SPE-185398-MS

Radial Jet Drilling in Mature Fields of Oil India Limited- An Experimental

Approach

Deepak Jain; Pratha Protim Maut; Pranjal Saharia, Ranjit Dutta, and Saloma Yomdo, Oil India Limited; Ian Hatchell,
Radial Drilling Services Inc; Aditya Mukherjee, S K Oil Field.

Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Oil and Gas India Conference and Exhibition held in Mumbai, India, 4–6 April 2017.

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
any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written
consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may
not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
Radial jet drilling was applied recently on an experimental basis in Oil India Limited (OIL) to retrieve
production from some locked up potential in reservoirs with low permeability and near well bore formation
damage, through enhanced exposure, with an ultimate objective of maximizing the total long-term
hydrocarbon recovery from the reservoirs.
Radial drilling is a Frac-Less well stimulation technique used worldwide by Exploration and Production
(E&P) companies to enhance production from depleted/damaged reservoirs. This well intervention
technique involves milling of a 22 mm hole in the production casing of the mother well and then creating
holes of approximately 50 mm OD with a maximum length of 100 m in the reservoir by removal of material
from the formation using high hydraulic jetting pressure. Radial drilling is a proven technique to bypass
the damage near wellbore zones.
The Paper depicts the successful completion of radial drilling operations in Four (4) nos. of pilot wells
(3 oil well & 1 gas well) in four (4) different reservoirs of Oil India Limited, a post job production analysis
and technical learning's from the Project.
The depth of the target zones varied from 2407 m to a record depth of around 3226 m (deepest well
in India where Radial Drilling has been implemented). The first pilot well was completed with 3 laterals
(length 29.5 m-100 m) with 900 phasing. The second well had 5 laterals (length 30 m-100 m) with 900
phasing in two different reservoir depths. The third well was completed with 4 laterals (length 97 m- 100 m)
while the fourth pilot well was successfully completed with 8 laterals of length 50 m each at two different
reservoir depths.
Post radial drilling production performance of the wells have been analysed and covered in the Paper.
Significant increase in production was observed in the first three (3) wells, however no improvement in
production could be achieved from the fourth pilot which was a gas well.
Mechanically, the application of this technology has been a complete success with all laterals drilled in
the selected mother wells.
The technical experience and knowledge gathered from the pilot radial drilling campaign certainly
presents an opportunity to unlock untapped potential for incremental production for future similar wellbore
2 SPE-185398-MS

and reservoir conditions in Oil India Limited (OIL) as well as in other Exploration and Production (E&P)
operators worldwide.

Introduction
Premature shut-in of wells due to various problems like adverse reservoir characteristics, formation damage
(skin), non availability of land etc. is an increasing problem in the oil and gas production sector. In most
of such cases, the remaining resources are likely to be abandoned in view of failure to re-establish the
production of the field. The motivation is thus to develop technologies for retrieving production from such
wells. One of these new technologies is radial/Jet drilling which has been field tested recently in "Oil India
Limited (OIL)".
Radial/Jet drilling involves jetting lateral holes of approximately 50 mm diameter up to 100 m laterally
from the well bore by jetting high pressure fluid using micro-CTU. Lateral bores can be jetted at single
or multiple layers.
Radial Drilling penetration is expected to greatly exceed conventional (perforation) penetration
(Figure-1) and can reach substantially beyond the damage area of the well-bore. It increases the drainage
radius of the well bores by creating permeability channels in the reservoir, resulting in additional recoverable
reserves per well. In existing wells, the radial jet drilling technology offers an economically attractive
alternative to quickly recover the remaining hydrocarbons trapped in the reservoir, by increasing the
reservoir contact. It has been tested up to a depth of 3200 m in the Miocene and Oligocene reservoirs of OIL.

