Geological studies and seismic surveys can point the way to a hydrocarbon prospect.

But there is only one way to know if that prospect contains oil or gas, and that is to drill a well. Drilling projects are team undertakings. They encompass a wide range of disciplines and job functions, from geology, geophysics and engineering to operations, support and logistics, safety and regulatory compliance, management and administration. Project teams are often part of alliances that include: The oil or gas company (also known as the operating company or operator), along with any joint venture partners having an interest in the well; An outside drilling contractor who provides the drilling rig and the personnel to run it; and One or more service companies that provide specialized equipment and expertise at various stages of the project. The largest of these service companies may offer integrated project management services that include contract drilling.

The working relationships that characterize a drilling project depend on the well's location, the arrangements between the companies involved in the project and the number of personnel involved. A small onshore rig may be crewed by no more than five contractor employees and managed by just one or two contractor and operator representatives, while some large offshore drilling operations may have several rig crews and groups of specialists totaling 50 or more persons, along with dozens of land-based technical and support personnel.

Drilling Objectives
However they might differ in other respects, all drilling operations have three basic objectives: 1. Drill safely. Health, safety and environmental (HSE) considerations supersede all other goals, even if they require changing plans, delaying operations or incurring extra costs. 2. Provide a fit-for-use well. Whether it is drilled for exploration, prospect appraisal or field development, a well must meet the needs that led to it being proposed in the first place. As a minimum standard, it should be drilled without damaging the borehole or any potential producing formations, and it should satisfy the design requirements for formation testing, data gathering, oil and gas production or other postdrilling activities. 3. Minimize overall well cost. It is therefore in everyone's interest to control well costs. In this context, it is important to consider the total cost over the life of the well, and to balance this cost against the first two objectives of safety and well usability. An offshore well in West Coast of Africa may cost up to 30 times higher than an average onshore well in the

US. Since drilling is the most expensive component of the entire exploration and field development process, the oil&gas industry pays a lot of attention to improve drilling efficiency and cut drilling time in order to control well costs.

Surface and Subsurface Environments

Any area that produces oil or gasor has the potential for doing so in the futureis a likely location for a drilling rig. Rigs come in a variety of configurations and designs for surface environments that range from Arctic to desert, ocean to mid-continent and just about everything in between (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Drilling operations must adapt to a wide range of surface environments. These are just a few examples. While drilling rigs often work in remote locations, they may also be found in settled or even urban areas, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Rig operations in Los Angeles, California. The rig in the top photograph is working at the San Vicente Drill site near Beverly Hills the wall next to the rig is part of a shopping mall. The two rigs in the bottom photograph are being used to abandon old wells at the Farmer's Market Drill Site. If you look very closely, you can see a patch of white on the hill in the backgroundthis is the famous Hollywood sign, an L.A. landmark for many years (State of California, 2005). Most drilling rigs operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Rig crews work 8 or 12-hour shifts or tours (pronounced towers), in rotations that last anywhere from one to four weeks or more, depending on the location. The subsurface conditions that drilling crews encounter are as varied as their hours and work locations. The total depth (TD) of a well may be anywhere from a few hundred to more than 20,000 feet. It may be possible to reach TD by drilling straight down, or it may be necessary--and sometimes beneficialto drill part of the well at an angle or even horizontally. Along the way, there might be any number of rock types, including loose gravel, soft, sticky clay or shale, abrasive sandstone, hard carbonates and even salt. Each rock type presents its own set of challenges. Subsurface pressures may range from a few hundred at the surface to 5000, 10,000 or even 20,000 pounds per square inch ("psi") at deeper depths. In some wells it is not always easy to predict the expected pressure level. Temperatures may likewise range from near-

surface conditions to 400 F [200 C] or more. And there is often a good chance of encountering toxic or corrosive gases. Before drilling even begins, a project team has to plan what will happen after TD is reached whether it will be completed as a producing well or abandoned and how the well will fit into overall reservoir management objectives. These and other considerations will affect project planning, well design and drilling operations.

Rig Counts
When business analysts want to get a feel for the oil and gas industry, they often look at rig counts such as the ones published weekly and monthly by Baker Hughes (http://www.bakerhughes.com/investor/rig/). These provide current and historical data on the number of drilling rigs working in various parts of the world. This information is valuable because the drilling sector, being at the leading edge of oil and gas development activity, is particularly sensitive to such factors as oil price fluctuations and economic conditions of the industry ( Figure 3).

Figure 3: Worldwide drilling rig count, 1980-2011 (YTD) (Baker-Hughes Inc.). Note the correlation between rig count and spot oil price (price data from BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2011 and EIA). In January 2011, there were 2,180 rigs operating in different regions (Figure 4). More than half of them were busy drilling natural gas wells in the US and Canada (Baker-Hughes, 2011).

Figure 4: Worldwide drilling rig count by region (Baker-Hughes Inc., 2011). At the end of this module, under the heading Additional Resources, you will find a list of Web resources that will help you track rig activity and give you some useful general information about the drilling industry.

Drilling Technology
Virtually all oil and gas wells today are drilled using the rotary method, in which rock is broken into small particles or cuttings under the weight applied to a rotating drill bit (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Rotary Drill Bits: These and many other bit types are each designed for certain kinds of rock formations, and each has its ideal area of application. The bit is made up on (i.e., screwed into) the end of a drill string, which consists of individual lengths or joints of hollow steel pipe about 30 feet long (Figure 5). The drilling rig, acting as a type of hoist, lowers the pipe into the well. Each time the bit drills the equivalent of one pipe length, drilling is stopped while another joint of pipe is added to the stringa procedure is known as making a connection. In this way, the well is eventually drilled to TD. As the bit drills ahead, a specially formulated drilling fluid or mud is continually pumped or circulated from the surface, to the bottom of the well, and then back to surface to cool the bit and remove the cuttings (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Circulation of the drilling fluid from the mud pit to the mud pump, through the rotary hose, down the drill string, and up the annular space to the surface, where the cuttings are removed and the mud is treated and returned to the mud pit. Although rotary drilling techniques came into their own over a hundred years ago, the technologies used to apply them have evolved dramatically within the past decade. Formations that a few years ago would have been unreachable are now targeted almost routinely, and wells that once would have taken months to drill are completed in a matter of weeks at a fraction of the cost. We will identify some of these technologies as we proceed through this module.

