SPE-181943-MS

Hybrid High Dogleg Rotary Steerable System: New Approach for

Through-Tubing Rotary Drilling and Deep Kick-Off wells in the Gullfaks
Field, North Sea

M. Nadezhdin, Schlumberger; U. Koberg, Statoil

Copyright 2016, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Russian Petroleum Technology Conference and Exhibition held in Moscow, Russia, 24-26 October 2016.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
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Abstract
The goal for TTRD wells and deep kick-off sidetrack wells is to reach the pay zone with one single section.
A geological target is often located at a significant distance from the kick-off point, demanding a well path
profile with a medium/high radius curve followed by an extended horizontal section. In the past a two run
strategy was considered to be the right choice for similar well profiles in Gullfaks field: a motor BHA was
used to drill the curve, and a rotary steerable system to drill the horizontal interval. Introduction of the new
high dogleg rotary steerable system made it possible to apply the benefits of continuous rotation (faster
drilling, smooth wellbores with full directional control and better hole cleaning) to trajectories previously
only drillable by downhole mud motors due to high dogleg requirements. The paper describes a new
approach for drilling challenging highly deviated reentry wells in one run on example of a one particular
TTRD well drilled in North Sea.

Introduction
Gullfaks oil and gas offshore field was discovered in 1978 100 km away from the West coast of Norway, at a
water depth 130-230 meters. The field is operated by national oil company Statoil and was put in production
in 1986 with initial recoverable reserve of 2.1 billion barrels of oil. The field was developed with three
platforms containing 136 slots, which are now all occupied. The production life of many Gullfaks wells are
reaching the end and in order to maintain the oil extraction level stable reentry wellbores need to be drilled.
Two possible options for a reentry are: shallow kick-off sidetrack and deep kick-off sidetrack. Shallow kick
off sidetrack implicates more sections, longer distances to drill and operational risks associated with drilling
through challenging Hordaland formation and high pressure Shetland formation. Average time required to
drill and complete a shallow kick-off well is 3-4 months. On other hand, deep kick-off sidetracks require
less time and investment as less distance and fewer sections are to be drilled in order to reach the reservoir
formation. Particular case of deep kick-off well is Through Tubing Rotary Drilling (TTRD) well where the
section is being drilling and cased off through existing tubing. TTRD operations require least amount of
resources and yield high return on investment. The goal for TTRD wells and deep kick-off sidetrack wells
is to reach the pay zone with one single section. Due to their nature TTRD wells are planned with high
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continuous dogleg severity (DLS) of 7 deg per 30m and higher. Previously, such high DLS was achievable
only with mud motors. Disadvantages of drilling with mud motors are well-known: high local doglegs,
time with bit off bottom spent for motor orientation, inability to control toolface due to a limber drill pipe,
and weight transfer difficulties among others. A conventional approach for drilling such wells is a two-
run strategy: short mud motor run to build a curve with consequent RSS run for optimal well placement.
Introduction of Hybrid High Dogleg Rotary Steerable System allowed drilling such highly deviated wells
in one run saving at least 24 hours of rig time per well.

