SOCietV of Petroleum Enaineprs

lADC/SPE 39329

Rotary Steerable System Improves Reservoir Drilling Efficiency and Wellbore

Placement in the Statfjord Field
E. Andreassen *, H. Blikra *, A. Hjelle *, and S. A. Kvamme *, Statoil, and J. Haugen *, Baker Hughes INTEQ
“Sue members
IADC Members
Copyright 1998, lADC/SPE Drilfing Conference
● Case history, emphasizing directional control, drilling
This papr was prepared for presentation at the 1998 lADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in
Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., 3.6 March 1998.
efficiency improvement, and other valuable experiences
from utilizing the rotary steerable system.
This paper waa selected for presentation by an lADC/SPE Program Committee following
review of information contained in an abstract aubmittad by the author(s) Contents of the
pa~r, as presented, have not hen reviewed by the International Association of Drilling Introduction
Contractor or the Society of Petroleum Engineara and are subjact to correction by the
author(a). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the IADC or The North Sea Statfjord Field is located on the border between
SPE, their officers, or members PaWrs preaentad at the lADC/SPE meetings are subject to
publication review by Editorial Committees of the IADC and SPE. Electronic reproduction, ‘- Norwegian and British sector, 200 km north west of Bergen,
distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purpses without the written Norway. This large oil field was- discovered in 1973 and
consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers la prohibitad Permission to reproduce in print is
restricted to an abatract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not h copied. The production drilling started in 1978. Currently some 160 wells
abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was
presented, Write Librarian, SPE, PO. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U. S.A., fax have been drilled, many of these being high angle, horizontal,
01-972-952-9435.
----- ERD, and designer wells”z.
Several of the approximately 80 remaining reservoir targets
Abstract will require complex three dimensional wellpaths above and
Drilling in the Statfjord Field has become increasingly within the reservoir. All well slots have been utilized on the
challenging as remaining oil pockets require designer wells, three platforms, and therefore new wells will be sidetracked
horizontal wells, or Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) wells with from existing wells. These wells available for sidetracking
great demand for reservoir navigation in three dimensions. may have less than optimum directions and inclinations,
Until recently this has been performed with steerable motor demanding extensive three dimensional orientations when
assemblies, with frequent steering difficulties in the reservoir sidetracking. Proximity to other well tracks also puts
sands. Low rate of penetration (ROP) while sliding has given constraints on allowable wellpath design. However, most
an overall low drilling efficiency, and in some cases inade- important for the resulting wellpath is the location of the often
quate steering ability has resulted in a less than optimum small infill reserve targets. To obtain an acceptable economic
wellbore placement. Long sliding intervals have also resulted justification for drilling often several of these targets are
in poor hole cleaning, which has contributed to stuck drill combined in each well, resulting in complex three dimensional
string and lost circulation problems. well paths.
This paper presents the introduction of a rotary steerable In the last decade the use of steerable motor assemblies with
system in the multilateral horizontal well C-23 in the Statfjord PDC bits has been the predominant method for directionally
Field, and how this improved drilling performance over navigating wells. Frequent problems with toolface orienting,
comparable wells in the reservoir. positive displacement motor (PDM) stalling, hanging up of
The following topics are discussed in the paper: bottom hole assemblies (BHA), and poor ROP while sliding
o Field description and brief overview of directional drilling have been experienced while drilling in reservoir sands. To
challenges in the Statfjord Field. obtain necessary steerability in some well paths, the only
● Statoil’s active role in the development of rotary steerable solution has been rock bits with their added risk and increased
systems. tripping frequency. These are common problems associated
● Functional description of the rotary steerable system, with steerable motor assemblies, and described by other
highlighting the technology’s benefits compared to authors3’4. Introducing PDM motors with extended power
traditional directional drilling methods. sectionss’b, rotating near bit stabilizers, and multi-position
● Why well C-23 was chosen as a suitable candidate for the adjustable stabilizers, has led to documented performance
rotary steerable system, becoming the first successful ‘ improvement’.
utilization of this promising technology in the Norwegian As wellpath design has become even more complex, in
Sector. extreme cases demanding as much as 85% sliding in the reser-
voir, the result is poorer overall ROP. Sliding this much has

