Casing-while -Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction World Oil, Oct 1999

Article Published in World Oil, October 1999 issue

Casing-while-Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction

Brian Tarr and Richard Sukup, Mobil Technology Company

Background and Business Impact

Casing-while-Drilling (CWD) involves integrating the casing running process with the drilling process. The CWD
process allows casing strings (or liners) to be installed in a well during the hole making process where all, some
parts of, or none of, the drilling tools required can be recovered after the casing reaches the required depth. Since
there are a variety of possible configurations for CWD systems, the casing (or liner) may or may not be rotated
during the drilling process and the drilling tools may be integrated into the casing string or may be part of an
assembly that extends below the casing shoe.
The Casing-While-Drilling concept is not new, but there is obviously renewed interest based on the number of
patents granted to E&P operators and service companies during the last twenty years that relate to drilling with
casing (full strings or liners). In the 1950’s it was a common practice for onshore operators to drill production hole
sections to TD with the tubing and then cement it in place (without recovering the bit) and this practice is still
thriving1,2 .
During the last ten years, the industry flirted with, and then abandoned, slim-hole continuous coring (from the
mining industry) for low cost exploration3,4,5 . Time was saved, as the drill rods were sized to be cemented as casing,
without pulling the coring bit. The next smaller size of drill rod was then used to drill out. Wireline-retrievable core
heads have recently been introduced so that the drill rods no longer need to be tripped. Hence, the slim-hole mining
systems have evolved into the first commercial CWD systems.
Over the last ten years, in at least one heavy-oil area, a common practice of drilling to TD with the slotted
production liner and then gravel packing has been established6 . A disposable bit and under-reamer are run on the
slotted liner to enlarge a pre-drilled pilot hole or to extend the production hole, once lined up with the target
completion interval. The liner sections are often welded together as they are run (no threaded connections), and
foam is used as the preferred fluid to minimize formation damage during the drilling and gravel-packing process. In
a similar time period, operators have taken advantage of casing reamer shoe devices to aid in getting casing to
bottom under difficult hole conditions7 .
In the last five years Mobil and BP Amoco have taken advantage of these incremental developments in CWD liner
technology and further refined them to drill across pressure transitions into severely depleted reservoirs. Today,
CWD has become the standard way of installing production liners in in-fill and/or re-entry sidetrack wells in Mobil
Oil Indonesia’s Arun field 8 and BP Amoco Norway’s Valhall field 9 . Last year, Tesco Corporation progressed a
complete CWD rig concept to the field-test stage 10 and is now offering a complete turnkey type CWD solution for
onshore applications, that includes directional-drilling capabilities. They expect to be able to realize savings of up to
30% over traditional methods of well construction.

The potential prize for the wider application of CWD on all types of rigs for every hole section is estimated to be
approximately 15% of current drilling costs based on eliminating the majority of drillpipe tripping related costs
(including tripping-accountable trouble time). Results of a 1998 Mobil Technology Company CWD study11 indicate
that longer liners and full casing strings (of all sizes) can be used for drilling – so the prize is attainable. Potential
savings from CWD applications include:
• Reducing drilling flat time;
• Getting casing to planned depth;
• Getting casing set through troublesome zones (water flows, shear zones, fluid-loss zones);
• Extending hole sections beyond traditional hole section limits;
• Reducing the starting hole size required by using lean-profile casing schemes.

The near-term focus for CWD development activity in many of the major operating companies is on the surface
casing strings for offshore wells, primarily for deepwater in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).
Some operators have focused attention on the challenge of drilling the entire 17-1/2” hole section with a 16” liner
CWD system. This size was chosen for its potential to save a casing string if the CWD system can be pushed deeper
than to the point where 16” can be set conventionally. Extending the 16” hole section (essentially drilling with the
16” liner as far as physically possible) has been shown to have the largest impact on reducing the number of casing
strings required in GOM deepwater wells. Projected cost savings from drilling with 16” liners in deepwater wells
are estimated to be 1.4 $MM per well.