Challenges
Dogleg severity. One of the main challenges associated with drilling TTRD wells is planned vs actual
dogleg. A drilling engineer needs plan for a trajectory with the lowest possible dogleg, keeping in mind,
however, that some margin is required for any unforeseen circumstances. The Gullfaks TTRD well called
for continuous 3D deviation with a DLS of 10 deg per 100 m over a 200 m interval building an inclination
from 19 deg to 89 deg while turning an azimuth counter clockwise from 34 deg to 340 deg. A falling behind
the planned trajectory would place the drainage interval below an oil-water contact (OWC) and would
significantly reduce recoverable oil reserves of the well. Excess of achieved dogleg may be just as bad, if
not worse, than falling behind the plan. A tortuous trajectory creates unnecessary complications for tripping
operations, elevates drilling torque and hinders smooth liner running.
Fatigue life. A bottom hole assembly (BHA) fatigue is another challenge that needs to be addressed when
planning for medium/high radius trajectories. A continuous rotation of stiff elements of BHA across highly
deviated intervals exposes downhole tools to cyclic loads - a combination of rotation and bending. The
fatigue damage is cumulative and irreversible and accounts for over 65% of failures in drilling. Typically,
fatigue failures occur in points with high stress concentration, such as threaded connections or portholes. In
order to evaluate the fatigue life of the downhole tools determined by the fatigue critical features, a finite
element analysis has to be performed to account for the complexity of the features, loading conditions and
plasticity effect.
Wellbore stability. Equivalent circulation density (ECD) aspect was also important factor in TTRD wells.
Due to small annular clearance between the drill pipe and inner tubing even tiny changes in drilling flow rate
greatly affect the downhole pressure value. In mature and rather depleted Gullfaks field with its multiple
coal beds in the reservoir formation mud drilling window was narrow, and an ability to control equivalent
circulating density and equivalent static density was crucial for a safe and efficient drilling process. ECD
spikes could weaken the formation and cause wellbore instability.
Well placement. Precise well placement was yet another key factor vital for successfulness of the project.
Because of the small thickness of the pay zone, accurate drainage interval position was necessary to
accomplish an established production goal. A failure to place the well in the identified pay zone would
substantially reduce the production rate of the well and affect the economy of the project. A logging-while-
drilling (LWD) program must be defined by geologist and confirmed by a drilling engineer since some
logging tools cannot to be run in highly deviated trajectories. A failure to identify and address given risk
may result in LWD tool failure and, potentially, lost in hole.
Subsurface safety valve integrity. As drilling was performed through a tubing string, one of the identified
risks was a possible damage of subsurface safety valve (SSSV) while running the downhole equipment
through it. Purpose of a SSSV is to avoid the ultimate disaster, which can result in release of reservoir fluids
to the surroundings. This makes SSSV a very important component of a well completion, and, therefore,
such a safety valve needs to be fail safe in order to isolate well bore in any kind of system failure or damage
to surface production, control and safety facilities.
SPE-181943-MS 3

The Hybrid RSS concept and planning process

Rotary steerable drilling systems (RSS) were developed at the end of twentieth century and now are widely
used throughout the oilfield industry for drilling directional wells. The main concept behind the RSS is
continuous rotation of a drill string along with a bottom hole assemble where the steerable tool deviates the
wellbore trajectory towards the right direction using either "push-the-bit" or "point-the-bit" technology. The
benefits of such systems are well known. Continuous rotation is instrumental in effective hole cleaning by
virtue of a viscous coupling effect, which allows stirring cuttings and bringing them up to a "conveyor belt".
Unlike mud motors, RSS doesn’t require a time-consuming toolface orientation what accelerates drilling
process. Another great benefits of a rotary steerable system in comparison with a mud motor technology
is the ability of tool to provide smoother wellbore trajectory by avoiding an alternation of sliding and
rotating intervals. A smoothness of a trajectory is important for drilling surface torque reduction, trouble-free
tripping and casing running operations. Also, most of the rotary steerable systems are capable of measuring
near-bit gamma ray, continuous inclination and azimuth in real time and send these data uphole through
measurements-while-drilling (MWD tool). Aforementioned features give a directional driller better control
over the steering tool and, thereby, minimize risks associated with the poor trajectory placement.
Until recently one of the major limitation factors for rotary steerable systems was the maximum
achievable dogleg. Drilling engineers felt uncomfortable to plan for DLS more than 4 deg per 30m for small
hole sizes (i.e. 6-in), even though, there were cases where RSS yielded occasional doglegs of 7 deg per 30 m
or higher in some firm consolidated formations. As the planned Gullfaks TTRD well called for a dogleg of
10 deg per 30 m an initial considered approach was to drill the well in two runs using a downhole mud motor
for a curve part of the trajectory and rotary steerable system for drilling a horizontal production interval,
which needed a precise well placement. Tripping operations are time consuming for TTRD well in Gullfaks
C platform. Tripping speed was not only limited by surge and swab calculations that required pumping for
tripping out operation but also by specific rig characteristics: belly boards were installed on only one side of
the rig making possible to accommodate only 2000 meters of 3 1/2-in drill pipe whereas the rest of it needed
to be placed on deck by singles. Therefore, it was tempting to skip a motor run by virtue of introduction of
hybrid high dogleg rotary steerable system and drill the well in one go.
The hybrid high dogleg rotary steerable system for slim holes was commercialized in 2013. The
uniqueness of hybrid system lies in a combination of two RSS concepts: "push-the-bit" and "point-the-bit"
principles. A small part of a drilling fluid flow is diverted to actuators that apply the hydraulic force from
inside of the steering sleeve pivoting it around a joint orienting the bit towards the required direction. A
significant advantage of the given RSS is an absence of external pads pushing against the formation what
increases a reliability of the tool. The 4 3/4-in system is capable of delivering up to 15 deg per 30 m of
continuous dogleg. The maximum achievable dogleg of the RSS can be adjusted by changing the strike
ring, where the geometry of the ring defines the angle of deflection of the steering sleeve, and, thereby, the
maximum achievable intensity of deviation (Figure 1).

