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Publisher Society of Petroleum Engineers Document ID 98893-MS Content Type Conference Paper Title The Wellbore Quality Scorecard (WQS) Authors C.J. Mason, SPE, BP Exploration, and D.C.-K. Chen, SPE, Halliburton Sperry Drilling Services Source IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, 21-23 February 2006, Miami, Florida, USA ISBN 978-1-55563-238-0 Copyright 2006. Society of Petroleum Engineers Discipline 0 Categories Preview Abstract Wellbore quality is a term commonly used in the drilling community; however its meaning is not consistently understood, its context sometimes confused and its value to the industry unknown. For many drilling engineers, a quality wellbore is most often associated with a directionally drilled borehole that is smooth, in-gauge, and has minimal spiralling. Some of the claimed benefits of such a wellbore include enhanced drilling performance, ease of running casing, improved logging tool responses and superior cement jobs. To date it has been too difficult or too complex to directly relate such benefits to wellbore quality in a meaningful way. This paper describes a new initiative which has the aim of reducing subjectivity around the quantification of wellbore quality. The resulting scheme is a process which is embedded in what is called the Wellbore Quality Scorecard (WQS). The WQS process involves scoring of drilling, tripping-out and casing running responses for any drilled hole section. The paper provides background information on issues concerned with wellbore quality and describes the framework that defines the WQS framework. Risks and complexities associated with the WQS are discussed and suggestions made that will improve the robustness of the proposed system. If properly implemented the WQS has the potential to allow operators to consistently recognise good and poor operational practices and could also provide an alternative method to assess service provider performance. Background It is generally accepted that good wellbore quality positively impacts drilling and completion operations[1-6]. Claimed benefits specifically include: improved hole cleaning efficiency; higher rate of penetration (ROP); reduced tortuosity; lower torque and drag (T&D) levels; reduced wellbore spiralling; more in-gauge hole; decreased vibration; fewer tool failures; prolonged bit life; improved logging tool responses; more competent cement jobs; easier casing and completion runs. Convincing arguments can be made to justify such assertions, however it is difficult to prove beyond reasonable doubt that good wellbore quality is solely responsible for such improvements. More often than not, each drilling team is continuously striving to improve performance and usually one or more initiatives are in progress at any one time. A recent paper[7] discussed elements of wellbore quality that could lead to the construction of a perfect wellbore. The paper addressed the thorny issue of measuring wellbore quality and reviewed both explicit and implicit methods that could be candidates for an industry approach. The paper concluded that implicit methods offered the most practicable approach for measuring wellbore quality. Wellbore Quality A good starting point is to examine potential causes of wellbore quality impairment. Most of these arise during the drilling process but also occur during tripping and casing running operations. The selection and management of the drilling bottom hole assembly (BHA) will primarily determine whether the wellbore will become tortuous and/or spiralled. The choice of mud type and the mud weight program will influence wellbore breakout, the amount of overbalance and proximity to the fracture gradient. Drilling practices will influence hole cleaning efficiency, the rate at which the rock is broken and any induced vibration tendencies. Connection and tripping practices will determine swab and surge pressure cycles. It is considered that these could contribute to rock fatigue failure. Downhole mechanical and equipment failures that result in additional trips can also jeopardise wellbore quality, particularly if the hole is time sensitive. Casing and completion running may also impact wellbore quality, primarily through excessive surge pressure cycles as each string is run to depth. File Size 1,119 KB Number of Pages 14 Language English DOI 10.2118/98893-MS

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