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Introduction
• Problems associated with the drilling of oil and gas
wells are largely due to the disturbances of earth
stresses around the borehole.
• These are caused by the creation of the hole itself and
by drilling mud/formation interaction.
• Thus, a hole is kept open (or stable) by maintaining a
balance between earth stresses and pore pressure on
one side and well bore mud pressure and chemical
composition on the other side.
• Whenever this balance is disturbed, well bore problems
occur.
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• The major Downhole problems are:

• Pipe sticking
• Pipe failure
• Dog legs and telescopic holes (Crookedness of hole)
• Key seats in holes
• Shale problems
• Lost circulation problems
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Pipe Sticking

• One of the most common

problems, encountered while
drilling a well is pipe sticking.

• The problem is even more

serious and expensive when
drilling deep high pressure
wells in geologically complex
areas.
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Basic terms related with stuck ups

• Tight pull:
• It is the amount of extra pull required to pull the string
through a tight spot. It is experienced while pulling out
and can be directly read on Drill meter or recording
charts.
• Hold up:
• It is the amount of weight that has to be released to
overcome a bridge. It is experienced while running in
and can be directly read on Drill meter or recording
charts.
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Basic terms related with stuck ups

Stuck string:
• A string is said to be stuck when no free movement is
possible either in terms of reciprocation or rotation.

Free point:
• The part of string which is glued to the hole wall is called
stuck part and other part which is free is called free part.
The junction point at which stuck part end sand free
part of string begins is called free point.
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Mechanical Sticking
• There are mainly two types
of pipe sticking. They are
as follows:
• Mechanical sticking
• Differential sticking
• A pipe is said to be
mechanically stuck, when
the stuck up is due to
mechanical reasons.
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• Mechanical stuck up can be associated with anyone of

the following drilling conditions.
• Distorted well bore geometry
• Under gauge hole
• Poor hole cleaning
• Key seating
• Junk in the hole
• Cement related problems
• Collapsed casing
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Distorted Well Bore Geometry

• Doglegs and ledges can
stick the drill string,
particularly when pulling
out because while running
in, due to less tension the
flexible string can easily by
pass the obstacles.
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Under Gauge Hole

• Under gauge hole occurs
when gauge protection on
the bit becomes ineffective
while drilling long sections
of abrasive formations.
• If care is not taken new bit
can be jammed in an under
gauge hole.
• It can also happen if
caution is not taken
following a change from a
diamond or core bit to
roller bit.
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Poor hole cleaning

• Poor hole cleaning results in
accumulation of cuttings in
the annulus, resulting
sticking of the drill string.
• This is usually in wash out or
in caved portion where
annular velocity decreases
and cuttings get accumulated.
• In deviated wells cuttings
from the low side of the hole
can migrate up hole like
shifting of sand dunes.
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Key Seating
• Key seats, grooves in the
bore hole wall cut by
rotating drill pipe can stick
larger diameter collars
when tripping out.

• A key seat wiper placed

higher in the string can
widen the key seat,
allowing collars to pass.
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Junk in hole
• Junk is any object in the hole
which is not desired in the
well.

• Roller cones or even PDC

cutters are large enough to
stick the string.

• Junk must be fished out with

a reverse circulation junk
basket / magnet or should be
milled out with flat mill.
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Cement related stuck up

• Cement related sticking
occurs when blocks of
cement fall into the well bore
from casing rat holes or
cement plugs jamming drill
string.
• It also occurs when drill
string is run in soft or green
cement that flash sets when
pressure is applied.
• Drilling of cement without
proper pump discharge will
lead to stuck up.
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To free the Mechanically stuck pipe

• If the drill string gets stuck while moving up, jar down
with maximum trip load and torque can be applied into
drill string while jarring down. Be caution while applying
torque, do not exceed make up torque.

• On the other hand, if the drill string gets stuck while

moving down, jar up with maximum trip load. DO NOT
apply torque in the drill string while jarring up.

• Flow rate must be reduced while attempting to free the

drill string. Do not use high flow rate because it will make
the stuck situation became worse and you will not be able
to free the pipe forever.
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Differential Sticking
• Differential Sticking is
one of the most common
causes of pipe stuck. It can
happen when there is
differential pressure
(overbalance pressure)
pushing a drill string into
filter cake of a permeable
formation.
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• Four factors causing the differential sticking are as

follows:
• Permeable formation as sand stone, lime, carbonate, etc.

• Overbalance – typically mud weight in the well is more than

formation pressure. More overbalance in the wellbore, more
chance of getting differential sticking.

• Filter cake – Poor and thick filter cake increases chances of

sticking the drill string.

• Pipe movement – if the drill string is station for a period of

time, the filter cake will tend to develop around permeable zones
and the drill string. Therefore, potential of getting differentially
stuck is increased.
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Warning signs
• There are high over balance between wellbore and
formation. Especially, when there is highly depleted
formation, the chance of getting differentially stuck is so
high.

• • Torque, pick up and slack off weight increase when the

drill string is being moved. Once it happens, you may
not be able to pull or rotate pipe.
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Stuck identification for differential

sticking
• Drill string is in station for a period of time. The
differential sticking is happened when there is no pipe
movement for long time.

• Circulation can be established without increasing in

pressure.

