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Reprinted from:
Casing While Drilling: Drillable drill bits
he fundamental value of casing
T while drilling lies in improving
drilling efficiency by eliminating
flat spots in the drilling curve. It also
has the capability of extending open
hole sections to reach deeper casing
points with smaller diameters, thus
eliminating contingency intermediate
strings. The implications for the off-
shore exploration and production in-
dustry are significant and especially
poignant for deepwater.
One of the key factors leading opera-
tors to CWD technology is the removal
of time from the drilling curve.14 An
industry term, non-productive time,
currently is used to describe problem
time, and time associated with tool fail-
ures and inefficiencies. When casing
while drilling, non-productive time can
be referred to as any time spent not
making hole or securing the well for
further drilling or production.
The procedures for rotary drilling
with casing are relatively simple, and
involve little extra equipment that is not
normally present on a typical rig. Com-
FIG. 1. Weatherfords drilling with casing
BHA
Pages 1316 CHAPTER THREE
Used with permission.
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com
pared to a traditional drilling BHA, a after the casing is set in place, the cut-
casing BHA isand must besimple,
since of course, it is left in the ground
(Fig. 1). Weatherford Internationals
ting action of the subsequent drill bit or
drill shoe acts on the diamond elements
from the unsupported direction, easily
DrillShoe tool and the float collar fracturing and dislodging the diamond
normally would be made up to a casing cutting elements. The small diamond
joint prior to shipping offshore. When elements are easily flushed out with the
TD is reached and circulating bottoms- fluid flow. When supported by the blade
up, cementing can begin immediately, structure, the cutters would retain tough-
since a float collar is present in the ness and wear resistance.
string throughout the drilling operation. While drilling in soft formations, the
To allow casing while drilling, a TSD cutters experience very little or no
number of technologies had to be wear. However, the supporting materials
developed to enable safe and efficient are worn away and loss of the cutting
and problem free operations. Weather- elements occurs. The TSD cutters are
fords initial work revolved around mounted along the entire face of the
a drillable drill bit referred to as the blade; as cutters are lost, new cutters
DrillShoe tool (Fig. 2). are exposed much like the renewable
cutting structure of diamond impreg-
Drillable Drill Bits nated drill bits or diamond grinding
wheels. In more than 100 runs with this
Conventional drill bits are con- design, only two have not reached the
structed from non-drillable materials.
To eliminate the requirement to retrieve
the bit and/or drilling assembly in a
drilling with casing BHA required the
development of a drillable drill bit or a
casing shoe with a cutting structure suf-
ficient to drill the stratagraphic forma-
tions. Initially Weatherford developed a
tungsten carbide cutting structure that
could be attached to an aluminum faced
drill bit. This technology was first used
in January 2000. These tools were
immediately successful but were lim-
ited to very soft formations and rela-
tively short intervals.
It was apparent that to address harder
formations and longer intervals, a more
durable cutting structure would be
required. The challenge was to develop a
cutting structure capable of drilling for-
mation while retaining the drillability
feature. Thermally Stable Diamond
(TSD) disks were selected as the best
cutting element to retain both features.
When engaging the formation, the cut-
ting forces are directed through the dia- FIG. 2. Early DrillShoe design
mond and to the supporting blades. Con-
versely when the tool is being drilled out
CASING WHILE DRILLING HANDBOOK 2003
203016.qxd 12/29/03 4:12 PM Page 2
Casing While Drilling
FIG. 3. PDC cutters outside drill out area
on the DrillShoe II
FIG. 4. Drillshoe III with displacable cutting
structure
proposed objective. All have been
drilled out without damage to the sub-
sequent drill bit.
Outside the drift diameter of the cas-
ing and on the gage portion of the Drill-
Shoe II, non-drillable PDC cutting ele-
ments are used. This is out of the path
and poses no drillability issues for the
subsequent bit. This more durable cut-
ting structure aids in extending bit life.