313
2 ROTARY STEERABLE SYSTEM IMPROVES RESERVOIR DRILLING EFFICIENCY AND WELLBORE
also resulted in poor hole cleaning, and several incidents of
lost circulation and stuck pipe8.
Alternately sliding and rotating the steerable BHA creates a
wellbore with intervals of high dogleg from the sliding and
straighter, intervals from the rotation. In this way a tortuous
well trajectory is produced, with high normal forces acting on
the drill string, and increased surface torque9 and local internal
casing wear as a result. Smoothening out the wellbore doglegs
by producing a continuous curvature while drilling will extend
the possible reach of ERD wells, as well as providing a more
distributed internal wear on a later casing to be placed in the
hole.
Buckling of the drill string while sliding will in several cases
limit the efficiency of weight transfer to the bit, leading to poor
ROP. When rotating, the axial friction between string and
wellbore is considerably reduced and buckling of the drill pipe
becomes less likely ’”.
At the bottom part of designer wells and ERD wells, azimuth
steering has been impaired or impossible, leaving the rotary
mode as the only method for Wher drilling progress’” i. A
desire to efficiently orient the wells in all directions at all
depths is described by operators in several ERD
applications7’9’ 10’12’13.
Fulfilling this desire with a new drilling
technology would give dramatic improvements in the freedom
of placing wellbores more optimal for reservoir drainage. This
has been one of the main drivers in developing rotary steerable
systems.
Statoil’s Active Role in the Development of Rotary
Steerable Systems
The development of Statoil’s ERD, designer and horizontal
wells has in the past resulted in some cases where the limit for
sliding a BHA was reached, and the wells had to be completed
before planned total depth (TD). This was the case when the
three dimensional horizontal well B-29 was drilled in 1994
from the Gullfaks B platform to develop the marginal Gullfaks
West Field’ 1(Fig. 1). The last of six targets was not reached in
this well due to the necessity of turning the wellpath in the
horizontal plane at long reach. A rotary steerable system
would in this case h?ve been particularly useful, but was not
available.
In Statoil’s technology plan for 1995a goal was set for ERD
stating that two dimensional wells of 12 km and three dimen-
sional wells of 10 km length should be achievable within 1997,
and that the technology to achieve this goal should be pursued.
One of the key technologies identified was the rotary steerable
system. This resulted in a thorough evaluation of potential and
status of available systems.
Statoil’s recent technology program has included develop-
ment sponsoring of two separate rotary steerable systems. The
objective has primarily been to accelerate the development and
implementation of the systems, but secondly to be an indica-
tion to the industry that this technology is regarded as very
important to Statoil.
314
PLACEMENT IN THE STATFJORD FIELD lADC/SPE 39329
In 1995 the joint industry “Advanced Well Project” (AWP)
was formed. The project is partly funded by EU Thermie. The
participants are Agip S.p.A., Amoco (UK) Exploration Co.
Ltd., BP Exploration Operating Co. Ltd., Norsk Hydro ASA,
Phillips Petroleum Co. Norway, Saga Petroleum as., Statoil
and Total S.A. The project combines two different technology
areas: drilling and completion and reservoir technology. The
drilling and completion part is headed by Statoil and the reser-
voir part is headed by Norsk Hydro ASA. The goal of the
project is to accelerate new technologies to the market. This is
achieved by offering the development companies paid tests
and a test sites, where the new technology could be tested,
demonstrated, and qualified under safe and low cost
conditions.
A major task in this project was testing and demonstrating
the rotary steerable systems. Statoil and Agip S.p.A. planned
and supervised the testing of seven different rotary steerable
. systems on behalf of the AWP project. The test sites were
Ulhigg at Rogaland Research in Stavanger, Norway, Tay
Training (now Advanced Drilling International) in Montrose,
Scotland and Agip’s test site in Cortemaggiore, Italy. To
summarize, four rotary steerable systems had a positive test
result showing steering capabilities while rotating the drill
string. Three systems failed completely to perform. Some of
the tools were developed firther, and some have been made
