1 Introduction to Drilling and
Well Completions
Michael J. Economides Shari Dunn-Norman
Texas A&M University University of Missouri-Rolla
1-1 IMPORTANCE OF OIL AND GAS WELLS
Few industries and certainly no other materials have
played such a profound role in modern world history
and economic development as petroleum.
Yet deliberate access to geologic formations bearing
petroleum through drilled wells is relatively recent. The
‘‘Drake well,’’ drilled in the United States by Colonel
Edwin L. Drake in 1859, is considered by many to be
the first commercial well drilled and completed. It her-
alded the creation of an industry whose history is replete
with international adventure, color, frequent intrigue,
and extraordinary characters. Many believe that the
majority of twentieth century social and political events,
including two World Wars, a Cold War, and many regio-
nal conflicts are intimately connected to petroleum.
Until the late 1950s, much petroleum activity was ori-
ginated and based in the U.S. Amyx, et al. (1960)
reported that through 1956, the cumulative world
crude-oil production was 95 billion bbl, of which 55 bil-
lion had been produced in the U.S.
Beginning tenuously in the early 1900s, speeding up in
the period between the World Wars, and accelerating in
the 1960s, petroleum exploration and production became
a widely international activity. In the late 1990s, the U.S.
is still the world’s largest oil consumer both in terms of
shear volume (18.2 million bbl/d) and, overwhelmingly,
per capita (28 bbl/person/year compared to 1 bbl/person/
year in China). The U.S. is also the largest petroleum
importer (9.5 million bbl/d, representing over 50% of
consumption); worldwide production is about 62 million
Larry T. Watters
Halliburton Energy Services
bbl/d. The bulk of petroleum reserves is clearly outside
the industrialized world of North America and Western
Europe (combined 57 billion bbl vs. 1.1 trillion bbl
worldwide). The majority of petroleum is found in the
Middle East, where 600 billion bbl are produced, 260
billion of which are from Saudi Arabia alone.
Drilling activity is reflected by the geographical shift-
ing of petroleum operations. The numbers of drilling rigs
are now roughly equally distributed between North
America and the remainder of the world, although this
statistic is somewhat misleading. Wells drilled in mature
petroleum environments, such as the continental U.S.,
are far less expensive, and drilling prices rely on mass
utilization but, of course, production rewards are
lackluster. In the U.S. and Canada, approximately
34,000 wells were drilled during 1995 and 1996, repre-
senting almost 60% of all wells drilled worldwide
(about 58,000). Yet the United States and Canada, com-
bined, account for only 13% of the world’s petroleum
production.
On the contrary, offshore drilling from either plat-
forms or drill ships, drilling in remote locations, or dril-
ling in industrially and developmentally deficient
countries is far more expensive and involved.
Maturity in petroleum production is characterized by a
marked decrease in both the total production rate and
the petroleum rate per well, in addition to an increase in
the water-oil ratio. ‘‘Stripper wells,’’ representing the vast
majority of wells in the USA, imply a production of less
than 20 bbl/d of petroleum and a total production rate
where water constitutes more than 90%.
2 INTRODUCTION TO DRILLING AND WELL COMPLETIONS
Darcy’s law, the most fundamentally basic petroleum
engineering relationship, suggests that the production
rate is proportional to the pressure driving force (draw-
down) and the reservoir permeability:


q
k p
pwf ð1-1Þ
This law can readily explain current worldwide petro-
leum activities and the petroleum industry’s shifting
focus. Mature petroleum provinces are characterized by
depletion in the reservoir pressure or by the necessity to
exploit less attractive geologic structures with lower per-
meability, k.
The permeability in Equation 1-1 is effective; that is,
it is the product of the absolute permeability and the
relative permeability of a flowing fluid competing with
other fluids for the same flow paths. The relative per-
meability is a function of saturation. Thus, water influx
from an underlying aquifer not only results in an
increase in water production (which is a nuisance in
itself) but an associated decrease in petroleum relative
permeability and the petroleum portion of the total
production rate.
Although such problems do not burden newer reser-
voirs to the same extent, it must be emphasized that all
petroleum reservoirs will follow essentially the same fate.
The two extreme fields of operation, mature reservoirs
on land in developed nations and newer discoveries
either offshore or in developing countries, result in very
different well construction costs.
These costs range from a few hundred thousand dol-
lars to several million dollars. (Or tens of millions if
ancillary costs such as the extraordinary testing or the
building of an artificial island in the Arctic are consid-
ered.)
The total annual worldwide expenditure for petroleum
well construction is estimated at over $100 billion. To
give a relative measure for this figure (and to avoid a
misunderstanding from a reader) only a handful of
nations have national budgets of larger magnitude.
This book will provide a comprehensive and integrated
treatment of today’s technology for the substantial and
profoundly international industrial activity of construct-
ing oil and gas wells.
1-2 PETROLEUM FORMATIONS
Because the development of well construction technology
has had a rather fragmented past and many practitioners
are not trained as either reservoir or production engi-
neers, it is worthwhile here to provide an elementary
description of the targets that the drilling of a well is
supposed to reach.
1-2.1 Petroleum Fluids
Petroleum is a mixture of hydrocarbons consisting of
about 11 to 13% (by weight) hydrogen and 84 to 87%
carbon. Chemically, ‘‘crude’’ petroleum may include sev-
eral hundred compounds, encompassing practically all
open-chain and cyclic hydrocarbons of single, double,
and triple bonds.
A description of these mixtures by composition was
abandoned early in industrial history with the exception
of very generic divisions that denote important distin-
guishing content (such as, paraffinic or asphaltenic
crudes). Instead, bulk physical properties such as den-
sity and viscosity have been used to describe crude
behavior.
Specifically, the phase and thermodynamic behavior
has been reduced to the simplifying division of crude pet-
roleum into (liquid) oil and (natural) gas. While such a
description is apparent and relatively easy to comprehend
given a temperature and pressure, crude petroleum con-
tent is generally referred to as volumes at some standard
conditions (for example, 608F and atmospheric pressure).
With the definition of pressure and temperature, a volume
unit also clearly denotes mass.
Oil, then, consists of higher-order hydrocarbons such
as C6+ with much smaller and decreasing quantities of
lower-order hydrocarbons, while gas consists of lower-
order hydrocarbons—primarily methane and some
ethane—with much smaller amounts of higher-order
hydrocarbons.
An important variable is the bubblepoint pressure
which, for a given temperature, denotes the onset of
free-gas appearance. At lower pressures, oil and gas
coexist.
Petroleum found at conditions above the bubblepoint
pressure is all liquid and is referred to as undersaturated.
Below the bubble point, the petroleum is referred to as
two-phased or saturated. At considerably lower pressure
and below the dew point pressure, hydrocarbons are all in
the gaseous state.
In all natural petroleum accumulations, water is
always present either as interstitial, cohabiting with the
hydrocarbons, or underlying, in the form of (at times
very large) aquifers.

