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CHAPTER-2: Oil and Gas Well Drilling Technology

CONTENT

1. Well planning
2. Drilling method
3. Drilling rigs
4. Rig operating systems
5. Drilling fluids function, properties and equipment
6. Oil & gas well cementing operations
7. Drill bit types and their applications
8. Drill string function, operations, selection & design
9. Casing string function, operations, selection & design
10. Drilling problems, their control & remedies
11. Directional drilling tools
12. Directional survey
13. Application of horizontal, multilateral, extended reach wells

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1. Well planning
Introduction

There are various steps involved in drilling of a well:

 Selection of drilling location based on geological/ seismic survey data

 Readying of drill-site/survey of sea-bed for moving rig
 Well planning
 Rig-move
 Rig building
 Spudding a well
 Drilling of well till hermetical testing of production
casing.

Well Planning covers the following:

 Well Design
 Casing & Cement Design
 Drilling fluid design
 Drill bit selection
 Well control equipments
 Safety Equipments

Objective

Well planning is an orderly process involving a number of

steps. The flow path for well planning is given in fig.1.1.

The objective of well planning is to formulate a drilling

programme for many variables for drilling a well that has the
following characteristics:

(1) Safety
(2) Minimum cost
(3) Usable Fig. 1.1 Flow path for well planning

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to accomplish these objectives on each well because of
constraints based on:

 Geology

 Drilling equipment

 Temperature

 Casing limitations

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 Hole sizing

 Budget

Fig. 1.2 Well costs Vs. Well Planning efforts

Safety

Safety should be the highest priority in well planning. Personnel considerations must be placed above
all the other aspects of the plan. The second priority involves the safety of well and rig-equipment.
The contingency plan for fire and blowout should form an integral part of well plan.

Minimum cost

An important objective of well planning is to minimise the cost of the well without sacrificing or
compromising on the safety aspects. In most cases, the cost of the well can be reduced to certain
extent as additional effort is given to the well planning (fig. 1.2). Well costs can be reduced
dramatically if proper well planning is implemented.

Usable holes

Drilling a hole to the target depth is unsatisfactory if the final well configuration is not usable. In this
case, the term “usable” implies the following:
 The hole diameter is sufficiently large so an adequate completion can be made.
 The hole or producing formation is not irreparably damaged.
This requirement of the well planning process can be difficult to achieve in abnormal-pressure, deep
zones that can cause hole-geometry or mud problems.

Activities before start of drilling operation

Activities undertaken prior to start of drilling operation can be broken down into the following steps:
(1) Release of location.

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(2) Survey of surface/subsea location. Sometimes the cost can be reduced by a small change in surface
location.
(3) Civil works and foundation for onshore drillsite and soil coring/sea bed survey in case of offshore
well.
(4) Preparation of Geo- Technical Order.
(5) Preparation of complete well plan/programme.
(6) Preparation of bill of material and initiation of purchase procedure, if required.
(7) Procedures from obtaining sanction for purchase to receipt of material.
(8) Rig allocation and its shifting to the new location.

Input data for well planning

The information required for planning of a well are:

(1) The objective of the well.
(2) Well data package consisting of seismic data, location map, structural map, expected pore
pressures, offset and correlation logs and information on formation type, top and thickness.
(3) Offset and correlated drilled wells data consisting of bit record, mud reports. Mud logging data,
drilling reports, well completion reports, complication reports and production/injection histories.
(4) Proposed logging, testing and coring programmes.
(5) Government reflection and Company's policy.

Geo- technical order

The various input data are thoroughly analysed and the Geo- Technical Order (Go T .0) is prepared
which provides broad guidelines for drilling of the well.
G.T.O. furnishes the following details:
(a) General data like well name, well number, area location, water depth, elevation, well type,
category, objectives of the well etc.
(b) Geological data consists of following details:
(1) Depth (2) Age (3) Formation (4) Lithology
(5) Interval of coring (6) Electro logging (7) Collection of cuttings (8) Angle of Dip
(9) Oil/gas shows (10) Formation pressure (11) Formation temperature (12) Mud loss/caving
(c) Mud parameters consist of
(1) Type of mud (2) Specific gravity (3) Viscosity
(4) pH (5) Percentage of sand (6) Filtration loss
(d) Drilling data includes
(1) Casing policy and rise of cement (2) Type of drilling (3) Type and size of bit

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(4) Number of bits expected (5) Meterage per bit (6) Weight on bit
(7) RPM of rotary (8) Stand-pipe pressure (9) Pump discharge
(10) Bit nozzle details (11) Drilling time (12) Remarks, if any

Drilling programme preparation

The preparation of good Drilling Programme is very vital for safe and effective drilling operation.
Drilling Programme can be broken down into 12 main sections:
(1) Well details (2) Well objectives (3) Casing policy (4) Wellhead selection
(5) BOP requirements (6) Cementing programme (7) Deviation programme
(8) Survey requirements (9) Mud programme (10) Bit and Hydraulics programme
(11) Evaluation requirements (12) Estimation of well cost
All Drilling Programmes will contain the above information in some form. These sections are covered
in more detail below. Specialised wells could also contain other relevant data.