Page 1
Casing-while -Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction World Oil, Oct 1999

One operator has already used CWD technology on at least two wells to drill-in 13-3/8” surface casing from a jack-
up rig and another has engineered CWD systems for the 26”, 20” and 16” strings for deepwater. In both cases they
were not only looking for trip-time savings but also for trouble-time savings associated with being able to better
manage shallow formation hazards (e.g. water flows).
Longer term, several operators are looking to CWD to reduce the trouble time associated with subsalt drilling.

Example potential cost savings for drilling with 16” liner in deepwater
The potential cost savings associated with drilling with the 16” liner were evaluated based on a population of 29
GOM wells drilled by Mobil where 16” liners had been run during the last 10 years. Both vertical and deviated
wells drilled from platforms, jack-ups and floating rigs were included. The average length of hole section drilled for
16” liner was 1,980 ft., and an average of 220 hours were required to drill, case and cement. Of this total average
time, tripping took 37 hours (17%) and drilling required 47 hours. (47 %) at 42 ft/hr.
Based on drilling with the 16” liner, at similar rates and saving all the tripping time, and at a deepwater rig spread
cost of $200M per day, an average saving of $308M per well could be realized. This time-related cost saving would
be offset by the additional cost of tools and service personnel required to drill and cement the 16” liner: estimated to
be $38M per well. Hence, from Mobil data the average saving from using the 16” drill-in liner is estimated to be
approximately $270M per well. For comparison, Shell data12 on estimated cost savings for a similar 16” drill-in
liner system, proposed for use in similar wells in the GOM, indicates average potential savings of approximately
$193M per well. This difference can be explained by the wide scatter in both the Mobil and the Shell data, as
individual well tripping time savings ranged from 3.5 to 100.5 hours and 6.5 to 96 hours, respectively. Therefore,
rounding off the projected average potential tripping time savings to $200M is realistic.
This cost-saving projection is based on just reaching the same depth with the 16” casing as was done in the past.
The savings associated with reaching deeper with the 16” liner are harder to estimate as no historical data exists.
The savings from eliminating the flat time associated with a casing point that would otherwise be required can
provide a ball-park estimate. Savings in materials and tool rentals would also be realized, but the time-related costs
are the most significant. Typically, the flat time associated with a casing point on a deep water well would be
approximately six days. Hence, at $200M per day spread cost, eliminating a casing point is worth $1.2MM per well;
which makes this the more valuable business driver for using CWD in deepwater wells. Adding the potential
savings of using a 16” CWD liner system for deep water wells yields:
Trip time savings + Eliminating a casing point savings = 1.4 $MM per well

Similar potential savings are possible with additional CWD liners in deep water wells, but the probability of saving a
casing string decreases with each casing string set. Hence, if five more CWD liners and/or casings are used for
drilling (13-3/8”, 10-3/4”, 8-5/8”, 6-5/8” and 4-1/2”) to reach TD that save $0.2MM per hole section, then the
potential savings could increase to approximately $2.4MM per deepwater well.

Classification System for CWD Equipment Configurations

To provide a starting point for selecting the appropriate CWD system configuration for a particular application,
Mobil has proposed a CWD classification system (see Fig. 1). It includes two major classes of CWD systems; NCR
- where there is No Casing Rotation required, and CR – where Casing Rotation is required. In each of these classes,
there are a number of equipment configuration options that have already been used or are being considered. Figure
2 - 10 provide more detail on each of the configurations summarized in Fig. 1. With input from a wider group of
interested parties, this classification system is expected to evolve into an industry standard nomenclature for
referring to CWD technology.

