Engineering Encyclopedia: Drilling Engineering and Operations

Note: The source of the technical material in this volume is the Professional
Engineering Development Program (PEDP) of Engineering Services.

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of the Vice President, Engineering Services, Saudi Aramco.

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Engineering Encyclopedia
Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

DRILLING ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS

Engineering Encyclopedia Introduction to Exploration, Drillling and Petroleum Engineering

Drilling Engineering and Operations

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards i
Section Page
INFORMATION............................................................................................................... 3
HISTORY OF DRILLING................................................................................................. 3
CONVENTIONAL ROTARY DRILLING........................................................................... 9
Drilling Rig Operations.......................................................................................... 9
Drilling Rig Subsystems...................................................................................... 15
The Drillstring (Rotating System) ............................................................. 15
The Fluid System (Circulating System).................................................... 36
The BOP System (Blowout Prevention System)................................................. 45
The Hoisting System................................................................................ 51
The Power System .................................................................................. 53
Measurement While Drilling................................................................................ 54
Directional Drilling............................................................................................... 56
BOTTOMHOLE ASSEMBLY DRILLING ....................................................................... 59
Principles............................................................................................................ 60
Applications ........................................................................................................ 62
ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS.................................................................................. 63
Maximum Tension Load in the Drillstring............................................................ 63
Killing the Well .................................................................................................... 63
Drilling Hydraulics............................................................................................... 66
The Steady-State Incompressible Flow Equation (The Energy Equation) .......... 69
SAUDI ARAMCO OFFSHORE DRILLING RIGS........................................................... 75
Jack-Up Drilling Rig (For Drilling the Wells)........................................................ 75
Cantilever ........................................................................................................... 76
Slot ..................................................................................................................... 77
Steel Jacket Structures (As the Production or Wellhead Platforms) ................... 78
GLOSSARY .................................................................................................................. 79



Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards ii
List of Figures
Figure 1. Spring-Pole Drilling Rig ................................................................................... 3
Figure 2. Chinese Pipeline ............................................................................................. 5
Figure 3. Early Cable-Tool Drilling Rig ........................................................................... 6
Figure 4. The Drilling Rig.............................................................................................. 10
Figure 5. Well #1 Schematic ........................................................................................ 14
Figure 6. The Drillstring................................................................................................ 16
Figure 7. Tool Joints..................................................................................................... 21
Figure 8. Rock Compressive Strength - lb
f
/in
2
............................................................. 23
Figure 9. True-Rolling Tri-Cone Bit............................................................................... 26
Figure 10. Off-Set Tri-Cone Bit..................................................................................... 27
Figure 11. Kelly Through Rotary Table......................................................................... 32
Figure 12. The Fluid System (Circulating System) ....................................................... 37
Figure 13. Typical BOP Stack Configuration................................................................ 46
Figure 14. Typical Subsea BOP Stack Configuration................................................... 50
Figure 15. The Drilling Rig Hoisting System................................................................. 51
Figure 16. Single-Shot Target ...................................................................................... 54
Figure 17. Whipstock Schematic.................................................................................. 58
Figure 18. Positive Displacement Motor (PDM) Schematic........................................... 59
Figure 19. Drilling Turbine Schematic ........................................................................... 59
Figure 20. Cantilever Jack-Up Rig Schematic.............................................................. 76
Figure 21. Slot Jack-Up Rig Schematic........................................................................ 77
List of Tables
Table 1. Operations for Well #1.................................................................................... 13
Table 2. Drill Pipe Grade Code .................................................................................... 19
Table 3. Common Tri-Cone Bit Sizes........................................................................... 25
Table 4. Normal Weights and Rotary Speeds Steel Tooth Bits ................................. 29



Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 3
INFORMATION
HISTORY OF DRILLING
The primary purposes of the drilling process are to gain access to
subsurface hydrocarbon fluids and to provide a flow path for
bringing those fluids to the surface. Detailed geologic and
physical property information is a secondary benefit of the drilling
operation. Drilling may also serve the function of providing flow
access for injection of external energy sources into the
hydrocarbon reservoir to enhance recovery of the resource.
The Chinese were among the first to develop processes for the
drilling of a well. Their motivation, however, was not for production
of hydrocarbons but for production of salt water to obtain salt. In
approximately 256 BC, they developed the Spring-Pole Drilling
concept, as illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Spring-Pole Drilling Rig


The Chinese took a large wooden timber, placed it on a pivot, and
connected a heavy bronze chisel or wedge back to the surface
using bamboo rods, hemp, or jute rope. They would then jump up
and down on the wooden-timbered spring-pole, causing the
wedge to impact the rock and fracture it. This was an inefficient
process because it did not require the fracture of a large quantity
of rock particles to cushion the impact. After drilling only a short
distance, it was necessary to stop drilling, remove the drilling
wedge from the well (trip out with the drilling tool), and then go
into the well with a bailer to bail out the cuttings so that drilling
could continue.
In more recent times, a bailer would be a heavy steel pipe
normally 6 to 10 inches in diameter and 15 to 20 feet in length. In
the bottom of this bailer was a one-way check valve. A typical
valve was a solid steel ball resting on shoulders at the bottom of
the bailer, with a steel rod used as a stinger attached to the ball
and extending from the bottom of the bailer. The diameter of the
steel ball was measurably less than the inside diameter of the
pipe, to provide space for rock cuttings to move up into the pipe.
When it was necessary to bail out the cuttings, this bailer was
brought over the wellbore and lowered on a cable. As it neared
the bottom of the well, it was dropped. When the stinger
contacted the bottom, it pushed the steel ball up inside the pipe.
The impact of the heavy pipe on the bottom of the hole caused
the cuttings to move inside the bailer. When it was lifted off the
bottom, the heavy steel ball would close against the shoulders on
the bottom of the bailer, preventing the loss of rock cuttings
trapped inside. The bailer was returned to the surface and the
cuttings were dumped. This process was repeated until only
negligible cuttings remained. They would then trip in with the
drilling wedge, and drilling was resumed.


Spring-Pole Drilling required three to four years to drill a well to a
depth of 500 ft to 600 ft; yet, archaeologists have determined that
the Chinese drilled some wells to depths as great as 3,000 ft
using this method. During the process of drilling wells to obtain
salt water, they discovered oil, leading to the development of a
primitive oil industry. The produced oil was used primarily as
mortar for construction and sealant for vessels containing liquids.
Figure 2 illustrates the Chinese wrapping large bamboo rods with
linen and sealing these pipelines with oil obtained from drilling
operations. These pipelines transported water for drinking as well
as for irrigation. The Chinese also had the first natural gas
pipeline for transporting associated gas from the oil wells drilled.
This gas was used for heating homes.

Figure 2. Chinese Pipeline
The Chinese had the first casing for the wells they drilled, using
large bamboo rods to line the wells and keep the walls from
collapsing due to the soft materials near the surface.


The second major historical event in drilling operations occurred
with the development of the steam engine. As shown in Figure 3,
the steam engine modified the impact or percussion drilling
process developed by the Chinese. It provided the necessary
power to rotate the power wheel with its eccentric, which
oscillated the walking beam, to mechanize the impact process.
Though no longer a spring-pole technique, the drilling process still
occurred by fracturing the rock it impacted. This led to Cable-Tool
Drilling. Cable-Tool Drilling was the dominant process of the
nineteenth century and has been significant in many areas during
the twentieth century. Even though it is mechanized, Cable Tool
Drilling is still a discontinuous process: drilling must be interrupted
so that the bailer can be used to remove the well of cuttings before
drilling is resumed.

Figure 3. Early Cable-Tool Drilling Rig
The third historical event in drilling was the development of the
Conventional Rotary Drilling process. The first well at Spindletop
outside Beaumont, Texas, was drilled in 1901 using the
Conventional Rotary Drilling technique. This event established
rotary drilling as the twentieth centurys dominant method of
drilling.


A fourth major historical event is now occurring in drilling
technology with the initiation of Bottomhole Assembly Drilling as a
major process. There are currently two dominant equipment
approaches to Bottomhole Assembly Drilling:
Positive Displacement Motor (PDM)
Turbine Drill (Drilling Turbine)
These are often referred to as the downhole motor and the
downhole turbine. Over the next several decades, if the drilling
process continues to be a mechanical process, variations of
Bottomhole Assembly Drilling will probably replace Conventional
Rotary Drilling as the dominant technique. There have been many
major technical developments in the history of oil and gas well
drilling. A discussion of principles, practices, and equipment of
Conventional Rotary Drilling and Bottomhole Assembly Drilling will
follow in detail.
Roughnecks perform the labor for the drilling operation. They are
supervised by the Driller who also controls the operation of the
drilling equipment. Oil well drilling is a 24 hour-per-day operation.
Onshore, the drilling crew typically works an 8-hour shift, more
commonly referred to as a tour (pronounced tower).
Consequently, there are three roughneck crews per day, each
with its own Driller. Offshore, the typical tour is twelve hours, with
two roughneck crews per day, each with its own Driller.
In the offshore operation, these drilling crews may spend seven
days on the platform and seven days on shore leave; two weeks
on the platform and two weeks on shore leave; or other variations
of offshore assignments, depending on the country and company
employing the drilling personnel. When on the offshore platform,
the crews work twelve-hour tours, seven days per week.
The supervisor for the overall operation is the Toolpusher. The
roughnecks are responsible to the Driller, and the Driller is
responsible to the Toolpusher. The Toolpushers responsibility is
to make sure that the well is drilled effectively and efficiently, that
equipment is maintained, and that the drilling program is followed
within specified limits. The Toolpusher, Drillers, and roughnecks
are usually employees of the drilling contractor. Contractor
equipment and crews drill over 80% of the wells drilled today.


The Drilling/Completion Engineer for the company whos well is to
be drilled will write the drilling/completion program for that
particular well. The contractors responsibility is to drill the well
within the specified limits of the program. Variations from the
drilling/completion program are typically permitted only in
situations where personnel safety or control of the well is in
question. There will generally be a company person, at the
wellsite, representing the company whose well is being drilled.
This Company Man may be the Drilling Engineer, a company
Toolpusher, Drilling Supervisor, or other employee that the
company assigned to this responsibility.
Roustabouts are the general laborers of the oil field. In an
onshore operation, the roustabouts maintain and paint equipment,
dig ditches, lay pipelines, serve as welders helpers, or perform
other necessary labor. On the offshore platform, the roustabouts
maintain and paint equipment, clean up, serve as welders
helpers, and perform other necessary labor.
The supervisor of the roustabouts is the Gangpusher. His
responsibility is to push the roustabout gang. In many offshore
operations, the Crane Operator is responsible for the roustabouts.


CONVENTIONAL ROTARY DRILLING
The following sections will be discussed:
Drilling rig operations
Drilling rig subsystems
Drilling techniques
Drilling Rig Operations
Many consider the drilling rig to be the structure, or the derrick,
itself. As shown in Figure 4, however, the rig is the complete
drilling system, including the derrick, substructure, engines,
pumps, blowout prevention system, drill pipe, and other
necessary accessories for the drilling operation.


Figure 4. The Drilling Rig


The only equipment changed from one well to the next will be
those accessories necessary for that particular drilling operation,
such as drill bits, chemicals for drilling fluids, and special drilling
assembly systems.
To illustrate drilling considerations and technology, assume that a
wildcat well has been drilled after selecting the drill site, using
seismic information obtained during a seismic survey. This
onshore well revealed the presence of hydrocarbon in a
subsurface sedimentary rock. Information gathered from the rock
cuttings, well logs, and cores indicated that there was a
hydrocarbon presence sufficient to justify further activity.
Appraisal wells were drilled to define the hydrocarbon presence,
and this accumulated information indicated the existence of a
major hydrocarbon reservoir at a depth of approximately
10,000 ft. On the basis of this information, development should
proceed.
Appropriate company personnel submitted a development plan for
the reservoir, including a drilling/completion program prepared by
the Drilling/Completion Engineers for a typical development well
identified as Well #1. The drilling/completion program included
all necessary details sufficient for the contractor to submit a bid on
the project. A summary in overview of this basic
drilling/completion program that the Engineer developed follows:
Spud the well with a 36" hole opener to a depth of 300 ft. This
hole opener is a device designed specifically to open the hole
to solid rock through the unconsolidated materials near the
surface. This may be an auger type device, a scoop device,
or even a drill bit.
Once the hole has been opened to the 300-ft depth, run a 30"
conductor pipe from the 300-ft depth point back to the surface.
These depths to which casing is set in the drilling/completion
program are called casing points. This conductor pipe may
also be called the conductor, conductor casing, conductor
string, or, in an offshore operation from a sea floor-supported
structure, the drive pipe.


