SPE 81130

A Look at Batch Drilling in Trinidad and Tobago

Craig Boodoo, SPE, Denison Dwarkah, SPE, Jerome Rajnauth, SPE
Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries

Copyright 2003, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

and new ways are being sought to recover remaining reserves
This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum in an economic manner.
Engineering Conference held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, West Indies, 27–30 April 2003.
These two projects were chosen as they were drilled using
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of
information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
the same Drilling Rig and thus economics could easily be
presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to compared.
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any
position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at
SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of
Petroleum Engineers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper
It must be noted that at least one follow-up paper can be
for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is expected to further look at Batch drilling on the East and
prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300
words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous North coasts of Trinidad.
acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O.
Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836 U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435.

Project A
Abstract
Project A proposed three wells to be drilled of a cluster
Over the last decade, batch drilling has become increasingly platform. The primary objective of these development wells
prevalent in the petroleum industry as large and small was the prolific Cruse sands. Expected net oil sand was 200 ft
investors alike seek to increase their profit margin. The with estimated recoverable reserves of 280 MSTB per well.
perception of many of these oil companies was to drill and
complete wells in batches with the hope of significant For this project the top 17-1/2” hole section was to be
reduction in developmental cost for the field. That is, similar batch drilled and cased with 13-3/8” casing. There were three
hole sections of different wells were drilled one after the other, main reasons for this:
the thinking being that efficiency and profits would be 1. A previous well in this area encountered a steeply
greatly increased. dipping, abnormally pressured water sand around
900 ft SS. Complications due to this water sand
One would therefore ask the question: Could batch drilling resulted in a poor cement job which led to an
be used to develop marginal amounts of petroleum reserves underground subsea breakout approximately
anywhere in the world? fifteen feet from the conductor. This well bore
was eventually abandoned. Hence batch drilling
With respect to the experiences in Trinidad and Tobago, was proposed as a means of ensuring that this
we have seen from several batch drilling projects that this type water sand was safely drilled and cased before
of drilling exercise may not be economical because of the drilling any of the wells to total depth.
geological makeup of our reservoirs. 2. Improved operational efficiency.
3. Cost savings in excess of US $500,000.00
This paper looks at the experiences of two such batch-
drilling projects in Trinidad and Tobago and explores the cost It should be noted that these wells in this area typically
effectiveness of such drilling, in our very complex and cost between 2.5 and 3 million dollars to drill and complete.
uncertain geology.
The 17-1/2” hole section is typically around 1200 ft with
an associated cost of around US$800,000.00 over a period of
Introduction six to seven days. The rig cost per day is of the order of
US$50,000.00
Batch drilling was recently done in two fields on the West
Coast (Gulf of Paria) of Trinidad.
These fields were prolific producers in the 1970’s with one Well A1
platform being among the largest in the world at the time of its This well was drilled to a total depth of 5973 ft measured
commissioning. Needless to say these fields are now mature depth (5510ft TVD). Total drilling time was fifteen days at a
cost of US $ 1,079,000.00.
2 SPE 83110

The 17-1/2” hole section was drilled in 2.5 days. Landing Project A Summary
and cementing the 13-3/8” casing at 1017 ft took another day. The batch drilling aspect of this project over the top hole
Total cost of setting casing was US$350,000.00 in 3.5 days. sections resulted in savings of the order of over US $ 500,000
The primary Cruse objective was poorly developed and the as was expected. It should be noted that the cost of setting the
well was plugged back and completed in a secondary 13-3/8” casing in A3 (last well to be spudded) was
objective. US$100,000.00 less than that for the first well A1. Thus
operational efficiency had in fact improved as a result of the
Table 1 – Well A1 Summary batch drilling.
Predicted Actual However, it is clear that Project A was unsuccessful. The
13-3/8” csg 1000 ft 1017 ft reason being that the primary objective was never found to be
Days 6.5 days 3.5 days as developed as predicted. Also the secondary objectives were
Cost US$800,000 US$350,000 not sufficient to payback for the wells.
Hence Project A resulted in two wells being drilled to
Savings due to batch drilling US$450 000 + 3 days @
around 6000 ft and then being plugged back to secondary
US$50,000 per day = US$600,000.00
objectives around 3000 ft. The third well is currently
suspended with 13-3/8” casing to a depth of around 1000 ft.
Well A2 It is safe to say that if these wells had not been batch
This well was spudded three days after A1. The 17-1/2” drilled then at most two and probably only one well would
hole was drilled to a depth of 1015 ft and cased with 13-3/8”
have been drilled from this location. If only one well had been
casing. Total cost was US300, 000.00. drilled then the cost would have been around two million
Table 2 – Well A2 Summary
dollars as opposed to the five million eventually spent.
Predicted Actual So, the bottom line is, Trinidad has once again proven to
be the graveyard of the geologist!
13-3/8” csg 1000 ft 1015 ft
Drill days 6 days 3 days
Cost US$800,000 US$300 000
This well bore is currently suspended.

Well A3
This was the last well to be spudded and hence the first to
be drilled to its proposed total depth.
A3 was a straight hole drilled to a depth of 5554 ft
measured depth (5551 ft TVD).
The 17-1/2” hole section was drilled and cased in 2.5 days
at a cost of US$250,000.00 dollars.
The Primary Cruse objective was encountered poorly
developed and the well plugged back to the secondary Forest
objectives. A Drillstem test was done in the Forest sands with
a maximum pressure build-up of less than 400 psi. The well is
currently suspended pending further evaluation.