commercially available to the industry, based on these tests.
Projects like the AWP promote new and economically
beneficial technologies. Limited amount of finding and risk
can in these cases help both small and large service companies
to introduce new technologies to the market.
The Rotary Closed Loop System
A tool has been developed jointly by Baker Hughes WTEQ
and AGIP S.p.A., with the main objectives of providing a
higher drilling-while-steering efficiency, and a better hole
quality. To achieve this the following most important
functional criteria were set for this “Rotary Closed Loop
System” (RCLS):
“ Ability to change hole direction without stopping the drill
string rotation.
“ Integrated tool design, eliminating both conventional
MWD and mud motors.
● Provide surface-to-tool and tool-to-surface communication.
● Ability to change direction from the surface on the basis of
downhole readings without pulling the tool.
The details of the tool finction and design characteristics are
described by Poli et al. 13and can be summarized as follows: A
non-rotating steering sleeve that is uncoupled from the rotating
drive on the tool, controls hole inclination and azimuth as the
drill string rotates. The bit inclinometer, control electronics
and control valves are located inside the steering sleeve (Fig.
2). The steering direction is defined by the selective distribu-
tion of hydraulic pressures to each of the three expandable
steering pads, producing a force vector against the hole wall
(Fig. 3). In controlling the eccentricity of the steering sleeve,
lADC/SPE 39329 E. Andreassen, H. Blikra,
the RCLS maintains the force vector needed to steer the BHA
hlong the planned wellpath.
Dogleg severity is determined by the amount of hydraulic
pressure on the pads. This force vector is adjusted by a combi-
nation of downhole electronic control and commands pulsed
hydraulically from the surface. Deviations from the
programmed inclination is automatically compensated for
through closed loop control, New commands to adjust the
wellpath can be downlinked without interrupting the drilling
progress.
Real time inclination at bit sensors, gamma ray, and multiple
propagation resistivity measurements close to bit, give the tool
geosteering capabilities (Fig. 4). In addition, standard direc-
tional measurements are transmitted to surface real time at pipe
connections.
The system can be set to two different steering modes while
drilling:
“ “Hold mode”, which is associated with three parameters:
Build or drop force, left or right walk force, and target
inclination. When the programmed inclination is reached
the system wil[ automatically enter into a hold position to
maintain the objective until programmed to do otherwise.
The programmed build or drop force will control the
dogleg severity until the desired inclination is reached. A
walk compensation force can be set in order to counteract
formation or BHA influences on azimuth hold, or for the
purpose of turning laterally. Build/drop and walk forces
can be applied simultaneously.
“ “Steer mode”, which is an alternative method of steering
the wellpath by programming the steering force and
steering direction, i.e. the steering vector. This is a way to
navigate wellpaths more similar to the conventional
steerable motor.
Introducing the RCLS in Statfjord Well C-23
Choosing the first candidate for RCLS. Statoil’s first use of
this technology in a field application was the subject of carefil
considerations. An agreement with Baker Hughes INTEQ for
field deployment was signed, and a Statoil steering committee
was established to supervise in this introductory phase. A list
of possible well candidates was produced, including several of
the Statoil operated drilling assets on the Norwegian shelf.
The Statfjord C multilateral well C-23’~ was found to be
particularly suitable for a first deployment for several reasons:
“ Two very long 8-1/2” sections were to be drilled.
“ The Brent reservoir temperatures are moderate,
approximately 90- 10O°C, well below the RCLS design
temperature of150”C.
● A high number of offset wells were available for
comparison.
● The lower operational cost level of a production platform,
as opposed to semi submersible rig, gave less economic
risk in case of tool failure.
315
A. Hjelle, S. A. Kvamme, J. Haugen 3
This well was planned as a multilateral producer in the Brent
reservoir, with a 1661 m long 8-1/2” build and horizontal hold
main bore, and an 2400 m long 8-1/2” parallel lateral bore.
