thc physicrrlcapacity
o f t h c n r u dp u n l pt o p r o v i d cf l o w . ' l o p r o m o t ct u r b u l c r c ci,t i s d c s i l a b l ct o
havc a low fluid viscosity.On thc othcl lrand,to rcstrictthc scllling of thc
'lhcsc
solids whcn thc flow is stoppcd,a high viscosity is ncccssuly.
conflicting requirements can be accomniodated,at least particularly, by
plasticfluid rvith a high latio of yield point
rnakingthc nruda non-Newtoniarr
to plastic viscosity. Polymcr nruds are conr only used lor this. AIso,
rnininrizingformationdamageshouldalrvaysbe a majol concernin sclcctirrgu
within it.
mud systemandparticularlythe chemicalcomponents
In practice, a wide Varity of drilling mud compositionshas been used for
drilling horizontalholes,dependingupon the situation.Also, thctc can be
good rcason to use oil-based tnuds to control shale swclling. They perlonn
D,.. N{.S.Frr:rlrat

CIL Il/

I)rilli

P I'rohlrnrs

5!)

betterthan inhibitedwater muds in this lespect.Howevet, oil-basednuds are

difficult to disposeof in an environmentallysatisfactoryrlanner and they ate
t r r o r c c x p c n s i v c l l r l r r w l r ( c r - - b a s c rol r r c s . A s i r c o r r r p r o t t t i s c ,w i t l c r r t t t < sl l t l l - r v l t l c r

drilling fluids containingwater-solublepolymefsare ollen chosenfor drilling

horizontalwells. They can have good inhibition and lubricationqualitiesat a
lower cost and without tire problemsof n-ruddisposalfound with oil muds.
Polymer r.nudsalso glve improveddrilling rates if the contentof suspended
solidsis kept low.

P o r t a b l eT o p D r i v eD r i l l i n gS y s t e r n
I'lrol o <:ou rl es.yTitsco l)ri lliu g 7'eclt n ology

Fig. 4.3.

Photogruplt slrorvirtg portable syslem installed beby,

rig's existing block, hoolt autl srvit,cl.Ilylrtulic service loop goes lo pump skitl. Torque ruck is lastcued
lo hack of derrick.

4.4 Protectiort of Water Sensitive Sltales

tend to collapsein contactwith freshwater. This can
Shalelayers frequer-rtly
by usingoil-bascddrilling fluids.Thcscfltriclstrsuallyconsistol'
be prevented
an invert emulsionof water in dieseloil togetherwith other additives.Fluids
of this type have been used in the North Sca. Watcr-basednTudscan be
shalesby the additiouofNaCl
inhibitedto reducethe attackon water-sensitive
or CaCl2.These additivesreduce the chemicalactivity of the water and its
tendency to penetrateinto the water-sensitiveshale. lnhibited water-based

Dr. M,S. Farahat

Cn. Iv

Dritti',8 t'tohten's

60

[ludi are nol as cffcctive as oil-basednruds for the plotectior of shales,but

thcy arc{eaper andlessdamagingenvironmentally.
llcccntrcgulillionsintcndcd to protcctthc cnvifonlncntrrc nrrking thc usc of
salt-bascd
muds more difficult for land operations.
Offshoresallbascdfluids
arc acccptabic,
but thcrcarc rcstrictionon thc uscofoil-bascdnrutl.

4.5 D irectional ControI

Ovcrcomingthc forcc of glavity is a fundamental
ploblcrnir dilcctionaland
ho|izontaldrilling. The bottom hole assembly(BHA) is a heavy weight
hangingon the bottom ofthe drillstring. Thc BllS must ovcrcomethc lcrrccof
gravity with a strong side forcc for directional drilling. 't his for.ceis applied
rvith stabilization,
firlcrumsand operatingtechniqucs.
Morc cornnronbottonr
holc asscnrblics
havc onc point ol-lcvcr.agc
ootltactwitll tlrc wall ol thc lrolc,
suchas a bent.BHA's with multiplepointsof wall contactabovcthe bit canbe
controllcd more accurately.Three points of contact definc a constantarc of
cuwature correspondingto the desired build rate of the motor assemblies.
Motors asscmbly can be fixed or adjustable. Fixed assemblieshave two
aligned lulcrum suppolts for building angle accuratclyand at higher ratcs than
adiustable assemblics.Adjustable assemblicsare more flexible for use in
varions situations,especiallythe steerableversions.The term steerablehas a
specialmeaningin the oil industry.
Most motor assenrbliesare steerablein the sensethat turning the drill srrrng
changesthe coursein order to drill ths hole in thc desireddirection.The
steerableBHA consistsof bit, down-hole motor with build in dog-leg
tendency,measuremcnf
while drilling surveysystemmay allow to continuc
trackirrgofwellborc path (as shown inFig.2.27).
Positive displacement motors developed power from a rotot-sraror
configuration,
as fluid is lolccd into thc opcn cavity ofthc nrotorshclicalthc
motoroutputshaftdrivesthebit directiy,thcrcby'eliminating
the needfor dtjll
stri g rotation.The build tendencyofthe motor systcm,referreclto as dog lcg
establishd
by use of bent housingmotor (normally0.5'to 1.5"anglebends
coupled with under gauge stability ). On the motor itself and iust above the
,r. NI.S.Fnrahrt

CII. It'

DriIiIg

P,oblcms

6l

nrotor by varying th bcnd in thc nrotor housing as wcll as stnbilizcr

pllcclncnls glugcs. l\{o diflcrcnl dlilling rnorlcsarc uscrl willr s{cclatrlc
systenr. lhe first orientedmode (slitling), the motor rvilJ producc angle
changcsrcsultingfrotr motor dog-lcgtcndcncy,makirrgit possiblckr charrgc
thebuild or directionof*'cll course.
l)oglcg lcndcncyol lhc systcrr is dcsigrrcdkr proritlc irrrglccharrgcsgrcatcl
l l l a nw l l : r 1l l r c r l c l i l r l l l ryr c c < l cst lo, l l r u ll l r c r r n i o t i { lo l t l r i l l i r r gc r r rlrr c t I r n c r r r
rolary drilling nodes. lt is possibleto obtain overall build or turr rate needed
fot u'cl1patlrrvithouttripping.

4.5.1 Ckssiftcstiotr of bottom hole ss1eJlblias (BHA's)

Thcscarc subdividedinto rotaryand molorclassificflliols,lll lA canbc hrrlhcr
'l'hc
divitledinto categor
ics.
kind of equiprnent
and posilionin BilA nolmally
classificsthe asscnrblicsthe assemblytype. The various typcs of urotor
dcviationsectionare shown in Fig.2.29.BIIA's are nsntcdbasctlon usagcas
listcdin tlrcfollowinstable.

8il..1's
Natnc (usacc

Linrber

, nrotof

Deviation or sidetrack

e build
Rotary.or motor
Anele hold

Rotary,ol rnotor

Reamin
fishing

4.5.2 Medsuri g ittstntments

Measrtring instruments record drift, direction, and tool lacc of thc basic
nreasurcmcnts
for directionaland horizonlaloperations,to providc accuratc
D/' iU.S.Farahat

CIL Il'

DtiIi"E hoht.Dts

62

conlrol,somc tcclrniqucsarc applicdsuch as llrc stccr.ilgtool or MW!) arc

givcn below. fhe advantageof MWD over steeringtool is that MWD can be
usedin both rotary and orientedmotor phasesdrilling.
4.5.2. I St.\'t'ing turol
An instrument package contains a modified magnetic single shot and other
(as shown in Fig. 4.4). A coder convedsthe nrcasureddata to
instrunrents
clcctlical pulse,and a scndcrtransnrits(hcscclatato lhc sur'firccll ough a
shiclticdclcctlic conduit.Surfaceequipmentincludcsa rccordcrto covertthe
clootrio pulscs and digital or TV typc displays.'l'hesc inslr.urrrents
arc
availableimmediatclyat the surfacefor usc to control hole direction.ln
opcfalion,the instlunrcntpackageis lowcrcd and raised rvilh a shielded
c l c c : l l i c aclo l ( h r i t( c a b l c )o n t h c r c c l o f a r v c n c hp o s i l i o n c o
dn a truck.'l'hc
p i r t : k i r gs c a t si r rl r r c c c i v i r go r i n s l r u n r c lsl r r bi r l l r cd c v i l l i l g l D o l o il t s s c n r r ) r y
iurd lcrnainsin thc holc duling thilling. l{otary asscmblicscan not bc usc(l
wilh stccringtools.1hc drillstringrvith dircctionalnrotorasscmblyon bottorn
ir lor.vcrcrl
l)af{rvlyinto thc holc. l hc ilslrruncntl)ackagcis lorvclcdinsicicllrc
rhillslringon a cablctluoughasitlccntry sub out into lhc anntrlarsltacc.l hcrr
lhc cablc rrrrl drillslting arc loqcrcd logclhc[ \\,i1hlhc cal)lc oUtsidcand
parallclto thc drillstring.

d!,2. 2 Mea$tr ement-whiIe dri IIi ug (M ll D)

Mcasurcnrcnlrvhilc(MWD) rccordsnlcilsurctncnls
at or ncar lhc bit whilc
'lhe
dtilling continues.
data are transporte(limmediatelyto tlre surlacc as
pressulcpulscsin mud columncovcrcdby a codcrstoretlin a storageclcrice,
'l'hc
and transmitted
to thc surface.
instruntcntpackagchas[ratterics
or a snrall
turbincgcncratordriven by circulatirrgnrrrdfor a pou'ersupplyas shownin
Irig.4.5. A conrhlonsystenthas a rnud pulscrthat rcccivcsstorcddata and
convcrtsit into high-fiequcncypressurcpulscs in llrc rnud lop a sctsitivc
llessu[e detectorat tlre surface.Sulfacecquipnrentincludcsa decoderto
conveltthe pressurepulsesto elect cal pulse,digitalor Tv-type dispiaysand
lccordcb as shownil Fie.4.6.

