Techniques and Deflection Tools in High-Angle
DriUing: Past, Present and Future
GEORGE W, PICKETT
MEMBER AIME
Abstract
Directiomrl drilling isnsedextensiveiyin the oil industry,
and ctlso k-w nrany Itses in other fields. Early directional
drilling is discussed in detail to familiarize the reader with
its rertninology an(f to help him more jidly nndetwmd the
need for iinprovemenls, in the past 10 years, directiomtl
drilling companies have developed inany new tools and
trcimiques. Adwnlages mtd disadvmt(ages of timre inz-
proiemevts are pointed out in this article.
Introduction
Directional drilling, which was started in the early
1930-s, has found a respected place in the oilfields of the
world, In recent years it has become a highly scientific and
technical profession. In the mid 1950’s, engineers took
directional drilling in hand and the established methods
that were based entirely on experience began to give way
to modern techniques. These techniques were designed to
improve the mechanics of directional drilling and to re-
duce high costs of directional drilling jobs.
This article presents the many improvements that have
been made in directional drilling equipment and tech-
niques in the past 10 years, The arlicle represents the views
of the author as obtained from experience as a directional
driller, and from interviews with directional drilling repre-
sentatives both in management and on the field engineer
level.
Uses of Directional Drilling
The proper approach for illustrating these many im-
provements must begin with an understanding of direc-
tional drilling and its many uses. As applied to the oil in-
dustry, thedetlecting of wellbores comes under three gen-
eral headings.
Sidetracking, in its most popular form, involves going
around a fish left in the wellbore. Another example: when
aproducing reservoir is missed, a plugback and theaccom-
panying oriented sidetrack can give a much more favor-
able bottom-hole location structurally. Sidetracking has
been used often in secondary recovery work in both cased
Oriirinal msrruscript receivedin Society of Fetroleurn En Sneers ottfce
Aug. 9, 1966, Revised manuscript received JarI 11, 1967. ?aper (SPE
15!17J was presented atSPE 41st Annual Fall Meeting held in Datlns,
Tex., Oct. 2-6, 1966. @K!opyright 1967 American Institute “f Min[ng,
Metallurgical, and Petroleum Enginesrs, he,
AFRIL, 1967 Rewinted from Awii, 1967, Issue of JOURNAL
Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/JPT/article-pdf/19/04/469/2220938/spe-1597-pa.pdf by guest on 23 March 2024
GULF OIL CORP.
MORGAN CITY, 1A.
and tmcased holes to move the bottom-hole location to an
area of less depletion.
A second general heading involves straightening or
straightening up of a wellbore. This operation is mainly
concerned with moving the bottom-hole location back to
the proximity of the surface location, Typical applications
would be drilling contract commitments, lease line obliga-
tions and bottom-hole well spacing requirements.
A third general heading, and by far the most important,
is planned directional drilling which has numerous appli-
cations, the largest being in offshore drilling operations,
Platform-type directional drilling programs involving nml -
tiplc wellbores have many cost-saving features, in both
drilling and production phases. In multiple-well platforms
of four to six wel’s, the initial costs would be equivalent
to those of five or six individual vertical wells. However.
with platforms of 12, 18 and 24 wells, economic operation
is realized. Expensive rig moves are eliminated. The close
proximity of multiple wellheads greatly simplifies gathering
systems and production techniques.
Under this same general heading fall relief wells that
are drilled 10 kill uncontrolled blowouts. This application
has no parallel in many instances. Another application in-
volves inaccessible well sites. Typical examples are wells
drilled under lakes and rivers, under populated metropoli-
tan areas and difficult terrain such as mountainsides.
Another use of directional drilling principles is the
drilling of drain holes where many “roots” extend from a
single wellbore in thick producing zones. These drain holes
produce some of the most rapid drift angfe buildups that
are known, often 2°/ft or angles completely horizon-
tal, Other applications of directional drilling that are of
interest would be drilling wellbores into shallow sulfur
deposits and using super-heated steam to melt the sul-
fur for production. Cornplete!y o)posite production tech-
niques are planned for a potash !icld in Canada. Twenty
to 25 wells are being directional y drilled to circulate a
freezing medium and solidify underground water forma-
tions for a mining operation.
Directional drilling has been used in recent years to tap
underground nuclear explosion sites to obtain samples for
radioactive analysis. Directional wellbores have been guided
from mowttain sites to intersect with tunneling operations
for air purification purposes, Directional wellbores through
mountains have been considered to provide gravity drain-
age to high altitude lakes and reservoirs, replacing expen-
OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY 469

