SPE/IADC 91810
Integration of a Performance Drilling Motor and a Rotary Steerable System Combines
Benefits of Both Drilling Methods and Extends Drilling Envelopes
Hans-Henrik Rnnau, SPE, and Peter Vilhelm Balslev, SPE, Mrsk Olie og Gas AS; Jon Ruszka, SPE, Carl Clemmensen, Sverre
Kallevig, Ralf Grosspietsch, SPE, and Georg Mader, SPE, INTEQ
Copyright 2005, SPE/IADC Drilling Conference
This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference held in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 23-25 February 2005.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE/IADC Program Committee following
review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the
paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers or the
International Association of Drilling Contractors and are subject to correction by the author(s).
The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the SPE, IADC, their
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper
for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers or
the International Association of Drilling Contractors is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in
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The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was
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Abstract
Since their introduction in 1997, rotary steerable drilling
systems have delivered significant gains in drilling efficiency.
In addition to this fundamental benefit, these systems have
enabled more challenging wells to be drilled at low risk with a
wide range of other advantages, including improved well
placement, etc.
Continuous rotary drilling operations do however bring
with them certain challenges which must be considered before
rotary steering is selected for use. These include instantaneous
penetration rate, specifications of rig rotary equipment, casing
or drillpipe wear, stress on the drillstring, loss of drilling
power through wellbore friction and drilling dynamics.
Using high powered drilling motors, traditional
performance drilling has been applied since the early 1990s to
improve penetration rates by applying high power and
consistent operating parameters directly to the drillbit. This
has however been limited to straight holes or the most basic of
directional profiles.
A system has been developed which integrates a specially
designed high power drilling motor within a high speed rotary
steering assembly. By using this new system:
many of the challenges of continuous rotary drilling are
mitigated,
more complex wells benefit from the advantages of
traditional performance drilling,
existing drilling envelopes can be extended to further
improve field recovery.
This paper discusses the engineering design of the
complete system, including the specially designed motor and
high speed rotary steering system. The paper then goes on to
discuss specific applications where the system should be
considered for use, illustrated with results from real examples.
Introduction
Mrsk Olie og Gas A/S operations include the development of
several chalk reservoirs in the Danish sector of the North Sea.
These reservoirs are located at approximately 6,700 ft True
Vertical Depth (TVD) and are drained through the use of
horizontal wells. A typical well design is shown in Figure 1.
Productivity from these horizontal wells is largely dependent
on the 3D precision with which the wellbores are positioned
within the chalk and the length of reservoir exposed. Prior to
the introduction of rotary steerable assemblies, conventional
directional drilling techniques were employed on these fields.
Using steerable motor assemblies, the limitations of
steerability of these systems restricted horizontal reach to
approximately 16,000 ft Measured Depth Rotary Table
(MDRT) and TVD control to +/- 5 feet. To extend the reach of
the wells and allow vertical wellpath position control,
adjustable stabilizers were run in conjunction with the
steerable motors. This gave an increase in the length of
horizontal section past the sliding limit of the conventional
system but wellpath position control was only possible in the
vertical plane with no control in the lateral plane. Using
adjustable stabilizers with motors allowed wells to be drilled
with reach of 22,000 ft MDRT.
Rotary steerable technology was first used on these fields
in 1998. This technology allowed wells to be continuously and
precisely steered in 3D, giving TVD control of +/- 1 foot with
full azimuth control and for the wells to be drilled as far as
28,000 ft reach. The limits of how far wells could be drilled
using the rotary steerable system were now related to
wellbore/drillstring friction increasing to the point where only
little of the rotary power delivered by the rig top drive system
was reaching the drillbit. Further loss of power to the bit
resulted from the onset of drillstring friction induced torsional
vibration or stick-slip as the drillstring rotary speed
decreased and friction increased with reach. As the reach of
the wells extended, rate of penetration dropped to a point
where little or no progress was possible. To further extend the
reach of these wells while maintaining precise 3D steering
control and improve ROP, Mrsk Olie og Gas AS ran the
original version of the rotary steerable assembly below a
conventional PDM. By doing so, the reach of the wells could
be further extended at higher ROP while maintaining the
required precise 3D steering control. An additional benefit was
that casing wear could be reduced due to lower total
revolutions of the drillstring while rotary drilling the extended
horizontal hole sections. This initial BHA was not an
2 SPE/IADC 91810
integrated system and as such suffered certain limitations. It
did however show the potential benefit of a properly
