University of Zakho

College of Engineering
Petroleum Engineering Department
3rd Year- 2020-2021

Drilling and technology

List of content
No. Content Page
1 Introduction 2
2 Types of drilling method 2-4
3 Drilling fluid 5
Drilling Problems, Causes, and
4 5-6
Solutions
5 Drilling crew 6
6 Drilling | Technologies 7-9
5 Conclusion 10
6 Reference 11

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 Drilling and technology

What is Drilling Engineering?

Drilling engineering is the science behind the wells that produce oil and gas. Drilling
engineering involves the planning, costing, developing and supervising of oil and gas well
operations. Drilling engineering usually involves temporarily intense projects related to
well design, testing and completion. The science of drilling engineering is divided into the
four different activities below.

what is Drilling rig?

A drilling rig is an integrated system that drills wells, such as oil or water wells, in the
earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill
water wells, oil wells, or natural gas extraction wells, or they can be small enough to be
moved manually by one person and such are called augers. Drilling rigs can sample
subsurface mineral deposits, test rock, soil and groundwater physical properties, and also
can be used to install sub-surface fabrications, such as underground utilities,
instrumentation, tunnels or wells. Drilling rigs can be mobile equipment mounted on
trucks, tracks or trailers, or more permanent land or marine-based structures (such as oil
platforms, commonly called 'offshore oil rigs' even if they don't contain a drilling rig). The
term "rig" therefore generally refers to the complex equipment that is used to penetrate the
surface of the Earth's crust.

There are two drilling methods used in the petroleum industry:

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  The cable tool method

by which the first oil well was drilled in 1859 to a depth of 65 ft, was first employed
by the early Chinese in the drilling of brine wells.

 The rotary drilling method

started by a French civil engineer in 1863, is the most common method that performs
a rotary grinding action; some cable tool rigs are still working in parts of Europe as
well as in the USA. Rotary drilling methods are much more effective in drilling
shallow, unconsolidated sands than the cable tool operations.

A cable tool rig is a percussion drilling

apparatus consisting of the drill string,
which is mainly composed of the drill bit,
made of a heavy steel bar; the drill stem, a
cylindrical steel bar screwed directly
above the bit; jars of heavy steel links, to
produce a sharp upward blow on the tools;
and tool joints that connect these parts. In
a standard cable tool rig, there are three rig
lines or cables: the drilling line, the sand
line, and the calf or casing line (used to
run the casing into the well).

The derrick floor supports the drilling line,

the sand line on which the bailer is run,
and the casing line (Brantly 1952; Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 Standard cable tool drilling system (Brantly, courtesy AIME)

The cable tool rig can be used to drill

wells up to about 170 m, but it is generally confined to much shallower operations. In
cable tool drilling, the hole is kept partly filled with water to soften the formation and
prevent caving. At depth, when the bottom of the hole becomes full of cuttings, the rock
bit should be withdrawn and a bailer run to remove the cuttings.

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A rotary drilling rig (API 1954; Fig. 2) comprises six components:

1. The derrick and substructure. The derrick provides the vertical clearance necessary
for raising and lowering the drill string into and out of the borehole during drilling
operations, whereas the substructure is the support on which the derrick rests.

2. The Mud Pump circulates the drilling fluid at the desired pressure and volume.

3. The draw work or hoist is the control center from which the driller operates the rig.
It houses the drum and is the key piece of equipment on a rotary rig; it includes the
clutches, chains, sprockets, engine throttles, etc.

4. The Rotary Drill String consists of the Kelly joint, drill pipe, tool joints, and drill
collars. The drill pipe furnishes the necessary length for the drill string and serves as
a conduit for the
drilling fluid. Between the drill pipe and the rock bit are the drill collars, which are
heavy-walled steel tubes to furnish the compressive load on the bit, thus allowing
the lighter drill pipe to remain in tension. The drill string is an extremely expensive
rig component and must be replaced periodically to avoid failure due to material
fatigue that may result from corrosion and/or improper care and handling; The Kelly
joint is the topmost joint in the drill pipe and is commonly square, hexagonal, or
even octagonal. It passes through snugly fitting, properly shaped bushings in the
rotary table, allowing the table’s rotation to be transmitted to the entire drill string.

