LEGENDS OF DRILLING

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL SECTION

 D
Marvin Gearhart uring SPE’s Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in Denver, JPT honored five pioneers
in the drilling industry with its first Legends of Drilling Award. The reception, held on 23
September, honored Leon Robinson, Martin E. Chenevert, Marvin Gearhart, William A. Rehm,
and William C. Maurer, and was sponsored by Schlumberger.
Bill Rehm Although the pioneering achievements of the early days of drilling are well known and documented,
little attention has been given to the achievements of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The people
this award honors have been instrumental in the creation and development of these more recent drilling
accomplishments.
Martin Chenevert
Robinson has contributed greatly to the industry’s technical literature, and has made many notable
technological contributions in the areas of mud cleaners, explosive drilling, and drilling data telemetry. He
has received 24 international patents, 34 US patents, and many service and achievement awards.
Bill Maurer Chenevert is considered a legend in the world of oil and gas drilling. In addition to 100 published works and
three books, he has developed petroleum engineering software applications and holds nine US patents. He has
earned international recognition for his work in the area of wellbore stability and drilling fluids, has received
numerous industry awards and recognitions, and has been active in SPE and many other associations.
Leon Robinson Gearhart has had a long track record for creating companies that specialize in high-performing technologies.
During the 1970s, his company developed a major advance in openhole logging equipment and became
a forerunner in measurement-while-drilling technology. His Gearhart Company is currently putting together
an integrated line of drilling tools and systems designed for vertical and horizontal drilling in the Barnett
Shale play.
Rehm helped develop well control and pressure measurement from electric logs and wrote the first manual
on well control accepted by the US Minerals Management Service. He has contributed to some of the most
significant technological advancements in recent history, including the development of directional drilling,
coiled tubing, underbalanced drilling, and high-pressure drilling operations. He is a recognized expert in
underbalanced drilling and conducts schools and management seminars internationally and has written
several books and manuals on the technology.
Maurer’s work has contributed to pioneering changes in the industry, including extensive research into novel
drilling techniques, drilling mechanics, rock mechanics, drill bit design, downhole drilling motors, high-
pressure jet drilling, horizontal drilling, and advanced drilling tools. His Maurer Engineering was instrumental
in the development of measurement-while-drilling technology. During the 1980s, he organized an effort to
develop tools to economically and reliably drill horizontal wells, and was instrumental in the development of
the then-revolutionary PDC bit.
It is my hope that reading about the remarkable achievements of these extraordinary people will inspire
others to create and contribute to new technologies and solutions that will benefit the oil and gas industry in
the years to come.

Ford Brett
President of PetroSkills and SPE Technical Director for Drilling and Completions
42
Marvin Gearhart:
GOING AND GOING
Marvin Gearhart has a long track record of creating
companies that specialize in high-performing technolo-
gies that support the oil and gas drilling sector. He has
been at it for more than half a decade, and, at a time of
life when most people are retired, Gearhart keeps going
and going.
He graduated from Kansas State University in 1949 with a BS
degree in mechanical engineering, concentrating in petroleum.
He started his oilfield career shortly thereafter as a wireline
logging engineer with Welex Jet Services in Fort Worth, Texas.
In 1955, Gearhart and Harrold Owen formed Gearhart-
Owen Industries, a wireline and perforation service provider, as
well as a manufacturer of logging trucks and tools for the global
industry. This company was operating in 27 countries around the
world and had more than 13,600 employees at its peak in 1984.
In addition to operating its own equipment, the company helped
set up and supply equipment to more than 300 independent
wireline service companies over 33 years before it was sold to
Halliburton in 1988.
The company also operated a division known as Mineral
Logging Systems to supply equipment to the mineral logging
industry. Mineral Logging Systems specialized in building small
portable logging units for the shallow hole industry, usually less
than 3,000 ft, for use where conventional logging services were
not available. The company supplied more than 2,300 units,
many of which are still in use today.
During the 1970s, Gearhart’s company developed a major
advance in openhole logging equipment, with the first successful
application of digital technology in this area. Within only 14
months after the project started, the company completed and
tested a new series of openhole tools and a computer system
to analyze the findings. The new product line, known as Direct
Digital Logging, significantly reduced the lead that the major
oilfield service and supply companies had once enjoyed in
openhole logging.
Also during the 1970s, Gearhart’s company became a
forerunner in measurement-while-drilling (MWD) technology,
which enabled controlled directional drilling by beaming
accurate measurements to the surface without a wireline.
Gearhart describes his company’s involvement in the de-
velopment of MWD equipment as a high point in his career be-
LEGENDS OF DRILLING
cause of the visible impact it has had on the exploration and
production world ever since. As an example, Gearhart noted
how MWD enabled directional drilling in the artificial is-
lands called THUMS (named after original operators Texaco,
Humble, Union Oil, Mobil, and Shell) in the harbor at Long
Beach, California.
The highly deviated wells at THUMS were the proving
grounds for the first MWD systems built by Gearhart. The eco-
nomic benefits by using this new technology, with its time sav-
ings over conventional surveying methods, were identifiable and
quickly recognized. As a result, operators were soon asking for
other sensors and measurements to be added, resulting in the
development of full logging-while-drilling systems.
The directional drilling furthered by MWD gave new life to
the giant Wilmington oil fields. THUMS, originally a roughly 8
billion bbl oil field discovered in the early 1930s, was at risk
of having large amounts of oil off limits unless better drilling
methods became feasible. Today, current operator Oxy notes
that greater than 60% of the more than 2,000 wells drilled from
THUMS’ four, 10-acre islands deviate from conventional vertical
wells for expanded reach into different parts of the field, with less
environmental and virtually no visual impact.
The oil price crash of 1986 and competitive forces in the
glutted market made Gerhart’s company a takeover target. Af-
ter Halliburton acquired Gearhart Industries in 1988, Gearhart
formed Rockbit International and specialized in building drilling
bits and tools for the next 17 years. This company also stayed ac-
tive in MWD systems.
The present Gearhart Company was initiated after the non-
compete provision with Halliburton expired in the early 1990s.
This company is putting together an integrated line of drilling
tools and systems designed for vertical and horizontal drilling
focusing on the needs of the Barnett Shale play in north Texas.
The Barnett Shale came into serious play during the last decade,
as water fracs proved more economic than previously used gel
fracs in the extremely tight formations. Horizontal drilling fur-
ther enhanced the feasibility of developing the giant play, which
is now the US’ second-largest natural gas field, after Kansas’
Hugoton field.
In addition to serving as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in
1981, Gearhart was awarded the Legends Medal Award by the
Texas Alliance of Energy Producers in 2008.
43
Rehm
Bill Rehm:
FROM THE SHOULDERS
OF GIANTS
A famous quotation by Sir
Isaac Newton goes: “If I have
seen further than others, it is
because I have stood on the
shoulders of giants.”
This essentially characterizes how
Bill Rehm set about his career in
improving the understanding of
the Earth’s pressures and further-
ing the safety of oil and gas drill-
ing well control. “I really did very
little original work,” he insists, yet
the reams of Rehm’s publications and his five US patents sug-
gest otherwise. “I have been fascinated by the effect of wellbore
pressures on the drilling process and spent most of my career
studying and dealing with that phenomenon.”