/). lll.S. Farrhnt

CII. IV

D,'illing Prcbleus

\
lllt(lltte k, Sltttcc RflJi

. Nott.tuaE'ftricDt ill Colhi

St,rJeyStc.\i ETool
' lluleshoc Oricnrltrg
Sub
'Dc,tt

Sub

Rotnthry ltit Stl,

lloatlor-rt
puter& Printer
ConT
Powor
Cablo

Non Maonetlc
DrlllCollar

Bont
.--

Fi.g. 4.4 Surveysteering tool.

Dr'. M.S. lralahat

63

CIL IV

Dtilling lhblens

64

DIAGRAM OF TELECO'sMWD TOOL

Mudflow

Allernolo,

Hon-Moqnclic
(ollor

0ircrlionul
Senror

Fig. 4.5.
'l'hclcforc,
an M WD systenlcotl'lpriscs:

1 . A dowr-rholetool assembly,consistingof a special non-magneticdrill

collar housing the sensors and electronics for measurement and
transnrission
functions(Fig. 4.5).
2 . A surlaccsystcurfol' thc detcctionand clccodingof the IVIWDsignal and
conrputati<rn
anddisplayol'thc M WD clataasshownin l1ig.4.7.

Dr. l\{.S. Fnrahat

lD
fi)

sof ro, l,ln.rr,rt n.rr I"nrrt

ll".r I'or.r t I rn!xri,'r ,r.

tr,r, ro",r r. t-,qrr,,rr,,o

t o , " ,r , o " r : . " " " , n
A rl naqlri\ n'a ^li'rr,rl

A r l1 4 . ' l r h s . , 6 r . r , / f o i i

---

.,
1"",,

)ii,';

j ,'r;;r.r;;11

t t r \ i i t i v i t l- ( ; r r f rl r r n . l ) i r t ( t i o r r r l
Sl5ltrll

t ; r n r r u - l ) i r r (l i ' n r i ' l S , !\ l ( r r l

STEEYE
AS9I'ELY

rgo|.
A-agf-MIltY

Fig. 4.6 Measurentetftwlile drilling (MWD)

I)r'.M.S. Fnraltat

CIL IY

_-

l=

Dti i'19 Problens

Fr-oon fisTEra
Rlc
_ _ _-.-_-

66

-]

DRII-LERs

L.E.D,
DISPLAY

NoN-r^cdErrc
"--

x4.lV.D.

""*l

D^r

Fig. 4.7 NervMWI) tool.

/)r'. l\4.S.Irat.aha{

^aulsmoF P^cxacE

CIL lY

Driuiltg I'toblents

l \ 4 W l )s y s l c r rc l u rl ) r r r v i ( l cu .s i n l lv : r r i o r :rjl i l l i t c t r lc o r r r b i tl ri o
: rr r sl h c l i r l l r w i r r l l
irrl'olrrrltion:
l . S r r v e yi n l o r m a t i o nd:i l e c l i o ni.n c l i n a l i oann dl o o l l a c cr c a d i n g s .
2. Fd-nlation inlormation: gamma ray, rsistivity, rreutronand density
reading.
3. Mechanical information: downhole weight, toaque, shocks, flow and
temperaturereadings.
Also, thcre are three distinct types of MWD transmissionsysten currcntly
available:
l. llrc positivc pulsc systcnr: in lhis systcnr a plungcr-typc vllvc
nlonrcntarilyobstructsmud flow, giving risc to a trrnsicnt pcak ill
(Fig. 4.8).
pressure
standtripc
'[hc
rcgativcpuJscsystcm:in thc syslcm,a valvc nr(nrcnlirily vclls a
2.
poftirn of thc mud flow to thc borcholcarrnulus,gcrrcrllingl lrlnsicnl
drop in standpipcpressurc(Fig.4.8).
3. The continuouswave system:in this system,a spiming, slottcd rotor and a
slotlcdstatorlepeatedlyobstructmud flow, rathq like a rotaryvalvc or a
sitcr.'Ihis gcncratcsa continuouslow frcqrrcncylluc{ualionin sfandpipc
pre isurein tlreregionol'30 psi cxactlylike a low pitchcdhum.'I he carrier
wa e is modulated, rather like an FM radio transmission, to convcy
infi rmation to surface.

!!9.!!

lllD truts mk sio n svstent

The mcdulator generatesa repeatedse[iesof flucluation in staudpipepressure

by pcri.rdicailyobstructingnrud flow as the rotor vanesoccludetlle statiotr
'lhus,
'l'his
the 12 llZ MWD carrier wave is generated.
construct
slots.
of llrc
flcrlrrcrr;ywrvc is modulrrtcd,ot cnclosc(|,by pcriorlictlcrcclctaliorr
'lhis
modulaor rotor whiclr introducephase shifts into the carrier wave.
lo ficrlrrcrrllyto ficqtrcrrcy
rnotlrrlaion tcclrrric;uc
is vcry closcly corr:pirr':rblc
as shownin Fig.4.9.
mo<lulajon (tiM) radiobroadcasting,

,/: l\t.S. [1lralr,lt

CII. IY

Drilliug l\lthlcu's

68

Pressure

Positive
Pulse
[-{

Negative
Pulse

ilnl
+
ilml]
ilm

Tinre

t-,-_______,_

Continuous
Carrier
Wave

Time

MDASURIIMBNTS
IVIIILIt DIIII-I-ING
Fig. 4.8
4. 5.2. 3 GeosteeringuElLlpt11elllLgrul

lrt str unrcntatio tt

'I'he

newestlrlarket developing in MWD is fol geologicalsteerirg, sonletimes

ci\llcdgeosk'ctittgor ravigatiol ofthe well coutsc,accoldingto MWD litho

logy measuremert.
A geologicalspecialist,
engineer,or geoscientist
is usually
at the rvellsitefof interpretafion
of the dala bcing neasured.To be effective,
thesenew systemslequireuteasulemnts
closertlrebit.

/l/. [{.S. lr:rrrhit

FullyClosed

PadiallyOpen

60

Fully0pen

P
P

o-

Valveopensand closes
5 timesper rotation
Al 2.4rotationsper second
a 12 Hz carrierwaveis crcate(l

Titne
lra stuis.tion r)tsten1.

Es!!p44!!!!
'l

h or v l r o l M
c W t ) - l i l l r lou g yn r c l s r r l c r r c o
r rrlgsc u s l c c r i rcrrgl r r i p r r r icsrsr ltr o r v l
if Fig.4.10, whicJrcompr.ise:
l. A downholctoolasscmbly,
consisting
of a specirlnon-nragnctic
cLillcollar'
I t o t r s i t t llll,t c s c t t s o t si r, r t r rl : l c c l n r l i c sl i ) r l t c i * i l t , L l l e l l sl r n t l l r l r r s n r i s s i o r r
l L n o t i o n sa,ss h o w ni l l r i g .4 .I L

2. Surfacesystemfor the detectionand decodingof the MWD signal and

conrpLrtalion
auddisplayof thc M!VD dala,asslrowl il lrig. 4. 10.

l)/r M.S. Farahat

< II. Il

lrtiqing I'hn)tu s

I
i;

l,
;

?-.

I i:
lri

!
.?

{
IA5!

t,E

E;
q;
t
'z
5
a
5

c8 o
iii

il
,{'

qt

tt

s t:!
o

hl
(J
h

Fig, 4.10 Geo.rtecringlc(h iqrrc.

ilql
I

r)

c)

,/. NLS. Ihrahat

70

CII Il/

Dti i E l"ohlzn's

'71

I Slt uttt (trhtlio,t:

The advancedMWD or Cieostocring

system can providc, using varrous
diflcrcntcombinations,
the followinginfornration:
l. Surveyinfornration:
direction,inclinationandtool facercadings.
2. IoDnation inl'orftationtgamnta ray, reccptivity, ncuh-onand dcnsity
rcir(ltg.
J. Mcclranicalinfomtaiiorr:dorvnltoleweight, torqrrc,shocks, flow arrd
(cnrpcrature
lcadings.
4. I.,ithology irrformation:geologicalmarkersand/or thc top of |cscrvoir,
forrration dip, stratigraphia
control iir thin and dipping lcservoir.s,
high
rcsolutionseismicmappingol'complcx gcologicalslnlclul.cssuchas silll
domcs,localfault structurcs
andcon.rplex
layeledprocluclion
zonc.