Technology development plans for 1999

Several technology challenges still remain before the full potential of CWD can be realized. Many of these
challenges had to be addressed for slim-hole mining systems when used for exploration drilling, but CWD liner
systems and larger pipe sizes add further complexity to these challenges:
• How to prevent the casing from getting stuck (stabilization and mud system innovations)?
• How to compute and manage the effects of drilling dynamics induced loads on casing connections?
• How to optimize hydraulics, especially for smaller annular clearance applications?
• How to manage well control (kicks and lost circulation)?
• How to cement smaller annular clearance CWD systems?
• How to integrate formation evaluation?

Page 2
Casing-while -Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction World Oil, Oct 1999

Mobil, BP Amoco, Texaco and Chevron have decided to join forces with Hughes Christensen, as part of the
MoBPTeCh Technology Co-Operative Program13 , to investigate the hydraulics requirements for drilling with large-
diameter casing in the minimum acceptable hole sizes. High effective equivalent circulating density (ECD) are
unacceptable in many applications (including deepwater), so it is important to develop and validate hydraulics
models for large-diameter, narrow-annulus CWD systems. For example, it is already clear that some of the mud
flow will have to be by-passed above the running tool to optimize the hydraulics for CWD systems using large-
diameter liners. By the end of 1999, the MoBPTeCh CWD Team plans to validate a hydraulics model that will
permit analyzing the trade-offs between bit cleaning, hole cleaning and ECD for a wide range of CWD applications.
Included in the annular hydraulics model will be the effects of pipe eccentricity and rotation in narrow annular
clearances, validated for hole sizes up to 12-1/4” and extrapolated for larger hole and pipe sizes. The necessary
experimental work will be conducted at the Baker Huges Experimental Test Area (BETA) test well facility near
Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Mobil Technology Company for permission to publish this paper and to members of
the MoBPTeCh Casing-While-Drilling team for their help in reviewing the paper, including Warren Winters (BP
Amoco), John Peters (Chevron) and Manny Gonzalez (Texaco). Special thanks to Allen Sinor (Hughes Christensen)
for his review comments.

References
1. Personal communication with Manny Gonzalez, Texaco re drilling with tubing at the King Ranch, South Texas.
2. de Leon Mojarro, Terrazas and Eljure, “Breaking a Paradigm: Drilling with Tubing Gas Wells” SPE paper
40051 presented at the SPE International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition of Mexico, Villahermosa, 3-5
March, 1998
3. Littleton, “Refined Slimhole Drilling Technology Renews Operator Interest” Petroleum Engineer International,
June 1992, page 19.
4. “Slim Holes Fat Savings” JPT, September 1993, page 816
5. “Slim Holes, Slimmer Prospects” JPT, Novenber 1995, page 949
6. Hudson and Dobson “One-Step Drilling System” BESTLINE Liner Systems, Bakersfield, CA, 1992
7. McCarthy and Lilley, “Reamer Shoe gets Casing to TD” BP Downhole Talk, Issue 58, June 1996
8. Vogt, Makohl, Suwarno and Quitzau, “Drilling liner Technology for Depleted Reservoirs” SPE paper 36827
presented at the European Petroleum Conference, Milan, 22-24 Oct. 1996. (Describes early Mobil experience in
the Arun field drilling with 7” liners.)
9. Sinor, Tybero, Eide and Wenande, “Rotary Liner Drilling for Depleted Reservoirs” IADC/SPE paper 39399
presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, Dallas, 3-6 March 1998. (Describes Amoco’s learning
experiences with various sizes and configurations of drill-in liners at Valhall, including using configurations
that evolved from Mobil work in the Arun field.)
10. Tessari and Madell, “Casing Drilling – A Revolutionary Approach to Reducing Well Costs” SPE/IADC 52789
presented at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, 9-11 March 1999.
11. Sukup et al, “Casing While Drilling, 1998” Mobil Technology Company report.
12. Personal communication from Landale Cranfield, Shell Deepwater Development Inc., “Drilling, Casing and
Cementing in One Trip”
13. MoBPTeCh is a US registered E&P Technology Cooperative Program between Mobil, BP Amoco, Texaco and
Chevron that was chartered in 1996. (On the Web at http://www.mobptech.com)

Page 3
Casing-while -Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction World Oil, Oct 1999

MoBPTeCh’s 1996 Charter:

MoBPTeCh: E&P Technology Co-Operative Program

- A Shared Vision for the Future

The E&P industry of the late 1990's faces tough challenges. Increasing shareholder returns against a
background of sustained low oil prices and maturing assets will not be achieved without bold and innovative
management. The performance levers available are limited.