Being observant and a good listener often gave Rehm ideas
for new developments. For instance, once a staff engineer told
him that he had noticed pressure trends occurring in electric well
logs, so Rehm went to the log library and then hung well logs
over a 9 ft office door to see if those trends really existed. They
did and it was a real revelation. “That’s fairly typical of how I got
into these things,” Rehm said.
Rehm graduated from the Missouri School of Mines with
a BS degree in geological engineering and went to work for
Dresser Industries from 1955 to 1975. It was at Dresser that
he developed well control and pressure measurements from
electric logs for internal use and spent 2 years traveling around
the world teaching the original training schools for Macobar
on well control. His assignments included serving as mud en-
gineer in three states, then in management roles in air drilling,
drilling mud services, and engineering. He was the manager of
technical services for Dresser’s Magcobar/SWACO unit when it
worked on shallow gas-kick problems in the Gulf of Mexico.
Rehm then went to work for Maurer Engineering Co. be-
tween 1975 and 1979 as an associate and vice president,
where he performed consulting and supervisory work in drilling
and was a project manager in the development of directional
drilling. Rehm wrote the first manual accepted by the US Miner-
als Management Service (MMS) on well control for drillers and
supervisors, with a follow-up manual on well control for derrick
men and roughnecks. He also wrote five manuals on well con-
trol for drilling contractors that were accepted by the US Geo-
logical Survey. In addition, Rehm taught well control courses for
many operators and drilling contractors and conducted the first
introductory well control school for the MMS.
For the next 10 years, Rehm worked for different compa-
nies in a variety of capacities, where he was able to contribute
to some of the most significant technological advancements in
recent history. As a consultant with Louden Rehm Resource De-
44
velopment Corp. between 1979 and 1981, for instance
office through an automated unmanned
instance, Rehm
worked in the area of high-pressuree (geopressured) drilling o
erations and directional drilling, with special emphasis on long-
reach marine operations. He then
ervice Co. between 1981 a
1984, a company that developed a supervisory system for send-
ing offshore drilling information via
ed system.
op-
lon
n became cofounder and vvicee
president of Drilling Information Service and
nd
operator’s
a satellite to the operato
After the company was sold to Gearhart Industries, Rehm
became general manager of BecField Horizontal Drilling Ser-
vices between 1985 and 1990, and took the company from
research to a USD 15 million commercial venture that special-
ized in slimhole and slick (nonstabilized) horizontal drilling tools.
While with BedField, Rehm developed math models for the turn-
ing radius and performance of the tools, as well as bits and
techniques for horizontal underbalanced drilling.
Rehm then organized, funded, and managed Horizontal
Drillers (HDI), an independent directional drilling company,
where he served as president between 1990 and 1992. He de-
veloped some of the original plans for underbalanced drilling
in the Austin Chalk, new drilling motors, and other mechani-
cal equipment and software. Between 1992 and 1995, Rehm
became product director of drilling equipment for ICT, where
he held responsibility for specifications and purchase of drilling
equipment for export to China and was in charge of technology
transfer, on-site demonstrations, and operating manuals for ex-
port equipment. Rehm then became vice president of engineer-
ing for Enlink, a coiled tubing drilling installation company that
specializes in drilling and completing small-diameter shallow
holes for heat exchanger systems. The Enlink drilling and com-
pletion rigs are special purpose, portable coiled tubing rigs.
Since 1995, Rehm has made his mark on his own, forming
Rehm Consulting to focus on underbalanced drilling and com-
pletions, as well as reservoir protection projects. His accomplish-
ments include writing the Petroleum Energy Technology Services
(PETS Canada) Offshore Well Control Manual, Practical Under-
balanced Drilling and Workovers published by the University of
Texas Petroleum Technology Service, and chapters in the Drilling
Fluids Processing Manual. With associates, Rehm wrote the Drill-
ing Engineering Association Manual for Maurer Engineering on
underbalanced drilling.
A recognized expert on underbalanced drilling, Rehm con-
ducts underbalanced drilling and completion schools and man-
agement seminars internationally. He served as session chair-
man on underbalanced drilling for the American Association of
Drilling Engineers’ year 2000 technical conference.
For a portion of this time, Rehm served as principal and
consulting engineer for ProTreat, between 2001 and 2003. The
company utilizes foam units with proprietary products to avoid
corrosion while working over or cleaning out wells in areas
where sensitive sands and corrosion are a dominant problem.
ProTreat also plans and executes scale and hydrate squeezes to
improve production economics.
Today, in addition to his activities in the underbalanced
drilling arena, Rehm consults as technical adviser to Far East
Energy Corp., a role in which he has been active since 2005. In
this capacity, he advises on underbalanced drilling processes for
previously undeveloped coalbed methane resources in China.
His present project involves completing a two-volume series on
managed-pressure drilling and underbalanced drilling.
JPT S P E C I A L S E C T I O N
Martin Chenevert:
A PASSION
FOR RESEARCH
Martin Chenevert is now considered a legend in the world
of oil and gas drilling, but his career actually got off to a
rather rocky start—if not in the way he would have liked—
and then he deliberately muddied the rest of it.
He was laid off his first job in 1958 after only one day amid a
recessionary, oil-glutted economy when petroleum industry jobs
were scarce for new graduates (he had just earned his BS degree
in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University).
Undaunted, Chenevert continued his studies, earning an MS
and then doctorate in petroleum engineering at the University of
Texas (UT) at Austin.
Chenevert’s career began at what is now Exxon Production
Research Co. (then Humble) between 1964 and 1975, before
launching and running his own company, Chenevert Engineer-
ing, between 1977 and 1984. Over the years, he has also
consulted for a host of companies, including Amoco, Arco, Fina
Petroleum, Oryx, Petrobras, and Saga Petroleum.
He has also made quite a mark in the “publish or perish”
world of academia, publishing more than 100 papers and three
books. Chenevert also has developed software applications for
use in petroleum engineering and holds nine US patents, in-
cluding ones for drilling with low water content in oil emulsion
fluids, a method for determining clay reactivity, water-based
well fluids for shale stability, and treating subsurface water-
sensitive shale formations.
“I have felt privileged to spend my career investigating and
researching,” says Chenevert, who serves as senior lecturer for
UT’s petroleum engineering program and director of the drilling
research program at the university’s Petroleum and Geosystems
Engineering Department. Other academic posts he held prior to
UT were adjunct professor at the University of Houston and as-
sociate professor at Oklahoma University.
Chenevert earned international recognition for his work in
the area of wellbore stability and drilling fluids. At Exxon, he was
fascinated with troubleshooting the causes of wellbore instability
and began developing drilling muds that could solve the prob-
lems. “I could not believe I was getting paid to do research,”
Chenevert said. “I like being able to make designer muds. Drill-
ing muds are always in demand,” he continued, noting that “if
the mud stops, the drilling stops.”
Chenevert has been active in that area for about half a
century now and is currently involved in four primary areas of
research: the petrophysical properties of shales, wellbore stability
in shale formations, the dynamic filtration of drilling muds, and
properties of synthetic muds.
One project he has led involves assessing water-based
muds that show promise for alleviating shale hydration prob-
lems. About 75% of the problems in drilling operations are
related to shales, which are vulnerable to phenomena such as
LEGENDS OF DRILLING
swelling, shrinking, hydration, strength reduction, and failure.