1-2.2 The Geology of Petroleum Accumulation
Petroleum is found chiefly in sedimentary basins, and
although fanciful theories of inorganic origin have sur-
faced in the past, it is almost universally accepted that
petroleum has its organic origin in a source rock.
Decay of organic remains under pressure and tem-
perature and under conditions preventing oxidation
and evaporation has been the most likely process in
the formation of petroleum. Associated saline water
suggests environments near ancient seas, and thus, a
plausible and often repeated scenario is one of ancient
rivers carrying organic matter along with sediments and
depositing successive layers, eventually buried by sub-
stantial overburden.
The formation of petroleum was followed by accumu-
lation. The gravity contrast between hydrocarbons and
water, along with capillary effects, would force oil and
gas to migrate upward through rock pores. Connected
A Anticline Trap
B Convex Trap
C Permeability Trap
Figure 1-1 Petroleum trapping mechanisms
1-2 PETROLEUM FORMATIONS 3
pores provide permeability, and the ratio of pore volume
to the bulk volume, the porosity, is one of the most
important variables characterizing a petroleum reservoir.
The natural tendency of hydrocarbons to migrate
upward would continue to the surface unless a trapping
mechanism intercedes. This is precisely what happened.
At depths as shallow as a few tens of feet to over
30,000 ft, natural traps, which are special geological for-
mations, allowed the accumulation of the migrating
hydrocarbons. Common to all cases is an overlain
impermeable layer forming a caprock.
Figure 1-1 (after Wilhelm, 1945) sketches some of the
most common petroleum traps. Convex traps, either by
simple folding (Figure 1-1A) or because of differences in
reservoir thickness (Figure 1-1B) and overlain by an
impermeable layer are the easiest to intersect with dril-
ling.
A permeability trap (Figure 1-1C) and a pinchout trap
(Figure 1-1D) denote that laterally and upward the
D Pinchout Trap
E Fault Trap
F Piercement Trap
4 INTRODUCTION TO DRILLING AND WELL COMPLETIONS
permeable rock vanishes. Such traps may have been cre-
ated by the rotation of layers, and they can sometimes be
associated with continental rift and subsequent drift.
An interesting trapping mechanism is provided by the
movement of faults (Figure 1-1E). Upward or downward
motion of the layers on one side of the fault may bring an
impermeable layer against a permeable one, and this
interface can form a very effective trap. At times, the
‘‘sister’’ formation of a structure can be found several
hundred feet above or below, and it may also contain
attractive quantities of petroleum.
Finally, piercement traps (Figure 1-1F), formed by the
intrusion of a material of different lithological composi-
tion, may form an effective seal to a petroleum trap.
While a trap may contain a petroleum reservoir
(defined as a structure in hydraulic communication), oil
may coexist with overlain gas, gas may be the only
hydrocarbon and, in all cases, water is likely to underlie
the hydrocarbons.
An oil field (or a gas field) may contain many reser-
voirs distributed either laterally or in layers, often sepa-
rated by nonhydrocarbon formations that may be
considerably thicker than the reservoirs themselves.
Furthermore, the contained hydrocarbons, reflecting
geological eras that may be separated by millions of
years, may have considerably differing make-ups.
Coupled with different lithological properties and reser-
voir pressures, more often than not, petroleum produc-
tion from multilayered formations may preclude the
commingling of produced fluids for a variety of opera-
tional reasons (including the danger of fluid crossflow
through the well from higher to lower pressure zones).
A reservoir itself may be separated into different geo-
logical flow units, reflecting the varying concentration of
heterogeneities, anisotropies, and reservoir quality, such
as thickness, porosity, and lithological content.
The era of finding petroleum reservoirs through sur-
face indicators (such as outcrops), conjecture, and intel-
ligent guesses has been replaced by the introduction of
seismic measurements, which have had one of the most
profound influences on modern petroleum exploration
and, in recent years, on petroleum production.
Artificially created seismic events (air bubbles offshore,
large vibrators on land) send seismic waves downward.
Reflected and refracted through formations, these vibra-
tions are detected back on the surface. Processing of the
signals results in the construction of seismic response
images that can be two-dimensional (2D), three-dimen-
sional (3D), or even four-dimensional (4D), if taken at
different time intervals.
Seismic measurements are then processed and can be
represented by a 3D visualization (Figure 1-2). For such
an image to be constructed, massive amounts of data are
collected and processed through very powerful compu-
ters that use sophisticated algorithms.
Figure 1-2 displays a typical, processed seismic 3D
volume of amplitude vs. time. Much more data is col-
lected than is displayed in Figure 1-2. Seismic attributes
such as reflection, strength, phase frequency, and others
may be correlated with several reservoir properties such
as porosity, net pay, fluid saturation, and lithological
content.
Modern formation characterization is the integration
of many measurements that allow for a more appropriate
reservoir description and improved reservoir exploitation
strategies. Formation characterization involves the com-
bination of various modeling approaches, including geo-
logical descriptions and pore volumes, and it is often
combined with production history matching.
With powerful visualization and interpretation tech-
nologies, as shown in Figure 1-3, geoscientists and engi-
neers can examine a seismic or geological data volume
and identify and isolate significant features in ways not
possible before. This new means of geological visualiza-
tion is the basis of modern formation characterization; it
is rapidly forcing the abandonment of the traditional, yet
simplistic reservoir approximations of parallelepiped
boxes or cylinders. While single-well drainages can be
tolerably considered through the use of simple approxi-
mations, reservoir-wide estimates of hydrocarbons-in-
place can now be far more realistic and inclusive of het-
erogeneities.
The expression for oil (or gas) in place is provided in
Equation 1-2.
N ¼ Ahð1
Sw Þ ð1-2Þ
This expression may now make use of seismic measure-
ments that can provide A (area) and h (thickness).
Obviously, better formation description can allow for
targeted drilling. The fraction of dry holes is likely to be
reduced and optimum reservoir exploitation can be envi-
sioned, especially with the emergence of horizontal and
multilateral/multibranched wells. Along with seismic
images, these wells constitute the two most important
technologies of the last decade, if not the entire post-
World War petroleum era.
 1-2 PETROLEUM FORMATIONS 5

Figure 1-2 3D seismic volume

Figure 1-3 3D seismic visualization and interpretation showing significant features