The primary difference between an onshore well
drilling/completion program versus an offshore program is how
the conductor casing is set. In the onshore operation it is
drilled for. In the offshore operation, from a non-floating
platform, a pile driver typically drives the casing into the sea
floor to its casing point. When operating offshore from a
floating platform such as a semisubmersible or a drill ship, the
conductor casing is typically drilled for, washed in with a jet
nozzle bit, or a combination of the two methods.
Once the conductor pipe has been run, the wellbore simply
collapses around the casing. It is not normally cemented.
Materials may be dumped around the casing once it has been
set in place, to fill the space and hold the conductor pipe in
place. In an onshore operation, a cement pad might be poured
around the top of the casing, so that there will be a clean work
area around the wellhead for further operations as the well is
drilled, completed, and put in production.
Once the conductor casing has been set, the program then
calls for the contractor to drill to a casing point of 2,000 ft with
a 26" bit (1,700 ft beneath the casing point of the conductor
pipe).
After drilling with the 26" drill bit to the depth of 2,000 ft, run a
20" surface string of casing from the casing point back to the
surface, and cement this surface string all the way on the
outside of the casing. The surface string is always cemented
from its casing point back to the surface.
After the cement has set for the surface string, drill to a casing
point of 6,000 ft with a 17-1/2" drill bit.
After drilling to the 6,000-ft casing point, run a 13-3/8"
intermediate string of casing from the casing point back to the
surface. Cement the intermediate string from the casing point
back 5,000 ft uphole to within 1,000 ft of the surface (cement
the bottom 5,000 ft of the 13-3/8" intermediate string, which
means that this casing will be cemented back 1,000 ft inside
the surface string). Engineering calculations determine that it
is unnecessary, in this particular well, to cement the
intermediate string of casing all the way back to the surface.


When the cement has set for the intermediate string of casing,
drill to total depth (TD) of 10,000 ft with an 8-3/4" drill bit.
Run a 7" production string of casing to the total depth of
10,000 ft and cement the bottom 5,000 ft of this production
string (cement back 1,000 ft inside the intermediate string).
The drilling and casing operations for Well #1 are now complete.
The following is a summary of these operations:
Depth Bit Size Casing Size Object
300 ft 36" 30" Conductor pipe
2,000 ft 26" 20" Surface string
6,000 ft 17-1/2" 13-3/8" Intermediate string
10,000 ft 8-3/4" 7" Production string
Table 1. Operations for Well #1
A schematic cross-section of the completed well is shown in
Figure 5.



300 ft 36 Bt
20 O. D. Casing
2000 ft
26 Bt
13 3/8 O. D. Casing
6000 ft
17 1/2 Bt
7 O. D. Casing
10000 ft
8 3/4 Bt
C
L
30 O. D. Casing

Figure 5. Well #1 Schematic



Drilling Rig Subsystems
The Conventional Rotary Drilling system is divided into five
subsystems:
The Drillstring (Rotating System)
The Fluid System (Circulating System)
The BOP System (Blowout Prevention System)
The Hoisting System
The Power System
The Drillstring
(Rotating System)
The drillstring is suspended from the hoisting system into the
wellbore. Typical components of the drillstring, as illustrated in
Figure 6, from the bottom of the well back to the hoisting system
are:
Bit
Drill collars
Drill pipe
Kelly
Swivel



Figure 6. The Drillstring
Dependent upon the particular drilling situation, additional
components such as stabilizers, centralizers, reamers, jars, and
shock absorbers, might be included in the drilling assembly.


The running and cementing of the casing is considered to be a
part of the completion operation. From the previous procedure,
the well is drilled and casing is run and cemented in stages, so
that these processes occur at different times during the
operations.
Following is a discussion of the basic procedure for the drilling
and completion stages of this well. Factors which determine the
casing points and the functions of the various casing strings are
explained in the discussion of drilling and completion operations
in Module 6.
Introduction - When the Drilling/Completion Engineer has
completed the program for this well, it is submitted to drilling
contractors for bidding. If there is an acceptable bid, a contract is
signed and the operation proceeds. The actual drilling/completion
program submitted to the contractor for the well is far more
detailed than the summary listed. Since this is a development
well, the engineer will know the type of rock which must be drilled
through to reach the reservoir, the pressures he will encounter in
drilling, contaminating fluids he must drill through (such as H
2
S),
reservoir rock properties, and reservoir fluid properties.
The drilling program will include bit type at various depths, the
rotary speed and bit weight to use, jet nozzle diameter, drilling
fluid flow rates, pump discharge pressures, drilling mud density
and chemistry, and other such specifications as may be
necessary for efficient, effective drilling and completion of the
development well. A discussion of these topics will follow.
Before accepting a contractor proposal, the company engineer
may request detailed specifications for the drilling rig to be used.
The engineer could therefore check power availability, pump flow
rates and discharge pressures, drillstring strength, and other
characteristics that might be significant. It is important that the
drilling rig accepted not be undersized, but it should also not be
significantly oversized for this particular well operation.


In the discussion to follow, there will be references to the drilling
and completion of this well, to illustrate various operations. The
well will be referred to as Well #1. After considering the
drilling/completion program for Well #1 and the contractor
proposal, a contract is signed. The company Drilling/Completion
Engineer has carefully considered the contractor drilling rig
selected to drill the well and has studied its past performance and
engineering specifications before agreeing to the contract
conditions. The rig will be called Contractor Drilling Rig #90.
The drillstring consists of the components shown in Figure 6. After
drilling and casing operations have proceeded on Well #1 through
the running and cementing of the intermediate casing string, Rig
#90 drills the well at a depth of 7,000 ft with the 8-3/4" diameter
drill bit. At this depth, there will be 7,000 ft of drillstring in the well.
Only about 1 ft of the drillstring involves the bit. The kelly is 40 ft
long if drilling onshore or offshore from a non-floating (sea floor
supported) platform, or 46 ft or 54 ft when drilling offshore from a
floating platform (semisubmersible or drill ship). The drillstring
therefore consists essentially of 7,000 ft of drill pipe and drill
collars when drilling at the depth of 7,000 ft.
Drill Collars and Drill Pipe are both pipe, but there physical
properties are significantly different. A joint of drill pipe is 30 ft
long and a drill collar is 30 ft long. To illustrate the difference
between drill pipe and drill collars, consider specifications for Rig
#90. The drill pipe is 4-1/2" O.D, 3.64" I.D., with a nominal weight
of 20 lb
f
/ft. The steel wall thickness is therefore 0.43". A 30-ft joint
weighs 600 lb
f
. As these specifications indicate, this is a typical
pipe. When the specifications for the drill collars are checked, a
30-ft drill collar has a 6-1/2" O.D., 3-1/2" I.D., with a nominal
weight of 80 lb
f
/ft. The steel wall thickness, therefore, would be 1-
1/2". As is obvious from these specifications, a drill collar is an
extremely thick walled, heavy pipe. A 30-ft drill collar weighs
2,400 lbs.


The drill pipe and the drill collars are manufactured using high-
grade alloy steel with various minimum yield strengths, depending
on the grade of steel selected. This is illustrated for drilling pipe in
Table 2.
Grade
Minimum Yield
(psi)
Symbol
N-80 80,000 N
D 55,000 D
E 75,000 E
C-75 75,000 C
X-95 95,000 X
G-105 105,000 G
P-110 110,000 P
S-135 135,000 S
V-150 150,000 V
Table 2. Drill Pipe Grade Code
When comparing steel used in drill pipe and drill collars with
structural steel, typical structural steel has minimum yield strength
of approximately 60,000 psi. This indicates that typical structural
steel can withstand loading in tension or compression up to
60,000 psi without permanent deformation. When the load is
removed, the steel member will return to its original, undeformed
dimensions. However, if the minimum yield strength is exceeded,
the steel member will receive a permanent deformation.


For most structures, including drillstring members, yielding
(permanent set or deformation) is failure. Common grades of drill
pipe steel used in drillstring components are E Grade (75,000 psi
minimum yield strength), G grade (105,000 psi minimum yield
strength), and S Grade (135,000 psi minimum yield strength). Drill
collar steel will have similar properties.
Higher grades of steel are used in drillstring components than in
most common structures. This is necessary because of the
extremes of conditions encountered during the drilling operation.
Primary design considerations for the drillstring are:

Axial loading in tension
Axial loading in compression
Torsional loading
Burst pressures
Collapse pressures
Fatigue loading
Corrosion
Abrasion
Failure in bending as a thin-walled cylinder
Failure in bending as a thin-walled cylinder results from extreme
deviation of the wellbore. This extreme seldom exists so that such
failure rarely occurs. The other factors, however, are of primary
importance in drillstring design.
The joints of drill pipe and drill collars are connected by threaded
connections, as shown in Figure 7. These connections are called
tool joints. In discussions regarding the drillstring, there will be
comments regarding the drill pipe, drill collars, and tool joints, as if
the tool joints are pieces of equipment independent of the drill
pipe and drill collars. These threaded connections, however, are
an integral part of each joint of drill pipe and each drill collar.
These connections are locations of stress concentration in the
drillstring. If there is failure, it will most likely occur at the tool
joints.



Figure 7. Tool Joints
To increase the strength at the connections, a stronger alloy steel
is used for the tool joints than for the drill pipe or drill collar body.
The tool joint is attached by friction welding. The O.D. of the tool
joint and the ends of the drill pipe are greater than the O.D. of the
drill pipe body in order to increase the steel wall thickness and
accommodate the welding process. This greater O.D. is not
necessary for the drill collars since they already have a large O.D.
and steel wall thickness. The drill pipe or drill collar body is
rotated at high RPM in one direction, and the tool joint is rotated
at high RPM in the opposite direction. When they are pressed
together, the heat generated by friction results in the necessary
welded connection. Since the O.D. of the tool joints is greater
than the O.D. of the drill pipe body, these tool joints are known as
externally upset or e.u. tool joints. The shoulders at the larger
diameter section on the ends of a drill pipe joint serve various
beneficial functions when activating the BOP system, removing
the drillstring from the well (tripping out) to change a dull bit, and
returning the drillstring to the well (tripping in) with a new bit. The
combination of tripping out and tripping in is referred to as a round
trip.


During the round trip, pipe elevators remove the drillstring from
the well. These elevators latch onto the top of the drillstring, using
the shoulders of the externally upset tool joints as seats.
The connections would not normally be strengthened by
decreasing the inside diameter. If so, there would be a flow
restriction every 30 ft within the drill pipe, resulting in a Venturi
effect. The results would be considerable pressure loss and pipe
erosion at the tool joints during drilling, since drilling fluid is
pumped down the drillstring. The joints of drill pipe and drill collars
run in the drillstring box end up and pin end down (internal
thread up and external thread down).
There are many downhole parameters that affect the drilling
operation, including:
Characteristics of the rock which must be drilled
Subsurface fluid pressures
Subsurface fluid temperatures
Downhole contaminants, such as H
2
S
Physical orientation of the subsurface rocks
Other rock characteristics, such as soft unconsolidated
materials tending to collapse into the wellbore, and rocks with
abrasive characteristics
The Drilling Engineer determines many drilling parameters to
respond to these downhole conditions and optimize the drilling
operation. Four significant parameters are
Bit type
Rotary speed of the bit (RPM)
Bit weight (force causing the rotating bit to penetrate the
formation)
Fluid system
The Drilling Engineer can affect other parameters that may be of
significance, depending on the conditions encountered in drilling a
particular well. Chemical considerations of the drilling fluids and
response to downhole chemicals encountered may be significant
in some wells.