Technology stands out as the single most powerful opportunity to improve performance. An efficient global
technology marketplace ultimately delivers equivalent tools and techniques to all the players. Yet we
continue to duplicate spending, fail to communicate our common needs to the market, and risk abdicating
decisions over the pace and direction of developments.

We, BP, Chevron, Mobil, and Texaco, resolve:

to advance the availability of broadly applicable technology and services
while continuing to compete vigorously in the application of technology to our separate businesses

Co-operation will allow us to tackle challenges that we could not assume individually or through traditional
mechanisms. We will assemble the best talents from inside and outside our industry and focus their energy
on common goals.

The Prize will be radical new technologies that materially impact business performance at lower cost and
with shorter lead time. By accelerating the pace of change we will permanently shift the industry to a more
entrepreneurial approach and attract the best talent to solve the challenges of the future.

We, will work to secure this Prize by:

taking a leadership role in technology cooperation
encouraging our staffs to pool their creativity freely and openly
creating a simple open process that encourages others to join us

We commit to the pursuit of this vision through the devotion of the time and resources necessary to turn
our common intent into reality by the end of 1996.

David Jenkins David Clementz Elwyn Griffiths Ron Robinson

BP Chevron Mobil Texaco

Page 4
Casing-while -Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction World Oil, Oct 1999

Figure 1 – PROPOSED CLASSIFICATION OF CWD OPTIONS

NCR 1 NCR 2 CR 1 CR 2 CR 3 CR 4 CR 5 CR 6 CR 7

NO CASING ROTATION CASING ROTATED – SPEED DEPENDS ON WHETHER MOTOR INCLUDED or NOT
NCR CR
Csg./Liner to Casing
Running Tool, to Casing/Liner to Running Tool, Drillpipe to surface Casing to Surface
DP to Surface Surface
Bit and Under- Bit and Under- Bit and Under- Bit and free Bit and fixed Bit and Csg. Csg. Shoe Core Bit, Under- Csg. Shoe Core
Reamer turned Reamer turned Reamer turned rotating Csg. Csg. Shoe Core Shoe Core Bit Bit turned from Reamer and Bit with
by motor assy. by motor assy. by motor assy. Shoe Core Bit Bit (or under- both turned by surface. Csg. Shoe Core Steerable
run on inner latched into run on inner sub turned by reamer) both rotated from Steerable Bit turned by motor assy.
string. Swab bottom joint of string below motor run on rotated from surface. motor assy. surface rotation and Under-
cup above casing string. csg. spear. inner string. surface. latched in csg. only. Reamer latched
motor assy. Bit pulled on Bit pulled on in csg.
Assy. pulled on Assy. pulled on Assy. pulled on Bit pulled on inner string or wireline or Assy. pulled on Assy. pulled on Assy. pulled on
inner string. wireline. inner string. inner string. left downhole. left downhole. wireline. wireline. wireline.
Cementing
possible before Cementing possible only after POH with bit.
POH with bit.
Planned Built & Run Built & Run Built & Run Built & Run Built & Run Concept Only Built & Tested Built & Tested
20”casing, 13-3/8” casing, 11-3/4” liner, 7” & 9-5/8” lnr California Ops. 5-1/2” & 7” lnr Up to 16” 4-1/2”, 5-1/2”, 5-1/2”, 7” csg.
Shell Deep Unocal Amoco Hod Mobil Arun, Mobil Arun & Amoco Valhall 7-5/8”, 9-5/8” Tesco test well
Water Team Indonesia Amoco Valhall High Island (16” Concept) Tesco test well sidetracks