Figure 1—Radial jet drilling concept

Radial Drilling Process

Radial Drilling has mainly two operations: casing cutting and jetting run. The production tubing with RDS
deflector shoe assembly is lowered to the target depth, orientation and depth is then verified and tagged
by logging.
In the first stage, after placing an orientation shoe, a rotating drill bit with down-hole motor is lowered
which mills through the casing penetrating it perpendicularly. The second stage involves lowering a high-
pressure Kevlar hose attached to the coiled tubing with a nozzle jet at the bottom. The orientation shoe
is maintained in the same position as it was during milling of casing. The nozzle exits the well from the
milled opening in the casing and penetrates the formation through the jetting action eroding the formation
to create 100 metre hole in the reservoir perpendicular to the casing at the exit point. The nozzle continues
to jet when it is pulled out, removing fines and cleaning and increasing the diameter of the hole. Overburden
combined with matrix porosity acts as a dynamic balance to the pressures exerted by the surface system
SPE-185398-MS 3

resulting in a blast effect which pulverizes the formation ahead of the jet nozzle. Reverse jets provide thrust
as well as a cleaning effect for the horizontal lateral. The accelerating force washes out the formation and
results in an excessive hole diameter. Four laterals are generally placed at the same/different depth, at an
angle of 90 degrees apart. The schematic pictorial representation of the radial/jet drilling process is shown
in Figure-2 & Figure-3.

Figure 2—Steps of Radial drilling operations

Figure 3—Schematic of Radial drilling operations

The technology does not require mud but requires jetting fluid, which is chosen honouring reservoir
sensitivity. The fluid used was not corrosive. The whole process takes around two to four days for four
laterals depending on the target depth, as well as formation conditions, resulting in almost negligible damage
to the reservoir due to the jetting fluid. Throughout the radial drilling process, the coiled tubing string is
circulated with filtered (< 10 microns) completion fluid/solution, and penetration is achieved through high
pressure jetting via nozzles matched to the compressive strength of the formation.
The entire operation is run by deploying a mobile unit which consists of down hole and surface equipment
for pressure measuring, hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical systems required for the operation. They also
house coiled tubing reel and fluid pumping equipment. The units are truck/skid mounted for easy road
transport and field movement. The Operator needs to provide a workover rig and a continuous supply of
jetting fluid (which is usually the well completion fluid). Some of the field photographs of the radial drilling
equipment and tools used in the operations in the four (4) wells are shown below as Figures-4, 5, 6, & 7
respectively.
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Figure 4—Skid mounted Radial drilling unit used in OIL

Figure 5—Milling bit used in Radial drilling

Figure 6—Deflector shoe BHA

SPE-185398-MS 5

Figure 7—Jetting nozzle used in Radial drilling

Objective of project
In OIL, some wells are prematurely shut-in or seem to be under sub-optimal production due to relatively
poor reservoir properties and/or higher extent of formation damage resulting in low recovery from these
reservoirs. Radial /Jetting technology was tested with the intention to help produce the locked up unswept
oil and gas by drilling of horizontal laterals, through enhanced exposure. The technology was viewed as
an attractive opportunity to gain quick additional oil and gas from the inaccessible reserves in a few of our
mature and satellite fields of Upper Assam Basin.

Selection of Wells
A key element for the successful application of the technology is well selection. Both oil and gas wells,
existing as well as new wells are candidates for the technology. This technique was applied as a pilot in the
Miocene and Oligocene clastic reservoirs of two oilfields of OIL. The first criteria applied was to shortlist
candidate wells with target pay zones within the range of around 3200 m which is close to the maximum
depth capability of the process. Several other important considerations such as casing grade & quality, open
hole logs for defining the pay zones, lithology, reservoir pressures, average porosity, permeability, Gas-
Oil and Oil-water contact, reservoir mobile oil saturation via RMT/RST, cement integrity through available
cased hole log (USIT/CBL-VDL) and reserves were thoroughly looked into and given due weightage before
finalizing the four (4) possible candidates. These criteria are important for both the assessment of the
potential of the zone and the mechanical feasibility of the well for Radial Jetting.

Results
Well#1
Well#1 was drilled and completed as an infill well in September'1985 to produce from the Miocene reservoir.
However, after an initial production period the well ceased to flow in September, 1989 due to poor inflow.
The current reservoir pressure is around 230 ksc, the formation porosity is around 20% and the drilled depth
is around 2522 m with a net pay thickness of about 23 m. Figure 8 illustrates the casing and perforation
interval of that well. The well with its available reserves (0.0687 MMKLS/0.431 MMbbls) was selected as
a candidate for Radial Drilling. RST log indicated mobile oil saturation of around 30-40% across the pay
interval (2406.0-2431.0) m.
6 SPE-185398-MS

Figure 8—Well Diagram of Well#1

Radial Drilling job was performed on this well by milling and jetting three lateral holes at different depth.
The three laterals were drilled and completed in the three days as planned. The fourth lateral couldn't be
completed due to a technical problem with the hydraulic pump system of the service provider. Table 1 below
shows the accurate depth, date and elongation for each laterals drilled.

