Directional Drilling

Directional drilling is defined as the practice of controlling the direction and deviationof a
wellbore to predertermined underground target and location.

Directional drilling is the process of directing the wellbore along some trajectory to a
predertermined target. Deviation control is the process of keeping the wellbore contained
within some prescribed limits relative to inclination angle, horizontal excursion from the
vertical, or both.

Directional Drilling has been integral part of the oil and gas industry since the 1920s. While
the technology has improved over the years, the concept of directional drilling remains the
same: drilling wells at multiple angels, not just vertically, to better reach and produce oil and
gas reserves. Additionally, directional drilling allows for multiple wells from the same
vertical well bore, minimizing the wells environmental impact.

Many times, a non-vertical

well is drilled by simply
pointing the drill in the
direction it needs to drill. A
more complex way of
directional drilling utilizes a
bend near the bit, as well as
a downhole steerable mud
motor. In this case, the bend
directs the bit in a different
direction from the wellbore
axis when the entire
drillstring is not rotating,
which is achieved by
pumping drilling fluid
through the mud motor.
Then, once the angle is
reached, the complete
drillstring is rotated,
including the bend, ensuring
the drillbit does not drill in
different directiom from the
wellbore.
Application of directional drilling
 Multiple wells from a single location
Field developments, particularly offshore and in the artic, involve drilling an optimum
number of wells from a single platform or artificial island. Directional drilling has
helped by greatly reducing the costs and environmental impact of this application
 Inaccesible surface locations
A well is directionally drilled to reach a producing zone that is otherwise inaccessible
with normal vertical-drilling practices. The location of a producing formation dictates
the remote rig location and directional-well profile. Application like this are where
“extended-reach” wells are most commonly drilled.
 Multiple target zones
A very cost-effective way of delivering high production rates involves intersecting
multiple targets with sigle wellbore. There are certain cases in which the attitudes
(bed dips) of the producing formations are such that the most economical approach is
a directional well for multiple completion. This is also applicable to multiple
production zones adjacent to a fault plane or beneath a salt dome
 Sidetrack
The technique may be employed either to drill around obstruction or reposition the
bottom of the wellbore for geological reasons. Drilling around obstruction, such as a
lost string of pipe, is usually accomplished with a blind sidetrack. Oriented sidetrack
is required if a certain direction is critical in locating an anticipated producing
formation.
 Faul drilling
It is often difficult to drill a vertical well through a steeply inclined fault plane to
reach an underlying hydrocarbon-bearing formation. Instead, the wellbore may be
deflected perpendicular or parallel to the fault for better production. In unstable areas,
a wellbore drilled thorugh a fault zone could be at risk because of the possibility of
slippage or movement along the fault. Formation pressures along fault planes may
also affect hole conditions.
 Salt-dome exploration
Producing formations can be found under the hard, overhanging cap of saltdomes.
Drilling a vertical well through a salt dome increases the possibility of drilling
problems, such as washouts, lost circulation, corrosion.
 Relief-well drilling
An uncontrolled (wild) well is intersected near its source. Mud and water are then
pumped into the relief well to kill the wild one. Directional control is extremely
exacting for this type of application.
 River-crossing application
Directional drilling is employed extensively for placing pipelines that cross beneath
rivers, and has even been used by telecommunication companies to install fiber-optic
cables.
Type of directional drilling
The major types directional drilling are:
 Horizontal wells
Horizontal wells are high-angle wells (with an inclination of generally greater than
85°) drilled to enhance reservoir performance by placing a long wellbore section
within the reservoir.

 Mutilateral wells
Multilateral wells are new evolution of horizontal wells in which several wellbore
branches radiate from the main borehole.

 Extended reach wells

Extended reach well is directional drilling of very long horizontal wells. The aims of
ERD are: a) to reach a larger area from one surface drilling location, and b) to keep a
well in a reservoir for a longer distance in order to maximize its productivity and
drainage capability.
Designing directional wells
Today, most directional-well planning is done on the computer. Modern computer
technologies, such as 3D visualization and 3D earth models, have provided geoscientists and
engineers with intergrated and interactive tools to create, visualize, and optimize well paths
through reservoir targets. Furthermore, recently developed geosteering systems and RSSs
allow more-complex directional-well trajectories that are designed to drain more of the
reservoir. The future is the real-time integration of the drilling and logging while drilling
(LWD) data with geosteering and the earth model. The 3D visualization of real-time data,
together with the earth model, would allow intergrated knowledge management and real-time
desicion making.