The OD radius of the bit is where the
higher cutting speeds and work rates
occur. Therefore, non-drillable cutting
structure is incorporated in the outer
diameter (Fig. 3).
FIG. 5. DrillShoe III after displacement of
cutting structure
It is well known that hydraulic
energy enhances bit face cleaning and
penetration rates.5,6 To optimize hy-
draulic energy at the bit, drillable noz-
zle development was required. A num-
ber of materials and geometries were
evaluated to provide maximum erosion
resistance without effecting drillability.
Further enhancements are ongoing to
continue to improve erosion resistance
of the drillable nozzles. Drillable noz-
zles have been tested with mud weights
up to 14 ppg and pressure drops of over
1,000 psi. As hydraulic energy
increased, the effect of fluid erosion
also increased. It was determined the
tungsten carbide coating used on the
blades could also be used as hardfacing
on the face of the bit to reduce erosion.
Thus in the applications which are
suitable for this CWD product, all of
the standard features of conventional
drill bits have been emulated success-
fully in a drillable package.
Note that cementing through nozzles
of the bit presents an inherent risk of
hydrating the cement slurry potentially
causing the cement to flash set. Under-
standing this is critical to designing the
CWD cementing program and cement
slurry to mitigate this risk and ensure a
successful cement operation.
CASING WHILE DRILLING HANDBOOK 2003
Understanding the limited durability
of a drillable cutting structure
required innovative engineering efforts
to combine the durability of conven-
tional PDC cutting structures while
maintaining drillability of the casing
drill bit. The issues were resolved by
developing a method of displacing the
cutting structure to the annulus. After
reaching TD, the cutting structure is
displaced to the annulus by forcing an
inner piston outward, forcing the cut-
ting blades to the annulus. The inner
pistons core is made from easily drill-
able materials (Figs. 4 and 5).
For drilling with production casing
and liners, the need for drillability is
eliminated or reduced when there is no
requirement to drill out of the casing.
For these cases a non-drillable Drill-
Shoe tool was developed. The basis of
this design is conventional PDC cutting
elements mounted on a machined steel
profile. A normal casing connection is
placed on the bit.
Casing Drive Systems
The CWD requirements for turning
or rotating casing are identical to those
for conventional drilling. The hoisting
equipment must hold the weight, apply
rotational torque and contain pressure.3
To drive the casing string, rotary drill-
ing with casing required a method of
connecting the top drive to the casing.
Initially a water bushing or crossover
sub from the top drive to the casing was
used to hold and turn the casing. This
simple tool was effective but time con-
suming to make connection as two
make-ups and one breakout of casing
threads is required for each connection.
Making up casing threads takes longer
than making up API drill pipe threads.
Long connection times were a result.
It quickly became obvious that a water
bushing is not an efficient drive mech-
anism for any but short casing drilling
intervals.
Further efforts revolved around
modifying a conventional fishing spear
to grip the casing internally. This tool
proved to be effective in over 100 appli-
cations. The spear is stabbed into the
top joint, rotated a quarter turn and
picked up. Connection times achieved
are similar to that of drill pipe. The
pump pressure energizes the packer.
While the spear was effective, it was
203016.qxd 12/29/03 4:12 PM Page 3
limited in the depth in which the casing
could be driven. Due to the small load
area of the fishing spear, the radial
forces exerted on the casing could
deform or damage the casing.
Extending the depth range required
the development of both a fit-for-pur-
pose internal and external grip casing
drive system. To maintain acceptable
load forces for extended lengths of cas-
ing, the slip area of the internal grap-
ples was significantly increased to
spread the forces over a larger area.
This new Weatherford tool is designed
for quickly connecting in the casing to
minimize connection time. A stop ring
is positioned near the top of the spear to
ensure the grapples are engaged in the
proper location inside the casing. A
simple quarter turn to the right engages
the spear to hold the casing string and
apply rotational torque. A quarter turn
to the left, without axial load, releases
the tool. Pumping energizes the packer
element. A mud saver valve can be
incorporated to minimize spillage on
connections (Fig. 6).