Phases of Well Construction

Well drilling and completion involves a number of distinct project functions. Companies may differ as to who is primarily responsible for each function, and where one function ends and another begins, but one good breakdown would be as follows: Well Planning Well Design Drilling Operations Formation Evaluation and Testing Well Completion Note: For simplicitys sake, this discussion and its accompanying Case Study examine the drilling and completion process as it relates to a single

well. In reality, most projectsparticularly those relating to field developmentare based on drilling multiple wells, and project budgets, drilling contracts, regulatory requirements and so forth are developed in this "multi-well" context.
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Well Planning
Initial Steps
Well planning typically begins when the operating company's exploration or development geologists generate a well proposal. This document specifies the well classification (Exploration, Appraisal or Development), describes the proposed target location and outlines specific drilling objectives. It is generally followed up with a preliminary economic analysis. If management (including any joint venture partners) accepts the proposal, the next step is to prepare a drilling program. The drilling program presents a geological prognosis of the formations to be encountered, their anticipated subsurface conditions, and a set of well design parameters. It outlines the drilling procedures and formation evaluation requirements, and specifies a date by which operations should commence. Along with the drilling program, the project team prepares a detailed cost estimate. This is based, where possible, on past performance in the same or similar areas, and on current costs of drilling materials, products and services. For onshore exploration wells, the estimate will be broken down into dry hole costs, in the event resources are not discovered, as well as the completion cost if the well results in a discovery. For many years, these initial steps and those that followed involved long, laborious processes of data collection, compilation and analysis. As drilling environments became more complex, this process threatened to become overwhelming. Fortunately, it has been streamlined in recent years with the advent of database and knowledge management software (e.g., Landmark (2006), IHS Energy (2006) that enables project teams to compile information from a range of sources, generate reports and analyze large volume of data in time frames that would have been impossible previously. These resources have proven invaluable in both well planning and operations.

Authorization for Expenditure (AFE)

An Authorization for Expenditure, or AFE, summarizes the complete drilling plan and expected cost. It gives a line-by-line breakdown of individual component costs. It is then reviewed by, approved and executed by all parties participating in the drilling of the well. A typical AFE for an onshore exploration well is shown in Exhibit 1

Exhibit 1
Management approval of the AFE represents approval of its stated objectives and the estimated cost to meet those objectives. Because of the uncertainties encountered during drilling, all of the participants are aware that costs may rise above the AFE amount. After an AFE is approved, the project takes on a new perspective. The geologists and engineers who defined the prospect, documented its potential value and prepared a package for management approval now turn the project over to the drilling engineers for preparation of the detailed well design and operating procedures.

Environmental and Regulatory Considerations

There are usually one or more government agencies that regulate and control drilling operations. They generally involve environmental, safety and other issues. Failure to adhere to these stipulations or obtain the necessary permits in time can delay or shut down drilling operations, and can result in severe civil or even criminal penalties. An operating company typically has a staff of advisors who assist drilling personnel in complying with these regulations and submitting applications for drilling permits. The operator's loss-prevention/safety advisor should also assist in complying with inspections. The operator usually posts a substantial bond (often millions of dollars) to be used if drilling or environmental regulations are violated.

Support and Logistics

The support and logistical issues that occupy drilling superintendents in Nigeria will be quite different from those that concern their counterparts in West Texas (or, for that matter, other parts of West Africa). Every onshore or offshore location has its own set of considerations regarding supply point proximity, personnel availability, transportation infrastructure, communications, weather, labor relations, political stability and other issues.

Drilling Rig Procurement

The drilling contract, although separate from the well plan, is an integral part of the logistics of the well plan. It is typically the drilling department's job to provide rig specifications for the bid request, check the condition of the rig equipment and assist in setting up a bid list of contractors with satisfactory performance records.

Rig specifications ensure that the rig obtained is satisfactory for the well being drilled, based on requirements developed in the well plan, and that there is a "common ground" for evaluating bids. The bid document should provide sufficient information for bidders to respond to the job being bid, and should pave the way for negotiating a drilling contract with the winning bidder. At minimum, it should include the following information: The expected depth of the well(s) and the number of wells; Anticipated drilling difficulties; Specific equipment requirements and any unusual operating requirements; and Services and equipment to be provided by the operator.

Bid requests generally contain language that reserves the operator's right to return all bids unopened, reject all bids or award the contract to other than the lowest bidder. The invitation to bid requests the following information: Rig specifications and equipment inventory; Rig location; Rates of pay for which the rig and all its equipment are offered under different conditions, such as operating rate, break-down rate, force majeure rate, standby rate and mobilization/demobilization cost; Specific details of any special contract terms that the contractor insists upon, and which affect the operator's costs or liabilities; and The bid request should note any special contractual provisions that might affect the contractor's bid, including insurance requirements or other terms that might affect the contractor's costs.

Once bids are submitted, the operating company's contract committee does a quick check to verify that the bidders have followed instructions. A subsequent detailed analysis will determine who offers the optimal equipment at a price that will result in the most economic well(s), and with contract terms acceptable to the operator. If none of the bids meets the operator's requirements, a waiver letter is prepared detailing the specifics of the operator's dissatisfaction with the bids and recommending that the bid procedure be waived in favor of direct negotiation for a rig with one or more acceptable contractor(s). Once a contractor is selected, the operator and the contractor must negotiate a mutually satisfactory contract often starting from industry standard forms. Throughout this process, it is important for the operator to look past the obvious (e.g., rig equipment specifications, contract rates, etc.) and consider other questions. For example, what percentage of the

time that the contractor has spent at various locations has involved downtime for rig repairs, lost-time accidents or other nonproductive hours? How well maintained is the rig? How experienced are the rig crews? What types of training and certifications do they have? Has the contractor been cited for non-compliance with safety or environmental regulations? These and other considerations should play a major part in evaluating bids and negotiating a contract.

Drilling Contracts
The principal drilling contract compensation arrangements are day rate, footage and turnkey. Figure 7 summarizes their main provisions.

Figure 7: Principal drilling contract arrangements. Each arrangement has certain advantages and disadvantages for both the operator and the drilling contractor. A day rate contract gives the operator more control over drilling procedures, but provides fewer incentives for the contractor to drill faster and finish the well. A footage contract, on the other hand, gets the well drilled more quickly, but handicaps the operator with respect to suggesting improvements in drilling practices.