Stimulating the water flow out of the shale and into the well-
bore can strengthen the shale, thus avoiding wellbore instabil-
ity. However, a shale and drilling fluid system must produce
a high osmotic-pressure gradient in the wellbore and exhibit
high membrane efficiency. Therefore, this project is examining
a variety of water-based drilling fluids that have proven to be
effective in improving shale inhibition, to determine muds that
might help resolve shale hydration.
Another area of Chenevert’s current research assesses the
interaction between oil-based muds and shales. Even though the
oil filtrate of oil-based muds does not hydrate the shale, it pene-
trates and flows through it. The research is aimed at determining
the breakthrough pressure that needs to be overcome by an oil-
based mud over a shale, and how the emulsifiers’ concentration
and the water activity of the shale affects this pressure.
In 2006, Chenevert was inducted into the Drilling Fluid
Hall of Fame by the American Association of Drilling Engineers
(AADE). The association established the Hall of Fame to recog-
nize key individuals who have contributed to the understanding
and knowledge of drilling and completion fluids and the down-
hole conditions that drilling companies encounter. Chenevert was
one of eight inductees that AADE selected from 47 candidates.
Membership in the Hall of Fame recognizes his work in develop-
ing chemical and mechanical concepts of wellbore stability and
balanced activity oil-based drilling fluids.
Chenevert also received SPE Distinguished Member recog-
nition and the 1994 SPE Drilling Engineering Award, an Ameri-
can Petroleum Institute (API) recognition award, a most outstand-
ing faculty member and faculty excellence award from UT, and
he was the Sylvain Pirson Centennial Lecturer in Petroleum Engi-
neering at the school from 1984 to 1992.
As has anyone who has been in the industry this long,
Chenevert has seen sweeping technological changes over the
years. Among those that have left the biggest impression on him
have been the use of diamond cutters for longer bit runs, the
application of horizontal drilling for extended-reach wells that
have “opened up tremendous new reserves,” and the clean up
and restoration of well sites. “What we have now is a very ef-
fective industry,” he said.
Chenevert has been very active in SPE, serving on several
committees and as a textbook and technical editor. He is also a
member of a number of other professional associations, includ-
ing API, AADE, American Filtration Society, American Society for
Engineering Education, American Society of Mechanical Engi-
neers, International Society for Rock Mechanics, and the North
American Rock Mechanics Society.
45
Maurer
Bill Maurer:
SEEING THINGS DIFFERENTLY
Bill Maurer is a classic
example of the term
“thinking outside the box.”
Or, to put it more accurately,
he is a pro at thinking out-
side the borehole about
what is needed to deliver
better oil and gas drilling
results in all types of reser-
voirs. “To invent things, you
have to see things differ-
ently,” Maurer said. “I like to
change things.”
That is an understatement where Maurer is concerned.
Maurer’s ability to “see things differently” resulted in pio-
neering changes for the industry, including his extensive research
into novel drilling techniques, drilling mechanics, rock mechan-
ics, drill bit design, downhole drilling motors, high-pressure jet
drilling, horizontal drilling, and advanced drilling tools.
He holds 38 patents on oilfield downhole drilling and com-
pletion tools. An entrepreneur as well as an inventor, Maurer
also started 18 successful oilfield service companies, including
ones that first marketed polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC)
bits, slimhole drills, horizontal drills, resin-coated sand, jet drills,
high-temperature turbo drills, and other innovative products.
Maurer started his career in 1962 at Jersey Production Re-
search (JPR) in Tulsa after graduating from the Colorado School
of Mines with a master’s degree and PhD in mining engineer-
ing. In 1964, JPR merged with Exxon Production Research in
Houston. By 1974, Maurer was a senior research specialist with
Exxon when he decided to break into business for himself and
launched Maurer Engineering.
“Each decade, I was working on something new and excit-
ing,” Maurer recalls. The 1960s were significant for advances
in the reliability of motors used in downhole drilling, he noted.
By the time he was out on his own in the 1970s, Maurer En-
gineering was instrumental in development of measurement-
while-drilling technology, which transmits data from the well bit
to the surface in real time. This, in turn, enabled horizontal (or
directional) drilling to proceed.
The first horizontal well was drilled back in 1929, but for
many decades, there was no feasible or economic way to ap-
ply the technology. Eager to overcome some of the remaining
obstacles, Maurer organized an effort, funded by the Drilling
Engineering Association, to develop tools that would drill hori-
zontal wells. More than 50 companies participated jointly in this
effort over a period of 10 years, which led to the development
of reliable horizontal drilling techniques that changed the oil in-
dustry. According to the American Petroleum Institute, only a few
46
horizontal wells were drilled during the 1980s, compared with
about 2,700 per year today.
During the 1980s, Maurer also was instrumental in the
development of the then-revolutionary PDC bit, which is now
used for about half of all drilling operations. The 1990s
brought advances in slimhole drilling and high-powered mo-
tors, with Maurer involved in the development of both. Since
the turn of the new century, Maurer has been interested in
advances in expanded tubulars and radial jet drilling, a new
stimulation technique. “I keep going into new fields,” he ad-
mits. “It’s more interesting.”
Maurer, a big proponent of collaborative efforts to ad-
vance technology, believes that there would be great benefit
from a more shared approach to research and development
(R&D), rather than companies over-protecting their knowl-
edge. “Two engineers are four times as smart as one engi-
neer,” says Maurer.
Unconventional natural gas technology is an area that
would make great strides from shared R&D, Maurer believes.
“With a joint industry project on unconventional gas technology,
we could do in 2 or 3 years what will take individual companies
10 to 15 years to accomplish.”
In another example of his belief in a collaborative ap-
proach to industry challenges, Maurer applied himself—or
rather, teams of engineers—to developing software to solve
wide-ranging problems in horizontal drilling. “In the 1980s,
there was no software for horizontal drilling, so on our joint
industry project we developed 20 to 30 programs to help
overcome problems that companies were encountering in
drilling horizontal wells.” For example, the programs ad-
dressed well path planning and projections, torque and drag,
coiled tubing design, casing stress, and wellbore cementing,
among other things. Notably, the software (now owned and
marketed by Petris Technology) was developed in four lan-
guages: English, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese.
In 2000, Maurer Engineering was sold to Noble Drilling,
which retained all the employees, including Maurer and the
company’s cofounder, William McDonald.
Over the years, Maurer has authored more than 60 pub-
lished works, including two books on drilling technology. He has
also won numerous awards, among them the 2001 SPE Drilling
Engineering Award, the 1987 ASME Engineering Achievement
Award, the 1984 Houston District Small Business Innovation
Award, and, in 1981, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from
his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Wisconsin in
Platteville. He was inducted into the US National Academy of
Engineering in 1992 and in 1987 became a fellow of the Ameri-
can Society of Mechanical Engineers.
JPT S P E C I A L S E C T I O N
Leon Robinson:
Le obi
A NOTABLY
OTA BLY
Y “ROCKY”
RO CKY” CAREER
C EER IN
HYDROCARBON
Y
YDROCCARBO PHYSICS
ON PHYSI
P YSICS
S RESEARCH
RESE
EARCH
It is hard to imagine cow pastures amid the modernistic
landscape that is now called Greenway Plaza in Houston,
but that is exactly what Leon Robinson recalls as surround-
ing Humble Oil and Refining Co.’s then-new production
research facility in 1954.
Robinson was then a young PhD research physicist who was
enamored—as he still is—with the science of improving the way
rocks are drilled for hydrocarbons. But Robinson’s career has
hardly been rocky in any other sense of the word.
