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Most oil and natural gas wells are drilled using rotary techniques, in which a drill bit disaggregates rock at the base of th e well. A
drilling fluid is pumped to the bottom of the hole and then back up to the surface. The fluid is pumped down the well ins ide the
drillstring and it returns to the surface, in the annulus between the drillstring and the borehole wall. As it flows over the hole bottom,
the drilling fluid entrains the rock cuttings and removes them to the surface.

In conventional drilling opera tions, the drilling fluid serves several other functions. These include stabilizing the borehole, cooling
the bit, and most importantly, controlling the formation fluids. The well is said to be 

if the borehole and formation fluid
pressures are e qual. In this situation, there is no net fluid flow into or out of the borehole.

The composition and properties of the drilling fluid are often chosen to ensure that the fluid pressure in the borehole excee ds the
pore fluid pressure in the formations pene trated by the wellbore, at all depths where the formation is open to the borehole. In this
 

situation, the frilling fluid pressure prevents formation fluids from flowing into the well during drilling. There is some
fluid flow from the borehole into the rock around the borehole. Materials are added to the drilling fluid to restrict this flow, by
depositing low permeability filter cake on the borehole wall and in the pores and fractures adjacent to the borehole.

In 
 

drilling operation s, the pressure of the drilling fluid in the borehole is intentionally maintained below the
formation pore fluid pressure, in the open hole section of the well. As a result, formation fluids flow into the well when a permeable
formation is penetrated durin g underbalanced drilling. For this reason, underbalanced drilling is sometimes referred to as
³flowdrilling´.

Special equipment and procedures are required to control formation fluid inflow during underbalanced drilling. Nevertheless,
drilling underbalanc ed offers several significant benefits over conventional drilling techniques. These include:

- Increased penetration rate and bit life,

- Reduced probability of sticking the drillstring downhole,
- Minimized lost circulation while drilling,
- Improved formation ev aluation,
- Increased well productivity,
- The requirement for primary stimulation treatments can be reduced or eliminated.

The extent to which it is possible to achieve any of these benefits is generally controlled by the properties of the target r eservoir a nd
overlying formations; and, in some instances, even by the specific characteristics of the well being drilled.

Why drill underbalanced?

The simple answer to the question is that it can improve the financial returns on drilling the well. This improvement can com e from
a variety of different factors that reduce the cost of drilling the well or increase its productivity once drilled.

Increased penetration rate

Drilling underbalanced can lead to increased penetration rate. Most references, describing drilling operations with air or li ghtened
drilling fluids, report penetration rates which are greater than these for wells driller overbalanced w ith conventional liquid drilling
fluid. A systematic review of air drilling operations, conducted by Carden, 1993, cited that air drilling penetration rates c ould be as
much as ten times greater than those for mud drilling in equivalent formations.

Increased Bit life

It is often claimed that bit life is increased when lightened fluid are used instead of conventional drilling muds. Drilling
underbalanced removes the confinements imposed on the rock by the overbalance pressure. This should decrease the appar ent
strength of the rock and reduce the work that must be done to drill away a given volume of rock. It is reasonable that this i ncreased
drilling efficiency should increase the amount of hole that can be drilled before the bit reaches a critical wear stat e.

Minimized Lost circulation

Lost circulation occurs when drilling fluid enters an open formation downhole, rather than returning to the surface. It is po ssible for
drilling fluid to be lost by flow into a very permeable zone. More frequently, lost circul ation involves flow into natural fractures
induced by excessive drilling fluid pressure. Lost circulation can be very costly during conventional drilling. The lost flui d has to be
replaced, and the losses have to be mitigated, usually by adding lost circul ation material to the mud (to plug off the path by which
the fluid is entering the formation), before drilling can safely be resumed. Since there is no physical force driving drillin g fluid into
the formation if the well is drilled underbalanced, p
 

 
    p   .

This is not to say that lost circulation cannot occur when drilling with lightened fluids. It is possible to lose circulation whenever the
wellbore pressure exceeds the formation pore pressure. Using a lightened fluid does not, by itself, guarantee underbalanced
conditions. This is clearly illustrated by a well, drilled with mist, in the grand canyon nation park. The pore pressure grad ient was
almost zero and air circulation could only be achiev ed for less than one -half of the drilling time.

It is possible for chemical driving forces, caused by activity differences between the aqueous phase of a drilling fluid and the
formation, to cause fluid to enter the formation, even thought there is a press ure gradient driving flow in the opposite direction.
These low rates are usually so low that they are undetectable while drilling although they can affect a well¶s subsequent
productivity.