One way of making these arrangements mutually beneficial is to combine themfor instance, by going to a combination dayrate/footage contract, where a well is drilled on a footage bid to a specified depth, and then switched over to a day rate for the deeper, more risky drilling. In this case, the contractor avoids the greater risks involved in deeper drilling, while the operator gets control over a critical phase of the operation. Thus, both the operator and contractor are continually interested in maximizing drilling efficiency. The type of drilling contract used depends in part on the market for drilling rigs. When rigs are in short supply, contractors are more particular about assuming technical and economic risks, and are likely to prefer a day rate contract. When there is an oversupply of rigs and contractors are anxious for work, they are more willing to bid turnkey and absorb the risk (in some respects, this turnkey arrangement is a convenience to the operating company, particularly if it has a small drilling staff).

Well Design
In general (and with numerous exceptions), the deeper the well, the more challenging and expensive it is to drill. This is due to the increasing variety and hardness of the formations encountered, the higher stresses on pipe, rig systems and other equipment, and the fact that the changing of bits takes longer and that both pressure and temperature usually increase with depth.

Subsurface Pressure and Temperature

The pressure of the formation fluids contained within a rock's pore spaces is known as the pore pressure. The rate at which this pressure increases with depththe pore pressure gradient depends on the density of the fluids. For example: The density of the salt water found in the formations of the US Gulf Coast is around 67 pounds per cubic foot (compared to 62.4 pounds per cubic foot for fresh water). Under normal conditions, where the formation water is in hydraulic communication with the surface, the pore pressure gradient is 0.465 psi per foot. Thus, the pore pressure in this area at a depth of 10,000 feet would be: 0.465 psi/ft x 10,000 ft = 4650 psi

Anticipating and controlling pore pressures is an overriding consideration in drilling projects. In many areas, geological or geochemical processes can affect the pore pressure gradient, causing it to deviate from its normal trend and resulting in abnormal pressures that are higher or lower than expected. Figure 8 shows the normal fluid pressure gradient for a group of US Gulf Coast Fields and the actual measured pressures, which are higher than normal. At normal fluid pressure gradient the formation pressure is caused by the weight of continuous column of water to the surface. At the lithostatic pressure gradient the formation pressure is caused by the weight of the rock formation to the surface.

Figure 8: Deviation from the normal pressure trend measured in a group of US Gulf Coast oilfields (Levorsen, 1967. Courtesy W.H. Freeman and Co.) Subsurface temperatures do not usually impact operations as much as subsurface pressures, although high temperatures can influence both the equipment and procedures used to drill the well. Temperature, like pressure, increases with depth. Depending on the area, the increase can range from one to five degrees Fahrenheit per 100 feet; a typical range is between 1.4 and 2 F per 100 feet. Thus, a 10,000-foot well in an area where the surface temperature averages 60 F might have a bottomhole temperature of around 200 F.

Hole Sections
Wells are rarely drilled in one continuous interval from surface to target depth. Rather, they are drilled in two or more hole sections. Each section is drilled and if the evaluation indicates that drilling should continue, then a specially designed and fabricated steel pipe called casing is placed and cemented into the well to seal off the interval. Casing comes in a variety of sizes and strengths to withstand different formation pressures and temperatures. Part of the well design process involves selecting the appropriate casing for a given hole section. Once the casing is cemented in place, the next hole section is drilled, and so on to Total Depth, or TD. The first major string of casing in a well is usually run to prevent shallow formations from caving in, to protect them from the higher wellbore and formation pressures that are likely to be encountered at greater depths, and to isolate any fresh water sands that may be present. Additional casing strings may be needed before reaching TD, depending on the well's depth and formation characteristics. Upon reaching the target formation is evaluated and, if the results are favorable, the production string of casing will be ran and cemented. Figure 9 is a schematic representation of a well design. For each hole section, it specifies the diameter of the hole to be drilled, the casing diameter, weight and grade of steel, and the interval of each section to be covered with cement. Note that the hole and casing diameters decrease for each succeeding section. This is because the bit used for each section must be small enough to pass through the casing in the section above it. (As drilling technology advances, however, you will probably hear more and more about such developments as expandable casing, which is being used in some wells to provide larger hole diameters and thus allow for largerdiameter subsurface equipment to be used where needed.)

Figure 9: Cross-sectional schematic representation of a well in Brazoria County, Texas summarizing information for three main hole sections: 14 3/4 inch, 9 7/8 inch and 6 3/4 inch.

Well Trajectory
A well's trajectory the path that it follows from the surface location to the targetis one of its most important design characteristics. Trajectory planning is based on determining the most economical well course, based on the following parameters: The depth and coordinates of the subsurface target. The depth and coordinates of the surface location (as we shall see below, it is not always directly above the target). The target radius, or how far its final coordinates at target depth are allowed to deviate from its originally proposed coordinates (e.g., Is it necessary to drill to within 100 feet of the specified target coordinates, or is it adequate to come to within 1000 feet?). In general, the smaller the target radius, the more expensive the well will be to drill).

The dogleg severity, or maximum change in angle that is allowed per interval of hole drilled (e.g., a drilling program might restrict a well's dogleg severity to 2 degrees per 100 feet").

With these parameters as a starting point, the two aspects that we need to consider are deviation control and controlled directional drilling.

Deviation control There's no such thing as a straight hole -- Anonymous

All wells, either by accident or by design, tend to deviate from their planned courses. This is a natural consequence of the rotary drilling process and the characteristics of drilled formations. Years ago, this phenomenon was generally beyond the driller's control. Figure 10 shows the results of an older California field.

Figure 10: Map view of 14 supposedly "vertical" wells drilled to depths of around 6000 ft. These were later found to have drifted hundreds of feet from their surface locations. The surface locations are indicated by a box. (After Suman, 1940. Courtesy Society of Petroleum Engineers). Although this particular case is extreme, it illustrates the potential problems that could result from being unable to control the path of the drill bitif, for example, a well was drilled onto someone else's property or even collided with another well (both of these situations have occurred more than once). If nothing else, abrupt changes in hole angle increase the bending stress on drill pipe, often causing it to break apart during drilling. Rather than live with this situation, companies began developing ways to keep wells on course. The resulting advances in drill string design, developments of new subsurface tools and improvements in operating practices went a long way toward solving these problems.

