FACTORS THAT AFFECT

PENETRATION RATE

Drilling costs money

Drilling faster minimizes costs

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 Penetration Rate

The object of any drilling

operations is to drill a usable
well at minimum cost
In most drilling operations, faster
is cheaper
Minimize non-drilling operations

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 Penetration Rate

Rock failure is a function of pore

pressure and confining pressure
where the confining pressure is
the hydrostatic pressure of the
drilling fluid
When confining pressure and
pore pressure are equal, the rock
fails in a brittle manner

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 Penetration Rate
As pore pressure
is reduced, it takes
more force to
break the rock
As pore pressure
is reduced, shear
planes diagonally
cross the rock
increasing
porosity and
further decreasing
pressure
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 Penetration Rate

The force reaches

a maximum of
7000 psi with 5000
psi pore pressure
and the rock
becomes plastic or
malleable
The rock does not
fail, it deforms

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 Penetration Rate

Roller cone bits drill by a

combination of compressive failure
and tearing
When a bit tooth penetrates the rock,
fractures are produced
The fractures increase porosity and
decrease pore pressure making it
drill slower

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 Penetration Rate

The drilling fluid

must fill the
fractures to
increase pore
pressure if the
rock has little or
no permeability

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 Penetration Rate

Drilling fluids with high fluid loss

and lower viscosities fill the
fractures more rapidly and the
formation drills faster
The confining pressure is a
function of mud weight and
depth

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 Penetration Rate
At 10,000 feet, the confining
pressure for water is 0.052 x 8.33
x 10,000 = 4332 psi (305 ksc)
For a high density mud, the
confining pressure is much
higher
Air is the ideal drilling fluid
because it has no confining
pressure and the rock always
fails in a brittle manner
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 Penetration Rate

Water is a good drilling fluid

because the confining pressure
is lower and it can rapidly fill the
fractures equalizing the pore
pressure
Mud has higher confining
pressure and reduces the rate at
which the pressure in fractures
can be equalized; therefore it
drills slower
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 Penetration Rate

As the fluid loss decreases, so

does the penetration rate
As the solids content of a drilling
fluid increases, the penetration
rate decreases
As the mud weight increases, the
penetration rate decreases

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 Penetration Rate

Sequence of events as a bit tooth

penetrates shale

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 Penetration Rate

Sequence of events as a bit tooth

penetrates shale

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 Penetration Rate

Low permeability formations drill

at a slower rate than porous
formations
In porous and permeable
formations, the pore pressure in
the rock can be transmitted into
the fractures at the bit tooth
keeping the pore pressure higher

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 Penetration Rate

In very soft formations, drilling

fast is not a problem
The bit can drill as fast as you
want
Cleaning the hole preventing
stuck pipe and preventing lost
circulation is the primary
problem
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 Penetration Rate

As the rock gets harder,

maximizing the penetration rate
is key to reducing drilling costs
Bit weight and rotary speed will
affect penetration rate
As long as the cuttings can be
cleaned from below the bit,
increasing bit weight and rotary
speed increases penetration rate
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 Penetration Rate

Increasing
rotary speed
increases
ROP
Increasing
pressure
differential at
the bottom of
the hole
reduces effect

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 Penetration Rate

As pressure
differential at the
bottom of the
hole increases,
drilling rate
decreases
Less
pronounced in
harder rock

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 Penetration Rate
Bottomhole
cleaning is
associated
with hydraulics
If hydraulics
are inadequate,
the ROP does
not increase
past the
founder point
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 Penetration Rate

At the founder point, the cuttings

below the bit can no longer be
removed at the rate they are
generated
The bit re-drills some of the
cuttings

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 Penetration Rate
Improving
hydraulics will
improve
penetration rate
past the founder
point
Sometimes,
hydraulics actually
makes the bit drill
faster in softer
rocks

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 Penetration Rate

A drill off test

can be run to
find the founder
point

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 Penetration Rate

Drill off test procedure

1. Chose a rotary speed and
maximum weight to be applied to the
bit. The rotary speed will affect the
maximum weight selected. The
maximum weight may be either
determined from the drill collar weight
available or from the maximum weight
recommended by the bit
manufacturer
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 Penetration Rate

2. Set the rotary speed and apply

the maximum weight. Drill for a short
time at these values. (The rotary
speed may decrease slightly as
weight is applied)
3. Set the brake and record the
time
4. Record the weight on bit (WOB)
and time for every 2000 lbs (1 ton)
decrease in WOB

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 Penetration Rate

5. Continue the procedure until

about 25% of the original WOB
remains. (After some experience, the
procedure may be halted with 50 to
60% of the original WOB)
6. If the formation seems to
change during the tests (observed by
significant discontinuities in the data),
repeat the test – particularly in the
higher weight ranges

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 Penetration Rate

7. Repeat the procedure for three

rotary speeds
8. Calculate the rate of
penetration (ROP) from the equation

 SC DP LENGTH WOB   3600 sec  ft 

  
ROP 
10001000  Hour  12 in 
T

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 Penetration Rate

Auxiliary practices
Short trips and wiper trips
Reaming
Trip time
Rig selection
Circulating samples
Coring
DST

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 Penetration Rate

Auxiliary practices
Bottomhole assemblies
Jars
Shock subs
Stabilizers
Motors
LWD

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 Penetration Rate

Summary
Drill as fast as possible and stay out
of trouble
Keep an open mind and don’t be
afraid to try something new
Honestly evaluate changes to the
drilling program
Keep it as simple as possible

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 Penetration Rate

Class Problem
Plot the drill off test on page 5-25

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