10/24/2016

DeterminingpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwellsOil&GasJournal

Determiningpositionalinaccuracies
indirectionallydrilledwells
10/27/2003

WELLBOREPOSITIONING1
Calculatedboreholepositionmaybeerroneousinoverhalfofthehorizontalwellsdrilledduring
thepast15years,accordingtotheresultsofanongoingindustrystudyofcontinuousvs.
stationarysurveymeasurements.Inatypicalhorizontalwell,positionalerrorofasmuchas25
fttrueverticaldepth(TVD)canaccumulate.Thisstudyfoundthatseveralgenerallyaccepted
directionaldrillingandwellsurveyingpracticesareprimarilyresponsiblefortheseerrors.
Thedirectionalwellsurveyingindustryhasusedtheminimumcurvaturemethodasitsstandard
meanstocalculatethepositionofawellborefromstationaryinclinationandazimuth
measurements,andthedistancebetweensurveyshascreptupfrom30to90ft.The
assumptionintheminimumcurvaturemethodisthatthereisaconstantradialarcofcurvature
betweensurveystations.
Thisstudyofcontinuousdirectionandinclinationsurveymeasurementstakenoversignificantly
shorterintervalshasfoundmanyinstanceswheretheconstantradialarcassumptionwasnot
validandineachinstanceresultedinasmallpositionalerror.Incaseswherethepositionalerror
wassystematicallyrepeatedenroutetototaldepth,asignificantoverallerrorresulted.
Theaccumulationoflargepositionalerrorsduringdrillingcanleadtopoorandcostlygeosteering
decisionsthatultimatelyresultinpoorlyplacedwells,unplannedsidetracks,andlowerrecovery
ofreserves.Thebiggestimpactofsucherrorstoanoperatingcompanymaybethemistaken
additionorsubtractionofhundredsofthousandsofbarrelsofbookedrecoverablereservesper
well.
http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume101/issue41/drillingproduction/determiningpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwells.html

1/10

10/24/2016

DeterminingpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwellsOil&GasJournal

Foursourceshavebeenidentifiedthatcausenonconstantcurvaturetooccurbetweenrelatively
longspaced,90ftsurveyintervals.Theyaredirectlyrelatedtothemechanicalaspectsof
directionaldrilling.Thesimple,shorttermsolutiontoreducetheamountofaccumulatederroris
totakemoresurveys,althoughthiswilladdtoprojectcost.Alternately,alongtermsolutionis
beingdevelopedthatwillallowrealtimemonitoringofdirectionaltendenciesandborehole
positionusingcontinuousdirectionandinclinationmeasurements.
Thisthreepartseriesincludes:

Part1:Alookatwherepositionalinaccuraciesoccurinhorizontalwellsandhow
frequentlytheyhappenwhendrillingwithaconventionalsteerable,positive
displacementmotorsystem.
Part2,Nov.3,2003:Areviewofsimilarinaccuracieswhileusingrotarysteerable
systemsand(or)encounteringlithologychanges.
Part3:Asetofrecommendationsandtechniquesthatcanhelptominimizethe
problem.

Illuminatingtheproblem

Theminimumcurvaturemethodhaslongbeenusedasthestandardmeanstocalculatea
wellbore'spositionfrominclinationandazimuthmeasurementsbydeterminingthesmallest
radiuscurvaturebetweentwosurveystations.TheblackcurveinFig.1illustratesthis
assumption.