Directional Drilling
From controlling wellbore deviation in vertical wells, it was a natural step to begin actually guiding drill bits to specific targets: a practice known as directional drilling . Directional drilling has become a critical tool in the oil and gas industry, particularly in onshore and offshore areas where it is essential to be able to drill multiple wells from a single surface installation (Figure 11).

Figure 11: Offshore development is an important application of directional drilling. In this case, a vertical well and two directional wells (in blue) were drilled from a single floating platform, along with a multilateral well (in red on the right), where two extended-reach boreholes branch off from the main wellbore. (Note that the red multilateral well on the left was drilled from a different rig situated directly above it, and then tied-back to the platform by a flow-line on the sea floor.)

Horizontal Drilling
Horizontal drilling, a special application of directional drilling, involves directing part of a well's trajectory through a reservoir such that its inclination angle is approximately 90 from vertical ( Figure 12). The horizontal section may be anywhere from a few feet to thousands of feet in length.

Figure 12: This horizontal well initially follows a vertical trajectory, and begins to build angle at the kick-off point , or KOP (Courtesy Horizontal Solutions International, 1998) In certain types of reservoirs, horizontal wells are a proven, costeffective means of increasing exposure to the formation and taking advantage of its geological characteristics to increase well production, often by three-to-five-fold. Figure 13 shows how a single horizontal well can expose as much of a formation as a number of vertical wells.

Figure 13: Using a horizontal well to maximize reservoir exposure and increase production rate 3-5 times.

Geosteering
As companies began drilling longer horizontal and extended-reach wells (e.g., wells drilled from shore to offshore reservoirs up to five miles away), it became clear that even the most carefully planned directional well might end up missing its target. This is because the target formations for such wells are often small and rather uncertain with respect to their location. Even if the difference is only a matter of a few feet, the result might be an unsuccessful well. Appropriate technology was soon developed in the form of Measurement While Drilling (MWD) and L** While Drilling (LWD) tools located near the drill bit. Integrated MWD and LWD allow for the geologically steering wells as they approach their respective pay zonesof using real-time formation measurements to stay within target intervals. In a growing number of instances, operators have been able to geologically steer wells away from reservoir boundaries and execute successful well completions (Figure 14).

Figure 14: Geosteering assembly. Measurements of formation properties, made just above the drill bit, are transmitted to the surface in real time, where they can be analyzed to make sure that the bit is not straying out of the desired formation. The orientation of the bit can be modified from the surface to ensure an optimal well trajectory, even if that trajectory is different from the one originally planned.

Multilateral Wells
It was another natural step to go from highly deviated and horizontal wells to far more complex, multilateral well architecture. Some of the more common multilateral well configurations include drilling several directional or horizontal boreholes from the same vertical well (Figure 15) or, conversely, drilling horizontal or vertical branches from a single horizontal well. In certain types of reservoirs, this can be an economical alternative to drilling from multiple surface locations.

Figure 15: Multiple boreholes drilled from a single vertical well are just one application of multilateral drilling techniques.

Drilling Operations
Rig Systems and Equipment
Figure 16 illustrates the major components of a rotary drilling rig, which we can group into five major systems: hoisting, rotating, circulating, well control and power.

Figure 16: Components of a rotary drilling rig (State of California, 2005).

Hoisting and Rotating Systems

The most recognizable parts of a drilling rig are the derrick (or mast) and the substructure upon which it sits. The derrick supports the weight of the pipe that makes up the drill string and allows it to be moved up and down. The substructure supports the derrick and provides workspace for the rig floor equipment. When it is necessary to remove pipe from the wellto replace a dull drill bit, for instancethe pipe is lifted out of the hole in sections and stacked to one side of the derrick. The length of pipe that can be disconnected depends on the height of the mast. A single joint of drill pipe is about 30 feet long; the height of a mast that will allow the

pulling and stacking of pipe, in three-joint sections or stands (90 feet), is around 140 feet. Figure 17 illustrates the main components of the hoisting and rotating systems. The process of lowering pipe into or removing it from the well is known as tripping. When a drilling crew removes the pipe from a well to replace a bit, and then lowers the pipe with the new bit back to the bottom of the well, this is known as making a round trip.

Hoisting System
To move pipe up or down, the driller spools or unspools a heavy steel cable, or drilling line, which is wrapped around a large winch called a drawworks. This drilling line is threaded through the crown block (a set of pulleys at the top of the derrick) and then through the traveling block (another set of pulleys that hangs suspended from the crown block). The traveling block moves up as the drilling line is spooled, and down as it is unspoiled; it is connected to a hook that holds the equipment needed to latch on to the pipe.

Figure 17: Drilling rig hoisting and rotating systems.

Rotating System
To rotate the drill bit from the surface, the drilling rig's power source is used to turn a rotary table that is set into the working floor of the rig. The rotary table turns a master bushing, into which is set the Kelly. The Kelly transmits the rotational movement of the rotary table to the drill string. The swivel supports the weight of the drill string, allows it to rotate and provides a pressure-tight connection for pumping drilling fluid down the drill string. Top-drive unit and power swivel assembly is used as an alternative to this arrangement on many modern rigs period. In this case rotational energy is transmitted directly from the rig's power source to the drill pipe (Figure 18). With a top-drive/power swivel assembly, the driller can drill a complete stand of drill pipe (i.e., 3 or 4 joints of pipe, or approximately 90-120 feet) before having to stop and make a connection, as opposed to a Kelly/rotary table, where a connection has to be made after every joint of pipe (i.e., every 30 feet). This significantly improves the efficiency and safety of drilling operations, and greatly reduces the likelihood of problems normally associated with connecting individual segments of the drill string.

Figure 18: Top-drive assembly with power swivel.