6 INTRODUCTION TO DRILLING AND WELL COMPLETIONS

1-3 DRILLING FUNDAMENTALS supposed to support 10,000 ft and, in some cases, as

The basic principles and technology of drilling an oil or
gas well are established and are described in texts
(Bourgoyne et al., 1991; Mitchell, 1993; Gatlin, 1960).
The following is a brief overview of drilling fundamen-
tals.
1-3.1 Equipment
Drilling a petroleum well is a complex process that
requires large, heavy-duty equipment. A conventional
drilling rig consists first of a structure that can support
several hundred tons. A ‘‘million-pound’’ rig is routinely
much as 30,000 ft of drillpipe and additional equipment.
A drill bit (Figure 1-4) is attached to the bottom of the
drillpipe by one or more drill collars. The entire assembly
ends at the floor of a drilling rig and is connected to a
rotary table. This table, along with a special joint called
the kelly, provides rotational motion to the drilling
assembly.
While rotary drilling has dominated the petroleum
industry in the last 50 years, cable-tool drilling preceded
it and was the mainstay of early drilling. In some rare
cases, it is still used today. For cable-tool drilling, the
drilling assembly is suspended from a wire rope. The
assembly is then reciprocated, striking blows to the for-

Crown Block

Derrick

Engines

Traveling Block

Mud Mud Pits

Pumps

Kelly
Rotary
Table

Drillpipe

Drill Bit

Figure 1-4 Rotary drilling rig with the important components


mation, which becomes fragmented. The drilling assem-
bly is retrieved, and cuttings are brought to the surface
with a lowered bailer.
Rotary drilling can continue uninterrupted unless a
worn-out drill bit must be replaced. Manufacturers
have conducted extensive research to improve the dur-
ability of drill bits so that the number of trips (pulling the
drilling assembly out and then running it in the hole) can
be reduced, which results in reduced drilling time.
1-3.2 Drilling Fluids
A critical component of drilling is the drilling fluid,
which is also widely referred to in the industry as drilling
mud. One of the main roles of drilling fluid is to lift the
drilling-rock cuttings to the surface and to lubricate the
bit in its grinding, rotary action against the rock.
The drilling fluid has other important functions. The
weight of the drilling fluid (the fluid density) and the
resulting hydrostatic pressure at the drilling point are
supposed to impart a positive pressure into the forma-
tion. Otherwise, formation fluids under pressure may
cause a kick, which is an involuntary influx of fluids
into the well. Under extreme circumstances, a kick may
cause a catastrophic blowout.
To provide drilling fluids with the appropriate density
for the pressure ranges that will likely be encountered,
drilling operators must select the appropriate weighting
agent. Drilling fluid weights have ranged from about
8.5 lb/gal (almost neat water) to as much as 15 lb/gal
for highly overpressured and deep reservoirs.
Although bentonite clay has been widely used as the
main constituent in water-based drilling fluids, other dril-
ling fluid formulations have been used. General families
include oil-based and gas-liquid-based fluids. These fluids
are supposed to reduce the formation damage caused by
water-based fluids and their contained solids when they
penetrate the porous medium. One mechanism of con-
trolling formation damage is the formation of a filter
cake, which coats the walls of the well, thus reducing
fluid leak-off.
1-3.3 Vertical, Deviated, and Horizontal Wells
Through the mid-1980s, vertical wells were drilled
almost exclusively. Earlier, deviated wells were intro-
duced, which allowed for the use of surface drilling
sites that could be a considerable distance from the tar-
geted formation. This type of well became particularly
useful both offshore, where drilling from platforms is
1-3 DRILLING FUNDAMENTALS 7
necessary, and in the Arctic and other environmentally
sensitive areas, where drilling pads can be used.
Although Soviet engineers had drilled several horizon-
tal wells in the 1950s, such activity was limited until the
early 1980s, when two western companies, Agip and Elf,
reported some impressive results with horizontal wells in
an offshore Adriatic oil field. Not only was oil produc-
tion from the horizontal well several times greater than
that of vertical wells in the same field, but the water-oil
ratio, a considerable problem with vertical wells, was
significantly reduced.
This success literally ushered a new era in the petro-
leum industry, and although horizontal wells today
account for perhaps 10% of all wells drilled, their
share is steadily increasing. More importantly, their
share in new hydrocarbons produced is disproportio-
nately favorable. Estimates suggest that by the year
2000, perhaps 50% of all new hydrocarbons will come
from horizontal and multilateral wells.
The following three categories of horizontal wells are
based on the rate of angle build-up in the well trajectory
from vertical to horizontal:
. Long-radius wells may turn the angle at a rate of 28 to
88100 ft; thus, they require a vertical entry point about
1500 ft away from the desired reservoir target. For
these wells, conventional drilling assemblies can be
used, and conventional well sizes can be constructed.
The horizontal lengths of such wells can be consider-
able; records have been established at over 10,000 ft,
but typical horizontal lengths range between 3000 and
4000 ft.
. Medium-radius wells require approximately 300 ft to
complete a turn from vertical to horizontal.
Medium-radius wells use directional control equip-
ment similar to that used in long-radius wells, but
drilling practices for such wells are somewhat differ-
ent.
. Short-radius wells can go from vertical to horizontal in
50 ft or less. Specialized, articulated drilling assemblies
are needed, and typical well diameters are generally
smaller than for conventional wells. For these wells,
coiled tubing drilling is often used. Ultrashort-radius
drilling technology is available, which allows a well to
run from vertical to horizontal within a few feet.
A good driller, aided by modern measurement-while-dril-
ling (MWD) equipment and an appropriate reservoir
description, can maintain a well trajectory within 2 ft
from the target. Therefore, if the well is intended to be
8 INTRODUCTION TO DRILLING AND WELL COMPLETIONS