Bit If the well being drilled is a development well, the Drilling
Engineer will be able to anticipate the types of rock to be drilled
through at various depths. The type of drill bit selected will
depend on the rocks to be drilled. A round trip must be made
when a bit is changed. Depending on depth, this may require
several hours, so it is not practical to change the bit each time a
new rock formation is encountered. The Drilling Engineer will
select the bit to optimize the drilling process in consideration of
rocks that will likely be drilled through during a particular bit run.
During the drilling operation, a drilling fluid is pumped into the top
of the swivel through the swivel, kelly, drill pipe, drill collars, out
the jet nozzles of the drill bit, and returns up the annulus (the
space outside the drillstring) back to the surface, carrying rock
cuttings removed by the bit. Drilling fluid could be a gas or a
liquid. If it is a liquid, it is called mud, even if it is pure water.
The drilling process occurs by mechanical action: normally by
fracturing, abrading, or shearing the rock. Depending on the type
of rock to be drilled and the type bit selected, the tensile,
compressive, or shearing strength of the rock will be primary
considerations. Figure 8 shows compressive strengths of various
rock samples.

Figure 8. Rock Compressive Strength - lb
f
/in
2



Many bit types are available for drilling. Four types that are
dominant in todays industry will be discussed in some detail.
The milled tooth tri-cone rock bit is a roller cone bit. It gets its
name from drilling rocks and having each of its three cones milled
from a single block of metal. The teeth are therefore of the same
metal as the bit body. Howard Hughes, Sr. patented the concept
for this bit in 1909, revolutionizing oil well drilling in this century.
The roller cone bit is a precision machine. It is not a gear type
system, because the cones are not in contact with one another.
Each cone is designed and manufactured to withstand extreme
dynamic conditions. Each cone rotates independently of the other
cones as the drillstring is rotated from the surface. When the
drillstring (or rotor, in the case of Bottomhole Assembly Drilling)
rotates, the cones roll on the bottom of the hole. When force is
applied during rotation, as a tooth comes in contact with the
bottom of the hole, the force acting on the bit results in the
fracturing of the rock, creating chips (cuttings). The tooth will then
lift from the bottom due to the rolling process. The fluid system will
remove the rock cuttings and carry them back to the surface.
The Conventional Rotary System is a continuous system, unlike
the discontinuous system of Cable-Tool Drilling. In the
Conventional Rotary System, the drilling fluid removes the
cuttings and carries them back to the surface as drilling occurs,
whereas in Cable-Tool Drilling, it is necessary to stop drilling and
use a boiler to remove the cuttings before drilling can be
resumed.


These bits are available in many sizes, as illustrated in Table 3.
They are designed for drilling various types of rocks. A jet nozzle
insert is placed in the bit body between each cone combination.
The drilling fluid flows through these nozzles to clean the bottom
of the hole. Jet nozzle diameter is always expressed in 32nds of
an inch. The Drilling Engineer selects the nozzle size in order to
optimize the drilling fluid (hydraulics) system. He selects the
nozzle diameter, along with the volume flow rate of the drilling
fluid in gpm (gal/min) for a particular rig drilling at a particular
depth, in order to optimize bottomhole cleaning.
COMMON TRI-CONE BIT SIZES
3-3/4" 6" 7-7/8" 9-7/8" 14-3/4"
3-7/8" 6-1/8" 8-3/8" 10-5/8" 17-1/2"
4-1/8" 6-1/4" 8-1/2" 11" 20"
4-3/4" 6-1/2" 8-3/4" 12-1/4" 24"
5-7/8' 6-3/4" 9-1/2" 13-1/2" 26"
13-3/4"
Table 3. Common Tri-Cone Bit Sizes
An important consideration during drilling is the bit gauge
diameter. As abrasive rocks are drilled, there will be a tendency to
abrade the bit, reducing its O.D., or gauge diameter while drilling.
The intolerable result will be a tapered hole. When the bit wears
out, it will not be possible for the new bit to return to the depth
drilled. Tungsten carbide steel inserts are normally placed around
the gauge diameter, to resist abrasion and maintain the diameter.


The milled tooth bit is designed to drill in rock that is best drilled
by fracturing. When drilling in such rocks, the cones will be true
rolling. In the true rolling bit (Figure 9), each cone axis intersects
the drillstring axis at a common point. These bits may be
designed to drill soft, pliable rock by offsetting the cone axis as
shown in Figure 10. This type of bit, however, should not be used
in abrasive rock, because this fracture/shearing action
combination will produce rapid abrasion of the bit.
Figure 9. True-Rolling Tri-Cone Bit


Figure 10. Off-Set Tri-Cone Bit
The insert bit or button bit is both a tri-cone bit and a roller cone
bit. The cone body is of a different metal than the teeth. The
teeth have been inserted into the cone body and are usually a
hard alloy of tungsten carbide steel. The teeth are available in
various shapes and are usually more blunt than the teeth of the
milled tooth bit. The insert bit is designed to drill in harder rock
than is the milled tooth bit. The drilling action is still a fracture
process, but more of a crushing action than with the milled tooth
bit. Generally, if drilling is attempted with a milled tooth bit in the
type of rock that an insert bit is designed to drill, the force required
will destroy the bit instead of drilling the rock.
The diamond bit has commercial grade diamonds imbedded in the
bit body and is available in various designs. This bit drills with an
abrasive action and is designed for drilling extremely hard rock
such as metamorphic quartzite.
A diamond core bit in use leaves a central rock cylinder that is
usually four inches to six inches in diameter. This rock cylinder, or
core, is collected in a core barrel above the bit. Externally, the
core barrel resembles a drill collar. Internally, however, the drilling
fluid flows down the inside of the drillstring through an annulus
inside the core barrel, but outside the core collector. The fluid
flows through the bit to carry the cuttings outside the drillstring
back to the surface. Dependent upon the core barrel design, often
a rubber, vinyl, or plastic sleeve will fold down over the core to
seal and protect it from further drilling fluid contamination and
natural fluid loss. Some core barrels collect the core within a
surrounding sponge system. These precautions are necessary,
because it is best to remove the core back to the surface without
major damage or contamination from external fluids and with
minimum loss of natural fluids. This process is difficult, since the
core is taken from reservoir fluid pressure to atmospheric
pressure. Attempts are therefore made to minimize contamination
by drilling fluids and to retain natural fluids as the core is
removed. Coring is expensive; each time a core is collected, a trip
must be made to remove the regular drill bit, and a round trip
must be made to take the core.


Typical cores may be from 30 feet to 90 feet in length. In isolated
instances, longer cores have been taken. Longer cores are
desirable, because they minimize trip time required in coring
through a reservoir rock. After the core is returned to the surface,
it is sent to the laboratory for analysis. As discussed, core
analysis provides extremely valuable information for reservoir
analysis. Core bits may be of types other than diamond bits.
The newest of the four dominant bits is the PCD or PDC bit. This
bit was developed in the 1970s to drill in pliable rock formations
that, although solid, are highly plastic or deformable. They will not
fracture when drilled with a milled tooth or insert bit.
A diamond bit would simply gum up or ball up with this pliable
material, but the PCD bit drills with a shearing action. Small disks
are fabricated from a synthetic diamond material and are attached
to a base that is attached to the bit body. When the bit rotates,
this diamond disc will shear the rock. This material resulted in the
name PCD (polycrystalline diamond) or PDC (polycrystalline
diamond compact) bit. In general, this bit is referred to as a
compact bit and is available in various designs. It is now
developed for both soft rock and hard rock drilling. The compact
bit is the result of evolution in bit design, originating from early
drag bits or fishtail bits, which drilled primarily with a shearing
or scraping action.
After selecting the bit type, based on the formations to be drilled,
the engineer will then select the rotary speed and bit weight.
Table 4 provides recommended values for several bit types. Bit
weight is often given in thousands of pounds per inch of bit
diameter.


Type
Normal Weight,
lb
f
/in. Bit
Diameter
kg
f
/mm
Bit Diameter
Normal
Rotary Speed
(RPM)
J1 3,000 - 5,000 55 - 90 120 - 90
X3A, OSC3AJ 3,000 - 5,000 55 - 90 250 100
J2 3,500 - 5,500 60 - 100 120 - 70
X3, OSC3J 3,500 - 5,500 60 - 100 140 - 90
J3 3,500 - 6,000 60 - 110 100 - 60
OSC1GJ 3,500 - 6,000 60 - 110 125 - 70
JD3 3,500 - 6,000 60 - 110 100 - 60
J4, JD4 4,000 - 8,000 70 - 140 100 - 40
OWVJ, OW4J 4,000 - 8,000 70 - 140 100 - 40
J7 4,500 - 8,000 80 - 140 80 - 45
J8, JD8 6,000 - 8,000 110 - 140 70 - 50
W7R2J 4,500 - 8,000 80 - 140 80 - 45
WO *8,000 - 15,000 *3600 - 6800 kg
f
60 - 40
*Total Load
Table 4. Normal Weights and Rotary Speeds Steel Tooth Bits
Rotary speeds are expressed in RPM (revolutions per minute).
For Conventional Rotary Drilling, the speeds usually vary from a
minimum 30 RPM to a maximum 250 RPM. The most common
ranges of rotary speed are 60 RPM to 120 RPM (1 to 2
revolutions per second).
Bit weight will normally vary from a minimum of 0 to a maximum
of 100,000 lb
f
. More common ranges may be 10,000 lb
f
to 60,000
lb
f
of bit weight. Bit weight is not the weight of the bit, but it is the
weight on the bit. Bit weight is applied by the weight of the drill
collars. The drill pipe does not have sufficient strength to be
loaded in compression. Drill collars, however, do have proper
characteristics to be loaded in compression, as indicated by their
large O.D. and steel wall thickness. They are designed to serve
as a column type support and therefore may apply a compressive
load.


In engineering terminology, the drill pipe does not have a proper
slenderness ratio to serve as a column type support, while the drill
collars do have a proper ratio. Sufficient drill collars are connected
by their threaded tool joint connections on top of the bit, to provide
the necessary bit weight. A common rule used in drilling is that bit
weight should not exceed 80% of drill collar weight.
Assume that Well #1 is being drilled at a depth of 8,000 ft with an
8-3/4" milled tooth bit, with a rotary speed of 60 RPM and a bit
weight of 32,000 lb
f
. The weight of drill collars to be used in this
case should be 40,000 lb
f
. If the drill collars weigh 80 lb
f
/ft, this
means that 500 ft of drill collars are required. At 30 ft per drill
collar, this means that 16-2/3 drill collars should be used.
Seventeen drill collars will therefore be connected above the bit
for the bit weight. At 30 ft per joint, 510 ft of drill collars will be run,
with a total weight of 40,800 lb
f
. Since the well is filled with drilling
fluid, this provides an excess of 8,800 lb
f
above the bit weight, to
accommodate the buoyant effect which is reducing the equivalent
effective weight of the drill collars available for bit weight, plus a
safety factor. With 510 ft of drill collars in the well, drilling at a
depth of 8,000 ft will require 7,490 ft of drill pipe to connect back
to the surface. At 30 ft per joint, 249-2/3 drill pipe joints will be
required. The actual number of joints will be 249, since the extra
20 ft is taken up by the kelly. There will be 510 ft of 80 lb
f
/ft drill
collars in the well, and 7,470 ft of 20 lb
f
/ft

drill pipe. The drill
collars will therefore weigh 40,800 lb
f
and the drill pipe will weigh
149,400 lb
f
. The total effective weight of the drillstring will be
approximately 190,200 lb
f
plus the weight of the bit, the kelly, the
swivel, and any subs or other bottomhole assembly components
that might be in the well, less buoyancy, because the well is full of
drilling mud. A sub is a short drill collar (a drill collar less than 30 ft
in length).
The Driller needs to calculate only the number of drill collars
required. As indicated, the excess weight of drill collars is used as
a safety factor as well as to allow for the buoyancy effect on drill
collar weight available for bit weight. The only calculation
necessary for the Driller is to make certain that the bit weight does
not exceed 80% of the drill collar weight. In this example, the
Driller simply makes sure that 17 drill collars are connected above
the bit in the drillstring. He then continues to trip into the well,
adding drill pipe to total depth. For each stand of pipe added, the
increased weight of the drillstring is indicated on his Martin
Decker.


