1.

0 DRILLING ENGINEERING

1.1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Peninsular Malaysia field development project has to be done by a team of

engineers in several departments such as drilling, reservoir, production and so on. The
tasks of the project were integrated by the engineers as teamwork. The main objective of
this part of the report is to develop a drilling plan which can provide the company the
optimum drilling process with minimal cost and time. This field is a shallow field with
water depth of 238ft and the target zone is around 6500 ft. Four exploration wells have
been drilled in the field, 3 of which is hydrocarbon bearing. The drill fluid used will be
sea water, followed by water based mud then oil based mud on the last section with the
necessary additives. Four types of casing are planned to be used, which are 20’’ conductor
pipe, 16’’ surface casing, 13-3/8’’ intermediate casing and followed by 9-5/8’’ production
casing. The operation of cementing was carried out to hold the casing pipes in place.

1.2 INTRODUCTION

Drilling engineering and development well construction of Peninsular Malaysia field

utilizing the data from four exploration wells. Eight oil producers well and four injector
wells will be drilled using Jack-up Rig. Drilling Engineering section explains the process
of conceptual well design development. The process considers all subsurface and surface
aspects. For subsurface functions, majority of initial well design including: well
trajectory, casing scheme, total depth (TD), number of wells, platform location and type
of wells are dominated by inputs from Geological Evaluation, Reservoir Engineering and
Production Technology. At the surface, the platform and rig type used for well
construction is a function of the interaction with Facilities.
1.3 OBJECTIVE

The main objective of the drilling program is to develop conceptual well design for
Peninsular Malaysia Field Development Plan (FDP). The objectives of drilling operation
are:

i. To achieve maximum production with minimum cost.

ii. Utilizing finest technology and methods of drilling in oil and gas industry.
iii. Ensure no environmental effect to the surrounding of drilling site.

Table 3.1- List of wells

Well name Well Type

1 trajectory
Vertical Producer
2 Vertical
VerVertical Producer
3 Vertical
VerVertical Producer
4 Vertical
VerVertical Producer
5 Directional
VerVertical Producer
6 Directional Producer
7 Vertical Producer
8 Directional Producer
9 Directional Producer
10 Directional Producer
11 Directional Producer
12 Directional Producer
13 Directional Producer
14 Vertical Producer
15 Vertical Producer
16 VerVertical
Vertical Producer
17 VerVertical
Directional Producer
18 Directional Producer
19 Directional Producer
20 Directional Producer
1.4 DRILLING RIG SELECTION

Drilling rig are selected based on criteria, which are water depth, seabed soil condition
(near seismic result), costing, rig capacity, and stability. Below are some specifications of
available marine offshore drilling units (MODUs).

Table 3.2 - Depth and daily rates for offshore drilling rigs.

The sea depth for Alpha PM330 area is approximately 238 ft from the mean sea
level to the seabed. Based on the water depth, only three types of rig are practical, which
are the jacket rig, jack-up rig and the platform rig. The semi-submersible and drill ship
are not necessary due to high excess cost.

The jack-up rig is the most common offshore drilling rig and is a preferable option for
PM 330 drilling. The jack-up rig is towed to location with its legs elevated. Once on
location, the legs are lowered to the bottom and the platform is "jacked up" above the
wave actions by means of hydraulic jacks. The jack-up rig has many advantages,
including a stable work platform, good availability, relatively lower mobilization costs,
versatility to work over a platform or drill in open water and generally competitive day
rate for 5-8 slots drilling in monsoon weathered environment usually in September-
December period. The jack-up rig should provide space for pipe storing, helipad, mud
pumps, tanks, power generators, cranes, and chemical stores complete with a folk lift
1.5 FORMATION PORE PRESSURE ANALYSIS

Before planning any drilling operation, it is crucial to determine the conditions of the
formation pressure. There are two pressure gradients, which are crucial in drilling operation.
They are the formation pressure gradient and fracture gradient. The formation and fracture
gradients are very important in determining the pore pressure and fracture pressure in certain
depths, in order to plan for the optimum mud design, cementing design and casing design.
Formation pore pressure can be a major factor affecting drilling operations. If the pore
pressure is not evaluated accurately, it can lead to various drilling problems such as BHA
damage and fracture, loss of circulation of mud and cement, stuck pipe, hole instability and
all these damages will result in excessive costs.
Theoretically, formation pore pressure is defined as the pressure exerted by the formation
fluids on the walls of rock pores. Generally, there are two types of formation pressures,
Normal pore pressure and abnormal pore pressure.
The data for constructing the formation pressure gradient is obtained from the repeated Form