Well details

This is a brief summary of the well location, field/structure, type, depth, operatorship and ownership.
A typical layout of this is shown below:
Location SP 1700 off line GK-2
Field/ Structure Kutch/GKH
Well Name GKH-2
Well Type Exploratory '8' Expendable
Location Data Latitude 220 27’ 19” N
Longitude 670 36' 09.5" E
Water Depth 108 m
Target Tolerance 50m
Total Depth 4515 m
Operator ONGC
Name of the rig Sagar Vijay
Type of rig Floater

Well objectives

Well objectives are defined in the well release order issued by the exploration department. A typical
format for setting out the objectives is given below:
"To test hydrocarbon prospects of fore reef facies in Oligocene, Miocene and carbonate in Eocene
section of GKH feature".

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Casing policy
Functions of casing
Casing pipes are put into a well bore for the following reasons:
(1) To isolate troublesome or unstable formations which may include heaving shales, lost circulation
zones and flowing halites.
(2) To isolate different pressure or fluid regimes:
(a) To protect fresh water horizons especially domestic water bearing sandstones in case of land wells.
(b) To protect producing formations from mud and mud filtrate contamination.
(c) To protect weaker zones from breakdown caused by heavy muds whose hydrostatic head is
required for pressure control purposes in lower sections.
(3) To control well pressure by containment of down hole pressures.
(4) To provide a stable seat for packers, liner hangers etc.
(5) To support the wellhead and BOP stack.
(6) To confine produced fluid to the wellbore and provide a flow path for it.

Estimation of formation pore pressure

Most of the decisions pertaining to casing policy are based on formation pore pressure. It is
imperative, therefore, that pore pressures be known or estimated as accurately as possible. The two
sources of well pressure data for well planning are geophysical/geological data and offset well data.
Offset wells provide more accurate data, however I in the exploratory wildcat wells in new area, there
will be no offset well data available. This means that pore pressure prediction has to be done by
analysing seismic data.
Seismic data is used in the exploration phase to locate potential reservoir traps and to estimate
formation tops in the lithological column. It can be used to give a qualitative estimate of the formation
pressure and hence arl indication of any pore pressure abnormalities.
Seismic data is acquired by creating acoustic waves using some form of explosion or implosion and
measuring the time taken for the wave to travel down to a subsurface reflecting bed and then back to
the surface. The point of origin of the wave on the surface is called a shot point and the returning
waves are detected at the surface by series of geophones or, if offshore, hydrophones, placed at known
distances from the shot point. The velocity at which seismic or acoustic wave is propagated through a
formation depends on the density and elasticity of the rock and the type of fluid occupying the pore
space. The degree of compaction (i.e. relative depth) also determines the seismic velocity in a
particular formation.
Prior knowledge of seismic velocities, in particular formations over a range of depths, can therefore
enable fairly reliable predictions of formation lithology to be encountered. The presence of
overpressured formations and an estimate of the magnitude of the overpressure can be predicted by
studying the seismic velocity data from shale sequences. As the density and elasticity of shale
increases with depth and compaction, the seismic velocity will increase. Overpressured shales are
undercompacted, which, at a particular depth, will result in a lower density and elasticity than