Tubulars and Connections
The basics of casing design for con-
ventional wells are well understood.
When designing the casing string for
a CWD application, the additional
stresses applied to the casing during
the drilling operation must be consid-
ered. Warren, et al, described the
mechanics of buckling and fatigue in
a casing drilling operation.8 The effect
of buckling, wear and fatigue must
be addressed to ensure the integrity of
the casing string is not compromised
either while drilling or for the ex-
pected life of the well. A casing fail-
ure during the drilling operation would
be disastrous; however, limiting the
life of the well due to wear or fatigue
on the casing string while drilling
would be equally catastrophic even
though not immediately apparent. Cal-
culations show, as expected, buckling
loads are much higher with large
diameter casings.
The majority of shallow casing
strings have used standard buttress con-
nections without incident. Some API
standard casing threads have been tested
to destruction, showing these connec-
tions would withstand three times nor-
mal make-up torque prior to being dam-
aged.3 For longer casing strings, high
torque connections are required. Part of
the engineering process prior to casing
while drilling requires a careful analysis
of the torque requirements. Based on the
results of the torque analysis, an appro-
priate connection should be selected. A
number of proprietary connections are
available off-the-shelf that are suit-
able for most applications with higher
torque requirements (see Chapter 6).
Centralization
While there are numerous commer-
cially available centralizers, most are
not suitable to stand up to the rigors
of drilling when rotating the casing.
Rigid alloy centralizers wear too quickly
for most applications and become inef-
fective or can be lost in the hole. Steel
non-rotating centralizers can be effec-
tive for applications with low total rev-
olutions and where high rotational
speeds are not required.
Weatherford has discovered that with
their CWD system the best technical
solution from a centralization and stabi-
lization standpoint is rigid centralizer
subs with hardfacing applied to the
gage portion. These tools add cost to
the system and in some cases increase
the torque required to turn the casing
string. Skinazi et al, reported running
bow-spring centralizers successfully on
a vertical well.4 This system used a pos-
itive displacement motor to drive the
drilling assembly and required mini-
mum rotation of the casing string.
Time Reduction
A key benefit of CWD, regardless
of the system used, is time reduction.
With a cement in place system, there
is nothing to remove from the hole and
no requirements to place hardware in
the casing prior to cementing. The
float valve is in place during the
drilling operations. Once the hole is
suitably clear of cuttings, the cement-
ing operations can begin as normal.
The time associated with tripping pipe
and running casing, including much of
the circulation time involved, is elimi-
nated. This results in very small flat
spots in most operations. Typical
timesavings are in the range of 30%
of the time from section spud to
leak-off test (LOT).
CASING WHILE DRILLING HANDBOOK 2003
Chapter Three Casing While Drilling: Drillable drill bits
FIG. 6. Weatherfords Quick Connect casing
drive system
Problem Reduction
Many typical drilling problems are
eliminated or reduced when casing
while drilling. Problems associated with
formations and wellbore conditions that
deteriorate due to time exposed to drill-
ing fluids are reduced simply because
the exposure time is reduced. Instances
of lost circulation and stuck pipe have
been very limited. In over 300 field runs
with Weatherfords CWD system, not a
single case of lost circulation has been
reported outside of severely depleted
zones where losses are inevitable. In the
same 300 wells, the only case of stuck
pipe was due to rig operation problems
that resulted in the pipe remaining sta-
tionary without circulation for an
extended period of time.
Clearly the casing-drilled wellbore is
in better condition than with most con-
ventionally drilled wells. Shepherd et
al, reported that the process of casing
drilling may mechanically aid in build-
ing and maintaining an impermeable
filter cake on the wellbore wall.1 A
plastering effect on the borehole wall
seals against permeable zones, reducing
lost circulation and helping to prevent
differential sticking.
In addition, the inherent stiffness of
the casing string in the wellbore pro-
duces a less tortuous hole, providing a
203016.qxd 12/29/03 4:12 PM Page 4
Casing While Drilling
smoother wellbore and reducing the risk
of key-seating and mechanical sticking.