integrated rotary steerable system with a PDM and drove the
development of a new system for use on this and other
applications.
Limitations with early Rotary Steerable Assemblies
With increased choice of how to drill, Drilling Engineers are
faced with more decisions on what method to select. This
decision varies not only for each hole section but can also vary
within each hole section and different drilling methods are
sometimes used even within single sections of hole. Each
directional drilling method has associated benefits and
limitations which the Drilling Engineer needs to quantify as
best as possible to assist decision making.
The benefits and limitations of conventional steerable
systems utilizing bent housing motors and ROP benefits
associated with Performance Drilling1, 2, 3 with higher
powered motors are generally well understood. Additionally,
the benefits of using rotary steerable systems have been
thoroughly documented elsewhere4, 5, 6, 7, 8 .They include; gross
ROP improvement in complex wells, better hole cleaning
efficiency, ability to drill more geometrically challenging
designs (3D profile or reach) and position wellbores more
precisely with relative ease. Using these systems, wellbores
are of lower tortuosity and better gauge condition which
assists in drilling and other areas of the well construction
process. What have not been so well documented are the
limitations associated with rotary steerable drilling:
Rotary Power from Surface
When rotary drilling, all of the mechanical power required by
the bit to chrunch the rock is provided from the rig rotary
system. As the reach of wells increases and more
geometrically complex wells are drilled, more energy is lost
through borehole friction. This results in less power being
delivered to the drill bit, reducing drilling efficiency and
ultimately limiting the reach which the well could be
efficiently drilled to. In addition to the straight frictional
losses, this can be further aggravated by the onset of
undesirable and potentially damaging torsional vibration of the
drillstring. This places higher levels of stress on the rig rotary
system as the rig must deliver high torque at continuously high
rotary speed, increasing the possibility of rig down time. The
result is that while gross ROP resulting from use of a rotary
steerable system should be higher than that of a conventional
system, instantaneous ROP may not be as high as achieved
while rotary drilling ahead with a PDM powered conventional
or performance drilling assembly. This becomes more
challenging with the environmentally driven wider use of
water based mud systems which have lower lubricity than oil
based mud systems.
Continuous High Rotary Speed
To achieve acceptable ROP, rotary steerable systems are often
operated towards the upper limits of rig rotary speed
capability. This varies by rig capacity, but frequently involves
rotating the drillstring continuously at between 130 and 180
rpm. While this very high string rotary speed is good for ROP
and beneficial to hole cleaning, it can also be mechanically
damaging. Existing casing strings, drillpipe and BHA
components wear at higher rates and, in some areas, high and
continuous drillstring rotary speed can damage the formation
itself.
Drilling Dynamics
When pure rotary drilling, there is no decoupling of drill bit
dynamics from the BHA immediately above it. Torsional
vibration (stick-slip) can be generated either by the friction of
the drillstring against the borehole wall or directly by the drill
bit. In the event the drillbit induces torsional vibration, this
vibration is transmitted to the entire BHA as there is no
decoupling or dampening as there is with PDM assemblies.
Rotary steerable BHAs frequently include the very highest
LWD service levels, up to and including the penta-combo
logging suite. BHA reliability may be compromised by
excessive drilling dynamics and cause individual components
to fail. For this reason, rotary steerable BHAs are rigorously
modeled using latest drilling simulation programs12 to ensure
dynamic stability for surviving this most demanding
environment of pure rotary drilling and it is critical that the
selected drill bit is of naturally stable design.
As mentioned previously, attempts to drive the original
rotary steerable assembly with a PDM had been made in order
to overcome some of the limitations mentioned above. A
schematic of this configuration is shown in Figure 2. Results
from driving the system in this manner showed some very
positive results. Some dramatic improvements in ROP were
observed and wells could be steered to greater reach with no
drop in drilling efficiency previously observed. A Mrsk Olie
og Gas AS Halfdan well, offshore Denmark, was one of the
early trials of running the system in this manner and is
discussed under Case Histories later in this paper. This
original system had some limitations however and was only
employed when absolutely necessary. These limitations
included:
Long BHA Below the PDM
The entire rotary steerable BHA, including non-magnetic
drillpipe had to be positioned below the PDM. The length of
BHA below the PDM in this configuration is approximately
80 to 110 ft dependent upon amount of non-magnetic drillpipe
required. With such a long assembly below the PDM, higher
stress is placed on it. This lowers the efficiency of the motor
power to the drillbit. More importantly however, it also
increases the risk of a lost in hole incident. In the event that
any of the BHA below the motor got stuck in hole, it would
become more difficult to free as no torque can be transmitted
through the PDM from surface.
SPE/IADC 91810
Limited LWD Options
Due to the increased risk of lost in hole, it was determined ill-
advisable to run nuclear logging tools in the BHA below the
motor. These logging tools are frequently required to evaluate
