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10 Directional Drilling
10 Directional Drilling
• Mining industry.
• Construction industry.
SOURCE: T.A.INGLIS
SIDE TRACKING AND STRAIGHTENING
It is used as remedial operation either to side track
obstruction by deviating the well bore away from
obstruction by deviating the well bore back to vertical
by straightening out crooked holes.
RELIEF WELL DRILLING
The technique is applied to the drilling of relief wells so
that mud may be pumped into the reservoir of the
uncontrolled well.
HORIZONTAL WELL
Horizontal well may be defined as an extension of highly deviated wells,
drilled in order to situate a drain of considerable length at a precise depth
in a reservoir with an angle of inclination approaching 90 o from vertical.
Advantages:
1.Increasing the drainage area.
2.Prevention of gas coning or water coning problems.
3.Increased penetration of the producing formation.
4.Increasing the efficiency of enhanced oil recovery ( EOR ).
5.Improving productivity in fractured reservoirs by intersecting a numbers
of vertical fractures.
ERD WELL
In these well departure of the well is twice or more of TVD.
This separates it from conventional directional
wells.Advantages:
Increased horizontal displacement from central platform.
1. Increased penetration length of reservoir.
2. Require less number of wells to develop a field.
3. Require less number of platforms to develop a field in
offshore.
Multilateral Drilling
Multilateral well has been defined as a well that has
more than one horizontal or near horizontal laterals
drilled from single site and connected back to a single
well bore.
Applications:
. Greater reservoir exposure.
· Drain more than one reservoir.
· Exploit irregular reservoirs efficiently.
· Speed up reservoir drainage.
· Reduction in drilling cost per unit length of the
well bore contacting, the reservoir rock.
· Ability to obtain a given length of horizontal well
bore in reservoir where drag would perhaps limit
the length of single horizontal well bore.
· Reduction in number of slots and thus the
number of production platforms.
NON PETROLEUM APPLICATIONS
A. MINING INDUSTRY
- Directional wells are used to produce methane gas that is
contained in coal seams.
- Methane presents a safety hazard and must be drained off
before mining operations can begin.
- In deep coal seams that are beyond the reach of
conventional mining techniques, directional wells can be
drilled for in situ gasification projects.
B. CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
A small diameter pilot hole is drilled in a smooth arc
beneath the river until it immerges on the other side.
This acts as a guide for the large diameter pipe
forming the conduit.
The hole is drilled through soft sediments about 40’
below the river bed. This techniques has been used
to cross rivers up to 200’ wide.
C.GEO THERMAL ENGINEERING
High geothermal gradient found in some rocks( e.g.
granite) can be harnessed to provide energy.
Extracting the heat from this rocks requires the drilling
of injection and production wells.
TYPES OF WELL PROFILES
a. L- TYPE
b. S- TYPE
c. J- TYPE
TYPE I (BUILD AND
HOLD OR ‘L’ TYPE)
• This is the most common and
simplest profile for a
directional well.
• The well is drilled down
vertically to KOP, where the
well is deviated to required
inclination and further
maintained to target.
• Shallow KOP is selected to
reduce the inclination.
• This profile can be applied
where large displacements are
required at relatively shallow
target depths.
• Under the normal condition
inclination should be 15 to 55°.
TYPE II (BUILD HOLD AND
DROP OR ‘S’ TYPE)
• This profile is similar to type-I up to
tangential section. After that profile
enters in a drop of section where
inclination is reduced and in some
cases becomes vertical as it reaches
the target.
• More torque and drag can be
expected due to the additional bend.
• Used where target is deep but
horizontal displacement is relatively
small.
• It has also application when
completing a well that intersect
multiple producing zones.
• Drilling of relief well where it is
necessary to run parallel to wild well.
• Lease or target limitations.
TYPE III (DEEP KICK OFF
AND BUILD ‘J’ TYPE)
• Initial deflection is started well
below the surface and angle is
built up to bottom.
• It is used in particular
situations like salt dome drilling,
fault drilling and side- tracking or
repositioning of target.
• Disadvantages:
• Formation may be harder &
less responsive to
deflection.
• More tripping time to
change BHA while
deflecting.
• BUR is more difficult to
control.
HIGHLY DEVIATED AND HORIZONTAL WELLS
HIGHLY DEVIATED WELLS
HIGHLY DEVIATED WELLS MAY BE DEFINED AS THOSE WELLS FOR
WHICH ANGLE OF INCLINATION EXCEEDS 600 FOR MOST OF THEIR
LENGTH.
2000’(600 M)
BUR: 2o/30M
80o
70o
60 o
10000’(3050 M)
10000’ 20000’ 30000’
(3050 M) (5020 M) (9150 M)
INLINATION HORIZONTAL REACH DRAINGE AREA
(degree) (m) (km2
60 3050 5.31
70 5020 11.9
80 9150 44.26
DRAINAGE AREA vs HOLE ANGLE
2000’(600 M)
BUR: 2o/30M
200’
10000’(3050 M)
A B C