Apnlicatiotts:
Thc newMWD or geostcering
systenis csscrrtial
fbr pr.ccise
r.vcllpositioniug
u,hichis crucialto tlte success
of drillingadvancetl
horizon{al
andextended_
rcachwells.

IU.]Y.I).I)OWNIIOI,E SYS'INM

l;-T

---

^?,"
-tI
<

aAIrLnY

u | l l tI

36

Fig. 4.11I4\I.D dov,nhole sys/en.

/ ) / M . S .I ' x r : r h x l

CIr- Y Drilst,i g Dcsign 72

CHaprBnV
DnrllsrRnc

DnsrcN

Many different traiectoriescan be used to drill a horizontal well to a given

l a r g c t .l w o c d r l r o r n l t c r ' r t l t i v cl rsl c s l r o r v ri rl l I i g . 5 . l . l r o r r rl l r i sl i g r r l et,l r c
broken linc shows the traicctqry that would be followed if there were a
c u r s l u t tllt c l i u so l o u r v t l u r c .l l t c t l r j c c t o t y , l c p i c t cIrrly l l r c s o l i r lI i t r cs l t o c s
l r i l l l r r rc'r r r v : r l r rnr lcl l r cs l r r r lr,' r r r r r c r ' l cl ,ryl r rl r n l l (| | l s c r ' l i o nl o r r r r o l l r c. rr r r v c r l
sectionat the botton'I.
This tangelttrajectoryhasbeenusedfiequently,but it is
not as commonnow as it oncc was.The main reasonfor usingit was to givc
.nore flexibility as the reservoir is penetrated.A difficulty with thc constant
radius approachis that, if it is found not to be practicableto achievcthc radius
ofcuwatureassumed,
the holc may end up too deep.In somccascs,whenthis
has occutred,the long-radiusBllA choseninitialJyhas bcen rcplaccdby a
rrrediumracliuson to allow morc rapid deviation.With rnodem adjustable
motors, such a change can be achio,ed by motor adjushncnt. It is now
c o n r n r o1nod l i l l r v i l l ra c o r s l a n8l t o l l / 3 0 n r ( l ( X )l ' t )l r r r i klla t oo r l o r r s c 1 5 "
to 20'130m (100ft)rateup to 65"to 75'andthcn finishthe angle-buildsection
at 7'or 8'130m.
I R A J E C T O F YW I I H I I I G H F I | B U I L D n A i L
AND TANGENT SECTION

Paih lor co.rl6nt

Fig.5.L

D/. M.S. Fnl.'lh^t

CII. Y Dti sttitry Desigt'

thedrillpipeandthewall ofllre hole

betwecn
In drillingverticalwells,fi-iction
haslittle effectupontheweighton thebit (WOB) This weightis basicallythe
buoyantweighloflhe drillstringin theholelessthepull on therig block Ttis
adjustedto the desiredlevel by the driller' When drilling inclined, and
particularly hot'izontalholes, friction has a much greater effect ln the
horizontalsection,the drillpipelies on the bottom of the hole and its weight
doesnothing to drive the bit folward; mther, its weight multiplied by the
the weighton
coefficientof ftiction of frictionresultsin a forcethat decreases
the bit. As the hole is clrilled farlher horizontally,the weight on the bit
by usinglighlweightpipe ir the
This effectis commonlyreduced
decrcases.
horizontalsectionof the hole and heavierpipe or ddllcollarsin the verlical
section.Suclra string is refetredto as inveded.The makeupof an inverted
stringusedto drill an early,verylongholein theNormanwellsfieldis shown
f i e l da ss h o w ni n F i g 4 1 .
i n F i c . 5 . 2a n dS a l a m

I N V E R T F DD R I L LS T R I N G
-

i2l mn' HEV|',ATE to SUFFACE

Fi9.5.2.
I'lowevcr,suggestionshave beenmade for using lightweight exotic materinls,
e. g., aluminum, titanium, or carbon-reinforcedplastics, in the horizontal
scctionol'holcs. Irr gcncral,howevcr,thcschavo bcen considotcdtoo costly
and it has not been found necessaryto developdrillpipes of this lype'
/ r . M . S .F n l x h : r l

a ll. I

lrillnriq: Ir,\ign

l1

Heavy- Weight Drillpipe

Spiral DrillCollar

CompressiveS trength Drillpipe

MWD

Angle Build Molor,

207100 ft.
Btl

FletrievableWhipstock
I"ig- 5-3Drillslring ltsign /br lrilling tlnti gsc(tiou ol ttulitrn" nulitu
horizontal utell or draithole usittgMlltD tool.
The analysisof the forces on the drillstring as they affoct dmg and torque ate
of great interestto drillels and severalcontpanieslrave devisedcontputer
'lhcsc
clcpcnclupon a knowlcdgc(ol ollcn an
;rtogtatrrsloL this analysis.
assunrption)
ofthe coefficjentof friction betweenthe pipe and the hoJeand
nlost stem.
Accotdingly,a torqueand drag progtam developedby Maurer Engineering
was uscd in the drillstringdesign.The following assumptions/design
criteria
wereused:
l. A maximumof 15000lb weighton bit (WOB) would be required.
/)/. M.S. trarrhat

( tt. t

2.

'lhc

lhilhtrirt: Ir'si(i

75

nraxinrttnrWOR worrld hc rcqttircd clrrling <lrillinl; in lhc oricrrtcti

rrodc(sliding)al'l D (totaldopth).
aslong
to rotatetlredrillpipeu'hilein compression
3. It wouldbe acceptable
as the criticalbucklingload and thc nlaximumbclldillgstresswele not
cxceeded.

'Ihus,

an jnve ed drillstring wottld be

s p c c i f i c a t i o nAsn. i n v c t t c cdlt i l l s t t i n gc l c s i g n
abovethc legulardlillpipe,as shownin Fig.

design
drillpipc
anclFig.

5.6.

Heavy- Weight Drillpipe

Spiral Drill Collar

r Angle hold motor

..\^r
/ DTU, 1"- 4" I 10 0 fr.
. Stablllzed rotary tools

Bil

Retrlevable
Whipstock

MWD

Compressive Strength Drillpipe

Fig. 5.4 Drillstring de;ign for drillin g ltorizontal sectionof rcdiutr raditt.t
lnrizutlul tvt'llot rlnitholc u,tingl,lll/1)trxtl.
'l

lrrrs,llrc rcgulardlillpipc as shorvnin lli1. 2..12and Fig. 5.7. lvottldbc rtttt in

c o t n p t c s s i o nF.i g . 5 . 8 s h o w st l r r r t h c c t i l i c a lb r r c k l i r r lgo l t l w o t t k l t r t r ll r c
c x c c < : r l t<: irrl | i n 1r ;' ( ) l ' r l i ( ) n
r .l s o .l r i 1 l . 2 . I B| c I r ' u s c r rl l sr cr l r i l l s t I i r tl1l tlt l lw ( ) t l l ( l
b c u s c r kl r t ! i l l l l r c 8 l / 2 i r r .l r o l c .
D/: M.S.Irxr:thrl

CIl. Y Dti striry Desigli 76

AnctleBuildBottonr
Flole Assembly

Hcavy - Weiglrt Drillpipc

Drill Collar

Compressive
StrengthDrillpipe

Angle Build Motor,

1.7 '/ f oot

SurveyTool

Bir

RetrievableWhipstock
1 i11.5.5 l) illstr ing lesigrtJU'drilling tut i g se(tion oJucliuttr,tudius
hotizoutul tvell or dmlnhole usitlgsteet'ingst!rve\,lool.

Dr. i\{.S. Irarnhat

I ll. ,

Anqle l"loldBottonr
Hole Assemblv

Ittilltrl't'ti

Itt llltt

'/7

Heavy-WeightDrillpipe

Spiral Drill Collar

Anglehold motor
oo

c St a bilizedrotary to ors

Bir

Compressive
StrengthDrillpipe
sec on ol redirutt-r'rtdius
Fig. 5.6 Drillstring tlesigrtfor tlrillirtg hr.u'izorltdl
horizonta.lt'ell or drai hole usingsleeing sutret' tool
1he specifiedBHA s ale shownin Fig. 5.9 thtough5. i2. Otrly lwo stabilizcls
alxrvc
attdotrcittrttrcclialcly
rvoultibc trscd;onc on tlrc rlotor-[]clting ltoLtsing
the rno{of.Fig. 5.9 and 5.10 shorvsthat BILrys dcsignftrl dlilling holizontal
ol'hotizonlalwcll Lrsing
slidingtnodcand r-olatynrode.
scclior rlrcdiurr-radius
A l s o ,r i g . 5 - l l a n d5 . 1 2s l r o w st l r a tI J l l . ( s d c s i g i l c r |d r i l l i n gl u r n i n gs c c l i o n
and horizontalsectionoflorg-tadiusofholizonlalucll.

dual horizontalu'cil iu tbc ALrslion

F[om casehistoryop an opposed-bore
fex:rs(t-lSA),it is lbundthst:in thc 121/2andlil/2
Clhaltformatiorol SotLth
Ir: h'LS. Ihl:lhnl

(:11.Y Dri nri g Dcsisn 78

i r v c r t i c a ll x ) 1 c s , 4 . 5i r c L i l l p i p cl r r d 6 . 2 5 i n r l r i l l c o l l l l sw o u l d b c u s c d i n
conventionllt[ illiug configlrralions.
tfor the6.25 in. hole,lhe lollowingstrategywas
phnllc{1:
I.

lolque arxlrllirgwoLrldbe nrininrizcdby running3.5 iD, 15.5lb/ft dlillpipein the

l r o r i z o n l il r lo l 0 i r r l c f v r l s .
2 . ( i r r ( i eS l l 5 r l r i l l p i l r cw o r r k lb u r r s r xilr r l l r e h o f i z o n t i rhlo l e . ' l l r eh i g l r l e n s r l u
slrenglhol this pipe is lot^ted in compression
thfoLrghthe high cloglegsin the
cuwij (lulningsljclioD).
3. ALlequale
3.5 in heavyweighl drillpipcwoulclruDin the verlicalhole to proride
wcighlod L)it(WOll) and to ovcroonrcholc d.agwhilc orieDled.
4. llcrrdingslrcsscsi

nrersurelrent
whilc drilliltg collar corDeclionsand in tlte

downholcnrotor would be mininrizcclwith nonntagnetic,

coftlpressive
seNlce
dfillpipc(NMI(Si)l')asshowrlinlrig.2l2inplace
r ooul m a g o e t di cr i l l c o l l a r s .