Martin Decker is the name of one company manufacturing the
large circular dial gauge at the drillers station which monitors
hoisting pullback load, or hook load. For each stand of drill pipe
added, the hook load increases due to the increased weight of the
drillstring. At some point, the load decreases as a stand of pipe is
lowered. This indicates that the drillstring is on the bottom of the
hole, which is now supporting a portion of the weight. The Driller
will then lift the drillstring with the hoisting system and read the
maximum reading for hook load. He is determining the weight of
the drillstring suspended in the well. This reading considers not
only the weight of the drill collars, drill pipe, bit, kelly, swivel, and
other accessory equipment, but also the buoyant force, because
the wellbore and drill pipe are filled with drilling mud.
After this reading is taken, the drillstring is rotated at its desired
rotary speed (60 RPM in this example). With the drillstring
rotating, the Driller then lowers the drillstring with the hoisting
system until the hook load reduces by 32,000 lb
f
. Drilling is now
proceeding at the 8,000 ft depth with a rotary speed of 60 RPM
and a bit weight of 32,000 lb
f
. The hoisting system, pulling back
on the drillstring, is assuring that the entire drill pipe is in tension
while drilling. The neutral point of the drillstring must be in the
drill collars. The neutral point is that point below which the
drillstring is in compression and above which it is in tension. The
drill collars can withstand a compressive or tensile load, but the
drill pipe must never be in compression. If it should be placed in
compression, it will bend, resulting in a highly deviated wellbore
where rotation will cause fatigue failure of the drillstring. When
failure occurs, it is necessary to go fishing in order to recover
equipment lost in the hole. If the Driller cannot recover the
equipment (catch the fish), it must be abandoned and bypassed
by sidetracking.
Kelly The kelly is connected above the top joint of drill pipe in
the drillstring. It differs from a joint of drill pipe in two ways:
The kelly is longer. When drilling onshore or offshore from a
non-floating (sea floor supported) platform, a 40 ft kelly is
used. When drilling offshore from a floating platform
(semisubmersible or drill ship), a 46 ft or 54 ft kelly is required.
This longer kelly is necessary to compensate for the heave
response to wave action during the drilling operation.
The kelly is square or hexagonal in external perimeter, while
drill pipe is circular in external perimeter.


The kelly passes through the rotary table in the plane of the rig
floor. The kelly bushing, which is on the kelly and sets down into
the rotary table, is free to slide along the kelly. On the bottom of
the kelly is its externally upset tool joint. If the kelly bushing is of
square bottom design, it sets into a square hole in the rotary
table. The drilling rig power system rotates the rotary table at the
desired speed. If the kelly is square, it passes through a square
hole in the kelly bushing. If the kelly is hexagonal, it passes
through a hex hole in the kelly bushing as shown in Figure 11.

Derrick or Mast
Traveling block
Drilling hook
Swivel
Kelly
Rotary table
Blowout Preventer
(BOP)
Wireline

Figure 11. Kelly Through Rotary Table


The first function of the kelly/kelly bushing/rotary table
combination is to impart rotation to the drillstring and therefore to
the drill bit. When the drilling rig power system applies torque to
the rotary table, it in turn applies torque to the square bottomed
kelly bushing which applies torque to the square or hex kelly,
rotating the kelly and therefore the drillstring and bit. This simple
mechanical linkage is how the drillstring and drill bit rotate.
In the pin kelly bushing design, four steel pins at the corners of
the bushing are set down into the rotary table, providing the
means for transmitting torque from the rotary table to the kelly
bushing. Both square and pin kelly bushings are common.
The second function of the kelly/kelly bushing/rotary table
combination is to permit the Driller to maintain bit weight during
drilling. With this combination, he lowers the kelly through the
rotating kelly bushing while drilling occurs. When the Driller sets
the hoisting system so that proper bit weight is being applied at
the desired rotary speed, the hoisting system will normally be set
on automatic. This means that, as drilling occurs and rock support
is being removed below the bit, the hoisting system will
automatically lower the drillstring through the rotating kelly
bushing to maintain bit weight. Since the kelly bushing is
transmitting torque to the kelly, extreme sliding friction will result.
There will normally be rollers within the kelly bushing to reduce
wear on the kelly by converting from sliding friction to rolling
friction.
To the side of the drilling rig floor, a casing usually extends 5 or 6
feet above the rig floor at a slight angle from the vertical. This
approximately 10" diameter casing is called the rathole. When
tripping into or out of the well, the kelly is set aside in the rathole
for storage. After each 30 ft of drilling, it is necessary to add a joint
of drill pipe, or make a connection. After the Driller adds that
joint, he brings the next joint onto the rig floor and stores it in the
vertical mousehole adjacent to the rotary table (Figure 11).


When it is necessary to make a connection, the Driller lifts the
drillstring with the hoisting system. When the e.u. tool joint at the
bottom of the kelly comes through the rotary table, its shoulder
hangs on the bottom of the kelly bushing, pulling it out of the
rotary table. The drillstring is raised until the e.u. tool joint on the
top of the first joint of drill pipe appears above the rotary table.
The roughnecks then drop the slips into the rotary table around
the smaller diameter body of that top joint of drill pipe. Slips are a
set of hinged wedges that are used to wedge the drillstring into
the rotary table. With the slips in place, the Driller lowers the
drillstring with the hoisting system, wedging the top of the
drillstring into the rotary table suspending the weight of the
drillstring from the rotary table. The rotary table is designed to
support such a load.
With the drillstring hanging from the rotary table, the roughnecks
disconnect the kelly from the top of the drillstring and bring it over
the next joint of drill pipe stored in the mousehole. When that
connection is made, the Driller lifts the kelly and connected next
joint of pipe with the hoisting system, brings it back over the
drillstring, and the roughnecks make the connection of the pin at
the bottom of that next joint of drill pipe into the box at the top of
the drillstring. The Driller then picks up with the hoisting system,
pulling the slips out of the rotary table. He then lowers the
drillstring, setting the kelly bushing into the rotary table and starts
rotation at the desired rotary speed. He now lowers the drillstring
with the kelly sliding through the kelly bushing, until bit weight has
been achieved. The connection has been made.
Swivel - The top component of the drillstring is the swivel, which
serves several important functions. The swivel is the mechanism
by which the drillstring is suspended from the hoisting system into
the wellbore. The drilling hook of the hoisting system latches into
the bale on top of the swivel, suspending the drillstring into the
wellbore. The swivel also makes the necessary transition from the
non-rotating hoisting system to the rotating drillstring. The top of
the swivel does not rotate, but the bottom does.


Connected into the top of the swivel is the rotary hose. This
reinforced, flexible hose is usually 3" to 5" in diameter and 55 feet
in length. The drilling fluid is pumped into the drillstring through
the rotary hose and flows through the swivel, kelly, drill pipe, drill
collars, out the jet nozzles of the bit, and back up the annulus,
where it is exhausted at the surface to atmospheric pressure.
Since, during drilling, the drilling fluid always exhausts to 0 psig
(atmospheric pressure), drilling operation pressures are almost
always expressed as gauge pressures (psig). Since the drilling
fluid enters the non-rotating top of the swivel and exits the rotating
bottom of the swivel, the fluid pressure seal within the swivel is an
extremely important feature. Differential pressures of several
thousand psi exist across this seal.
Of the drilling equipment discussed, many drilling operations
worldwide are replacing the kelly/kelly bushing/rotary table,
especially in operations offshore.
The new system that is replacing the kelly/kelly bushing/rotary
table combination, to impart rotation to the drillstring, is the power
swivel. This is known as a top drive system. In this system, the
swivel is serving the additional function of imparting rotation to the
drillstring and therefore to the bit. It is a motor with an armature
made to rotate as power is applied to it, transmitting torque for
rotation to the drillstring. The power swivel is normally electric or
hydraulic powered.
When drilling with a top drive system, the kelly/kelly
bushing/rotary table system is no longer required and is not of
use. These components are still available, however, if required,
and may also serve the very different function of steering the
drillstring when directionally drilling with a Bottomhole Drilling
Assembly.


The power swivel has been available in the industry for many
years, primarily for completion and workover rigs, but not for
drilling rigs. Most major oil companies will only contract with an
offshore contractor if the drilling system is a top drive system. This
system has several advantages, one of which is that drill pipe can
be added a stand at a time instead of a joint at a time, reducing
the connection time by two-thirds. The Driller can now drill 90 ft
before making a connection, rather than 30 ft. This is not practical
with the kelly, because it would be necessary that the kelly be
over 90 ft long and that the drilling rig be over 180 ft tall. A second
advantage of the top drive system is that drilling fluid can be
circulated between stands to keep the wellbore clean during a
trip. When drilling with a kelly system, this is not practical since
the kelly is stored in the rathole during the trip.
A major concern during drilling is that the wellbore might collapse
on the drillstring. In the case of Well #1, while drilling at a depth
of 8,000 ft with the 8-3/4" drill bit, with 32,000 lb
f
of bit weight,
there would be 510 ft of 6-1/2" drill collars above the bit. The
annular space outside the drill collars is slightly more than 1"
wide. If the wellbore should collapse, the drillstring might stick in
the wellbore and may not be retrievable. One of the most likely
times for wellbore collapse is during a round trip to change the bit.
Since the top drive system may be used to keep the wellbore
clean during a trip, there is less possibility of sticking the drillstring
due to wellbore wall collapse.
From these discussions, it is obvious that the drillstring is a
dynamic, flexible system. It is important to have the capability
both of monitoring and controlling that flexibility, to control the
trajectory of the wellbore.
The Fluid System
(Circulating System)
When drilling with a liquid as the drilling fluid, that liquid is referred
to as drilling mud, even though it may be pure water. The
chemistry of drilling muds is a scientific specialty in itself.
Downhole chemistry during drilling may be critical to the drilling,
completion, and production operations.


The drilling fluid system or circulating system can fulfill many
functions, depending on conditions encountered downhole while
drilling. The flow system is illustrated in Figure 12. If the well
being drilled is a development well, those functions can usually be
anticipated and planned for in the drilling program.

Figure 12. The Fluid System (Circulating System)


Seven of the more commonly expected functions of the fluid
system will be considered. If the first two of these functions are
the only ones to be fulfilled, the well may be drilled using either
gas or liquid as the drilling fluid. In most cases, gas is preferable.
If any of the last five functions must be fulfilled, with one
exception, the drilling fluid must be a liquid (mud). These
functions are
1. Bottomhole cleaning.
As drilling occurs, rock particles are mechanically removed
from the formation being drilled. Drilling fluid carries these
cuttings up the annulus back to the surface. Therefore, the
Conventional Rotary Drilling process is a continuous process
as compared to Cable-Tool Drilling, where it was necessary
to stop drilling and bail out the cuttings. In Conventional
Rotary Drilling, the fluid system removes the cuttings as
drilling progresses. When drilling with a mud, the minimum
return velocity in the annulus must be at least 120 ft/min (2
ft/sec) in order to carry the cuttings from the wellbore to the
surface. Lesser minimum velocities would result in cutting
fallout and the possibility of sticking the drillstring because
cuttings would accumulate in the annulus. This minimum
velocity would occur in the largest diameter portion of the
well above the drill bit, around the smallest diameter
components of the drillstring, usually around the drill pipe.
Consequently, the average return velocity to the surface
would be greater than 2 ft/sec. This cleaning function may be
fulfilled by either gas or mud.
2. Cooling and lubricating the bit.
The drill bit operates under extreme dynamic and load
conditions. The considerable heat generated must be
dissipated, and the abrasive environment must be
minimized. In some instances, a gas does not have sufficient
heat capacity to dissipate the heat, and a mud is required.