Table 1—Hole Details for Well#1

No. of Hole Depth of the Length of Azimuth, Jetting GPM Remarks

Hole, Meters Penetration, Meters Degree Pressure, Psi

No. 1 2414 m 29.5 m 0 5000 – 9000 5-6.2 Tried several times

but could not move
the jet beyond 29.5 m

No. 2 2414 m 101 m 180 8000 −9000 5-6.2 Full lateral

No. 3 2407 m 100 m 270 8000 −9000 5.5-6.2 Full lateral

No. 4 2407 m – – – – Could not be drilled

due to problem of
the Radial drilling
hydraulic pump system

Subsequent to radial /jet drilling and unloading, the well started displacing oil and with a jump in
production of 21 klpd oil (132 bbls/day) with 5% water-cut. Table 2 shows the comparison between
production rate before and after radial drilling job.

Table 2—Pre-Post Radial Drilling Production Comparison Well#1

Before Radial Drilling After Radial Drilling

Rate(Klpd) Water Net Oil Rate(Klpd) Water Net Oil

Cut (%) (Klpd) Cut (%) (Klpd)

Shut-in 21 5 20
SPE-185398-MS 7

Well#2
The well was initially drilled and completed in the Barail (Oligocene) reservoir, from where it produced
0.397 MMkls (2.5 MMbbls) before it was shut with 100% water production. Thereafter it was completed
higher up in the 3223 m Barail Extra Sand. Initially, the well-produced at the rate of 20 klpd oil on gas lift
and was on continuous production but with an ever declining oil rate. Before application of radial drilling,
the well was producing to the tune of 2 klpd of liquid with 50% water cut. The current reservoir pressure is
around 187 ksc, the formation porosity 22% in average and net pay thickness is 5.2 m. Figure 9 illustrates
the casing and perforation interval of that well. The well with its available reserves (0.0055 MMKLS/0.034
MMbbls) was selected as a candidate for Radial Drilling.

Figure 9—Well Diagram of Well#2

Radial drilling job was performed on well by milling and jetting five lateral holes at two different depths.
Table 3 below shows the accurate depth, date and elongation for each laterals drilled.
8 SPE-185398-MS

Table 3—Hole Details for Well#2

No. of Hole Depth of the Length of Azimuth, Degree Jetting GPM Remarks
Hole, Meters Penetration, Meters Pressure, Psi

No. 1 3226 m 60 m 0 7000-8000 5.6 Tried several times but could

not move the jet beyond 60 m

No. 2 3226 m 40 m 180 7000-8000 5.9 Tried several times but could
not move the jet beyond 40 m

No. 3 3225 m 30 m 270 7000-8000 5.9 Tried several times but could
not move the jet beyond 30 m

No.4 3225 m 100 m 90 7000-8000 5.6 1 obstruction on way out

No.5 3225 m 100 m 180 7000-8000 5.2 3 obstructions on way out

After drilling of the two laterals, it was observed that the pulley system of the functioning gooseneck
assembly was affected due to rollers not rolling due to deposition of wax. As such, as a precautionary
measure, fifty one (51) bbls of diesel was pumped through tubing & displaced through a salt solution before
drilling of the third lateral. There was a delay of around five (5) days during which time the first two drilled
laterals were kept exposed to the kill fluid.
After unloading around 260 barrels of completion fluid, the well started displacing @ 2 klpd of clean
oil on gas lift, but production did not sustain and the well ceased to flow. Table 4 shows the comparison
between production rate before and after radial drilling job.

Table 4—Pre-Post Radial Drilling Production Comparison Well#2

Before Radial Drilling After Radial Drilling

Rate(Klpd) Water Net Oil Rate(Klpd) Water Net Oil

Cut (%) (Klpd) Cut (%) (Klpd)

2 50 1 2 0 2

Well#3
The well was initially drilled and completed as a clean oil producer in the Tipam (Miocene) Sand in February,
1984. However, because of intermittent production behaviour, even after some workover operations, the
well was recompleted higher up in the same Tipam (Miocene) Sand. Subsequent to this the well kept
producing around 1-2 klpd (12 bbls/day) of oil with water in the flow stream. The current reservoir pressure
is around 180 ksc, the formation porosity around 18% in average with a net pay thickness of around 58 m.
Figure 10 illustrates the casing and perforation interval of that well.
SPE-185398-MS 9