Clickheretoenlargeimage
http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume101/issue41/drillingproduction/determiningpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwells.html

2/10

10/24/2016

DeterminingpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwellsOil&GasJournal

Inthisexampletherearetwosurveys,XandX+1.ThepositioncoordinatesofPointXaregiven.
Thepositioncoordinatesforthesecondsurveypoint,intermsofeasting(X),northing(Y),and
trueverticaldepth(Z),arecalculatedbyfittingaconstantradialarctotiethetwopositional
vectorstogether.Theinherentassumptionwiththismethodisthattheentiresectionwillbe
drilledataconstantradiusofcurvature.
Thelate1980sintroductionofpositivedisplacementmotors(PDMs)withbenthousingstothe
directionaldrillingmarketmadeitpossibletofreelyswitchbetweenslidedrillingwithhighcurve
rates(510/100ft)androtarydrillingwithcurveratesusuallylessthan1/100ft.Further,top
drivesonoffshoreandsomelandrigshaveenableddrillingwiththree,30ftjointsofpipe(a
stand)withoutstoppingtomakeconnections.
Asinitialmeasurementwhiledrilling(MWD)toolstookthreeaxis,stationarydirectional
measurementswhenthemudpumpswerecycledoffandonduringconnections,surveying
intervalshavealsoincreasedgraduallyto90ftfrom30ftspacing.Bottomline,theadventof
PDMsandtopdriveshasincreasedtheprobabilitythatcurverateswillvarydramatically
betweenstationarysurveypointsthatis,nonconstantcurvatureswillexist.Simplyinterpolating
betweenthesepointswillnotreflectmanyoftoday'sactualwellboretrajectories.
Theblue,green,andredcurvesshowninFig.1representthealternatewellpathtrajectories
thatendupwiththesamemeasureddepth,azimuth,andinclinationforPointX+1.Theseare
basedondifferentcombinationsofslidingandrotarydrillingbetweenthetwosurveystations.
Ineachcasethearclengthandradiusofcurvatureforeachcurvedslidedrilledsectionarethe
same(shownasdashedlinesections).However,theplacementofthesecurvedsectionsis
variedfrombeingbefore(blue),inthemiddle(green),andattheend(red)ofarotarydrilled
tangentsectionofhole(solidlines).Themodelillustratestheimportanceofknowingwhere
changesofcurvatureexistalongawellpathtrajectory.
Earlyexample

Inthelate1990s,MWDservicecompaniesmodifiedtheirdownholedatastreamstoinclude
samplingofaccelerometerandmagnetometerdataduringpumpingoperations,especially
drilling.Simplifiedsingleaxissurveysnowcanbetransmittedtothesurfaceinthesameway
thatgammarayandresistivitydataaretransmitted.Specifically,continuousdirectionand
inclinationmeasurements(cDNI)aremadeevery3090sec,whichresultsinsurveysthatare
24ftapartwhendrilling.
Thesecontinuousdataarebeingusedroutinelybydirectionaldrillersfortrajectorytendency
work.However,continuoussurveysarenotyetdeemedreliableenoughtobeusedasdefinitive
positionalsurveys,asworkonerrormodelsforthecDNIdatacontinues.

http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume101/issue41/drillingproduction/determiningpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwells.html

3/10

10/24/2016

DeterminingpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwellsOil&GasJournal

Clickheretoenlargeimage

Fig.2comparesstationaryandcontinuoussurveydataovera500ftbuildsectionina
directionalwell.Thestraightlinesconnectingthestationarysurveypoints,bothinclinationand
azimuth,indicateaconstantrateofcurvature.
Theslopechangesofthecontinuousinclinationdataindicatetheverticalbuildanddroprates
achievedwhileslidedrillingvs.rotarydrilling,respectively.ThePDMmotordeliveredabout
13/100ftbuildingwhenslidingwiththegravitytoolface(GTF)settingsgiven.Thebottomhole
assembly(BHA)droppedatabout4/100ftwhenrotated,whichisadramaticbutnotunusual
occurrenceresultingfromalessthanoptimalchoiceofBHA.
Thecurveratecalculatedbetweenthestationarysurveysusingminimumcurvatureisabout
3.5/100ft.Followingaredetailsofhowthesedifferencesinassumedversusactualcurvature
ratesresultinpositionalerror.
Causesofpositionalerror