Figure 1—Hybrid RSS

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When it comes to trajectories with high deviation a fatigue of BHA components becomes a substantial
factor that needs to be taken into account. The tools prepared for highly deviated wells should have traceable
maintenance history. If the records indicate that the used fatigue life of the component is substantial then
connections should be re-cut. A drilling engineer in charge estimates a BHA fatigue life of the entire
bottom hole assembly at the planning stage using planned trajectory survey stations with applied expected
tortuosity, expected rate of penetration (ROP) and planned surface revolutions per minute (RPM). These
three parameters define the estimated number of load cycles the components will be exposed to. Slow
drilling of a curved interval with high surface RPM shortens a BHA fatigue life. Drilling optimization
software calculates the number of load cycles the downhole tools are exposed to where real surveys and
real drilling parameters are used as inputs. Field engineers and operation support personnel should flag
significant deviation of used fatigue life from the planned trend; a decision whether to pull out of hole
and replace the tools or continue drilling is made by all involved parties (a client and a drilling company).
Pros and cons should be carefully weighted. Once used fatigue life of the downhole tools achieves 100% a
probability of twist-off becomes significant and may cause lead to a fish. An undesirable lost-in-hole event
implies either time-consuming fishing operation or a sidetrack.
The high dogleg RSS is equipped with near bit direction and inclination (D&I) and gamma ray (GR)
sensors, which are instrumental in accurate trajectory placement. Continuous D&I measurements in real
time facilitate steering decision-making and let a directional driller react to changing drilling conditions in a
timely manner. MWD D&I sensor usually located at least 12 meters behind the bit what is a long distance to
drill blind when planned trajectory calls for 10 deg per 30 m of dogleg. A character of drilled formation and
drilling parameters greatly affect the steering response of the tool. For example, an inclination build rate may
change when exiting from hard compacted formation into loose sands that get easily washed out by high
flow rate. The RSS will have no points of contact with the formation in an over-gauged hole and steering
capability of the system will reduce. Unless a directional driller can see the near bit D&I measurements in
real time and timely adjust drilling parameters, an actual trajectory may fall below the plan. And it's nearly
impossible to catch up with the original plan in this scenario since the re-planned trajectory will call for
such a dogleg that will most like exceed tools' operational limits.
A timely identification of weak formations is indispensible for prevention of well stability issues. Near
bit GR sensor helps well site geologists with early detection of intersected beds. The reservoir formations of
Gullfaks field have uneven pore and fracture pressure. Early detection of weak formation helps to prevent
wellbore instability (kick or collapse) by adjustment of mud weight and drilling parameters. Once a weak
formation is confirmed, a method of communication with the RSS may be reconsidered. As it was mentioned
above, ECD value in TTRD wells is extremely sensitive to a flow rate of drilling fluid due to small annulus
volume (Table 1).