Among the many honors in his career, Robinson has been
awarded 24 international patents, 34 US patents, an Exxon Dis-
tinguished Lecturer Award, three Exxon Outstanding Instructor
Awards, the 1984 International Association of Drilling Con-
tractors Special Recognition Award, the 1999 American Asso-
ciation Drilling Engineering (AADE) Meritorious Service Award,
the 1985 SPE Drilling Engineering Award, the 2006 American
Petroleum Institute (API) Service Award, and in 2006, was in-
ducted into the AADE Hall of Fame, and in 2007, acquired the
API Emeritus designation.
Robinson, who spent his entire career at Humble (now
ExxonMobil) formally retired in 1992, yet has hardly stopped
working. In fact, he might just qualify for a listing as one of the
world’s busiest retirees.
Among other things, in the past 5 years, he has added nine
technical papers to an already formidable list of publications,
has contributed to several books and one encyclopedia on drill-
ing technology, and consults on drilling activities with several
operating and service companies. He has also been a member
of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology steering committee
for rapid drilling and excavation, the drilling advisory panel for
Houston’s Weiss Energy Museum exhibit, and chaired the AADE
shale shaker handbook rewrite committee, the AADE waste man-
agement committee, the American Society of Mechanical Engi-
neers’ drilling-fluid processing textbook committee, and served
as an adviser to Sandia National Laboratory’s diagnostics-while-
drilling project.
In his “spare” time one would not know he had, he has
also been a volunteer docent for the “Ocean Star” jackup rig
museum in Galveston, Texas.
Today, he is on API Subcommittee 13 (Drilling and Comple-
tion Fluids), Chairman of the API task group editing the solids
control standard, a member of API’s task groups on hydraulics
and drilling fluids, and serves on the planning committee for
AADE’s technical conference.
Robinson’s original aspiration was to become an electrical
engineer. After spending more than 2 years in the US Army, he
enrolled at Clemson Agricultural College in engineering, and
was persuaded by a professor to switch his major to physics.
In 1949, he graduated with a degree in industrial physics and
LEGENDS OF DRILLING
earned his master’s degree in physics from Clemson in 1950.
He then received a doctorate in engineering physics from North
Carolina State University in 1954. As a graduate student, he was
an instructor of physics at Clemson, the University of Chattanoo-
ga, Tennessee, and at North Carolina State. He joined Humble
in 1953, as he finished his thesis on electrets.
Robinson’s career has provided him the opportunity to make
contributions in many technology areas. These include mud
cleaners, explosive drilling, drilling data telemetry, subsurface
rock mechanics, drilling and hydraulic optimization techniques,
and tertiary oil recovery, as well as conducting on-site drilling
workshops, global drilling fluid seminars, and rigsite consulta-
tions. Research projects were tested in the field offering an op-
portunity to not only test current research, but also to try new
things and test many “accepted” theories, he says. Drilling rigs
provided a rare opportunity to evaluate new ideas and concepts.
Jointly working on research projects, testing new concepts, and
solving daily drilling problems benefited both the research di-
vision and drilling operations. Solutions developed on the rig
generally were practical and had immediate application.
Two projects that Robinson finds particularly memorable
were explosive drilling work that spanned about 4 years, and de-
veloping a means to store wire inside a drillstring for data telem-
etry. In another project, the mud cleaner went from patent memo
to commercial use in less than a year, Robinson recalls. He also
spent about 4 years working on rock mechanics, or “squeezing”
rocks under pressures up to about 15,000 psi.
Throughout his career and to this day, Robinson has always
derived enormous satisfaction from teaching. He formerly taught
about drilling fluids, solids control, hydraulics, lost circulation,
and other topics around the world for Exxon for the better part of
two decades. At present, he is a drilling instructor with Petroskills
for about 8–10 weeks a year.
Robinson reflects on his career: “I joined Humble Produc-
tion Research because of all of the fascinating physics involved
in drilling for and producing hydrocarbons. In South and North
Carolina, we had very little opportunity to be exposed to the en-
gineering and science involved in producing hydrocarbons. The
scientific challenges were, and still are, wonderful to explore.
We are currently drilling horizontal wells that are over 7 miles
long and hitting geological targets less than a half acre in size.
Many new technologies have been developed even during the
past 5 years. It is so mentally intriguing that I do not see how
anyone can actually retire from the fun.”
47
SPE Papers authored by the L E G E N D S O F D R I L L I N G
Maurer
William C. Maurer
Fractures and Craters Produced
in Sandstone by High-Velocity
Projectiles, 1961. Coauthor: John S.
Rinehart
The “Perfect–Cleaning” Theory of
Rotary Drilling, 1962.
Shear Failure of Rock Under
Compression, 1965.
Bit-Tooth Penetration Under
Simulated Borehole Conditions, 1965.
Hydraulic Jet Drilling, 1969.
Coauthor: Joe K. Heilhecker.
High-Pressure Drilling, 1973.
Coauthors: Joe K. Heilhecker and
William W. Love.
An Analysis of Relative Costs in Drilling
Deep Wells, 1991. Coauthors: E.E.
Andersen, G.A. Cooper, and P.A. Westcott.
Use of Hollow Glass Spheres for
Underbalanced Drilling Fluids, 1995.
Coauthors: George H. Medley Jr. and
Ali Y. Garkasi.
High-Power Slim-Hole Drilling
System, 1995. Coauthors: John H.
Cohen and Curtis E. Leitko.
Field Testing of Advanced Turbodrill,
2000. Coauthors: John H. Cohen, Roy
C. Long, Orren Johnson, Baudelio
Ernesto Prieto De La Rocha, and
Nicolas Rodriguez Saucedo.
Laboratory Testing of High-Pressure
Coiled-Tubing Drilling System, 2001.
Coauthors: J.H. Cohen, C.C. Leitko,
and W.J. Gwilliam.
Analytical Model for Casing Expansion,
2005. Coauthor: Colin G. Ruan.
48
Martin Chenevert
Mechanical Anisotropies of Laminated
Sedimentary Rocks, 1965. Coauthor:
C. Gatlin.
Shale Control with Balanced-Activity
Oil-Continuous Muds, 1970.
Shale Alteration by Water Adsorption, 1970.
Stabilizing Sensitive Shales With
Inhibited, Potassium-Based Drilling
Fluids, 1973. Coauthor: Dennis E. O’Brien.
A New Approach to Preventing Lost
Returns, 1974. Coauthor: L.A. Carlton.
Perforation Stability in Low-Permeability
Gas Reservoirs, 1985. Coauthor:
T.W. Thompson.
Stability of Highly Inclined Boreholes, 1987.
Coauthor: B.S. Aadnoy.
Model for Predicting Wellbore Pressures
in Cement Columns, 1989. Coauthor:
Liang Jin.
Shale/Mud Inhibition Defined With
Rig-Site Methods, 1989. Coauthor:
S.O. Osisanya.
Stability of Boreholes Drilled Through
Salt Formations Displaying Plastic
Behavior, 1989.
Coauthor: E.F. Infante.
A Model for Predicting the Density of
Oil-Base Muds at High Pressures and
Temperatures, 1990. Coauthors: Ekwere
J. Peters and Chunhal Zhang.
Wellbore Stress Distribution Produced
by Moisture Adsorption, 1990.
Coauthors: Ching H. Yew, Chein L.Wang,
and Samuel Osisanya.