perfectly horizontal or slightly dipping to reflect reservoir

dipping, the departure from the well trajectory can be
controlled and minimized.
Once a well is drilled, it must be completed. Section 1-4
provides an overview of well completions.

1-4 WELL COMPLETIONS

The purpose of drilling oil and gas wells is to produce
hydrocarbons from, or to inject fluids into, hydrocarbon-
bearing formations beneath the earth’s surface. The
borehole, described previously, provides a conduit for
the flow of fluids either to or from the surface. Certain Production Casing
equipment must be placed in the wellbore, and various
other items and procedures must also be used to sustain
or control the fluid flow. This equipment, and any pro-
cedures or items necessary to install it, are collectively
referred to as a well completion.
In the early twentieth century, oil and gas wells were
commonly completed with only a single string of casing.
The casing was a large diameter (e.g. 7-in.) string of steel
pipe, consisting of threaded sections. Initially, casing was
set with drilling fluid only.
A casing string in a well extends from the surface to
some setting depth. If the top of a casing string is set at a
depth below the surface, it is referred to as a liner. Liners
are commonly found in wells completed during the early
part of the twentieth century.
Cementing technology evolved in the 1920s, and by the
1930s most casing strings were set with some cement.
Cementing a well is an essential step in almost all well
completions, irrespective of whether a perfect bond is
achieved between the reservoir and the casing.
Currently, most wells are cemented at least some distance
above the target reservoir.
In early completions, casing was either set at the top of
the producing zone as an openhole completion (Figure Figure 1-5 Openhole completions
1-5) or set through the producing reservoir.
Openhole completions minimize expenses and allow
for flexible treatment options if the well is deepened and opening the reservoir to the wellbore (Figure 1-6).
later, but such completions limit the control of well Wells that are cased through the producing reservoir
fluids. Phillips and Whitt (1986) show that openhole provide greater control of reservoir fluids because some
completions can also reduce sand and water production. or all of the perforations can be cemented off, or down-
Although many wells completed in this manner are still hole devices can be used to shut off bottom perforations.
operating today, this method of completion has been However, openhole wireline logs must be run before the
superseded by cased completions (Figure 1-6). casing is set so that the exact perforation interval is
In a cased completion, casing is set through the produ- known.
cing reservoir and cemented in place. Fluid flow is estab- Cased-hole completions are more susceptible to forma-
lished by the creation of holes or perforations that extend tion damage than openhole completions. Formation
beyond the casing and cement sheath, thereby connecting damage refers to a loss in reservoir productivity, nor-