Articulated
Plpe
Compresslve
Strength
Pipe

Fig. 5.7 lllidtlttel

drillpipe dDtlcatnptessi|esr'et\th (ltillpipe 5in-\rutt-ktlats

D . N l . SF
. : r r| h i t

CII. I'

Dtt st'i'ry Desig

79

!-ig. 5.8 Buckling lootl ts. hole anglefot'4.5 i , 20 ft tlrillpve.

AnEIeHold Motor

StringStabilizer
Section

BearingHousingwith
Ceniralizer/ Stabilizer

Bir
Fig. 5-9BLl,'lrlesignJor slidingmodedw'ingdrilling horizonlalseclionoJ
netlhn>rulius tlf horizontalu'ellor drairthole.
Dr. vl.S.Ihrnlrt

CII. I'

Dti rhitls D.,!itn

llll

Angle Flotd Tool

Rotary
Speclal
Drlll Strlng

Stabillzer
Sccllon

Bir

Itig. 5.10 Specialdrill.slringde.signJttrt'otdt.t'nndedL!ritg drilling horizontol

scclion oftitediukt iddius ofhori.o ttl t<:ll or dtuittltolc.

Dr. A'1.S.
Ii':rrnhrt

C -V

String
St abilizer

Dti s it'g Desis

8I

Angle Build Motor

20"i 100'

Bent Sub
lu4otorSection

Kick - olf Sub

Upper BearingHousingwith
Centralizer/ Stabilizer
Tilted Drive Shafl

Bir
lrig. 5.1I l) I t.4 desiguJbr drilling ttutting sectie,no1flong+atlius cj horizot LtuI
nell.

I). l\t.S.lrnrrhat

CIL I/ IrillstrirB D.sigu 82

AnEle Hold Motor

Strinq Stabilizer

1-4" / 100'
Motor Section

Double Tilted
U - Joint

Bearing Housing with

Centralizer/ Stabilizer
Bit
Fig. 5.12 lllJA design.[ordrilling ltorizolttal sectionoflong rodius of
hu izrtttttl m,ll.
A j o i n t o t N M C I S D Pt e s e n r b l easl o i n t o f 3 . 5 i r r .h c a v y - w c i g hdtr i l l p i p cI.t i s
nra ul'acturedby milling the OD o1'a 4.'i5 in. tool joints. 'fwo I ft loug
sections,evcnly spaceclol tLrepipe bodv, are lefty unnrillcclto for.rnwear
knotsas slro\,vlt
in Flg. 2.12.A fulJjoint oi NMCSIIP is rrrnabovethe MWD
collal anda |0-ftjoinIwith no wearrlragrcticallyisoiatethc M\\rD scnsors.

D/: i\t.S. nrr.rhat

CH,Y

Srrgsrirr &Aryt:

Dti ltti,tg Dtsigtl

rJ3

pLtstLt(ll!!r!!L cun,el holeltllJllJtirSgttlilJ!

'l'he
a l o n gr r c r i r v c dl r o l ci s b e n tl i k c a b c a t na n c il s s t r c s s c ( l
< l i i l l s l r i npga s : ; i r g
'l
accorclingly. he rrraxirnunrlerlsileslfess in the wall of tlre pipe cau be
estimalodas showrrin Fig. 2.13and is givcnby the followingequation:
o,= Maxirnrrrnstrc:;s: E (Ii,"/R),
arrtl
ofclasticity,R* is the radiusofthe drillstr:ing
whereE is Youug'snrociulus
I { i s t h cra r l i u so l e r rvr a t u r co l ' t h ol r o i " .
lf, in adclitionto bcing aroundlhe cttn atureof the hole,the drillstringis also,
rotating,tlre stiesscsat any point on the circumferenceof the string vary l'iorD
tensileto corrplcssiveas il rotates.This tcnds to causemetal litiguc. lrr
addilion, bccuuscllrc pipc is not continuous,but in sectiousjointcd l)y
couplings,the stfcssesare greoterthaDcalculatedfiom the simple eqttatit'n
above.It follows then, that if equation(1) is to be used thcre should bc a
lirctofol sirfoty.Nazzcl(1990)suggests
fol steclcollars,n stfcssol'
srrbstanlial
with a factorof safctyof2, shouldbc used.'lhisrcsul{sin
20000psi combiDeri
a valueof 10000psi {o be usedin the aboveequation.Ihis valueis usedin thc
follorvirtgcxamplc.

Ex. I:
llre radirrsol'cuwatureto u,hicha cylindlicalddllcallaIcarrbc bcrtl
Cirlcrrlatc
psi), assrttrtirgYo ug's
willuruLcxccctlirrgir lunsilostlossol 70 Mpa (100{-}0
nrodLrlus
ol'clasticily is 200000Mpa (29'k10''psi) and ttre collar diamctelis
1 2 7r r r n(r5 i r r). .

Sohttion:

= 12.01)0001701*|27121*.001
n- l8l m(s951i).
R = [f)lo,]R,0 1 =t c n s i l os l r c s sp, s i( M p a ) .
1lr M.S.['arrhrrt

CII. l,

Drillstuing DesiC"

84

Or,
I l2l = 604 ft
/ 1000]*512*Ll
R = [E/ol R,": [29* 106
l hcrcfore, thc values in thc following table werc calculated ir the same
(usingEq. l):
rrraincr'

'l'ablc
5 . 1 :C ' a l c r r l r t tl cl idl l o o l l r r l r I r l a f oLrr 1 .1
Collor dianreler

Re drudi s

Ifiches

Angle-buikl

ft

"/to -

50

2.0

71

234

24

15

3.0

107

152

l6

100

3.9

l.l3

469

12

125

4.9

17,)

586

9.6

150

5.9

2t4

703

8.0

I /i

6.9
'7.9

250

820

6.9

286

93'7

6.0

200

drillcollalsare sttfficicntly
Flom this tablc it b seenthat evenlarge-dianretcr
llcxiblclo bc uscdlor long radirrsdrillirg, c.g.(r'l30nr (l(X) lt). Willt tttcclittttt
restrictionon the dianrctctoflhc ttlbulars
radiusd|illing, theseis an increasing
of 75 nrnris
thatcanbc uscdas cloglegsevelity"/30rrris irtclcasul.A cliatttclcr
neededfor a devia{ionof 16"/30m(R = 107nr or'352ft).
For no axial load, an allowablebendingslressof 18000psi ensuresGradeE
pipe rernainsbelow the fatiguccmlurancclimit of 107cyclcs.CratJeS pipe a
maxinrumallowablebendingstressof 21000 psi.

Dr. lI.S. ltarahnt

CIL V

Dti shi'19 )).sign

85

Le pth of s rigid c)'litrder wlticlt cttn ass along e g!!t!9!L!!,ell willry-q-t

distortion
1'lrelimiting lcngth, L, of a rigid cylinder that can passalong a hole sectionof
curvature radius, R, can be calculatedfrom the geometry of the diagram tn
Fis.5.l3.

GLOMF
tRy or nrcrocvrrr,roen
rr,rcunvEoHoir

Fig. 5.13.
UsingPythagorastheoremfor thetrianglemarkedwith the heaqrbrokenline:
R'?:(L/2F+(R-AD),,
Or,
(r./2F: R'?: (R'z2RAD+ (AD)1,
Whichif we neglectthc AD'term becomes,
| 2 sq.root(2RAD).
NotethatR andAD nust be in tlresameunitsasL.

Dx 2:
of straighlcylindrical
motorconsisting
It is plannedto build an articulated
joints.Assumitrg
jointedtogcthcfwith flcxiblcparticulated
thomotor
scctions
whatwoultlbc themaximumlcngthof nrolorsectionilis 95 nrmin diamcter,
.)r. M.S. lr.lrahrt

( ll. I

lrillntit{

lt.\iryt BG

it is desiredto drill holcswith a deviationof20 /30 nr (100 ft) and ifbcnding

ofthe nrotor sectionis to be avoided. Tlre hole diameteris to be l2l mm.

