PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Directional Control

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Introduction
Inclination and azimuth of the wellbore are determined by
y the
derivation of bit which is controlled through BHA.
The configuration of BHA is defined by:
o

Physical dimensions of the collar

Type of materials used

Number of stabilisers and their position on the string

Size of the bit and the stabilisers

Multi-stabiliser BHAs are effective in directional drilling and

deviation control.

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Introduction
Deviation of the bit results from:
o Flexibility (bending) of the drillstring, which is a function of collar
material and geometry
o Weight
e g t on
o bit
bt
o Hole geometry
o Formation characteristics
Changing BHA configuration and WOB can lead to:
o Build up
o Hold
H ld
o Drop-off
The size, position and number of stablisers play an important role in the
deviation control of bit.

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Introduction
In g
general,, BHAs are treated as elastic columns.
Designing a BHA involves calculations of:
o Side force at the bit and stabilisers,,
o Deformed shape of the BHA and
o Bit tilt angle.

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Forces at Bit
Forces acting
g on bit includes:
o Weight on bit,
o Side force (resulted from lateral forces).

The tendency of the bit to build or drop an angle depends

on the direction of the resultant force at the bit.

I li ti
Inclination

Bending force
Fb
Side force
Fs
Resultant force
FR

Stabiliser
L
side force
Fc
Pendulum force
Fp
Bit tilt angle

WOB
Fa

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Forces at Bit
Axial force Fa
o Fa is the weight on bit (WOB),
(WOB)
o Fa is perpendicular to bit face,
o Fa tends to direct the bit to drill ahead,
o Fa is from the weight of drill collar. Fa

= [Wc L t cos()] cos()

o Bit tilt angle = angle between bit axis and borehole axis

I li ti
Inclination

o Bit tilt angle is affected by the deflection of the collar

above the bit.
Bending force
Fb

Side force
Fs
Resultant force
FR

Lt

Stabiliser
side force
Fc
Pendulum force
Fp
Bit tilt angle

WOB
Fa

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Forces at Bit
Lateral forces:
o Pendulum force Fp
due to gravity and acts toward the low side of the well,
It tends to push the bit toward vertical (dropping).
o Bending force Fb
due to bending moment produced at the near-bit stabiliser,
It tends to push the bit upward If the bending produced is
convex upward
upward,
It tends to push the bit downward If the bending produced is
Bending force
convex downward.

I li ti
Inclination

Fb
Side force
Fs

1
Fp = Wc L sin()
2

Resultant force
FR

Stabiliser
L
side force
Fc
Pendulum force
Fp
Bit tilt angle

WOB
Fa

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Forces at Bit
Lateral forces:
o Bending force Fb
due to bending moment produced at the near-bit stabiliser,
It tends to push the bit upward If the bending produced is convex upward,
It tends to push the bit downward If the bending produced is convex downward
downward.

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Forces at Bit
Side force Fs:
o The resultant of the two lateral forces (bending and pendulum),
o If the side force tends build up then it is positive, pointing to high
side of the wellbore,
o If the side force tends drop off then it is negative , pointing to low
side of the wellbore.

I li ti
Inclination

Bending force
Fb
Side force
Fs
Resultant force
FR

Stabiliser
L
side force
Fc
Pendulum force
Fp
Bit tilt angle

WOB
Fa

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Forces at Bit
Resultant force FR:
o The resultant of the WOB and side force.

Inclination

Bending force
Fb
Side force
Fs
Resultant force
FR

Stabiliser
L
side force
Fc
Pendulum force
Fp
Bit tilt angle

WOB
Fa

10

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Forces at Bit
Resultant force FR:
o The resultant force controls the drilling direction.

11

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Forces at Bit
Drilling direction:
o Most drill bit are designed to drill perpendicular to the bit face.
o However bit is pushed in the direction of the resultant force.
o As a result, the bit usually drills in a direction which is
somewhere between the direction of the resultant force and bit
axis.
o The angle between
the resultant force
and drilling direction
() depends on bit tilt
angle bit type and
angle,
formation drillability.

Inclination

Bending force
Fb
Side force
Fs

Resultant
R
lt t fforce
FR

Stabiliser
L
side force
Fc
Pendulum force
Fp
Bit tilt angle

WOB
Fa

12

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
BHA is a Tubular Column.
Beam Column Theory:
q(x)

dx
y

M
P

V
M+dM

n
dy
dx

d4y
d2y
EI 4 + P
=q
2
dx
dx

V+dV

I=
dx

4
d o d i4
64

13

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Slick BHA:
o A slick BHA consists of drillpipes, drill collars and bit, but no stabiliser.
o A simple pendulum assembly.
o It may be used to minimise the inclination angle when drilling a vertical
well, but the weight on bit should be limited to very small values.
axial force (Fa)

greater (Fa)

pendulum force
(Fp)
weaker (Fp)

14

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Slick BHA:

FS = - 0.5Wc Bc Lt sin + (Fa - 0.5Wc Bc Lt cos )

l
Lt

x
y
Fa

FS = bit side force (lbf)

Wc = air weight of the collar (lbm/ft)
Bc = buoyancy correction factor
Lt = length between the bit and the first point
of tangency (ft)
= inclination angle
Fa = axial load on the bit (lbf)
l
= clearance radius of the drill collars (in.)
= 0.5(db dc)

Lt
Ra

W cBcLt

FB
RB

15

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Slick BHA:

FS = - 0.5Wc Bc Lt sin + (Fa - 0.5Wc Bc Lt cos )

l
Lt

Effect of WOB on side forces and tangency Lengths of Slick BHA

WOB (lbf)

FS (lbf)

Lt (ft)

0
10000
20000
30000
60000
80000
90000

-167
-154
-136
-117
-58
-15
+7

47.3
46.4
45.3
45.3
41.2
39.4
38.5

density of the metal (m)

drill bit diameter (db)
collar outside diameter (dc)
collar inside diameter (di)
mud weight (f)
inclination ()

491 lbm/cuft
8.5"
7.0"
2.1875"
9.5 lbm/gal
4o

16

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Single-Stabiliser BHA:
o Adding a stabiliser to the collars moves the point of tangency
further away from the bit. This increases the negative side force
at the bit (higher pendulum force).

17

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Single-Stabiliser BHA:

x
y
Fa
m

Lt

Rs

l m
FS = 0.5Wc1 Bc L1 sin + (Fa -0.5Wc1 Bc L1 cos ) 1 1
L1 L1

W cBcL t

FB
RB

Wc1B c sin L21

Wc 2 B c sin L32
6EI1l1 6EI1 (l1 l 2 )
1
m1 =
1
2 +
+

4
4 L1 I 2
L1 L 2

L 2 I1
L21

2 1 +
2
L1 I 2

18

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Single-Stabiliser BHA:
Effect of stabiliser distance L1 and WOB on side forces of Slick BHA
WOB (lbf)
10000
20000
30000
60000
80000
90000

L1 = 5 ft
728.17
736.42
745.80
770.67
788.53
770 17
770.17

density of the metal (m)

d ill bit di
drill
diameter
t (db)
stabiliser diameter (dS1)
collar outside diameter (dc)
collar inside diameter (di)
m d weight
mud
eight (
( f)
inclination ()

FS (lbf)
L1 = 20 ft
L1 = 35 ft
88.00
-38.78
89.91
-38.18
91.87
-37.60
98.10
-36.08
102.54
-35.40
105 85
105.85
-35.24
35 24

L1 = 50 ft
-110.78
-110.04
-109.27
-106.73
-105.69
-103.42
103 42

L1 = 65 ft
-166.05
-163.40
-159.90
-131.49

491 lbm/cuft
8 5
8.5
8.46875"
7.0"
2.1875"
9 5 lbm/gal
9.5
4o
19

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Single-Stabiliser BHA:
Effect of stabiliser distance L1 on side forces of Slick BHA

o The stabiliser near the bit causes

the drillstring to bend in a way that
pushes the bit against the high side
of the borehole wall. The BHA will,
ttherefore,
e e o e, have
a e a positive
pos t e side
s de force
o ce
and a tendency to build angle.
o Increase in the distance between
the stabiliser and the bit leads to an
increase in pendulum force, and the
BHA will have a negative side force
and a tendency to drop-off.

20

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Multi-Stabiliser BHA:

Fs

FB

21

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Multi-Stabiliser BHA:

22

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Multi-Stabiliser BHA: Effect of Stabiliser Position on the Side Force

BHA configuration
23

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Multi-Stabiliser BHA: Effect of Stabiliser Position on the Side Force
o First Stabiliser (varying L1 while L2 and L3 kept unchanged)

The effect of first stabiliser position on the side

force.

The effect of first stabiliser position on the

deflection of collar.

As the first stabiliser moves away from the bit the side force at the bit decreases:
the increase in tangency length decreases the bending force and increases the
pendulum force. The assembly
y becomes a pendulum assembly.
y
24

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Multi-Stabiliser BHA: Effect of Stabiliser Position on the Side Force
o Second Stabiliser (varying L2 while L1=3 ft and L3 kept unchanged)

The effect of second stabiliser position on the

side force.

The effect of second stabiliser position on the

deflection of collar.

Since the first stabiliser is placed close to the bit (3 ft) the pendulum force is at its minimum;
As the second stabiliser moves away from the first one the lateral component of the weight of the
collar section (L2) increases which, in turn, increases the bending moment at the first stabiliser,
therefore the bending force at the bit
therefore,
bit.
For pendulum assembly however, due to the large pendulum force, effect on side force is
insignificant.

25

PTRL 4017 Well Technology Part A

Directional Drilling Directional Control

School of Petroleum Engineering, UNSW

Deformation of BHA
Multi-Stabiliser BHA: Effect of Stabiliser Position on the Side Force
o Third Stabiliser (varying L3 while L1 and L2 kept unchanged)

The effect of third stabiliser position on the side

force.

The effect of third stabiliser position on the

deflection of collar.

As the third stabiliser moves away from the second one, the side force starts to
decrease gradually.
For pendulum assembly,
y the effect on side force is insignificant.
g
26