1.6 FORMATION PORE PRESSURE GRADIENT ANALYSIS

Fracture gradient is defined as the minimum total in situ stress divided by the depth. The
drilling fluid and cement slurry will not fracture the formation only if the designed weight of
drilling fluids and cement slurry do not exceed the fracture gradient
Formation fracture gradient is a measure of how the strength of the rock, meaning its
resistance to break down, which varies with depth. Many methods can be used to predict the
formation fracture gradient.
Two methods are used for determining fracture gradient; the direct and the indirect methods.
Indirect method relies on the use of stress analysis method for predicting the fracture gradient.
For this project, Eaton’s method is used to correlate the formation fracture gradient because
it is widely used in the petroleum industry
 Table 3.3 - Fracture, Pore, Mud Pressure Analysis

TVD Pore P Pore Fracture Fracture Pore Fracture

Pressure Pressure Gradient Pressure Safety Safety
gradient Margin Margin

50 23.19 0.4638 0.642533 700 123.19 600

5225 2423.7 0.463866 0.642577 3657.467 2523.7 3557.466667
5235 2428.3 0.463859 0.642572 3663.867 2528.3 3563.866667
5265 2442.4 0.463894 0.642596 3683.267 2542.4 3583.266667
5275 2447.2 0.463924 0.642616 3689.8 2547.2 3589.8
5385 2675.7 0.49688 0.664587 3878.8 2775.7 3778.8
5395 2677.5 0.496293 0.664195 3883.333 2777.5 3783.333333
5405 2677.9 0.495449 0.663632 3886.933 2777.9 3786.933333
5415 2677.5 0.49446 0.662973 3890 2777.5 3790
5425 2678.6 0.493751 0.662501 3894.067 2778.6 3794.066667
5435 2680.7 0.493229 0.662153 3898.8 2780.7 3798.8
5445 2681.7 0.492507 0.661671 3902.8 2781.7 3802.8
5455 2682.5 0.491751 0.661167 3906.667 2782.5 3806.666667
5465 2682.8 0.490906 0.660604 3910. 2782.8 3810.2
5475 2683 0.490046 0.66003 3913.667 2783 3813.666667
*assumption made for pore pressure gradient. 0.452+0.01 for every 1000ft.

The fracture pressure of the formation of interest was calculated using The
Hubert and Willis Method:

P 1 σob+2Pp
=3( ) psi /ft ……………………. (1)
D D

Where:

σob: the overburden stress

Pp: the formation’s pore pressure

D: depth (ft)

Gf = (Go – Gp) (V/1-v) +Gp ……………….. (2)

Where:

Gf = fracture gradient (psi/ft)

 Go = overburden pressure gradient (psi/ft)

Gp = pore pressure gradient (psi/ft)

V = Poisson’s ratio

For this project, v = 0.45 was used. 0.91 psi/ft was used as overburden pressure
gradient considering the fact that overburden pressure increases with depth. Formation
pore pressure can be a major factor affecting drilling operations. If the pore pressure is
not evaluated accurately, it can lead to various drilling problems such as BHA damage
and fracture, loss of circulation of mud and cement, stuck pipe, hole instability and all
these damages will result in excessive costs. To prevent any possible issues, a safety
margin has been incorporated to both pore and fracture pressure by +/- 100psi. this could
further reduce the possible risk

Figure below shows the curves of pore and fracture pressure that were generated
by the analysis shown in table 4.1 above, and how the selection of each casing section
was designed according to these curves.

Figure 3.1 - Casing setting depth

1.7 CASING DESIGN DESIGN

Functions of casing:

 To keep the hole open and to provide a support for weak, or fractured
formations.
 To isolate porous media with different fluid/pressure regimes from
contaminating the pay zone.
 To provide a passage for hydrocarbon fluids; most production operations are
carried.
 To provide a suitable connection for the wellhead connection.

The casing design was based on the following factors:

1. Formation properties: pore pressure formation fracture pressure; formation

strength (borehole failure); temperature profile; location of squeezing salt and
shale zones; location of permeable zones; chemical stability/sensitive shales (mud
type and exposure time); lost-circulation zones, shallow gas; location of
freshwater sands; and presence of H2S and/or CO2.

