Well Engineering or

Drilling
 Planning the Drilling Process
• Basis For Design Information
– Well Location
– Water Depth
– Pore Pressure Profile
– Formation Types, Depths & Thicknesses
– Reservoir location & Total Depth Requirements
– Formation Evaluation Requirements (Logging, Coring, Testing)

• Design Well
– Select Casing Points, Cement Design, Mud Type & Density, Select
Wellheads, Bits & BHA components etc.

• Develop Drilling Program (Plan)

• Obtain PMU Approvals

 What is in a Drilling Program?

- General information on location and operational setting

- Casing Design

- Drilling Fluids Design

- Cementing Design

- Pressure testing schedule

- Logging and formation evaluation overview

- Precautions for dealing with potential hazards (we’ll see

latter why this is very important)
 The Team Required
• Seismic Multi-disciplinary Team
• Geological Studies
• Drilling Location
• Geoscientists
• Seabed Survey
• Hazard Identification • Drilling Engineers
• Offset Well Studies • Completion Engineer
• Environmental Impact • Reservoir Engineers
• Emergency Response • Petroleum Engineers
• Budget Approval
• HSE & Environmental Advisers
• Rig Procurement
• Logistics Support
• Establish Teams
• Well Proposal • Services Support – the rest of the
office
• Drilling Program
 Third Party Contractors
• Mudloggers
• MWD Contractors
• Wireline Logging Contractors
• Mud Engineers
• Cementing Operators
• Rig Positioning Personnel
• Casing Running Crew
• ROV Crew
• Well Testing Crew
• ++++
What type of Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit
(MODU or rig) should we use?

10 000’ – 11 000’
7 000’ – 8 950’

Submersible
Submersible Jack-up
Jackup Semi-submersible
Semi–submersible Drillship
Drillship

MODU Types
Jack-up
(over MOPU)
Semi-Submersible
Drillship
 Typical Rig Day Rates

Jack-up MYR 330 000 – MYR 605 000

Semisub MYR 520 000 – MYR 1 635 000
Deepwater MYR 1 471 000 – MYR 2 290 000

Daily Well Cost with ancillary services = MYR 1 500 000

(~MYR 62 500 Per Hour)
Drilling The Well
Drill 36” hole section
for Appraisal Wells
Drill intermediate hole section
Pull out of hole
Run and cement
intermediate casing string
Drill TD hole section into reservoir
What turns the pipe?

How is it connected together?

What does a drill bit look like?

Top Drive

Travelling
block

Top drive
 Draw Works

National 1625 drawworks

Steel cable

Cable drum
 Typical Drill Floor

Drill pipe

Topdrive

Kelly hose
Draworks

Rotary table
 Why Doesn’t the hole cave in?

What Stops The Oil From Spurting Out?

 We Use Drilling Fluids or Mud

-Transport the cuttings - Stabilise the hole

- Avoid stuck pipe - Minimise torque

- Protect the reservoir - Suspend the

- Control pressure cuttings

- Clean & Cool the Drill Bit - Minimise drag

- Assist Drilling
Drilling Fluid Circulation System (land rig -
MODU’s use storage tanks for reserves)
How do we know if we have found oil?

We are not actually allowed to do this – big

trouble if we do!
 Logging

• Measurements Include;

– GR (Indication of Shaliness, I.e. Discerns Between Sands and

Shales)
– Resistivity (Hydrocarbon Indicator)
– Density, Neutron, Sonic (Porosity)
– Sonic (Rock Velocities)
– Formation Pressure and Sampling Tool (Pressures & Fluid Types)
– Image Logs (Formation Dips, Fractures)
– Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Porosity & Permeability)
– Sidewall Cores (Lithology, Shows, Age-dating, Geochem)
 WIRELINE LOGGING UNIT

Logging unit

Doghouse

Generator

Cable drum
Wireline Logging Tool Basket
Typical Log
Everybody is smiling because we have found
some oil….

….but now we need to find out about the reservoir

 PRODUCTION TESTING

Oil & gas are

burned under
controlled
conditions

Source: UK Offshore Oil & Gas

 Testing

Burners Flare
Water Spray Cooling
Shield

Burner
Boom
 Looks pretty easy !

What could possibly go wrong?

 Potential Drilling Problems
• Mooring Problems
– Hit the MOPU, Infrastructure, Boats
• Hole Stability
– Slumping Sands
– Over-pressured & stressed shales
– Reactive Clays & Shales
• Stuck Pipe
– Mechanical / Differential
• Well Control
– Overpressure – Blow out
– Losses
• Directional Control
Drillers work hard to avoid having a really bad day
like this.
This would be a very bad day for a lot of people.
Just one of many reasons why it is very important
to do every task correctly the first time, every time!
 …… but seriously

• Plenty of incentive to plan it right.

• Very reliant on good hazard identification and risk
mitigation.

• Safe, cost efficient drilling is a result of good

planning rather than good luck.