sive compressor stations required to bring the water over
the mountain. Directional drilling has been used to outline
shallow mineral deposits. This information is then used
for a more efficient approach to future mining operations.
Directional drilling-type survey instruments have been used
in aluminum-cased wellbores through glaciers to record the
annual movement at various depth intervals within the
glacier.
In its most basic meaning, directional holes are those
for which some outside means is used to deviate the well-
bore. Straight holes are those which are drilled without out-
side influence. Techniques used in directional drilling in-
volve moving a wellbore on a predetermined path. This path
is defined by an angle off vertical, commonly known as
drift or drift angle, and is measured in degrees from verti-
cal. This movement from vertical creates a horizontal conl-
ponent known as deviation or course deviation that has
both length and direction expressed in feet and compass
degrees.
Early Techniques
One of the earliest deflecting took was the inverted
wedge or whipstock. This tool appeared in the 1920’s
when some ingenious oilfield worker fashioned at? inverted
wedge out of wood (possibly a railroad tie or fence post)
and pushed this wedge down a wellbore to the top of a
fish and was able to drill past the fish. Whipstocks were
soon being fabricated out of casings as well as wood—their
design and size being entirely in the imagination of the
person constructing the tool, All whipstocks were of the
nonretrievable variety. All settings were made blind as to
direction, and were usuaI1y set hy the “go-devil” method.
As techniques improved, a means of retrieving the whip-
s[ock was accomplished by the installation of a lifting ring
at the top of the wedge. The outside diameter of this ring
was 1 or 2 in. smaller than the hole size. The inside
diameter was such that a small joint of drill pipe could
rotate freely inside the ring. The inside diameter of the
ring was also small enough that the bit drilling below the
whipstock would not go through the ring. This difference
in diameters permitted retrieving the tool when the drill
pipe was removed from the wellbore.
An early method of orienring the whipstock was by
aligning the whipstock face with a known direction on the
surface, and then marking each stand of drill pipe with a
punch or chalk mark prior to lowering into thehole. This
reference mark was then returned to a predetermined
reference on the derrick floor. This method was soon im-
proved by using two drill pipe clamps, a telescope with a
hair line andanaligning bar. This method, termed stoking
a tool in the hole, was more precise than the earlier
punch or chalk marking of the drill pipe. A similar method
consisted of using two clamps, one in the derrick and one
on the floor, and using a distant common target. The pipe
was first sighted-in with the telescope in the derrick and
then the same target was sighted-in at the floor level with
a telescope transit, The amount of turn for each stand of
drill pipe was read in degrees. A plus of 360° meant a
complete revolution of the drill pipe to the right, and a
minus reading of 360° meant a complete revolution to the
left. When the whipstock reached bottom, the difference
between the plus and minus readings would indicate the
position of the tool.
As wells were drilled deeper and drift angles became
higher, these methods became ineffectual by not being
able to keep up with the torque in the drill pipe. A surface
orientation might in reality be 180° off at total depth.
A means of bottom-hole orientation was perfected using the
tiein of two low side pictures. One low side was in refer-
470
,
I
ence to the bottom-hole direction and the other low side
was tied in with a magnet in the bottom-hole whipstock
assembly. By placing this information in a reader, the face
of the whipstock was located in reference to the bottom-
hole direction, thereby facilitating orientation. This method,
being dependent upon the low side of the hole, worked
exceptionally well in holes above 30, However, in holes
below 30, the stoking method had to be used,
The next improvement in methods of orientation came
with the use of the nonmagnetic pup joint that had mag-
nets inserted into the body of the pup joint. By properly
spacing an orientation instrument in the pup joint, it was
possible to obtain a true direction, a low side and the
reference magnets all on the same survey, With the refer- >
ence magnets in a known position, the face of the whip-
stock was in a known position, and orientation to a given
direction was possible even in a vertical hole, Limitations
to this method developed at angles above 12 or 14°
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as magnetic interference from drill pipe appeared in the
short pup joint surveys. This required going back to the
low side method as the drift angle increased, In the past
10 years with jet-bit deflection, turbo-drill and dyna-drill,
where multiple orientations are used between trips of the