3. Supporting and stabilizing the wellbore to prevent collapse.
As drilling proceeds through hundreds of feet of subsurface
rock, many rock beds may not be well consolidated (may not
have undergone sufficient lithification). These beds will tend
to collapse into the wellbore, increasing the possibility of
sticking the drillstring and losing the well. If this possibility
exists, drilling mud is used so that the pressure at depth, due
to the weight of the mud column, will be sufficient to apply
force to the wall of the well supporting the wellbore to
prevent collapse.
Pure water has a pressure gradient of 0.433 psi/ft. Imagine
drilling at a depth of 5,000 ft with the wellbore filled with pure
water. The pressure at depth on the wall of the well due to
the weight of a static water column would ideally be 2,165.0
psig. The absolute pressure would ideally be 2,165.0 psig +
atmospheric pressure, or 2,179.7 psia if atmospheric
pressure is standard. This means that, on every square inch
of the wall of the well, there would be an applied force of
2,179.7 lb
f
acting to support the wellbore.
In order for this force to be effective in permeable
formations, it must be greater than the reservoir fluid
pressure acting from the reservoir, tending to collapse the
wellbore. This condition will exist if the function #4 to be
discussed is met. This pressure at depth due to the weight of
the mud column is supporting the wellbore to prevent
collapse.
4. Controlling reservoir fluid pressure to prevent blowout.
Blowout occurs when the Driller loses control of the reservoir
fluid pressure. During the drilling operation, the Driller
monitors mud pump speed in spm (strokes/min). For the
particular pumps used, there is a chart that converts these
spm into gpm (gal/min), or a gauge may indicate this mud
flow rate directly at the drillers console. The net return mud
flow rate is usually monitored by a mud pit level indicator,
which sounds an alarm if the level of drilling muds in the
storage pits exceed a maximum allowed level. The alarm
indicates that drilling mud is returning at a higher flow rate
than it is being pumped downhole. The extra flow is entering
the wellbore from a drilled-into reservoir, which has a
reservoir fluid pressure higher than the pressure at depth
due to the weight of the drilling mud column.


If this reservoir fluid entering the well is hydrocarbon with
dissolved gas, it will be below the bubble point pressure
(BPP) long before it reaches the surface. Therefore, gas will
be released from the hydrocarbon liquids, further reducing
the pressure at depth due to the weight of the fluid column in
the wellbore and increasing the likelihood of a blowout. If this
gas reaches the surface, it is referred to as a gas kick. This
situation cannot be permitted. The Driller must control it by
activating the blowout prevention system (BOP stack) if
necessary.
Drilling occurs overbalanced to prevent blowout, meaning
that wellbore pressure is greater than reservoir fluid
pressure. If a reservoir should be drilled into with a higher
pressure than the wellbore pressure due to the weight of the
mud column, it is necessary to weight up the mud in order to
kill the well. This is accomplished by adding solid materials
to the drilling mud liquid base, increasing its density to a
sufficient level to create the necessary overbalanced
condition and prevent blowout. It may be necessary to
activate the BOP stack in order to provide time for the
weighting up procedure. Depending on well depth, this
procedure may require several hours. If function #4 is being
fulfilled, obviously function #3, to support and stabilize the
wellbore to prevent collapse, is also being fulfilled.
5. Sealing the wellbore to minimize fluid loss.
During the drilling operation, drilling is proceeding
overbalanced, with the wellbore pressure greater than
reservoir pressures drilled into. When the hydrocarbon
reservoir rock is encountered, it is best that its permeability
be as high as possible. Due to overbalanced drilling,
however, when the reservoir rock is encountered, there will
be immediate contamination by drilling mud liquids when that
mud flows back into the rock permeability. This drilling mud
contamination of reservoir rock permeability can have major
adverse effects on both well and reservoir productivity,
causing wellbore damage, or skin, measured by the skin
factor.
This contamination must be minimized. Ideally the wellbore
would be sealed to prevent fluid loss. However, there will
always be some fluid loss, and contamination of reservoir
permeability before the wellbore seal has been established.


6. In the case of unexpected loss of mud flow, suspending the
rock cuttings in the annulus until flow is resumed.
If there is a problem with the mud pump or the power
system, drilling mud flow might be interrupted unexpectedly.
Most drilling rigs operate from a central power system.
Assume that drilling occurs in Well #1 at a depth of 8,000 ft
with the 8-3/4" drill bit at a good rate of penetration (ROP)
and that this drilling rate has existed for several hours.
Suddenly the rig loses power, but the reason for this loss is
not immediately known. All systems shut down. The mud
pumps and rotary table stop, and the hoisting system locks
the drillstring, suspending it in the derrick.
If the problem is not identified quickly and drilling resumed, a
major additional problem may develop. When power is lost,
cuttings are being transported up the annulus by the drilling
mud in 8,000 ft of wellbore. When mud flow stops, these
cuttings will begin to settle back down the annulus around
the drill collars at the bottom of the hole. It is likely that this
will result in sticking the drillstring, which may not be
recovered. This possibility must be minimized. The drilling
fluid must, in some fashion, suspend the cuttings in the
annulus to prevent their fallout until flow is resumed.
7. When drilling with a Bottomhole Drilling Assembly (the
Positive Displacement Motor or the Drilling Turbine), the
drilling fluid must transmit the necessary power from the
surface to the bottomhole drilling assembly to rotate the drill
bit.
These last five functions require a drilling mud, with the exception
of function #6, which may be fulfilled with drilling foam.
As shown in Figure 12, the drilling fluid system may be defined as
a closed system. When drilling with a gas, a compressor is
required. When drilling with a liquid, a mud pump is required. Both
the compressor and pump cause the drilling fluid to flow into the
standpipe attached to one leg of the derrick. It then flows through
the rotary hose, swivel, kelly, drill pipe, drill collars, out the jet
nozzles of the bit, and up the annulus, where it is exhausted to
the atmosphere at the surface. When drilling with gas, the return
fluid along with the cuttings is exhausted to the atmosphere.
When drilling with a mud, it is normally exhausted over the shale
shaker, a vibrating sieve system that removes the larger cuttings.


From the shale shaker, at predetermined intervals, the
roughnecks or the geologist will collect samples of the rock
cuttings for geological analysis. After flowing through the shale
shaker, the mud may flow into mud pits or settling tanks and be
prepared for recirculation into the wellbore. In some wells, the
mud system might contain expensive additives to serve various
downhole functions. The mud is expensive and must be
maintained for recirculation. It may pass through centrifuge
systems, desilters, degassers, and other specialized equipment to
prepare it for recirculation. In some instances offshore, depending
on the particular situation, the first several thousand feet of a well
might be drilled using water from the offshore environment.
Unless downhole contaminants have been encountered that are
unacceptable to the environment, the returning liquid is simply
exhausted back into the offshore environment.
Though most wells require a liquid drilling fluid, Drillers prefer gas,
but gas has limited applications: there is the danger of blowout in
most instances, especially with depth. Such situations require that
the drilling fluid be mud. Air and nitrogen are the preferred gases,
and both are considered infinite in the earths atmosphere.
Nitrogen is preferable since it does not support combustion and
may be encapsulated in foam. Foam drilling is considered to be
gas drilling.
When drilling with a liquid base drilling mud, the base is normally
water or oil. Depending on the drilling conditions, it may be fresh
or salt water. If the liquid base is oil, it is likely an emulsion, with
water present with oil. There are also other liquid bases available
for drilling muds, such as polymer base mud. Polymers consist of
large molecules selected to serve the required drilling fluid
functions for the particular well in which they are being used.
Polymer base muds are becoming more common, yet are usually
expensive.
The two most common additives in a drilling mud are both solids.
One is a colloidal additive. Colloidal is used in this instance to
identify a particle that is so small that it cannot be viewed with an
optical microscope, yet is larger than a molecule. It can be viewed
with an electron microscope. This material is bentonite, a mined
clay. Bentonite is an extremely fine powder, as indicated by the
colloidal description, and its particles are flat platelets. The
addition of bentonite to the drilling mud results in a suspension of
the solid particles within the liquid base. No chemical reaction
occurs.


The drilling mud containing bentonite flows through the jet nozzles
of the bit and returns up the annulus. Since drilling is occurring
overbalanced, the mud tends to flow back into the permeability of
permeable rock formations, contaminating the reservoir
permeability. As this flow begins, the flat platelets of the bentonite
will filter out on the wall of the well and, since platelets are flat,
they will quickly overlap and seal the wellbore from further fluid
loss. The result is a tough, yet thin wall cake or mud cake fulfilling
function #5 discussed above. In the laboratory, when this mud
cake is created on filter paper to determine its characteristics, it is
referred to as a filter cake.
Bentonite also serves function #6 discussed above. If mud flow
should be interrupted so that the drilling mud column in the
annulus becomes stationary, the presence of bentonite in the mud
will cause the mud to gel quickly, thereby suspending the rock
cuttings in the annulus and preventing their fallout. In this way,
bentonite permits the drilling mud to serve function #6. Drilling
with foam will also fulfill this function.
When the mud pumps are again in operation, the Driller can break
the gel dynamically. He lifts the drillstring several feet with the
hoisting system and starts rotation. The dynamics of the rotation
will break the gel and return the mud to liquid, permitting drilling to
continue as the rock cuttings are carried back to the surface. They
have been prevented from falling out and potentially sticking the
drillstring. Bentonite also assists in fulfilling function #3. When
drilling overbalanced to prevent blowout, the wellbore pressure
encountered. If a permeable rock that is not well consolidated is
drilled into, the higher wellbore pressure will begin to equalize into
the reservoir away from the wellbore. In time, the pressure will be
equal across the wall of the well and the wall of the well will
collapse on the drillstring. However, if bentonite is present as in
the drilling mud as an additive, the resultant mud cake will serve
as a pressure barrier on the wall of the well, maintaining the
differential pressure to prevent collapse. Therefore, bentonite is
an extremely important additive in the drilling mud.
A second major solid additive is barite. Barite is an abbreviation
for barium sulfate. This is the weighting material used to increase
the density of the mud to control reservoir pressures and prevent
blowout. Barite is also a suspension within the mud liquid base.


Pure water has a specific weight of 62.4 lb
f/
ft
3
, which converts to
8.34 ppg (lb
f
/gal). Mud density is usually expressed in ppg,
although some countries and companies express it as specific
gravity or in terms of pressure gradients. Saudi Aramco
expresses mud density in pcf (lb
f
/ ft
3
).
If the Driller should encounter an unexpectedly high pressure
where the density of the drilling mud being used is insufficient to
control that reservoir fluid pressure, he adds barite to increase the
density until the necessary overbalanced condition exists and the
well has been killed. It may be necessary to activate the BOP
system in order to control the well, to give sufficient time to
accomplish the weighting up of the mud.
There are many other conditions that could occur during drilling.
Assume that the Driller is drilling with a mud flow rate of 300 gpm
and finds that the mud pit levels are lowering significantly.
Calculations indicate that the mud is returning at a rate of 100
gpm. Significant lost circulation exists. The Driller has drilled into
an extremely high permeability rock, a fault, or a cavern, and the
mud is being lost into the geology. The lost circulation is not
normally this extreme. However, in extreme conditions, it is
possible for the drilling mud in the annulus to flow back downhole
into the geology, removing whatever protection existed against
reservoir fluid pressures in rocks previously drilled through at
more shallow depths. The drilling operation is immediately
exposed to blowout conditions. Drilling cannot be continued until
circulation has been regained. Even lower rates of lost circulation
cannot be permitted, since there may be a considerable
investment in chemical and other additives in the drilling mud.
Lost circulation material (LCM) will be included in the mud
pumped into the hole, to attempt to seal across the flow channels
permitting loss of mud. Many variations of materials, including
special additives provided by service companies, straw,
newspapers, shredded automobile tires, pecan hulls, and
cottonseed hulls, may be used for lost circulation. Historically,
cottonseed hulls have been a standard lost circulation material.
The most commonly used lost circulation materials can be
pumped down the drillstring through the drill bit, but in extreme
cases it may be necessary to remove the bit.


