Directional

Drilling
Design
 Definition
• The art and science involving
the intentional deflection of
a wellbore in a specific
direction in order to reach a
predetermined objective
below the surface of the
earth.
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• One of the primary uses of

directional drilling was to
sidetrack a well even if it was to
go around a stuck BHA
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• Sometimes multiple sidetracks

are used to better understand
geology or to place the
wellbore in a more favorable
portion of the reservoir
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• Straight hole drilling is a special

application of directional drilling
– To keep from crossing lease
lines
– To stay within the
specifications of a drilling
contract
– To stay within the well spacing
requirements of a developed field
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• Drilling multiple
wells from a single
structure or pad
• Most offshore
development would
not be possible
without directional
drilling
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• Inaccessible surface
location
• Drilling in towns, from
land to offshore and
under production
facilities
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• Drilling around salt domes

• Salt can cause significant
drilling problems and
directional drilling can be
used to drill under the
overhanging cap
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• Steeply dipping sands

can be drilled with a
single wellbore
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• Fault drilling
• In hard rock, deviation
can be a problem
• Sometimes the bit can
track a fault
• Drilling at a higher
incident angle minimizes
the potential for
deflection of the bit
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling
• Relief well drilling
• Directional drilling into the
blowout when the surface
location is no longer
accessible
• Very small target and takes
specialized equipment
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• Horizontal drilling
• Increasing exposure of the
reservoir to increase
productivity
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• Multilateral drilling
• Drilling more than one
wellbore from a single
parent wellbore
Purpose of Directional and
Horizontal Drilling
• Extended reach wells are
characterized by high
inclinations and large
departures in the horizontal
plane
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling

• Extended reach wells are wellbores where the

horizontal departure HD is significantly higher
than the true vertical depth of the well TVD.
• Extended reach wells have been drilled with
greater HD/TVD ratios.
Purpose of Directional and Horizontal Drilling
• BP drilled a well at Wytch Farm with a measured depth of
34,967’ (10,658 m), a TVD of 5,266’ (1,605 m) and horizontal
departure of 33,181’ (10,114 m)
Basic Hole
Patterns
 Basic hole Patterns
• There are 4 basic hole patterns
• Not all wells conform to the basic hole patterns and may be a
combination of patterns
• For simplicity, the basic hole patterns are defined as:
Basic hole Patterns
• Type I is a build and hold
– Drilled to a relatively
• shallow KOP
– Deflected to a maximum
inclination
– The inclination is held
relatively constant to TD
 Basic hole Patterns
• Type II is a build, hold and drop
often termed an “S” curve
– Multiple targets
– Around salt domes
– More torque and drag
for the same departure
 Basic hole Patterns
• Type III is a continuous build
to target
– Deeper kickoff point
– Small horizontal
departure
– Less expensive
 Basic hole Patterns
• Type IV is a horizontal
wellbore
– Build rates may be high
– Hold inclination is near
90 degrees
Deviation Control
 Deviation Control

• If formation forces causes

the well to deviate,
directional drilling
techniques can be used to
help hit the target
 Deviation Control
• Everyone agrees that deviation is caused by the formations
drilled
• Not everyone agrees as to how the formation causes
deviation
• Bed dip is a primary requirement for deviation
• If the formations are flat (no dip), deviation is usually not a
• problem
 Deviation Control
THEORIES OF CAUSES OF DEVIATED HOLES

• Anisotropic theory is the

most widely believed
• – Bed dip causes the bit to
build inclination as
discussed in directional
drilling
 Deviation Control

• Anisotropic theory
 Deviation Control
• Formation drillability
theory
• – The harder formation
does not drill as fast as the
soft formation causing
deviation
Deviation Control

• Miniature whipstock
theory
• – The formation fractures
perpendicular to the
bedding plane creating
miniature whipstocks on
the low side of the hole
Deviation Control
• Drill collar moment
theory
– The hard formation
causes a bending
moment at the bit
– Bit deviates up dip going from
soft to hard formation
– Bit deviates down dip going
from hard to soft formation
 Deviation Control

• Raymond Knapp
theory
• – The bit does not drill a
gage hole causing the bit
to deviate randomly
 Deviation Control
• In the final analysis there is no one satisfactory explanation
for deviation.
• It appears to be related to geology.
• Deviation is never greater than bed dip.
• All theory and practice indicates that the maximum deviation
is perpendicular to or parallel to the formation dip.
• In fact, Lubinski's model which is the most widely accepted,
suggests that total deviation will always be less than formation
dip.
 Deviation Control
• The problems associated with deviation:
– Miss the target
– Keyseats
– Casing wear
– Rod and tubing wear
– Torque and drag
 Deviation Control

• What are the causes of the problem

– Miss the target Inclination

– Keyseats Dogleg severity
– Casing wear Dogleg severity
– Rod and tubing wear Dogleg severity
– Torque and drag Dogleg severity
 Deviation Control
• Methods to control
deviation
– Use a pendulum
assembly
– Reduce bit weight
– Works to reduce the
• inclination
– Does not reduce dogleg
severity
 Deviation Control
• Other methods used to control deviation
– Woodpecker drill collar
– Two cone bit
– Hammer tool
– DM bit
 Deviation Control

• – The
woodpecker drill
collar had some of the
metal removed from
the side of the drill
collar causing the
center of mass to be
different from the
center of the collar
 Deviation Control
– As the collar was rotated, the
off center mass was
supposed to whip the low
side of the hole
– Unfortunately, it whips all
sides of the hole
 Deviation Control

– The two cone bit has fewer inserts touching the bottom of
• the hole at any one time
– The bit would drill faster if the bit weight was the same
 Deviation Control
– Hammer tool used in
air drilling operations
– The assumption is that the
inclination stays lower since
low bit weights are required
to drill at higher penetration
rates
Deviation Control

The DM bit was designed on a 39°

pin angle to drill a gage hole
(Raymond Knapp theory)
 Deviation Control

• What is the real problem with

deviated wells?
– Miss the target
Inclination
– Keyseats
Dogleg severity
– Casing wear Dogleg severity
– Rod and tubing wear Dogleg severity
– Torque and drag Dogleg severity
 Deviation Control
• Inclination causes you to miss the target
• Dogleg severity causes everything else
• Don’t worry as much about inclination and worry about
controlling dogleg severity
 Deviation Control

• Pendulum assemblies are designed to control inclination

but
• are not stiff and will not control dogleg severity
• Packed hole assemblies are designed to control dogleg
severity and will not minimize inclination
 Deviation Control

• Packed hole assemblies will build inclination

• Running lower bit weight will not change the forces at the bit
 Deviation Control

• Effect of bit weight on

deviation tendency
• Increasing bit weight and
ROP changes the resultant
direction of the bit
 Deviation Control
• Even if bit weight causes deviation, we must decide what is
• important
– Drill slow and minimize inclination
– Drill faster and minimize dogleg severity
• How much is inclination worth?
 Deviation Control
• If you decide to drill slow,
the well costs more
• Offset the surface location to
drill faster and hit the target
Problems caused by doglegs

– Torque and drag

– Keyseats and casing wear
– Fatigue
• Torque and drag are caused
by the friction between the
drill string and the wall of
the hole
• Higher tension and doglegs
result in higher torque and
drag
• Keyseats and casing wear
are caused by the drill
string being rotated in a
dogleg with higher tension
• Fatigue is caused by rotating
the drill
• string in a bend
• The cyclic stresses cause
fatigue

• As the amount of tension

increases in a dogleg, the
amount of bending that can be
tolerated before causing
fatigue decreases