Drilling Ton-Mile is the work of drilling line that is commonly measured as the cumulative of

the load lifted in tons and the distance lifted or lowered in miles. When the predetermined ton-
mile limit is reached, drilling contractors will perform slip and cut drilling line to prevent drilling
line fatigue.

When drilling line is spooled on and off a drawworks drum during operation as drilling a well,
running casing, coring, etc.The drilling line get worn out; therefore, drilling contractors must cut
old section and replace with new section of drilling line at specific period based on ton mile
calculation.

The most worn area is the end of drilling line where is constantly spooled over the draw works
drum. A section of drilling line, typically around 100 ft, is cut then the drilling line is re-attached
to the draw works drum and the amount cut off is spooled back on the drum. This operation is
called “slip and cut drilling line”.

Note: Ton-mile is the important figure that must be recorded correctly. However, the most
important is to visually inspect drilling line all time to see if there is any worn out wire. If you
see the worn out line, you need to cut the drilling line even though the drilling line does  not
reach ton-mile limit yet.

All types of ton-mile service should be calculated and recorded in order to obtain a true picture
of the total service received from the rotary drilling line. There are several types of ton miles as
follows;

1. Round trip ton-miles

2. Drilling or “connection” ton-miles
3. Coring ton-miles
4. Ton-miles setting casing
5. Short-trip ton-miles
Drilling or Connection ton-miles is  ton-miles of work in drilling operations. These are the
actual ton-miles of work in drilling down the length of a section of drill pipe, usually around +/-
31 ft, plus picking up, connecting, and starting to drill again. In order to figure out connection or
drilling ton-miles, it takes 3 times of ton-miles for current round trip minus ton-miles for
previous round trip. The formula for calculating drilling ton mile is listed below;

Td = 3 x (T2 – T1)
Where;
Td = Ton-miles for drilling
T2 = Ton-miles for one round trip of last depth before coming out of hole.
T1 = Ton-miles for one round trip of first depth that drilling is started.

Example;
Please determine drilling tome-miles from 8000 ft to 9000 ft.
Ton-miles for trip @ 9000 ft = 230
Ton-miles for trip @ 8000 ft = 195
Td = 3 x (T2 – T1)
Td = 3 x (230 – 195)
Td = 3 x 35
Td = 105 ton-miles

Round Trip Ton-Miles Calculation

The formula for round trip ton-miles is listed below;

RTTM = (Wp x D x (Lp + D) + (2 x D) x (2 x Wb + Wc)) ÷ (5280 x 2000)

where
RTTM = Round Trip Ton-Miles
Wp = buoyed weight of drill pipe in lb/ft
D = hole measured depth in ft
Lp = Average length per stand of drill pipe in ft
Wb = weight of travelling block in lb
Wc = buoyed weight of BHA (drill collar + heavy weight drill pipe + BHA) in mud minus the
buoyed weight of the same length of drill pipe in lb
** If you have BHA (mud motor, MWD, etc) and HWDP, you must add those weight into
calculation as well not just only drill collar weight. **
2000 = number of pounds in one ton
5280 = number of feet in one mile

Example: Round trip ton-miles

Mud weight = 10.0 ppg

Average length per stand = 94 ft
Drill pipe weight = 13.3 lb/ft
Hole measure depth = 5500 ft
Drill collar length = 120 ft
Drill collar weight = 85 lb/ft
HWDP length = 49 lb/ft
HWDP weight = 450 ft
BHA weight from directional driller = 8,300 lb
BHA length = 94 ft
Travelling block assembly = 95,000 lb

Solution:

a) Buoyancy factor:
BF = (65.5 – 10.0) ÷ 65.5
BF = 0.847

b) Buoyed weight of drill pipe in mud, lb/ft (Wp):

Wp = 13.3 lb/ft x 0.847
Wp = 11.27 lb/ft

c) buoyed weight of BHA (drill collar + heavy weight drill pipe + BHA) in mud minus the
buoyed weight of the same length of drill pipe in lb (Wc):

Wc = {[(120x85) + (49x450) + (8300)] x 0.847} – [(120+450+94) x13.3x 0.847]

Wc = 26,866 lb

Round trip ton-miles = [(11.27 x 5500 x (94+ 5500)) + (2 x 5500) x (2 x 95000 + 26,866)] ÷
(5280 x 2000)
RTTM = 258.75 ton-mile
For coring operation, the ton-miles calculation is also expressed in terms of work in round trip
ton-miles. In order to determine the coring ton-miles, you need to figure out ton-miles for one
round trip at the depth where coring stopped minus ton-miles for one round trip at the depth
where coring began and the multiplied that value by 2.

The formula for calculating ton-mile for coring operation is shown below;

Tc = 2 x (T4 – T3)

Where;

Tc = ton-miles for coring operation

T4 = ton-miles for one round trip at depth where coring operation stopped before coming out of
hole
T3 = ton-miles for one round trip at depth where coring get started

Example – Please determine coring ton-mils from 8000 ft to 8050 ft.

Ton-miles @ 8050 ft (end of coring operation) = 200

Ton-miles for trip @ 8000 ft (start of coring operation) = 190

Tc = 2 x (T4 – T3)
Tc = 2 x (200 – 190)
Tc = 20 ton-miles
For the setting casing operation, the ton-miles calculation of this operation is similar to round trip
ton-miles calculation. Nevertheless, buoyed weight of the casing will be used into calculation
instead of buoyed weight of drill pipe and with the result will be multiplied by 0.5, because
setting casing is just only one-way operation (1/2 round trip).

Ton-miles for setting casing can be determined from the following formula:

Tc = {Wp x D x (Lcs + D) + D x Wb} x 0.5 ÷ (5280 x 2000)

Where; Tc = ton-miles setting casing

Wp = buoyed weight of casing in lb/ft
Lcs = length of one joint of casing in ft
Wb = weight of travelling block assembly in lb
D = depth of casing in ft
2000 = number of pounds in one ton
5280 = number of feet in one mile

Example: Ton-Miles for Setting Casing

Mud weight = 10.0 ppg

Casing weight = 25.0 lb/ft
Depth of casing = 5200 ft
Travelling block assembly = 95,000 lb
Length of one joint of casing = 42 ft

Solution:

a) Buoyancy factor:
BF = (65.5 – 10.0) ÷ 65.5
BF = 0.8473

b) Buoyed weight of casing in mud, lb/ft (Wp):

Wp = 25.0 lb/ft x 0.8473
Wp = 21.18 lb/ft

c) Casing ton-miles
Tc = {21.18 x 5,200 x (42 + 5,200) + 5,200 x 95,000} x 0.5 ÷ (5280 x 2000)
Tc = 50.73 tone-miles

The ton-miles of work done in making a short trip is equal to the difference between round ton-
miles of end depth and starting depth. The formula for short trip ton-miles is listed below;

Tst = T6 – T5
Where; Tst = ton-miles for short trip
T6 = ton-miles for one round trip at the deeper depth
T5 = ton-miles for one round trip at the shallower depth

Example;

Please determine short trip ton-miles from 8000 ft to 8050 ft

Ton-miles @ 8050 ft = 200
Ton-miles @ 8000 ft = 190
Tst = (200 – 190)
Tst = 10 ton-miles