SPE-202431-MS

RSS and Motor Directional Analysis: Modelling the Effect of Local Doglegs
on RIH of Completions and Casing

Benjamin Nobbs, Stephane Menand, and Ngoc-Ha Dao, DrillScan

Copyright 2020, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition originally scheduled to be held in Perth, Australia, 20 - 22
October 2020. Due to COVID-19 the physical event was postponed until 17 - 19 November 2020 and was changed to a virtual event. The official proceedings were
published online on 12 November 2020.

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 have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect
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Abstract
Rotary steerable systems (RSS) and steerable motors pose their own unique challenges when modelling the
bottomhole assembly (BHA) directional behavior. This paper aims to present a methodology that allows the
anticipation of problems such as mechanically stuck pipe or lock up situations when running in hole casing
or completion strings.The methodology consists of 3 tasks: evaluation of intermediate doglegs and wellbore
tortuosity using a unique Rock-Bit-BHA analysis, modelling of the casing deformation including potential
centralization and then modelling the run in hole (RIH) of the completion. The directional capabilities of
a BHA are affected significantly by the selection of the drilling bit, type of directional drilling driving
system and the type of formation. The resulting trajectory can be either very smooth or very tortuous with
significant additional local doglegs. The deformation of the casing as well as the completion post buckling
analysis is completed using a robust and field validated 3D stiff string Torque & Drag & Buckling model.
This methodology can be applied before, during or after the well has been drilling. Used before or during
the well construction process, an indication can be given as to whether the casing or completion can reach
total depth (TD) using planned or actual data. Used after a lockup or stuck pipe incident, the methodology
can give an indication if tortuosity was a contributing factor. Various field cases are presented and clearly
show the benefit of the methodology including post-analysis of stuck standalone-screen (SAS) completion
string in complex 3D drain and pre-analysis of completion run in hole (RIH) targeting a specific drain.
Correctly evaluating the risk of BHA, casing and/or completion strings getting stuck or locked-up when
RIH can ultimately provide a template for ultimate reduction of non-productive time (NPT).

Introduction
From the early days of directional drilling, it was discovered that it is important to have a properly defined
trajectory. This trajectory is a collation of survey stations, measurements of local inclination and azimuth
as well as measured depth usually referenced to the rotary table. These survey stations were in the past
measured using single shot surveys, providing a rough estimate of position. Contrast this to today where
we have continuous gyros, the well path position is much better defined with less uncertainty.
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Today when drilling a well, it is standard to have a measurement while drilling (MWD) with resulting
survey spacing's of 30m (100ft). These surveys are normally taken while the drill string is stationary, every
stand of drill pipe and form the base of wellbore positioning. It is assumed that between these survey stations
we have a smooth well path based on Minimum Curvature, however this is rarely the case. It is possible to
have a better understanding of the actual path between survey stations with a dedicated gyro run, costing
additional time and money or by using a continuous inclination and azimuth with a corresponding increase
in cost.
This paper describes how "local doglegs" between these standard surveys can be modelled without the
need of dedicated gyro/using of continuous inclination and azimuth, saving time and money. Additionally
the effect of these local doglegs is discussed in relation to running casings and completions.

