Drillers Assembly Offset (DAO)

SUBJECT: HOW TO MEASURE DAO (DRILLERS ASSEMBLY OFFSET)

PRODUCT: FIXED COLLAR MOUNTED MWD TOOLS

DATE: 6/15/2016

TOPIC
DAO, or Drillers Assembly Offset, is a calculated angle measurement used by the MWD
surface system to correct for the offset between the scribe line on the bent sub housing of a
mud motor and a fixed key (highside) on a Fixed MWD Collar Assembly.

The DAO is used when the bent sub scribe line does not line up with the MWD scribe line. If
the muleshoe cannot be oriented, or if the MWD tool is made up in the sub/collar, the DAO is
applied in the software to adjust for the difference between the two scribe lines.

If using a UBHO that allows you to change the orientation of the muleshoe, the muleshoe
can be rotated so that the MWD high side will line up with the bent sub scribe line. In this case,
the DAO is 0.

OVERVIEW
Measuring your DAO is a simple process. However, it’s crucial to make sure your
measurements are correct. Failing to calculate the correct DAO can lead to steering the well in
the wrong direction, side-tracking, wellbore collision or even well abandonment. The DAO is
only used when running fixed, collar mounted MWD assemblies.

Knowing how the DAO is applied in your system is critical. For the Tolteq Guide software,
the DAO is measured from the bent sub scribe line to the MWD tool high side. The DAO will be
subtracted from the tool face angle that is pulsed up by the tool. The tool face value displayed
on the compass rose is the corrected value.

Important Note. In 2014, the first revision of this Drillers Assembly Office calculation was
released, but it contained an error. In that document, the DAO was shown to be measured from
the MWD tool high side to the DD scribe line.

1205 BMC Drive Cedar Park, Texas 78613 Tel: 512.331.4241 www.tolteq.com

Pg.1 Authored by: Christian Nelson

Drillers Assembly Offset (DAO)

INSTRUCTIONS
MWD Scribe line

Circumference
Arc

Looking downhole
DD Scribe Line

𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨
𝑫𝑫𝑫𝑫𝑫𝑫 = ∙ 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑
𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪

Equation 1 Figure 1

Step 1: Scribe from the bent sub on the mud motor, up to the MWD collar. Mark your scribe
line.

Step 2: Have a tape measure in hand. Begin by measuring the Arc on the MWD collar. The Arc is
the distance from the DD scribe line to the MWD scribe line. This will always be measured
clockwise while looking down hole. (See Important Note above)

Step 3: Now measure the circumference of the MWD collar. It is important that both
measurements are in the same units, inches or centimeters.

Step 4: Enter these two measurements into Equation 1.

Step 5: Once the DD & MWD have calculated the DAO, it needs to be entered into the MWD
surface system. If you are using Tolteqs GUIDE MWD Surface System, you will enter the DAO in
the Toolface Offset Utility Screen. See page 3 for screenshots.

1205 BMC Drive Cedar Park, Texas 78613 Tel: 512.331.4241 www.tolteq.com

Pg.2 Authored by: Christian Nelson

Drillers Assembly Offset (DAO)

From the top left corner of the screen you will click on Options > Angle Offset

Enter the DAO in the box and click the Apply button. The DAO value will be pushed to the rig
floor display and it will be visible in the top left corner of the compass rose.

1205 BMC Drive Cedar Park, Texas 78613 Tel: 512.331.4241 www.tolteq.com

Pg.3 Authored by: Christian Nelson