The BOP System (Blowout Prevention System)
A blowout occurs when there is a loss of control of downhole
reservoir fluid pressures. These reservoirs are not necessarily
hydrocarbon reservoirs, but may be other gases or water.
Downhole pressures are normally controlled by drilling
overbalanced, so that the wellbore pressure due to the weight of
the drilling mud column is greater than any reservoir fluid
pressures drilled into. Reservoir fluid pressures, however, cannot
always be anticipated. When a higher than expected pressure is
drilled into, it may be necessary to activate the blowout prevention
system (BOP stack) to provide time to kill the well. The system is
referred to as the BOP stack because it is usually a combination
of, or a stack of, different types of blowout preventers.
When drilling onshore or offshore from a sea floor supported
structure, the BOP stack is located immediately beneath the
rotary table. When drilling offshore from a floating vessel, such as
a semisubmersible or a drill ship, the BOP stack will be located on
the sea floor. For example, if the offshore operation from the
floating vessel is in 500 ft of water, the BOP stack will be 500 ft
down, on the sea floor.
In the unactivated state, the BOP system does not affect the flow
of the drilling fluids. The fluids flow through the drillstring and
return through the annulus, through the unactivated blowout
preventers, where they are diverted to exhaust at atmospheric
pressure, either over the shale shaker or into the atmosphere
when drilling with gas. A typical basic BOP stack configuration is
shown in Figure 13. It consists of three blowout preventers:
Annular preventer (top)
Blind rams (middle)
Pipe rams (bottom)



Figure 13. Typical BOP Stack Configuration
The blind rams may also be shear rams. If so, they are referred to
as blind/shear rams and provide maximum protection in a
potential blowout situation. In the unactivated state, drilling fluid
flows through the drill pipe and returns up the annulus through the
unactivated preventers.
Annular Preventers - When the Driller activates the annular
preventers, hydraulic fluid applies pressure to a piston surface,
forcing a ram wedge upward. A rubber ring is prevented from
moving upward due to a steel restricting shoulder above.
Therefore, the ram wedge will force the rubber ring into the
annulus, sealing the wellbore around the drillstring. Many of these
systems are designed to seal the annulus around any shape in
the wellbore, such as a square or hexagonal kelly. They seal the
annulus from downhole pressure, but are considered minimum
protection. They may also be built as stripper preventers. Their
fabrication as stripper preventers implies that equipment,
including the drillstring, may be moved from the pressurized
wellbore through the closed preventers.


Pipe rams are normally placed on the bottom of the BOP stack.
Pipe rams also serve the function of sealing the annulus, but in a
very different fashion from the annular preventers. These are
massive pieces of equipment.
When the Driller activates the pipe rams, hydraulic fluid is
pumped into opposite chambers, applying pressure to pistons and
forcing rams to close around the drill pipe from opposite sides.
When closed, the pipe rams have sealed off the annulus. Unlike
the annular preventers, however, these may have the capability of
withstanding differential pressures as high as 25,000 psi.
When the Driller recognizes that a potential blowout situation
exists, indicated by increasing mud pit level, he realizes that the
blowout preventers may have to be activated to provide protection
while the mud properties are changed to control the downhole
pressures and kill the well. He normally has several minutes to
react. A typical procedure would be to raise the drillstring with the
hoisting system until the first full joint of drill pipe appears above
the rotary table. With this condition, the swivel, kelly, and one joint
of drill pipe would be hanging from the drilling hook in the derrick,
above the rotary table. The top externally upset tool joint of the
second joint of drill pipe in the well would be above the rotary
table. With this externally upset tool joint located, the Driller then
activates the pipe rams to close around the drill pipe. By knowing
the location of this externally upset tool joint, the Driller knows that
the pipe rams are closing around the smaller diameter drill pipe
rather than attempting to close around a larger diameter tool joint.
With the pipe rams closed around the drill pipe, the Driller lowers
the drillstring with the hoisting system until the shoulder of the
externally upset tool joint rests on the closed pipe rams. He has
now hung off the weight of the drillstring from the closed pipe
rams that are designed to support this load. In normal operations,
the pipe rams are sufficient to provide the necessary pressure
control and time for the Driller to get control of the well by
weighting up the drilling mud to increase its density. The wellbore
pressure due to the weight of the mud column will now be greater
than the reservoir fluid pressure, killing the well.


If the high-pressure reservoir drilled into is a hydrocarbon
reservoir with a high solution gas-oil ratio (GOR
s
), the
hydrocarbon will be below its bubble point pressure (BPP) before
it reaches the surface as it flows up the annulus. Therefore, gas in
the annulus reduces the protection due to the weight of the drilling
mud originally present in the annulus. When this gas reaches the
surface, it is referred to as a gas kick. The Driller attempts to
prevent a gas kick by activating the annular preventers and/or
pipe rams. By keeping the mud pumps running and pumping mud
through the drillstring, the choke line (a part of the pipe rams) can
open enough to permit mud return. This choke opening will be
controlled to maintain a backpressure on the choke and the pipe
rams, sufficient to cause the flowing bottomhole pressure to be
above the reservoir fluid pressure.
This situation will prevent any further reservoir fluids from flowing
into the wellbore and will permit the Driller to circulate out the gas
kick. An additive such as barite will be mixed into the drilling mud
to increase its density in order to kill the well. The Driller will know
that the well is under control due to mud density when the
pressure gauge on the choke line reads 0 psig with the choke
wide open. Reservoir pressure has now balanced, so the annular
preventers and/or pipe rams can be opened and drilling can be
resumed. This procedure will normally be sufficient to kill the well,
but it may not be adequate under extreme pressures. The typical
mud pump will have a discharge pressure up to 3,000 psig. This
may not be sufficient to control the backpressure within the
drillstring. The jet nozzles in the bit, however, serve as flow
restrictions, increasing the time required for this pressure to build
up through the drillstring and providing the Driller additional time
to respond.
Blind/Shear Rams - If the pressure is so great that the heavier
mud cannot be pumped into the well by normal operating
procedures with the annulus shut off; the final option is to activate
the blind rams. If these are not also shear rams, it is necessary to
remove the extra joint of drill pipe between the pipe rams and the
kelly, so that the blind rams can be closed above the open-ended
drillstring after removal of this drill pipe joint, blindly sealing the
wellbore from downhole pressures. This is not possible, however,
if a backpressure has developed within the drillstring. In this case,
the blind rams must also be shear rams. From external
appearance, the blind/shear rams would appear similar to the
pipe rams. Internally, there is no opening for the drill pipe.
Blind/shear rams are designed to cut the drillstring when closed


as well as to seal the wellbore, whereas blind rams are designed
only to seal the wellbore.
When the BOP stack was fabricated, the blind/shear rams were
far-coupled above the pipe rams. This is accomplished by
placing a spacer between the pipe rams and blind/shear rams so
that the blind/shear rams are a distance above the pipe rams,
greater than the double length of an externally upset tool joint.
This permits the blind/shear rams to cut the thin-walled drill pipe
rather than attempting to cut the thick-walled tool joint. The shear
rams are not designed to cut the tool joint, thus, the necessity for
the far coupling.
In some instances the kelly cock (valve within the kelly) may be
closed to control the backpressure within the drillstring. This can
be dangerous, however, if the downhole pressures are extreme,
because the drill pipe and kelly above the closed pipe rams are
now exposed to burst pressure. They may fail in burst.
With the drillstring hanging from the closed pipe rams, the Driller
can activate the blind/shear rams to cut the drillstring above the
pipe rams, thereby sealing off the wellbore blindly from the
downhole pressures. The drillstring is hanging from the closed
pipe rams. This action provides the necessary time to replace the
less dense drilling mud in the wellbore with a drilling mud of
sufficient density to control the reservoir fluid pressure, which has
created the blowout condition.
The choke and kill lines are high-pressure lines. Each is a part of
the BOP stack. Knowing the density of the mud in the well at the
time this procedure began, the Driller can estimate the reservoir
pressure drilled into from the pressure gauges on the choke line
and kill line, and at the standpipe on the discharge side of the
mud pump.
Mud pumps are placed in the proper configuration so their
discharge pressure exceeds the reading on the kill line pressure
gauge. With the pumps running at this discharge pressure, the
valve on the kill line is opened, permitting circulation through the
kill line. The shear rams are designed so that an opening remains
in the top of the drillstring through the cut drill pipe, permitting
circulation of heavier drilling mud through the kill line into the
drillstring.
Circulation returns less dense mud to the surface through the
choke line, continuing until the pressure gauge on the choke line
reads 0 psig with the choke wide open. This indicates that


sufficient mud density exists in the annulus to control the reservoir
fluid pressure. The Driller now opens the blind rams, removes the
cut portion of drill pipe, and adds a new joint. He lifts the drillstring
with the hoisting system as the pipe rams are opened, and drilling
is resumed with this denser drilling mud. Overbalance has now
been achieved. The BOP stack provided sufficient time and
protection for this operation. It is important to test the BOP system
at pre-set intervals, to guarantee that it is always operational.
This has been a description of a common BOP stack
configuration and related practices. Many other configurations are
used, depending on the situation and equipment involved.
A typical subsea BOP stack configuration is shown in Figure 14.
Figure 14. Typical Subsea BOP Stack Configuration


The Hoisting System
The drilling rig hoisting system is basically a structural, pulley
mechanical advantage system.

Figure 15. The Drilling Rig Hoisting System


The heaviest load (normally called hook load) that the hoisting
system may be expected to lift will be the weight of the heaviest
casing string. When running the casing strings into the wellbore,
the hoisting system may have to support the weight of that string
less the buoyancy effect. The hoisting system consists of:
Derrick (mast)
Traveling block (movable pulley)
Stationary or crown block (resting on top of the derrick)
Wireline or cable system
Drawworks
These components are shown in Figure 15 in relation to the other
drilling rig components.
The top of the derrick, on which the crown block rests, is called
the water table. The drawworks are powered by the drilling rig
power system. The power system must provide the necessary
torque to the drum of the drawworks, so that there is sufficient
tension in the wireline system to respond to the hook load
requirement. Hoisting systems for drilling rigs may have
specifications for hook load response up to 3,000,000 lb. The
storage spool for the wireline is attached to the dead line of the
wireline system. Specified lengths of new wireline are fed onto the
working system on a predetermined schedule of hours of rig
operation. Old line is removed from the drum of the drawworks.
This procedure guarantees that no specific locations along the
wireline, where there is maximum activity while making a trip, will
have excessive exposure to wear, leading to system failure.
A sensor attached to the dead line indicates the hook load
response, providing the Driller with hook load information from his
Martin Decker at the Drillers station. Within the derrick is the
monkey board on which the Derrick Man stands to rack, or store,
the pipe by standing it in the derrick when tripping out of and into
the well. The pipe is stored by racking the stands in the
fingerboard. The monkey board and the fingerboard are
approximately 80 ft above the rig floor when tripping with 90 ft
stands of pipe.
The rate at which the drillstring is lifted when pulling a stand can
be critical for the hoisting system. Even though the drillstring
weight may not approach the maximum capacity of the hoisting
system, if the Driller should attempt to hoist the string at too high
a rate, the dynamic load required to accelerate the drillstring could
cause hoisting system failure.