formation characteristics of porosity and density and are used
in real-time to geosteer wells in the most productive zones.
Reliability and Durability
The original rotary steerable device included rotating mud:oil
seals in its design. These seals isolate electronic, hydraulic and
mechanical components in the rotary steerable system from
contact with the drilling fluid. As rotary speed increases, these
seals wear at a higher rate and ultimately limit the life
expectancy of the system.
Based on the promising observations from the Halfdan trial
well and others, it was clear that future generation rotary
steerable systems should be capable of running in conjunction
with a PDM while addressing the limitations described above.
How to Overcome the Limitations with the early
Rotary Steerable Assemblies
The decision to integrate a rotary steerable device with a
performance drilling motor was driven by Mrsk Olie og Gas
AS' and other operators desires to:
Extend the reach of drilling envelopes
Maintain precise 3D steering control
Increase drilling efficiency
Reduce casing wear
In order to meet these desires, the basic design criteria for the
integrated system were defined as:
Maintain precise 3D rotary steering functionality
Maintain full automated closed loop wellbore positioning
control
Maintain full real-time communication with the steering
unit including diagnostics and near bit inclination
measurement
Minimize distance of LWD sensors from the bit
Minimize overall BHA length
Minimize length of BHA below the motor
Allow sufficiently high continuous drillpipe rotary speed
where required for effective hole cleaning (commonly
>120 RPM)
Minimize negative effect on Mean Time Between Failures
(MTBF)
Allow rigsite versatility to either pick-up or lay-out the
motor section of the BHA
Maintain 150degC (300degF) operating temperature
specification for whole system
The system discussed here is the integration of two
technologically advanced products developed, manufactured,
operated and maintained by the same service company. This
was found to be a tremendous advantage in the development
of the combined system as there was already full engineering,
manufacturing and operational control of the individual
devices.
3
Challenges of Integrating a Motor Section into a
Rotary Steerable Assembly
The main engineering challenges were focused on reliability.
Adding an additional component to a system always runs the
risk of negatively impacting whole system reliability. This
effect was to be minimized, if not eliminated. It was necessary
to ensure the rotary steerable device was capable of operating
at high total rotary speed and that the communications link
between systems located above and below the motor was
reliable.
Fortunately, systems already existed which appeared suited
to be run in combination. It was decided to integrate the latest
generation AutoTrak Rotary Closed Loop System (RCLS)
with the high power X-treme drilling motor technology. Both
of these individual drilling systems are described in detail
elsewhere9,10,11 and both are recognised as technologically
advanced in their categories. There were several reasons why
these two existing technologies were considered ideally suited
to integrate into a single system.
Rotary Steerable: The selected rotary steerable system was
already proven in many locations, performing very well in a
wide variety of different drilling environments. Confidence in
the engineering design was high. This latest generation system
is unique in many respects which include elimination of
reciprocating and rotating mud:oil seals and highly modular
architecture. The elimination of the mud:oil seals on the latest
generation system together with other novel engineering
design considerations not only increases system durability, it
also allows a higher total rotary speed specification than other
rotary steerable devices. This was important for achieving the
required rotary speed and reliability considerations. The
modular architecture of this system also allows insertion of
further devices at any point within the BHA in this case the
high powered motor section and wellsite versatility in BHA
design. This system was therefore considered ideal.
Motor Power Section: With a range of different PDM
systems to choose from, each was given due consideration.
Based on reliability, robust design, highest available power
output and best power to length ratio, the pre-contoured X-
treme technology motor section was selected. These pre-
contoured drilling motors were already proven to deliver
superior drilling performance compared to even the best
conventional motors. Their design differs significantly from
conventional drilling motors since the stator section is pre-
contoured in steel as opposed to solid molded elastomer as
illustrated in Figure 3. Under increasing load (torque output),
the pre-contoured stator does not deform like its solid
elastomer counterpart. Mechanical efficiency is therefore
maintained and the motor delivers constant rotary speed with
increasing torque output. The total power output from these
motors is very high and their operating characteristics are
particularly suited to Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC)
drillbit types. Having a very high power to length ratio
allowed a shorter power section to be utilized in order to
minimize overall BHA length and reduce negative effect on
LWD sensor spacing from the bit.
BHA design options were reviewed. The resultant base
design would have the motor power section located
4 SPE/IADC 91810
immediately above the rotary steerable steering unit device
and below the MWD / LWD system. This design was decided
upon as it minimized the length of BHA hanging below the
motor. It also would allow use of nuclear LWD systems to be
run in the BHA as they and any other sensitive LWD tools
would be positioned above the motor.
