CHAPTER-6 DIRECTIONAL DRILLING

Directional drilling is much more than simply selecting a well path and hole angle. It includes selecting the most appropriate survey techniques, defining the best control tools, researching applicable government regulations, and gathering pertinent geological data. In addition, the directional program may alter or affect the casing and cement program, hydraulics, centralization and completion techniques. Controlled directional drilling is to process of deviating a well-bore along a predetermined course to a target whose location is given as lateral distance from the vertical. This definition is the basis for all controlled directional drilling, whether to maintain the well-bore as nearly vertical as possible or as a planned deviation from the vertical. Vertical drilling, although considered fundamental in most areas, can be very difficult to achieve in some regions due to steeply dipping formations. Inaccessible Locations Quite often, a target pay zone lies vertically beneath the surface location that is impractical as a rig site. Common examples include a residential locations, riverbeds, mountains, harbors, and roads. In these cases, a rig site is selected and the well is drilled directionally into the target zone.

110

Multiple Wells Drilling from A Single Site Perhaps the most common application for directional drilling is associated with offshore production platforms. It is more economical, in most cases, to drill a number of directional wells from a single platform than to build individual platforms from vertical well. Some North Sea platforms have capability to drill as many as 60 wells from the single

Figure 6-1 Directional drilling from an offshore platform (Courtesy Wilson)

111

Figure 6-2 Relief well drilling (Courtesy Wilson Directional Drilling) structure. Multiple wells from a single site are not uncommon in land

operations. The basic principle is the economic consideration of building multiple sites, pipelines, and production facilities. Most of the western Siberia drilling is from multi-well sites (Figure 5-1 and 5-2). Sidetracks A frequently occurring cause for directional drilling is sidetracking. The primary purpose is to deviate the well bore around and away from an obstruction in the original well bore, such as stuck drill string. Generally sidetracking cannot be defines as controlled directional drilling because it does not have a predetermined target.

112

Relief Well Drilling Possibly the most spectacular application of directional drilling is a relief well to intersect a blowout well near the bottom so that mud and water can be pumped into the blowout well. Directional control in this type of drilling is stringent due to the extreme accuracy required to locate and intersect the blowout well. Quite often, special logging tools are required in locating the blowout well. Multiple Targets Geologist may define multiple target for a prospect that cannot be drilled with a vertical well. It may be necessary to drill through one target and alter the direction of the well to reach the next target. The targets may be in two-dimensional plane such that the drift angle must be altered. Other cases may involve three-dimensional planning such that the inclination and azimuth must be changed.

Design Considerations Assuming that a target and rig site have been selected, the directional planning consideration are as follows: -lateral, or horizontal, displacement from the target to a vertical line from the rig site,

113

Figure 6-3 Directional planning considerations(Courtesy Wilson Directional Drilling)

Figure 6-4 Straight kick (Courtesy Wilson Directional Drilling)

114

Figure 6-5 S-type kick (Courtesy Wilson Directional Drilling)

-kick off point (KOP) -desired build angle rate -final drift angle -plan type, straight kick vs. S curve If an S curve is selected as the plan type the engineer must also select a drop angle rate and a depth at which the hole must return to vertical (Figure 6-3).

Drift or Inclination Angle

115

The drift, or inclination, of the well bore is the angle, measured in degrees, between the actual well path, or some depth and a vertical line below the rig site. This measurement is independent of the azimuth or course heading. Typically this value will range from 15o to 35o. The minimum acceptable drift angle of approximately 12o 15o is desired by many industry personnel. Drift angles less than this range are slightly more difficult to control. In other words, it is usually easier to control a 20o well than a 10o well. Although wells have been drilled in the 70o 80o range, common upper restraints are 45o 48o. Hole angles greater than 45o 48o begin to encounter problems such as increased torque and drag as well as pump down requirements for some logging operations. Many operators establish 35o as the upper limit. The typical planning procedure is to establish minimum and maximum acceptable drift angles and KOP (kick off point).

Kickoff Point (KOP)

The Kick off point (KOP) is the depth at which the well bore path will be intentionally diverted from the vertical position. The KOP is usually selected in soft, shallow formations where directional drilling is easier. In addition, the KOP is often selected so the final angle build-up can be achieved prior to setting surface casing. This approach minimises key-seat problems in the hole section. The KOP affects the final inclination angle. Assume that a target

116

exists at 10000 ft TVD, 2000 ft north and 2800 ft east. If a build angle of 3o/100 ft is used, the following maximum inclination angles must be used for various KOP's.
KOP, ft 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 Inclination Angle,o 23.0 24.4 26.0 27.8 29.9 32.3 35.1

Plan Type
Two plan types are used in directional drilling. The straight kick builds angle and drills directionally through the target. The S curve will drop angle prior to drilling into the target so entry is vertical. Perhaps the most commonly used plan is a straight kick. The S curve requires careful consideration prior to its implementation. Since the angle change will occur deeper in the well where the formation are harder, directional contact may be more difficult. In addition, the S curve will usually require 10-20 % more drilling time than a straight kick. The S curve is selected primarily because it allows vertical entry into the target zone. Many operator believe that vertical entry may improve completion and production efficiency.

117

Build (and Drop) Angle Rates

The build angle rate describes the rate of angle decrease, prior to returning to vertical. The rates are measured as degree per 100 ft of

wellbore path. Typical ranges for build and drop angle rates are 1-4o/100 ft with 3o/100 ft being perhaps the most common. Values above 4o/100 ft can create dog-leg and key seat problems.

Graphical Presentation
Most directional well plans are presented in graphical as well as tubular form. The vertical section presentation shows a two-dimensional graph of the lateral displacement from vertical. The horizontal section, or plan view, illustrates the heading of the well path from the KOP and is usually referenced to a north-south system.

Calculation Methods The drilling industry currently uses computers to make most planning and survey analysis calculations. Although the calculations are not extremely difficult to make manually, the computer eases the difficulty and minimises the possibility of errors.

118

Survey Techniques
The magnetic compass is widely used in making directional well surveys. Magnetic survey instruments are available as: -single shot instruments that take only one reading on a single photographic disc film during one run into the well -multiple-shot instruments recording many readings on a motion-picture type of film during one run. The compass unit in both single and multi-shot

instruments is substantially the same. Since magnetic instruments are susceptible to magnetic influence of steel drill pipe and collars, they are generally run inside a non-magnetic drill collar. The collar is often termed monel collar because of its composition of Kmonel steel. Consequently, a compass reading will only be influenced by the earths magnetic poles, thus giving a true magnetic compass reading of the direction and angle of the borehole at a depth at which the compass reading was taken. A sufficient length for the monel collar should be used for the hole angle. Another means of obtaining a directional survey is by the gyroscopic method. Since a gyroscope is not influenced by magnetic disturbances, an instrument using this principle can be used for determining the direction in both cased and uncased holes and adjacent to magnetic bodies. The single shot survey instrument is a precision instrument constructed and easy to operate. It records the inclination and direction of the borehole on a film disc. This is

119

accomplished by photographing the position of the angle indicator, referenced to a compass card with a calibrated angle unit. A timing mechanism allows the tool to be positioned in the monel collar before the photograph is taken.

Calculation Techniques Various procedures have been developed to estimate the well bore trajectory as it is being drilled. The three most widely used methods are the tangential, angle-averaging and radius of curvature methods. The tangential method uses only the inclination and direction angles measured at a lower end of the course length. The wellbore path is assumed to be tangent to those angles throughout the section length. The wellbore path is assumed to be tangent to these angles throughout the section length. Although this method has probably been the most widely used approach, it is the most inaccurate of the available methods. north = MD sin (I2) cos (A2) east = MD sin (I2) sin (A2) vertical = MD cos (I2) The angle averaging is the simple average of the angles at the top and bottom of the course length. The wellbore is calculated tangentially using these two average angles over the course length. The wellbore is calculated