This lateral was to exit from a milled window in the 9-5/8”
liner, building angle from 42° to 85°. Afier a 670 m hold
section, a drop off to 76° inclination in order to enter into the
reservoir some 400 m south west of the first lateral’s reservoir
entry point was planned. Finally, a build and horizontal hold
section in the reservoir was be drilled. The reservoir length of
-the lateral was planned to be 1100 m (Fig. 5). The main bore
was considered to be less demanding than the lateral from a
directional drilling point, with planned dogleg of 2.5°/30 m.
Thus, operational experience gained from introducing the
RCLS to this less risky wellbore would be useful for the
second and more complex lateral.
Initial experience in the main bore. Well C-23 was drilled
from surface, utilizing the last remaining drilling slot in the
entire Statfjord Field. Following the 24” and 16” hole
sections, a 12-1/4” hole was drilled to the top of reservoir, and
a 9-5/8” liner set at 2762 mMD. The 9-5/8” shoe inclination
was 73°.
The first RCLS tool drilled the float and shoe of the liner,
and continued into the fresh formation with a programmed
build of 1.26°/30 m. The real time inclination at bit measure-
ments soon showed less than required build response. Several
commands to increase the build force of the non rotating steer-
ing pads were downlinked. Afier drilling 59 m with a slight
dropping tendency, the run was aborted.
No conclusive reasons for the failure was found in the tool at
surface, and the backup tool was run in the hole. Afier
initially building hole angle successfully, a command was
downlinked to decrease the dogleg. Following this downlink,
the tool failed to build, behaving similarly to the first tool run.
Afier 53 m drilled, the tool was pulled in order not to deviate
too much from the wellpath proposal. Both tools were shipped
to the manufacturer in Germany for close examination.
A so fiware bug combined with a programming error in the
downhole computer for sleeve orientation was found to be
causing the tool to steer in an undesired toolface direction.
This software bug was easily fixed, and all other systems were
found in good condition. The Statfjord C drilling team there-
fore had confidence to allow a new run in the lateral bore.
Before this, the remaining main bore was drilled convention-
ally with three steerable motor assemblies. A rock bit had to
be run to build the inclination to horizontal. This convention-
ally drilled wellpath was thus to become an excellent offset to
the lateral bore C-23 A, drilled with the RCLS tool.
Success in the lateral. The window was milled in the 9-5/8”
liner at 2381 mMD, and the first 50 m of open hole were
drilled conventionally. At 2432 mMD, an RCLS assembly
was run programmed to build inclination horn 50° to a hold
inclination of 85.5°. At the same time the azimuth was to be
turned from 204° to 217°.
4 ROTARY STEERABLE SYSTEM IMPROVES RESERVOIR DRILLING EFFICIENCY AND WELLBORE
The tool decoded all ciownlinks correctly, and responded as
expected to the changes made. The 670 m long tangent section
was drilled in hold mode with only minor variations in angle.
There were initial concerns about steering control being influ-
enced by excessive sleeve rotation, and the string RPM was
held back to 80. The tool is designed to compensate for some
sleeve rotation, as this will inevitably happen due to internal
friction. As the tool responded as expected, the RPM was
increased to 120 and later 140, resulting in ROP
improvements.
At 3415 mMD, a new target inclination of 76° was
downlinked, and the RCLS responded immediately. However,
the tool failed to transmit data at 3529 mMD, only a few meter
short of a planned trip. A run to underream the 8-1/2” hole to
9-7/8” to lower ECD in the forthcoming reservoir section was
planned at this depth. After circulation, the BHA was pulled
with no overpull, which is unusual for this formation, hole
inclination, and length of drilled section.
A revised directional plan was made for the reservoir drilling
ahead in order to correct for the shallower wellbore position
resulting from a gyro run. Following the underreaming, a new
RCLS tool was picked up and run in the hole to 3529 mMD,
with a programtned hold inclination of 87.7°. Again, the tool
decoded all downlinks to adjust the build and turn rate, and
responded as expected to all changes made. The revised well
proposal was followed with great precision, producing a very
smooth wellpath. Drilling continued to 4770 mMD, with the