Solutiort:
l. Calcrrlateradius ofcunr'ature
I I R / l 8 0 1 0 / 2 0l h u s .I l - 3 6 r n .
2 . L D = t l z l 9 5 ) /1 0 0 0: 0 . 0 2 (nr r
L = 2 sr1root (2*86*0.026= 4.2 m or 13.9ft.
'I

he allorvablelengthsfor the samehole and tool diamelersand for other build

ralesare calculatedbelow.

Table
able5.2:
5.2:C
culatedaccountab enslhdate.
Calcul
"/30rn (100ft)
R
CalculntcdL
M

ft

Irt

69

225

3.8

12.4

25
20
t5

88

282

4.2

13.9

I l8

316

4.9

16.0

l0

172

564

6.0

19.6

344

1128

8.5

27.8

Thc fol|'wing lableshowsthc calculatecl

clcflmnce,AL),nleas!rc(lin nrrrrand
inches,rcquircdto accommodate
10. 5 and 2.5 m long lools in holeshaving
c r l v c t r r r ,n r d i i o [ 5 0 , 1 0 0a r r d2 0 0r n .

,,.. M.S. rrrahaf

( IL I

Table5.3:Cl

lt7

rcc rcqurrcot)erween
tween DolL-ano toot d
olamc
i
lct-s.

___fglefr"jItl rrdius
m

Itrilht,irg tt, \ign

r:T::

Boledianretcr'-tool
C)l)

L: 10 nt or 32.8ft

50

t64

250

!,.8

100
200

32ii

125

4.9

6e6

63

2.5

L:5mor16.4ft
50

164

63

100

323

3l

200

656 _L

16

1.2

ll

no

L : ) - Sn o r 3 - 2f t

50

t64

16

t,.6

i00

328

0.1

200

656

t).2

Although calculationsof this types illustratethe dii'ficultyof conductrrrg

a
st!aighl k\)l along a curvcd hole. thcy assuntethc.c is no berr,-liirg
slrcss
exertedby the string abovc arrd bclorv thc tool, i. Fi., i1 is iissrrrnerl
the
conncctiorlis madcb1,a lleriblc.joinl.or lhlt (hc lool is conncctcrlto flcriblc
sub. Lr the bcnding rnoment applied to it, at cithor cnd, by thc connecting
tubulars.

l). ilt.lt Ixr ri[nt

(IL

l I

lt'.ll (i,rpltaiu!

88

Crr,lpren VI

II onrzoxt'al Wur-r,Compr,nrton
TncHnrqrms
'l

he conrpletionof a horizontalwell or drainltolemustbe choseoiu thc light of

t h c f r r t r r r r ' c v o l u t i o ln' t h c n a t u r co:f t h c l l u i c l sp t x i r r c c da l o n g{ h c l r o r i z o r r t a l
,' oll or drairrlroleandthc sclcctivcproductionncedstllat ivill ensLrre.
I)?.finilitrccottrylelio,r: the choice of the partitioning of {he drainhole and of
tlrccornp,,sition
of thc liner nrustbc nradcvcry qrrickly.I'hcdccisionnraybc
l ' ; r s c d , ' r r l a t al i t ' u r t h c g e o l o g i c asl L r r v c a
y nd {ionl MWI) ot gcostctrittg
{cohniqueor rvireliuelogging.,A.nothcloption rnigl]t consistin partilionlng
of the characteristics
of the reseruoir.IIorr,o,er,
ilre drainholeindependently
this choicervhichtechnioallyis nol idcal, may lead to very high conrpletion
,rrstsin nraly field cases.

I anltorarl' <trrrtpleliotr: fot' consolidatcd fotnrations wlrere o|en-hoie

productioris possiblc,thc dcfinitivechoiceofihc cornpletion
rnaybe dcfr.rrcd
irnd a dccisiontiiketrlaler on accordingto tlrc productiondata.In pla(iicc,
r:clcctivcl)rocfuction
rvill be decidedon only rvlrcnunwanlcclfluirlsbcgin l,r bc
prroduccd.
1hc cltoicc ntay also bc dcfcllcd if it is possiblcto rrrr irr an
'rrrcemcnk:d
pcrloratcdlitlcr and lo rcl)l:rccil latcrby a sclcctivcconrplcliorr.
',\/hcrclstltc lcrnpotaryconrPlctiorr
solution is prcfcrablc,it is not alrvays
'l'hc
{i asiblc.
diffcrcnccbetwcenthc lwo possibiliticsiics in the (lataflvailablc
lirr choosillgthc lype ofconrpletionand in the tillrebetwecnthe acquisilicnof
t l r e sd
c a l ; irr r r Jt l r cr r r r r n i r irng t h eI i n e l

Dr.,\1.S.l'xrrihiil

CH. YI

tt cll Conu't.tior

89

Thus, in any case,the solution to be adoptedwill consistin choosinga typc of

cornpletionthat is suitedboth to the geologicalcharacteristicsencounteredand
to the optirrrumconditionsfor selectiveproductionvia the dtailhole lt is
thcrefore,necessaryto have tecbniqucsfor:
1) Describinga resenoir from a horizontalwell or drainhole
2) Estirnating the production incrcasesthat may be obtaiued as tlre rcsult of
selectiveproduction.

6.1 Cotnplelipn4lepbtplpsles
fu -Ultq:! t9!:!4 a4t4tlQ!!r,at!!s!4s!li !!
Borelrcle
Fig. 2,2 showsthe radial boreholecondition after drillstring placoment.At that
point the system consisting of a horizontal radial borchole continuing a
drillstring with its drillhead in place. To provide sand control or florv
regulation,the radialsmay be completedby altemativeptocesses.
The firct processinvolves only an FSD (flexible sandbarier) and includes:
cutoffofthe drillheadfrom the drillslling.
l. Elcctrochemical
2. Pumping down of the FSD through the open-endeddfillstrjng to permit a
barbedspearanchorto cxpandagrinstthe fonrration.
to lcavcthc IISDarrchtncdin placc.
3. Withdmwalofthc dLillstLing
ll he second altemative processinvolves use of thc drillstring as perforation,
ard the FSD with:
l. Electrochemicalcutoffthe drillhead fro the drillstring.
2. A two-step(two-life) gmvel packingprocessto provide 10096fill of the
radial boreholeannulusaroundthe drillstring.
3. Electrocbemical perforation of the drillstring along its entire leogth
dowrrholcaftcr thc first lift ofgravelpacking.
4. Placementof the FSD within
onteringthe drillst.ing through its perforations.
Electroche,tricalc..rojtt the first electrochcmicalprocessis io cul offthe drill
hcad at the rose of thc drillstring after placement.Ihe cutoff tool is simple an
by an clcctticcablcto an clcctticwcll or powcr
insulatcdrnctaltlisc connccted

I),-.M.S. rauhflt

CII..VI

llall Cornpletion 90

srlrlroe.A cablc stop is placed on the cablc that rvill stop at the top of the
rlrillstringand accuratelylocatethe cuttingtool at the desiredposition.
'llre

cutoff tool has been useclsucccssfullyin thc field to cut

eleclr-ocherrrical
o ff mole than 500 drillstring.The advantageof electrochemicalcutting over
cxplosivcsis that no slratteredpipe or shar-pedgesare l'ornred.The tool is vcry
costeffccliveand reliabledownhole.
lllectrochcnical perforatiort: perforation by electrochcmicalproccsscsis
irocornplislred
downholeafter the 1.25 in dlillstring in place.A flexible lube
(l;ig. 6.1) rs pumpeddown tlre vefticalworkstringand throughthe 1.25 in
,hillstring.The perforationtube continuousan insulatedflexible conductor
rlithin thc tube wall. Small porls lined with elcch'icallyconductivcrnatcrial
;rrc installedirr the tube and connectto the corrductorwithin the nerforationlrrbe wall. When bl'ine is punrpeddown the well and entersthe perloration
lrbes,a.jctof electrolyte
flow thtougheachpod. An eleclricwelderis usedto
( rcate il litc 1,1"'"r, cnrrcnt) in the perforationtubc conduclor..Ilach gror-t
'flic
lrr:colnes
rrn clcctrocheur
ical drilling jet.
result is a scriesof oligrted
'rhese
in the 1.25 in. drillstring.
pcrforationtools provicleabout
lx'r'foratioirs
r0
I sirrrultancorrs
pcrforations
thatcanbc or.icrrlcd
in any dircction.

Radial
Tube
.l
Porlornlor.
C s n t r a l i z oFr i n s

C o o x i aE
l loclrical
B r a i dC o n d u c l o r

Fig 6.I Llectrochenical perforator.

1)r. IVI.S.l'arahat

CII.l/I

lYc Contletio,l

9l

I,',lB (Jtcxibtesaul bttt'ticr): A tlcxiblcslotlcdlincr wasclcvclqrcrlb bc rrsccl

aloneor to backup theperforations.
l r c l . l l L r b c s, r r p c r f i c i a l lsyi n r i l a r ' l oc o r r v c n l i o n l l
I t i s a l r c l i c a l l yl i ) l l l r c ( n
flcxiblc-metalconductfor electricalwirirrg.'l'heFSI3nray bc ptrrrlpcdout ol'
thc cutoff noseof thc | .25 in dlillslringand anclloredinto thc fomrationby IIn
expandi|gset of barbson a spcer.The drillstringcan then be pullcd back 1()
leavethe bare FSB anchoredin place
Alternatively,the FSB nray be punrpeddown the drillstring10 serveas an
Fig. 6 2 shorvsa schcnlaticand two
inncr slottedliner fot thc petforations.
cr.osssectionsof the FSB. Figs 6.3 and 6.4 show schenraticplacerrentsion a
formation. lnitial tests shows a combined effect of good sand exclusion and
effective transpqrt of high viscosity oil througb the helical joints at low
pressurcdrop.

