Lecture - 6 - Highly Deviated & Horizontal Drilling

Drilling Engineering II
Highly Deviated & Horizontal

Drilling
Dr. Samir Khaled

14. Horizontal Drilling PETE 661 - Drilling Engineering Slide 1 of 36
Read ADE Ch.8
Directional Drilling - Inglis
(Reference)
Dr. Samir Khaled
Slide 2
14. Horizontal Drilling PETE 661 - Drilling Engineering
HIGHLY DEVIATED WELLS
• Highly deviated wells may be described

as those wells whose inclination > 60°.
Dr. Samir Khaled

Advantage Highly Deviated Wells
• Taking KOP = 2000 ft, build up rate

= 2°/100 ft, target TVD = 10,000 ft
and inclination = 60°, the horizontal
reach is 10,992 ft, corresponding to
a drainage area of 13.6 square
miles.
• By increasing the inclination to 80°,

a similar well would achieve a
horizontal displacement of 31,737
ft, corresponding to a drainage area
of 113.5 square miles.
Increasing the inclination by 20°, therefore,
• . allows the horizontal reach to increase by a
factor of almost 3, and the drainage area to
increase by a factor of more than 8
Dr. Samir Khaled

• These longer reach wells can reduce the number of
platforms required to exploit the reserves in offshore
areas
Dr. Samir Khaled

Benefit Of Drilling Highly Deviated Wells
• Another potential benefit of

drilling highly deviated wells is
the increased length of the
completion zone through the
reservoir.
• Assuming the formation is

horizontal, an 80° wellbore has
almost three times the
• penetration through the
reservoir than that of a wellbore
at 60°
Dr. Samir Khaled

Horizontal Drilling
Types of Horizontal Wells

Why Drill Horizontal Wells?
Relative Production Rates
Relative Costs
Drilling Problems & Solutions
How Popular is Horizontal Drilling?
Examples
Dr. Samir Khaled
Introduction
➢ horizontal well is defined as a well with an
inclination angle of 90 degrees from the vertical.
Dr. Samir Khaled

TYPES OF HORIZONTAL WELLS
There are three types of horizontal wells:
• 1. Short radius
• 2. Medium radius;
• 3. Long radius
Dr. Samir Khaled

Short-Radius Wells
Build Rate: ~ 1 - 3 degrees/ft
Build Radius: ~ 20 - 40 ft
Length of Horiz. Section: 200 - 1,000 ft
10
MEDIUM RADIUS WELLS (MRW)
• The build-up rate for this type is usually 8-30
degrees/100ft with a radius range of 200 to 700 ft.
The horizontal drain is usually between 1000 –
3500 ft,
• A typical well profile consists of build-tangent
section and a build-horizontal section.
• Two different BHA’s will therefore be required for
this type of well.
• The second build-up section should ideally start at
the top of the "marker zone" and should reach a
maximum of 85-100 degrees on entry into the
reservoir.
• An angle hold assembly should be used to drill the
horizontal section.
Dr. Samir Khaled

Medium - Radius Wells
Build Rate: ~ 8 - 20 degrees/100 ft

(up to 40 deg/100 ft in some
cases)
Build Radius: ~ 300 - 700 ft
Length of Horiz. Section: 1,000-6,000 ft
12
Long - Radius Wells
• Used for achieving large horizontal

displacements from platforms or
drilling pads
• Used for achieving very long
horizontal sections (to 6,000 ft +)
Build Rate: ~ 2-6 degrees/100 ft

Build Radius: ~ 1,000-3,000 ft
Length of Horiz. Section:1,000 - 8,000 ft
13
Increase Reserves
Increase Production Rates
Control Water & Gas Production
Dr. Samir Khaled

Control Sand Production
Produce From Thin Reservoirs
Connect Vertical Fractures
Increase Injectivity
- (steam, water, polymers, etc.)
Dr. Samir Khaled

Production Rates
Oryx - Austin Chalk
Vertical Horizontal Horizontal/Vertical

Well Well Production Ratio
B/D B/D
12 507 42
15 215 14
5 107 21
Dr. Samir Khaled
Production Rates
Vertical Well Drilling Cost: 235 $/ft

Horizontal Well Drilling Cost: 520-282 $/ft
Cost Ratio: 2.2-1.2
Dr. Samir Khaled

Dr. Samir Khaled
Dr. Samir Khaled
When a vertical well is drilled through a relatively thin pay zone overlying
an aquifer, there is a tendency for the water to be drawn up into the
perforated interval if the vertical permeability is high.
• This is known as water

coning, and leads to an increased water cut in the producing wells.

Dr. Samir Khaled

Control Sand Production
Dr. Samir Khaled

Produce From Thin Reservoirs
Dr. Samir Khaled

Connect Vertical Fractures
Dr. Samir Khaled

Increase Injectivity
Large deposits of highly viscous oil

occur in many parts of the world.
Since these reservoirs cannot be
exploited by conventional means,
special techniques
have had to be applied, such as the
injection of steam or polymers to
improve the mobility of the oil
Dr. Samir Khaled

Vertical Injection Wells and
Horizontal Production Well
Dr. Samir Khaled

Horizontal Well Profile
Two profiles are in common use:
• A single build-up section
• A build-tangent and then a higher build-lateral section.
Dr. Samir Khaled

