TAMU - Pemex

Offshore Drilling

Lesson 20
Horizontal Wells

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Lesson 20: Horizontal Wells

 Why Drill Horizontal Wells?

 Relative Production Rates
 Relative Costs
 Types of Horizontal Wells
 Drilling Problems and Solutions
 How Popular is Horizontal Drilling?

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 Austin
Chalk
Pearsall Field Austin
San Antonio
Oil Rig

Austin Chalk
Not to scale

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WHY DRILL HORIZONTAL WELLS?

 Increase Production Rates

 Control Water Production
 Control Gas Production
 Control Sand Production
 Increase Reserves
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 WHY DRILL HORIZONTAL WELLS?

 Produce From Thin Reservoirs

 Connect Vertical Fractures
 Produce Methane from Coal Seams
 Increase Injectivity (steam, water,
polymers, etc.)

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Horizontal Well / Vertical Well
9
Horizontal Well
8 Drainage Area
7 = vertical drainage area
Production,

6 = 30 acres
5 *Steady State
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3
2
1
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Horizontal Well Length, 100 ft increments

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Vertical Well

Horizontal Well

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Horizontal Drilling Sites

Bryan
Austin
Austin Chalk Giddings
Austin Chalk Houston
Fields
San Antonio

Pearsall
Field

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 Horizontal Drilling

 Horizontal wells are often drilled

perpendicular to vertical fractures in
order to intersect and drain as many
fractures as possible.
 Horizontal drilling greatly reduces
the risk of bypassing vertically
fractured reservoirs.

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Horizontal Drilling

Oil-filled fractures

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 PRODUCTION RATES:
ORYX - Austin Chalk

Vertical Horizontal Horizontal/

Well Well Vertical
B/D B/D Ratio
12 507 42
15 215 14
5 107 21
Drilled 7 wells over a period of 4 years (1986-1989)
Drilled 85 additional wells the next year (1990)
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Oil Production, ROSPO MARE, ITALY

500
m3/D

Horizontal
Well
250 Slant Well
Vertical
Well
1982 1984 1986

Water 70m

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 PRUDHOE BAY

Vertical Well: 3,000 - 4,000 B/D

Horizontal Well: 10,000 - 12,000 B/D
Production Ratio: 3-4

Vertical Well: 235 $/ft

Horizontal Well: 520 - 282 $/ft
Cost Ratio: 2.2 - 1.2

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 2-6 degrees/100 ft
Long Radius - 2,800-1,000 ft. radius
Conventional
- Directional 20-75 degrees/100 ft
300-125 ft. radius

Medium Radius 1.5-3 degrees/ft

20-40 ft. radius
Short Radius
Pay
Zone 400-700 ft 1,000-5,000 ft 1,000-6,000 ft

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NEW DRILLING TECHNOLOGY

Measurement While Drilling (MWD)

 Directional Surveying and Control
 Identification of Markers
 Identify zones

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 Top Drive

 Drill with 90-ft stands instead of

30-ft joints
 Circulate while pulling drillpipe
out of hole
 Rotate drill pipe while pulling
out of hole

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 Mud Motors

 Drill without rotating pipe

 Change hole direction while drilling
without making a trip
to change the BHA
 Steerable systems
 High-torque motors…
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 Geological
Marker

MWD tools are used to locate geological markers as

a well approaches its target so that the driller can
determine the vertical distance between the bit and
target.
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 POTENTIAL PROBLEMS IN
HORIZONTAL DRILLING

 Running equipment in and out of

hole: drillstring, casing, cables
 Preventing/Remedying
differential sticking
 Excessive torque

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 POTENTIAL PROBLEMS IN
HORIZONTAL DRILLING (cont’d)

 Cleaning the hole and preventing

cuttings from settling along the
hole bottom
 Controlling weight on bit to achieve
and maintain directional control
 Cementing casing or liner
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 SUMMARY

 Horizontal wells may produce at 3-5

times the rate of vertical wells in the
same area. (as much as 20 times
higher in special cases)
 Horizontal wells typically cost 1.5-3
times as much as vertical wells
in the same area.

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SUMMARY (Continued)

 Horizontal wells are often very attractive in

formations with extensive vertical fractures.
 The use of horizontal wells is growing-
worldwide.
 Horizontal wells will increase our
recoverable reserves.
 In the U.S. one rig in ten is drilling horizontal
wells. (1995) { ~7% today }
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LONG-RADIUS WELLS

 Used for achieving large horizontal

displacements from platforms or
drilling pads
 Used for achieving very long
horizontal sections (4000 ft +)

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LONG-RADIUS WELLS (cont’d)

Build Rate: ~2-6 degrees/100 ft

Build Radius: ~1,000-3,000 ft

Length of Horizontal 1,000-7,000 ft

Section:

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 METHOD

 Use conventional directional drilling

technology
 Use rigid bottom hole assemblies,
motors & bent subs, stabilizers
 Or, use Navigation drilling systems
with “steerable” drilling motors

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 MEDIUM - RADIUS WELLS

Build Rate: ~ 8-20 degrees/100 ft

Build Radius: ~ 300-700 ft

Length of ~1,000-5,000 ft
Horizontal Section:

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METHOD

 Use modified long-radius drilling

technology
 Use different motors for ANGLE
BUILD and ANGLE HOLD sections
 Use a “TANGENT SECTION” between
the two build sections

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 Fig. 1: Medium
String Stabilizer
Radius Angle
Dump Valve
Build Assembly

Bent Sub

Low-Speed,
High-Torque
Motor Kickoff Sub
Upper Bearing
Housing with
Stabilizer

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 SHORT - RADIUS WELLS

Build Rate: ~ 1-3 degrees/ ft

Build Radius: ~ 20-40 ft

Length of Horizontal 400-1000 ft

Section:

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 METHOD

 Downhole motor designs are now

available
 Drill vertical “rathole” to identify
horizon
 Build angle with special curve-drilling
assembly with a non-rotating shell
that gives curvature to the tool
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METHOD (Continued)

 After building angle to horizontal,

use a special angle-hold assembly:
this consists of two undergauge
stabilizers behind the bit, and flexible
drillpipe

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 Drill Pipe Fig. 4: Short
(rotating)
Radius Curve
Drilling
Clutch Sub (rotating) Assembly
Clutch
Stabilizer

Curved Drill Guide

(non-rotating)

Bit Sub
(rotating)
Stabilizer

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Multi-Lateral
Completion Systems
from Baker Oil Tools
Has Finally Taken Root

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Multi-Lateral Drilling and Completions

Some Things are Designed for

Easy Re-entry.

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“Complex well geometries boost
Orinoco heavy oil producing rates
Oil & Gas Journal, Feb. 28, 2000

 Single horizontal lateral

 Gull-wing well
 Stacked multilateral
 Fishbone well
 Gull-wing, fishbone well
 Stacked fishbone well
~9oAPI oil. ~1.2 * 1012 bbls in place. ~250 * 109 recoverable
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 End of
Lesson 20

ATM
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