Filter Cake Structure Analysis Using the
Scanning Electron Microscope, 1991.
Coauthor: John Huycke.
Chemical Shrinkage Properties of Oilfield
Cements, 1991. Coauthor: B.K. Shrestha.
On the Stability of Shales and Its
Consequences in Terms of Swelling
and Wellbore Stability, 1992.
Coauthors: F.J. Santarelli, Elf Aquitaine,
and S.O. Osisanya.
Permeability and Effective Pore Pressure
of Shales, 1993. Coauthor: A.K. Sharma.
Time Lapse Resistivity and Water-
Content Changes in Shale, 1996.
Coauthors: S.L. Morriss and M.I. Javalagi.
Shale Preservation and Testing
Techniques for Borehole Stability
Studies, 1997. Coauthor: M. Amanullah.
Diffusion of Gas in Oil Based Drilling
Fluids, 1997. Coauthor: S.V. Bodwadkar.
Control of Shale Swelling Pressures
Using Inhibitive Water-Base Muds,
1998. Coauthor: Vincent Pernot.
The Role of Taylor Vortices in the
Transport of Drill Cuttings, 1998.
Coauthors: Zeno Philip and Mukul
M. Sharma.
Shale Preservation and Testing
Techniques for Borehole-Stability
Studies, 2001. Coauthor: M. Amanullah.
Chemical and Thermal Effects on
Wellbore Stability of Shale Formations,
2001. Coauthors: M. Yu, G. Chen, and
M.M. Sharma.
A New Gravimetric-Swelling Test for
Evaluating Water and Ion Uptake in
Shales, 2004. Coauthors: Jianguo Zhang,
Talal AL-Bazali, and M.M. Sharma.
Measurement of the Sealing Capacity
of Shale Caprocks, 2005. Coauthors:
T.M. AL-Bazali, J. Zhang, and
M.M. Sharma.
A Rapid, Rigsite-Deployable
Electrochemical Test for Evaluating
the Membrane Potential of Shales,
2005. Coauthors: T.M. AL-Bazali,
J. Zhang, and M.M. Sharma.
Factors Controlling the Membrane
Efficiency of Shales When Interacting
With Water-Based and Oil-Based Muds,
2006. Coauthors: Talal M. Al-Bazali,
Jianguo Zhang, and Mukul M. Sharma.
Maintaining the Stability of Deviated
and Horizontal Wells: Effects of
Mechanical, Chemical and Thermal
Phenomena on Well Designs, 2006.
Coauthors: Jianguo Zhang, Mengjiao Yu,
T.M. Al-Bazali, Seehong Ong,
M.M. Sharma, and D.E. Clark.
A Rapid, Rigsite-Deployable,
Electrochemical Test for Evaluating
the Membrane Potential of Shales,
2007. Coauthors: Talal Al-Bazali,
Jianguo Zhang, and Mukul M. Sharma.
Factors Controlling the Membrane
Efficiency of Shales When Interacting
with Water-Based and Oil-Based Muds,
2008. Coauthors: Jianguo Zhang,
Talal M. Al-Bazali, and Mukul M. Sharma.
JPT S P E C I A L S E C T I O N

Robinson
Leon Robinson
Effects of Pore and Confining
Pressures on Failure Characteristics
of Sedimentary Rocks, 1959.
Experimental Tests of a Method for
Drilling With Explosives, 1965.
Effect of Hardness Reducers on
Failure Characteristics of Rock,
1967.
Solids Control in Weighted Drilling
Fluids, 1975.
Coauthor: J.K. Heilhecker.
Improve Drilling Efficiency with Two
Nozzles and More Weight-On-Bit,
1983. Coauthor: C.R. Tsai.
Hydraulic Wellbore Erosion While
Drilling, 1995.
Coauthor: Bill Chemerinski.
Modernization of the API
Recommended Practice on Rheology
and Hydraulics: Creating Easy
Access to Integrated Wellbore Fluids
Engineering, 2007. Coauthors:
P.A. Bern, E.K. Morton, M. Zamora,
R. May, D. Moran, T. Hemphill,
I. Cooper, S. Shah, and D.V. Flores.
LEGENDS OF DRILLING
SPE Papers authored by the L E G E N D S O F D R I L L I N G
Rehm
William Rehm
Abnormal Pressure Control Maximum
Casing Pressure from Gas Kicks, 1967.
Measurement of Formation Pressure
from Drilling Data, 1971. Coauthor: Ray
McClendon.
Worldwide Occurrence of Abnormal
Pressures, Part II, 1972.
Horizontal Drilling in Mature Oil Fields,
1989. Coauthor: A. Garcia.
Gearhart
Marvin Gearhart
Well Site Digitizing Equipment for
Mineral Exploration, 1970.
Coauthors: James K. Hallenburg and
Robert S. Foote.
Wellsite Formation Analysis Using
the DDL Computer, 1977. Coauthor:
Mickey P. Head.
Mud Pulse MWD Systems Report,
1981. Coauthors: Kelly A. Ziemer and
Orien M. Knight.
Current State of the Art of MWD and
Its Application in Exploration and
Development Drilling, 1986.
Coauthors: L.M. Moseley and M. Foste.
Effect of Borehole Size, Mudcake,
and Standoff on the Photoelectric
Absorption Index Measurement, 1989.
49
 Drilling Achievements: Past, Present, and Future
The pioneering achievements of
oil and gas drilling in its early days
are well known, but less atten-
tion has been given to the drill-
ing achievements of the late 20th
century and this decade. While not
perceived as having the same ex-
citement as earlier achievements,
the industry’s more recent drill-
ing accomplishments have nev-
ertheless produced equal or even
greater economic returns for oil
and gas producers.
“All the boundaries of well engi-
neering have been pushed far beyond
where things were 20 years ago,” says
John Mason, Lead Completion Engi-
neer for BP in Aberdeen. “In two de-
cades, new geological challenges and
relentless commercial business driv-
ers have pushed technology and in-
novation to achieve the development
of whole new hydrocarbon provinces.
Over [the last] 20 years, we have not
achieved the headline accomplish-
ments of the computer industry, but
oilwell drilling did start long before
the first personal computers were on
sale to the public.”
Operator Expectations
For operators, the advancement of
oil and gas drilling has never been
just about making hole using newer
1959
+ First self-lubricated, sealed-
bearing rock bit.
1970
+ First tungsten-carbide-tooth
bit with O-ring sealed journal
bearing.
1972
1977 1974
1987
+ Polycrystalline-diamond-compact
(PDC) drill bit developed.
+ Mud-pulse telemetry introduced,
enabling accurate determination
of bit location while drilling.
1973
+ First downhole motor.
50
50
technology and techniques. Rather, it
has been about strategy, risk manage-
ment, safety, environmental protec-
tion, and experience. Mostly it has
been about economics
In an SPE paper written by J.B.
Cheatham Jr. of Rice University al-
most two decades ago, he stated that,
“The primary parameters pertaining
to drilling technology revolve around
safety and economics; the hole must
be safe and it is desired to mini-
mize the drilling cost (the total cost,
not just one phase of the activity).”
Cheatham pinpointed the key issues
that operators expect from drilling
operations—drilling and all the other
aspects of well construction must ei-
ther reduce nonproductive time or in-
crease efficiency, or preferably, achieve
both when “making hole.”