Local Doglegs and Downhole Equipment

A downhole assembly consists of a drill bit, directional driving system, stabilisers, drill collars and drillpipe.
It is difficult to determine the directional capabilities of a down hole assembly when looking at each of
equipment in isolation; it is the coupling of each individual equipment as well as the operational parameters
and wellbore state that defines the overall directional behaviour.
Nowadays it is most common to use a polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit while drilling. For
directional analysis, the most important property of a PDC bit is steerability. Menand et al (2002) has shown
that a PDC bit's steerability is a function of its cutting structure with the greatest effect being its passive
gauge. A PDC bit with a long passive gauge has a low steerability while a PDC bit with a short passive
gauge has a high steerability. A PDC bit with a low steerability isn't necessarily inefficient: The bit will
drill in the direction the bit is pointing, i.e. when coupled with a BHA it will drill in the direction of bit
tilt. A bit with a short passive gauge will drill in the direction of lateral side load and is most commonly
used with Push-the-bit RSS.
In general a BHA can be classified into the following categories, based on the directional driving system
used: rotary, motor/turbine, RSS push, RSS point. A pure rotary BHA has no ability to change its directional
behaviour during the run. Its directional capabilities are defined by stabiliser position and outer diameter and
although there is no ability to directly control the directional behaviour, this type of BHA may be sensitive to
weight on bit (WOB), mud weight (MW), formation changes (Unconfined Compressive Strength, UCS) and
inclination.With proper design, it is possible to design a rotary BHA that is insensitive to these parameters.
A motor/turbine can both operate with or without a bent housing. A bent housing imposes a small angle
offset from the axis of the drillstring and two distinct modes of directional behaviour occur: sliding and
rotating. While sliding, no surface rotation occurs however mud flow causes the downhole stator of the
motor to rotate, rotating the drill bit. This mode allows orientation of the directional assembly at a specified
toolface orientation (TFO). In rotary mode, the overall revolutions per minute (RPM) is the combined
surface RPM and downhole bit RPM. Due to the increased RPM, Rotary mode is prioritised over sliding
mode, ideally 30% sliding and 70% rotating. As there is combination of two distinct drilling modes, the
actual tortuosity may be quite different than compared with standard survey spacing as shown in Figure 1.
SPE-202431-MS 3

Figure 1—Micro and macro tortuosity between survey stations

A slight overgauge will be present when operating in rotating mode due to the bent sub. Much like a
rotary BHA, a motor may be sensitive to operational parameters such as WOB, MW, formation changes
(UCS) and inclination. The type of PDC bit recommended is one with a long passive gauge as it is required
to drill in the direction of bit tilt.
An RSS can be modelled in two distinctive modes: Point-The-Bit and Push-The-Bit. A Point-The-Bit
system operates in much the same way as a down hole motor by varying the tilt at bit as per Figure 2. A
push the bit system operates by applying a side force at pads that pushes against the wellbore. Both types
of RSS allow continuous rotation of the drillstring and therefore reduce the risk of differential sticking and
ultimately stuck pipe. A point the bit system may operate with or without proportional steering. In the case
of operating without proportional steering, the RSS operates in the same way as a motor: a fixed TFO for
a certain period of time and then a period with random TFO. This has the effect of causing tortuosity on
par with steerable motor as a binary on/off steering and neutral phase is evident. In the case of proportional
steering, the tilt is variable and a much smoother, less tortuous wellbore can be achieved.

Figure 2—Schematic of Point-The-Bit RSS system

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A Push-the-bit RSS system can operate by either varying the magnitude of force or having a constant force
that is varied for a set period of time in the desired TFO as per Figure 3. Due to the method of activation by
using pads that hit against the side of the wellbore, the local doglegs that can be induced are slightly higher.

Figure 3—Schematic of Push-The-Bit RSS system

With proper optimisation of BHA equipment and bit selection, it is possible to reduce local dog legs
without compromising directional capabilities.

Reconstruction of local doglegs

With a full description of the bit and directional driving system, it is possible to predict the wellpath between
standard survey spacings. The prediction is based on the current operational parameters such as WOB, RPM,
mud weight, sliding/rotating phases or RSS activation level and UCS at the specified measured depth as
well as the BHA and bit characteristics. The methodology uses a step by step approach (Figure 4) whereby
the output of the simulation is additional points of inclination and azimuth. The advantage of this approach
is that tortuous wellbore can be modelled using standard survey spacings as well as readily available surface
data, neglecting the need to run a dedicated gyro run nor run continuous inclination and azimuth. The
reconstruction of local doglegs is especially important for the pre-planning phase of future wells and it can
be used to determine the required magnitude of micro tortuosity needed to be added to planned trajectories.
Additionally the reconstruction can be used on drilled wells to help troubleshoot mechanical problems that
occurred down hole such as stuck pipe or inability to RIH casing or completions to TD.
SPE-202431-MS 5

Figure 4—Step-by-step approach to determine drilled trajectory and estimate local dog legs.

