DIRECTIONAL DRILLING

Applications and principle terminology

MONTADHER AL-SAEDI
Directional Drilling
is defined as the practice of controlling the direction and deviation of a wellbore
to apredetermined underground target or location.

Applications of directional drilling :

1. Sidetrack:Side-tracking was the original directional drilling technique.
Initially, sidetracks were “blind". The objective was simply to get past a
fish. Oriented sidetracks are most common. They are performed when, for
example, there are unexpected changes in geological configuration.

2-Multiple Exploration Wells from a Single Well-bore:A single well bore can
be plugged back at a certain depth and deviated to make a new well. A single well
bore is sometimes used as a point of departure to drill others. It allows exploration
of structural locations without drilling other complete wells.
3. Inaccessible Locations:Targets located beneath a city, a river or in
environmentally sensitive areas make it necessary to locate the drilling rig some
distance away. A directional well is drilled to reach the target.

4.Salt Dome:Salt domes have been found to be natural traps of oil accumulating
in strata beneath the overhanging hard cap. There are severe drilling problems
associated with drilling a well through salt formations. These can be somewhat
alleviated by using a salt-saturated mud. Another solution is to drill a directional
well to reach the reservoir, thus avoiding the problem of drilling through the salt.
5. Fault Controlling:Crooked holes are common when drilling nominally
vertical. This is often due to faulted sub-surface formations. It is often easier to
drill a directional well into such formations without crossing the fault lines.

6. Onshore Drilling:Reservoirs located below large bodies of water

which are within drilling reach of land are being tapped by locating the
wellheads on land and drilling directionally underneath the water. This
saves money-land rigs are much cheaper.
7.Offshore Multiwell Drilling:Directional drilling from a multiwell
offshore platform is the most economic way to develop offshore oil fields.
Onshore, a similar method is used where there are space restrictions e.g.
jungle, swamp. Here, the rig is skidded on a pad and the wells are drilled
in “clusters".

8.Multiple Sands from a Single Wellbore:In this application, a well is

drilled directionally to intersect several inclined oil reservoirs. This allows
completion of the well using a multiple completion system. The well may
have to enter the targets at a specific angle to ensure maximum penetration
of the reservoirs.
9. Relief Well:The objective of a directional relief well is to intercept the bore
hole of a well which is blowing and allow it to be “killed". The bore hole causing
the problem is the size of the target.

10. Horizontal Drains:Reduced production in a field may be due to many factors,

including gas and water coning or formations with good but vertical permeability.
Engineers can then plan and drill a horizontal drainhole. It is a special type of
directional well. Horizontal wells are divided into long, medium and short-radius
designs, based on the buildup rates used.
Definition and vocabulary in a Directional well
Northing: Horizontal distance between one survey point and the
RKB, measured to the North. A distance to the South is generally
denoted as being negative.

Easting: Horizontal distance between one survey point and the

RKB, measured to the East. A distance to the West is generally denoted
as being negative.

True Vertical Depth: Vertical distance of one survey point to the

RKB.

Horizontal Departure: Horizontal distance between one survey

point and the RKB, at the level of the survey point.

Azimuth: Horizontal angle (0 - 2.π), measured clockwise from

the
true North to the tangent of the trajectory at this survey point.

Inclination: Angle between the vertical component of the tangent

of the trajectory at the survey point and the vertical axis.Thus a vertical
well as an inclination of 0, a horizontal well an inclination of π/2 .

Measured Depth: Actual length of the trajectory, starting at the RKB

up to the survey point.

Vertical Section: Horizontal departure of the survey point projected

to the vertical view. In this way the vertical section is always smaller or
equal to the horizontal departure.
TYPES OF DIRECTIONAL WELLS
There are three basic types of directional wells. Most wells can be categorized by
one of the four basic types or a combination thereof. Type 1 well is often called a
build and hold.
- The Type 1 well is drilled vertically from the surface to kick off point at a
relatively shallow depth. At that point, the well is steadily and smoothly
deflected until a maximum angle and the desired direction are achieved.
Then, casing is run and cemented if desired. The established angle and
direction are maintained while drilling to the target depth. One or more
strings of casing can be run if necessary. Usually this method is employed
when drilling shallow wells with single producing zones.

Features:·
-Shallow kick-off point (KOP)
-Build-up section (which may have more than one build up rate)
-Tangent section
Applications of this type this type of well may be used:
• Deep wells with large horizontal displacements.
• Moderately deep wells with moderate horizontal displacement where
intermediate casing is not required

- Type 2 well is often called an “S” curve. It is similar to the Type I because
the well is deflected at a relatively shallow depth, and surface casing is
frequently (but not always) run through the build curve. The angle and
direction are maintained until a specified depth and horizontal departure
has been reached. Then, the angle is steadily and smoothly dropped until
the well is near vertical. Intermediate casing is usually run through the
section of the hole where the angle was dropped. Drilling continues in the
vertical hole below the intermediate casing to the target.
Type II wells are generally used where multiple pay zones are encountered. Also,
after the well has been returned to vertical, directional drilling services are no
longer required. Since most of the directional drilling is done in the more shallow
portions of the hole where trips are shorter and penetration rates are higher, the
overall cost of the well is reduced. A disadvantage of the Type II is that it will
generate more torque and drag for the same horizontal departure.
Features: There are several variations:
Shallow KOP - Build, hold & drop back to vertical
Build-up section - Build, hold, drop & hold
(illustrated below)
Tangent section - Build, hold & continuous drop
through reservoir
Drop-off section
Applications: Disadvantages:
Multiple pay zones - Increased torque & drag
Reduces final angle in reservoir - Risk of keyseating
Lease or target limitations - Logging problems due to
inclination
Well spacing requirements
Deep wells with small horizontal displacements
Type 3 well is a continues build to target. It is similar to the Type I well except
the kickoff point is at a deeper depth, and surface casing is set prior to deflecting
the well. The well is deflected at the kickoff point, and inclination is continually
built through the target interval. The inclinations are usually high and the
horizontal departure low. This type of well is generally used for multiple sand
zones, fault drilling, salt dome drilling, and stratigraphic tests. It is not used very
often.
Features:
-Deep KOP
-Build-up section
-Short tangent section (optional)
Applications:
• Appraisal wells to assess the extent of a newly discovered reservoir.
• Re-positioning the bottom part of the hole or re-drilling.
• Salt dome drilling.
Disadvantages:
-Formations are harder so the initial deflection may be more difficult to achieve
-Harder to achieve desired tool face orientation with downhole motor deflection
assemblies
-(more reactive torque)
-Longer trip time for any BHA changes required