The Power System
For most drilling rigs, a central power system provides the
necessary power to drive the entire system. This includes the
rotary table or power swivel, drawworks, mud pumps or
compressors, and activation of the BOP stack. There will normally
be a backup system for the blowout preventers, which, in some
instances, may be activated manually. The drilling rig power
system may be diesel engines that provide the necessary power
through transmission, clutch, gear, and chain drive combinations.
This system, however, is limited in RPM versatility. Many of the
large drilling rigs, particularly those operating offshore, are electric
rigs in which diesel engines or gas turbine engines drive electric
generators. These generators produce enough electricity to power
separate electric motors for each of the individual systems listed.
This provides greater RPM versatility and permits greater power
availability.
Smaller physical size engines with lower output torque but higher
output RPM can drive electric generators providing the same
power output as engines with a higher output torque and lower
output RPM, as shown by the power equation:
Power = (Torque) (Angular Velocity) = (Torque) (RPM)
(Conversion Factor)
A transmission, clutch, gear and chain drive system, however, is
limited in input RPM as well as RPM flexibility.
When gas turbines are used as the primary power source,
produced associated gas may be used as the primary fuel,
allowing the operation to be self-sufficient as far as energy supply
is concerned.
The Driller controls all associated systems from the Drillers
station. He monitors the hook load, engine output RPM, rotary
speed, bit weight, pump strokes per minute and mud flow rate into
the well, mud pit level, pump discharge pressure, drilling rate in
feet/hour, and any other parameters important to the drilling
operation.


Measurement While Drilling
Since the drillstring is a flexible system, it is extremely important
to effectively monitor the trajectory of the drillstring and therefore
the wellbore within close limits. Until the development of
Measurement While Drilling (MWD), this process was tedious,
time consuming, and expensive. The single-shot was an example
of a simple device available for monitoring the wellbore trajectory
before MWD. A typical single-shot was a steel cylinder with a
maximum outside diameter slightly less than the inside diameter
of the bottom drill collar (the drill collar immediately above the drill
bit). It was necessary that this drill collar have the smallest inside
diameter (I.D.) within the drillstring. When the trajectory of the well
was to be monitored, the drill collars at the lower end of the
drillstring were run with centralizers to hold them in the center of
the well, so that the axis of the drill collars would be
representative of the axis of the wellbore.
Within the single-shot tool in its simplest form was a pendulum or
plumb bob system, so that gravity indicated the true vertical. At
the bottom of the pendulum or plumb bob was a spring-loaded
needle. When the bit wore out and a round trip was necessary,
the Driller removed and stored the kelly in the rathole. He loaded
the single-shot tool by compressing the spring and then activated
a timer within the system. He then dropped the single-shot down
the inside of the drillstring until it landed on the bit. The timer was
set to provide sufficient time for the tool to land on the bit before
the spring-loaded needle was released. Beneath the needle was
a target, as illustrated in Figure 16.

Figure 16. Single-Shot Target


The center of this target indicated the true vertical, and concentric
circles represented various deviations from the vertical as shown
in Figure 16. For example, each circle might represent 1/4

deviation from the vertical. This target was attached to a magnetic
compass indicator to show compass direction of the deviation.
When the timer released the spring, the needle impacted the
target, and the point of penetration indicated degree of deviation
from the vertical as well as the magnetic compass direction of that
deviation. After sufficient time had elapsed for the needle to be
released, the Driller tripped out of the well to change the bit.
When he removed the bit, the single shot tool fell out of the
drillstring and was taken apart to obtain the reading as to
deviation of the wellbore.
If the Driller were to take intermediate readings between trips, he
had to run the device on a wireline. Drilling was stopped and the
kelly was set aside in the rathole. The wireline tool was run, the
record taken and the tool retrieved by wireline, requiring
considerable down time.


This procedure illustrates the inefficiency and rig time cost
involved in monitoring the wellbore trajectory and indicates the
importance of MWD as it exists today. Tools such as the single-
shot are still in use today but only to monitor the wellbore
trajectory where there is not concern for significant control of that
trajectory. With MWD, an instrument sub is placed above the drill
bit. Within this sub is proper instrumentation to indicate deviation
from the vertical and the magnetic compass direction of that
deviation, and to transmit that information back to the surface.
Other parameters could also be measured, depending on
instrumentation available, leading to recent developments such as
Logging While Drilling (LWD), in addition to MWD. The
implications for measurement of downhole parameters are
apparent.
The data monitored by the instrumentation in the instrument sub
is transmitted back to the surface by binary coded pressure
pulses in the drilling mud column within the drillstring, and is
received by a receiver at the surface. This information is then
displayed on a digital read-out screen at the drillers station. In
most of these MWD systems, the Driller can obtain an indication
of the wellbore trajectory every few minutes, or more often if
desired. This MWD technology provides the necessary system to
monitor the trajectory. The next requirement is to have the system
available to permit control of that trajectory within reasonable
limits.
Directional Drilling
Directional Drilling implies purposely controlling the wellbore
trajectory. Until relatively recently, this control was feasible only
within extremely broad limits. These limits were far greater than
would be permissible in an offshore operation where it may be
necessary to drill many wells directionally from a single platform
location, in order for the project to be economically justified. Many
offshore operations have thirty or more wells drilled from a single
platform. In such a system, the Driller must control each wellbore
trajectory within close limits, to avoid drilling one well into another
well.


Historically, Directional Drilling has had many uses or potential
uses. Prior to the development of the combination of MWD and
Bottomhole Assembly Drilling (BHA), Directional Drilling was
practical only under conditions in which it was absolutely
necessary. It was used primarily when equipment was lost in the
hole and could not be retrieved, and it was necessary to sidetrack
and bypass the junk left in the well. In other instances, relief wells
were drilled in an attempt to control a blowout when there was no
access to the wellhead. These relief wells were drilled to
penetrate as closely as possible to the original well. Drilling mud
or cement under pressure was then injected into the relief well
and pressurized in an attempt to fracture the rock so that the
fracture would provide a flow channel from the relief well to the
original well. This required that the two wells be only relatively
close to each other. With todays technology, including MWD and
BHA drilling, the practical applications of Directional Drilling have
been significantly expanded to include Extended Reach Drilling
(ERD) and the major new development, Horizontal Drilling.
When drilling directionally by Conventional Rotary Drilling, it was
necessary to use some device such as the whipstock to change
the direction of the wellbore. The whipstock concept is illustrated
in Figure 17. When the Driller wanted a change in wellbore
direction, he tripped out of the well with the regular drill bit and ran
the whipstock assembly into the wellbore. The whipstock wedge
was positioned with a magnetic compass orientation tool and set
in the wellbore. When bit weight was applied, the whipstock bit
was deviated in the proper direction to drill a shallow pilot hole.
This bit was of smaller diameter than the original drill bit. After the
Driller drilled the pilot hole, he released the whipstock assembly
from the wellbore and tripped out of the well. He tripped back into
the well with the regular drill bit and, when he applied bit weight,
he assumed that the wellbore would now follow the path of the
pilot hole drilled with the whipstock. The Driller had to make two
round trips each time the wellbore direction was to be changed.
He could reduce the time required for this operation by using tools
which he could set on the bottom of the hole by wireline, yet it
was still a tedious, time consuming, inefficient process.



Figure 17. Whipstock Schematic
By todays technology in combining MWD and proper BHA
combinations, it is sometimes possible to drill a deviated well with
no intermediate round trips required except to change a dull bit.


BOTTOMHOLE ASSEMBLY DRILLING
In Bottomhole Assembly Drilling, the bit is rotated by a motor or
turbine at the bottom of the drillstring. It is used where precise
control of the wellbore direction is required and is applicable to
Straight Hole Drilling as well as Directional Drilling. The two basic
concepts of BHA Drilling are the Positive Displacement Motor
(PDM) and the Drilling Turbine, as illustrated in
Figures 18 and 19, respectively.

Figure 18.
Positive Displacement Motor
(PDM) Schematic
Figure 19.
Drilling Turbine Schematic



Principles
Each system is divided into the stator and the rotor. For the PDM,
the stator consists of the outer housing above the bit lined with an
extremely stiff rubber. This rubber will yield when acted upon by a
force, but will return to its original shape when that force is
removed. The rotor, supported by bearings on each end, is placed
through the stator. The drill bit is attached, through a mechanical
linkage, to the lower end of the rotor. As the drilling mud flows
through the system, the cavity within the PDM is pressurized due
to mud flow. This pressure applies a net resultant torque to the
rotor, rotating it and the attached drill bit. As viewed externally,
this drilling motor or PDM would appear as a drill collar.
In the case of the Drilling Turbine, the stator consists of the outer
housing with internal fixed blades. Through this housing is the
rotor, consisting of the shaft with the turbine blades, supported by
bearings at each end. The drill bit is attached, through a
mechanical linkage, to the lower end of the rotor. As the drilling
mud flows through the system, power is transmitted from the mud
to the rotor, rotating it and the attached drill bit.
The mechanics of the drilling operation require that power be
transmitted to a particular rock at a known minimum level. For the
rotating system, power is equal to the product of torque and
angular velocity of the drill bit. This is equivalent to (Torque)
(RPM) (a conversion constant to convert rotary speed in RPM
to angular velocity in radians per second). The PDM will generate
larger values of torque than the turbine, therefore permitting a
lower rotary speed for the PDM, and the drill bit. There are
several advantages in using the PDM. One is longer bit life,
because increased rotary speed reduces bit life and increases
round trips required to change the bit.
In either the PDM or Drilling Turbine system, the drillstring need
not be rotated. The only visible external rotating component will
be the drill bit, unless the drillstring is simultaneously being
rotated from the surface. This situation might be desirable when
drilling straight hole with the Bottomhole Drilling Assembly, in
holes with small angular deviation where drillstring rotation is
useful in minimizing the possibility of differential sticking.


Differential sticking is a potential problem when drilling
directionally with some of the bottomhole assembly techniques
that do not permit simultaneous rotation of the entire drillstring
from the surface. The wellbore pressure is overbalanced to
prevent blowout. Unless the drill collars have been centralized,
they may rest against the wellbore. The higher wellbore pressure
acting against the drill collars creates a net unbalanced force
against the collars, since the reservoir pressure behind the drill
collars is less than the wellbore pressure. This may result in
differentially sticking the drill collars against the wall of the well
and in loss of the drillstring. Rotating the string from the surface or
the use of spiral drill collars can reduce the potential for
differential sticking. Spiral drill collars have a spiral external
configuration or a spiral milled slot around the outside, permitting
the mud pressure to get behind the drill collars at intervals,
interrupting the continuity of the area in contact with the wellbore.
The possibilities of differential sticking are a major consideration
when directional drilling with some available bottomhole assembly
systems.
The bent sub technique is one of the common methods used for
directional drilling with a PDM or Drilling Turbine. As previously
indicated, a sub is a drill collar shorter than 30 feet in length. A
bent sub implies a short drill collar that is not straight. With this
type of sub in the well, it is not possible to rotate the system from
the surface. When the Driller wants to directionally drill with the
bent sub, he trips out of the well with the drillstring. The bit is
attached to the Bottomhole Drilling Assembly (PDM or Drilling
Turbine). In some systems, this assembly may include the kick-
off system such as the bent sub. The instrument sub is attached
to the top of the bottomhole assembly, and above that are the
bent sub, the necessary number of drill collars, and the length of
drill pipe required to connect back to the surface.
The kelly is now included in the drillstring, even though previous
straight hole drilling might be used Conventional Rotary Drilling
with a power swivel. The kelly bushing is set in the rotary table, in
preparation for drilling with the bent sub. In this instance, the
kelly/kelly bushing/rotary table system will not be used to rotate
the drillstring, but will be used to steer the drill bit. The Driller
locks the drillstring into the rotary table, and initiates mud flow.
This action activates the instrument sub, which indicates to the
Driller the orientation of the wellbore trajectory. The Driller then
applies bit weight and adjusts the rotary table to steer the drill bit
in the proper direction. As long as bit weight is applied, the
wellbore will follow the curvature of the bent sub.