drill pipe, the same principles have been used with larger
and longer nonmagnetic dril[ collars.
The evolution of wellbore surveying to determine the
bottom-hole results from directional drilling had its begin-
ning with the acid bottle and the ink blob to determine
drift angle. Both of these methods were very crude and
of questionable accuracy.
Next came the plumb bob-compass type of instrument
that was run in the open hole. A ‘modified version of this
instrument is in use today. The plumb bob records the de-
grees off vertical and the magnetic compass aligns this
movement from vertical with the earth’s magnetic field
When these two functions are in a state of equilibrium.
a camera survey is taken on a chart or film, This survey,
when returned to the surface by wireline or other means,
is used to determine the hole conditions at a given depth,
Frequency of the survey is based upon the preceding sur-
veys of the wellbore. Open-hole surveys were run on the
sand line at any convenient depth interval. Later surveys
through the drill pipe were run at convenient drill pipe
length intervals. The end result of a wellbore is a sum-
mation of a series of trigonometric calculations. The close-
ness of the surveys gives a more accurate picture of the
wellbore, but because each survey requires rig time, a
minimum of surveys is desirable.
Elimination of open-hole surveys by the use of core-bit
center bits and trigger bits greatly reduced the cost of di-
rectional drilling. These bits permitted the survey to be
run through the drill pipe and through the bit, free of
magnetic interference, without removal of the drill pipe.
A disadvantage of the core-bit center bit was that two
trips of the sand line were required for each survey, A
disadvantage of the trigger blt was that it did not allow
for bh selection. The next improvement, the nonmagnetic
drill collar, eliminated both of these problems.
The nonmagnetic drill collar appeared in directional
drilling in the early 1950’s and rapidly replaced all previous
ways of taking wellbore surveys. The first to appear was a
K-Monel type of steel alloy that, in addition to being non-
magnetic, also had corrosion-resistant properties and
strength and hardness comparable with other high a[loy
steels. This was followed later by a nonmagnetic drill col-
lar made of chromium, nickel and gamma iron which had
characteristics similar to K-Monel drill collars.
Most of the improvements in surveying instruments in
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
recent years have been towards miniaturization and accur-
acy of the instrument components.
Need for Improved Techniques
Early in its history, directional drilling procedures fell
into a set pattern; these procedures were handed down from
operator to trainee for many years as ironclad rules to pro-
duce a successful job, Research brought out very few im-
provements. Techniques in the early 1950’s were very
similar to those of the previous 15 years. The set pattern
of a deflecting tool operation consisted of a trip in the hole
with a conventional whipstock, orienting, shearing the pin
and drilling a 10- to 1tl-ft rathole with light weight and
slow rotary. The pilot bit or hole opener trip followed next
to ream the rathole to the gauge of the original wellbore.
A survey was usuafly dropped in a monel pup joint above
the pilot bit to determine if the run was favorable or sour.
A wxsr run could be wiped out at this time with a mini-
mum of lost rig time. After pulling the pilot bit, the limber
hook-up, consisting of a gauge bit, a gauge stabilizer and
a 12- to 18-ft nonmagnetic pup joint, was run, The flexi-
bility of this assembly permitted its entry into the gauge
rathole without binding, sticking, twisting off or shoulder-
ing up. Reaming the dog-leg prior to drilling ahead
smoothed out the run in preparation for the next drilling
assembly.
The next assembly was called the short hook-up and
consisted of a gauge bit, a gauge stabilizer, a nonmagnetic
drill collar and one or more steel drill collars, depending
upon the amount of hole made by the previous limber
hook-up. The short hook-up could sometimes be left in
the hole for the remainder of the bit life, but more often
than not it was pulled after 300 or 400 ft for the stiff or
stabilizer hook-up. This final assembly was used during
most of the directional drilling operation, and consisted
of the short hook-up with the addition of several steel
driIl collars and several stabilizers spaced at various inter-
vals. Faur or five complete round trips of the dril[ pipe
were required for a successful whipstock run by the above
procedure. a standard of 15 years ago,
Since 1950, with the increased demand for directional
drilling. the directional companies in strong competitive
efiort have come up with several major improvements.
New and Improved Techniques
Jet Bits
In the mkl 1950’s, with the introduction of jet bits a few
years earlier, a new and radical method of wellbore de-
flection was perfected in the Louisiana Gulf Coast area.
