Drilling Practices For High Angle Wells

Drilling Practices
for
High Angle Wells
5 4
© 2001 PetroSkills LLC, All Rights Reserved
High Angle Wells
Horizontal Wells
Extended Reach Drilling
Hole angles greater than
70o
5 4
ERD/Highly Deviated
Pioneering work - ESSO Australia

Alaska - 100% of BP/ARCO/Exxon
BP Wytch Farm - Record ERD well
Norway - Record setting wells
Argentina - World record ERD wells
ERD
5 4
Key to Successful Drilling of
High Angle Wells
Good Hole Cleaning

Most Induced Borehole Instability
Problems are Generated through Poor
Hole Cleaning
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Poor Practices Lead to…….. Added Costs
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Wellbore Stability
Operating window decreases with hole angle.
Reduced tolerance for hole cleaning problems.
Equivalent Mud Weight (sg)
Fracture
Gradient
Pore
Pressure
0o Hole angle 90o

5 4
Drilling Practices - Hole Cleaning
Patience is a Virtue - Invest in time

Pipe Rotation is ESSENTIAL
Maximize pump output (within ECD limits)
Use controlled drilling (ROP)
Always circulate prior to tripping
Circulate regularly during extended slide intervals
Circulate off bottom
When circulating - monitor solids at shakers
Monitor Pick-up, Slack-off, Torque and Drag
Design everything with consideration for good hole cleaning
Essential to prevent problems - Once hole stability
problems develop they are very difficult to remedy
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Cost Benefit Analysis
Hardware Expenditure Time Expenditure
Rig Capacity Without the appropriate
Pumping Capacity rig facilities, more
Torque Capacity patience and time are
Drill Pipe required
If you are not prepared to spend money on hardware you must

accept that you will have to spend money on time
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Controlled Drilling
The fastest is not guaranteed to get there first

- or to even get there at all.
Cannot generate cuttings faster than the

cuttings can be transported out of the hole
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Drilling Practices
Mud quality becomes irrelevant without good drilling

practices
Optimal Rheology
+

Optimal Filtrate Potential
+
failure
Optimal Mud Weight
+
Poor Drilling
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Drilling Practices - Tripping
Allow at least 2-4 bottoms up circulating

time prior to POOH
Monitor cuttings at the shakers
Do not backream out of the hole - unless
necessary
Use circulation as first choice to clear
tight spots
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Hole Cleaning - Indicators
Slack-off and Pick-up weights provide valuable

information on cuttings bed build-up - Look for
deviations from predicted
Shakers - no solids, no hole cleaning
Also monitor
Torque (downhole and surface)
Weight on bit (downhole and surface)
Stop drilling and circulate with pipe rotation to
reduce cuttings bed if necessary
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Monitoring Shaker Screens
Critical for Tripping and prior to running Casing
Cuttings transport time can be much longer than Bottoms Up (BU) time
Cuttings Visual
load on observation
Screens
time
Begin Clean Hole
circulating (up to 6 BU’s)
5 4
Pick-up and Slack-off
Surface Tension
Actual
Theoretical
Depth
Slack-off Pick-up
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BHA Design
Again, must be designed with consideration

to hole cleaning and cuttings bed
The BHA is continually dragged through the
cuttings bed
Maximize flow area at BHA to clear cuttings
Minimize HWDP, Drill Collars, Stabilizers
Bit - maximize junk slot flow area
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BHA Design
Tri-cone bits conserve more energy than

PDC bits
Drill pipe - 5.5” (140 mm) provides
significantly more horsepower at the bit
than 5” (127 mm)
MWD - positive pulse conserves
horsepower
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Hole Cleaning - Sweeps
Prefer to clean hole circulating

Options include
Low vis/high vis sweeps
Weighted sweeps
LCM sweep
Select the most appropriate using good drilling
sense
ECD increment generally < 0.1 ppg or .012 sg (50
bbl or 8m3sweep)
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Recommended Pump Outputs
17-1/2” (444.5 mm) 900-1200 gpm (3407-4542
lpm)
12-1/4” (311 mm) 800 - 1100 gpm(3028-4164
lpm)
9-7/8” (250.9 mm) 700 - 900 gpm(2650-3407 lpm)
450 - 600 gpm(1703-2271)