5. Rock bits are designed to give optimum performance in various formation types.

6. The Drilling Line affords a means of handling the loads suspended from the hook
during all drilling operations. In rotary drilling, the well is drilled by a rotating bit to
which a downward force is applied; the bit is fastened to and rotated by a drill
string, which is composed of high-quality drill pipe and drill collars, with joints
added as drilling progresses. The cuttings are lifted from the well by the drilling
mud fluid, which is continuously circulated down, inside the drill string through the
nozzles in the bit, and upward in the annular space between the drill pipe and the
borehole.

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In geotechnical engineering, drilling fluid, also called drilling mud, is used to aid the
drilling of boreholes into the earth. Often used while drilling oil and natural gas wells and
on exploration drilling rigs, drilling fluids are also used for much simpler boreholes, such
as water wells. One of the functions of drilling mud is to carry cuttings out of the hole.

The three main categories of drilling fluids are: water-based muds (WBs), which can be
dispersed and non-dispersed; non-aqueous muds, usually called oil-based muds (OBs); and
gaseous drilling fluid, in which a wide range of gases can be used. Along with their
formatives, these are used along with appropriate polymer and clay additives for drilling
various oil and gas formations.

The main functions of drilling fluids include providing hydrostatic pressure to prevent
formation fluids from entering into the well bore, keeping the drill bit cool and clean
during drilling, carrying out drill cuttings, and suspending the drill cuttings while drilling
is paused and when the drilling assembly is brought in and out of the hole. The drilling
fluid used for a particular job is selected to avoid formation damage and to limit corrosion.

Drilling Problems, Causes, and Solutions:

The oil and gas industry are recognized as one of the most hazardous industries on earth.
Extracting hydrocarbon from an underground reservoir is very risky and uncertain.
Therefore, it is very important to find out the root causes of its risk and uncertainty. The
majority of the risks and uncertainties related to this business are encountered while
drilling.

As a result, drilling problems offer an excellent benchmark for other practices in petroleum
engineering as well as other disciplines. However, the key to having a successful
achievement of the drilling objectives is to design drilling programs based on anticipation
of potential drilling problems.

The more comprehensive the list of problems the more accurate the solution manual will
become. The best modus operandi is to avoid running into a scenario where problems
arise. This preventative style will lead to safer and more cost-effective drilling schemes. It
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is well understood that even one occurrence of the loss of human life, environmental
disaster, or loss of rig side area can have a profound effect on the welfare of the entire
petroleum industry.

Some of the drilling problems comprise of drill pipe sticking, stuck pipe, drill string
failures, wellbore instabilities, hole deviation and well path control, mud contamination,
kicks, hazardous and shallow gas release, lost circulation, formation damage, loss of
equipment, personnel, and communications. There are some other problems specifically
related to slim hole drilling, coiled tubing drilling, extended reach drilling, and under-
balance drilling, etc. There is a famous saying, “prevention is better than cure”. So, the
motto should be “drill a hole safely without having any accident, incident, or harm to this
planet, with minimum costs”. The drilling operations should be in a sustainable fashion
where the minimization of drilling problems and costs has to have the top priority

Drilling Crew

Personnel who operate the drilling rig. The crew typically consists of roustabouts,
roughnecks, floor hands, lead tong operators, motormen, derrickmen, assistant drillers, and
the driller. Since drilling rigs operate around the clock, there are at least two crews
(twelve-hour work shifts called tours, more common when operating offshore), or three
crews (eight-hour tours, more common onshore). In addition, drilling contractors must be
able to supply relief crews from time to time when crew members are unavailable. Though
less common now than in years past, the drilling contractor may opt to hire only a driller,
and the driller in turn is responsible for hiring everyone reporting to him.