Circulating System
The circulating system continually pumps drilling fluid, (known as mud because of its brown color) down the drill string, through the bit and back up to surface. There, drilled rock particles are separated from the mud (Figure 19). The mud is then conditioned and cleaned before being circulated again

Figure 19: The drilling fluid circulating system. The drilled particles are separated at the shale shaker; other solids are removed and the mud is re-circulated down the drill pipe. The mud is one of the most important components of a rotary drilling operation. In addition to removing rock cuttings from the bottom of the well, and cooling and lubricating the bit and drill string, the weight of the mud in the wellbore counteracts and controls subsurface formation pressure, and prevents fluid invasion from drilled formations and hole cave-ins. The effectiveness with which it carries out these and other functions depends on the components and design of the mud system. Drilling mud is typically a mixture of water, clays, suspended solids, and chemical additives, although in many areas, an oil-based or synthetic oil-based fluid might be used; in a few cases, air or foam may serve as a drilling fluid. The choice of drilling fluid for a particular well is based on such factors as the characteristics and composition of the drilled formations, formation temperatures and pressures, anticipated drilling problems, and the source and quality of the materials used to build the mud system.

Well Control System

One thing that we do not want to happen during drilling operations is to have an uncontrolled influx of formation fluid into the wellbore. This is known as a kick, and it occurs when the pore pressure in a permeable formation exceeds the pressure exerted by the drilling mud in the wellbore (Figure 20). Example: We are about to drill into a formation at a depth of 5000 feet. We know from offset well data that the pore pressure in the formation at this depth is 2250 psi. The well is full of drilling mud having a density of 9.4 pounds per gallon, which corresponds to a pressure gradient of 0.489 psi/foot. Is this well about to take a kick? Answer: The wellbore pressure at the current depth is 0.489 psi/ft x 5000 ft = 2445 psi which is 195 psi greater than the pore pressure. This well is not in immediate danger of taking a kick.

Figure 20: A kick, or entry of formation fluid into the wellbore, occurs when the pressure exerted by the formation fluid (Ppore) exceeds the pressure exerted by the drilling mud (Pwellbore).

If a kick is left uncontrolled, the volume of the mud system will increase as more formation fluid enters the wellbore. The invading fluid will travel up the wellbore, pushing mud out of the well as it goes and transmitting the formation pressure to the surface. If the kick reaches the surface in this uncontrolled state (or, in offshore operations, the sea floor), then we have the emergency condition known as a blowout and if the invading fluid is a hydrocarbon which ignites, we have a major fire (Figure 21). Even if a kick does not reach the surface, it may find its way into a shallow, low-pressure formation, resulting in an underground blowout although this may present less of an immediate danger than a surface or sea floor blowout, it is nonetheless a very serious situation.

Figure 21: Fire resulting from a blowout, or uncontrolled release of fluid from a well. While blowouts do not necessarily result in fires, ignition of the formation fluid is an ever-present concern. In most drilling operations, the primary means of preventing a kick is to: Always keep the well filled with drilling fluid; and Make sure that the fluid density or mud weight creates wellbore pressure that is greater than the pore pressure.

If these two conditions are maintained, then the pressure of the drilling mud pushing down on the formation will exceed the pressure of the formation fluids trying to push into the wellbore. However, every primary system needs a backup. It is, after all, possible that the level of mud in the well could drop below a certain depth, or we could encounter higher-than-expected formation pressures. This is why every drilling rig is designed with a well control system consisting of blowout preventers and associated equipment at the surface. Blowout preventers (BOPs) are powerful, hydraulically activated sealing elements that are placed below the drilling rig floor ( Figure 22). On floating offshore rigs, they are placed on the sea floor. BOPs are designed to close the annular space between the drill string and the sides of the wellbore, through which mud normally returns to the surface. By sealing off this space, the well can be shut-in and the mud and/or formation fluids forced to flow through an adjustable valve, or choke and then to a flare or tank. The choke allows the drilling crew to control the pressure at the surface while they kill the wellthat is, while they pump out the formation fluid from the well and pump in a higher-density drilling mud to prevent further influx.

Figure 22: Blowout preventer stack and cross-section. (Courtesy Our Industry Petroleum, BP)

Power Generation and Transmission System

Powerful diesel engines (or, on a few rigs, electric motors) supply energy to run the hoisting, rotating and circulating systems. Engine

capacity may range from 500 to 6000 horsepower, and power may be transmitted either mechanically or electrically. Modern dieselelectric rigs use their engines to drive generators that produce electricity. This electricity is sent through cables to a switch and control house, and from there to electric motors that run each system component.

Types of Drilling Rigs

Drilling rigs are broadly categorized as onshore or offshore, and may be further classified according to the environments for which they are designed (Figure 23).

Figure 23: A land rig and four different types of offshore rigs, each of which is designed for a certain range of water depths.

Onshore (Land) Rigs

Onshore rigs are all similar, and many more modern onshore rigs are of the cantilevered mast, or "jackknife" derrick type. This type of rig allows the derrick to be assembled on the ground, and then raised to the vertical position using power from the hoisting system (Figure 24). These structures are made up of prefabricated sections that are moved onto the location by truck, barge, helicopter, etc., and then placed in position and assembled.

Figure 24: Raising the derrick on a land rig.

Offshore Rigs
There are several types of offshore drilling rigs, each of which is suitable for certain environments and water depths. These range from barge rigs used to drill in shallow inland waters (Figure 25) to self-elevating jack-up rigs designed for the 30 to 500 foot depth range (Figure 26) to the self-propelled, floating semisubmersible rigs (Figure 27) and drill ships (Figure 28) that can drill in waters thousands of feet deep. Offshore rigs can also be mounted on fixed drilling and production platforms (Figure 29).

Figure 25: Barge rig on Lake Erie (http://www.canadianwellsite.com)

Figure 26: Industries Davie CJ Series Jack Up rig off the coast of Louisiana.

Figure 27: PETROBRAS P-36 Semi Submersible Drilling Rig En route to Brazil. (Courtesy Industries Davie)

Figure 28: Drillship capable of drilling in waters as deep as 10,000 ft.

Figure 29: Drilling rig on fixed offshore platform off the coast of California (US Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service).

Subsurface Drilling Equipment Drill String Components

The longest portion of the drill string consists of connected lengths of drill pipe (Figure 30), which provides length to the drill string, and transmits rotational energy to the drill bit.

Figure 30: Drill pipe generally comes in lengths of about 30 feet, which are connected together to form the major portion of the drill string (courtesy Sub Surface Tools, Inc.). The bottomhole assembly, or BHA, is that portion of the drill string between the drill pipe and the drill bit. It is made up primarily of drill collars and heavy wall drill pipe, which are thicker and heavier than regular drill pipe. These add weight to the bit, while keeping the drill string stable and in tension (Figure 31).