gamma ray sensor failing from 4568 mMD.
The drillers reported excellent hole cleaning, low and stable
drill string torque, and stable stand pipe pressure over the
entire reservoir run. Minor tight spots were experienced while
pulling out, with a maximum of20 ton overpull.
Discussion of RCLS Performance and Comparison
with Main Bore Conventional Results
A number of drilling parameters have been examined and
compared between the main and lateral wellbore. The objec-
tive has been to identify and evaluate the alleged positive
effects of the RCLS.
Steering control and wellpath smoothness. One of the main
fictional features of rotary steerable systems is the ability to
drill in rotary mode while following proposed three dimen-
sional well plans accurately. Inclination measurement close to
the bit and automated hold mode is intended to produce a
smooth wellbore. The ability to drill straight inclination hold
sections is demonstrated when plotting inclination versus
depth for the main and lateral bores. A necessary high-side
steering in C-23 due to a dropping tendency of the BHA is
recognized in the jagged inclination versus depth curve,
whereas the lateral shows two smoother hold sections (Fig. 6).
The first RCLS was programmed to build up to 85.5° and
then hold. Later, a drop command was downlinked. Fig. 7
316
PLACEMENT IN THE STATFJORD FIELD IADCISPE 39329
shows that the achieved build, hold and drop of inclination
closely keep to the programmed values.
The second run was planned to turn right and build angle at
the same time. Fig. 8 shows how this was achieved compared
to the plan. The entire run was drilled in the “hold mode”,
with a fixed target inclination of 87.8°. The azimuth was
adjusted by several downlinked commands to change the walk
compensation force. RCLS managed to drill a wellbore that
never deviated more than 6 m from the plan in the second run,
not taking position measurement uncertainty into
consideration.
ROP improvement. Several parameters made this well an
unusually well suited case for direct comparison of ROP: Both
wellbores utilized identical PDC bits with the same. nozzle
configuration, were drilled in mud of identical parameters, and
were drilled in the same formation, parallel to each other.
ROP in the main wellbore C-23. This conventionally
drilled main bore exhibited familiar steering problems. The
first steerable motor assembly and PDC bit had to be pulled
after only 38 m. The following steerable motor BHA which
was run to build to horizontal, needed a build rate of 5°130m
and therefore a rock bit to catch up to the proposed inclination.
Above average ROP’S for the Statfjord Field were exhibited by
the third steerable motor BHA. A PDC bit was included for
efficient drilling of the hold section. This last BHA run was
drilled requiring high side orientation 30% of the 1384 m
length, due to the natural dropping tendency. Nevertheless,
the overall ROP, including connections, was 16.1 rn/hr. The
on bottom ROP was 31.6 rn/hr.
ROP with the RCLS in the lateral C-23 A. Initial fine-
tuning of dogleg response and ROP, with respect to string
RPM and steering vector force gave instantaneous ROP’S
between 20 and 30 mlhr. As the string RPM was increased to
120, this instantaneous ROP increased to 50-70 m/hr (Fig. 9).
The average ROP for the first 1097m long run was 30.7 m/hr,
or 22.6 rnlhr including connections. This run included an
inclination build up from 50° to the 86° sail section and then a
drop to 77° as well as an azimuth turn from 204° to 220°. The
maximum dogleg was 5.4°/30m.
The second run was mostly drilled within the reservoir
sands, and average ROP’S increased even firther. Some
wellpath adjustments were initially required to bring the
wellpath inclination up to 87.8° and turning slightly to the
right. Instantaneous ROP’S were as high as 80 m/hr, with an
average bit ROP over the 1241 m long run of 39.6 m/hr, or
27.3 mlhr including connections.
The on bottom bit ROP of the second RCLS run is 25~0
faster compared to the last and excellent run of the convention-
ally drilled wellbore in C-23. By comparing the effective
ROP, not including tripping, the increase is 70Y0, demonstrat-
ing the highly improved drilling efficiency for RCLS versus
conventional steering. Most of this gain is a result of no time
spent for toolface orientation, no drag-induced reduction of
steering ROP, even weight to the bit, and better hole cleaning.
lADC/SPE 39329 E. Andreassen, H. Blikra, A. Hjelle, S. A. Kvamme, J. Haugen 5