Fourprimarysourcesofnonconstantcurvaturebetweenlongspacedstationarysurveyshave
beenidentified:
1.SlideorrotatedirectionaldrillingpatternsaccomplishedwithPDMsteerablesystemsduring
thebuild,drop,and(or)turnsectionsofwells.
2.SystematicuseofPDMsteerablesystemstocompensateforbuild,drop,orwalktendencies
whenattemptingtomaintainorholdconstantinclinationandazimuthinatangentwellsection.
3.Changingmodeswithrotarysteerablesystemsbetweenstationarysurveypoints.
4.Lithologyand(or)beddipanglechangesbetweenstationarysurveypoints.

http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume101/issue41/drillingproduction/determiningpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwells.html

4/10

10/24/2016

DeterminingpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwellsOil&GasJournal

Currently,concernsaboutwellborepositionconcentrateondifferencesinTVD.Thepositioning
ofahorizontaldrainholerelativetofluidcontactsandtheconstructionofgeologicalstructure
mapsarebasedonTVDposition.Changesinazimuthallocation,whileavalidconcern,areof
lesserimportanceatthisstage.
Continuousdirection(orazimuth)measurementshaveawiderfluctuationthancontinuous
inclinationmeasurements,asseeninthecharacteroftheFig.2data.Thus,thisarticlefocuses
ondifferencesinTVDposition,buttheargumentcanbemadeforbothTVDandazimuthal
position.
Slideorrotatepatterns

Fig.2showsagoodexampleofapplyingaslideorrotatedrillingpatternduringthebuildsection
ofawell.Inthiscasethedirectionaldrillersetsuparelativelyconsistentpatternofalternating
betweenslidedrillingandrotarydrillingonceperstand.

Clickheretoenlargeimage

Fig.3showsthreesetsofslide(rotate)drillingmodels.Eachcaseusesaseriesof50ftslide
sections(buildingat10/100ft)and50ftrotatesectionswithnobuildratetogofromaninitial
inclinationof0toafinalinclinationof90.Thepositionofthe100ftstationarysurveystations
(yellowsquares)isvariedfrombeingimmediatelyafter(A),inthemiddleof(B),orimmediately
before(C)aslideinterval.Theredsquaresshowthecontinuoussurveydatasetforeachofthe
models.
ThedifferencebetweentheTVDcalculatedusingthestationaryandcontinuousinclinations
accumulates,asshownforeachofthethreemodeledwellsbythecurveslabeledA',B',andC'.
Theseshowaswingof25ftofaccumulatedTVDerror.Notethatwhentheslidesectionis
placedinthecenteroftherotarydrilledsections(B)theTVDerrorscancelout(B').Whilein
practicedirectionaldrillersdonotexecutetheperfectpatternsshown,systematicpatternsdo
http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume101/issue41/drillingproduction/determiningpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwells.html

5/10

10/24/2016

DeterminingpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwellsOil&GasJournal

presentthemselves.
Afieldstudy

Thereisnostandardsetofproceduresforincorporatingcontinuousdirectionaldataintosurvey
calculationsfordoglegseverityorholepositioning.TodeterminetheextentofwellboreTVD
errorresultingfromslide/rotatedrillingpractices,astudywascommissionedinAugust2001.
StationaryandcontinuoussurveydataforthirteenhorizontalwellsinNigeria,Angolaand
Indonesiawerecapturedandprocessed.Directionaloperationsdata,BHAreportsandslide
sheetsalsoweregathered.

Thiswebsitemaynotdisplaycorrectlyonoutdatedwebbrowsers.Forthebest
experiencepleaseconsiderupgradingyourbrowser.