Table 1—ECD vs drilling flowrate

Pump 730,0 600,0 620,0 640,0 660,0 680,0 700,0 720,0 740,0 760,0 L/min
Flowrate:

ECD:

ECD at 1,7866 1,7693 1,7718 1,7744 1,7770 1,7797 1,7824 1,7852 1,7880 1,7909 g/cm3
Bit:

ECD at 1,7528 1,7429 1,7443 1,7458 1,7473 1,7488 1,7504 1,7520 1,7537 1,7553 g/cm3
Shoe:

An oscillation in downhole pressure values should be minimized once a near bit GR log indicate an
entrance into a weak formation with a purpose to prevent a wellbore instability. Since the main method of
sending a command to the RSS tool is via a determined sequence of changing flow rates, the number of such
SPE-181943-MS 5

commands should be brought to minimum as each command causes a fluctuation of downhole pressures
and therefore weakens a brittle formation. Fortunately, the hybrid RSS is capable of receiving a command
not only via flow variation but also via collar RPM variation. The tool can be programmed downhole by a
sequence of changes in surface RPM. Such operation can be performed while drilling, with bit on bottom, if
stick and slip level is moderate. A directional driller should bear in mind the limitation of given option: the
tool won't be able to recognize the RPM command in presence of a strong external magnetic field (inside
casing or close to a fish) or where the detected variation in strength of the Earth magnetic field is negligible
(tool's axis is parallel to lines of Earth's magnetic field).
Yet another reason to select a high DLS RSS tool as a primary steering tool over a downhole mud motor
was a concern about the integrity of subsurface safety valve. SSSV had a drift of 5.9-in whereas the bit size
was 5.875-in. Since the planned trajectory called for a DLS of 10 deg per 30 m the minimum acceptable
motor bend angle was 1.5 deg. Such a kink could have been a destructive for the integrity of the subsurface
safety valve during tripping operations when the bit and the motor pass through the SSSV. Unlike a downhole
motor, the hybrid RSS system is straight as long as mud pumps are off and, therefore, poses less risk to a
subsurface safety valve.
An in-house modeling software allowed to simulate a drilling process of hybrid RSS in a virtual
environment and fine-tune the BHA. A presence of high dogleg RSS in the bottom hole assembly put some
boundaries to the selection of the rest of the tools for BHA. Mainly it concerned stabilized tools as they, being
more rigid, had lower specified DLS limits. Density image log service, for example, required a stabilized
collar for a density tool. In our case the density tool’s maximum allowable specified DLS was equal to the
planned DLS for the well path leaving no room for mistake. For this reason, the density image log service
had to be sacrificed for the sake of safety of the drilling operation. Once the preliminary BHA was defined,
the assembly was simulated with a purpose to evaluate its DLS capability and predisposition to lateral and
axial shocks and vibrations (S&V) as well as to stick and slip. S&V are detrimental for all aspects of drilling
process and should be prevented whenever possible.

Execution
A whipstock was set left from a high side inside of 7-in liner and a window was milled through two casing
strings: 7-in liner and 9 5/8-in casing. Due to the narrow mud drilling window for the job at hand, an MWD
tool with annular pressure while drilling (APWD) sensor was used for the orientation of the whipstock with
a purpose to compare a theoretical ECD value simulated by a software with an actual readings measured by
the APWD sensor. After the window was milled and a 5 7/8-in rat hole drilled with the milling assembly the
well was circulated clean with a flow rate of 730 liters per minute (the same flow rate was planned for the
drilling run). The APWD readings during circulation demonstrated a perfect match between the theoretical
and actual ECD value what proved that the mud rheology software was reliable and there was no need to
adjust neither the mud weight nor the drilling flow rate.
A drilling assembly was run in hole and drilling of the well started. The trajectory for the Gullfaks TTRD
well called for 10 deg per 30 m immediately after exiting a cased hole sidetrack from 7-in liner. A strike
ring selected for the job made it capable of achieving a maximum dogleg of 14.4 deg per 30 m. A drilling
engineer chose a more aggressive strike ring in order to be prepared for any contingencies taking into account
an absence of previous experience with the high dogleg RSS in Gullfaks field. An important factor to be
considered for the operation was a limitation of MWD tool in a presence of external magnetic interference.
Neither MWD D&I sensor nor RSS D&I sensor gives a trustworthy azimuth readings when tools are close
to nearby casing. This fact added complication to the case, as the trajectory required not only build but also
aggressive turn upon exiting the window. A directional drilling initially programmed the tool with 80%
of its full steering capacity but quickly increased it to 100% due the observed lack of response. At that
moment the directional driller was relying solely on continuous inclination from the RSS D&I sensor as the
azimuth readings were interfered by casing. As drilling continued and the engineers received a first survey
6 SPE-181943-MS