This method became known as jet-bit deflection, and the
principle involved was the deflection of a wellbore by
the jetting or washing action of a drilling fluid jetted at
high pressure through a bit nozzle oriented to a specified
direction. This jetting action was compatible with the soft
shales, sands and gumbo that predominate in the Gulf
Coast. Good results were obtained with a minimum of lost
rig time. One of the outstanding facets of this new tech-
nique was the ability to run a stiff or stabilized drilling as-
sembly in a vertical hole, and then deflect that vertical
wellbore to any specified drift angle and course without
making a trip with the drill pipe. This, coupled with the
ability to make multiple settings for drift or direction, vir-
tually added a steering wheel to the bit.
As experimentation and field testing progressed through
the first couple of years, a few defects showed up in the
technique of jet-bit deflection, The combined effort of the
directional drilling companies and the major bit compan-
ies soon eliminated most of them. Field tests showed that
APRIL, 1967
quicker results could be obtained by blanking two jets
and having full circulation through the jet to be oriented.
This large jet was usually in the %- to .74-in. size. This
gave fine deflection results, but it was noted that the
penetration rate in drilling was reduced. The conclusion
drawn was that blanking the two jets tended to “ball-up”
that particular cone and this balling up definitely affected
bit penetration rate, Further tests gave satisfactory re-
sults, both in deflection and penetration rates, by the use of
one 3A- or 7%-in. jet and two 1/4-in, jets. These small jets
kept the bit clean, but handled such a small VOIume of the
drifling fluid as to have no appreciable effect on the de-
flection results, This combination has tended to become a
standard in most jet deflection operations.
One of the early problems concerned erosion, Higl?-
pressure fluid turbulence inside the bit housing at the top
of the large jet and high sand content in the drilling mud
would wash out the jet housing before the bit was used
up. Although this problem is still present, larger tungsten
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carbide jets and more streamlined approaches to this large
jet, as well as improved desanding equipment, have tended
to minimize the erosion problem.
As previously mentioned, in the use of a nonmagnetic
drill collar with reference magnets, one survey not only
~ave drift and direction but also recorded the location
of the reference magnets. This method was very compati-
ble with jet-bit deflection. A survey at any time gave bn-
mediate location of the large jet, and minor corrections to
the path of the wellbore could be maintained on a con-
tinuous basis. Other advantages were that bridging and
fillup could be washed out, smooth buildups were ob-
tained and no severe dog-legs were created in the hole.
Better mud systems could he maintained with the reduced
number of round trips.
As field testing of the jet-bit method continued, Imitat-
ions began to appear. Theoretically, the results of a
jetting attempt are directly proportional to the amount
of penetration during the jetting operation. Therefore, as
the formations become more dense and compacted with
depth, the amount of penetration per given interval of
time becomes less and less. Picking formations from welI
logs and well records is a hit-or-miss proposition a.ld stop-
ping at the top of good jetting sandy shales could also be
misleading. Whh jetting time to accomplish an eqt ivalent
set of results beginning to equal or exceed the time re-
quired to use whipstocks, conclusions were drawn that
jetting performed ideally above 5,000 ft, but equivalent
results dropped off sharply below this depth. Jetting re-
sults as deep as 11,000 ft were obtained, but the time in-
volved represented approximate] y three equivalent whip-
stock settings and, although the results were acceptable,
the loss in rig time was a prohibiting factor.
Full-Gmsge Whipstock
A second major improvement to occur in the mid 1950’s
was the increased use of the full-gauge whipstock. The
four or five round trips required for a conventional whip-
stock run gave way to a procedure that involved only one
extra trip. An example of the conventional whipstock
procedure is as follows (Fig. 1): 9%-in. hole size, 71A-in.
OD whipstock, 6YI-in. bit and rathoIe (1) whipstock round
trip, (2) pilot bit round trip, (3) limber hook-up round trip
and (4) short or stabilized hook-up round trip.
Improved mud properties and improved hole conditions,
in general, made it apparent that a larger, full-gauge whip-
stock could be run. An example of the full-gauge whip-
stock procedure is as follows (Fig. 2): 97/s-in. hole sk
S+ff - to 87s in, OD Whipstock, 7’78 -in. bit and rathole (1)
whipstock round trip followed by the previous drilling as-
sembly.
471
 Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/JPT/article-pdf/19/04/469/2220938/spe-1597-pa.pdf by guest on 23 March 2024
~“