WITI] PENFONATEDRAOIAL 'UE:

S c h e m a t i cR e p r e s e n t a t i o n

I
Cross-section

w nr r n ^ u r l l r u a F : M r v E D

,.-".,,ffi.n***L"*-"9tr"3
O p e n e dJ o i n t C r o s s * s e c t i o n

Itig. 6.3.

Fig.6.2.

D/. M.S.F^rnlt,rt

AL

lI/cI CoDtl'ltlio'

92

Casing
S u c l < e rR o d
Vertical
Slotted Liner

ilirai'|F'|rer
ii

HAV ZONE
L l t L L I l r ri ti r r l r i l l l l l l l L l l i I l l l l l l l l l i l I r r L r l t l

i i r r n r ! rI
1 1r , nr r , r r i n r L r r l r r

[i
Pump

il (

'."]0"

sandBarrier

l+li+u+

Fig. 6.4 Completed radial systent with gravtty clrainage.

by a twoJift
llorizontalgravelpacking:graveipackingcanbe accomplished
lilling proccsswjth a watet/gfavel
slurry.In the first lift, gravelis puntped
sutfacegravel
tlownthe ddllstringand out of its cutoffnose.Conventional
paokingequipnentis used.Aftcr leavingthc opennoseof the dlillstring.the
g,r'avel
sluny flows back towardthe wellborethroughthe horizontalboreltole
stagcsol'grtvcl
Fig. 6.5showsthc proglessive
rnnrlusaroundthedrillstring.
packing.
dulirg thc lllst lill, tlrcmatcfialnlustbc puttrpcd
lo glavclpacl<successfully
lt a sufficient rate to ensuretrunsportof the gtavel within tlrc 1.25 in
It is foundthat a suitablepumpingmtc is in excessof 7 ft3/sec.
rlrillstring.
tadialborcholc,
whichis
theattnulus
of thchorizontal
onccthc slurtyrcenters
typicallyabout4 in. in diameter.This largerdiameterof the radial borehole
r:lusesthe sluna mixturesto slow and tlre gravelto scttlc,fonninga dune
Dr-.Nl.S.I^r:rhrl

CIL I'l

tl'tU Con'tndiou

93

within the annulusthat trrovesfiotn tlrenoseofthe dlillstringbaclitowardthc

an
vcrticalwellbotc.As tlreduneparlicularlylills thc radialbotcholcattttttltts,
ullage ( a flow spacewith a flat bottom and curvod top) is createdbetweenthe
lolr of lhc radial borcholcanri lhc tlcposilcdgrnvcl tlttnc lhc rrllagcrs llrc
of this horizorrlalgfavcl
foundalionof the self regulatingcharacteristics
packing lrtoccss.tf gravcl gradrrallycloscsoff lhc trllagc in a slandoll it
causesthe fluid velocityto increaseand thus ctodeout, caflyillg rllole ol thc
gravel back toward the wellbore.lf the ullagc enlarges,thc vckrcity of the
sluny slowsandmoregmvelsettles,fonninga higherduue.

GravolMov6m6nt
in First Lill

:1,

6) secrionor Hon?onrJr3D'ehoto

GrevelMovment
in SocondLirt

e)Gr.vel Floa lhrouglr !li.qe

c) conlinled Movmenl

d) Conclusionol First Lllt

h) 1000/0Fill Cotrrplelion

Fig. 6.5 Progres"sive.s/agcsof grat,el pa<:kittg.

At tcasl,Fig. 6.3 anclFig, (r.4show total cotrrplctionsys(cttrsitrcotpotrttittg

FSB alone or gravel packing and perforation and FSB placenrent in the
cfiillstring for the ullta-short radius ladial systcnl.

D,: lV.S.Farihrt

CII.l/I

I|.

Co',' tthn

94

(t,2 Comnletiorr

r Short-Radiu s, Mctli un -Ratli

Radius of Horizotttsl Welk Dreinholes

lrig. 6.6 and Fig. 6-7 slrows a schematicdiagramsof vafious com!llction

r)ptionsfor shorfradius,medium-radiusand long-radiusof horizontalwclls
lnd drainholes.Thesecompletionaspectsare describedbelow.
hhro

An oxoninlo"l.lldpo

nrD1.r'i

h h,,,rnrn sdr(ri

roo"l

coorpl6liorronrosDnli'rlr
somooll||. oDlloirs.v.ilnl,ln

Fig.6.6 Tailpipe contplelionin open hole ofhorizontal tt'ell.

B a s i c T y p e s o l C o D r t l e t i o nJ o r l l o r i r o h t a t W e s

-\ \r--\-\l i r s l n r t c l ll i ' r r i n o t r r t rh r l .

-[-]-lr'r) s!dr(l
.) Cr1.(l,.rnrnilitr(l

tr Iorrl((l

lhs h n,,m htri.

nirI nhrl, s.i{n{r ini tl( l's

Fig.6.7 Basic f,pes of coutplelionfor horizontol well,s.

.D,rIU.S,liar.hit

alLIl

lt t ll 1 .',ttldldt

95

6.2.1Oaenhole compluiott
Open hole completionis incxpcnsivebut is limitcd to complctionreservorr
rocks.Accotdingly,it is difficult lo stimulatothis opcn holc (|iig. 6.7 up Icft)
arrdto control either injcction or productionalong the well length. A few early
()l)cnholc but lho l)rcsL:rrl
horizon{llwclls hnvcbccnoorrrplctcrl
lrcrrtlis u way
fiom using openholecompletions,exceptin formationssuch as Austin Chalk.

6,2.2 Tail comolelionand sl.ottedlhrcr conryletiotr

Fig. 6.6 shows the tailpipe completion in open hole of horizontal well. This
tailpipccornpletionis intcndcrlto rclrcscntonly sorncof thc optionsavailablc
for well completions. In some reservoit, or parts of the [cscrvoirs, the
horizontalwell may be managedby non-cementedlines.
l herefore,tl'temain purposeof inscrting a slottcd liner in a horizontalwell is
to guide hole collapse.ln addition, a liner provides a convcnicntpath to insert
various tools such as coiled tubing (CT) in a horizontal well. Slotted lincr rs
installed in open hole when the reservoir is unconsolidated or loosely
consolidatedsands(Fig. 6.7- up rigbt). Also, cased,ccmcntc<lanil perforated
liner which is expensiveand is used in long horizontal section(Fig. 6.7 dorvn
lcft). Slottcdliner in opcnholewith blanksectionsand externalcasingpackcrs
(liCP's). This is intermediatefomr ofcompletion technique.
However,thereare five tlpes ofliner have beenused,namely:
l. Perforuted liner: where holes are drilled in the liner befrorelanding the
liner into the openhole ofhorizontal well.
2. Slotted li er: where slots of various with and depth are rnillcd along lhc
liner lengthbeforelandingthe lincr into lhe openholeoI lrorizortalwcll.
3. Prepacked liners.' slotted lirrersprovide limited sand control bv selected
hole size and slot width sizes. However, these liners aro susceptibleto
plugging in unconsolidatcdforrnations,rvire wrapped slotted linrs havo
been used effectively to control sand production. Recently, the use of
gravel packing for effective sand control in horizontal wcll has bccn
'lhc
succcssfullyprovcd.
rrairr disadvarrtagc
of a shrltctl lino is llri!t
Il,r. M.S. Falihilt

CE. Yl

we Co tl.ti'n

96

effectivewcll stimulationcouldbe dimcult, dueto thc openannularspacc

between the liner and the wcll. Similarlv selective Droduction and
injection proceduresare diffi cult.

.t. Llnu'wilh I,o lal lsolnlion: roocntly,oxlcrrol cnsingl)rokus (li('l"s)

have been installed outside the slotted liner to provide a long horizontal
sctiul into severalsmall seclions.This methodprovideslimited zone
isolation, which can be used for stimulation or production control along
thc rvcllpathor length.
Cenreriedand perforated lirtet: liner is possibleto cement and perforate
mcdium and long radii horizontal wells. Cement usod in horizontal weil
completionshould havc significantly less free water contentthan used for
verticirl well cementing.This is due to gmvity in a horizontal well, where
ftec v,ater segregatesnear the top poftion of the well and heavier ccment
'l
settlcsat the bottom. his resultsin a poor cementjob. To avoid this, it is
imporl.antto conduct a frec water test for cementat least 45'. In additior.
the conventionalAPI free water test is conductcdin the vertical position.
Also, Fig. 6.8 and 6.9 show schematicofproduction liners in both well Ilrryar
3HZ and well Salarn-7l{Zirt Egyptianwestemdesert.Fig.6.10showsanothcr
casehistory for rveil completionstatus.

