PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND

PRODUCTION WELL

DRILLING AND CEMENTING

METHODS
Drilling site environment
On land rig components
 Hoisting system
• The mast support the weight of
the drill stem and allow vertical
movement.
• The draw works is a spool over
which steel cable is wrapped. This
line is threaded through the crown
block at the top of the mast and
then through the traveling block.
• Drill stem can be raised or
lowered by reeling in or letting out
drill line from the draw works The Drill stem
• The swivel allows the drill stem to
rotate while supporting the weight
of drill string.
• Connected to the swivel is the
Kelly, a three, four or six-sided
• Kelly to transmit the rotary
movement of the rotary table to
the drill string.
 Role of drill collar
• Drill collars having larger
outside diameters and smaller
inside diameters. These
perform three important
functions:

• They provide weight on the bit

while holding the drill pipe in
tension.

• They act as a pendant to keep

the hole straight.

• They maintain rigidity to drill a

straight hole.
It brings out cuttings and keeps the bit cool.
Circulating System:
The mud pump- pumps the drilling fluid from the mud pit
up the stand-pipe where the rotary hose connects
the standpipe to the swivel.

Mud moves through the swivel, Kelly, drill pipe, and drill
collars, exiting through the bit at the bottom of the
hole.

The mud moves up the annular space between pipe and

hole carrying the drilled rock in suspension.

At the surface, mud falls over shale shaker which

screens cuttings.

Some cuttings goes to sample trap and rest to cutting

reserve pit.

After cleaning of large cuttings, fine particles in mud are

removed by Desilter, Desander or centrifuge.
Drilling mud provides a hydrostatic head to
counter balance the pore pressure of fluids in
Controlling System
permeable formations.
When this balance is upset it results in “KICK” or
“LOST CIRCULATION”.
If Kick becomes uncontrollable it leads to
“Blowout”.
Where formation fluids erupting from the well,
often igniting and endangering the crew, the
rig and environment.
To control such situation Blowout Preventers are
used.
The blowout preventers are a series of powerful
sealing elements to close off the annular
space between the pipe and hole.
The well can be "shut-in" and the mud and/or
formation fluids are forced to flow through a
controllable choke.
Allows crew to control the pressure. Subdue the
Activity
Stabilizers
It is a sub with "blades" to keep
the drill collars centered in the
hole and maintain a full gauge
hole.
 Roller Cone Bit Insert Teeth Roller Bit
Drill Bits

• Drag Bits
• Rolling Cutter Bits
• Diamond Bits
• Special Purpose
Bits

Diamond bits
• Dyna drilling

Its positive displacement motor is powered by mud, air,

gas or water does not require the drill pipe to be rotated

– The drilled hole can be accurately slanted or curved in

any desired direction

– Commonly practice in deviated hole

 Directional drilling
• It is the science of directing the well bore along
a predetermined course to a target located at a given distance
from the vertical.
– Application
• multiple wells from artificial
• structure
• fault drilling
• Inaccessible location
• Sidetracking & straightening
• Salt dome drilling
• Relief wells
– Basic hole pattern
• Type-I - also called “l” curve pattern
• Type-II – also called “s” curved pattern
• Type –III
Type – I hole pattern
build and hold used in producing formation
located in a single zone and no
intermediate casing is required

Type – II hole pattern

also called ‘s’-curve pattern. build, hold
and drop used in multiple pay zones

Type – III hole pattern

continuous build or “l” shaped where initial
deflection starts well below the surface &
the hole angle is maintained to target
fault or salt dome drilling or re-drilling of
bottom part.

Type – IV hole pattern

build hold & build general pattern for
horizontal wells. the decision to drill
horizontally is primarily based on reservoir
engineering and reservoir management
considerations.
 Principle Functions of Drilling Fluids

• Subsurface pressure control and wellbore stabilization

• Cuttings removal and transport
• Solids suspension
• Cooling and lubrication of bit and drill string
• Assistance in collection of formation data
• Assistance in supporting drill string and casing weights
• Transmission of hydraulic horsepower to the bit
• Prevention of formation damage.
 Drilling Mud Classification

Oil-based Muds Water-based Muds

Drilling Muds (diesel, mineral, synthetic) Polymer muds
• All-oil muds
• Invert Emulsion • Inhibitive
• Non-damaging

Clay (gel) muds-

• Dispersed
• Non- dispersed
 Drilling Fluids

• Water-Base Drilling Fluids

• Oil-Base Drilling Fluids
• Air and Gas Drilling Fluids
 Water-Base Drilling Fluids

• A water-base fluid uses water for the liquid phase and

clays for viscosity.

• The continuous phase may be fresh water, brackish water,

seawater, or concentrated brines containing any soluble
salt.

• The clays used may be bentonite or attapulgite.

• The use of other components such as thinners, filtration-

control additives, lubricants, or inhibiting salts.
Formulating a particular drilling fluid is determined by the
type of system required to drill the formations safely and
economically.