Page 5
Casing-while -Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction
Figure 2 - DETAILS OF CWD OPTION - NCR 1
Special Tools
High torque running tool
Swab cup for cementing;
after pulling bit inside csg.
Centralizers on casing for
cementing.
Stabilizer inside casing
Mud motor
Under Reamer
Bit (casing drift size)
Figure 3 - DETAILS OF CWD OPTION - NCR 2
Special Tools
Drilling rig equipped to run
casing, pump into it and run
wireline inside it.
Centralizers on casing
Wireline retrievable latch-in
Sub just inside casing shoe
MWD
Mud motor
Under Reamer
Bit (casing drift size)
Target Application Advantages vs
Normal Operations
Size Csg.: 20” On bottom circulation can
be maintained at all times
Well type: Subsea, which permits shallow
Vertical water flows to be controlled
effectively.
Reason for application:
Address potential shallow Once a flow has started
water flows seen in serious hole enlargement
deep water by drilling, can compromise the
casing and cementing stability of the conductor in
in one trip. the well and in any adjacent
wells.
In normal operations flows
can start during tripping
when control is impossible.
Target Application Advantages vs
Built and Run Normal Operations
Size Csg.: 13-3/8” No drillpipe tripping
Surface casing required.
Well type: Surface BOP, Adequate annular velocities
Vertical for hole cleaning can be
achieved at lower mud flow
Reason for application: rates compared with drilling
Save tripping time. with drillpipe in the hole.
Push casing point deeper
into unstable drilling
environment.
Page 6
World Oil, Oct 1999
Disadvantages vs Potential Refinements
Normal Operations
Assembly more difficult to Use of a steerable motor
trip if tool problems occur. assembly to allow
directional drilling.
Risk of casing becoming
stuck before reaching
planned setting depth.
No cementing float collar
so must balance cement
with displacement fluid and
wait on cement before
pulling BHA.
Disadvantages vs Potential Refinements
Normal Operations
Potentially higher ECD’s.
Use of a steerable motor
BHA more difficult to trip assembly to allow
if tool problems occur. directional drilling.
Risk of casing becoming
stuck before reaching
planned setting depth.
Fishing BHA if stuck below
the end of the casing.
To permit conventional
cementing a float collar has
to be run on wireline after
pulling BHA.
Casing-while -Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction World Oil, Oct 1999
Figure 4 - DETAILS OF CWD OPTION - CR 1
Special Tools Target Application Advantages vs Disadvantages vs Potential Refinements
Built and Run Normal Operations Normal Operations

Pack-off activation tool
Liner hanger with pack-off
Bumper subs
Internal casing spear
(LH relaease)
Stabilized mud motor inside
casing shoe
Under Reamer
Bit (casing drift size)
Size Csg.: 11-3/4”
Well type: Deviated
Reason for application:
To drill liner a short
distance into a depleted
reservoir prone to lost
circulation.
Drill far enough into
reservoir to case off the
interface effectively.
Avoid struck drilling
assemblies.
Get required liner size into
the top of the target
depleted reservoir.
Assembly more difficult to
trip if tool problems occur.
No directional control
possible.
Drilling distance limited by
fatique life of liner
connections. (Less than
100 ft of drilling planned.)
Cementing limited to
squeezing shoe after pulling
drilling tools and isolating
liner top with packer.
Use of high torque liner
hanger running tool with
flow path for return mud
flow inside the liner.
(Spear used had by-pass
area for return flow inside
the liner.)
Use of casing connections
with higher resistance to
drilling related fatique.