Drilling | Technologies

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Oil well drilling is a complex operation and the drilling industry engages the services of
personnel and a complicated array of machinery and materials to drill an oil/gas well to
depths greater than 6000 meters, The drilling industry has seen technological progress,
however, these advances have not changed the fact that, besides the use of complicated
machinery, successful drilling is a result of tremendous team effort. Numerous personnel
from the operating company and several service companies work together to drill and
complete an oil/gas well.

A drilling rig is used to drill a hole, and this requires qualified personnel, different types of
equipment the application of a great variety of technology.

When a drilling project is commenced, two goals must be achieved:

1. To drill and finish the well in a safe manner (personal injuries, technical problems)
and according to its purpose;

2. To complete the project with minimum cost.

The overall costs of the well must be optimized and this optimization may influence where
the well is drilled (onshore – extended reach or offshore above reservoir), the drilling
technology applied (conventional or slim-hole drilling) as well as the evaluation
procedures run to gather subsurface information for future drilling projects. Rotary drilling
is the most efficient technology applied in the oil and gas industry. It is a drilling
technology that relies on continuous circular rotation of the bit to break rocks, while
drilling fluids circulate through the bit and up the wellbore to the surface, making possible
to drill safely and efficiently the well.

How Does Directional Drilling Work?

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Directional drilling has been an integral part of the oil and gas industry since the 1920s.
While the technology has improved over the years, the concept of directional drilling
remains the same: drilling wells at multiple angles, not just vertically, to better reach and
produce oil and gas reserves. Additionally, directional drilling allows for multiple wells
from the same vertical well bore, minimizing the wells' environmental impact.

Improvements in drilling sensors and

global positioning technology have helped
to make vast improvements in directional
drilling technology. Today, the angle of a
drill bit is controlled with intense
accuracy through real-time technologies,
providing the industry with multiple
solutions to drilling challenges, increasing
efficiency and decreasing costs. Tools
utilized in achieving directional drills
include whipstocks, bottomhole assembly
(BHA) configurations, three-dimensional
measuring devices, mud motors and
specialized drill bits.

Now, from a single location, various wells can be drilled at myriad angles, tapping
reserves miles away and more than a mile below the surface.

Many times, a non-vertical well is drilled

by simply pointing the drill in the
direction it needs to drill. A more complex
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way of directional drilling utilizes a bend near the bit, as well as a downhole steerable mud
motor. In this case, the bend directs the bit in a different direction from the wellbore axis
when the entire drill string is not rotating, which is achieved by pumping drilling fluid
through the mud motor. Then, once the angle is reached, the complete drill string is
rotated, including the bend, ensuring the drill bit does not drill in a different direction from
the wellbore axis.

Conclusion
RD method is highly encouraging and evolving technique. Its primary usage is to improve
production which is needed to be implemented in the dead fields.

Also, wherever IOR-EOR methods needs to be implemented, RD technique can be applied

first. It helps reduce initial cost as well as buys some extra time of another one –two years
of average production.

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Technology to drill holes and to excavate tunnels and openings in rock is vital for the
economic, environmental, and scientific well-being of the United States. Drilling is a key
technology in several applications of strategic or societal importance, including energy and
mineral production, environmental protection, and infrastructure development. During this
century, U.S. technology has dominated the worldwide drilling industry and much of the
excavation and comminution industries. In the committee's view, this U.S. dominance is
likely to erode without continued technological advances.

Reference
- https://www.greatvaluecolleges.net/faq/what-is-drilling-engineering/
- http://www.oil-gasportal.com/drilling/technologies/
- Drilling Technology in Petroleum Geology (Book)
- Drilling Engineering Problems and Solutions A Field Guide for Engineers and
Students (Book)
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- https://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/en/Terms/d/drilling_crew.aspx

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