free of magnetic interference it became clear that the trajectory turned more than it was initially anticipated
resulting in a real dogleg of 14 deg per 30 m. Even though, the obtained deviation was significantly higher
than planned, it was still within the tools' operational limits and drilling could be continued. The initial
aggressive turn aligned the wellpath on the desired azimuth, and the field crew focused on building the
inclination. As it was mentioned earlier, the knowledge about the formation is crucial for success of the
project. A drilling engineer evaluated the offset wells caliper logs with a purpose to identify unconsolidated
formations prone to washouts, which affect steering response of the RSS (Figure 2). With a help of well site
geologist, these formations were correlated based on depth and near bit GR sensor, and directional driller
tailored drilling parameters in order to get the required dogleg. Unconsolidated formation called for low
flow rate (580 lpm vs planned 730 lpm), low revolutions per minute (60-70 RPM vs planned 120 RPM)
and moderate to high weight-on-bit (weight-on-bit was limited by 8 ton by buckling calculations and bit
specifications). This tactics allowed drilling through challenging formation without falling behind the plan.

Figure 2—Washouts in an offset well. Red line — caliper, green line — gamma ray

The field crew elaborated a creative approach for landing the well on a determined plane. Once an
inclination of 86 deg was achieved, a directional driller set the tool to an inclination-hold mode. In this
mode the tool constantly compares the actual continuous inclination with the programmed target inclination
and steers either up or down depending on the results of comparison. During landing in the inclination-hold
mode the directional driller gradually increases the set target inclination value in steps of 0.5 deg till the
wellpatch becomes horizontal. Such approach allows more precise and less risky landing of the wellpath
on the required plane (Figure 3).

Figure 3—Actual vs Planned trajectory

SPE-181943-MS 7

The field engineers chose the same method for reducing the inclination with low planned drop rate of 2
deg per 30 m. The powerful steering tool designed for aggressive curves could be dangerous when it comes
to low dogleg sections and may cause an excess of DLS. The directional driller kept the tool programmed
in the inclination-hold mode and achieved a drop in inclination by a series of "nudges-downs" - commands
that decrease a target inclination in steps of 0.5 deg each. This technique demonstrated an excellent control
over the tool, though, increased the number of sent commands.
Actual used fatigue life of the components was much less than the predicted one. On a planning stage the
drilling engineer used worst-case scenario assuming that the curve section would be drilled with 120 RPM
and with rate of penetration (ROP) of 10 meter per hour. During the execution the team drilled the curve
using 80 RPM with ROP of 20 meters per hour. This change in drilling parameters extended the fatigue
life by 20%.
The rotary steerable system by virtue of a continuous rotation fully eliminated problems associated with
weight-to-bit transfer and hanging up - the problems common for drilling of horizontal wells with downhole
mud motors. The calculated buckling limit for sliding mode was only 2 ton of weight-on-bit what would
have significantly reduced the drilling progress if the motor had been chosen for the operation. Also, the
limber 3 1/2-in drill pipe all the way to surface would have made the motor toolface orientation and toolface
control challenging with PDC bit due to a reactive torque.
The highly deviated TTRD well was successfully drilled in one run with high dogleg RSS and completed
without issues within the established time frame.

Conclusions
In total three wells, including two TTRD wells, were drilled in scope of the campaign using the hybrid
high dogleg rotary steerable system. All the wells were drilled window-to-TD in one run saving time that
would otherwise be needed for a mud motor run. The established objectives for all the three wells were
successfully accomplished; all drilling targets penetrated, the directional drilling and logging-while-drilling
operations were executed without failures. The system proved to be reliable and cost-effective alternative
to a conventional two-run strategy for drilling TTRD and deep kick-off wells.

Reference
R. Hawkins, SPE, S. Jones, SPE, J. O'Connor, SPE, and J. Sugiura, SPE, Schlumberger presented at the SPE/IADC
Drilling Conference and Exhibition held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 5–7 March 2013.