, D / .M . S . I a r a h a t

CIL YI

lr'.

(ot'rlctit,'

oW.oz0ll tv oI
. o o ' ! ! 0 1 ! L v : t o t . t st : l s - A . 2 , / ! I
{,zl0ll- 8 Z!60ll95C

IAIY

)$tVlS .Z/l

,s zt60t Iv I

U:tddY-lJ.z/t

(,1160t-.8z9ot)
cs3 c:lllo-ls.z/t
9

{,ezsot-,02?0t)
9 5 t ) l N v _ t - z l l 9

(,8ZlOl-.1c9 6)

0s3 o?Ilols.z4

31livs

, 0 01 c 9 e l v
ufldYoY .z/t s

.09'9896 lV
BXd 9S3'IYNA:tIX!

',!;

;.t

.F

lrt i;
=d

. 00 ' 8 c 4 8 I Y
u3lN3W3 C SOH.Z/! I

:<

;l<

B=
oo

rr -I
oo
zN

zts

Fdi

Fig. 6.8 Schenntic ofproduction liner ir well llayar 3HZ.

D,. M.S.l'arahrt

97

CH.I'I

lrle Con c,iou 98

604'

t 65 4 '

l7 t4'

7430'
f5f4.t2'

76S6'

Fit. 6.9Scllematicofproductiotlli er in well Salam-7Hz.

Dr M.S. Farahaf

CE VI

WeIl Cottltletiotl

Barenburg
39 a

p"

i
E!
gl

! F
9!

ii .i:ii ii , , , . ; , .;,.:.:;.,::;::.,i,,r,rr

Lr:.: r-r:t':.:r:
59o|l6nple|c<lF6eoi&dbn

Fig. 6.10Final conrpletionstalus

Dr--M.S. Farahat

99

CII. |'II

Cl & L\!!! lli:turi.\

llJll

CuAIrEnVII
APPLICATIONoF COII,ED TunTNc Tx

Honlzol{raL DRTLLTNG
ANDMULTI-LATERALCnsB Srunrss nNn

HtsroRrns

7.Uegiled Tuhing-Dri!!!r!g
l(ccently,thcrc has been activity in drilling ho zontal wclls usirrgcoilcd
trrbing for the drill string together with a bent mud motor. Coiled tubing
cquipmenl,ratherthan a conventionaldrilJ rig, is used. Sevemlsuccessful
holeshavcbeendrilledin the AustinChalkusingthis techniqLre.
Althoughthis
is rrotyct viable commercially,{hc prospcctslb| thc {irturcap|cal
l,..ohniquc
11ood.
'lhe

equipmentusedto drill the first hole with coiledtubing is shown in lrig.

/ .1,7.2,1.3,7.4. The sidetrackhole from an existingverticalwell was drilled
.Ihe
rvith 2 in. OD coiled tubing for a horizontallcngthof 504 m (1652 ft).
Iubing had a tensile strengthof 60000 lb and the tubing injector could exert a
push-pullforceof60,000lb.
One ofthe problem inherentin this techniqueis that the coiled tubing, because
i{ is comingfrom a reel,canrrotbe rotatcdto orientcdthe drill nrotor.l hrs tras
hoenovercomeby using an orientingdeviccbchindthe drill nrotorA srrbis
lrcing <lcvelopcdthat can be arljustcdlionr lhc sutlicc via a wilclinc t<r
orientedthc drill face. The diameterof the hole drilled by this techniquc has
hcen too snrall to allow the nse of MWD cqrripnrent,
but wirclinc stccring

lools arc used successfully.MWD tools arc now availablcc. g., advrnccd
MED (geosteeringtools) that can probably be adaptedto this sewice. Since
coiledtubingnormallyhasa wirelinewithin it, this doesnot prcsentthc sitnrc
problen as that found with jointed drill strings.The methodmay developto

,r-. tr|.S.F:|rrhrt

CH.l/II

cd6d

iubhs

I01

*/sLih.

cdr rbqlerr! h.

adtuiqbh ro!.

CT & Case|lisbties

coioldd

uP sub
ch!cr

vdrl8rc|

Fig. 7.1 Wellboreand directional BHA.

C o i l e dT u b l n gC o n n e c l o r

Navl-Drlll

IL]

u
U

Slarthg Mlll

il
fl
Iqi

WhlpstockAssembly

l -D
D'rl l

a
Irig.7.2 Wit1.loi.t,
cuttiqg assenl ies

Fig.7.3

,r-. M.S. Farahnt

l)1t,4for

E trith C7

CH. l/

:il{.p 1

S[ep 2

SLep 3

SLep 4

C7 & Cas. llistotics

lD2

Sl.cl) a)

Fig. 7.4 Sicletr.ackpl'ocedures.

\\/here it is usellulfor the rcworking and re,completionof existiug wells
lithout lcquir-inga drill rig. I-Iowever,severalinprovementsare necessary
Lcfore tlrc method can be cornpetitiveeconornically.
r'oiled trbing dtilling may be particularlyuseful fol under balanccdrilling
l)ccauscit is not neccssaryto conlinuallyaddednew sectionsof dr.ill;lrPc.
llcvcralcolrparricsatc actingdcvelopirrg
toolslirl coilcdtubingdrillirrg.
!

.2 Mttltilmunl CoseStndies
t\lultilatcralwells are consideredby many to be arnongthe nrostin'rportant
lcchnoJogical
bteakthroughs
to be introducedto the oil andgasindustry.'l-hey
plovidelhe capabilityto drainthe resen,oir
moreefficientlyresultingin an
increase(l
rateof rocoveryin mostreservoirs.Industryleadershaveestinrated

Dr-.M.S. Farahai

Cn. UI CI & Cls( Ilhtotias

103

ll)irt lhc use of nrultilateral systemswill allow rccovery r tos to inorcaset{)

l]( lwccl 30 1()6()Itorccnlo I lly(lr()cit
I hols ilr lrlacc.
Some tlrillirg scrvicescoltinue to be thc leaderin the new gcrerationof
n r | r l l i l i l l c r fcl l i l l i n g a n d c o n r p l c l i o tsry s l c n l sO
. r n r | l l i l l r l c r a:lr y s l c l l tisl r c
dcsigncd for case of use and can be customizedto sewice nearly all
multilatcral drilling needsi The following case studies offer.just a few
c\ilurplcsofwhal wc car accornplish
rvilh locrrson cttslonrcrscrvico.

22.!:eqe_1(Fir1,5)
In 1996 and 1997, Sperry-sunsuccessfullyinstalled several95/8 in RMLS1M
RetrievableMultilateral Systemfor Occidentalpetroleum of eatat Ltd. fronr
ol'lshorcrig SANTA FE 127locatcdirr the ldd El Shargificld,Oftilror.cealar.
in tlrc Arbian Culf.'Ihe RMIS providesfull-boreaccessto the lat,:ralwhilc
nrairtainirgunrcstrictcd
acccssto lhc rrain wellbolebclorvllrc latcr;tl.Onc o['
thescwclls was drilled as a dual lateralwith a single5 in. complctionwhiclr
pcrmilsseiectivereentryof eithcrlateralutilizinga specialkrol stringinstalled
or coilcdtubil1g.
Occidentalhad determinedthat the ISND ShuaibaFormation recoverywould
bc enhancedby drillirrg multilatcral wellbores in both the Shuaiha A and B
Members. Historically, production from vertical wells in this ficid has bcen
low, yicldingonly 300 bopd,u?ithratesup to 3500bopdbeingachievcrlin rarc
instanceswhere wells intersectedfaults. Occidental also deci<lcdtha,.it was
imperative for the futurc managontentof the Shuaibareservoit to desi.rninto
these wells the ability to leenter each wellbore selectivly. The mosr cost_
effective method to aclrievethis is thc use of multilalcrutldrilling an<l
complction technology.With thc use of multilatcml. actual proclur:tron
pcrfon'nancehas matchedor exceededexpectationswith increases600y0rrver
ptevious production rates. lnitial production rates have averagcd4056 bopcl
pcr fateral, with individual wells producing up to 7724 bopd frorn both the
ShuaibaA and B. lollowing sevcralweeks of production,the wclls trave
stabilized,with one well, averaging6000 bopd combinedproductionfr.onr
both laterals.

D,. N{.S.F'nmhrf

a lL l/I

Fig.7.5

1)r.N{.S.Farahat

( 1,\ (-t1!' Il^tlri's

llltl

CH. VII CT & Case fiisto

es

105

This well was planned and drilled dual lateral well with medium reach
horizorltalwellboresin both the ShuaibaA and B. the 9 5/8 in ploductiou
casingwas run to 6138 ft. MD. The RM LS windowswas set at 5476 ft. MD
with thc KOP at a 78 inclinationat 5488ft. Ihcjunction ofthe upperShuaiba
A lateml with the prinrarywellborewas cemcntedat 4817 ft MD at a 90.4
irrclination.The lowcr was thcn drilled to 12686MD. This welJ is currently
being flowed as a Shuaibadual lateralproducerbr.rtwill evenhrallybc placcd
into scrviceas a poweredwater injection well.