Torque and drag analysis

When modelling expected hook load and torque on hook, it is standard practice to run a torque and drag
calculation. On the market today there are many different types of torque and drag analysis, from simple
such as soft-string and more complex such as stiff-string with contact management. A soft string model can
be run quickly and can give reasonable results as long as the string isn't expected to go into compression
and the dogleg severity (DLS) is less than 3deg/30m. The newest revolution in Torque and Drag model is
a stiff-string model with contact management. This type of torque and drag model has the unique ability to
model the post buckling behaviour of the deformed down hole assembly.
This torque and drag model is able to calculate the position of contact analytically, model variable radial
clearance, model tubular stiffness, use high frequency survey spacing and a single friction factor calibrates
both hookload and torque. It can be used to model drilling, RIH and pull out of hole (POOH), rotate off
bottom (ROB) as well as reaming operations and is equally applicable to drilling as well as RIH casing
and completions.When used for casing/liners, it is able to determine the deformed casing trajectory which
has been shown to potentially be more tortuous than the underlying drilled trajectory depending on the
centralisation program.

Case Study
The case study involved a complex deep water well (Figure 5) where the SAS completion was stuck 175m
above the intended depth. The well had four drilling phases: 26 inch, 17 ½ inch, 12 ¼ inch and finally 8
inch and we will be focusing on the 12 ¼" openhole (OH), 9 5/8" casing as well as the 8 ½ inch OH (Figure
6). While drilling the 12 1/4" and 8 ½" OH, no abnormal hookload and torque on hook were measured and
therefore there was no direct indication that tortuosity was excessive.
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Figure 5—Complex 3D well trajectory.

Figure 6—Well architecture and OH depths of complex deep water well.

The 12 ¼ inch OH was drilled with a Point-the-bit RSS with a fixed internal bent. This type of RSS has
a neutral mode of random TFO, no proportional steering and therefore prone to local dogleg effects. The
coupled RSS and bit has the following directional capabilities depending on the inclination as in Figure 7.
The black and red line represents TFO UP (0deg), TFO DOWN (180deg), TFO LEFT (270deg) and TFO
RIGHT (90deg) and the intersection of this line with the ellipses represent the corresponding build up rate
(BUR) and turn rate (TR) at that inclination. At lower inclinations the BHA has a greater turn rate than
higher inclinations. The neutral mode of the BHA is essentially hold with a slight left turn. Along the run,
SPE-202431-MS 7

the WOB and over gauge has varied and this in addition to other operational parameters measured on surface
allowed the calculation of the local doglegs when applied to measured depths between the standard surveys.

Figure 7—Pilotability of Point-The-Bit RSS at varying inclinations

When reconstructing the 12 ¼" hole, a higher resolution survey sampling was created and peaks of up to
7deg/30m were uncovered around 3400m MD/RT. These peaks will have a direct influence on the ability
to run in hole any future downhole assembly.
The 8 ½ inch OH was initially drilled with a Point-the-bit RSS however it was finally not able to pass
after which, a motor BHA with a 1.5 degree bent sub was used. The directional objective of this interval was
to hold at 90degree inclination which proved to be quite difficult. Using the same methodology as above,
we are able to obtain the following pilotability graph as in Figure 8.
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Figure 8—Pilotability of the motor BHA (1.5 deg bent sub).

The pilotability graph shows that in sliding mode, Tool face Up (TFO 0), the BHA has a tendency to
build at nearly 10 degree/30m. If we then study the sliding and rotating periods, the local doglegs that were
created were particularly extreme when compared to standard survey spacing (Figure 9).

Figure 9—Comparison of measured DLS based on standard survey spacing versus local dogleg DLS.