Figure 10—Well Diagram of Well#3

The well with its available reserves (0.108 MMkls/0.678 MMbbls) was also considered as a candidate
for radial drilling. A RST Log was recorded prior to radial drilling which indicated mobile oil saturation of
around 20-30% across the sand sections in the interval (3125.0-3133.0) m.
Radial Drilling was carried out in this well by milling and jetting four lateral holes at two different
depths. The first two laterals were drilled at a depth of 3131.3 m with lateral lengths of 100 m and 97 m,
respectively. Another two laterals were drilled at a depth of 3127 m again with lateral lengths of 100 m
and 91 m, respectively. Laterals were oriented 90-270 degrees based on information from geological maps.
Table- 5 below highlights the detail on accurate depth and length of each lateral.

Table 5—Hole Details for Well#3

No. of Hole Depth of the Length of Azimuth, Degree Jetting GPM Remarks
Hole, Meters Penetration, Pressure, Psi

No. 1 3131.3 m 100 m 0 6000-8000 5.8 Full lateral

No. 2 3131.3 m 97 m 180 6000-8000 5.2 Tried several times but could
not move the jet beyond 97 m

No. 3 3127 m 100 m 270 6000-8000 5.6 Full lateral

No.4 3127 m 91 m 90 6000-8000 5.7 Tried several times but could

not move the jet beyond 91 m

The four laterals were drilled and completed in three days as planned. Subsequent to unloading of around
1900 bbls of completion fluid, the well started displacing oil. Production rate increased after stimulating
the well with this technique. The gross production rate increased from 1 to 35 klpd (220 bbls/day), where
the net oil rate increased from a negligible amount to 9 klpd (55 bbls/day). Table 6 shows the comparison
between rates before and after radial drilling job.
10 SPE-185398-MS

Table 6—Pre-Post Radial Drilling Production Comparison Well#3

Before Radial Drilling After Radial Drilling

Rate(Klpd) Water Net Oil Rate(Klpd) Water Net Oil

Cut (%) (Klpd) Cut (%) (Klpd)

1 50% 0.5 35 75% 9

Well#4
The well was initially completed in the Barail (Oligocene) reservoir at 2982 m. However, the well produced
oil only sluggishly and was subsequently kept shut-in. In subsequent workover, the well was recompleted
higher up in the gas bearing 2902 & 2942 m Barail (Oligocene) Single well Sand. The well was producing
(gas rate @ 5000 scumd) prior to selection for Radial Drilling services.
The current reservoir pressure is around 66 Ksc, with formation porosity around 25% and net average
pay thickness of around 21 m. Figure 11 illustrates the casing and perforation interval of that well. The well
with its available reserves (13 MMscm) was also considered as a candidate for radial drilling. A RST Log
was recorded prior to radial drilling which indicated good saturation against both 2942, 2902 m Sand's.

Figure 11—Well Diagram of Well#4

Radial Drilling was carried in this well by milling and jetting eight lateral holes at two different depths.
Table-7 below shows the accurate depth and length for each lateral. Incidentally, it is worth mentioning that
during the running of jetting assembly for drilling seventh (7th) lateral, the jet hose parted at 2940 m and
was recovered later.
SPE-185398-MS 11

Table 7—Hole Details for Well#4

No. of Hole Depth of the Length of Azimuth, Degree Jetting GPM Remarks
Hole, Meters Penetration, Pressure, Psi
Meters

No. 1 2948 m 50 m 0 6000 – 8000 5.5 full lateral

No. 2 2948 m 50 m 90 6000 – 8000 5.5 full lateral

No. 3 2948 m 50 m 180 6000 – 8000 5.1 full lateral

No.4 2948 m 50 m 270 6000 – 8000 6.1 full lateral

No.5 2904 m 50 m 0 6000 – 8000 6 full lateral

No.6 2904 m 50 m 90 6000 – 8000 6.2 full lateral

No.7 2904 m 50 m 180 6000 – 8000 6.2 full lateral

No.8 2904 m 50 m 270 6000 – 8000 6 full lateral

Table 8—Pre-Post Radial Drilling Production Comparison Well#4

Before Radial Drilling After Radial Drilling

Gas Production Water Cut (%) Gas Production Water Cut (%)
(scumd) (scumd)

5000 scumd Nil Nil Nil

Considering the sub hydrostatic nature of the reservoir in which the well is completed coupled with
prolonged exposure to the kill fluid, the possibility of fluid loss to the formation cannot be ruled out.
Moreover, it is pertinent to note that, during acoustical survey the static fluid level of the well was found
at 2940 m. However, subsequent to the radial drilling operation, the well couldn't be bought on stream due
to the lack of reservoir energy.