This run was the fastest bit run ever in the Statfjord Field’s standpipe pressure allowed a high circulation rate without the
Brent reservoir. The ROP results are listed in Table 1. fear of blowing mud pump pop-off valves. Projected ahead
Gross ROP and time saving for C-23. The gross ROP until intersection with the 300 bar limit, this high rate of flow
increase translates into saved rig time and better economics. In could have been maintained to approximately 5200 mMD.
this case, a comparison between the two wellbores shows that Drilling with the conventional system forced a flow cut back
the time savings attributed to the rotary steerable system was 900 m short of this depth. Thus, rotary steerable systems
3.2 days. When taking the increased operating costs of the provide better hole cleaning both by continuous rotation of the
system into account, it gave a break-even economical impact. string, and by allowing higher circulation rates.
However, the C-23 main bore wasdrilled far more efficiently
than the historical average for Statfjord. Compared with the Conclusions
historical average gross ROP for the last four years, the ROP 1. A rotary steerable system was used with great success in
increase results in estimated savings of 2.4 mill NOK. the multilateral well C-23 A. This was the first successful
utilization of this technology in the Norwegian Sector.
Drilling torque. Asimulation of friction factors to match the 2. The system showed greatly improved performance with
surface drill string torque results in a casing friction factor of regard to directional control, effective ROP, hole cleaning, and
0.17, and open hole friction factors ranging between 0.10 and hydraulics compared to the conventional PDM drilling in the
0.17. A leveling out of drilling torque is observed in the last main bore. Significant time saving was achieved.
hundred meters of each run. 3. This type of technology is particularly suited for applica-
Comparing surface torque versus measured depth for main tions where time consuming or impaired steering is experi-
bore and lateral in the reservoir shows same levels of torque enced.
(Fig. 10). However, the RCL.S drilled C-23 A exhibits a more 4. The improved ability to orient wellpaths within reservoir
even surface torque, compared to the more spiky torque of the sands greatly impacts the design possibilities for new wells to
conventionally drilled C-23. intersect reserves optimally.
The same applies to WOB, where even values in the range
5-10 tons are required by RCLS due to the constant rotation, Nomenclature
whereas the steerable motor assembly needed WOB exceeding BHA = Bottom Hole Assembly
20 tons at some depths (Fig. 11). ECD = Equivalent Circulating Density
Em . Extended Reach Drilling
Hole Cleaning and Hydraulics. An empirical method for EU = European Union
evaluating cuttings return and comparing it to the theoretical mA4D = meter Measured Depth, L, m
value has been used in Statoil operations for several years. In MWD = Measurements While Drilling
short, cuttings are collected at each shaker for 10 sec. intervals, NOK = Norwegian Krone
and the cumulative weight measured. This weight is corrected PDC = Poly-C~staline Diamond Compact
for mud content and specific rock and mud density, and PDM = Positive Displacement Motor
converted to volume drilled rock per unit time. The resulting RCLS = Rotary Closed Loop System
values for C-23 and C-23 A are shown in Fig. 12. Since the ROP = Rate Of Penetration, L/t, rn/hr
~M . Revolutions Per Minute, t-’, l/rein
method of estimation was the same for both drilled wellbores,
the plot gives hole cleaning trends for the two bores. Compar- TD = Total Depth, L, m
ing the slopes from the origin to the end point of the curves in TVD = True Vertical Depth, L, m
the reservoir section of both bores, a 30-40% steeper curve WOB = Weight On Bit, M, metric tons
shows the improved cuttings removal from using a rotary
steerable system. The mud engineers also reported larger Acknowledgments
cuttings than usual for sandstone drilling. This could indicate We thank Thor Viggo Aarrestad and Kelly Tyler for helpful
that less grinding down of cutting downhole was occurring, as review comments regarding the paper, and Den norske stats
the cuttings were transported out of hole continuously. oljeselskap a.s and its partners in the Statfjord Unit for letting
Even weight on bit, continuous hole cleaning, and the us publish this paper.
absence of a positive displacement motor gave another inter-
esting effect: The standpipe pressure plotted versus measured References
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Limits for Extended Reach Drilling, New World Record Well
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the bit nozzle areas were identical. Interestingly, the spiky October 1993.
nature of PDM standpipe pressures forced the drillers to cut 2 Blikra, H., Drevdal, K.E., Aamestad, T.V.: “Extended Reach,
back on the circulation rate some 200 m from TD in C-23. In Horizontal, and Complex Design Wells: Challenges, Achieve-
the even deeper lateral, the predictable nature of the RCLS ments and Cost-Benefits”.