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expected and therefore, a lower seismic velocity than expected. By analysing formation interval
seismic velocities in normally pressured shales and comparing them with data from apparently
overpressured shales at similar depth,the extent of overpressure can be estimated.
Shallow gas sands present one of the most difficult well control problems in offshore drilling
operations.
They tend to be high pressure and low volume and can unload a well very quickly with risk of
toppling jack-up rigs, sinking floaters and causing fire and explosion.
In order to try and identify poterltial gas bearing zones at shallow depths, detailed high resolution
seismic surveys are performed and analysed by what is known as the 'bright spot' technique.
The fact that acoustic waves are severely impeded when travelling through gas charged formations
produces strong seismic reflections. These show up as relatively high amplitude anomalies on the
seismic section and are characterised by their visual appearance as bright spots. By mapping them on
a horizontal section their spread can be studied and compared to the proposed well location. This high
resolution seismic technique can detect gas charged sands as thin as one metre.
The absence of bright spots does not necessarily mean there will be no shallow gas and conversely the
presence of bright spots can be caused by an anomaly other than shallow gas. Even so, if shallow
seismic surveys do indicate a bright spot at the intended well location, it would be prudent to change
the location and avoid drilling into it.
It is not possible to predict formation pressures in shallow gas sands from the seismic data but it is
quite possible, though not normally the case, that they are overpressured and should be treated
accordingly. Shallow gas tends to be contained in low volume pockets and if allowed to flow freely
through a well-designed diverter system, should quickly deplete and exhaust itself .
Structural maps are produced by the geologists from seismic and offset well data in order to evaluate
the geology over large areas of interest.
Interpretation of the seismic data can enable the geologist to identify subsurface structures that have
the potontial to trap hydrocarbon accumulations.
Furthermore, by correlating formation tops from the lithological columns of offset wells and
interpolating at the point of interest, a geological prognosis can be made of the proposed well.
If an offset well appears geologically similar to the well which is to be drilled, then preparing the
Drilling Programmes should be relatively straightforward with all the appropriate data to hand. In
heavily faulted areas however, even wells drilled fairly close to each other can exhibit quite different
problems and should be treated as wildcats.

Estimation of formation fracture pressure

Formation fracture pressure prediction can be based on anticipated geology and offset well records.
Most rocks of a certain type will exhibit typical characteristics. This can be used to assist in fracture
gradient estimation. It is vital to have an accurate assessment of this so that the casing seat can be
selected in an effective manner. Once a leak-off test has been carried out in the well, equations such
as 'Daines' are used by employing values of Poisson's Ratio for given formations to estimate probable
fracture gradients at other depths in the well. In case of continuous depositional basins, Eaton's
equation with suitable modification can be used for the estimation of fracture pressure gradient.
Casing seat selection

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After the pore pressure and fracture pressure charts have been constructed, the Drilling Engineer
should liaise with Production Engineers to decide about the likely size of final production conduit so
as to decide about the different casing sizes required to be lowered at various casing seats selected.
The setting depth will depend on competent formations with high fracture gradients, lengths of open
hole sections and requirements of cementing programmes and other anticipated down hole problems.
Casing design

The following are the criteria which must be considered when carrying out casing design:

(1) Burst

(2) Collapse

(3) Tension

(4) Other loadings

Burst is pipe failure which occurs when the pressure inside the pipe is greater than the internal yield
value of the pipe plus the pressure outside the pipe.

Both the strength of the formation at the shoe and the burst strength of the casing must be considered.
The ideal situation is for both formation and casing to be able to withstand the pressures resulting
from a full gas column to surface and the additional pressure resulting from circulating the gas out.
However, in some cases, casing may have to be designed on a limited kick basis which has been
discussed in the chapter on casing design.

Collapse will occur when the external force on the pipe is greater than the combination of the internal
pressure plus the collapse rating of the pipe. It occurs as a result of either or a combination of:
(1) Reduction in hydrostatic head exerted by the fluid inside the pipe.
(2) Increase in hydrostatic head exerted by the fluid outside the pipe.
(3) Mechanical forces created by plastic formations, flowing salts etc.
The above three factors can result from the following situations:
(1) Inadequate fill up of casing when running
(2) Lost circulation
(3) Cementing
(4) Casing wear
(5) Air or foam drilling. The casing has to be designed for complete evacuation plus an
allowance for wear due to loss of lubricity.
(6) Halite sections
(7) High drawdowns for testing purposes. It is generally accepted that a exploratory Well will
not be subjected to high drawdowns but this should be considered for development wells.
(8) Acidising or fracturing a horizon could result in an increase in external loading to a depth
above the packer if a path of communication exists.
(9) Similarly squeeze cementing could increase external loadings above or below packers.
(10) Corrosion will eventually decrease the collapse strength of the pipe.

For most wells, only the first three situations are usually considered.

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Tensile failure will occur if the pull exerted on the pipe is too great for the tensile strength of the pipe
or coupling.

For designing the pipe in tension,tensile loads on the casing should be calculated at the following
stages :
(1) When running the pipe
(2) When cementing
(3) When pressure testing (drilling phase)

Wellhead selection
Having completed the casing design, we have all the information required to allow us to select a
wellhead. The wellhead must be of the correct pressure rating, designed for the desired service like
(H2S) and be capable of accommodating all designed and contingent casing strings.
Having selected a wellhead, its specification should be included in the Drilling Programme along with
a sectional view of its component stack up.

BOP requirement
The BOP requirement for a given well will depend on company policy and anticipated bottom hole
pressures. Surface holes have either no BOP requirement, or will need to use a diverter.

Cementing programme
Cement is used for zonal isolation in the well. The effectiveness of this zonal isolation depends on
three main factors all of which must be considered at the planning stage.
(1) Slurry design (2) Casing accessories selection (3) Displacement methods

Slurry design
Oil well cement slurry consists of cement, water and additives. The first calculation that we must
make in cement programming is to calculate the volumes required. This is proportional to the height
to which the cement will be displaced to in the annulus.
Secondly, we must know or estimate the bottom hole temperature so that we can predict slurry
behavior downhole. Thirdly, we must look at the mud which is in use while drilling and consider what
effects, if any, it could have on the cementing process. Fourthly, we look at the formations in which
the casing is being cemented to see if these present any particular problem. Finally, we look at the
hole geometry to see what annular space consideration might affect the quality of the cement job.
Definitions of some of the important slurry properties are given below:
Yield: The yield of the cement, in cubic metre per sack, is the volume of space the slurry will occupy
after having been mixed with the water and additives as per design specifications. A high yield slurry
is one that will contain relatively large amount of water and therefore be of relatively low density.

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Density: This is an important factor since the slurry must be dense enough to control formation
pressures but not cause formation break-down.
Light weight slurries can be produced by adding extenders such as' bentonite to the slurry mix water
or by aerating the slurry. Weighting materials such as ilmeninte, hematite and barite can be added to
increase slurry density.
Thickening time: This determines how long the slurry remains pumpable and depends mainly upon
the cement composition and downhole temperature. It can be manipulated by using retarders.
Mix water: The amount of mix water used will depend on the programmed slurry density. The water
type used is usually that which is most readily available i.e, sea water in offshore and freshwater in
onshore wells. If casing is being cemented across salt or halite sections then the mix water should be
salt saturated to prevent ionic exchange between the slurry and formation.
Compressive strength: Cement must have compressive strength to support the casing and isolate
zones. The speed at which cement slurry develops compressive strength depends to a great deal on
down hole temperatures. If temperatures are too low to allow a particular slurry to reach sufficient
compressive strength in a reasonable amount of time, chemicals can be added to a slurry.
These accelerate hardening and promote strength development. Calcium chloride is the most common
accelerator.
Fluid loss: This is the amount of water lost from slurry to the formation for a given pressure
differential. If this is not controlled, then fluid can be lost from the slurry causing premature or 'flash'
setting. To combat this problem, fluid loss chemicals are used in the slurry for jobs which entail high
pressure differentials between slurry hydrostatic pressure and formation pressure. Clearly the porosity
of the formation will have a big influence on the need for fluid loss chemicals too.
Flow characteristics: Good flow characteristics contribute to good formation bonding and less
pumping difficulties. Additives are available to reduce cement friction and to encourage slurry
turbulence at low pump rates.

Casing accessories selection

Having designed the cement requirements for the well, we need now to look at the accessories that we
will use to ensure good cementation. The main accessories used are listed below:
A casing shoe is screwed or welded onto the lower end of the lowest joint of casing. These are of four
types:
(1) The guide shoe is the simplest. It merely serves as an aid to guiding the casing in the open hole
and has a hole in the middle which allows the mud to pass freely through the string. The guide shoe is
not widely used.
(2) The float shoe is similar, externally, to the guide shoe but contains a non-return valve that allows
fluid to flow out of the casing but not into it. The main reason for using this type of shoe is that it
gives better well control during running casing. The casing should be filled from surface during
casing runs.
(3) A differential fill-up shoe uses a valve which allows mud to flow into the casing to keep it
partially full. A steel ball can be dropped and pumped into the shoe to shear out a seat and convert the
shoe into a regular float type.

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(4) The automatic fill shoe is also designed to avoid having to fill up the casing all the time from the
surface. It incorporates wedges to hold the check valve open so that the mud can flow both into and
out of the casing via the shoe. When required, the automatic fill shoe can be tripped to act like a
regular float shoe by pumping down the string at a preset rate to pump the wedges out.
Out of the four types mentioned above, float shoes are most commonly used.
Float Collars are usually placed at one or two joints above the casing shoe. They serve as a stop for
the cement wiper plug so that all the slurry is not displaced into the annulus. Float type collars provide
backup for the float shoe. Differential type float collars are available and should only be run in
conjunction with a differential float shoe. A baffle collar is merely a ring, usually set in a casing
coupling, on which a wiper plug is designed to seat and seal to allow pressure testing of casing.
Note: The pressure rating of shoes and collars must be at least the proposed test pressure of the casing.
Multistage collars are used to locate two distinct separate columns of cement in the annulus when one
continuous column would produce too much hydrostatic pressure on the formation, or specialised
zonal isolation, or communication is required. After performing the first stage cement job an opening
'bomb' is allowed to free-fall and set in the opening sleeve of the multistage collar. The casing is then
pressurised to shift the sleeve down and open the circulating ports. After the second stage slurry has
been placed inside the casing, the wiper plug is pumped down and seated in the closing sleeve. A
pressure increase then moves this sleeve down to cover the ports and renew casing integrity.
Centralisers are placed on the outside of the casing to keep it concentric with the hole.
Centralisers are of two types, spring and rigid. Rigid centralisers are used just below wellheads and
inside casing shoes. All other applications demand spring centralisers. Centralisers are located over or
between stop collars which are secured to the casing to ensure that they do not move.
Plugs have hollow drillable alloy interior and rubber outer fins to wipe clean the casing walls. The
bottom plug has a diaphragm that is ruptured by pressure after it seats on the collar. The top plug has
solid alloy insert and is used to pressure test the casing against cementing. Plugs are available in sizes
which cover various weights of a given casing size.
When ordering them,the casing weight and size must be stipulated.

Displacement methods
Displacement Cement should be displaced in a state of turbulent flow. Since displacement is usually
done using rig pumps, achieving turbulent flow is usually not a problem. In case there is difficulty in
achieving turbulent flow with the existing rig pump, the cement should be displaced in a plug flow
regime. Preflushes, spacers and scavenger Any mixing of mud and cement will reduce the quality of
the cement job. Preflushes, spacers and scavenger are used to separate mud and also to condition the
hole to give better ultimate bonding between cement and formation. Preflushes and spacers are
usually made up of a combination of cement, mix water, weighting material and additives designed to
help remove wall cake to give better cement/formation bonding characteristics. The weighting
material is to provide primary well control. Scavenger is a diluted form of the cement slurry used in
the main job. Adding cement obviously brings up the weight of the mix and if primary well control is
a potential problem then the scavenger weight can be controlled by the amount of cement used. The
volume of preflush, spacers or scavenger used will depend on the perceived needs of the well. These
should be sufficient to clean the hole and separate the mud and cement, but not to the extent that the
hole will collapse.

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Deviation programme
Directional drilling has now become an essential element in oilfield development, both onshore and
offshore.
The application of directional drilling can be grouped into the following categories:-
(a) Side tracking (b) Drilling to avoid geological problems (c) Controlling vertical holes
(d) Drilling beneath inaccessible locations (e) Offshore development drilling,
(f) Horizontal drilling (g) Relief well drilling.
Assuming that a target rig site has been selected, for directional planning considerations, the values
that must be identified are as follows;
-Lateral or horizontal displacement from the target to a vertical line from the rig site.
-Kick off point (KOP)
-Desired build angle rate
-Final drift angle
-Plan type: Straight kick Vs Curve
-Desired drop angle rate in case of 'S' curve.

Careful planning before the directional well is spudded can lead to substantial savings in the cost of
drilling. There are many factors which influence the trajectory of the wellbore. Some of these may be
difficult to estimate (eg. amount of bit walk which may occur in certain formations). The experience
gained from drilling previous directional wells in the same area is, therefore, very useful and should
be incorporated at the planning stage of the next well.
A review of previous drilling practices and problems should give better guidelines for future
directional drilling.

Highly deviated wells (extended reach)

Highly deviated wells may be described as those wells whose inclination exceeds 60 degree for most
of their length. The most obvious advantage to be gained by drilling high angled wells is the increase
in horizontal reach from a central platform. Another potential benefit of drilling highly deviated wells
is the increased length of the completion zone through the reservoir .
The major technical problems in drilling highly deviated wells are related to the effect of gravitational
forces as the angle of inclination increases. As the angle of the hole increase, the axial component of
gravitational force reduces, while the lateral component increases.
As a result of this:
* there is increased frictional resistance against the bore hole, making it more difficult to run and pull
tools.
* the tendency for solids to settle out from the drilling fluid and cement slurries.
* it becomes more difficult to control direction and apply WOB.

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It is possible to extend directional drilling techniques to increase the inclination to 60 -90 degrees,
although certain alterations may have to be made to drilling practices.

Horizontal drilling
A horizontal well is one where the inclination reaches 900 through the reservoir section. Most of the
horizontal wells drilled have employed basically the same techniques as used in conventional
directional wells, Careful attention must be paid to the planning of trajectory, directional surveying,
use of down hole motors and turbines, selection of casing seats, choice of mud type and mud
properties.
With the help of horizontal drilling technique, it is now possible to profitably exploit heavy oil
reservoirs, marginal oil fields and thin bed reservoirs. Additionally the ever troublesome water/gas
coning problem is substantially minimised. Depleted reservoirs, the production from which has gone
down much below economic value, have now been revived to be a good producers by drilling
sufficiently longer intervals horizontally in the pay beds. The extra cost of drilling the horizontal well
must be justified by the potential benefits of additional production.

Drain hole drilling or short radius drilling

In this type of profile,the well is drilled vertically using conventional techniques. After logs or DSTs
have been carried out to evaluate the formation,the well is plugged back to a point above the oil-water
contact.
A special BHA is then run which is used to build up angle rapidly along a circular arc of about 6-12 m
(corresponding to a build up rate of 2-3 degree per foot drilled) reaching almost horizontal after
drilling only 15-18 m of hole. The achieved angle is then held using a stabilised BHA through the
reservoir section. These small diameter holes are generally left uncased.
The same technique can be repeated further up the hole for multiple zone exploration and production
from single wellbore. It is also possible to drill out of a cased hole (side track) after a window has
been cut This type of profile can be used for producing from tight formations and reducing gas or
water coning problems.

Survey requirements
In order of increasing complication, the five different methods of survey are as follows:
Totcos are clockwork units which measure hole angle by using a pendulum mechanism with a pin on
the end. They are crude but effective and since they only measure hole angle there is no need for
monel drill collars in the BHA to overcome magnetic influences. A baffle plate is placed just above
the bit inside the drill collars and the survey barrel is run in on sand line, slick line or dropped and
recovered.
Totco instruments are typically available in 0-8 degree units & 0-90 degree units and are unaffected
by hole temperature.
Magnetic single shots have magnetic compasses built into them. in addition to the angle measuring
units. Information is gathered using a small camera in the instrument, which takes a photograph of the
compass heading and attitude. It is run in the same manner as the Totco, but does need monel drill

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collars to reduce magnetic influences. Furthermore, it is sensitive to down hole temperature and
unless 'heatshield' type units are used, the photographs or survey discs can burn up before they can be
recovered and developed.
Magnetic multishots are similar in principle to the magnetic single shot but with the additional ability
to record magnetic inclination and direction on a film strip at regular depth intervals. A magnetic
multishot barrel is dropped down to the BHA before it is tripped out of the hole. The BHA must have
a non-magnetic drill collar installed.
Electronic multishots measure survey data using triaxial magnetometers which measure components
of the earth's magnetic field and triaxial accelerometers which measure components of the force of
gravity. These components are then interpreted to give inclination and direction. The housing for
these sensors is identical to that of the magnetic multishots with the exception of the outer diameter of
the barrel being larger. They are used in a similar fashion, that is dropped into the BHA before pulling
out of the hole.
Directional MWD in the form of drill collar, is a part of the BHA and measures survey data while
drilling. The sensors (magnometer and accelerators) used in these tools are identical to the ones used
in the electronic multishots. These are toughened and made suitable for the drilling environment. Such
device can be used with a high degree of accuracy, particularly when the data is computed at surface.
This allows for the application of stringent calibration factors and temperature compensation. The
data from these tools is transmitted to the surface in real-time. Anyone of three types of transmission
system (positive or negative mud pulses or the continuous wave system) can be used. This choice
depends on the service companies.

Mud programme
In practice, mud programming can be broken down as follows:
(1) Determination of mud weight requirement to maintain primary well control.
(2) Determination of suitable 'trip margin' which is added to the primary well control mud weight to
give a programmed mud weight.
(3) Confirmation that this mud weight does not exceed formation fracture strengths when considered
in a dynamic mode.
(4) Analysis of formations to be drilled and the likely reaction of these to the available drilling fluid
alternatives. Using this information. select a basic mud type such as:
Water-based: * freshwater mud * seawater mud * calcium mud * lignosulphonate mud
* polymer mud
Oil-based: * invert oil emulsion mud * environmentally sensitive oil-based mud
* true oil mud
(5) Determination of fluid loss requirements
(6) Determination of pH requirements
(7) Determination of viscosity requirements
(8) Determination of temperature stability requirements
(9) Analysis of rig mud treatment equipment to meet hole requirements with selected mud types

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Having decided on the mud system required for a well, the mud treatment equipment available on the
rig should be appraised to check compatibility with the selected system. The treatment equipment falls
into four main groups:
Shale shakers: These are the single most important component
in the system since they are the initial cuttings removal system
and remove the major portion of drilled solids circulated out of
the well. Double-deck shakers are fairly standard these days
and they allow a coarse upper and fine lower screen to
increase cutting removal efficiency.
Mud cleaners: By employing both de-silting hydrocyclones
and fine mesh vibrating screen, mud cleaners effectively
remove fine drilled solids from weighted muds without excessive barite loss.
De-sanders and De-silters: They employ hydrocyclones to remove drilled solids. The smaller the
hydrocyclone, the finer will be size of the solids that can be removed.
Centrifuge: The last stage in the treatment process is usually the decanting centrifuge which can
remove solids down to 1 or 2 microns in size. They are particularly important when using oil-base
muds. Barites can be recovered for reuse in the mud system.

Bit and hydraulics programme

Bit selection and hydraulics optimisation is discussed in detail in chapter 6 and 8 respectively.
Bit selection: To select a bit the following factors are considered:
* formation drillability and characteristics * mud system in use
* directional implications * availability
Formation drillability: The best indication of formation drillability is bit performance in nearby wells.
If this information is available then selection is made easy. On wildcat wells, however some
assumptions have to be made and then the results of actual runs analysed.
Tricone bits for soft formations drill by gouging and scrapping action. They gouge their way into the
formation and sometimes can drill so fast that the penetration rate must be controlled to allow
efficient hole cleaning. In soft to medium -soft formations that are not too sticky, PDC bits offer the
best alternative, especially in oil-base mud.
Harder formations will be drilled by using insert bits with journal bearings and gauge protection or
alternatively diamond bits.
Selecting exactly the right bit requires field experience, however, it will usually be worth the effort of
trial and error to determine the correct PDC bit and premium bit especially for development drilling.
Mud systems in use: If oil-base mud is being used, it is probably to control shale problems. In this
case, PDC bits will probably offer the best choice of bit. PDC bits do also work effectively in water-
base mud but perform better in oil-base muds. Sealed bearing bits should be used, if the drilling fluid
contains abrasive particles, to prevent premature bearing failure.
Directional implications: Most tricone bits used for rotary drilling will exhibit some right-hand walk
tendency. PDC bits on the other hand due to their symmetrical cutting action tend to drill straight

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ahead. If the well is planned to be drilled with tricone bits, then it is advisable to lead the well to the
left and allow the natural tendency of the bits to pull the well back on course.
Hydraulics programme: Once the mud has been programmed, the hydraulics implications of using this
mud should be considered. 'Hydraulics' in this case, just means looking at the mud dynamically rather
than statically.
Annular Velocity (A V): A certain minimum annular velocity is required for a given mud type to
prevent cuttings slippage through the mud and to effectively lift the cuttings out of the hole to the mud
treatment equipment.
Bit and hole cleaning: Drilling fluids flow in either a laminar or turbulent manner (or in a combination
of these). Laminar flow will cause less hole erosion, however, turbulent flow is likely to clean the
hole better. In practice, both laminar flow and turbulent flow are acceptable in the annulus depending
upon the bore hole condition.
There are two main theories concerning how much hydraulic horsepower should be expended at the
bit to gain maximum cleaning efficiency. The first theory is the maximum hydraulic horsepower
theory, which in practice means expending 2/3rd of the available HHP at the bit. The alternative
theory is the maximum jet impact theory which in practice means expending around 50 % of the
available HHP at the bit.
It is difficult to answer which of these theories is the best one to use for a given set of circumstances If
the bit is performing effectively and the hole is being cleaned, then the hydraulics is adequate. In
practice, this will mean that the HHP being expended at the bit is probably in the range of 50-60
percent.
Evaluation requirements
In this part of the programme, the evaluation requirements necessary to meet the well objectives
should be formatted as follows:
(1) Drilling log requirements (2) Mud logging requirements (3) Coring requirements
(4) MWD requirements (5) Electric logging requirements (6) Testing requirements

Well cost estimation

Preparing cost estimates for well is the final step in well planning. A properly prepared well cost may
require as much engineering work as the actual well design. After the technical aspects are
established, the expected time required to drill the well must be determined. The actual well cost is
obtained by integrating expected drilling and completion times with the well design.
Elements of well cost:
The cost of well is based on 8 main elements which are as follows:
(1) Preparatory: This includes the cost of land, approach road, rig foundation and all other civil works.
(2) Manpower: This is the cost incurred on the drilling crew in form of salaries, allowances and other
payments.
(3) Services: This includes the cost on services namely geology, geophysics, cementing, transport,
workshop, production testing, catering, sea bed surveys etc.

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(4) Materials: This covers the cost on casing pipes, bits, wellhead, cement, mud chemicals, POL
(Petroleum Oil Lubricants) and other consumable materials.
(5) Project overheads: The project overheads include all the other costs on drilling at the project level
which are incurred towards drilling except the cost of depreciation.
(6) Regional and Headquarter overheads: This includes the cost incurred at Regional and Headquarter
level towards drilling activity as apportioned for a given well.
(7) Depreciation of rig equipment: Depreciation is worked out on straight line method and the cost is
assigned to well in proportion to the rig days taken.
(8) Depreciation of drillpipes: This element of well cost is based on per meter depreciation which is
worked out centrally for different regions depthwise, based on the replacement cost of the pipes
during the preceding year.
In the above elements some of the costs are determined in terms of the rig days (cycle days) spent on
the well, while others can be determined separately for the well itself.
Well-type classification
The drilling engineer is required to plan a variety of
well types, including:
 Wildcats
 Exploratory holes
 Step-outs
 Infills
 Re-entries Table 1.1-Well-Type Characteristics
Generally, wildcats require more planning than the other types. Infill wells and re-entries require
minimum planning in most cases.
Wildcats are drilled where little or no known geological information is available. The site may have
been selected because of wells drilled some distance from the proposed location but on a terrain that
appeared similar to the proposed site. The term “wildcatter” was originated to describe the bold
frontiersman willing to gamble on a hunch.
Rank wildcats are seldom drilled in today’s industry. Well costs are so high that gambling on wellsite
selection is not done in most cases. In addition, numerous drilling prospects with reasonable
productive potential are available from several sources. However, the romantic legend of the
wildcatter will probably never die. Characteristics of various well types are shown in Table 1.1.

Formation pressure
The formation, or pore, pressure encountered by the well significantly affects the well plan. The
pressures may be normal, abnormal (high), or subnormal (low).
Normal-pressure wells generally do not create planning problems. The mud weights are in the range
of 8.5 to 9.5 lbm/gal. Kicks- and blowout-prevention problems should be minimized but not
eliminated altogether. Casing requirements can be stringent even in normal-pressure wells deeper than
20,000 ft because of tension/collapse design constraints.

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Subnormal-pressure wells may require setting additional casing strings to cover weak or low-pressure
zones. The lower-than-normal pressures may result from geological or tectonic factors or from
pressure depletion in producing intervals. The design considerations can be demanding if other
sections of the well are abnormal pressured.
Abnormal pressures affect the well plan in many areas, including:
1) Casing and tubing design 2) Mud-weight and type-selection
3) Casing-setting-depth selection 4) Cement planning
In addition, the following problems must be considered as a result of high formation pressures:
1) Kicks and blowouts 2) Differential-pressure pipe sticking
3) Lost circulation resulting from high mud weights 4) Heaving shale
Well costs increase significantly with geopressures.
Because of the difficulties associated with well planning for high-pressure exploratory wells, many
design criteria, publications, and studies have been devoted to this area. The amount of effort
expended is justified. Unfortunately, the drilling engineer still must define the planning parameters
that can be relaxed or modified when drilling normal-pressure holes or well types such as step-outs or
infills.

Planning costs
The costs required to plan a well properly are insignificant in comparison to the actual drilling costs.
In many cases, less than U.S. $1,000 is spent in planning a U.S. $1 million well. This represents 1/10
of 1%; of the well costs.
Unfortunately, many historical instances can be used to demonstrate that well planning costs were
sacrificed or avoided in an effort to be cost conscious. The end result often is a final well cost that
exceeds the amount required to drill the well, if proper planning had been exercised. Perhaps the most
common attempted shortcut is to minimize data-collection work. Although good data can normally be
obtained for small sums, many well plans are generated without the knowledge of possible drilling
problems. This lack of expenditure in the early stages of the planning process generally results in
higher-than-anticipated drilling costs.
Bit programming can be done at any time in the plan after the historical data have been analyzed. The
bit program is usually based on drilling parameters from offset wells. However, bit selection can be
affected by the mud plan [i.e., the performance of polycrystalline-diamond (PCD) bits in oil muds].
Casing-drift-diameter requirements may control bit sizing.
Casing and tubing should be considered as an integral design. This fact is particularly valid for
production casing. A design criterion for tubing is the drift diameter of the production casing, whereas
the packer-to-tubing forces created by the tubing’s tendencies for movement can adversely affect the
production casing. Unfortunately, these calculations are complex and often neglected.
The completion plan must be visualized reasonably early in the process. Its primary effect is on the
size of casing and tubing to be used if oversized tubing or packers are required. In addition, the plan
can require the use of high-strength tubing or unusually long seal assemblies in certain situations.

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DRILLING PROGRAMME FOR A WELL

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