LIMBER
9 7/8”
‘ii
HOOK-UP
BIT
N. /.

\
g \,
\
SHORT HOOK-UP

Fig. I —Gmvenlionxl technique using rmnovahlt. whipstnrks.

Results from the full-.gauge run would vary from one-
half to a full whipstock run. Occasionally, a run was
completely wiped out, but this was more than offset by
the many successful runs. In respect to rig [ime, two full-
gauge tools could be set in the time required for one con-
ventional loo] run, The combination of jet-bit ,defiection
above 5,000 ft and full-gauge whipstocks below 5,000 ft
greatly speeded up directional drilling, and time penetra-
tion rates of 400 to 500 ft/day were doubled and tripled.
Planned Directional
Drilling Programs
The trend in cutting drilling costs initiated planned di-
rectional drilling programs. Representatives of drilling,
geological and directional drilling companies were called
together several weeks in advance of a drilling job. These
meetings quickly eliminated difficult cylinder-type direc-
tional proposals (Fig. 3). Targets, whose size had become
somewhat standardized at 50- and 100-ft radii and whose
location had normally been at total depth, were given spe-
cial consideration. They began to show up at the tops
of producing sands and, where possib!e, were maximized
so that 500- to 600-ft boundaries were not uncommon.
Where targets were restrictive, their size and boundaries
were shown as either a circle or some other, irregular
enclosure. Course lines were usually straight lines from
the surface location to the target objective: but with known

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Fig. oversized removable whipstoek. directional drilling programs.

4i2 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

trends in a given field, ‘“setting off course” to allow for bit
walk and formation tendencies became very popular (Fig.
4). Departures of 400 to 500 ft from a straight-line course
were not uncommon in the initial phases of a directional
well. Occasionally, this speculation could have disastrous
results when a known formation trend did not come in, and
expensive plugback and sidetrack operations had to be
re’ied upon. The over-all picture shows that this type of
preplanning has paid big dividends.
A wellbore that has a walking tendency will usually walk
in a set pattern to the right or to the left, However, in iso-
lated cases in faulty dome areas, both right and left walks
may be experienced in the same hole. Fig. 5 is a represent-
ative example of right and left tendencies in a known field
in northern Louisiana. The kick-off point is around 2,000
ft and from there to 7,500 ft there is a pronounced walking
tendency to the right. Below 7,S00 f~ the hole walks back
to the left, increasing in rate of walk as the drift angle
drill, it became possible to deflect a wellbore in a given
direction. First attempts with this deflected mud-driven
turbine met with moderate success in medium to hard
formations.
Difficulties arose in orienting techniques with regard
to bottom-hole back torque and rol[-off. Bearing life in the
turbo-drill and in the drilling bit was limited because of
the high rpm’s, When thk tool was introduced to the soft
to medium formations of the Gulf Coast with their ac-
companying stickhg tendencies, the success ratio was
greatly reduced. The high rpm’s with low horsepower tend-
ed to make the bit bog down in gumbo-type shales, and
even at very light weights the bit would stop rotating and
the fluid power medium would by-pass the turbine vanes.
Dyna-Drill
Using principles entirely different but similar in appear-
ance, the directional dyna-drill was perfected and field-

Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/JPT/article-pdf/19/04/469/2220938/spe-1597-pa.pdf by guest on 23 March 2024

drops back to vertical. Directional planning purposely set
the course 150 to the left of the original course at the
kick-off point. The hole held direction well during the
initial buildup. Below 2,800 ft the hole had a slow walk
to the right and continued this walk to around 7,500
ft, then below 7,500 ft the hole began to walk to the
left, A directional operator not familiar with zhese ten-
dencies would have set his whipstock due west at 2,000 ft.
As walking to the right began he would have set a whip-
stock to the left around 4,000 ft, and possibly again to the
left at 6,000 ft. With the direction on course at 7,000 ft,
a third whipstock may have been required to keep from
missing the target on the left below 7,500 ft.
Turbo-Drill
In 1960, as new trends of competitive spirit moved
through directional drilling companies, a different approach
to directional drilling came in with the advent of the
straight-hole turbo-drill. By modifying this bottom-hole
drilling machine with a bent sub directly above the turbo-
tested on the West Coast in 1962, Thk tool employed a
reverse Moyno pump principle as the power source to the
bit (Figs. 6 and 7). In simpler terms, instead of the motor
driving the pump, the pump drives the motor (irt this case,
the bit). This down-hole rotation of the bit is induced by
the rotation of a directly connected spline or helix which
obtains rotary motion as the drilling fluid medium passes
through the body of the dyna-drill.
Employing this principle, when the bit stops rotating
as it does in sticky formations or with excess bit weight,
the power ffuid phase likewise stops and the accompany-
ing pressure rise at the surface gives a positive indication
that the bit is no longer rotating. This relationship of the
pump pressure to rotation of the bit permits, in effect, the
mud circulating pressure to act as a weight indicator for
the bit. This tool is so designed on a volumetric basis to
keep the bit rotation at a medium, thereby creating more
horsepower to the bit. This. in turn. permits greater bit

1 BY-PASS VALVE
ASSEMBLY

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ASSEMBLY SURVEY COLLAR

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ASSEM8LY

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directional
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drilling
SCALE
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Fig. Qut-uway
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APRIL, 1967 47$