317
G .
ROTARY STEERABLE SYSTEM IMPROVES RESERVOIR DRILLING EFFICIENCY AND WELLBORE PLACEMENT IN THE STATFJORD FIELD IADCISPE 39329

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S1 Metric Conversion Factors

ft X 3.048* E-01 =m
ti X 3,048” E-O 1 =3n/hr
mile x 1.609344 E+OO = km
psi x 6.894757 E-02 = Bar
ft-lb x 1.355818 E-03 =kNm
Ibm x 4.535924 E-04 = metric ton
“F (“F - 32)/1.8* = “c
gal x 3.785412 E-03 = m3
gal/rein x 3.785412 E+OO = l/rein

*Conversionfactoris exact,

318
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E. Andreassen, H. Blikra, A. Hjelle, S. A. Kvamme, J. Haugen 7

IADCISPE 39329

TABLE 1- ROP COMPARISON

Case Run Length ROP Inst. Max. ROP onbottom Effective ROP Efficiency Improvement Efficiency Improvement
m mlhr mlhr mlhr over C-23 Run 3 over Budget ROP
% 0/0

Budget 12
C-23 Run 1 38 65 18,1 8,4
C-23 Run 2 230 55 20,4 11,8
C-23 Run 3 1.384 120 31,6 16,1

30,7 22,6 40 88
C-23 A Run 1
39,6 27,3 70 128
C-23 A Run 2

Fig. 1- Actual wellpaths of the drilled designer well Gullfaks B-29, B-29 A, and B-29 B (and tracks 2 and 3). An azimuth change was planned at
the bottom part of the B-29 BT2 well, but could not be achieved due to PDM steering difficulties at this great depth.
I 8 ROTARY STEERABLE SYSTEM IMPROVES RESERVOIR DRILLING EFFICIENCY AND WELLBORE PLACEMENT IN THE STATFJORD FIELD lADC/SPE 39329

Hydraulic Control Valves

Rotatin~ Drive Control Electronics \ Non Rotating ‘Steering Ribs

Shaft & Inclination sensors Steerable Stabiliser
Sleeve

Fig. 2- Non-rotating stabilizer of the RCLS, showing the three steering pads, and the location of internal sensors and electronics.

High Side
High Side

4 Diwtim

Bit Side Force

‘ Bit Drive Shaft

Fig. 3- Individually controlling the force to each of the three steering pads against the hole wall results in a steering vector with a given magni-
tude and direction. Slow rotation of this stabilizer due to internal friction is automatically compensated for downhole by redistributing the
forces to the pads. The direction of the steering vector with reference to high side is measured and corrected continuously by downhole
electronics.

320
 —..——— .-.-..— — .—

lADC/SPE 39329 E. Andreassen, H. Blikra, A. Hjelle, S. A. Kvamme, J. Haugen 9

~

Near Bit Inclination, Alternator,

Memory Vibration BatteryM~ule Master I
Near Bit Actuator Pulser, Alternator /
Module Module Dir&tional
Module Downlink

I Wear Band
Pul;er I Multi Propagation RNT-XO Short NMCSDP
Non 8.3/8
Rotating Alternator Stabiliser Resistivi(y / Gamma
Steerable Sub Ray Sub
Stabiliser

Fig. 4- The RCLS has several built in sensors, and down hole power generation to power the sensors and hydraulic oil pump for pressuring
~ the steering pads.

,,,,....
[ .

Fig. 5- Wellpath of main bore C-23 and lateral C-23A, planned and actual wellpaths.

321
 .. .-.. ---

10 ROTARY STEERABLE SYSTEM IMPROVES RESERVOIR DRILLING EFFICIENCY AND WELLBORE PLACEMENT IN THE STATFJORD FIELD lADC/SPE 39329
~ .—

Fig. 6- Inclination versus measured depth for C-23 and C-23A. Bold line shows the smoother hold sections produced by RCLS.

$Co,c ! : ?,00 Inclination

Fig. 7- Inclination versus measured depth for 1. RCLS run. S:o: line shows how closely RCLS followed the plan (dashed line)
 E. Andreassen, H. Qlikra, A. Hjelle, S. A. Kvamme, J. Haugen 11
IADCISPE 39329

-“ I“ Azimuth

II ,:,,’,

Fig. 8- Azimuth, Inclination, and dogleg versus measured depth for the second RCLS run. Solid line shows actual performance compared to
revised wellpath plan. Notice the simultaneous change of azimuth and inclination, and the low dogleg severity produced in the sail section.
This entire 1241 m run was drilled in the “hold mode” with a programmed target inclination of 87.8°. Thirteen commands to adjust azimuth was
downlinked while drilling, whereas the inclination was maintained automatically by the RCLS tool.