Figure 31: Drill collars, the primary component of the Bottomhole Assembly, provide weight to the drill string and prevent the lighter, more slender drill pipe from buckling. Stabilizers (Figure 32), are frequently placed at strategic points in the BHA to keep the drill collars centered, and help to keep the bit heading in the right direction.

Figure 32: A stabilizer, which is used in the bottomhole assembly portion of a drill string to center the drill collars in the well and help control the well trajectory. (Courtesy Downhole Stabilization, Inc.) Other specialized BHA components, arranged in various ways, perform functions ranging from absorbing shock loads and vibrations, to preventing stuck pipe, to changing the direction of the well, to collecting real-time drilling and formation data.

Drill Bits
Drill bits (Figure 33) are available from a number of manufacturers. They come in sizes ranging from 3 7/8 to 36 inches in diameter, in a bewildering array of types. They can be grouped into two major categories: rolling cutter bits and fixed cutter bits.

Figure 33: A collection of downhole drilling tools, courtesy of Hughes-Christensen, a division of Baker-Hughes Incorporated: (a), (f) and (h) are tungsten-carbide insert bits; (d) is a milled tooth bit; (b), (c), (e) and (k) are polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits; (g) is a impregnated diamond bit; (i) and (j) are hole-opening devices used for reaming or widening hole intervals that have already been drilled. Rolling cutter bits have cutting elements arranged on three cones, which rotate on bearings about their own axes as the drill string turns the body of the bit. The two main types of rolling cutter bits are milled-tooth bits and tungsten-carbide insert bits. Fixed cutter bits have stationary cutting elements that are integral with the body of the bit. The principal types of fixed cutter bits are steel cutter (fishtail), natural diamond and polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits. It is an 8.5-inch diameter PDC bit that holds the current footage record for a single bit run: 24,956 feet, at an average penetration rate of 92.5 feet per hour. This record was set in 2004 in Qatars Idd el Shargi field. (Francis, 2006). Beyond these general categories, different bit types are used for different formations and drilling conditions. A bit used in soft

formations (bit d in Figure 33, for example) will be designed to scrape and gouge the rock, much like the digging action of a shovel. A harder formation bit, on the other hand, like bit "a" in Figure 33, will be designed to chip or break up the rock, similar to the action of a chisel on concrete.

Drilling Procedures
As each hole section is drilled, the driller carefully monitors and adjusts critical drilling parameters from a control console on the rig floor (Figure 34). The amount of weight applied to the bit by the drill string, for instance, is displayed on a weight indicator and adjusted as necessary by raising or lowering the drill string. Similar adjustments can be made to the rotating speed of the bit, while a variety of other recorders and indicators allow the driller to be quickly informed of any potential problem situations.

Figure 34: The driller's console on the rig floor.

Drilling Problems
There is a likelihood of problems occurring in any project as involved as drilling an oil or gas well. While a review of these problems is beyond the scope of this discussion, suffice it to say that they could involve anything from weather or transportation delays to the drill

string becoming stuck or breaking off in the well to the potential for kicks or blowouts that we have already addressed. The best defense against drilling problems is a comprehensive, carefully researched well plan, combined with well-trained rig crews, service company and operating personnel. With these resources in place, the necessary tools, equipment and procedures can be readily available and easily implemented should a problem occur.

Remote Monitoring and Operations Support

In years past, if engineers or geologists wanted to monitor a wells progress in real time, they had to be physically present at the drilling rig. Then, if they wanted to consult with other experts from the home office, they had to do so by phone, radio or fax; and by the time everybody got together in this manner, the data that they were discussing might be several hours old. Today, using high-speed internet or intranet connections, it is possible to transmit real-time well data directly from the rig to the home office or other support center, and to present interpretive displays of these data (one example now in commercial use is Schlumbergers Operation Support Centers (OSC), based in Aberdeen and other strategic locationssee http://www.slb.com). This improves the efficiency of the drilling process by enabling as many experts as needed to review well progress and recommend improvements in operating practices, without having to bring them out to the rig, and allowing them to monitor numerous drilling operations at once from the same location.

Formation Evaluation and Testing

As a well approaches its target depth, preparations begin for evaluating the potentially productive formation. Several methods will have probably already been in use, such as mud logging. Mud logging involves the services of a small onsite laboratory and specialists, who routinely collect, analyze and record drilled cuttings and gas samples while monitoring drilling mud properties, drilling rates and other parameters (Figure 35). The service is generally employed on exploration wells and their major function is to monitor for the presence of hydrocarbons so as not to miss a potential productive formation.

Figure 35: Section of a mud log (Courtesy Camco Logging Service). An inherent shortcoming of mud logging is that it takes timeoften an hour or morefor the drilling fluid to bring cuttings and formation gas samples to the surface. During that time, the bit may have

drilled ahead a significant distance, meaning that the data collected at the surface is obsolete even before it can be analyzed. In some areas, this information gap is not a major concern. In others, it can mean the difference between, say, being prepared to drill into a high-pressure formation and encountering it unexpectedly. One of the most important advances in modern petroleum technology has been the development of real-time MeasurementWhile-Drilling (MWD) systems to transmit drilling and directional information, and Logging-While-Drilling (LWD) systems to provide formation evaluation data. MWD and LWD systems have made it possible to monitor and control operations even as drilling is taking place, by allowing operators to measure the drill bit position and well trajectory, evaluate drilling parameters, compute pore pressures, and evaluate formations even as they are being drilled. Figure 36 illustrates a typical MWD-LWD system.