Some of the major systems include the following:

fresh-water fluids, brackish or seawater fluids, saturated

salt fluids, inhibited fluids, gyp fluids, lime fluids, potassium
fluids and polymer-based fluids.

Brines used in drilling completion or work over operations

 Oil-Base Drilling Fluids

• An oil-base drilling fluid is one in which the continuous

phase is oil.

• The terms "oil-base mud" and "inverted or invert-emulsion

mud"

• oil-base mud is a fluid with 0 to 5% by volume water.

• An invert-emulsion mud contains more than 5% by volume

water.
 Drilling fluid components & additives

Drilling fluid components & additives provide

• Density or weight
• Viscosity
• Filtration control
• Rheology control or thinning/dispersing
• Alkalinity or pH-control
• Lost-circulation control
• Surface activity modification
• Lubrication
• Shale stabilization
• Protection from toxic and/or corrosive agents
Mud circulation system
MUD CIRCULATION
Balancing Formation Pressure
Remove cuttings from the hole

Viscosity of mud is the property

which lifts the rock cuttings out,
carrying them up through annulus
to the surface.
Borehole environment
For a proper interpretation, a logging tool is required to make
measurement of undisturbed sample of the subsurface
formation.
However, when a hole is drilled into a formation, the formation
and the formation fluid are altered in the vicinity of the
borehole.
After drilling through a permeable formation, if the pressure in
the mud column exceeds formation pressure.
Fluid from the mud will move into the formation, pushing
formation fluid away from well-bore.
As invasion occurs, the liquid constituent of the mud called
mud filtrate flows into the formation and the solid constituents
deposit around the bore-hole to form mud cake.
As the mud cake builds up, it creates a barrier and the
invasion of mud filtrate ceases.

In good porous and permeable formations invasion

diameter is small (a few inches or more), whereas in
poorly permeable zones, vuggy carbonates or fractured
formations, where mud cake formation is slow, invasion
may be very deep, up to several meters.

For impervious zones viz. shale, clay/ clay stone and

fresh igneous rocks there is practically no invasion.

Filtrate invasion of the formation results in annular rings

of different resistivity being formed.
Effect of bore hole fluid
 Casing Cementation: Main Functions
• Bond and support the casing

• Protect the casing from

corrosion.

• Protect the casing from shock

loads

• Sealing-off problematic zones.

• Restrict fluid movement between

formations

• To Restrict the contammination

of fresh water layer
 Cementation
Cementing is the process of mixing a
slurry of cement and water and
displacing it down the casing, tubing or
drill pipe to a pre specified point in the
well

Primary cementing-Casing Cementation

The cementing takes place soon after
the lowering of casing is called
primary cementation.

Secondary cementing
Any other operations where cement
is pumped in a well either during
drilling operation or production phase
 Primary Cementation
• An oil/gas well is completed
stages.

• Each stage is completed by

lowering a suitable size steel
pipe (casing).

• The casing pipes are held in its

position by an adequate length
of cement bond between pipe
and annulus.

• Cement is mixed with water to

form a cement slurry of desired
density and pumped into the
pipe and displaced in the
annulus between casing and
open hole.
 Primary Cementing Techniques

1. Single stage cementation

2. Multi stage cementation

3. Liner cementation
 Single Stage Cementing

Normally accomplished by
pumping
one batch of cement down the
casing between two rubber
plugs.

The bottom plug is placed in the

casing, followed by cement slurry

When the batch of cement has

been pumped into the casing, a
top plug is released.

The top plug is pumped down

until it lands on the top of float
collar, thus completing the
cement job.
 Reasons-Stage Cementation

• Down hole formations unable to support hydrostatic

pressure exerted by a long column of cement

• To cement wells having two or more

zones of interest separated by long intervals

• Limitations of cementing equipments

• Cementing of high pressure gas zones
water producing horizons.
Liner Cementation

A liner is a standard string of casing, which does not extend

all the way to surface, but is hung off inside the previous
casing string.

9-5/8” C/Shoe (3000 M)

7” Shoe (4000 M)
 Secondary Cementation

Any Cementing operation other than Primary Cementing

Operation (Casing/ Liner Cementation) is referred to as
“Secondary Cementation”

• Plug Cementing
Squeeze Cementing
 Plug Cementing
A cement plug of a specified length is placed across a
selected interval in an open or a cased hole.

The cement is normally pumped through open-ended drill

pipe or tubing.

Reasons for setting a cement

1. To stop lost circulation during drilling.

2. Directional drilling and side tracking.

3. To plug back a depleted zone.

4. Abandonment.
 Squeeze Cementing

The common remedial method used

Pressure to a specified point in the

annulus to cause a seal at the point
of squeeze.

Squeeze
point
 Applications
1. Supplement a faulty primary cement job.
€ Casing Shoe Strengthening,
€ Sealing leakage of the liner top
€ Repair casing leaks.

General
1. Reduce water/oil, water/gas, or gas/oil ratio.
2. Abandonment of single zones.
3. Stop lost circulation in open hole while drilling.