Clickheretoenlargeimage

Fig.4illustratesthegeneralpositionalresultsofthestudy.(Moredetailedresultscanbefoundin
StockhausenandLesso.1)EightofthewellshadTVDdifferencesgreaterthan5ft.Thelargest
differencerecorded(WellGBK"a")showedthatcontinuousinclinationplacedthefinalTVD22ft
deeperthantheTVDcalculatedfromthestationarysurveys.
ThethreesmallestpositionalerrorsrecordedwereinwellsAMP"a,"BKPorg,andBKPst1,
whichweredrilledinIndonesiawithrigswithouttopdrivesandusingastandardkelly.While
thesewellswerebeingdrilled,surveysweretakenateveryjointofpipe,aboutevery30ft,and
slide(rotate)sectionlengthsvariedwidely.
Theshortersurveyintervalof30ftdidnotallowforlargedifferencesbetweenthecontinuous
surveysandtheminimumcurvatureassumptiontoaccumulate.Topdriveuseintheother
countriesallowedforlargerdifferenceininclinationtoaccumulatebetweensurveys,andthusa
http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume101/issue41/drillingproduction/determiningpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwells.html

6/10

10/24/2016

DeterminingpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwellsOil&GasJournal

greaterchanceforTVDdifferencestooccur.

Clickheretoenlargeimage

Fig.5showsthestationaryandcontinuousinclinationdataforoneoftheNigeriawells.Thedata
covertheentiredirectionalwellfromkickofftoTDat9,033ft.TVDcalculationsfromcontinuous
andstationarysurveyshada22ftdifferencedeeperonthecontinuoussurvey.ThedeltaTVD
curverevealshowtheerroraccumulatedtoreachamaximumdifferenceof23.7ftat7,310ft
MD.

Clickheretoenlargeimage

http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume101/issue41/drillingproduction/determiningpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwells.html

7/10

10/24/2016

DeterminingpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwellsOil&GasJournal

Detailsofthesamewellbetween6,000and7,000ftMD,initsfinalbuildtohorizontal,revealthe
truenatureoftheslide(rotate)patternused(Fig.6).Continuousinclinationdatashowthatangle
buildswhileslidingandholdsduringrotarydrilling.Thestationaryinclinationsurveypoints,taken
atabout90ftintervals,donotseethiseffect.
Thelinedrawnbetweenthestationaryinclinationpointsindicatestheconstantrateofcurvature
assumedbytheminimumcurvaturemethod.
Whenthenonconstantcurvatureshownbythecontinuoussurveysisbelowthisline,thedelta
TVDaccumulates,indicatingthatthewellisincreasinglydeeperorshallowerwhenabovethe
line.From6,000to7,000fttheoveralldeltaTVDaccumulatesfrom14to23ftdeeper.
Itisimportanttonotethatinthiswell(Fig.5)almostalloftheTVDdifferenceoccursasaresult
ofattemptingtobuildordropangle.Duringthedrillingoftheholdsections(3,6005,700ftand
7,1009,033ft),theBHAdidagoodjobofholdinganglewhenrotarydrilling.Thecontinuous
inclinationtendedtodirectlyoverlaythelineconnectingthestationarysurveysandlittleorno
deltaTVDdeveloped.Onlywhencorrectionslidesweremade(near4,700and7,700ft)didTVD
differencesoccur.
Twoconclusionsarisefromthisstudy:
1.Asignificantpositionalerrorispossibleon60%ofhorizontalwellsstudied.
2.Positionalerrorcanbegreatlyinfluencedbydirectionaldrillingprocedures.
TheprobabilityishighthathorizontalwellsdrilledwithPDMsteerablesystemsonatopdriverig
willhaveaTVDpositionalproblemlargeenoughtocausewellplacementproblems.The
obviouscriticismoftheseconclusionsisthat13wellsarenotalargesample.
Additionalwellshavebeenreviewedfromthestudyarea,aswellasfromtheNorthSeaand
GulfofMexico.Theprocessisongoing,buttodatethepercentageseemstobeholding.
Landinghorizontalwells

TVDpositionaldifferencesinhorizontalwells,causedbynonconstantcurvatureinsurveys,can
leadtopoorlyplaceddrainholesectionsormissingthetargetreservoircompletely.Because
neitheroperatornorservicecompanypersonnelaretypicallyawareofthisproblem,poorly
placedwellsusuallyareattributedtoanunexpectedchangeingeologicalstructure.
AnearlierstudybyLessoandKashikar2notedthatabout40%ofhorizontalwellsencountereda
"geologicalsurprise"thatresultedina1020ftTVDshift.Withcurrentknowledgeinhand,itis
interestingtospeculateonhowmanyoftheseshiftsactuallywerecausedbynonconstant
curvatureinsurveycalculations.
Duringgeosteeringoperations,markerbedsabovethetargetreservoirareusedtohelp
http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume101/issue41/drillingproduction/determiningpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwells.html