Figure 36: A rotary steering system that incorporates MWD and LWD technology to guide the drill bit and evaluate the formation as it is being drilled. Note how close the various logging sensors (Gamma Ray, Resistivity, Neutron and Density) are to the drill bit. If the depth of a formation of interest can be predicted accurately, routine drilling can be stopped just prior to reaching that depth, and a hollow coring bit run to cut a cylindrical sample of rock that can be retrieved at the surface for analysis (Figure 37). Coring is timeconsuming and expensive, and is rarely undertaken unless there is a particular need for precise laboratory measurements of rock

properties. These samples are of special interest to the reservoir engineers who must plan the development of the subsurface because they represent an actual sample of the formation for xxx measurement

Figure 37: Coring methods and recovered core material. Once a hole section is drilled and drill pipe removed, combinations of open hole logging devices can be lowered on an electrical conductor cable (Figure 38) to measure and record the properties of the rock formations. A gamma ray logging tool, for example, can measure a rock's natural radioactivity to determine whether it is sand or shale. Resistivity tools, meanwhile, can record the electrical properties, thus indicating whether it contains oil, gas or salt water (salt water is less resistive to electrical flow than oil and gas). These devices are run on virtually every well that is drilled.

Figure 38: Typical onshore well logging setup showing the shale sand shale sequence with the Gamma Ray Log (GR) on the left and resistivity log on the right showing the location of the water-oil-gas zones. (Source Industry Petroleum, BP). Finally, drillstem testing (Figure 39) involves a temporary completion of a potentially productive zone, allowing the entire formation to produce into the drill pipe for a period of hours to measure fluid flow rates and pressures, and then collect fluid samples. Drillstem tests provide the first indications of how wells might produce, and companies usually publish their results are generally publicized in the media to announce new discoveries.

Figure 39: A Drillstem Test, or DST, involves placing a special tool assembly in the well opposite the formation of interest, using one or more sealing elements or packers to isolate the zone from the pressure of the fluid above it, and temporarily producing the well while measuring the pressure and flow rate in the formation.

Well Completion
Following the well evaluation, the operator has two options to consider: Abandonment: Partially or completely plug the well with cement according to regulatory standards, possibly recover whatever casing can be removed, and return the surface location to its original condition; and

Completion: Install the tools and equipment needed to safely produce oil and gas from the well. This option may also include stimulating the near-well bore formation, either by pumping an acid mixture into the formation or fracturing the rock, to improve the well's production rate.

Completion, the more desirable alternative, will occur for successful onshore wells, but is not likely for offshore exploratory wells. They are usually abandoned after substantial testing ("expendible wells"). Development wells are drilled later as an integral part of the development plan.

Completion Design
The basis for any completion is the steel pipe or casing that lines the wellbore. Together with the cement that holds it in place, the casing keeps the hole from caving in, prevents the flow of fluids and the transfer of pressures between shallow and deep formations, allows for control of pressures; and provides a base of support for surface and subsurface equipment. Figure 40 shows a relatively simple downhole installation consisting of conductor casing to facilitate the initial drilling of the well, surface casing to protect the shallower rock formations from the harsh conditions encountered at greater depths, and production casing designed to isolate the producing formation. In more complex designs, one or more intermediate casing strings are placed between the surface and production casings.

Figure 40: Well design showing three strings of casing. Figure 41 depicts three general options for a well completion design.

Figure 41: Basic Well Completion Designs: Open hole, slotted liner and case through and perforate. In an open hole completion (Figure 42(a)), casing is set above or just into the top of the productive formation, while the bottom of the hole is left uncased. This type of well completion is rarely used today, because it offers little or no control over fluid entry into the wellbore, and increases the potential of hole caving or collapse. It may be used in a dry gas well where there is no invasion of water. In some areas, placing a slotted pipe or screen across an open hole section can prevent the hole from collapsing (Figure 42(b)). But more often, the movement of sand grains in the formation can lead to serious production problems. To prevent these problems, operators may resort to gravel packing, where the space between the pipe and the open hole is filled with coarse, graded sand to prevent the accumulation of fine solid particles in the wellbore. By far the most common type of completion today is that in which casing is cemented through the productive zone (Figure 42(c)). This is done by pumping specially designed cement slurry down the casing, out through a port at the bottom of the casing, and back up to a pre-determined depth in the casing-hole annulus. Once the casing is cemented and the hole section is sealed off, communication with the formation is re-established by running a tool that contains explosive charges to selectively perforate holes through the casing and cement (Figure 42).

Figure 42: Perforating Gun showing shaped charges, spaced around the wellbore, which are detonated from the surface when in-place. Using well logs and various depth control techniques, we can select which sections of pay zone to perforate and open to flow, thereby avoiding communication with undesired fluids (gas, water), weak zones that might produce sand, and unproductive sections or shale barriers. This type of completion is generally used unless there is a specific reason to prefer an open hole or uncemented liner completion.

Well Stimulation
Some newly completed wells may not produce at their desired rates because of excessive formation damage. Formation damage occurs when solids from the drilling mud plug off the rocks pore spaces, or when the drilling mud reacts with clays in the formation, causing them to swell and block the pore spaces. Other wells may be completed in very tight or low-permeability formations that do not allow for high flow rates. In such cases, a stimulation treatment may be included as part of the well program. Depending on the type of formation and the nature of the problem, these treatments may involve procedures known as acidizing, hydraulic fracturing, or a combination of the two. Both of these procedures involve pumping fluids down into the formation through the tubing or drill pipe.

In hydraulic fracturing, the objective is to pump fluid at a high enough pressure to actually split the rock formation apart, and then prop the splits open using a suspension of high-permeability sand. This creates high-permeability flow channels from the formation into the wellbore. In acidizing sandstone formations, the objective is to pump acid into the existing pore spaces of the rock to dissolve clays and other particles that plug the rocks pore spaces. Acid treatments in carbonate formations such as limestone are different in that the acid actually dissolves the part of the rock material itself. Acid-fracturing treatments are designed to create fractures that are simultaneously widened by acid dissolution.

Production Tubing
The central subsurface component of a completed well is the production tubing, which is placed inside the casing to serve as a conduit for produced fluids. It is suspended from a tubing hanger within the wellhead at the surface (Figure 43) and isolated from the annular space near the bottom of the hole with one or more production packers, which are used to seal off the tubing/casing annulus or to isolate different producing zones.