weight, and the slower rpm’s are conducive to longer
boating life. Since its inception, it has been field-tested in
all types of formations, in directional holes from vertical
to 60° of drift angle and in depth ranges from surface
to 14,000 ft.
This tool requires an extra trip of the drill string but,
like the jet bit, it has the ability to combat bridging, tight
ho[e conditions and bottom-hole fillttp, as well as multiple
settings without removing the drill pipe, This tool presents
problems similar to the directional turbo-drill with re-
spect to bogging down in sticky, soft formations, as well as
orientation difficulties caused by bottom-hole back torque.
With its increased horsepower for more bit weight and its
slower rpm’s for longer bearing life, the dyna-drill is more
acceptable as a down-hole deflecting tool. The dyna-drill
used at depths below 5,000 ft, in association with the jet-
bit technique at shallower depths, seems to be the most
ideal combination at the present time, Recent improve-
ments in the mechanical operation of the turbo-drill are
said to have increased its horsepower to the bit and re-
duced its rpm’s. This tool is presently being field-tested in
other areas, and wiO probably be field-tested offshore in
the near future.
The theoretical comparison graph in Fig. 8 shows the
best methods to be used for economic directional drilling
planning. The values used are approximations but are very
representative of actual practice. The term “whipstock equi-
valent” pertaining to jet-bh and dyna-drill runs means a
result equivalent to locating one whipstock at that depth
and setting. In the depth range from 1,000 to 5,000 ft, it
should be noted that, using the jet-bit technique, several
wlsipstock equivalents are below one full-gauge run or one
dyna-drill run. Also, in this depth range using dyna-drill,
one whipstock equivalent paralIels the results of one full-
gauge wbipstock run because of the extra round trip in-
volved for the dyna-drill of the full-gauge tool. In the
range from 5,000 to 8,000 ft, depending upon the firmness
of the formations, the jet-bit deflection begins to approach
the full-gauge whipstock and dyna-drill, and two whipstock
equivalents by the jet-bit technique are nearly impossible
at this depth and below. Below 5,000 ft the dyna-drill using
multiple settings falls well below the full-gauge whips[ock
with respect to more than one whipstock equivalent. The
best combination of deflection methods seems to be the jct-
bit to 5,000 ft, then the jet-bit or dyna-drill or full-gauge
whipstock between 5,000 and 8,000 ft (jet-bit depending
on the formation). Below 8,000 ft, use either the full-gauge
l{ \ 1-
2 4 6 8 10
OEPTH
( 1000’)
Fig. 8--Theoretical comparison of deflection
474
or dyna-drill for one whipstock and the dyna-drill below
8,000 ft for more than one whipstock equivalent.
Bottozn-Hole Sub
Another important improvement to appear in recent
years is the bottom-hole orientation sub (Fig, 9), Using a
combination of low side and mud pump pressure, a positive
orientation result is obtained on the surface. In essence
this bottom-hole sub consists of a free-floating steel ball in
an oil medium and a restricted circulation port. WMt the
circulation pressure fixed at 1,000 to 1,500 psi, the drill
string is slowly rotated and the gravity movement of the
steel ball keeps it on the low side of the sub. When this
ball enters a groove with a predetermined relationship
to the tool face, a sliding sleeve is actuated and additional
circulation ports are opened to the mud column.
This increase in circulation volume creates a correspond-
ing drop in circulating pressure at the surface, and the
tool face is thereby located with reference to the low side
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of the hole. The sliding sleeve, in its lowered position, de-
presses a spring, and when circulation is interrupted the
sleeve moves back to its original position. Significantly, no
outside instruments were introduced into the wellbore, and
there is a corresponding absence of a wireline run, This
sub, the working parts built to precision specifications, has
met with some difficulty in the field with respect to main-
tenance. Its ability to perform properly depends entirely
on the directional operator’s exercising extreme care, both
before and after use of this sub.
Most Recent Improvements
Additional improvements in directional drilling in the
past few years would include the rebel tool, nonmagnetic
tool joints for nonmagnetic drill collars, circulating whip-
A B’
Fig. 9—Hydrmtlic orienting sub: (A) nonoriented pcwi-
ticot; baII restricts movement of piston; all flow passes
through nozzle. (B) oriented position; piston mo~cs down
to shoulder; lower ports open allowing ssdditionnl fluid by-
tools. pass.
JOtJIINAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
 TABLE l—EXAMPLE OF COMPUTER SURVEY WITH VERTICAL SECTION COMPUTED ALONG CLOSURE
Measured Subsea Drift Cwrse Dogleg Coordinates Vertical
Depth TVD TVD Angle Direction per 100 ft North East Section
——
7,588 7,418 7,338 12”45’ N-55.E 0.25 862 1,120 1,413
7,677 7,505 7,425 12°45’ N-55-E 0,00 873 1,136 1,433
7,765 7,591 7,511 13°00’ N-56.E 0.38 884 1,153 1,453
7,854 7,677 7,597 12°30’ N-57-E 0.31 895 1,169 1,472
7,944 7,765 7,685 12”15’ N.59.E 0.55 904 1,185 1,491

stocks and computer completion reports of both single-shot
and multiple-shot surveys.
The rebel tool is designed to give a predetermined walk-
ing tendency to the bit (Figs. 10 and 11). This is accom-
plished by a unique arrangement of an upper and lower
h!ade in the too[ being connected by a torsion bsr. The
tool is approximately 10 to 15 ft in length and is run in
There areseveral types of circulating whipstocks on the
market. The most successful type is that which diverts cir-
culation from thedrill-pipe annulus through a hollow shear
pin and down the back of the whipstock to the Iower face
of the tool. By shearing pins in a sliding sleeve, the circu-
lation is returned to the whipstock prior to drilling off the
face of the whipstock. Late reports on this circulating whip-