8/10

10/24/2016

DeterminingpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwellsOil&GasJournal

determinewellborepositionrelativetothetarget.Trajectoryadjustmentsaremadeaccordingly,
assumingthattheverticalthicknessanddipanglesoftheintermediatebedsremainconstant.
Petrophysicaldatamodelingandnavigationtechniquesdevelopedoverthelastdecadehave
madeitpossibletodealwithmostunexpectedchangesbymaneuveringthedrillbittolandthe
horizontalwellboreontarget.But,additionalTVDpositionalerrorcanaccumulateduringthefinal
approachtotarget,resultinginovershootingorundershootingthedesiredlocationandperhaps
losingsomelateralsection.
Acknowledgment

TheauthorsthankChevronTexacoandSchlumbergerforpermissiontopublishthismaterial.
References

1.Stockhausen,E.J.,andLessoJr.,W.G.,"ContinuousDirectionandInclinationMeasurements
LeadtoanImprovementinWellborePositioning,"SPE/IADCPaper#79917,presentedatthe
SPE/IADCDrillingConference,Amsterdam,Feb.1921,2003.
2.Lesso,Jr,W.G.,andKashikar,S.V.,:"ThePrinciplesandProceduresofGeosteering,"
IADC/SPEPaper#35051,presentedattheIADC/SPEDrillingConference,NewOrleans,Mar.
1215,1996.
BasedonapresentationtotheSPE/IADCDrillingConference,Feb.1921,2003,Amsterdam.

Clickheretoenlargeimage

Theauthors
EdStockhausen(EDJS@chevrontexaco.com)isaseniorresearchscientistfor
ChevronTexacoExploration&ProductionTechnologyCo.,basedinHouston.Stockhausen
graduatedfromtheUniversityofFloridawithanMSingeologyin1981.Overthenext16years,
heheldvariousexplorationandproductiongeologypositionsforChevroninNewOrleans,
focusingonGulfofMexicoareafielddevelopment.Forthepast5years,Stockhausenhasbeen
responsibleforleadingthedevelopmentanddeploymentofgeosteeringtechnologyfor
ChevronTexacoworldwide.

Clickheretoenlargeimage

BillLesso(lesso1@slb.com)isadrillingresearchadvisorwithSchlumbergerinCambridge,
England.Overthepast21yearshehasheldvariouspositionsworldwidedealingwiththe
http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume101/issue41/drillingproduction/determiningpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwells.html

9/10

10/24/2016

DeterminingpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwellsOil&GasJournal

developmentofdrillinganalysisproductsanddrillingprojects,withspecialemphasison
horizontaldrillingandgeosteeringtechniques.Previously,heworkedinwirelinepetrophysical
logging.Lessoholdsseveralpatentsrelatedtodrillingmechanics.HeobtainedaBScin
mechanicalengineeringfromtheUniversityofTexas.

Home

Events

GeneralInterest

MarketConnection

Exploration&Development

WhitePapers

Drilling&Production

Webcasts

1455WestLoopSouth

Processing

PennEnergyJobs

Houston,Texas77027

Transportation

Equipment

(713)6219720

Unconventional

Research

GISData&Maps
Copyright2016:PennWellCorporation

RSS

AllRightsReserved.
Advertise

AboutUs

NewsletterSubscription

PennWell

BookStore

ViewAllPennwellWebsites

PrivacyPolicy

ViewAllPennwellEvents

Terms&Conditions

SiteMap

ContactUs

Webmaster

MagazineSubscription
Mobile

http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume101/issue41/drillingproduction/determiningpositionalinaccuraciesindirectionallydrilledwells.html

10/10