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Backreaming
Is it good or bad ? Why do you see what you do ? How to do it safely (and when to do it)
K&M Technology Group - 2008
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Engineers :
Its not just a matter of circulating more its a design issue too
K&M Technology Group - 2008
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Those that had good hole cleaning while drilling, but still have poor tripping practices.
This has become the most common of the two, ever since RSS became popular
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1.
No problems drilling to TD
Good hole cleaning while drilling, and no cavings reported How do they know it was good hole cleaning ? No tight hole at connections Good cuttings flow
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3. Trip commences
Soon pulls tight. Attempt to back-ream thru tight spot Hole packs off (initiating circulation or soon after) 1st cavings reported at this point
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4.
Back-reaming continues
Packing off all the way to the shoe Relatively little cuttings while back-reaming, until 30o, then shakers blind with lots of cuttings and cavings. Packs off also inside casing
5. Trip Back In For some reason, the trip back-in is whistle-clean despite the nightmarish trip out
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9/68 Drop down a few feet, and commence back-reaming thru obstruction
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Video Clip
K&M Technology Group - 2008
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If this component blocks the flow of dirt, then tight hole looks like this
Video Clip
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But if this component blocks the flow of dirt, then tight hole looks like this
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Backreaming Practices
What is backreaming?
Standard trip no rotation or circulation, harmless cuttings bed by-passed
Backreaming rotate and circulate while POOH, cuttings bed fully removed from the bottom of the hole. Cuttings drop out to form a dune above the BHA
Video Clip
K&M Technology Group - 2008
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Backreaming Practices
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Backreaming Practices
Pumping Out is Even Worse!
Pumping Out dirt still piles up behind the BHA due to high velocity around the bit, stabilizers, and drill collars, but the conveyor belt is off!
Video Clip
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Backreaming Basics
What are the downsides/risks associated with Backreaming?
Stuck pipe BHA equipment failures due to vibration Key seating Lost returns (if packoffs exceed fracture gradient) Self-inflicted wellbore stability problems
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Backreaming Basics
Backreaming itself doesnt damage the wellbore
Rather, it is the Hydraulic Hammer effect that causes all the problems Sudden large ECD pressure shock below pack-off
Same principle will destroy pipelines, power stations, etc ...Why expect it to be less severe in a wellbore? These are often too large for PWD to measure
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Hydraulic Hammer
What PWD sees when hydraulic hammer occurs
Pressure spikes are often off the scale Remember, when you see a pack-off at surface, you only see whats left are dampening thru the bit, BHA & drillstring
3 ppg scale
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Backreaming Basics
Interpretation of wellbore stability problems changes entirely if the wellbore has been Hammered
Often, the presence of cavings after packoffs is perceived as the very cause of the packoffs
K&M contend that it is more likely the packoff created the cavings due to the hammer effect Evidence of this is wellbore stability problems often go away when tripping practices are modified (due to avoidance of packoffs)
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This makes a mockery of every risk management precaution we make, if this isnt addressed as the highest priority
THIS IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST THING YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE (OR INCREASE) RISK IN YOUR PROJECT
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Trip #1 (5 Blade, 14.5in2 JSA) No problems, very similar to behavior on first well (similar bit) Minor 20-30k peak over pull in places (fairly slick on average) Average FF = 0.16 0.18
Trip #2 (9 Blade, 12.5in2 JSA) Long and troublesome trip with several intermediate circulation points required due to 50-60 k overpull in several locations Average FF = 0.19-0.20
Trip #3 (8 Blade, 20.9in2 JSA) Very smooth trip with the fewest number of tight spots of all the trips out. Peak overpull of <15k. Average FF = 0.16-0.18
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Under-Reamer Considerations
K&M recommend this as a short-term band-aid, until the root cause is fixed, due to side effects of using RWD
The danger of this technique is the false sense of security gained from a trouble-free trip out prior to running casing
Video Clip
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This is one of the most common mistakes and one of the most illogical ones too !!
K&M Technology Group - 2008
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Time-log showing RPM at end of drilling, and then during clean-up cycle Drilling RPM = 138, clean-up RPM only 80 90
Shakers cleaned up soon ... hole was interpreted as clean
160
140
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RPM drops from 138rpm to 80+ rpm. This was their expected Cleanup is therefore largely nonexistant, and tripping starts in dirty rotary-steerable ! hole
80 End Drilling. Start clean up 2:24:00 4:48:00 7:12:00 9:36:00 rpm Time RPM 14:24:00 12:00:00 16:48:00
60
40
20
0 0:00:00
19:12:00
21:36:00
0:00:00
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This gives some feel for how much circulation is necessary for different angles
Note only convey or belt circulation counts !
This is a minimum volume requirement the talking at the shakers takes priority in decision-making.
Notice how gut feel and experience betray you, once angle gets > 70o
0 10 20 30 40 Angle 50 60 70 80 90
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Its easy to get suckered-in to stop clean-up when 1st wave finishes at 1 x BU Shakers will reduce to a background level (fines will never clean up) If there are still cuttings still on the shakers, the hole is NOT yet clean
Pay now, or pay later (with interest) !
Volume cuttings
Normal circulation
2 Times bottoms up
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Tripping practices
When hole has cleaned up
Trip out on elevators (i.e. no pumping or backreaming) Back-reaming is only to be used as a last-resort option (more later)
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Using Road-Maps
1. If you are to make wise decisions about when something is abnormal, you need to know what normal looks like
Experienced hands assume that they know this I dont need a computer to tell me when Ive got tight hole
2. People also assume that they are looking for a sudden change Both of these are vertical hole logic, and are perhaps the most common reason wells get into trouble while tripping If we had a genuinely clean hole, and ledges were the problem, then this logic is OK But remember we are looking for dirt build-up between stabilizers, which happens gradually
K&M Technology Group - 2008
Video Clip
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45k
15k
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For tight spot or increasing drag, always assume the problem is cuttings
Run in the hole 2 to 5 stands to get BHA away from tight spot
If obstruction is dirt, you must un-pack the BHA before doing anything else
If it took > 5 stands to pack the BHA, it will probably take that many to un-pack it !!