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the string immediately above the bit, The upper blade is in
contact with the Iow side of the hole and in a depressed
position, This movement is transmitted to the lower blade
through the torsion bar, forcing the lower blade to act as
a lateral fulcrum. Depending on design, this fulcrum moves
the bit either to the right or to the left. This t~ol was de-
signedas an auxiliary tool to combat bit walking tenden-
cies or to instigate bit walks in a given direction. The
changes in direction are of a minor nature over a long
section of the hole.
Improved alloys have made it feasible to cut tool joints
in nonmagnetic drill collars. These tool joints have threads
of durable strength and lasting quality and compare with
other high alloy steels, Shrunken grips and welded connec-
tionsused previously on nonmagnetic drill collars areelim-
inated. As to lengths, 19-ft drill colIars now give the same
nonmagnetic protection as 25-ft drill collars did previous-
ly, and 25-ft drill collars are equivalent to the 30-ft drill
collars of the past. Recent empirical data charts indicate
the new drill collars with nonmagnetic tool joints give
increased protection at higher drift angles,
stock indicate over 250 runs without a serious failure of
the mechanical working parts of the tool.
Computer-type completion reports of directional drilling
jobs have greatly improved this service, In thepsst2 years
several directional drilling companies have gone to com-
puter-calculated completion reports (Table 1), Completion
reports once required several hours of calculation and
then several more hours for checking the restdts obtained.
Computer completions, where necessary data are pro-
grammed beforehand, have shortened this tedious job to
less than an hour, Several more types of information are
offered with these reports, In addition to the usual true
vertical depths and rectangular coordinates, some conl-
panies now require dog-leg severity checks per 100 ft
and various types of depth calculations (such as checks at
each 100 ft of measured depth, at each 100 ft of true ver-
tical depth, at each 100 ft of subsea verlical depth and at

//’/m\”\

7—-

I&V SIDS V13W TOP VIZ’ RIGSTSHE vw

Fig. l&Rebel tool (towalk hole to left). Fig. 11 —Rebel tool (towalk holeto right).

APRIL, 1967 476

.=wh Inn ft nf hmriynnial dicnlacement), These additional Acknowledgment
Cal interpretations.
The author wishes to thank the management of Gulf
Oil Corp. for permission to publish this article.
Future Improvements

The industry should expect many revolutionary
ments in the future. Turbo-drill and dyna-drill types of de-
flection tools should be perfected with bearings that will
last several thousand feet. Bits that will drill from surface
pipe to total depth will be perfected. Deflection !SOISwill
he made for straight drilling that can also be locked in de-
flection position when necessary. Surface-type recording
devices will be perfected to give a continuous record ot’
drift angles and directions.
The improvements made in the past 10 years indicate
that in the future directional \vellbores will be drilled with
the ease of drilling straight holes.
improve- GEORGE W. PICKETT is a drilling
foretttatt for Gulf Oil Corp. in Motgatt
Cijy, Lu. A]rer r~c~iving his BS degree ‘~
in pe/ro/ewm engmeelii?g /twin T/w U. ;~’,d,
of Oklahonus in 1950, he joined Emt-
wan Oilwell .W vey Co. F-or the ttext ,’
12 years he wwrked [tt Ihe ikf~d.~ ‘tvl[i-
nent, West Texas am] W’e.sr Co(Is/ oil
,fields, as )t.ell o.s itr Vene.lwela attd Co-
/o/llbia it/ So/(/l? Atltericc/. Priorm joilI- B
ing Gulf in 1964, f7e was emplojeci by 11’il.sonDirectional
f)rillirrg Cu.

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47& JoURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY