Principles of Petroleum

Engineering

“Drilling Engineering”

:Lectures prepared by
Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim
Ameen K. Salih 2023

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Objectives
• Drilling Engineering
• Cable-tool drilling
• Rotary Drilling
• 1-Prime movers (Power system)
• 2-Hoisting system
• 3-Circulating system
• 4-Rotary system
• 5-Well control and monitoring system

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Drilling Engineering
Oil well drilling is one of the most important branches of petroleum industry.
Drilling is widely used in exploration for oil and natural gas in the early stage
of a search for oil. When a seismograph surveying method is used to discover
geological structure favourable for oil and gas accumulation, it is necessary to
drill shallow to make explorations. There are many indirect methods of
prospecting for oil and natural gas, but such methods indicate that certain
possibilities exist for oil gas accumulation.
These methods cannot prove presence of oil in favourable area. They give no
possibility for estimation of deposit that is supposed to be discovered.
Drilling a well is the only method to find oil or gas and to prove
(communicability, profitability) of the deposit discovered.

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 Drilling Engineering
 Wells are drilled for not only extracting oil but also for the purpose of
injecting water, gas steam, into the oil bearing strata to maintain formation
pressure ,to apply secondary recovery methods etc.
 Drilling boreholes is used not only in the petroleum industry. Wells are
drilled for many other purposes like water supply, ores and coals exploration
etc.
 However, oil and gas well drilling is the most advanced out of all the
drilling industries because it deals with the deepest wells and the most save
underground conditions.

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Cable-tool drilling
Until the development of the rotary drill in the late 1890's, the techniques of well
drilling had remained essentially unchanged since the early 1870's. The technique
known as cable-tool drilling was adapted to petroleum production from its earlier
uses in water- and salt-well drilling.

Though the principles of cable-tool drilling remained essentially the same, the
quality of equipment improved over time. Application of power, improvements in
drilling tools, use of casing, and development of the "torpedo“ were the major
kinds of technical improvement.
Most of the changes resulted from particular problems encountered by oil
producers in the fields. Others, such as improvement in metal strengths, use of
explosive charges to accelerate the flow of oil, and application of machine
operations, were adaptations of techniques developed in other areas of the
economy. 5
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Rotary Drilling
• Rotary drilling has been in use as early as 3,000 B.C. in China, and later in Egypt. The concept of
rotary drilling has evolved and grown over time. Leonardo da Vinci created a design for a rotary
drill in the early 1500s; it closely resembled the rotary drilling method employed today. Even
though rotary drilling has had an early beginning, its use did not gain popularity until the late
1800s to early 1900s.
• Though there were many patents for rotary drills as early as the 1830s, the first one was invented
by Englishman Robert Beart in 1845. Early rotary drilling methods involved attaching a drilling
device to a mule that would walk in circles to achieve the rotation needed for drilling.
• Rotary drilling was first used for drilling oil wells in 1901 when Captain Anthony Lucas and
Patillo Higgins applied it to their Spindletop well in Texas. By 1925, the rotary drilling method
was improved with the use of a diesel engine. The first attempt at rotary drilling involved a device
that sent a stream of water down a hollow shaft of the drill to remove cuttings. This was in contrast
to the cable drill, whereby the operation is interrupted and cuttings are removed singularly before
the drilling can resume. 7
• The early rotary drill was originally used for drilling in softer formations in areas such as
California and the Gulf Coast; but this changed with the production of roller and cone bits
comprising steel alloy. This addition made rotary drilling suitable for harder formations, such
as rock, and it was eventually used for boring deep holes and wells.

• Rotary drilling became valuable to the oil industry because it was able to produce holes of a
smaller diameter than cable drilling. This became possible because a hole produced by a rotary
drill was the same diameter at the lower end as it was at the top.

• Rotary drilling provided many improvements to drilling applications. The nature of the rotary
drill proved important when oil well cements were being produced. The process of unloading
continuous sacks of cement to construct a well required the drilling techniques of the rotary
drill, which could accommodate these new materials.