Table 3 – Well A3 Summary

Predicted Actual
13-3/8” csg 1000 ft 1020 ft
Drill days 5.5 days 2.5 days
Cost US$800,000 US$250,000
Savings due to batch drilling US$550 000 + 3 days @
US$50,000 per day = US$700,000.00
SPE 83110 3

Project B Project B Summary

The Batch drilling of the top-hole sections accounted for a
This involved the drilling of two follow-up wells. The primary US$350,000.00 cost reduction in Well B2.
objective here was the Nariva reservoirs. Expected net oil sand However, as shown in Table 1 and Figure 4 below, the B1
was 100 ft with estimated recoverable reserves of 250Mstb per well was clearly drilled into a different fault block. It is
well. The drive mechanism for these sands is solution important to note that the Stringer sands and the Nariva
gas drive. Blanket sand penetrated in B1 were mostly gas bearing. This
implies that they were depleted to pressures below the bubble
These wells were interpreted to be in the same fault block point, as the primary drive mechanism in this area is solution
as the previously drilled well which encountered 130 ft net oil gas drive.
sand and which was flowing at over 250 bopd. All indications We can therefore postulate that the two wells were
were that the area was normally pressured and that drilling separated by a sealing fault, F1, which would account for the
would proceed with few problems. formations encountered in B1 being thrown updip of those
encountered in the B2 as well as for the pressure differences in
The wells were drilled off a three well cluster platform in the similar sands.
water depth of 70 ft. Once again the major stumbling block for this project was
the uncertain geology encountered.
Well B1
This well was drilled to the 13-3/8” casing point in four Table 4 – Depths at which marker horizons penetrated
days. The 13-3/8” casing shoe was successfully cemented at Marker Horizons B1 /SS feet B2 /SS feet
1338 ft at a cost of US $600,000.00. The Rig was then skidded Top Nariva (S1) 1080 1103
over to spud and drill Well B2. Top Stringer Sands (S2) 2003 2369
Top Nariva Blanket (S3) 2227 2434
After successfully drilling B2 to a total depth of 4218 ft. Top Marine sand (S4) 2611
The rig was skidded back to complete the drilling of B1.

A FIT (formation integrity test) was done at the 13-3/8” Figure 1 – Illustration showing Well paths in Project B
shoe to an EMW (equivalent mud weight) of 16.7 ppg.
Drilling commenced and proceeded without problems until a
WellB2 Well B1
drill break at 3361 ft to 3365 ft. Said drill break was
accompanied by a total loss of circulation. At this point a 15.0
ppg mud was being used (15.5 ppg ECD). The estimated pore
pressure was 13.9 ppg.
Fault F1
A total of eight days was spent in getting to 3365 ft and the
total cost before well control procedures was US$ 760,000.00. S1
S1

Well B2
After the 13-3/8” casing was cemented on Well B1. The S2
Rig was skidded over to Well B2. B2 was successfully drilled
to a TD of 4218 ft measured depth (3031 ft TVD).
S3
The 13-3/8” shoe was cemented at 1492 ft in three days at
a cost of US$ 322,000.00. S2

B2 was drilled in ten days at a total cost of S3

US$950,000.00. A Potassium Chloride/Low pH polymer type
mud was used to combat reactive shales. Apart from minor gas
cuttings this well was drilled and completed without major
problems.
S4
This well was completed in the Primary Nariva objective
(56ft net oil sand) and had a sustained initial production of
over 500 bopd with 2 % water cut.
4 SPE 83110

Conclusion
The batch drilling on Project A would have yielded savings of
the order of US$500,000.00 per well had the objective sands
been penetrated as predicted. Similarly batch drilling on
Project B would have yielded savings of the order of
US$350,000.00 per well.

It is clear that especially in mature and/or marginal fields

where the cost of drilling and completing a well might be less
than two million dollars per well, these savings would
be substantial.

However, a closer look at Project A indicates that around

three million dollars was spent unnecessarily, as if only one
well had been drilled to test for the Cruse Sands, it would have
been clear that the sands were not well developed in this area
and that no further wells were needed. Also looking at Project
B, the B1 well would have been placed into the same fault
block as the B2 well, had the geology been accurately known.

The bottom line from this case study on the Gulf-of-Paria

Coast of Trinidad would be that batch drilling could be used to
substantially decrease the cost of extracting remaining,
marginal reserves, but only if the geological interpretation
is accurate.

Recommendations
Batch Drilling in our complex geology could be beneficial in
terms of time and cost if the following are put in place.

Proper Planning
All relevant personnel must come together early in the
project to perform sufficient planning for the drilling
operations. These include drilling and operations personnel,
geologists, geophysicists, reservoir engineers, petroleum
engineers and contractor personnel.

Appropriate Technology
Application of appropriate technology is mandatory in
making batch drilling efficient in Trinidad and Tobago. These
include looking at mud types, bits and all downhole jewelry.

Proper Drilling Practices

It cannot be emphasized more the need to adhere to proper
drilling practices and not try short cuts. Communication
between all parties involved in the drilling process is key in
getting the job done quickly but safely.

Efficient logistic Operation

This is also key to a successful batch drilling program.

Effective Supervision
Key personnel must at all times ensure that the operations
be fully supervised.

In short, quick response to problems and quick

implementation of desired changes, cooperation,
communication and teamwork are essential in improving
overall performance in batch drilling operations.