30” Conductor section

This section is drilled vertical, as the formation is not stable enough for building or turning
and since there often are a lot of already drilled wells. This makes anti-collision important as
multiple wells often are drilled from the same rig position. This can be seen in figure 2-1 as
all the offset wells have the same origin. As a result, surveying is important to make this
section vertical and preventing any well collision. Depth control is also very important as
shallow gas can give severe problems. (M. Grinrod, 1988) The typical calculations for this
section are simple since the well path has no build or turn, and a simple tangent function is
sufficient for this section.

20” Surface Casing

This section allows more maneuverability of the well path trajectory, but dogleg severity is
kept low. The formations can still be a little bit unstable and the large diameter of the drill
string and resulting casing prevents higher build and turns. Anti-collision is still an important
factor, but wells often tend to separate during this stage. Even though the build and turns of
this section is kept low, it is important to use accurate calculation methods. The most accurate
calculation methods are always used as soon as the well path begins to build or turn in the
planning phase. If more accurate methods than those used in the 30 “ section are not applied,
the well path will go off plan quickly. Typical functions required in this section are build and
turn curves, where a typical landing azimuth or inclination is important for next section.

13 3/8 “ Intermediate Casing

As hole diameter and BHA becomes smaller, there is lees constraint from the formation and it
will be easier to maneuver the BHA. This allows for higher dogleg severity and more bends in
the well path. However, inclination and other parameters have to be monitored to avoid hole
collapse. As the well path becomes more curved and the target gets closer, it is even more
important to use accurate calculation models, so that calculated well bore positions and other
parameters are determined correctly. Anti-collision is always important and as target gets
closer the possibility of encountering offset wells will get larger. The proximity of target also
puts more requirements on functions to enable user to determine more endpoint parameters
such as final position and inclination or azimuth.

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