• Early oil drilling applications that were completed with cable tools or churn drills were laden
with problems, such as erupting oil fountains that resulted in fires and the loss of valuable oil.
The issues that arose from the high pressure of oil wells were remedied with the use of rotary
drilling. 8
Basic Rotary Drilling System
• The basic rotary drilling system comprised prime movers, hoisting equipment, rotating
equipment, and circulating equipment.
• Previously, the system was powered by steam engines. After World War II, they were
powered by gas, and eventually, diesel engines. The ability of the rotary drill to
automatically deposit water in order to remove cuttings (via the circulation system) meant
that the operator would not have to interrupt the operation, as would be required in a cable
drilling application. It also reduced the chances that mud would cause the hole to cave in.
• The working platform for drilling work is called drilling rig. It holds the most components
required for the drilling work. Main components comprise the drilling rig are:
1. Prime movers (Power system)
2. Hoisting system
3. Rotary system
4. Circulating system
5. Well control &monitoring system
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1-Prime movers (Power system)
• Prime Movers: The prime movers in a rotary
drilling rig are those pieces of equipment that
provide the power to the entire rig.
• Recently, while diesel engines still compose
the majority of power sources on rotary rigs,
other types of engines are also in use.
• Some rotary rigs may use electricity directly
from power lines. Most rotary rigs these days
require 1,000 to 3,000 horsepower, while
shallow drilling rigs may require as little as
500 horsepower.
• The energy from these prime movers is used
to power the rotary equipment, the hoisting
equipment, and the circulating equipment.
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2-Hoisting system
Hoisting system: is one of the main parts to actually doing the drilling job.
The hoisting equipment on a rotary rig consists of the tools used to raise and
lower whatever other equipment may go into or come out of the well.
The most visible part of the hoisting equipment is the derrick, the tall
tower-like structure that extends vertically from the well hole.
The hoisting system is made up of the draw-works, derrick, crown block,
traveling block, hook and wire rope.
If a drill bit needs to be changed, either due to tear or a change in the
subsurface rock, the whole string of pipe must be raised to the surface. The
hoisting equipment is used to raise all of this equipment to the surface so that
the drill bit may be replaced.

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A-Derrick or Mast
Provide the vertical height required to rise sections in pipe from or lower
them into the hole. ( the most commonly used drill pipe is between 27 and
30 feet long. Stands, which are composed of two, three, or four joints of drill
pipe).
Derricks are related to :
1- the height.
2- the ability to withstand compressive loads and wind loads.
The derrick usually is elevated above the ground level by placement on a
substructure, to provide working space below for BOP.
 The standard pyramid derrick is a structure with four supporting legs
resting on a square base.
 In comparison, a mast is much more slender and may be thought of as
sitting on one side of the rig floor or work space.
 The derrick is erected on a substructure which supports the rig floor and
rotary table and provides work space for the equipment on the rig floor.
 The derrick and its substructure support the weight of the drillstem at all
times, whenever it is suspended from the crown block or resting in the
rotary table.
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 B-Travelling Block, Crown Block, Drill Line &

Hook
Use to connect the supporting derrick with the load of
drillpipe to be lowered into or withdrawn from the
borehole. During drilling operations, this load usually
consists of the weight of the drillpipe, drill collars and
drill bit.

The drill line passes from the drawworks to the top of

the derrick. From here is sheaved between the crown
block and traveling block to give an eight, ten or
twelve-line suspension. It is then clamped to the rig
floor by the deadline anchor.

Suspended from the travelling block, on standard

drilling systems, is the hook which when drilling
carries the swivel and kelly and when tripping it lifts
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the drillstring.
C-The Drawworks
The drawworks provide the hoisting & braking power required to rise or lower the heavy strings
of pipe.
The drill line is reeled (spooled) on a drum in the drawworks.
When engaged, the drum turns and either reels in the drill line to raise the traveling block, or lets
out the drill line to lower it. Because the drill-stem is attached to the block, it is raised or
lowered.
One outstanding feature of the drawworks is the brake system, which enables the driller to easily
control a load of thousands of pounds of drill pipe or casing.
An integral part of the drawworks is the gear (transmission) system. This gives the driller a wide
choice of speeds for hoisting the drill-string.
The drawworks also has a drive sprocket that drives the rotary table by means of a heavy-duty
chain. In some cases, however, the rotary table is driven by an independent engine or electric
motor.
Another feature of the drawworks are the two catheads. The make-up cathead, on the drillers
side, is used to spin up and tighten the drill-pipe joints. The other, located opposite the driller's
position on the drawworks is the breakout cathead. It is used to loosen the drill-pipe when the
drill-pipe is withdrawn from the borehole. 15
3-Circulating system
In order to keep the drilling operation
without big troubles, proper circulation
system should be built to fulfil the
requirement. Working scenario of
circulating system is the drilling mud will
be pumped into the drill pipe from the mud
reservoir, we called it mud pit. After mud
reached the bottom the well, it brings rock
cuttings to the surface through the annulus
between drill pipe and well wall. The mud
with rock cuttings will be separated
through surface solid control system, such
as screens, de-sanders or centrifuges. After
these, clean drilling mud will be retreated
with certain chemicals and again pumped
into the wellbore. 16
• There are a number of main objectives of this system:

 Cooling and lubricating the drill bit.

 Controlling well pressure.
 Removing debris and cuttings.
 Coating the walls of the well with a mud cake.

 The circulating system consists of drilling fluid, which is circulated down through the well hole.
 The most common liquid drilling fluid, known as 'mud', may contain clay, chemicals, weighting materials,
water and oil.
 The circulating system consists of a starting point, the mud pit, where the drilling fluid ingredients are
stored.
 Mixing takes place at the mud mixing hopper, from which the fluid is forced through pumps up to the
swivel and down all the way through the drill pipe, emerging through the drill bit itself.
 From there, the drilling fluid circulates through the bit, picking up debris and drill cuttings, to be circulated
back up the well, traveling between the drill string and the walls of the well (also called the 'annular space').
 Once reaching the surface, the drilling fluid is filtered to recover the reusable fluid (removal equipment).

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4-Rotary system
Wells are drilled by the pipe and bit rotation,
therefore it is very
important to have an efficient rotation system.
This system mainly includes swivel, Kelly,
rotary drive ,rotary table, drill string and drill bit
The working principle of rotation system is the
Kelly, which is connected to the drill pipe
drove by the rotary table and then the whole drilling
string can be rotated for drilling.

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A-Swivel
The swivel hangs from the drilling hook by
means of large bail, or handle. The swivel
is not rotate, but allow everything below it
to rotate.
Drilling fluid is introduced into the drill-
stem through a gooseneck connection on
the swivel, which is connected to the rotary
hose.
When a ‘top-drive’ system is used, the
swivel is replace by power swivel.
The power swivel performs the same
functions as the ‘normal swivel’, but it is
also associated with a transmission system
used to rotate the drill string, instead of the
rotary table transmitting this motion. 19
B-Kelly
The Kelly is approximately 40 feet long,
square or hexagonal on the outside and
hollow throughout to provide a passage
way for the drilling fluid.
Its outer surfaces engages corresponding
square or hexagonal surfaces in the Kelly
bushing.
The Kelly bushing fits into a part of rotary
table called master bushing. Powered gears
in the rotary table rotate the master bushing,
and thus the Kelly bushing.
The Kelly bushing will rotate the Kelly and
everything below it to rotate
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C-Drill String
The drillstring is made up of the drillpipe, drill collars, and
specialized subs through which the drilling fluid and
rotational power are transmitted from the surface to the bit.
Drill pipe and drill collar come in sections, or joints, about 30
feet long.
The most commonly used diameters of drill pipe are 4, 4½,
and 5 inches OD.
The purpose of drill collars is to put extra weight on he bit, so
they are usually larger in diameter than drill pipe and have
thicker walls.
Drill pipe and drill collars have threaded connection on each
end.
On drill pipe the threaded connection are called tool joints.
Tool joints are steel rings that are welded to each end of a
joint of drill pipe. One tool joints is a pin (male) connection,
and the other is a box (female) connection.
Specialized Subs: The word “sub” refers to any short length
of pipe, collar, casing, etc., with a definite function. 21
D-Drill Bit
At the bottom of drillstring is a the bit, which drills the
formation rock.
Most common types are roller cone bits and diamond
bits.
The bit size: range from 3¾ inches (9.5 cm) to 26 inches
(66 cm) in diameters. The most commonly used sizes are
17½, 12¼, 77/8, and 6 ¼ inches (44, 31, 20, and 16 cm).
Roller cone bits usually have three cone-shaped steel
devices that are free to turn as the bit rotates.
Several rows of teeth, or cutters, on each cone scrape,
gouge, or crush the formation as the teeth roll over it.
Two types: milled teeth and tungsten carbide inserts.
Most roller cone bits are jet bits: drilling fluid exits from
the bit through nozzles between the cone, thus create
high velocity jets of mud. This will help lift cuttings 22
away from the bit.
5-Well control and monitoring system
drill a well is very dangerous, because the pressure in the reservoir
could be significant high, which normally about couple thousands psi.
Therefore, in order to guarantee the drilling operation safe and prevent
undesirable accident, well control system must be installed. The main
part of this system is the blowout preventer (BOP). This equipment is
set on the top of the well bore. If there is a sudden pressure change in
the well which push the formation fluid up to the surface,
BOP will be closed the seal the well from blowout.

Drilling fluid provides the first line of defence against blowouts.

A hole full of mud that weighs the right amount or proper density
will not blowout but sometimes the unexpected occurs.
The second line of defence against blowout is blowout preventer
(BOP).
When closed, they form a pressure-tight seal at the top of the well
and prevent the escape of fluids.

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