Figure 43: Production tubing suspended from tubing hanger in wellhead and run with a production packer. There are five primary reasons for using production tubing in a well: (1) It is not cemented into the well, and so it is easy to remove if problems develop. (2) It isolates producing fluids from the casing and makes control of the fluids easier. (3) It makes it easier to circulate fluids (i.e., pump fluids into the well and then back to surface) for well control or other purposes. (4) Its smaller diameter allows for safety devices and other equipment to be included in the well design. (5) It enables low-productivity wells to produce fluid more efficiently. Some wells may be equipped with multiple packers on a single string of tubing, as shown in Figure 44. Here, the well has two producing formations, which are isolated by two production packers. The upper producing zone is located between the packers, while the lower producing zone is located below the bottom packer. A circulating sleeve, or port, which is located between the packers, can be opened to allow fluid from the upper zone to flow into the tubing, or closed to shut off flow from the upper zone. Similarly, a plug can be placed in the landing nipple below the upper packer to shut off production from the lower zone. When the circulating sleeve is open and there is no plug in the tubing, both the lower and upper zones produce through the same tubing string. Figure 45 shows another type of dual zone completion, in which multiple packers are run with dual strings of tubing. Other wells, if they are extremely productive, may produce through casing without tubing, or through both tubing and the casing-tubing annulus.

Figure 44: Well completed with a single string of production tubing and two packers. The well has two producing formations, which are isolated by the production packers.

Figure 45: Well completed with a dual string of production tubing and two packers. The upper and lower zones can produce independently through their respective tubing strings.

Wellhead and Surface Flow Control Equipment

The valves and connections at the top of the well are often referred to collectively as the Wellhead or Christmas tree. This equipment is designed to safely control the flow of fluids under pressure, seal the annular openings between concentric casing and tubing strings, monitor annulus and tubing pressures, and provide a base for blowout control equipment during drilling operations. Figure 46 shows a typical surface flow control installation for a flowing oil well with multiple casing strings and a single tubing string. The flow rate of the well is controlled by the diameter of the adjustable production choke that is placed at the surface along the tubing flow path.

Figure 46: Christmas Tree assembly for a flowing well with several strings of casing and tubing string in the center.

Summary
The goals of any drilling venture are to drill safely, provide a fit-for-purpose well and minimize the overall well cost. Companies may have different ideas of how best to attain these goals, and drilling practices may vary according to location, rig type, hole conditions or other factors. But the goals themselves are always the same. The starting point in meeting drilling objectives is a comprehensive, thoroughly researched well plan developed by an integrated team of operating company, drilling contractor and service company personnel. Every aspect of the plan, from pre-spud activities to completion (or abandonment) procedures, should be designed to optimize the process of well construction, and to anticipate and control any problems that

could arise. The same preparation and effort that goes into well planning should carry over into well design and day-today operations. Personnel should continually identify, monitor and evaluate the variables that affect the success of the well, and work to control those variables to their advantage.
Case Study: Nicola Exploration Well Your exploration well team, consisting of your geologist, geophysicist, drilling engineer and project analyst, has been analyzing the exploration prospect in some detail (see Figure CS1 below). They realize that the Nicola sandstone is in the form of a large structural anticline that may be quite thick. If oil is discovered the resources within the structure could be huge. Now it is time to drill a well! Because the prospect is located on land, they recommend that any promising discovery be completed as a producing well. The total drilling depth, through the Nicola sandstone, is estimated to be about feet (meters) in depth. The team's well plan is shown in Figure CS2. They have also recommended that a mud logging unit be contracted to be on site during the drilling to make sure we do not miss important shows of hydrocarbons. They have also recommended that a standard suite of well logs and a Drill Stem Test (DST) be performed on promising hydrocarbon zones. A fluid sample should be collected during the DST to record the quality of the crude. If the well is to be completed, the casing should be cemented through the formation and then perforated at the top of the sand. Tubing should be hung from the wellhead and separated at the bottom of the hole with a packer. The proposed completed well arrangement is shown in Figure CS3.

References
Baker-Hughes (1991): Eastman-Christensen Product Catalog . Houston: Baker-Hughes, Inc. Bill Popp, Oil & Gas Liasison, Kenai Peninsala Borough, 43335 Kalifornsky Beach Road, #16, Soldotna, AK 99669.
bpopp@borough.kenai.ak.us

Camco (2005): Corporate website at http://www.camcologging.com/mudlog.html . LaMarque , TX : Camco Logging Service. Horizontal Solutions International (1998). Corporate website at http://www.horizontalsi.com . Carrollton , TX : Horizontal Solutions International Levorsen, A.I. (1967). Geology of Petroleum , 2nd ed. San Francisco : W.H. Freeman and Co. Rowe, Morris E. and Wilson, Gerald E. (1981). "How to Get the Most Out of Your Drillstring." Petroleum Engineer International (September). Smith Bits (2005). Smith Bits Product Catalog. Houston : Smith International

State of California (2005). Website for Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Suman, J.R. (1940): "Drilling, Testing and Completion." Elements of the Petroleum Industry , AIME. Richardson , TX : Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Additional Resources
General Interest:
Baker-Hughes International Rig Count:
http://www.bakerhughes.com/investor/rig/

The Baker-Hughes Rig Count is widely used for tracking rig activity in North America and worldwide. Data are available on a weekly and monthly basis dating back to 1949 for North American rigs, and to 1975 for International rigs. International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC):
http://iadc.org/

The IADC is a professional society whose worldwide membership represents not only drilling contractors, but operating, service and manufacturing companies as well. Its goal is to promote education, communications and safe, efficient operations within the upstream oil and gas industry through its training seminars, conferences and wide range of technical publications. Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE): http://www.spe.org/ The SPE website contains a number of useful links that can be accessed by non-members, most of which can be found by going to the above link and then clicking on the heading titled? About Oil and Natural Gas? US Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS): (http://www.mms.gov/mmshome.htm) The MMS is the US Government agency charged with overseeing oil and gas operations in federal waters off Alaska, California and the US Gulf Coast. This site is a good resource for researching environmental and other issues that affect drilling activities.

Drilling Contractors:
The contractors listed below represent some of the major players in the onshore and offshore drilling industry, and their websites provide both technical and financial insights. This list is by no means allinclusive, and it is not meant to reflect an endorsement of any particular contractor. Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc.: (http://www.diamondoffshore.com)

Ensco International Incorporated: (http://www.enscous.com) KCA Deutag: (http://www.kcadeutag.com) Nabors Industries, Ltd.: (http://www.nabors.com) Precision Drilling Corporation: (http://www.precisiondrilling.com) Pride International Inc.: (http://www.prideinternational.com) Transocean Inc. : (http://www.deepwater.com)