Production Casing
Perforations
Figure 1-6 Cased-hole completions with perforations
mally associated with fluid invasion, fines migration, pre-
cipitates, or the formation of emulsions in the reservoir.
Loss of productivity is expressed as a skin factor, s, in
Darcy’s equation as follows:
q
kh
p  ðln re =rw þ sÞ ð1-3Þ
A positive skin value indicates that a well is damaged.
Formation damage can be removed or bypassed
through the use of stimulation techniques. In instances
where the formation damage extends only a few feet
1-4 WELL COMPLETIONS 9
from the wellbore, the well may be acidized to dissolve
or remove the damage. Matrix acidizing is used to restore
initial productivity. Hydraulic fracturing is a stimulation
technique that creates a fracture that is intended to
extend beyond the damage area. Significant advances in
well stimulation have been made since the early part of
this century, when openhole completions were stimulated
by jars of nitroglycerin that were placed and detonated
downhole.
As noted previously, reservoir pressure will decline as
hydrocarbons are produced. Many of the wells com-
pleted in the early part of the twentieth century were
produced through the casing, and the reservoirs had suf-
ficient pressure for the hydrocarbons to flow to the sur-
face. With declining reservoir pressures and producing
volumes, production through smaller-diameter tubing
became necessary, since the velocity through the casing
could not sufficiently sustain natural flow.
Figure 1-7 shows a simple cased-hole completion with
tubing.
These early completion techniques proved adequate in
relatively shallow wells. However, as deeper, multiple,
and higher-pressure reservoirs were encountered, it was
recognized that the completions imposed limitations on
well servicing and control, and designs would require
improvement to meet increasing requirements for well-
bore re-entry and workover operations.
A wide range of downhole equipment has been
designed and manufactured to meet the needs of more
complex well completions. In situations where multiple
reservoirs cannot be commingled, the zones are sepa-
rated with a production packer. Packers are devices that
are run on, or in conjunction with, a string of tubing. The
packer has a rubber element that is extruded by compres-
sion to form a seal between the tubing and the casing
(Figure 1-8). Packers are used for a variety of reasons in
well completions.
Another component that has become an integral part
of well completions is the sliding sleeve. The sliding sleeve
provides annular access between the tubing and the cas-
ing. It is used to produce a reservoir isolated between two
production packers and for circulating a well above the
uppermost packer. The sleeve is opened or closed
through the use of wireline servicing methods. Many
other functions can be performed with wireline devices
set in landing nipples.
The evolution of offshore drilling in the 1930s (ETA,
1976) and the production of wells from offshore plat-
forms in the 1940s (Graf, 1981) demanded methods of
well shut-in for safety and environmental concerns.
Storm chokes were pressure-controlled devices set inside
10 INTRODUCTION TO DRILLING AND WELL COMPLETIONS
Tubing
Production Casing
Perforations
Figure 1-7 Cased completion with tubing
the tubing string. These devices were intended to shut in
wellflow during storms or a major platform catastrophe.
At today’s offshore locations, these direct-control devices
have been supplanted by surface-controlled subsurface
safety valves (SCSSVs).
Equipment such as packers, sleeves, landing nipples,
and safety valves provide various functions for well con-
trol. These devices are only a few examples of an exten-
sive range of equipment that enables engineers to control
fluid flow selectively and to stimulate producing reser-
voirs.
Many reservoirs contain sediments that are so poorly
consolidated that sand will be produced along with the
reservoir fluids unless the production rate is severely
restricted. Sand production may erode the tubing or sur-
face valves and flowlines. In addition, sand could accu-
mulate in downhole equipment and create problems in
wireline servicing. Gravel-packing was devised as a means
of eliminating sand production without greatly restrict-
ing production rates. In a gravel-pack completion
(Figure 1-9), sand with a grain size larger than the aver-
age formation sand grain is placed between the forma-
tion and a screen or slotted liner (Economides et al.,
1994). More recently, high-permeability fracturing (frac-
packing) has been proven as a technique for sand con-
trol.
Engineers designing well completions must consider
that the wells will eventually be unable to flow naturally
to the surface. The loss of natural flow occurs because
the reservoir pressure declines with production and reser-
voirs produce increasing amounts of water with time,
which increases the density of the flowing fluid.
Various techniques of artificially lifting fluids from the
wellbore have been developed. Artificial lift techniques
include sucker rod pumping, electrical submersible
pumps, gas lift, and other types of hydraulic lift. Each
method of artificial lift requires unique downhole and
surface equipment that must be considered during the
design of the well completion.
Well stimulation techniques introduced in the early
part of the twentieth century have been improved
through a more complete understanding of the processes
involved. Acidizing models have been developed to
describe the use of various types of acids in a range of
lithologies. Hydraulic fracturing has experienced even
more dramatic improvements since the introduction of
crosslinked polymer fluids, high-strength proppants, and
analytical techniques, such as the net pressure plot. Such
techniques have enabled engineers to substantially
improve the flow from both low-permeability and high-
permeability reservoirs.
Another notable advance in well completion design is
the evolution of coiled tubing for servicing and complet-
ing wells. Coiled tubing servicing involves the deploy-
ment of a continuous string of small-diameter tubing
into the wellbore. This coiled tubing is run concentric
to existing tubulars, used for the required service, and
then removed without damaging the existing completion.
Coiled tubing servicing is of increasing importance in
highly deviated and horizontal wells, since wireline servi-
cing poses problems at angles greater than 508.
 1-4 WELL COMPLETIONS 11