Figure 5 - DETAILS OF CWD OPTION - CR 2

Special Tools
High torque running tool
High by-pass hanger
Integral liner top pack-off
(All hydraulic set)
Bumper sub
Motor landing sub
Mud motor
Core bit drive spline
Core bit sub (free rotating)
Bit (casing drift size)
Target Application
Built and Run
Size Csg.: 7” & 9-5/8”
Well type: Deviated,
Sidetracked
Reason for application:
Drill short distance into
depleted reservoirs
with lost circulation.
Drill far enough into
reservoir to case off the
interface effectively.
Advantages vs
Normal Operations
Avoid struck drilling
assemblies.
Get required liner size into
the top of the target
depleted reservoir.
Disadvantages vs Potential Refinements
Normal Operations
Potentially higher ECD’s.
Use of casing connections
Assembly more difficult to with higher resistance to
trip if tool problems occur. drilling related fatique.
No directional control
possible.
Drilling distance limited by
fatique life of liner
connections.
Cementing limited to
squeezing shoe after pulling
drilling tools and isolating
liner top with packer.

Page 7
Casing-while -Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction
Figure 6 - DETAILS OF CWD OPTION - CR 3
Special Tools
High torque running tool.
High by pass hanger and
integral liner top pack-off
optional (all hydraulic set).
Production liner (may be
slotted pipe)
Fixed core bit casing shoe
or under-reamer on casing
Bit & Stabilizer inside
casing (casing drift size)
or fixed Bit on casing.
Target Application
Size Csg.: up to 7”
Well type: Vertical,
Deviated, or
Sidetracked
Reason for application:
Drill and under-ream to
install production liner
Drill short distance into
depleted reservoirs
with lost circulation.
Drill far enough into
reservoir to case off the
interface effectively.
Advantages vs
Normal Operations
Install production liners and
gravel pack in one trip.
Avoid struck drilling
assemblies in pressure
transitions associated with
depleted reservoirs.
Get required liner size into
the top of the target
depleted reservoir.
World Oil, Oct 1999
Disadvantages vs Potential Refinements
Normal Operations
Potentially higher ECD’s.
Use of casing connections
Assembly more difficult to with higher resistance to
trip if tool problems occur. drilling related fatique.
No directional control
possible.
Drilling distance limited by
fatique life of liner
connections. (Less than
100 ft of drilling planned.)
Cementing limited to
squeezing shoe after pulling
drilling tools and isolating
liner top with packer.

Figure 7 - DETAILS OF CWD OPTION - CR 4

Special Tools
By-pass flow nozzle sub
High torque running tool
High by pass hanger
Integral liner top pack-off
(All hydraulic set)
Casing connections suitable
for drilling conditions
Fixed core bit casing shoe.
Wireline retrievable latch-in
sub just inside casing shoe.
Bit (casing drift size)
Target Application
Concept Only
Size Csg.: Up to 16”
Well type: Vertical
Reason for application:
Drill long distance into
depleted reservoirs
with lost circulation.
Push casing point
deeper into unstable
drilling environment.
Save drilling related
tripping time.
Advantages vs
Normal Operations
No drillpipe tripping
required for drilling.
Disadvantages vs
Normal Operations
Potentially higher ECD’s.
BHA more difficult to trip
if tool problems occur.
Risk of casing becoming
stuck before reaching
planned setting depth.
Hydraulics may require by-
pass above liner to provide
enough flow for hole
cleaning.
For conventional cementing
a float collar has to be run
on wireline after pulling bit.
Potential Refinements
Use of casing connections
with higher resistance to
drilling related fatique.
Use of drillable bit to
permit normal cementing
without pulling bit.
(Amoco built such bits for
7” drill-in liners. Nodeco
has continued development.
Also, British Bits Ltd. has a
drillable bit concept that
looks promising.)

Page 8
Casing-while -Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction
Figure 8 - DETAILS OF CWD OPTION - CR 5
Special Tools
By-pass flow nozzle sub
High torque running tool
High by pass hanger
Integral liner top pack-off
(All hydraulic set)
Casing connections suitable
for drilling conditions
Fixed core bit casing shoe.
Wireline retrievable latch-in
mud motor just inside
casing shoe.
Bit (casing drift size)
Figure 9 - DETAILS OF CWD OPTION - CR 6
Special Tools
Drilling rig equipped to
rotate casing, pump into it
and run wireline inside it.
Casing connections suitable
for drilling conditions
Fixed core bit casing shoe.
Wireline retrievable latch-in
sub just inside casing shoe.
Under-Reamer
Bit (casing drift size)
Target Application
Concept Only
Size Csg.: Up to 16”
Well type: Vertical
Reason for application:
Drill long distance into
depleted reservoirs
with lost circulation.
Push casing point deeper
into unstable drilling
environment.
Save drilling related
tripping time.
Target Application
Built and Tested
Size Csg.: 4-1/2”, 5-1/2”,
7-5/8”, 9-5/8”
Well type: Vertical
Reason for application:
Save drillpipe tripping time.
Push casing point deeper
into unstable drilling
environment.
Page 9
Advantages vs
Normal Operations
No drillpipe tripping
required for drilling.
Advantages vs
Normal Operations
No drillpipe tripping
required.
Adequate annular velocities
for hole cleaning can be
achieved at lower mud flow
rates compared with drilling
with drillpipe in the hole.
World Oil, Oct 1999
Disadvantages vs
Normal Operations
Potentially higher ECD’s.
BHA more difficult to trip
if tool problems occur.
Risk of casing becoming
stuck before reaching
planned setting depth.
Hydraulics may require by-
pass above liner to provide
enough flow for hole
cleaning.
For conventional cementing
a float collar has to be run
on wireline after pulling bit.
Disadvantages vs
Normal Operations
Potentially higher ECD’s.
Bit hydraulics limited by
ECD considerations.
BHA more difficult to trip
if tool problems occur.
Risk of casing becoming
stuck before reaching
planned setting depth.
For conventional cementing
a float collar has to be
pumped down after pulling
bit. May be integrated into
one of the cementing plugs.
Potential Refinements
Use of casing connections
with higher resistance to
drilling related fatique.
Use of a steerable motor
assembly to allow
directional drilling,
preferably rotary steerable.
Add LWD for logging
while drilling.
Potential Refinements
Use of casing connections
with higher resistance to
drilling related fatique.
Use of drillable bit to
permit normal cementing
without pulling bit.
(Amoco built such bits for
7” drill-in liners. Nodeco
has continued development.
Also, British Bits Ltd. has a
drillable bit concept that
looks promising.)
Add LWD for logging
while drilling.
Casing-while -Drilling: The Next Step Change in Well Construction
Figure 10 - DETAILS OF CWD OPTION - CR 7
Special Tools
Drilling rig equipped to
rotate casing, pump into it
and run wireline inside it.
Casing connections suitable
for drilling conditions
Fixed core bit casing shoe.
Wireline retrievable latch-in
MWD/steerable mud motor
just inside casing shoe.
Under-Reamer
Bit (casing drift size)
World Oil, Oct 1999
Target Application Advantages vs Disadvantages vs Potential Refinements
Built and Tested Normal Operations Normal Operations
Size Csg.: 5-1/2”, 7” No drillpipe tripping Potentially higher ECD’s. Use of casing connections
required. with higher resistance to
Well type: Directional or Bit and motor hydraulics drilling related fatique.
Sidetrack Adequate annular velocities limited by ECD
from vertical for hole cleaning can be considerations. Employ rotary steerable
wellbore achieved at lower mud flow system to permit continuous
rates compared with drilling BHA more difficult to trip rotation to enhance ROP
with drillpipe in the hole. if tool problems occur. and minimize sticking
Reason for application: potential during sliding.
Risk of casing becoming
Save drillpipe tripping time. stuck before reaching Pump down running and
planned setting depth. retrieving system for hole
angles above 60 degrees
For conventional cementing inclination.
a float collar has to be
pumped down after pulling Add LWD to BHA for
bit. May be integrated into logging while drilling.
one of the cementing plugs.
Page 10