Many industry experts believe
that drilling achievements are driven
by a risk-adjusted philosophy that
evaluates drilling decision-making
and the use of new technologies and
techniques as directly related to the
rewards gained from the economic
risk taken.
History has shown that operators
have always preferred to hold on to
existing technologies until the newer
technologies have proven they can
deliver an even bigger reward for the
+ Horizontal drilling techniques used
in the US.
+Inertial weld for tool joints developed.
1976
+ First commercially viable PDC bit
introduced.
1977
+First smooth hard-metal hardfacing
introduced for protecting tool joints.
1978
+ Measurement-While-Drilling
technology introduced.
1979
+ First eccentric diamond bit.
cost and risk involved in using them.
By reviewing the evolution of past and
current technological achievements,
valuable insight can be gained about
what might be expected for drilling in
the future.
Past Drilling Achievements
Horizontal Drilling. When it comes to
the most important drilling achieve-
ment of the past 25 years, the devel-
opment and application of horizontal
drilling techniques and technologies is
the overwhelming choice of industry
experts. The ability to drill horizon-
tally has impacted the economics of
oil and gas production tremendously
because it places the wellbore in much
greater contact with the pay zone than
does a vertical well. This allows great-
er quantities of hydrocarbons to be
produced and enables more efficient
drainage of the reservoir.
Horizontal well costs can be as
much as two or three times that of
a vertical well. However, the produc-
tion factor may be enhanced by as
much as 15–20 times, making them
very attractive to producers. In fact,
this factor alone accounts for the ex-
plosive growth in the number of hor-
izontal wells that have been drilled
since the technology proved com-
mercially viable.
1981
+ Scoop-shaped tungsten-carbide
chisel developed.
+ First thermally stable diamond bit.
1984
+ Steerable drilling system introduced.
1985
+ First full-scale simulator capable of
testing bits up to 12¼ in. developed.
+ Advances in CAD, cutting structures,
compensation and lube systems, and
precision journal bearings.
1987
+ First metal-sealed rock-bit bearing.
+ Cutter bits with large-diameter
cutters JPT
introduced.
SPECIAL SECTION
 “The importance of horizon-
tal drilling to the oil and gas indus-
try is underscored by the fact that
it enabled the successful economi-
cal development of many fields that
would not otherwise have been de-
veloped and led to other complex
wellbore architectures, for example,
extended-reach drilling,” says Curtis
Cheatham, Consulting Drilling Engi-
neer for Weatherford.
“Additionally, it provided the
need for new technologies such as
measurement-while-drilling (MWD)
and logging-while-drilling (LWD)
and helped transition from lowest-
cost-per-foot in horizontally drilled
wells to lowest-cost-per-barrel be-
cause the drilling and completion
cost is higher for horizontal wells—a
fundamental change in field develop-
Fig. 1—Directional drilling applications in Alaska.
ment thinking.”
Mike Williams, Schlumberger’s
Drilling and Measurements Global expensive. The need to access reser- looking at what part of the reservoir
Sales Manager, traces the evolution voirs that were inaccessible by verti- you want to be in for best produc-
of this technology. “In the late 1970s cal means because of environmental tion,” Williams says. “That has driven
and early 1980s, the majority of wells concerns is one of the reasons that di- the LWD business, which really start-
were still vertical,” he says. “Then rectional drilling grew up. And if you ed in the late 1980s with simple resis-
in the late 1980s and early 1990s is look at what enabled that, MWD was tivity and has moved to a whole range
when directional drilling boomed. the big breakout. Very few wells are of services.”
It was purely because of the cost of drilled without MWD now, horizontal Geosteering with Rotary Steer-
infrastructure—the cost of putting or vertical.” able Systems. Geosteering technolo-
the rig, or the production facilities, “The industry has gone from just gy also received a lot of expert votes
directly over the reservoir was too drilling a geometric well to actually as one of the most significant accom-

1997
1990 2000 2004
+ First anti-whirl PDC bit. + Ream-While-Drilling tool introduced. + High-performance water-based mud
+ Coiled-tubing drilling developed. introduced.
2002
+ First post-on blade, impregnated bit 2006
1991
+ First large-diameter, high-rev/min configuration. + Pyramid-shaped teeth for fast drilling
motor bit with metal face seal and + Extended-reach well at 31,000 ft developed.
anti-friction roller bearings. measured depth in Hibernia field is
world’s longest completed at its true 2007

2007
1995 vertical depth of 13,000 ft. + Extended-reach well at 37,000 ft on
+ First polished cutters. Sakhalin Island sets world record
2003
1997
+ Depth-of-Cut control technology
+ Rotary Closed Loop Drilling System
introduced.
inaugurated.
+ World drilling water-depth record set
1998 by 10,111-ft Toledo well at Alaminos
+ Extended-reach well drilled beyond Canyon block 951 in US Gulf of
10 km on Wytch Farm in UK. Mexico.
LEGENDS OF DRILLING 51
51
Fig. 2—Varel PDC bit designed for
hard rock applications.
plishments in the recent history
of drilling.
“This drilling achievement has
transformed our ability to drill extend-
ed-reach wells and long horizontals,”
says BP’s Mason. “In 1988, North Sea
horizontal wells were unproven and
technically risky. They cost at least
twice that of conventional wells. A
500 m horizontal section might have
taken 20 days with four or five bit
trips.
“By 1996, rotary steerable systems
were being tried but were notoriously
unreliable. They had achieved a few
stunning drilling results, but lacked
the reliability needed to gain cus-
tomer support. By 1998, the reliability
problems were better understood and
suddenly the service company phones
were ringing off the hook. Operators
clamored for the drilling performance
delivered by rotary steerables and the
industry has not looked back since.”
“I believe this is probably the
most important drilling achievement
of the 1990s,” states Curtis Cheatham.
“Now these technologies can be cou-
pled with geosteering technology sup-
ported by real-time LWD/MWD data
telemetry to guide the bit to the target
with a high degree of confidence.”
The use of rotary steerables has
led to drilling wells more efficiently,
says Williams of Schlumberger. “LWD
enabled us to know where the best part
of the reservoir is, however it was still
painful to get there with traditional
motor technology. Rotary steerable is
52
Fig. 3—Schlumberger EcoScope LWD tool.
the missing piece of the puzzle. It gives
you the capability to get to where you
found out you should be, and that has
been a big change,” he says.
Directional Drilling. During the
last three decades, numerous tech-
nologies have emerged that enhanced
drilling, with directional drilling con-
sidered one of the most significant.
For example, the ability to deviate
the wellbore from vertical to reach a
distant target enabled the drilling of
multiple wells from slots located on a
single strategically placed platform on
an offshore lease (Fig. 1).
“Since its first use in the oil field,
directional drilling technologies and
methods have gone through a mas-
sive evolution and eventually enabled
horizontal drilling to become a real-
ity,” says Cheatham.
According to the American Pe-
troleum Institute, the impact of direc-
tional drilling has been immense.
“In the past, oil and natural gas
wells were drilled vertically at depths
ranging from a few thousand feet to
as deep as five miles. But new direc-
tional drilling and horizontal drilling
technologies allow drills to deviate
from the vertical plane and go hori-
zontal—or beyond. For oil and natu-
ral gas producers, this means reaching
reservoirs that are not located directly
beneath the drilling rig, and avoiding
sensitive surface and subsurface envi-
ronmental features. Advances in direc-
tional drilling now permit multilateral
drilling, where multiple offshoots of a
single wellbore radiate in different di-
rections and can contact resources at
different depths. Development of this
technology is recent and rapid, and
promotes the use of one site instead
of many sites.”