The torque and drag calculations can be broken up into two main objectives for this case study: finding
the cased hole trajectory and determine the reason for RIH completion lockup. The cased hole trajectory is
the trajectory that is produced after the casing has been run due to deformation of the casing. In this case,
as per Figure 10, it can be seen that the casing has an effect of creating more tortuosity along the trajectory,
corresponding to the centraliser program, which called for one centralizer per casing joint.
SPE-202431-MS 9

Figure 10—Evolution of Inclination versus measured depth for the deformed cased trajectory and
standard survey spacing. Green line represents casing string as well as position of centralisers.

The completion RIH focuses on the evolution of hook load, taking into account the new more tortuous
trajectory of the 12 ¼" OH, 9 5/8" Cased hole and 8 ½" OH.
The red curve in Figure 11 shows the hook load decrease steeply past approximately 4700m, with
numerous tight spots observed between 5300 and 5337m. At 5375m, depth at which the completion string
got stuck, the model predicts that the hook load is very close to the block weight (70 klbs) meaning that
a lock-up situation is imminent. The model enables the reproduction of the measured hook load with a
calibrated coefficient of friction of 0.22 in the cased hole and 0.35 in the open hole. The difference between
the standard trajectory and the more accurate estimated from the step-by-step approach is substantial. The
blue curve in Figure 11 shows the run in hole operation seems possible (hook load = 250 lbs.), but impossible
in the reconstructed trajectory.

Figure 11—Hookload of RIH completion with identical OH and CH friction factors

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Figure 12 shows that the level of compression while RIH the completion string was significant and
exceeded the helical buckling load. There is a significant difference in modeled tension profile between
the standard survey and the reconstructed trajectory. The blue curve, representing the standard survey,
suggests that running this completion at TD seems achievable, even though the helical buckling load is
slightly exceeded. However, the red curve, running the same simulation in the reconstructed trajectory, the
compression is significantly higher and exceeds the buckling critical load by a large margin.

Figure 12—Tension along the string for standard survey spacing (blue) and reconstructed survey (red)

Figure 13 represents a 3D view of the drill pipe above the completion, using identical calculation
parameters while using both standard and reconstructed trajectories. As can be confirmed from Figure 12,
The DP experience significant helical buckling at 2400m using the reconstructed trajectory however no
buckling was predicted to occur using standard survey spacing. Using the 3D visualization it is possible to
visually identify any tight spots that will be experienced by the completion or any other tubular.
SPE-202431-MS 11

Figure 13—3D view of the completion at (2400m) while completion shoe is at stuck point
(5375m), comparison of standard survey spacing (left) and reconstructed survey (right).

Conclusion
The root cause of the stuck SAS completion was found to be excessive tortuosity along the string, due to the
overall design of the BHA. Excessive tortuosity was highlighted by the advanced methodology as detailed
here, involving determination of the local dogleg of each drilled section, the cased hole trajectory and finally
running the completion. The standard survey spacing of 30m was found to have masked the undetected
local doglegs. A stiff string torque and drag and buckling comparison, with identical coefficients of friction
was performed between the reconstructed survey and the standard survey. This comparison showed that
even with a stiff-string model, with the standard survey points, the SC completion was thought to be able
to reach TD (Figure 11). Compression along the completion was significantly higher and enough to buckle
the completion in various places.

Nomenclature
BHA Bottom Hole Assembly
DLS Dog Leg Severity (deg/30m)
RIH Run In Hole
RSS Rotary Steerable System
SC Sand Completion
WOB Weight On Bit
SAS Stand Alone Screen
DD Directional Driller

Reference
1. Menand S., Sellami H., Tijani M., Stab O., Dupuis D. and Simon C. 2006. Advancement in 3D
Drillstring Mechanics: from the Bit to the Topdrive. Paper presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling
Conference, Miami, Florida, USA, 21-23 February. SPE-98965-MS. 10.2118/98965-MS.
2. Menand S., Sellami H., Simon C., Besson A. and Da Silva N. 2002. How the Bit Profile and
Gages Affect the Well Trajectory. Paper presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, Dallas,
Texas, Febr.26-28. SPE-74459-MS. 10.2118/74459-MS