2. Directional data: surface location; geologic target(s); and well interference data.

3. Minimum diameter requirements: minimum hole size required to meet drilling

and production objectives; logging tool outside diameter (OD); tubing size(s);
packer and related equipment requirements; subsurface safety valve OD (offshore
well); and completion requirements.

4. Production data: packer-fluid density; produced-fluid composition; and worst-

case loads that might occur during completion, production, and workover
operations.

5. Available inventory; regulatory requirements; and rig equipment limitations.

 6. Collapse and burst pressure resistance with consideration of tensile strength for
the casing grade selected.

STRENGTH PROPERTIES OF CASING

There are various loads in the drilling process during the landing, drilling, cementing
and productions periods. The most significant loads that need the casing needs to be able
to withstand include:

 Pipe body and coupling tensile strength

 The pipe body collapse strength
 Burst Strength for pipe body, coupling and leak resistance of the connections.

COLLAPSE PRESSURE

This is caused by a failure of the casing string from the outside, meaning the
hydrostatic fluid pressure that is in contact with the outer wall of the casing. These fluids
can either be the drilling fluid being used of the cement slurry. The casing also endures
the severe collapse pressure from drilling through difficult formations that contains
plastic clays and salts. These along with compression load are the only force that is taken
into consideration when designing a casing. The other possible forces are accounted by
using safety factors. To determine the collapse strength, the API bulletin 5C3 is used.
There are three known modes of collapse, these are elastic, plastic and failure due to
exceeding the tensile strength. The diameter against time ratio is used to determine the
type of collapse mode along with pressure. (Tenaris, 2013)
 ELASTIC COLLAPSE

This can be described using the following formula:

Equation 0-1 Elastic Collapse:

2𝐸 1
𝑃𝑒 = 2
× 2
(1 − 𝑣 ) 𝐷 𝐷
[ 𝑡 × { 𝑡 − 1} ]

Where:

E = Young Modulus of steel. = 30 × 106 𝑝𝑠𝑖

t = casing thickness

D = outer diameter of casing

v = Poisson’s Ration = 0.3

PLASTIC COLLAPSE

Plastic collapse on the other hand may be calculated from the equation below:
Equation 0-2 Plastic Collapse:

𝐴
𝑃𝑒 = 𝑌 ( − 𝐵) − 𝐶
𝐷⁄
𝑡
A and B indicate the grade of steel used whereas Y is the tensile strength.

BURST PRESSURE

This is due to the force applied to the casing from the inside wall of the casing. If
a kick occurs during drilling operations, the burst pressure may be a result of the kick.
A kick – imposed burst pressure can also weaken the casing if there’s a kick during the
operations. The minimum acceptable burst pressure is calculated used Barlow’s Formula
(Energy Pipe & Supply, LLC, 2002):
 Equation 0-3 Barlow's Formula:

2𝑌 × 𝑡
𝑃 = 0.875 ( )
𝐷
Where,
t = thickness of the casing in inches
Y = min yield strength in psi
D = Outer diameter of casing in inches

Barlow’s equation would give a minimum burst resistance yield of 87.5% of the pipe
wall which allows a 12.5% variation in the wall thickness that may result from
manufacturing uncertainties. The burst failure in a pipe occurs if the pipe body ruptures
as a result of failure of the coupling used of leaking of the coupling threads. There are
two other types of resistance to the pipe body:

1. Internal yield pressure for coupling

2. Internal pressure leak resistance of connection

Tensile force

Originate from the casing weight and shock loading. The weakest point of any
casing is the upper most joint due to the tension on it as it carries the total weight of the
casing string. The pipe body may suffer three possible deformations under axial tension:

i. Elastic- in this type of deformation, the steel pipe does not suffer any permanent
damage. The shape changes when the force is applied, then it returns to the
original shape once the load is removed.
ii. Elasto-plastic- permanent deformation on the pipe body which results in the loss of
strength P

iii. Plastic- permanent deformation and greatly reduced strength.