Minimized Differential sticking

In a well drilled conventionally, a filter cake forms on the borehole wall from solids deposited when liquid flows from the drilling
mud into permeable zones, due to an overbalance pressures. If the drilling becomes embedded in the filter cake, the pressure
differential between the wellbo re and the fluid in the filter cake can oct over such a large area that the axial force required to move
the string can exceed its tensile capacity. The drillstring is then diffrerentially styck. There will be no filter cake and n o pressure
acting to ³clamp´ the drillstring if the well is underbalanced. Other mechanisms can cause sticking; underbalanced drilling does not
eliminate the possibility of a stuck drillstring (refer to section 1.4).

Reduced formation damage

Anticipated well productivity is often reduced by regions of impaired permeability, formation damage, adjacent to the wellbor e.
Formation damage can occur when liquids, solids or both enter the formation, during drilling. If the drilling fluid pressure in the
wellbore is less than the pore pressure, the physical diving force causing penetration of material from the drilling fluid is removed.
That is not to say that the possibility of formation damage from the drilling fluid is completely removed. In some ci rcumstances,
chemical potential differences between drilling and pore fluids could cause filtrate to enter the formation against the press ure
gradient. Also, there are instances in which a well, that is drilled nominally underbalanced, experiences transient overbalanced
conditions, due to less than perfect control of circulating pressures or possibly due to fluid inflow while the well is not b eing
circulated.

In any case, there are many examples of wells drilled underbalanced witgh higher productivi ty than adjacent wells drilled
conventionally.

Earlier production

When a well is drilled underbalanced, hydrocarbon production can begin as soon as a productive zone is penetrated. With suita ble
surface equipment, it is possible to collect oil while drill ing. Some underbalanced wells have paid for themselves entirely from
production before drilling operations were completed.

Reduced stimulation requirements

Following conventional drilling operations, wells are often stimulated to increase their productiv ity. Stimulation con include
acidizing or surfactant treatments, to remove formation damage; or hydraulic fracturing can be used to guarantee adequate
production in low permeability reservoirs or to bypass damage in higher permeability formations. Reduced formation damage means
lower stimulation costs.

Improved formation evaluation

Drilling underbalanced can improve the detection of productive hydrocarbon zones, even identifying zones that might otherwise
have been bypassed if the well had been drilled con ventionally.

When a well is drilled underbalanced, formation fluids flow into the wellbore from any permeable formation in the openhole
section. Penetrating any hydrocarbonbearing formation with adequate drive and permeability will result in an increased hydrocarbon
cut in the drilling records, underbalanced drilling can indicate potentially productive zones, as the well is drilled. Conver sely, during
conventional drilling, the overbalance pressure prevents formation inflows; hydrocarbon -bearing zones have to be identified from
cuttings, core analysis, logging or dsts.
It should be possible to use the volumes of produced hydrocarbons, from a well drilled underbalanced, to give an indication of the
productivity of any pay zones that have been penetrated. Shu tting down circulation will allow flow from the well to be measured;
for example with a pilot tube or flow prover. This is a straightforward practice when a gas well is drilled with a dry gas or mist. The
length of the flare at the flare pit can give a qua litative indication of productivity. Since this is also influenced by the rate of
circulation, the size of the blooie line and the wind direction, it is difficult to quantify gas production rates solely from the flare
length. If a drilling fluid with non -negligible liquid content is being used, the well will have to be allowed to unload before stable
flow is established. The flow measured is the sum of the production from all open zones; different zones are not being select ively
tested.

The reduction or elimination of formation damage that results from drilling underbalanced will also improve the interpretatio n of
openhole logs. For example, there should be no modification of formation fluid composition adjacent to the wellbore, that mig ht
otherwise mask the presence of hydrocarbons.

Environmental benefits

There can be environmental benefits associated with properly managed, underbalanced drilling operations. These depend on the
exact drilling technique adopted. With dry, gaseous drillin g fluids there is no potentially damaging liquid drilling mud to dispose of
after drilling is completed. The chemicals used in mist and foam drilling are often benign and biodegradable surfactants that do not
pose significant environmental concerns.

On the other hand, formation fluids are produced while drilling underbalanced. Particularly with open surface systems, these have to
be handled carefully, to avoid environmental contamination. However, with closed surface systems, there is no reserve pit and both
cuttings and produced fluids are contained in a way that minimize the potential for environmental contamination.