323
 —.— —-.
b

12 ROTARY STEERABLE SYSTEM IMPROVES RESERVOIR DRILLING EFFICIENCY AND WELLBORE PLACEMENT IN THE STATFJORD FIELD lADC/SPE 39329

..” ... ..... . . . . ---- ---- .. m

,.. . . ... . . ---- --,-- ---- --

T 180

..!l~fiii!;i”
....
.,, .,. . 160

. . . . . .. . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . .

,.- .<.-=-- ,. . . .
;,
. . . . . . . .
a
.“.”.:.:.’. .’ .”.,’.---------.”’” ““, t
I . . . .
,
,
’........
i“”””””””” “-. ””””-,

b~
hy?
~ ~,lfl
[t
-.. .’, . . . . . . .. -------- . .. . . . . -*A.,

.... . .....i“%’ti~[!!fi;ll~
Y ....
..i....l...~
.. .+
~~
~

f~fi’ >-~eti$ ~
(~~err”’ktti..~%+ox ~r-hyv~.mf$~:.i% ~*-~%b..e
0 +-—-
~,~km~w-- *.!f
w
-Iv ~f
/
o
2400 2450 Zm 25% 2m 2650 27W

8it Depth (mMD)

— ROP — — WOS - - - - Sudace RPM

,-
Fig. 9- Instantaneous ROP versus bit depth in C-23A. Notice ROP increase at 2580 mMD as surface RPM of drill string is increased from 80 to
120

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .--; ---- ,---- ., --- . ..-. .--, - .---,

,..... .. . . . . Y . . . . . .. . . . . ,----- -,

1
. . . . .,’ ,==

I
1

. .. ,.. . .

1
I
2400 2600 2600 30M 32~ Wcnl 3600 3600 4000 42~ 4400 4600 4600

Sit Depth (mMD)

— AW Tq C-23 — AW Torque C-23A I

Fig. 10- Surface torque versus bit depth for C-23 and C-23 A. A more even surface torque is produced by the RCLS compared to the C-23
spikes, and leveling out at end of each run is obsewed. The lateral C-23A entered the reservoir sands at 3600 mMD.
324
 .——
— .-. .—

lADC/SPE 39329 E. Andreassen, H. Blikra, A. Hielle, S. A. Kvamme, J. Hauaen 13

., .,. . . . . . .!.

. . . . . . .

. .. . . -! -.= . . . . . . . . ,.

,.. . . . . ,, .--1-- -, ..-.,. . . . . . . . ..,,

,. . . . .. :---- ,--- .<-..-,. -. .-,-- --;

:’”” “:A”-
.

k
‘.. . -.

24M 2em 28W 3m 3200 34m 36W. 3s00 4m 4m 44(XJ @ 4SW

Bit hpti (mMD)

— WOB C-23 — WOE C-a A

Fig. 11- WOB versus bit depth for C-23 and C-23A. RCLS performed well with WOB ranging between 5 and 10 metric tons.

,., . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . -. -,- ---- . . . . ---, - ----

/ ~
.,

“H::::’:::W:
,.................. ... ‘/” -.). ------

. . . .. K
. .............. ,7A

o m 400 w 8CQ lm lm 14W Im

Drilled disram in re=rvoir sands (m)

Fig. 12- Estimated cuttings return versus normalized depth after entering of reservoir sands in C-23 and C-23A. Also shown is theoretical
drilled volume. C-23 A exhibits better cuttings return. Its average cuttings return per drilled distance is some 35% higher than C-23’s.

*.

325
14 ROTARY STEERABLE SYSTEM lMPROVES Reservoir DRILLING EFFICIENCY AND WELLBORE PLACEMENT lNTHESTATFJORD FlELD lADC/SPE39329

. . . . ,. ...___. . . . . . . . . . . . ~..—-. —..-—. .,. . . .

1 mo

o
3W 3700 3eoo 4100 4300 4500 4700 49m

BitDepth (mMD)

— SPP C-23 — SPP C-23 A C-23 Mud HOW ‘------ C-23 AMudflow

Fig. 13- Stand pipe pressure and mud circulation rates versus bit depth for C-23 and C-23 A. The RCLS providea a very predictable increase in
circulating pressure versus depth, whereas the PDM pressure spikes in C-23 results in circulation rates to be cut back at the last 200 m. Mud
properties, bit nozzles and drill string are identical over the entire run.

$
326