• BHA is across the permeable zone

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• Formation pressure = 3800 psi

• Hydrostatic pressure =4500 psi
• Cross area of stuck pipe = 1500 square inch

• Force = Differential Pressure x Cross Section Area

• Where
• Force is in lb.
• Differential pressure is in psi.
• Cross section area is in square inch.
• Force = (4500 – 3800) x 1500
• Force = 1,050,000 lb
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Remedies

• Apply torque into drill string and jar down with

maximum allowable trip load.

• Jar up without apply torque in the drill string.

• Spot light weight pill to decrease hydrostatic pressure. If

you want to the light weight pill, you must ensure that
the overall hydrostatic pressure is more than formation
pressure. Otherwise, you will face with a well control
situation.
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Lost Circulation
• Lost circulation is the
significant and continuing
loss of whole mud to a
formation.

• It is probably the most

common and, overall, the
most costly hole problem
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Depending on its severity, lost circulation can lead to-

• Increased costs for drilling mud and associated materials.

• Formation damage and decreased productivity.

• Wellbore fluid level drops, resulting in increased potential

for stuck pipe, borehole instability and kicks.

• Lost formation evaluation data, since the information

normally obtained from drilled cuttings and mud returns
may be unobtainable
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Occurrences
Lost circulation primarily occurs in:
• Unconsolidated or permeable formations
• Naturally fractured formations
• Zones containing induced fractures
• Cavernous or extremely vugular formations
• Wells experiencing mechanical problems such as shallow
casing leaks
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Unconsolidated or permeable formations

• Unconsolidated or highly
permeable formations
porous have long been
recognized as contributors
to lost circulation.

• They generally experience

seepage, although
continued drilling may
result in a partial or
complete loss of returns.
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Naturally fractured formations

• Natural fractures exist
both in carbonate rocks
and in hard sandstones or
shales.
• Lost circulation occurs
when a well exposes
enough fractures of
sufficient supported width
to cause significant loss of
whole fluid.
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Zones containing induced fractures

• Induced fractures can
result from surge effects,
problems with the mud
system, or a surface or
intermediate casing string
set too high.
• Horizontal fractures are
often marked by increased
pump pressures and tight
drill strings, while large,
induced vertical fractures
usually cause a sudden,
complete loss of returns.
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Cavernous or extremely vugular

formations
• Caverns are normally
associated with limestone
formations that have been
leached by water

• The large size of these void

spaces may cause drill
strings to drop from
several inches to several
feet preceding a sudden,
complete loss of returns.
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Mechanical Problems
• Mechanical problems such
as leaks in a surface or
intermediate casing string
may also result in lost
circulation even though
the operator may be using
proper mud weights and
following good drilling
practices.
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Methods to prevent Lost Circulation

• Mud Considerations

• Minimizing Surge Effects

• Pre-treatment with LCMs

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Shale problems – Hydro pressured Shale

• Hydro-pressured shale
is a common problem in
some area and it could
cause stuck pipe. This is
also called shale sloughing.

• With mud weight in the

wellbore higher than
formation pressure, pore
pressure of shale is always
charged by hydrostatic
pressure from drilling
mud.
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• When the well has

been drilled for a
period of time, shale
formations become
unstable due to
charged pressure
and finally shale
breaks apart and
falls down into the
hole
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• Finally, a drill
string gets stuck
due to hydro-
pressured shale
which accumulates
in the annulus
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Shale problems – Geo pressured Shale

• Pore pressure in shale is
more than hydrostatic
pressure; however the
well does not flow
because shale is in
permeable.

• While drilling through

pressured shale
formation, pressure in
shale causes fractures of
shale due to stress crack.
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• Shale finally
falls into the
well and results
in stuck pipe
incident
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Dog leg
• Dog legging is a severe
drilling problem.
• No hole is perfectly
vertical and any hole has
a tendency to spiral.
• An abrupt change in hole
deviation (inclination
and/or azimuth) results in
troublesome situation
which is commonly
referred to as a dogleg.
• Can cause pipe sticking and
lead to pipe failure
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Telescopic Holes
• Some times it is difficult to stick to planned casing
policies of the wells especially in exploratory wells.
• Casings sometimes do not reach the drilled depth and
have to be cemented with shoe much above bottom.
This leaves a large open hole from which a smaller
hole is drilled.
• In such wells, the annular velocity of mud falls abruptly
in reaching over from smaller to larger well bore.
• This leads to gradual accumulation of cuttings in the
transition zone. During tripping the cuttings fall into
hole resulting in severe pipe sticking.
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Preventive measures
• (1) Efforts should be made to lower a liner into
the telescopic part.
• (2) The zone, if left open should be frequently
washed to remove the accumulated cuttings.
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Drill pipe Failure

• For new drill pipe, its
connection (Tool joint) is
stronger than its body.

• But practical field

experience shows that in
most of the cases drill
pipe fails from its tool
joint and drill collar fails
from its connection.
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Reasons for Drill pipe failure

• Improper tightening of connection-Use of under
torquing or over torquing during connection.

• Improper initial making-up of connection.

• Proportionate reduction in make-up torque not applied

while diameter of tool joint is reduced.

• Swelling of connection box.

• Thinning out of connection thread and still continuing

use.
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• Improper connection type.

• Due consideration was not paid towards connection

size and drill collar size change over while operating in a
deviated / directional hole or against a dogleg.

• Lack of periodical inspection of pipes for evaluation of

its present working strength
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Remedies
• Use of proper make up torque.
• Limits for reduction in diameter of tool joints and
swelling of box.
• Proper making up procedure.
• Limits on minimum bending strength ratio.
• Proper precautions pertaining to thinning out of tool
joint thread.
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