Observations and Analysis

Radial Drilling campaign was successful mechanically as all laterals could be drilled from the selected
mother wells, while operationally, production increase was observed in two (2) wells. The success in these
two wells may be attributed to

• Less exposure of the created laterals to the completion fluids

• Presence of relatively thicker pay-zone

• Laterals jetted beyond damaged zone inducing flow from the undamaged reservoir

• Good reservoir energy

In one of the failed wells some amount of oil flow was observed. However, in the fourth (gas) well, fluid
couldn't even be unloaded during the initial unloading operations. The possible reasons for the failure of
radial drilling operations in the two wells from the point of production gain may be attributed to

• Long term exposure of the created laterals to the completion fluid resulting in fluid loss to the
pay zone
• Thin pay zone thickness

• Lower reservoir pressure

12 SPE-185398-MS

Most of the reservoirs of OIL operational areas are mature and are in an advanced stage of decline, in
which production has been maintained with appropriate reservoir management practices. In one of the failed
wells, there was a delay in jetting of the third lateral due to pump failure which resulted in the created laterals
being kept exposed to the kill fluid. Due to sub hydrostatic nature of reservoir in the other well, invasion of
kill fluid must have resulted in higher formation damage. Further, it was observed that both dispersive and
swelling clays kaolinite, illite, chlorite, and smectite are common in the area. Presence of these clay particles
in contact with completion fluids (prolonged exposure during the repairing of the malfunctioning unit, after
drilling of the first two laterals) might have tended to swell and clog pore spaces and reduce permeability
resulting in formation damage around the vicinity of wellbore (in spite of use of clay inhibitors).

Field Observations
Some vital field observations have been made with regard to field operational efficiency and also to
minimize rig time, as outlined below:

• Design of lighter jetting/completion fluid for radial drilling operations in low pressure (BHP) wells.
Special care should be taken to minimize loss of completion fluids during radial drilling operations.
• Use of filtered jetting fluid (< 10-5 microns) is a must to avoid equipment failure during jetting
operations. Particles larger than 5 micron getting into the coil can choke the nozzles resulting in
holding up of operations.
• Radial jet drilling can be done in wells having short rat hole. (Well#3 was completed with a rat
hole of 7 m.)
• More operational control with 2 3/8' "tubing with BHA instead of 2 7/8 "tubing.

• Circulation of diesel, xylene etc. would be required if paraffination problems are encountered
during radial drilling operations downhole.
• Coiled tubing injectors should be used in deeper wells of depth 3000 meters and above.

• After creating laterals in the target zones, production testing of the wells should commence as early
as possible to minimize exposure of laterals to the completion fluids.

Conclusion
Radial jet drilling technology remains a progressive and consistent technological innovation for the oil
and gas industry. Application of this technology in Oil India Limited (OIL) can be termed as a success,
considering that it was being applied for the first time without any operational experience in our fields.
Mechanically, the application of this technology can be deemed a complete success since all laterals could
be drilled in the selected mother wells. The milling of laterals in 5 ½" casing at 90 degree phasing itself
is a challenging job. Holes were successfully drilled down to at a maximum depth of 3226 meters (10,581
feet). Additional advantage of this technology lies in the fact that it can be much less costlier than the other
available stimulation techniques.
Operationally as well as from actual production performance, the shallow wells performance were more
satisfactory in comparison to deeper wells. However, with a lot of lessons learned in this pilot project,
especially from the operational side, application of this technology in the near future in more number of
wells through proper planning and implementation could aid in gaining more oil and gas production from
the field's.

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the management of "OIL INDIA LIMITED" for authorizing the publication
of data presented in this Paper.
SPE-185398-MS 13

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164773, North Africa Technical Conference & Exhibition, 15-17 April 2013,Cairo, Egypt.
Adel M. Salem Raghab, —Improving well Productivity in an Egyptian Oil field using radial drilling technique,ǁ Journal
of Petroleum and Gas Engineering, May 2013.