Glossary of Geosteering terms

chinookpetroleum.com/glossary-of-geosteering-terms/

August 26,
2010

Directional drilling is becoming the predominant method of opening up reservoirs in the

mature Western Canada Sedimentart Basin. Wellsite geologists are supervising and
controlling the wellpath in order to achieve maximum exposure to the reservoir or to
hydrocarbons within a reservoir. Strong understanding of directional drilling terms is
paramount in this capacity.

Glossary of geosteering terms

Term Also named Unit Definition

Azimuth Azi, Azm, degrees Compass heading of trajectory, angle

Drift between wellpath and North axis (true
north or magnetic North) measured in
plan view, clockwise from North. 0º for
heading North, 90º for heading East,
180º for heading South, 270º for heading
West. Also called “Drift direction”.

Bend degree Angle between downhole mud

motor and drill bit, used to
achieve build or turn while sliding.
Usually a mud motor is “dialled” at 1.8º
to 2.8º on the build section, and 1.5º to
1.8º on a horizontal section.

Build º or Increase of inclination; in horizontal

meters drilling also decrease in TVD as a direct
result of building angle. As opposed
to drop.

Build rate º/30m Inclination angle difference between

two consecutive survey points,
extrapolated to 30m meters (or 100
feet); measured in vertical plane. Typical
build rates in a build section of a
horizontal well are 6-8º/30m.

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 Term Also named Unit Definition

Build Build Section of a well where the wellpath is

section changed to a different inclination,
usually from vertical (0º) to horizontal
(90º).

Closure Closure meters Length of wellpath projected on

distance horizontal plane (plan view) .

Closure Closure
direction azimuth

Dogleg Dogleg º/30m Combination of build and turn rate;

severity, DLS normalized measure of curvature
(bend and turn) at a certain point. High
doglegs pose difficulty in tripping and
running casing or liner.

Drop º or Decrease of inclination; in horizontal

meters drilling also increase in TVD as a direct
result of dropping angle. In an “S” shape
well, the section where a well is steered
back to vertical after a build and hold
section. As opposed to build.

Easting -W/+E meters Horizontal distance

between survey point and North-South
axis in plan view.

Geosteering Directionally controlled drilling of a well,

usually with the intent of keeping the
hole in the pay zone, achieving
maximum exposure to the reservoir.

Heel Landingpoint First point in a horizontal well trajectory

where the inclination reaches 90º.
Usually an intermediate casing is set at
this landing point to isolate the pay
zone.

High side HS Toolface oriented up (or 0º)

in horizontal drilling when attempting to
increase inclination angle
(build wellpath).

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 Term Also named Unit Definition

Hold Hold Section of a well where the wellpath is

section maintained along a pre-
defined inclination and azimuth. If the
inclination ids different from 0º (vertical)
or 90º (horizontal), it is also called
a tangent section.

Horizontal Lateral Section of a wellpath where

section section the inclination is maintained at around
90º, usually with the intent to keep the
hole in the pay zone in order to
maximize exposure to a reservoir.
Typically inclinations are maintained in
the 87 to 93º range. If steeper
inclinations are planned, a more general
term used is “Lateral section”.

Inclination Inc, Incl degrees Angle between a tangent to

the wellpath and a vertical line,
measures the deviation from vertical at
a certain point, measured with
pendulum, accelerometer or gyroscope.
Inclination increases in the build section,
is 90º in a perfectly horizontal well, and
can exceed 90º in a horizontal well that
points up. A vertical well has inclinations
close or equal to 0º.

Kick off KOP meters Measured depth from where a well

point is steered (usually beginning of the build
section).

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 Term Also named Unit Definition

Landing Landing Landing is the process of increasing

point, Heel the TVD and inclination until
a wellpath reaches horizontal or near-
horizontal position in a desired reservoir
formation. A soft landing is a landing
where a specific inclination (usually 80 to
85º) is maintained until a formation top
is confirmed, and the wellpath is turned
to horizontal only after that reservoir
top was confirmed. The landing point
often coincides with the heel (the point
where inclination reached 90º,
horizontal), and many times a casing
string is run at this point.

Low side LS Toolface oriented down (or 180º)

in horizontal drilling when attempting to
decrease inclination angle
(drop wellpath).

Measured MD meters Depth of well measured as the bit goes.

Depth

Mud motor Downhole Mud driven downhole motor which

motor rotates the bit below the bend.

MWD Measured Set of physical parameters measured in

while drilling a wellbore while drilling the well.
Typically measurement
of inclination, azimuth, gamma,
sometimes resistivity (if more
parameters are recorded, the operation
is called LWD, Logging while drilling).

Northing +N/-S meters Horizontal distance

between survey point and East-West
axis in plan view.

Rotary Device used

steerable to geosteer while rotating from surface,
usually driven by mobile pads.

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 Term Also named Unit Definition

Rotating Rotation of drilling bit is driven from

surface (rotary table or top-drive),
usually higher rate of penetration, but
no steering (except for rotary steerable
devices).

Sidetrack Leg A leg of a well that is started from a

point along the wellpath that was
previously drilled. The bottomhole
assembly is positioned with
the bend facing the desired direction, a
through is formed by working the pipe,
followed by time drilling to achieve
proper separation.

Sliding Slide Drilling without rotating the entire

drillstring (by way of the rotary table or
top-drive), rotation of bit occurs only
below the bend, achieved by the mud
driven downhole motor.

Station MD meters Survey tool depth, measured

depth depth where survey is recorded, usually
10-15m behind the bit.

Subsea SS, Subsea meters Vertical distance between see level

level and survey point.

Survey Directional A geometric measurement

survey of inclination and azimuthat a certain
depth (station depth) along the well
trajectory. A series of other parameters
(such as TVD, VS, dogleg, etc are then
determined using calculations such
as minimum curvature method.

Tangent Tangent, Section of a well where the wellpath is

section hold section maintained at a certain inclination, with
the intent of advancing in
both TVD and vertical section. Short
tangent sections are build for housing
submersible pumps for example.

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 Term Also named Unit Definition

Time drill Procedure where well is oriented in

order to start a sidetrack.

Toe Total depth of a horizontal well. A toe-up

profile is achieved when
the inclination is more than 90º
throughout the horizontal section (the
well rises, “builds“), a toe-down profile is
achieved when the inclination angle is
below 90º in the horizontal section (the
well points down, “drops“, and the toe is
located at a lower TVD than the heel).

Toolface degree Orientation of motor bend:

in horizontal drilling measured relative
to vertical line (up is 0º, down is 180º,
right is 90º or 90R, left is 270º or 90L); in
vertical drilling relative to magnetic
north (N is 0M, E is 90M, S is 180M, W is
270M).

Total Depth TD, Final TD, meters Measured depth to which a well is
FTD drilled.

True TVD meters Vertical distance between KB

Vertical and survey point.
Depth

Turn rate Walk rate º/30m Azimuth angle difference between two
consecutive survey points, extrapolated
to 30m meters (or 100 feet); measured
in horizontal plane.

Turn Turn Section of a well where

section the wellpath is steered in the horizontal
plane to a different azimuth.

Vertical VS meters Horizontal distance from wellhead

Section to survey point, measured along a pre-
defined azimuth in the horizontal plane.

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 Term Also named Unit Definition

Vertical Vetrical degrees Pre-defined azimuth angle along which

section section the VS is calculated, usually angle
plane azimuth between North and a line uniting
wellhead and Total Depth, measured in
plan view.

Wellpath Trajectory The trajectory of a directionally drilled

well in three dimensions.

References:

Stoner Engineering. Geosteering Glossary

Schlumberger. Oilfield Glossary

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