Ton-miles Calculation

Wathik M. Alhashimi, P.Eng.

 What is Drilling Ton-Mile (TM)?
• Drilling Ton-Mile is the work of drilling line that is commonly measured as the cumulative of the load lifted in tons and the distance lifted or
lowered in miles. When the predetermined ton-mile limit is reached, drilling contractors will perform slip and cut drilling line to prevent drilling
line fatigue.
• When drilling line is spooled on and off a drawworks drum during operation as drilling a well, running casing, coring, etc.The drilling line get worn
out; therefore, drilling contractors must cut old section and replace with new section of drilling line at specific period based on ton mile
calculation.
• The most worn area is the end of drilling line where is constantly spooled over the draw works drum. A section of drilling line, typically around
100 ft, is cut then the drilling line is re-attached to the draw works drum and the amount cut off is spooled back on the drum. This operation is
called “slip and cut drilling line”.
• Note: Ton-mile is the important figure that must be recorded correctly. However, the most important is to visually inspect drilling line all time to
see if there is any worn out wire. If you see the worn out line, you need to cut the drilling line even though the drilling line does not reach ton-
mile limit yet.
• All types of ton-mile service should be calculated and recorded in order to obtain a true picture of the total service received from the rotary
drilling line. There are several types of ton miles as follows;
• 1. Round trip ton-miles
2. Drilling or “connection” ton-miles
3. Coring ton-miles
4. Ton-miles setting casing
5. Short-trip ton-miles
All types of ton-mile service should be calculated and recorded in order to obtain a true
picture of the total service received from the rotary drilling line.
There are several types of ton miles as follows;
1. Round trip ton-miles
2. Drilling or “connection” ton-miles
3. Coring ton-miles
4. Ton-miles setting casing
5. Short-trip ton-miles
 Round Trip Ton-Miles Calculation
• The formula for round trip ton-miles is listed below;

• RTTM = (Wp x D x (Lp + D) + (2 x D) x (2 x Wb + Wc)) ÷ (5280 x 2000)

• where
RTTM = Round Trip Ton-Miles
Wp = buoyed weight of drill pipe in lb/ft
D = hole measured depth in ft
Lp = Average length per stand of drill pipe in ft
Wb = weight of travelling block in lb
Wc = buoyed weight of BHA (drill collar + heavy weight drill pipe + BHA) in mud minus the buoyed weight of
the same length of drill pipe in lb
** If you have BHA (mud motor, MWD, etc) and HWDP, you must add those weight into calculation as well
not just only drill collar weight. **
2000 = number of pounds in one ton
5280 = number of feet in one mile
• Note: One ton-mile equals 10,560,000 foot- pounds, and is equivalent to lifting 2,000 pounds a distance of
5,280 feet
 Example: Round trip ton-miles

Mud weight = 10.0 ppg

Average length per stand = 94 ft
Drill pipe weight = 13.3 lb/ft
Hole measure depth = 5500 ft
Drill collar length = 120 ft
Drill collar weight = 85 lb/ft
HWDP length = 49 lb/ft
HWDP weight = 450 ft
BHA weight from directional driller = 8,300 lb
BHA length = 94 ft
Travelling block assembly = 95,000 lb
 Solution