 Legend
O – P  Elastic
P – G  Elastoplastic
Q – R  Plastic

Figure 3.2 - Stress vs Strain

Safety Factors:

There are many uncertainties associated with casing design due to the change in
casing properties that results from wear and corrosion. Therefore, a design factor can be
used to guarantee the casing can always handle or withstand a higher load than expected.
This indicates that the casing strength is rated by the safety factor chosen. Each company
will have specific policies on the safety factors. The common design factors are:

Burst: 1 – 1.10
Collapse: 1 – 1.125
Tension: 1.6 – 1.8

Steel Grades

The tensile strength of the steel used in making the casing needs to be included in
the steel grade. The steel grades are not all of the same chemical composition. However,
it is the heat treatment applied that gives each grade its specific properties. The grades are
shown as a code number that includes a number and a letter, for instance N – 80. The
letter is included to give the grade a unique designation, to indicate the minimum yield
strength of the steel in psi.
 H40, J55, K55, M65, N80 and R95 are some of the casing most commonly used
in offshore due to their inexpensiveness compared to the other grades. Following table 3-
1 has some information on these common application casings.

Table 3.4- Steel Grade

API Yield stress, psi Minimum Maximum

Grading Minimum Maximum tensile stress elongation
%
H40 40000 80000 60000 29.5
J55 55000 80000 75000 24.0
K55 55000 80000 95000 19.5
M65 65000 85000 85000 -

The selection of casing was made based on many factors and the most important
one is collapse and burst pressure. The main two types selected are K-55 and N-80 based
on calculated collapse, burst pressure and reservoir temperature. There are 3 rage of casing
that could be used and for this project, casing length that was used was 42ft. The table
below shows the depth at which the casing shoe was landed as well as the casing
specifications.

Table 3.5- Casing Specification

Casing selection MD (ft) Hole size(in) Casing Size (in) Grade

Conductor 1050 26 20 K-55

Surface 2350 17-1/2 16 K-55

Intermediate 3850 14-3/4 13-3/8 N-80

Production 5600 12-1/4 9-5/8 N-80

 Figure 3.3 Schematic illustration of casing

These casing setting depths were chosen based on the pressure gradient graph shown in
Figure.

1.8 DRILLING FLUID PROGRAM

There are many types of drilling muds and fluids, based on both their
composition and use. The decisions that make about select type of drilling fluid for a
well is based on three key factors and those are:

 Technical performance
 Environmental impact.
 Fluid Cost.
 Selection of proper drilling fluid or mud is very important since it consider one
of most important factors that contribute in a successful drilling plan. The functions of
the drilling fluid can be listed as below:

 Transport cuttings to surface.

 Suspend and release cuttings, Seal permeable formations.
 Cool, lubricate and support the drill string and the bit.
 Minimizing formation damage, Control formation pressures, Maintain wellbore
stability.
 Transmit hydraulic energy to tools and bit.
 Facilitate cementing and completion.
 Minimize risk to personnel, the environment, and drilling equipment.

The following information is considered in order to select drilling fluids:

 Pore Pressure and fracture gradient graph plots to establish the minimum and
maximum mud weights to be used on the whole well.
 Type of formation lithology.
 Casing design program and casing seat depths.
 Basic mud properties required for each open hole section before it is cased off.
 Restrictions that might be enforced in the area due to government regulations in
the area and environmental concerns.

The selection of each mud type and properties based on the formation
that should be drilled in term of the mud volume needed, weight of mud and
mud additives can be shown in the table below.
 Table 3.6 -Mud type and mud weight for each section
Casing Depth (ft) Mud type Mud additives Mud weight

Conductor 1050 Sea water Barite, Bentonite 9.0

Surface 2350 WBM KCL, Barite 9.6

Intermediate 3850 WBM Polymer , KCL 10

Production 5600 SBM Barite 10.2

 Bentonite: it uses to increase the viscosity of the drilling mud.

 Barite: it uses to increase the weight of drilling mud.
 KCL: it uses to control clay swelling and minimize fines migration.
 Polymer: it’s used for lubricating and help in increase mud viscosity.
 Calcium chloride brine: it reduces the reaction between rock and fluid and
reduces the swelling in the formation

1.9 DRILLING BIT SELECTION

A drilling bit is the cutting or boring tool which is made up on the end
of the drill string. The bit drills through the rock by scraping, chipping,
gouging or grinding the rock at the bottom of the hole. With many choices
available today, selecting the proper bit for a particular application can become
quite a challenge. There is spade, drag and shear type bits, point attack bits,
PDC bits, milled tooth and TCI (tungsten carbide insert) roller cone bits and
the list goes on.

The formation strength analysis that made, the unconfined compressive

strength of the rock is from soft to medium hard. The lithology of the formation
consists only of shale, shaly sandstone and sand stone which is consider soft
lithology. Bits usually select according to:
  Formation types.
 Rig operating limits can influence bit selection.
 Torque requirements.
 WOB (weight on bit) requirements.
 Cost and application on field.