Tubing

Production
Casing

Packer

Hold-Down
Buttons

Shear
Pins Internal
Slips

Packing
Element

Guide

Packer Before Packer After

Setting Setting

Figure 1-8 Production packer with detail of annular seal

Completion methods such as gravel-packing and sti-
mulation, a variety of downhole equipment, and
enhancements to servicing methods, have enabled engi-
neers to design more complex well completions which
offer greater fluid flow control, stimulation alternatives,
and operational flexibility. An extensive range of down-
hole designs has been implemented to meet a number of
producing requirements. Example designs include dual
completions, slimhole and monobore completions
(Ross et al., 1992; Robison, 1994), completions for
high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) reservoirs
(Schulz et al., 1988), subsea completions (Cooke and
Cain, 1992) whose wellheads are located on the seafloor,
and waterflood or CO2 injection applications (Stone et
al., 1989). Two examples, a dual completion (Figure
1-10) and a subsea completion with gravel-packing and
artificial lift (Figure 1-11), illustrate the wide range of
well completion designs available today.
Figure 1-10 depicts a dual completion. Dual comple-
tions are used when multiple reservoirs will be produced.
Two tubing strings and at least two production packers
are included. The packers may separate two or more
producing reservoirs. A sliding sleeve can be included
between or above packers so that one or more reservoirs
12 INTRODUCTION TO DRILLING AND WELL COMPLETIONS
Gravel
Screen
Inside-Casing
Gravel-Pack
Figure 1-9 Gravel-pack completions
can be selectively produced at any time. Other downhole
equipment, such as landing nipples, safety valves, or side-
pocket mandrels (for gas lift) may be included in a dual
completion. Sanku et al. (1990) show the use of a dual
completion with gas lift in the Sockeye Field, offshore
California (Figure 1-10A). Farid et al. (1989) show the
application of a dual completion for gas injection in a
three-layered reservoir in Abu Dhabi (Figure 1-10B).
Underreamed-Casing
Gravel-Pack
Figure 1-11 depicts a single-string subsea completion.
This completion has been run in the Balmoral Field in
the North Sea (Shepherd, 1987). Initial test data indi-
cated that the Balmoral wells would produce significant
amounts of sand, and it was decided to gravel-pack the
wells to control sand production. The gravel screen is
set across the producing zone and a packer is set above
the gravel pack. A tubing expansion joint, run above
 1-4 WELL COMPLETIONS 13

9 5/8-in. Casing

2 7/8-in. Tubing

A B

Figure 1-10 Dual completions

the packer, allows the tubing to expand or contract
with changes in downhole pressure or temperature. A
sleeve is run above the expansion joint to circulate the
well, and a number of gas-lift mandrels, equipped with
dummy valves, are included in the tubing above the
sleeve. The gas-lift mandrels were included in the
Balmoral design to provide for future gas lift, since
reservoir models predicted a rapid onset of water pro-
duction and the need for artificial lift. This type of
forward planning is crucial in subsea wells, where the
cost of mobilizing offshore rigs is substantial.
The evolution and growing application of horizontal
drilling techniques has provided additional challenges in
well completion design. At present, most horizontal
wells are either completed with an openhole horizontal
section, with a slotted liner laid in the openhole section
(Cooper and Troncoso, 1988; Lessi and Spreux, 1988),
or with a gravel-pack screen (McLarty et al., 1993). To
date, the use of casing, production packers, sleeves, and
other downhole devices has been limited because they
cannot provide a mechanical/hydraulic seal at the junc-
tion between the vertical wellbore and the horizontal
hole. Completion technology in this area is evolving
rapidly, and such capabilities will likely be available
in the near future, enabling the use of downhole devices
and techniques that will provide greater control of fluid
flow and stimulation in horizontal and multilateral
wells.
14 INTRODUCTION TO DRILLING AND WELL COMPLETIONS