Minimizing overall BHA Length: The standard rotary
steerable BHA has a flexible component and stabilizer
positioned immediately above the steering device to provide
the necessary three point geometry required for directional
drilling control. This flexible sub and stabilizer were
integrated into the motor itself and thus eliminated from the
final integrated system BHA. This minimized overall BHA
length and LWD sensor displacements from the drillbit.
Maintaining Full Communication with Steering System:
To maintain full communication between the steering unit
(positioned below the motor) and the LWD systems (above the
motor), it was decided to hard wire the motor with a
communications and power BUS. This was considered a more
reliable method of communication with the steering unit than
the alternative electromagnetic link and it also allows the
steering unit to be powered from the MWD power generator as
opposed to using a separate power supply which would add
additional length and complexity to the BHA.
This required re-engineering of the motor itself to house
the data cable and incorporate the lower flex and stabilizer
component into the motor itself. The final re-engineered motor
is called the Modular Motor. To integrate these two systems,
minor modification to the rotary steerable device was deemed
necessary. A review of the original engineering design
together with feedback from field test runs conducted in the
Danish North Sea resulted in some small adjustments to allow
the system to be used at consistently high rotating speed. A
schematic of the new system is shown in Figure 4.
Initial prototype field testing of this new service (called
AutoTrak X-treme) commenced in August 2003 and has
been developed for all current sizes of rotary steerable systems
(3 1/8, 4 , 6 & 9 ) covering hole sizes ranging from 20,817 ft; One due to a technical BHI alert and two due to tool
4 to 18 . failures.
Case Studies
Three Case studies have been chosen for this paper. The Case
Study 1 validates the requirements of an integrated Rotary
Steerable Assembly with a mud motor. The Case Studies 2
and 3 validates the results and performance of the first field
trials with this integrated system.
Case Study 1 Halfdan Well
Drilling of the horizontal reservoir section on a Halfdan well
started in May 2002 at 8,255 ft with a standard Rotary
Steerable assembly. However, at 22,800 ft the drilling
operation ceased due to high surface torque readings
(41-44,000 ft/lbs) and a low rate of penetration (22 ft/hr).
While drilling this section, attempts were made to reduce the
high torque readings by adding up to 2% lubricant into the
water based mud system. Since the planned TD had not been
reached, an idea to include a mud motor was proposed to
maximize the power to the drilling bit, and at the same time
minimize the drill string revolutions to reduce both casing
wear and cycle fatigue of the drill string. A concern of having
a long and fairly heavy assembly hanging below the motor
was discussed, but deemed possible as long as the lower part
was properly centralized with the motor assembly.
A trial run with a mud motor added to the AutoTrak
drilling assembly was approved, which consequently required
the LWD tools be left out, since these tools could not be run in
the mud motor/AutoTrak configuration. Since the formation is
very homogeneous in this field, the same bit was used, in
order to make a proper comparison on drilling performance
before and after the introduction of the mud motor. Drilling
was resumed from 22,800 ft to well TD at 25,948 ft.
The performance improvement of the combined mud
motor and AutoTrak was an average rate of penetration of
some 86 ft/hour, which equals an improvement in rate of
penetration of some 290% compared to the last 2,000 ft drilled
with the AutoTrak alone. This trial run proved that the theory
of having power close to the bit would increase the drilling
performance significantly.
Case Study 2 Dan Well A
A Dan Well A was chosen as an optimal well for a field trial
of the combination of the AutoTrak/LWD incl. the X-treme
Modular Mud Motor. This well would be drilled between two
neighbouring wells, which both had been drilled with Rotary
Steerable Assemblies to the required TD along a similar well
profile and in the same reservoir unit as shown in Figure 5.
The same bit type was chosen for the AutoTrak X-treme. Thus
a proper comparison of the performance of the AutoTrak with
and without the X-treme Modular Mud Motor could be
obtained.
Drilling of the horizontal reservoir section commenced
February 2004. The entire 8-1/2" reservoir section on the Dan
Well A was drilled with the combined AutoTrak/LWD/X-
treme BHA from the 9-5/8" casing shoe depth at 9,135 ft to
TD at 25,386 ft MDRT. At TD the rotational torque was only
80% of the maximum available torque output. Three
Intermediate trips were made at 10,480 ft, 15,474 ft and at
The rate of penetration achieved in the inner part of the
well from 9-5/8" casing shoe depth to 20,000 ft MDRT was
comparable with the penetration rates obtained in the adjacent
wells. However, in the outer part of the well from 20,000 ft to
TD at approximately 25,000 ft MDRT, an increase in the rate
of penetration of 22% and 163% was achieved.
Case Study 3 Dan Well B
Drilling of the horizontal reservoir section in a Dan well B in
2004 resulted in two twist offs and subsequently loss of two
complete standard AutoTrak/LWD assemblies. Both twist-off
incidents happened without pre-warning. The first incident
occurred while circulating at 14,412 ft with the bit 37 ft off
bottom. The second incident occurred after the well had been
sidetracked while drilling at 12,960 ft. Attempts were made to
recover both assemblies without success. Caliper
measurements revealed a hole enlargement of the original 8-
1/2 hole up to 15 inches, which prevented catching of the
fish. The washed out hole was caused by unstable formation.
SPE/IADC 91810
Consequently, a standard mud motor/LWD assembly was
run and drilled to the limit of slide drilling ability to 14,768 ft.
The motor assembly was then replaced with the new
integrated rotary steerable/performance motor/LWD system,
which drilled the well to the planned TD.
Subsequent analysis showed that both drillstring breaks
were caused by cycle fatigue. The reduced string RPM used
during both the mud motor/LWD and the new integrated
rotary steerable/performance motor/LWD system runs
prevented further drillstring failures without sacrificing the
drilling performance. An overall 15% improvement on the
penetration rate was seen with the use of the new integrated
rotary steerable/performance motor/LWD system compared to
the mud motor assembly.
A caliper of the 9-5/8" casing was logged, which showed
that the casing wear was insignificant. Thus, an additional
benefit of the reduced string rotary speed was obtained.
Conclusions
As a result of clear operator requirements, a new drilling
system has been developed, which integrates a high
specification rotary steerable system with advanced drilling
motor technology. The system has been tested offshore
Denmark. The desires of increasing the reach of horizontal
wells while maintaining precise 3D steering control and
improving gross ROP have been met.
The drilling performance was improved with regards to
penetration rate and extended reach capability as reflected in
Case Study 2, which gave a notable reduction in rigtime of
approximately 1 day. Besides the obtained savings in rigtime,
even further cost benefit could be achieved by the extended
reach capability extending reservoir exposure, thus enhancing
production potential.
The benefits of being able to reduce overall drillstring
RPM was achieved as reflected in Case Study 3, where the
outer part of the well was drilled to the planned TD without
further drillstring twist-off incidents. A caliper log of the 9-
5/8" casing revealed, that excessive casing wear was prevented
due to reduced overall drillstring RPM.
The system will continue to be refined in order to enhance
whole system reliability and further options on motor output
speed are being developed. One enhancement currently being
developed is a slower speed version which will better match
the operating specifications of tri-cone drillbits run in the
chalk offshore Denmark.
It is anticipated that this method of drilling will become a
powerful new option to assist in the industry needs of
increased production and lower costs.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Mrsk Olie og Gas AS and its
partners Shell and ChevronTexaco together with INTEQ for
the support and the permission to publish this paper. They
would also like to thank all individuals from both Mrsk Olie
og Gas AS and INTEQ, who were involved in the successful
introduction of the AutoTrak X-treme system in the well A in
the Dan field offshore Denmark.
5
Abbreviations
BHA: Bottom Hole Assembly
PDM: Positive Displacement Motor
LWD: Logging While Drilling
MDRT: Measured Depth Rotary Table
ROP: Rate of Penetration
TD: Total Depth
TVD: True Vertical Depth
References
1. H. Karlsson, T. Brassfield, V. Krueger: Performance
Drilling Optimization SPE Paper 13474 - prepared for
presentation at the 1985 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference
held in New Orleans, Louisiana, 6-8 March 1985.
2. J. Gallagher, M. Waller, J. Ruszka: Performance Drilling:
A Practical Solution to Drillstring Vibration SPE Paper
27538 prepared for presentation at the 1994 IADC/SPE
Drilling Conference held in Dallas, Texas, 15-18 February
1994.
3. M. Reich, A. Picksak, J. Wolfgang, T. Regener:
Competitive Performance Drilling with High Speed
Downhole Motors in Hard and Abrasive Formations
SPE Paper 59215 - prepared for presentation at the 2000
IADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in New Orleans,
Louisiana, 23-25 February 2000.
4. P. Weijermans, J. Ruszka, H. Jamshidian, M. Matheson:
Drilling with Rotary Steerable System reduces Wellbore
Tortuosity SPE Paper 67715 - prepared for presentation
at the 2001 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 27 February to 1 March
2001.
5. D. Georgi, J. Wang, V. Krueger: The Benefits of Truly
Horizontal Wells SPE/Petroleum Society of CIM paper
65526 - prepared for presentation at the 2000 SPE /
Petroleum Society of CIM International Conference on
Horizontal Well Technology held in Calgary, Canada, 6-8
November 2000.
6. D. C-K Chen, T. Gaynor, B. Comeaux: Hole Quality:
Why it matters SPE Paper 74403 - prepared for
presentation at the SPE International Petroleum Conference
& Exhibition held in Villahermosa, Mexico, 10-12
February 2002.
7. D. Stuart, C. D. Hamer, C. Henderson, T. Gaynor, D. C-K
Chen: New Drilling Technology Reduces Torque & Drag
by Drilling a Smooth & Straight Wellbore SPE Paper
79919 - prepared for presentation at the 2003 IADC/SPE
Drilling Conference held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
19-21 February 2003.
8. J. A. Johnstone, D. Allan: Realizing true value from
Rotary Steerable Drilling Systems SPE Paper 56958 -
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9. M. Reich, M. Oesterberg, T. Regener, D. Kent, N. Nawfal,
S. A. Khames: New Performance Motors set new
Benchmarks in Drilling Performance SPE Paper 85338 -
prepared for presentation at the 2003 IADC/SPE Middle
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U.A.E. 20-22 October 2003.
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BHA Concept of the latest generation Rotary Closed Loop
System for hole sizes from 5 7/8 to 18 - SPE Paper
87168 - prepared for presentation at the 2004 IADC/SPE
Drilling Conference held in Dallas, Texas, 2-4 March 2004.
6 SPE/IADC 91810

11. H. Gruenhagen, U. Hahne, G. Alvord: Application of new

generation Rotary Steerable System for Reservoir Drilling
in Remote Areas SPE Paper 74457 - prepared for
presentation at the 2002 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference
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held in New Orleans, 23-2 February 2000.
SPE/IADC 91810 7

Standard Well Design / Mrsk Olie og Gas AS Standard Well Design / Mrsk Olie og Gas AS
True Vertical Depth [ft] North [ft]
-2000
8000
26"
0 7000
18 5/8"
6000
2000

13 3/8" 5000

4000 4000

9 5/8" 3000
6000
2000
9 5/8"
8000 13 3/8"

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000 20000 22000
-20000 -18000 -16000 -14000 -12000 -10000 -8000 -6000 -4000 -2000 0
Vertical Section [ft] West [ft]

FIGURE 1: Typical horizontal well design used in chalk reservoirs of the Danish Sector of the North Sea.

AutoTrak G1.5 System

IB NM Stabilizer Non Mag Compressive Service Drillpipe

Stop Sub

Standard Mud Motor Ultra Series Mach 1 XL

Crossover

FIGURE 2: AutoTrak Generation 1.5 System run in conjunction with Positive Displacement Motor.

FIGURE 3: Cross Section through Motor Power Section showing comparison of Conventional Elastomer Based Stator with that of pre-
contoured X-treme Technology Stator.
8 SPE/IADC 91810

AutoTrak G3
Steering Unit X-treme Modular Motor MWD Pulser & Power
Supply

Res Gamma Sensor Module Neutron Porosity / Density LWD

FIGURE 4: AutoTrak X-treme System BHA configuration.

Case Study 2 - Dan Well A

North [ft]
9000

8000

7000

6000

Neighbouring Well 1 5000

4000

3000

9 5/8" 2000

13 3/8"
1000
Neighbouring Well 2

-20000 -18000 -16000 -14000 -12000 -10000 -8000 -6000 -4000 -2000 0
West [ft]

FIGURE 5: Case Study 2 trajectory of Dan well A positioned between two existing wells.