Cairo University

Faculty of Engineering
Petroleum Engineering Department

STEPS OF OIL WELL DRILLING

Abdelrahman Genedy Mohamed Genedy

15 October 2023
 What is oil well drilling?
Oil drilling is the process of drilling a circular cross-
sectional hole from the surface of the Earth to reservoirs,
where the hydrocarbons are deposited. The process helps
to extract the deposited hydrocarbons from the
subsurface formations to the surface. The process involves
huge machinery, including drill bits, pumps, motors, drill
pipes, etc., assembled into a single platform commonly
known as a drilling rig.

Types of Drilling
1-Based on drilling a well, the drilling can be classified into
two broader categories: Onshore and Offshore drilling.

The drilling of an oil or gas well that is done on land is

known as Onshore drilling. The road transportation
network transports the drilling rigs, and rigs are placed on
the ground. Mobile rigs or truck-mounted rigs are also
used in this type of drilling. The operating expense of
onshore drilling is relatively less than offshore drilling as it
doesn't incur any helicopter transportation costs of crews,
additional shipping costs for living supplies, and food. The
infrastructure to drill an onshore well can be constructed
in a shorter time compared to an offshore structure.
Offshore drilling involves drilling an oil or gas well into the
water body, i.e., into the oceans. Offshore rigs like
floating, drillship, semi-submersible, or Jack-up rigs are
used in this type of drilling. The transportation of rig
components is primarily done through mega-ships and
carriers. The components are assembled at the location of
the drilling, which requires additional time for the drilling
to proceed. The operating cost of offshore drilling is much
more than that of onshore drilling. Also, the operations
are riskier than onshore operations.
2- Drilling Types based on Hydraulic Heads:
Generally, in the oil and gas industry, two major types of
drilling approaches of drilling are carried out based on the
hydraulic heads while drilling. One is known as
underbalanced drilling and the other is known as over-
balanced drilling.
▪
Underbalanced Drilling or “UBD” is a condition while
drilling where the wellbore pressure is kept lower than
that of the formation fluid pressure. As the drilling goes
on, formation fluids start entering the borehole because
the wellbore-exposed formations exert pressure on
drilling mud and start entering into the wellbore. UBD
leads to an increase in the drilling rate.
▪
Overbalanced Drilling or “OBD” is a type of drilling where
the pressure inside the borehole is kept higher than that
of formation pressure. The higher pressure is maintained
with the help of pumps. While maintaining the pressure,
the limit of formation breakdown is kept in mind to avoid
lost circulation. Also, excess overpressure can reduce the
drilling rate by slowing the removal of drill cutting under
the bit.
 STEPS OF OIL WELL DRILLING

Before an organization can begin drilling operations,

it must first produce the infrastructure necessary to
facilitate safe, responsible, and compliant drilling.
This includes providing pads and access roads, as well
as water and electricity facilities. Having planned and
surveyed the site, as well as providing this
infrastructure, and safety procedures, and obtaining
relevant permits beforehand, the start of the drilling
process can begin.
• Well-place selection
• Well design
• Constructing rig location
• Location preparation
• Levelling
• Cellar
• Access roads
• Pits
With the preparatory stage of the drilling site
completed, it is then possible to begin drilling the
initial surface hole. This is drilled past the deepest
freshwater aquifer (to avoid contaminating water
supplies), before the drill pipe is removed and
replaced with steel pipe, otherwise known as ‘surface
casing’. To keep the drill bit cool during this process,
special drilling mud is used to regulate the
temperature of the drill bit, as well as provide
stability to the walls of the borehole and remove
loose rocks.
Cement is then pumped down this surface casing, and
back up between the casing and the borehole, creating a
vital impermeable barrier between the borehole and
nearby freshwater sources. Before continuing, testing
takes place to ensure that the cement barrier is
completely impermeable and there is no risk of
contamination. This approach, known as vertical drilling, is
an essential part of oil or natural gas production.
Alongside this, horizontal drilling is another approach that
is applied in the oil and natural gas sector. When drilling
for hydrocarbons in a shale formation it is necessary to
drill horizontally, this begins with a vertically-drilled well
which drills to a specific depth, called the ‘kick-off point’,
where the well bore begins to curve horizontally.
A key advantage of this approach is its potential to drill
several laterals from a single surface drilling pad, this
minimizes the impact and scale of activity on the above
drilling rig, therefore reducing disturbance. When the
target distance is reached, the drill pipe is removed and
more steel casing is inserted throughout the well bore,
cemented in place similarly to the vertical drilling process.
After this stage is completed, the well-completion process
can take place.
Having produced the final casing, the next stage is to
create a connection between this surface casing and
the rock layer holding the oil and gas. To do this, a
specialized ‘perforating gun’ is lowered to the rock
layer, firing to create holes between the casing pipe
and into the target rock, piercing the cement layer.
These perforating holes, only inches long, do not
cause any detectable activity on the surface. Once
completed, the perforating gun is removed and the
next stage, hydraulic fracturing, can begin.
Hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as fracking, is
the next stage of the oil and natural gas drilling
process. This begins with stimulation fluid, a mixture
of <90% water and sand (with some chemical
additives) is pumped under high pressure into deep
underground reservoir formations. The chemicals
used in fracturing fluid are for lubrication and
preventing bacteria formation. They are non-
hazardous, low concentration, and are necessary to
improve the performance and efficiency of hydraulic
fracturing.
The stimulation fluid is pumped through the
perforations made by the perforating gun, this will
hydraulically fracture the shale rock which contains
the target natural gas. The sand remains in the rock
fractures to keep them open whilst pump pressure is
relieved, allowing previously trapped oil and gas to
flow to the well bore.
Once the hydraulic fracturing process has taken
place, the well can begin to produce oil. The oil and
natural gas flow from the well bore and the fracturing
fluid is recovered. During the initial production of a
well, roughly 25-75% of fracturing fluid is recovered
and either recycled in other fracturing operations or
disposed of in a fashion complying with government
environmental regulations.
The process of developing a well, as described,
typically takes roughly 3-5 months in total with the
following timeline:
Preparing the site: a few weeks.
Drilling the well: eight to twelve weeks.
Completing the well and stimulation: one to three
months.
Having extracted all of the viable oil and natural gas,
the land used by the drill site must be returned to its
original state before the operation starts. This is
achieved by filling the well with cement and cutting
all drill pipe off ~6 feet below ground level. Having
filled the surface hole all surface equipment will be
removed and any well pads filled in. This returns the
land to its initial state, with minimal evidence of a
well site having existed.