Polycrystalline Diamond Cut-
ters. Introduced in the 1970s by
General Electric Company, the PDC
bit (Fig. 2) uses thin, diamond lay-
ers bonded to tungsten carbide-cobalt
studs or blades. The extreme resis-
tance of diamond to abrasive wear
makes it a good choice as a medium to
prolong the life of cutters on bits that
shear rock formations during oil and
gas well drilling. PDC bits are inher-
ently more efficient than roller cone
bits, which depend on a crushing mo-
tion to penetrate rock formations.
Following their introduction,
studies indicated that PDC-equipped
bits could effectively drill soft forma-
tions faster and last longer than con-
ventional roller bits. In recent years,
continued progress has been made in
PDC bit design that has broadened the
range of formation strength that can
be economically drilled. Today, PDC
bits account for more than one third
of the total footage drilled worldwide,
with annual sales by US manufacturers
exceeding USD 260 million. Over the
useful lifetime of a bit, a single PDC
bit will save more than USD100,000
compared with drilling with roller-
cone bits (US DOE).
Extended-Reach Drilling. The
importance of extended-reach drill-
JPT S P E C I A L S E C T I O N
ing in advancing extremely long well-
bores was summarized in an article in
a 1997 issue of the Schlumberger Oil-
field Review (Allen et al. 1997).
“The limits of directional drill-
ing continue to be pushed back…
to tap reserves at extreme distances
from surface wellsites. What was once
considered the envelope of extended-
reach drilling now merely indicates
the difference between standard and
advanced technology. That envelope
continuously enlarges as companies
push technology to the limit.”
During the 1990s, ever-increasing
production targets posed challenges
to operators who sought to maximize
the full potential of their maturing
fields. This encouraged the initiation
of extended-reach drilling efforts in
many worldwide locations. Once con-
sidered a high-cost, high-risk option,
the global demand for more hydrocar-
bons necessitated a change in operator
thinking about how extended-reach
wells and projects were evaluated.
The ability to drill more than 10
km horizontal displacement became
an industry goal following the contin-
ued success of horizontal drilling ef-
forts. Operators reasoned that two- or
even threefold production increases
could result if more of the wellbore
could be exposed to the pay zone.
Thus, it was just a matter of time un-
til extended-reach drilling techniques
overcame the 10-km barrier. That
major industry drilling milestone oc-
curred in 1998 during the drilling
of a long extended-reach well at BP’s
Wytch Farm field development in
southern England.
The importance of the technology
was summed up by the Oilfield Review
article. “The success of this well [BP’s
Wytch Farm well] has opened up
even more targets and the potential
to access reserves that would have re-
mained out of reach or required huge
capital outlays just a few years ago.”
Borehole Telemetry. Steady ad-
vancement has been made in this
technology, with operators now push-
ing telemetry systems to transmit
real-time data quickly in lieu of using
wired pipe or wireline (Wassermann
et al. 2008). Mud-pulse telemetry is
now the most common method of
transmitting MWD and LWD data,
and mud-pulse telemetry rates have
LEGENDS OF DRILLING
Fig. 4—Expandable tubulars
reduce the tapering effect of
conventional casing programs.
increased to more than 20 bits/sec
(bps) at depths shallower than 20,000
ft, and in excess of 3 bps from depths
of more than 36,000 ft. That compares
to a typical data rate of 0.4 bps 30
years ago (Fig. 3).
“By mixing telemetry, MWD/
LWD tools, and steerable systems,
we can enable real-time analysis and
real-time changes in well design,”
says João Carlos Ribeiro Plácido,
a drilling engineer for Petrobras.
“This is an amazing drilling achieve-
ment when compared to past drill-
ing methodologies.”
Present-Day Achievements
A snapshot of today’s drilling activity re-
veals the application of numerous tech-
nologies that most experts believe are
leading to major drilling achievements.
Invert-Emulsion Drilling Fluids.
One important advancement currently
under development is synthetic-based,
high-performance, invert-emulsion
drilling fluids, says Carl Themlitz,
Southern Region Technical Manager
for Halliburton’s Baroid Fluid Ser-
vices. “Development of these fluids
has been under way for some time,
but they are becoming much more ac-
cepted now because they offer a step-
change in the technology of drilling
fluids,” he says.
Fig. 5—Instrumented drillpipe.
These clay-free invert-emulsion
fluids are formulated without the use
of commercial organophilic clays or
lignites. Instead, rheological proper-
ties are managed through the appli-
cation of powerful emulsifiers and
polymers. The interaction of the com-
ponents in these clay-free systems
is the key to providing a robust gel
structure that eliminates the need for
excessive thickening of the mud, helps
save conditioning time, and prevents
over-treatment. Also, the absence of
commercial clay and lignite naturally
reduces the solids content and helps
operators achieve faster rates of pen-
etration (ROP).
Expandable Tubulars. This tech-
nical advancement is considered one
of the most important currently be-
ing applied (Fig. 4). “This technolo-
gy allows the drilling of any trouble-
some zone without worrying about
the diameter reduction,” says Plácido
of Petrobras.
“The development of expand-
able tubing and casing has been un-
der way since the early 1990s,” adds
Weatherford’s Cheatham. “It is very
useful today for mitigating drill-
ing hazards such as lost-circulation
zones or unstable wellbores, but it
is just beginning to be programmed
into well plans to deliberately reduce
conventional reverse telescoping. So
far, their most common use has been
to bail out wells that have encoun-
tered problems.”
Instrumented Drillpipe. Tech-
nology that builds high-speed data
transmission capabilities directly into
drillpipe is opening up new possibili-
ties and transforming the drillstring
from simply a drilling tool into a
high-technology information tool,
state the authors of a recent paper on
instrumented drillpipe (Jellison et al.
53
Fig. 6—Kongsberg Maritime real-time operations center.
2004) (Fig. 5). “The system can pro-
vide information about the operator’s
most valuable asset: hydrocarbons in
the reservoir.
Using electrical cable, the intelli-
gent drill pipe system transmits data
from typical downhole sensors: MWD,
LWD, and rotary steerable tools, with
speeds on the order of 1 million bps,
in contrast to conventional mud-pulse
MWD technology that transmits data
at rates up to 12 bps. Electromagnetic
technology provides data rates of up
to 100 bps, but suffers from depth and
formation related limitations. The bi-
directional drillpipe system can trans-
mit real time MWD/LWD data, as well
as send commands or signals from the
surface to operate downhole tools and
sensors. The system is virtually trans-
parent to standard rig procedures and
offers robust, reliable operation.”
BP’s Mason agrees, adding, “In
a world of superlatives, I think the
most exciting advancement today is
instrumented drillpipe. We are now
just starting to understand how far
our drilling operations could be trans-
formed by using a drillstring that can
transmit 1 million bps of data to sur-
face. Today, mud-pulse transmission
is maxed out at 12 bps. Tomorrow, we
will be at 1 million bps. This feels like
54
a revolutionary change, not just an
evolutionary improvement.”
Computer Technology and Real-
Time Operations. Effective drilling
decision-making consists of having
the most recent information available
and timely access to that information.
This is the goal of real-time drilling
operations centers (Fig. 6).