SINGLE CURVE DESIGN
DESIGN EQUATIONS
V1 = R.(SinI 2 − SinI1)
H1 = R.(CosI1 −CosI 2)
where
R = radius of curvature, ft
BUR = build-up rate, deg/100 ft
V1 = vertical height of build up section, ft
If the build up rate is too high the well path will be
H1 = horizontal displacement of build section, ft above the reservoir and the well will require
L1 = length of build-up section, ft redrilling. Similarly,
I1 = initial inclination angle, deg if the build-up rate is too low, the well path will
I2 = final inclination angle, deg be below the reservoir and the drilling objectives
will not be met.
Dr. Samir Khaled

DOUBLE BUILD CURVE DESIGN
The above problems can be solved by having a tangent
section below the initial build up curve and then build up to
the required angle when reaching a reservoir marker,
In some cases the final angle is actually built up inside the
reservoir.
Tangent section
V 2 = L2.CosI2
H2 = L2.SinI 2
V3 = R3.(SinI3− SinI 2)
H3 = R3.(CosI 2 −CosI3) where

I3 = final build up angle, usually 90 degrees
R3 = radius of second build-up section, ft
V3 = vertical height of second build-up section, ft
Dr. Samir Khaled

Example for Design a horizontal Well
Design a horizontal well with two build up sections and a tangent
section to land at the target at 90 degrees given:
BUR first section = 5.5 deg
BUR second section = 10 deg
Target = 10000 ft TVD
Tangent angle = 50 deg
Tangent length = 500 ft
Calculate
1. First and second KOP depths
2. Total horizontal displacement
3. Measured depth at point of entry to reservoir (at target)
Dr. Samir Khaled

First Build Up Section

R1= 5730 / 5.5 = 1042 ft
V1 =R1 (sinI2- sinI1) = 1042 (sin50- sin0) = 787ft

H1 = R1 (cosI1-cosI2) = 1027 (cos0-cos50) =372 ft
L1 = 100 (I2-I1) /BUR = 100 (50-0)/5.5 = 909 ft
Tangent Section
L2= 500 ft given
V2= L2 cos2 = 500 cos 50 = 321 ft
H2 = L2 sinI2 =500 sin50 = 383 ft
Dr. Samir Khaled

Second Build up section

R3 = 5730 /10 =573 ft
V3 =R3 (sinI3-sinI2) = 573 (sin90-sin50) = 134 ft
H3 = R3 (cosI2-cosI3) = 573 (cos50-cos90) =368 ft
L3= 100(I3-I2)/BUR1 = 100 (90-50)/10 = 400 ft
Kick Off Point
First KOP = 10000 –V1-V2-V3
= 10000-798-321-134 = 8747 ft
Second KOP = KOP1 +V1+V2
= 8747 + 798 +321 = 9866 ft

•
Dr. Samir Khaled

Total Displacement
H = H1+H2+H3 = 372+ 383+ 368 = 1123 ft
Total Measured Depth
At end of first build up = Depth of first KOP + L1
= 8747 + 909 = 9656 ft
At end of tangent = 9656 + L2

= 9656 + 500 = 10156 ft
At target (end of second build-up)

= 10156+ L3 = 10156 + 400 = 10556 ft
Dr. Samir Khaled

Extended Reach Wells
Extended Reach Wells (ERW) are defined as wells where the
ratio of measured depth (MD) to true vertical depth (TVD) is
greater than two.
Hence, if the reservoir is at 10,000 ft TVD, the MD is 20,000 ft.
A well drilled by BP AMOCO had

a ratio of MD/TVD approaching 8
Dr. Samir Khaled


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Drilling Engineering II

Highly Deviated & Horizontal

Dr. Samir Khaled

Dr. Samir Khaled

• Highly deviated wells may be described

Dr. Samir Khaled

• Taking KOP = 2000 ft, build up rate

• By increasing the inclination to 80°,

Dr. Samir Khaled

Dr. Samir Khaled

• Another potential benefit of

• Assuming the formation is

Dr. Samir Khaled

Types of Horizontal Wells

Dr. Samir Khaled

Dr. Samir Khaled

Length of Horiz. Section: 200 - 1,000 ft

Dr. Samir Khaled

Build Rate: ~ 8 - 20 degrees/100 ft

Build Radius: ~ 300 - 700 ft

Length of Horiz. Section: 1,000-6,000 ft

• Used for achieving large horizontal

Build Rate: ~ 2-6 degrees/100 ft

Increase Production Rates

Control Water & Gas Production

Dr. Samir Khaled

Control Sand Production

Produce From Thin Reservoirs

Connect Vertical Fractures

Dr. Samir Khaled

Vertical Horizontal Horizontal/Vertical

Vertical Well Drilling Cost: 235 $/ft

Dr. Samir Khaled

• This is known as water

14. Horizontal Drilling PETE 661 - Drilling Engineering

Dr. Samir Khaled

Dr. Samir Khaled

Dr. Samir Khaled

Dr. Samir Khaled

Large deposits of highly viscous oil

Dr. Samir Khaled

Dr. Samir Khaled

Two profiles are in common use:

• A single build-up section

• A build-tangent and then a higher build-lateral section.

Dr. Samir Khaled

Dr. Samir Khaled

H3 = R3.(CosI 2 −CosI3) where

Dr. Samir Khaled

Dr. Samir Khaled

First Build Up Section

V1 =R1 (sinI2- sinI1) = 1042 (sin50- sin0) = 787ft

Dr. Samir Khaled

Second Build up section

Second KOP = KOP1 +V1+V2

= 8747 + 798 +321 = 9866 ft

Dr. Samir Khaled

= 8747 + 909 = 9656 ft

At end of tangent = 9656 + L2

At target (end of second build-up)

Dr. Samir Khaled

A well drilled by BP AMOCO had

Dr. Samir Khaled