• a) Buoyancy factor:
BF = (65.5 – 10.0) ÷ 65.5
BF = 0.847
• b) Buoyed weight of drill pipe in mud, lb/ft (Wp):
Wp = 13.3 lb/ft x 0.847
Wp = 11.27 lb/ft
• c) buoyed weight of BHA (drill collar + heavy weight drill pipe + BHA) in mud
minus the buoyed weight of the same length of drill pipe in lb (Wc):
• Wc = {[(120×85) + (49×450) + (8300)] x 0.847} – [(120+450+94) x13.3x 0.847]
Wc = 26,866 lb
• Round trip ton-miles = [(11.27 x 5500 x (94+ 5500)) + (2 x 5500) x (2 x 95000 +
26,866)] ÷ (5280 x 2000)
RTTM = 258.75 ton-mile
 Drilling or Connection ton-miles
Ton-miles of work in drilling operations.
These are the actual ton-miles of work in drilling down the length of a section of drill pipe, usually around +/-
31 ft, plus picking up, connecting, and starting to drill again. In order to figure out connection or drilling ton-
miles, it takes 3 times of ton-miles for current round trip minus ton-miles for previous round trip. The formula
for calculating drilling ton mile is listed below;
• Td = 3 x (T2 – T1)
Where;
Td = Ton-miles for drilling
T2 = Ton-miles for one round trip of last depth before coming out of hole.
T1 = Ton-miles for one round trip of first depth that drilling is started.
• Example;
Please determine drilling tome-miles from 8000 ft to 9000 ft.
Ton-miles for trip @ 9000 ft = 230
Ton-miles for trip @ 8000 ft = 195
Td = 3 x (T2 – T1)
Td = 3 x (230 – 195)
Td = 3 x 35
Td = 105 ton-miles
 Coring operation
• The ton-miles calculation is also expressed in terms of work in round trip ton-miles. In order to determine
the coring ton-miles, you need to figure out ton-miles for one round trip at the depth where coring stopped
minus ton-miles for one round trip at the depth where coring began and the multiplied that value by 2.
• The formula for calculating ton-mile for coring operation is shown below;
• Tc = 2 x (T4 – T3)
• Where;
• Tc = ton-miles for coring operation
T4 = ton-miles for one round trip at depth where coring operation stopped before coming out of hole
T3 = ton-miles for one round trip at depth where coring get started
• Example – Please determine coring ton-mils from 8000 ft to 8050 ft.
• Ton-miles @ 8050 ft (end of coring operation) = 200
Ton-miles for trip @ 8000 ft (start of coring operation) = 190
• Tc = 2 x (T4 – T3)
Tc = 2 x (200 – 190)
Tc = 20 ton-miles
 Setting casing operation
• The ton-miles calculation of this operation is similar to round trip ton-miles calculation.
• Nevertheless, buoyed weight of the casing will be used into calculation instead of buoyed weight of drill pipe
and with the result will be multiplied by 0.5, because setting casing is just only one-way operation (1/2 round
trip).
• Ton-miles for setting casing can be determined from the following formula:
• Tc = {Wp x D x (Lcs + D) + D x Wb} x 0.5 ÷ (5280 x 2000)
• Where; Tc = ton-miles setting casing
Wp = buoyed weight of casing in lb/ft
Lcs = length of one joint of casing in ft
Wb = weight of travelling block assembly in lb
D = depth of casing in ft
2000 = number of pounds in one ton
5280 = number of feet in one mile
• Example: Ton-Miles for Setting Casing
• Mud weight = 10.0 ppg
Casing weight = 25.0 lb/ft
Depth of casing = 5200 ft
Travelling block assembly = 95,000 lb
Length of one joint of casing = 42 ft
 Solution
a) Buoyancy factor:
BF = (65.5 – 10.0) ÷ 65.5
BF = 0.8473
b) Buoyed weight of casing in mud, lb/ft (Wp):
Wp = 25.0 lb/ft x 0.8473
Wp = 21.18 lb/ft
c) Casing ton-miles
Tc = {21.18 x 5,200 x (42 + 5,200) + 5,200 x 95,000} x 0.5 ÷ (5280 x 2000)
Tc = 50.73 tone-miles
 Short trip operation
• The ton-miles of work performed in short trip operation is also in term of round trips.
• The ton-miles of work done in making a short trip is equal to the difference between round ton-miles of
end depth and starting depth. The formula for short trip ton-miles is listed below;
• Tst = T6 – T5
• Where; Tst = ton-miles for short trip
T6 = ton-miles for one round trip at the deeper depth
T5 = ton-miles for one round trip at the shallower depth
• Example;
• Please determine short trip ton-miles from 8000 ft to 8050 ft
Ton-miles @ 8050 ft = 200
Ton-miles @ 8000 ft = 190
Tst = (200 – 190)
Tst = 10 ton-miles
Ton mile calculation in megajoules
 EXCEL-Ton-Mile-TM-for-Round-Trip
Ton Mile Calculation

Round-trip ton-mile
Mud Weight 10 ppg Input cells
Measured depth (D) 5500 ft Calculated cells
Drillpipe weight 13.3 lb/ft www.drillingformulas.com
drill collar weight 85 lb/ft
drill collar length 120 ft Round trip ton-miles Calculation
HWDP weight 49 lb/ft http://www.drillingformulas.com/roun
HWDP length 450 ft
BHA weight in air 8300 lb
Length of BHA 94 ft
Block weight (Wb) 95000 lb
Average length of one stand (Lp) 94 ft
Buoyancy factor 0.847
Buoyed weight of drill pipe (Wp) 11.27 lb/ft
Buoyed weight of BHA (drill collar + heavy
weight drill pipe + BHA) in mud minus the
buoyed weight of the same length of drill pipe
(Wc) 26,876.24 lb
Round-trip ton-mile (RT TM ) 258.75 Ton mile
 EXCEL- Ton-Mile-TM-for-Drilling-or-Connection

Drilling or Connection Ton-miles

Input cells
Ton-miles for one round trip of last depth
before coming out of hole. (T2) 230 ton-miles Calculated cells
Ton-miles for one round trip of first depth that
drilling is started. (T1) 195 ton-miles www.drillingformulas.com
Ton-miles for drilling (Td) 105.00 ton-miles
Drilling or Connection Ton-Miles
http://www.drillingformulas.com/dr
 EXCEL-Ton-Mile-TM-for-Coring-Operation

Ton-miles for Coring Operation

Input cells
Ton-miles for one round trip at depth where
coring operation stopped before coming out
of hole (T4) 200 ton-miles Calculated cells
Ton-miles for one round trip at depth where
coring get started (T3) 190 ton-miles www.drillingformulas.com
Ton-miles for drilling (TC) 20.00 ton-miles
Ton-miles for coring operation
http://www.drillingformulas.com/ton-mile
 EXCEL-Ton-Mile-TM-for-Setting-Casing

Ton-Miles for Setting Casing

Mud weight 10 ppg Input cells
Casing weight 25 lb/ft Calculated cells
Depht of casing set 5200 ft www.drillingformulas.com
Travelling block weight 95000 lb
Length of one joint of casing 42 ft Ton-Miles for Setting Casing
Buoyancy factor 0.847 http://www.drillingformulas.com/to
Ton-Miles for Setting Casing 50.73 ton-miles
Thank You