“Computers, the Internet, and
related information technology is cur-
rently giving rise to huge advances in
productivity, as well as the ability to
research and manage large volumes of
information,” says Mason. “This com-
puter technology, when coupled with
real-time decision-making, is opening
great opportunities for the advance-
ment of drilling operations in which
closed-loop systems allow well trajec-
tories to be modified in real time as
data from the drill bit is fed back to
remotely located asset teams.”
Future Challenges
If we could take a peek into the fu-
ture, we might see drilling technolo-
gies in use that look a lot like those of
today. That is what John Thorogood,
SPE’s Technical Director for Drilling
and Completions during 2001–04
and retired BP Chief Drilling Engi-
neer, predicted in a special issue of
JPT last year that celebrated SPE’s
50th anniversary (Thorogood 2007).
Thorogood’s premise is that drilling
technology evolves slowly rather
than in giant leaps.
“Looking back on how innova-
tions happened, one sees that many of
the key components already existed,”
Thorogood wrote. “We cannot pre-
dict what drilling in 2032 will look
like. What we can say though, is that
progress toward it will be orderly,
will be incremental, and will involve
technologies that are already proven
outside the oil industry. When we get
there, it will not seem radical, but the
difference will be huge.”
The industry is already in the in-
fancy of what is going to come next,
says Schlumberger’s Williams. “LWD
measurements traditionally were very
shallow. They looked out a couple
of inches to 2 ft from the wellbore.
With technologies such as PeriScope,
which has only been around a year to
18 months in a commercial form, you
now can look beyond that and see as
far, in the best cases, 25 ft away from
the wellbore,” Williams says. “Is there
going to be a time when we can see
100 ft out from the wellbore? Yes, ab-
solutely, there will be. Is there going to
be a time when we can see in front of
JPT S P E C I A L S E C T I O N
the bit before we even drill it? Abso-
lutely, yes. That is going to come, too,
and that is going to give a whole new
lease of life to wellbore positioning.
“This is where the industry is
headed: we need a bigger information
highway downhole. MWD continues
to advance to some fairly astounding
data rates from what we had even 5
years ago. And the advent of wired
drillpipe potentially opens that infor-
mation highway further. Potentially,
the two coupled together make that
information highway very big.”
Many technologies hold huge
promise as potential milestone
achievements.
Advanced Drilling Software.
“We are going to see drilling software
that can intelligently handle, orga-
nize, distill, and integrate terabytes
of subsurface and drilling data to
add real value to our business,” Ma-
son says. “We are also going to see
geological data from offset wells and
analog fields that are presented in
the doghouse telling the driller when
losses and kicks, washouts, and low
ROP are to be expected. We will also
see mud loggers’ and LWD data that
are presented to the subsurface team
to tell them where their reservoir
models should be improved.”
Environmentally Driven Tech-
nologies. Thaemlitz of Halliburton
believes this is a certainty. “Every
year the industry is becoming more
aware of the increasing demand for
technology that advances the drilling
function yet does not harm the envi-
ronment. Therefore, we are going to
have to take today’s environmentally
friendly drilling fluids and make them
even more environmentally friendly.
That is what the world is going to de-
mand in exchange for the ability to
drill for oil and gas.”
Monobore Wells. Today, ex-
pandable tubulars are providing
the foundation for the development
of the future technology that over-
comes the remaining barriers to
deepwater and ultradeepwater de-
velopment. That technology is the
monobore and near-monobore well.
Some experts believe the industry is
close to the monodiameter well and
that a well consisting of a single
casing diameter from the surface
tree to total depth could have enor-
LEGENDS OF DRILLING
mous savings in steel while produc- biggest change in the industry will
ing less cuttings. be the way we use our manpower.”
Casing and Liner Drilling. Drill- Drilling achievements have al-
ing with casing has traditionally been ways been dependent on drivers to
seen as a means to combine the cas- make them a reality. Business strategy,
ing and drilling in one operation, thus risk, safety, and environmental protec-
saving on tripping time. But the appli- tion are among the important drivers.
cation range has extended to combat However, all drilling achievements
problems caused by depleted sands ultimately depend on the two most
and tight pore pressure gradients as important drivers of all: operator ne-
well as to minimize unscheduled drill- cessity and oilfield economics.
ing events (Davies et al. 2006).
In the future, experts see current
casing- and liner-drilling efforts evolv-
ing to provide the ability to drill from
casing point to casing point with full
References
formation evaluation capability using
1. Cheatham, J.B. Jr. 1983.
LWD. Combining expandable tubu-
Drilling Technology: Present
lars technology and managed pressure
Trends and Future Prospects.
drilling with casing and liner drilling
SPE Paper 12358 presented
is also viewed as a future application
at the Production Technology
for this technology.
Symposium, Lubbock, Texas,
Two of the biggest challenges in
14–15 November.
the future appear to be access to re-
2. US Department of Energy.
sources and the availability of techni-
Diamond Cutter Drill Bits.
cal talent, both areas where technol-
Success Stories, 1, www.nrel.gov/
ogy holds promise.
docs/fy00osti/23692.pdf.
“There is very little easy oil and
3. Allen, F., Tooms, P., Conran, G.,
gas left,” says Williams. “There is a
Lesso, B., and Van de Slijke, P.
top end, the industry-leading tech-
1997. Extended Reach Drilling:
nology, that is dragging along a whole
Breaking the 10-km Barrier.
traditional market. For instance, if
Oilfield Review, winter, 32,
you look at US land, there are roughly
Schlumberger.
1,800 rigs drilling wells. The majority
4. Wassermann, I., Hahn, D.,
of them still are drilling vertical wells
Reckmann, H., Nguyen, D.H.,
today. But the switch from vertical to
and Macpherson, J. 2008.
deviated to horizontal is happening
Mud-pulse Telemetry Sees
at an amazing pace now, on land in
Step-change Improvement with
a lower-technology market—a more
Oscillating Shear Valves. Oil &
cost-sensitive market. One of the sur-
Gas J., ( June 23).
prising things is rotary steerables—we
5. Jellison, M.J., Reeves, M.,
are running them on US land, in west-
Urbanowski, R., and Sporker,
ern China, and in the middle of Siberia.
H. 2004. Intelligent Drill Pipe
You would never have put money on
Improves Drilling Efficiency,
that 5 years ago. The whole industry is
Enhances Well Safety and
moving forward.”
Provides Added Value. Paper
Another big change may have as
presented at the IADC World
much to do with personnel as technol-
Drilling Conference, Dubrovnik,
ogy. “I don’t think the industry ever
Croatia, 1–2 July, 1.
will fill the talent gap so we have to
6. Thorogood, J. 2007. Drilling in
use our people more smartly. We are 2032—Back to the Future. JPT,
in the infancy of taking people off 59 (10): 108.
rigs and putting them in remote lo- 7. Davies, M., Clark, L., McClain,
cations where the same people can E., and Thomas, J. 2006.
manage more than one rig to make A Staged Approach to the
better use of our people. We are Introduction of Casing and Liner
looking at what we can automate, Drilling. Paper 17845 presented
although I don’t like the term auto- at the Offshore Technology
mated systems, but semismart sys- Conference, Houston, Texas,
tems. In the next 5 to 10 years, the 1–4 May, 1. JPT
55
 Total Value Drilling: Right People,
Right Process, Right Technology
17–19 March 2009
SPE/IADC RAI Congress Centre
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
www.spe.org/dc

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