8-1/2” (215.9 mm)
Based on open hole diameters

Always within ECD limits
5 4
Drilling Fluid Design
No point attempting to design a fluid to

suspend cuttings in high angle intervals
Cuttings will settle in high angle intervals
Maintain a pumpable fluid capable of
transporting cuttings in the vertical section
Design criteria (rule of thumb)
WBM, 6 rpm = 1 - 1.2 x Hole Diameter

OBM/SBM,6 rpm = 0.8 - 1 x Hole Diameter
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Advantages of OBM/SBM
Lubricity - Sliding
Drag/Torque Reduction
Minimizes Cuttings Bed Compaction -
Cuttings Inhibition (hard, dry cuttings)
Enhanced Borehole Stability/Shale Inhibition
Reduced Risk of Differential Sticking
5 4
Pipe Rotation Function of Hole
Diameter and drill pipe
The drill pipe must do more than simply rotate

within the cuttings bed
6-5/8” (168.3 mm) 50 - 60 rpm
8-1/2” (215.9 mm) 60 - 80 rpm
12-1/4” (311.2 mm) 80 - 100 rpm
5 4
Communication for Successful Drilling
Drilling
MWD/PWD
Fluids
Directional
Cementing Operator Drilling
Drilling Drill Bits
5 4
Cuttings Transport While Drilling
and Back Reaming
5 4
Packing Off when Static
Suspended Avalanche and

particles settle pack off drill pipe
5 4
Packing Off when Tripping
- without cleaning cuttings
Static
Tool joints or BHA generate cuttings pile
5 4
Bed Height Development
Horizontal Sections
 As Equilibrium Bed Height (h) grows

Cross-sectional Fluid Flow area decreases
ECD increases
5 4
Down-hole Solids Settling
Packing Off and Cuttings Beds

1 Vertical - slow settling
2 Deviated - rapid sliding and
avalanching - packing off
3 Horizontal - particles settle and
remain stationary - cuttings bed
development - ECD increase,
packing off
1 2 3
5 4
Cuttings in Deviated Holes
Hole angles of 70 degrees are the most

difficult to transport cuttings in
But angles of 40 to 70 degrees are the
most dangerous
Packing off due to avalanching occurs at
these angles
Tripping without cleaning the hole is one
of the most common reasons for packing
off
5 4
Cuttings in Deviated Holes
Back reaming in a hole loaded

with cuttings is dangerous
Cuttings settle and avalanche when
pumps are off
5 4
Summary
No Pipe Rotation - No Hole Cleaning

Apply Good Drilling Sense
Drilling practices for horizontal are critical
Controlled drilling
Allow extra time for regular circulation/hole
cleaning
Monitor
Hole stability problems can’t be “fixed” - so
don’t let them occur
5 4

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Drilling Practices

Pioneering work - ESSO Australia

Good Hole Cleaning

0o Hole angle 90o

Patience is a Virtue - Invest in time

If you are not prepared to spend money on hardware you must

The fastest is not guaranteed to get there first

Cannot generate cuttings faster than the

Mud quality becomes irrelevant without good drilling

Allow at least 2-4 bottoms up circulating

Slack-off and Pick-up weights provide valuable

Again, must be designed with consideration

Tri-cone bits conserve more energy than

Prefer to clean hole circulating

450 - 600 gpm(1703-2271)

Based on open hole diameters

No point attempting to design a fluid to

WBM, 6 rpm = 1 - 1.2 x Hole Diameter

The drill pipe must do more than simply rotate

Drilling Drill Bits

and Back Reaming

Suspended Avalanche and

- without cleaning cuttings

Tool joints or BHA generate cuttings pile

 As Equilibrium Bed Height (h) grows

Packing Off and Cuttings Beds

Hole angles of 70 degrees are the most

Back reaming in a hole loaded

No Pipe Rotation - No Hole Cleaning

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