Table 3.7 - Bit Selection

CASING DEPTH (FT) BIT SIZE BIT TYPE

CONDUCTOR 1050 26 RC

SURFACE 2350 17-1/2 RC

INTERMEDIATE 3850 14-3/4 RC

PRODUCTION 5600 12-1/4 PDC

From the table above shows that there are two types of bits were selected based
on several factors that already mentioned before. The selected types of bits are:

Roller Cutter: The rolling cuter bit was selected because of its high rotary speed
and high drilling rate. It has also has aggressive cutting structure and hard tooth facing.
Is cheaper than most bits.

PDC bit: its design flexibility and more applicable to long hours or multiple runs.
It has less impact damage on the formation and is better in hard rock formations.

1.10 Blow Out Preventer (BOP)

The BOPs are a series of powerful sealing elements designed to close off the
annular space between the pipe and hole and is very important to prevent of any
unscheduled reaction. The BOP was selected basically depending on the pressure inside
the reservoir and the depth of the hole. The BOP that was selected for this field is design
to able to withstand 10,000 Psi which is more than the working pressure (4000-6000 psi).
It is manufactured by Mark TC Service Company with 21-1/4”.
Figure 3.4 - BOP
1.11 DRILLING TIME ESTIMATION

The drilling time of each drilled well is estimated to be 27 days, starting

from the rig-up and spud operation to final depth drilling, casing and cementing
as shown in Table and visualized in the figure below,

Operation Time (day)

Rig up and spud 3
Drilling up to 1050ft 1
Run 20’’ casing & cement 2
Cleaning and BOP installing 1
Drilling up to 2350ft (17.5”) section 2

Run 16” casing & cementing 3

Drilling 14-3/4’’ section to 3850 ft 3
Run 13-3/8” casing & cementing 3
Drilling 12-1/4” section to 5600ft 3
Run 9-5/8” casing & cement 3
Final circulation & POOH 3
Total time spent 27

Table 3.8 - BOP

 Drill Time Estimation
Days
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
0

1000 Run 17-1/2” casing

and cementing
2000
Run 20” casing
Depth (ft)

3000
and cementing
4000 Run 12-1/4” casing
and cementing
5000

6000 Run 14-3/4” casing

and cementing
7000

Figure 3.5 - Drill Time Estimation

1.12 TRAJECTORY PLAN FOR DEVIATED WELL

In order to reach the multiple targets in the field, directional drilling is to be

implemented to drill all the target locations. Although drilling a directional well is much
more challenging than drilling a vertical well, the benefits outweigh the drawback. There
is a few software that are now available to pre-plan a trajectory before the actual drilling
begins. One such software is Compass by Halliburton. With sufficient data input, a very
accurate trajectory can be designed.

Following are the data used for some of the well trajectories that was designed:

With the coordinates of target and total vertical depth, these well trajectories can
be generated. eleven deviated well and nine vertical wells have been drilled in three
regions, which is the north, center and the south of the contour map. This coordinate were
generated with relative to rig placement at (0,0). Figures bellow shows the trajectory plan
that was made:
Figure 3.6 – Plan 1

Figure 3.7 – Plan 2

 Upon completion of the trajectory, Compass will generate a table that contains
information on each of the trajectory. It contains measured depth, KOP, build rate and Azimuth
angle. With this information, many other drilling task can be completed such as calculating the
amount of cement and drilling fluid required and calculation of stress imposed on the casing at
the turn angles

Plan 1

Figure 3.8 Trajectory Plan 1 (Deviated)

Plan 2

Figure3.9 Vertical well

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1.13 BOTTOM HOLE ASSEMBLY (BHA)

The bottom-hole assembly (BHA) is the component of the drill string that includes the core bit, outer
core barrel, various subs, and the drill collars. It hangs below the drill pipe and provides weight to the drill or
core bit to induce the teeth to penetrate the formation, thereby drilling a hole or recovering core to meet the
scientific objectives of the cruise. The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) employs different coring tools to obtain
continuous, relatively undisturbed cores in all types of oceanic sediments and igneous basement. ODP uses
three primary coring systems, each with a different BHA:

Figure 3.10 BHA

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 Components of BHA

• HWDP

• Stabilizer

• Drill jar

• Drill collar

• RSS

• Bend

• Reamer

• Bit

23