7.2.2Case2 (Fip. 7.6)

Sperry-suncomplotedthc first 9 5/8 in LTBSTMcementedlateral for Mobil of
Canadain November 1996.thc installationof the 9 5/8 in LTBS in well
17-W3in Battrum,Saskatchewan,
Canadawas only thc
AD 10-35/1D16-35-18third suchcommercialapplicationofthis technologyworldwidc.'llriswasalso
tllc first lateral reentry nade to on flate an annular casing packer for stagc
ccnrenting.
This well was drilled to drain two Roseray sand zoncs separatedby an
impermeablclaycr multilatcralsarc cxtremelyeffectiveirr drainingrcservoirs
separatedby impenrcablc rock layers and in decreasingovemll capital costs
rcquiredto devclop rcscr-vcs.
ln this heavy oil application,a 9 5/8 LTBS window joint was installed in the
nrain casingstringsarr 8.5 in main bore lateralwas dlilled fronr thc cusing
shoe and tlren lined with 5.5 in wire wrapped scrcens.A secondary6.5 in
lateral was drilled and lined with 4.5 in rvire wrapped screcns through thc
LTBS windows. The lateral was reenteredusing a completionsdcflection tool
to inflate the ACP and stagecementthejuncture ofthe main casingand lateral
linet. After removing{lrccomplctionsdcfiectiontools,full-borcacccssto both
lrtcralsis availablc.

./)r.M.S. Farrhat

( tl.I ll

Fi14.7.6.
/)/'. N{.S.Fr[rl!:rf

(-1 .\ (nr

Ili\!ui^

lll(t

C . I tl ( 7 tr Ca\. tttsL,i.s

t0't

7.2-l!sss ltf!c,7.])
-l
During Septcrnbcr
1996,Spcrry-sun
antl DresserOil ools succcsstirlly
drillcd
and completeda biplanarmultilateralrvcll using Sperry-srrn
s L'l BS l,ateral
Tie-Back Systcm with selective through-tubingreentry and isolation
capabilitiesprovided by the DresserOil Tools LRS Lateml Reentry System.
Thc muftilateral 2l1I)-l7AlB off the Bravo platfotm- was conrpletcd for
PhillipsPetroleumNorway in thc EldfiskField in the Crcatcl Dkofiskarcaof
thc Norwcgian Sectorin the North Sea.
Phillips Petroleum chose to use the LTBS and LRS prirrarily f{)r selective
isolation and shut-in capabilities rvhile maximizing the productive flow
conhol. The combinedsystemalso allows accessto the primary casingwhile
maintaining full-bore accessto the laterals,which may be re-enlcredat any
tinre dLu-ingthe life of the u,ell. Without the usc of thesespccializedsystenrs,
Phillips could not economically producs the remaining reserves in this
rcscrvoirc.

Zone the higher pemreability Cbalk formation knorvn as the Tor- as well as a
secoudhodzontal latcml in thc shallowerEkofisk forrnation.l)rclimirrrry
productionresultssuggcstthat thc upperlateralwill produccapproxirnrtcly26
% of the total ilcrenental recovery expectedfrom this wc]|.'lhe reser.ycs
recqveredfrom the tighter Ekofisk lormation would havc bcen left in placc b_v
a sllntlald Udfisk horizontirlrvcllTlris well was the first cornmercial multiJateralsystern appliczrtionin the
Norwegian North Sea featuring a non-restricting3.81 in through-tuningrnci
'fool
throughbore ID, reentryand isolationnrcthod-Drcssc|
Oil
s I lts. A 7
lirrcl tic-back,5.5 productionlincr, and , 4.75 in opcn Irolc aud rrrultilatcral
systcnrprovided the lough-tubinglccntfy. The LRS was successfullyuscd to
isolate the upper lateral while perfomring 10000psi (BHP) fr.acjob in lower.
latcral.This wasalsothc fir'stNorwegianNolth Seawell to utilizca pre-millcd
lateral drilling rvindo*-Sperry-Suns I-TBS.

/)r. lU.S.Farahat

CIL t'II CI t Crsel/isrorn,s108

Fig. 7.7.

D/: M.S. F:rrrlr:rt

CE t/II CI & Cav llistt,i.s

109

12.4 Case4 (Fig, 7.8)

In Febnrary1q96.Spen)/-Sun.
alongu irh Nederlandse
AardolicMaatschappij
joint
B. B. (a
venfure between Shell and Exxon) and pressule Conlfol
EngineeringLimited (PCE), successfullycombined their expertiscto achieve
thc rvorlds first selectivethrough-tubing.feentryinto a multilateral well RTD
l.l. located
i n t h c R o l l e l d a nFri e l di n t l r e\ c r h c r i a n d s .
Spcrry-Sun Downhole Tool Developmenf Group and pCE worked closcly
togetherto modify and developPCE s MLR MLrltilateralReentrySystcm.
making it compatible with Specry-Suns LTBS lateral Tie-llack System.Thc
integratedsystem usescomponentsdevelopedby both Speny sun and pCF in
oldcr to deploy equipmentsuch as a through-tubingdeflection tool on coiletl
hrbing,thus allowing selectivereentryinto lateralwellbores.
'l

lrrough-tubing coiled tubing reentry to the lateral was a fundamental

rcquirementof this project as was the need to improve productiorr.'l'his well
was designed to reach different reservesin the sane rcsenoit rvhich wcrc
scparatedby layers of diflcring permeability.NAM wantcd to reaohnrorc of
thc field and increasethe dr.ainagc
area.ln thc initial prodnctionphrse,rccrrtry
was not required.Ilowevel, the reentry operationwas cauicd out ilnyway, lc\
confirm that it will be achievablewhen NAM determinesthe need lbr reentrv.
After successfullydrilling and lining the rnain wellbore, a lateral was <lrillcd
orrt of the primary casing using the I-TBS. This lateral was thcn comDlclcd
with a linel which was tied back to the pr imary casing.Then, LrsingSperry
Sun s upper muleshoeassembly,the MLR nipple was latchedacrossthe LTIIS
ptemilledwindorvand held in placeusingthe SSDSlatchsysten. fhis acrior)
allowedNAM {o dcploy PCE s throdghtubing deflcctiontool coilcd tubing
ard set it in the MLR lippJe asscnrbly.
Sclcctivethroughtubingaccessto the
Iateralwellborcrvasconfinnedasa dumnryplug wasrun in smoothlyandthcn
retrieved fiom the PCE nipple located in the lateral liner. Finally, the
dcflection tool was rctrievedon coiled tubins.

,,: M.S. Farahat

Lil. l'll

'fhis

aclrievcrnenlrvas a

(:1 li (.:tt? Ilistutit | | l{'l

nullilatcrai anrl conrplction t c c h n o l o g i c a l

lr|cakthrorrgh. l1 provcs thc lcasibility of sclcctivc to thc iirtcfrl rvcllltorc iirr

thcpellornranocof well servicingopelations.

Fig.7.8.
Dl lV.S.Falahrf

CH. VII CT & fnsc llisktii.s

111

st"olLct; e_!_0'ic. 7.Y

Z.1 UUWblelsLeqrcHi
'I

his first nrultilatcrllwcll in thc Middlc lirrstwrs tlillctl irr l\,larclrl996. lhc
conrpietionconsistcdof two horizoltalla{cralscnconrpassing
about3500fl of
crposedholein eachleg (Fig. 7.9)
'l

he operatordrillcd the lower lateralscclionas an extcnsionoflhc parentrvcll

borc.The uppcr'latcral
well sectionexitedout a 9 5/8 in., 40lb/ftp,rrcutc'rsrrrg
string into an 8.5 in. hole. A 7 in lincr was set through thc build until
horizontal.
'|

his liner was set with a compositejoint acrossthe hollorv whipslock face as
cnrlicr.'l'helincr rvasccnrcnlc(1.
<liscrrsscd
rrndlhc lllclal rvirst:orrrplctcd
thcn
llow tcstcdfor 2 weeks.
'l

\vls llrcssrrrc
hc lowcr parcntwcll borc was llrcn rcoponcd,lnrl lhc.jrrnc{ion
t( sted.Bccauseof the vcrticflllypenrreablc
naturcof lhc lirrnralionin whiclr
llrc cxit wirsplacc(1,
ccnlcntsqtrcczcs
wcrc ttcc<k:rl
at llrc.jurcti()rl() plss llrc
I'r)sitiveandnegativepressurctcsts.

l'lugs wcle thcn pullcd fionr thc prrcnt nrrtllatcralwcll bolosusirrgfull grugc
'l
rnd tlrrough-tubing
diveltersand a window bushingasscnrbly. hc rvinclows
b u s h i t rags s c t n b lwy a su l t i n r a t c lIyc f t i n t h c . j u n c l i o an n, da 4 . 5 i n . l L r b i nsgl ri n g
r r s r r r rirr t h cl r l ) p ccr o n r I l c t i r n ) .
'lhis

installationtook longerto run lhan anticipatcd,ncvertheless,

both wcll
l'ores becameproductive.The oricntationnipple and mating lock dcvicc
r',,orkcdwell. Bascd on tlris cxpcficncc,Drodificationsrvcrc rradc to thc
rlcflectols,enhancingefficiencies
andbeslpracticcptoccdulcs.

,/. i\'I.S.txrihrt

CH. VII

Fig.7.9.

,/. ['I.S. Farahnf

C7 & CoseIlinoli.s

112