The stiff assembly also is less prone to
vibrations, reducing the mechanical
impact damage on the borehole wall.
Drillstring vibrations have been attrib-
uted to borehole stability problems.9
Tripping of the drillstring itself has been
attributed to many problems such as lost
circulation, borehole stability problems
and well control incidents. With CWD,
the elimination of pipe tripping elimi-
nates many of these problems.
Running casing into a pre-drilled
wellbore is sometimes problematic
resulting in lost time fighting the cas-
ing string to bottom, setting the casing
string off bottom, or tripping the casing
string and making a wiper trip with a
rotary assembly. In areas where these
problems are prevalent, casing while
drilling or simply reaming with casing
can be an attractive alternative to con-
ventional casing running operations.
Using a system designed to drill with
casing as a tool to get the casing to bot-
tom either by drilling it down or simply
reaming it through the problem zones
can be a viable alternative in many
cases. This operation has proven suc-
cessful in cases utilizing both liners and
long strings.
Rig Requirements
The Weatherford traditional cement
in place CWD system requires no
modifications to the conventional
drilling rig. The only optional equip-
ment required for this operation is a top
drive system. As nothing is removed
from the casing, there are no require-
ments for wireline or special pipe han-
dling equipment for these operations.
To date, no casing while drilling opera-
tions have used a kelly drive rig. How-
ever, with range 2 casing, this could be
an option to consider.
Fluid Requirements
Compared to conventional drilling
operations, experience has shown flow
rates can be reduced substantially in
casing drilling. As annular volume is
reduced dramatically, hole cleaning is
improved due to the higher annular
velocities achieved, even with reduced
Article copyright 2003 by Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
flow rates. Cleaning the hole more effi-
ciently and removing cuttings faster
aids in equivalent circulating density
(ECD) reduction. However, higher
annular velocities and the resultant fric-
tion losses in the annulus increase the
ECD. Each application must be evalu-
ated to determine the balance that must
be struck between flow rates to clean
the bit face and clear the annulus of cut-
tings, and ECD management. Once all
factors have been considered, the proper
flow rate and nozzle configuration can
be selected.
An inherent benefit of CWD is the
monobore annulus. Conventional
drilling assemblies result in different
annular velocities around each drill-
string component. This can lead to
wellbore erosion around drill collars
and inefficient cutting transport around
the smaller diameter drill pipe. With
casing as the drillstring, the annular
space along the entire wellbore is virtu-
ally equal allowing the optimum hy-
draulics to be dialed in based on the
fluid properties, cuttings concentration
and flow rate. ECD management and
hole cleaning are much easier. Lag
time and cement returns do not indicate
borehole enlargement to be an issue.
Conclusion
Rotary CWD has proven to be a
very effective method of reducing
wellbore construction cost through the
removal of flat time and problem elim-
ination. CWD systems are relatively
simple, typically require no modifica-
tion to the conventional drilling rig
package, and are extremely reliable
when proper applications engineering
is carried out prior to the operation.
Conventional oilfield tubulars and
connections have been used success-
fully in CWD operations. Using CWD
technology, Weatherford has drilled
over 300 sections as of March 2003.
Only three have not achieved the tar-
geted casing setting depth. Even in low
cost operations, the combinations of
new tools and streamlined operations
have realized cost savings. Thus, utiliz-
ing casing while drilling technology to
eliminate dangerous operations is a dri-
ving force for a number of operators.
Author
G. GALLOWAY, WEATHERFORD INTERNATIONAL
Acknowledgements
The author would like to express appreciation to Weatherford
International for allowing this information to be published.
References
1 Shepard, S., Reiley, R. and Warren, T.,Casing Drilling: An
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27March 1, 2001.
2 Fontenot, K., Warren, T. and Houtchens, B., Casing Drilling
Proves Successful in South Texas, presented at the IADC
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Reprints compliments of
Weatherford International Ltd.
Printed in U.S.A.