1-5 ORGANIZATION OF THIS BOOK

The following chapters were written by experts from var-
ious Halliburton companies, operating companies, and
from academia. The chapters included in this book are
divided into two major categories: drilling (Chapters 2 to
7) and well completions (Chapters 8 to 21). A brief over-
view of each chapter is provided in the following para-
graphs.
Chapter 2 describes technologies for drilling-trajectory
monitoring and control, drilling assemblies, and require-
ments for the complicated well systems of today.
Chapter 3 describes the wide variety of well configura-
tions possible with drilling systems today. Horizontal,
multilateral, and multibranch wells are explained, and
their applications for a variety of reservoir management
problems are outlined.
Side-Pocket Measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and logging-
Mandrels while-drilling (LWD) equipment and techniques are dis-
cussed in Chapter 4. The formation characterization that
these methods allow and the ability to drill complex well
systems intelligently are the two most important new
technologies in the petroleum industry.
Chapter 5 discusses desirable drilling fluid characteris-
7 5/8-in. Casing
tics, the various types of damage caused by drilling, and
the minimization of this damage.
Rock mechanics principles have several applications
during drilling, well completion, and subsequent produc-
tion. Chapter 6 lists and explains most rock mechanics-
Sliding Sleeve related problems associated with well construction.
Chapter 7 is a detailed review of casing design and the
subsequent downhole movement of tubulars subjected to
their own weight, to pressure, and to thermally induced
Expansion
Joint forces during their service.
Chapters 8 through 11 describe, respectively, primary
cementing, gas-migration problems, cement sheath eva-
luation, and in the case of detected problems, remedial
Packer
cementing.
Gravel-Pack
Chapter 12 describes completion fluids, their proper-
ties, and the effect of fluid selection on such completion
Sump Packer processes as gravel-packing, setting hardware, and per-
forating.
All cased-hole completions must be perforated, and
Nipple
these perforations can affect the well’s capacity to pro-
duce reservoir fluids. Chapter 13 describes perforating
technology, which has evolved considerably in recent
Figure 1-11 Balmoral subsea completion (Shepherd, 1987) years in terms of diameter, density (shots per foot), tun-
nel length of the perforation, and orientation.
A wide variety of completion hardware is available for
controlling fluid flow or providing operational flexibility
in a well. Chapter 14 describes attributes of basic down-

hole equipment, such as packers, sliding side-doors, land-
ing nipples, side-pocket mandrels, and SCSSVs.
Well performance is dominated by two main compo-
nents: reservoir deliverability, described traditionally by
the well inflow performance relationship (IPR), and flow
in the production string. The combination of these two
components is well deliverability. Chapter 15 provides a
comprehensive description of these concepts for oil, gas,
and two-phase reservoirs fitted with vertical, deviated, or
horizontal wells.
Chapter 16 describes fundamental methods of artificial
lift. Artificial lift must be included in completions in
which the reservoirs no longer have sufficient pressure
to sustain natural flow. Artificial lift can also be used
to enhance production in flowing wells by augmenting
the natural reservoir pressure. Challenges of applying
artificial lift systems in horizontal and multilateral wells
are also discussed in Chapter 16.
Stimulation can also improve well productivity.
Stimulation includes both acidizing and fracturing a
reservoir. Stimulation improves a well’s ability to flow
by providing a more direct flowpath, which results in
more production per unit of drawdown. The main con-
cepts of stimulation are discussed in Chapter 17.
Sand production is a significant problem in many
wells, particularly wells producing from incompetent
reservoirs or reservoirs that have experienced pressure
depletion. Sand production is a serious concern because
it affects the completion and surface facilities and may
also deconsolidate the formation with a potentially cat-
astrophic collapse.
Two general approaches to solving sand production
problems are available: sand exclusion techniques,
which require the use of filters, and sand-production con-
trol techniques, which affect the sand production
mechanisms within the pore structures. The prominent
sand exclusion technique is gravel-packing augmented by
screens, as described in Chapter 18. Sand-production
control has been demonstrated by high-permeability
fracturing or fracpack processes (Chapter 19).
Water production and its control is the other great,
persistent problem in reservoir management. Chapter
20 describes the mechanisms of water production and a
holistic approach to water-production management.
Finally, proper engineering suggests that well con-
struction must be based on the entire life of the well.
Thus, planning completions for such well management
is essential. Chapter 21 provides such an approach and
combines several of the concepts previously presented in
this book.
REFERENCES 15
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