Remember that cuttings can move down hole with BHA (in avalanche regime <65)!
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POH carefully without rotation or circulation watching for the tight spot to recur
If the tight spot has moved up hole, then obstruction was cuttings Continue cleaning the hole up, per standard clean-up procedures
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Backreaming Basics
Sometimes backreaming is necessary
Tight hole on trips after verifying that the obstruction is NOT cuttings Swabbing (cant trip conventionally) When removal of ALL cuttings is necessary
To clean up hole for extreme casing runs in ER wells
Typical trigger is if casing run is so challenging as to require flotation
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Back-reaming Introduction
When back-reaming, have you ever noticed ?....
Once you start back-reaming in a directional well, you cant stop until you get to +/- 30o
Actually, normal tripping can be resumed, with changes to normal practices
You dont see cuttings while backreaming, until you get to about 30o
Then you get lots of cuttings suddenly
Back-reaming was easier on lower angle wells . The faster you go, the more problems you have . Have you ever noticed severe cavings after back-reaming, despite never seeing them before hand ?
K&M Technology Group - 2008
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Is back-reaming OK ?
Firstly, lets define what back-reaming is
Tripping, while rotating & pumping A means of fighting tight hole
Back-reaming is not
Working the pipe up (with rotation) during normal connections When racking back stands during the clean-up process.
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Back-reaming (continued)
What is K&Ms opinion on back-reaming ?
Dangerous, with high risk of stuck pipe, packing off, and inducing wellbore failure (more later)
Only operation that has higher risk is pumping out !
Tough on MWD & BHAs (vibration), and causes casing wear Can be done safely
But needs to be done slowly to be safe Practices must vary according to angle Back-reaming is not faster than cleaning up thoroughly before tripping
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BEA CH
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Backreaming Procedure
Clean hole up first Never commence back-reaming while in overpull or tight hole
- BHA is literally embedded in cuttings - Consider pipe stretch: what direction does the BHA move if pipe is in tension and we start to rotate? - Always drop down away from the tight spot before beginning to backream - Applies also to tripping in
- . actually, this may be worse, since cuttings must now clear the bit & BHA pinch-points
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Backreaming Procedure
Think of backreaming as drilling backwards Be patient - Backreaming must be done slowly
- 10 min/stand sounds slow, but is equivalent to ROP of 600 ft/hr - Acceptable speed is very sensitive to angle when above 70o - Dune will move slowly, especially if using low RPM - Pack-off will occur if pickup speed is too fast
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Effective Circulation Volume vs. Angle 20,000' (6000m) tangent length, shallow KOP
7
Back-reaming safe speed is driven by same saltation flow mechanism that drives how much circulation is necessary to clean the hole for a trip Safe speed slows significantly beyond 70o
0 0 10 20 30 40 Angle 50 60 70 80 90
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Remember Saltation Flow, and its side effects This has important implications for a drilling operation
Side effect of back-reaming in a wellbore that has been cleaned-up But saltation flow requires that the hole must re-fill to full drilling height, before you see cuttings at surface This sucker-punches drilling operations all the time You have back-reamed for 12 hours at slow ROP, and havent seen any dirt
How do you interpret this the hole must be clean So back-reaming gets faster and then the hole packs off Imagine we have cleaned the hole up, and commence backreaming from here
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Backreaming Procedure
Torque is primary tool to monitor pulling speed If rig systems allow, consider pumping at drilling flowrate & rotate at 120+ rpm (for larger hole sizes)
- This will help disperse cuttings dune above BHA - However, hard on top drive & may cause casing wear - Alternative is low RPM while up-reaming, then high RPM down-reaming, before final pick up to rack stand (without rotation repeat cycle if tight)
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Backreaming Procedure
40 35 Torque (k ft-lbs) 30 25 20 15 10 0 5 10 15 Time (min) 20 25 30 Torque SPP
4000
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Backreaming Procedure
Always clean up hole immediately after finish of backreaming -- never just pull out of the hole
Applies for cased hole as well as open hole This explains the industries typical experience that once backreaming starts, it cant be stopped (in reality, all we need to do in order to return to tripping on elevators is erode the due away from the top of the BHA)
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Backreaming Considerations
Under-reamers add an additional level of complexity / risk to backreaming
Most RWD devices cannot be locked closed, causing vibration and uncontrolled hole enlargement / undercutting while backreaming (since the pilot BHA is unstabilized) One Exception is Halliburtons XRReamer (drop-ball locking action)
AnderGauge: Anderreamer Smith: Rinoreamer Halliburton: XRReamer
Video Clip
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Underreamer Considerations
Backreamed 8 1/2x9 7/8 with RWD in string Memory resistivity shows rugous and washed out hole after backreaming Multiple packoffs and subsequent instability ensued on trip in
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Backreaming at 1-2 minutes/stand may not be enough time for the dune to get out of the way The time for patience is when backreaming to run casing
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So, lets talk about how this impacts what good oilfield practice means for different wells:
Consider our response to a major equipment failure
Lose 1 of 2 pumps (24hr repair) Swivel packing leak (1hr repair) Top Drive pinion gear breaks (3 day repair) Washout in the drillpipe
1000 (300m) from surface 1000 (300m) above the BHA
What about a high angle well ? What about a Medium angle well ?
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