120

tangentially using these two average angles over the course length. The method is simple and accurate. north = MD sin [(I1 + I2 ) / 2] cos [(A1 + A2 ) / 2] east = MD sin [(I1 + I2 ) / 2] sin [(A1 + A2 ) / 2] vertical = MD cos [(I1 + I2 ) / 2] The radius-of-curvature method uses sets of angles measured at each end of the course length to generate a space curve representing the wellbore path. It has a shape of spherical arc passing through the measured angles at both ends of the course. Although this approach is perhaps the most accurate means of survey calculations, it is difficult to do manually and is better suited for computer solutions. north = MD {[(cosI1 - cosI2 )] [(sinA2 sinA1)]} / [(I2 I1) (A2 A1)] east = MD {[(cosI1 - cosI2 )] [(cosA1 cosA2)]} / [(I2 I1) (A2 A1)] vertical = MD [(sinI1 - sinI2 )] / [(I2 I1)]

Example 6-1 Use the following survey data to compare the three survey calculation techniques.

121

Measured ft 3000 3300 3600 3700 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000

Depth,

Hole Angle, 2 4 8 12 15 16 17 17 17 17

Azimuth N28E N10E N35E N25E N30E N28E N50E N20E N30E N25E

Solution
The following table is obtained using three different techniques known as tangential, average angle and radius of curvature.
Depth TVD / 3000 3299 3596 3889 4952 N 5913 N 6869 N 7826
N N N

North South 0 20.6N 54.8N 113.3N 357.9 601.3 E 789.2 E

1063.9 1317.1 1582.1

East/ West 0 3.6E 27.6E 53.9E 196.3E 325.7 549.7 649.7 795.8 919.4E

TVD / 3000 3299 3597 3893 4963 N 5926 N 6885 N 7841

N N N

North South 0 14.8N 43.8N 88.9N 316.7 550.4 771.2 E

1010.7 1275.6 1535.0

East/ West 0 5.1E 17.1E 43.2E 161.3E 291.7E 476.7 673.7 761.8E 896.4

TVD / 3000 3299 3597 3893 4962 N 5926 N 6885 N 7841

N N N

North South 0 14.8N 43.5N 88.6N 316.2 550.0 769.3 E

1006.1 1270.7 1530.0

East/ West 0 5.1E 17.0E 43.0E 161.5E 291.1E 468.7 634.7 757.8 892.4

3000 3300 3600 3900 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000

E E

E E E

8782 9738

8798 9754

8797 9754

122

Dogleg Severity
Large angle changes occurring over short course length can place high bending stresses on the pipe. In addition to these, doglegs can cause keyseating problems. Most operators place a limit on the amount of angle change allowable over a 100 ft segment. Generally the limit is 4o-6o per 100 ft. Doglegs that occur at shallow and deep intervals are concerns for different reasons. Although shallow doglegs tend to wash out and enlarge in softer formations, they can cause increasing problems due to high string weights hanging at the doglegs as the well deepens. Dogleg calculation technique based on the tangential method. DL = 100 / {(L) [(sinI1 . sinI2) (sinA1 . sinA2 + cosA1 . cosA2) + (cosI1 . cosI2)] DL = dogleg, o/100 ft L = course length, ft I1 . I2 = inclination at upper and lower surveys, A1 . A2 = direction at upper and lower surveys,
o

123

Example 6-2 Calculate the dogleg severity for the two successive surveys as follows:
Properties Depth, ft Inclination Azimuth Survey I 4231 13.5o N10E Survey II 4262 14.7o N19E

Solution:
DL = 100 / {(L) [(sinI1 . sinI2) (sinA1 . sinA2 + cosA1 . cosA2) + (cosI1 . cosI2)] DL = 100 / {(31) [(sin13.5 . sin14.7) (sin10 . sin19 + cos10 . cos19) + (cos13.5 . cos14.7)] DL = 3.229o / 100 ft

124