In order for this process to work satisfactorily, the rock that is
being drilled must have sufficient strength to force the drill bit to
deviate in the proper direction. In the actual bent sub, the offset is
normally not within the sub but is achieved in the tool joint. When
drilling with the bent sub, if the Driller returns to straight hole
drilling, he must make a round trip so that the sub can be
removed. Systems other than the bent sub are also available for
directional drilling with the Bottomhole Drilling Assembly.
Applications
Bottomhole Assembly Drilling is used for Straight Hole Drilling or
Directional Drilling.
Horizontal drilling is a special application of controlled directional
drilling. It has major potential benefits in reservoir development,
particularly in reservoirs where the reservoir rock is not of great
thickness or where there is extremely low permeability. When
drilling horizontally, heavyweight drill pipe is connected above the
BHA system over that length of wellbore that is horizontal. The
required drill collars for bit weight are then connected where that
portion previously drilled has a vertical wellbore component. This
permits a portion of the weight of the drill collars to be effective in
applying the required bit weight. Drill pipe is used for the
remainder of the drillstring, to connect back to the surface. The
heavyweight drill pipe has sufficient strength to withstand the
compressive load applied by the drill collars.


ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS
This will discuss several engineering applications to drilling:
Drillstring tension load
Killing a well
Drilling hydraulics
Maximum Tension Load in the Drillstring
If G grade drill pipe is being used (105,000 psi minimum yield
strength) with an O.D. of 4-1/2" and an I.D. of 3.64", determine
the maximum permissible load in tension, using a Safety Factor
(S.F.) of 2.0.
This problem specifies that under maximum expected load
conditions in tension, the tensile stress within this drill pipe should
not exceed 52,500 psi [105,000 psi/(S.F.)]. The cross-sectional
area of the drill pipe will be
A = A
O.D.
- A
I.D.
=
4
4.50 in
2
-
4
3.64 in
2

= 15.9 in
2
- 10.4 in
2
= 5.5 in
2

With a maximum permissible design stress based on the 2.0
safety factor, the maximum permissible design load in tension will
therefore be
Design Load = 52,500 lb
f
/in
2
5.5 in
2
= 288,750 lb
f

Killing the Well
While drilling at a depth of 7,260 ft with a mud pump discharge
pressure of 2,500 psig and a 10.5-ppg mud, the mud-pit level
indicator alarm indicates a high rate of mud return compared to
mud flow rate into the well. A reservoir has been drilled into with a
reservoir fluid pressure P
R

higher than the pressure at depth in
the wellbore due to the weight of the mud column. If the influx
from the reservoir, which is increasing the return mud rate, is
hydrocarbon with solution gas, it will be below its bubble point
pressure (BPP) before reaching the surface. This will result in gas
in the annulus. Potential blowout conditions exist.


Considering the situation, the driller follows prescribed procedures
and closes the pipe rams. After shutting in the system, the
pressure gauges indicate a standpipe pressure of 450 psig. The
backpressure on the pipe rams, plus the pressure increase with
depth (due to the fluids in the annulus), balances the reservoir
fluid pressure P
R

drilled into. If the backpressure on the pipe rams
increases to what may be considered excessive values, it may be
necessary to open the choke line to bleed off pressure and
prevent excessive buildup.
Since the drillstring contains only the original 10.5-ppg drilling
mud, the Driller can estimate the reservoir fluid pressure drilled
into. This P
R

should equal the standpipe pressure plus the
pressure at depth through the drillstring due to the weight of the
10.5-ppg drilling mud. Since pure water has a specific weight of
8.34 ppg with a resulting pressure gradient with depth of 0.433
psi/ft, the 10.5-ppg mud has a specific gravity of
(S.G.)
M
=
10.5 ppg
8.34 ppg
= 1.26

This mud therefore will have a pressure gradient with depth of:
(1.26) (0.433 psi/ft) = 0.546 psi/ft
Over the depth of 7,260 ft, the mud will have a P of:
(0.546 psi/ft) (7,260 ft) = 3.964 psi
The reservoir fluid pressure drilled into should be the standpipe
pressure plus the P in the drillstring, due to the weight of the
10.5 ppg mud column, or:
P
R
= 450 psig + 3,964 psi = 4,414 psig
The new mud density
M2 required to balance a reservoir fluid

pressure of 4414 psig must balance a P of 4,414 psi over the
7,260 ft depth, since the annulus exhaust pressure will be 0 psig
when drilling with this increased density mud in the well.
P = 4,414 psig psig = 4,414 psi
This will require a drilling mud pressure gradient of:
(4,414 psi) (7,260 ft) =
7,260ft
4,414psi



The specific gravity of this drilling mud will be:
(S.G.)
M2
=
( )
( ) t 0.433psi/f
psi/ft 0.608
= 1.40
Assuming a reservoir fluid pressure of 4,414 psig at a depth of
7,260 ft, the

M2
required to kill the well will be
M2
= (S.G.M2) (
W
) = (1.40) (8.34 ppg) = 11.7 ppg
The discharge pressure of the mud pump when running is 2,500
psig, and the standpipe pressure for the shut-in system is 450
psig. If a manometer-type system is assumed from the pipe rams
down the annulus through the jet nozzles of the bit and back to
the surface through the drill pipe, it will probably be unnecessary
to activate the blind/shear rams. The 2,500 psig mud pump
discharge pressure will be sufficient to overcome any tendency for
the reservoir fluid pressure to cause reverse flow back up the drill
pipe.
With an estimate of the reservoir fluid pressure P
R
, the Driller will
begin adding a weighting material such as barite to increase the
density of the mud up to 11.7 ppg in order to kill the well. By
pumping through the regular mud system, the choke line will open
to permit return flow of the less dense mud. Flow will be restricted
through the choke line in order to maintain a sufficient
backpressure to prevent any further reservoir fluids from flowing
into the wellbore as the heavier mud circulates into the system.
This will permit any gas or extraneous fluids that have entered the
annulus to be circulated back to the surface (circulate out the gas
kick). This procedure will continue until the mud density increases
sufficiently to control the reservoir fluid pressure. Under this
condition, the pressure gauges on the choke line should read 0
psig with the choke line wide open, indicating that reservoir fluid
pressure has now been balanced by the drilling mud column
density in the annulus. The Driller can now open the pipe rams
and resume drilling.
Back pressure on the pipe rams will be greater than the standpipe
pressure when the well is first shut in, since the reservoir fluids
that entered the annulus will be less dense than the drilling mud.
If there is considerable gas in the annulus, the backpressure on
the pipe rams may be significantly high.


This calculation was based on a static mud column. In the actual
drilling situation it is a dynamic system. From the Steady-State
Incompressible Flow Equation applied from bottomhole conditions
in the annulus back to exhaust to atmospheric conditions at the
surface, the actual flowing bottomhole pressure will be equal to
the pressure at depth due to the weight of the static mud column,
plus the pressure drop in the annulus due to friction. A dynamic
safety factor is therefore included during the actual drilling
operation.
Drilling Hydraulics
The Steady-State Flow Continuity Equation
The Steady-State Compressible Flow Continuity Equation can be
written as follows:
M = AV = Constant
(Equation 1)
where
M = Mass flow rate
= Mass density (specific mass) of the flowing fluid
A = Flow area perpendicular to direction of flow
V = Mean flow velocity
Steady-state implies that once flow conditions have been
achieved, all properties at each point in the flow system remain
constant with time. In other words, at any selected point in the
flow system, properties remain constant with time. For example,
at point A, pressure, temperature, mass density, internal energy,
enthalpy, specific volume, etc. are constant with time. This will
also be true at any other selected point B, point C, etc.,
although values of a particular property may be different at each
point.
Mean velocity is the velocity which, if it should exist as a constant
velocity profile across the flow area perpendicular to the flow
direction, would result in the same volume flow rate as actually
exists with the true velocity profile.
Assuming One-Dimensional flow, the mass flow rate across the
flow area perpendicular to the flow direction is constant across
any flow area in the system, at any location within the system.
The mass flow rate at location 1 equals the mass flow rate at
location 2 equals the mass flow rate at any other location within


the system, meaning that the AV product is constant in time.
Since, from Newtonian mechanics, = g,

this equation can be
written:
M =
g
AV = a constant (Equation 2)
If the flowing fluid can be considered to be incompressible, mass
density is constant and therefore specific weight is constant
anywhere in the system. Dividing through by mass density, the
equation becomes:
M
= AV = constant q (Equation 3)
which is the Steady-State Incompressible Flow Continuity
Equation
where
q = Volume flow rate
In the drilling mud system, the Driller assumes that mud density is
constant throughout the system. Consequently, under steady-
state conditions he assumes that the Steady-State
Incompressible Flow Continuity Equation applies.
For example, when drilling with a 10.5-ppg mud with an injection
rate of 400 gpm, the mean flow velocity down the 3.64"-I.D. drill
pipe can be calculated as follows:
Q = 499 gpm =
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
.
|
\
|
60sec
1min
7.48gal
1ft
min
gal
400
3
= 0.891 ft
3
/sec
A =
|
.
|
\
|
4
(I.D.)
2
=
|
.
|
\
|
4
[3.64 in)
2
= [10.4 in
2
]
|
|
.
|
\
|
2
2
144in
1ft
=
0.072 ft
2

V = q/A =
( )
( )
2
3
0.072ft
/sec 0.891ft
= 12.4 ft/sec


This same calculation will apply through the jet nozzles of the drill
bit. While drilling at a particular depth with an 8-3/4" bit, with three
19/32" jet nozzles in the bit and a mud flow rate of 400 gpm, the
mean jet nozzle velocity can be calculated as follows:
q = 400 gpm =
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
.
|
\
|
60sec
1min
7.48gal
1ft
min
gal
400
3
= 0.891 ft
3
/sec
A
nozzle
= | |
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
(
|
.
|
\
|
2
2
2
2
144in
1ft
0.277in in
32
19
4
= 0.00192 ft
2

Total Flow Area for 3 Jet Nozzles =
A
total
= 3A
nozzle
= (3) (0.00192 ft
2
) = 0.00576 ft
2

A
nozzle
=
( )
( )
2
3
nozzle
0.00576ft
/sec 0.891ft
A
q
= = 155 ft/sec
A typical minimum return velocity in the annulus, when drilling
with mud, must be at least 2 ft/sec (120 ft/min) in order to return
the cuttings to the surface. Therefore, this minimum velocity must
exist in the largest annular flow area, which would normally be
uphole around the drill pipe within previously set casing. Since
this is minimum velocity, the average return flow velocity would be
greater than 2 ft/sec.
For example, a well is being drilled using 4-1/2" O.D. drill pipe to a
total depth of 10,000 feet. 13-3/8" intermediate casing has been
set to a casing point of 6,000 ft. When drilling at a depth of 7,920
ft with an 8-3/4" drill bit and a drilling mud flow rate of 700 gpm,
the minimum flow velocity would exist in the annulus around the
4-1/2" O.D. drill pipe inside the I.D. of the 13-3/8 intermediate
casing. Assuming that the 13-3/8" casing has a maximum I.D. of
approximately 12-1/2", the mean velocity of mud flow in this part
of the annulus would be calculated as follows:
q = 700 gpm =
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
.
|
\
|
60sec
1min
7.48gal
1ft
min
gal
700
3
= 1.56 ft3/sec
A
flow
= |
.
|
\
|
4
[12.5 in]
2
- |
.
|
\
|
4
[4.5 in]
2
= [122.7 in
2
] [15.9 in]
2
=

[106.8

in
2
]
2
2
144in
1ft
= 0.742 ft
2

V
mean
=
| |
| |
2
3
flow
0.742ft
/sec 1.56ft
A
q
= = 2.10 ft/sec


If this 2.10 ft/sec is the minimum return velocity in the annulus and
the average return velocity is calculated as being 3.5 ft/sec, the
time required to return rock cuttings to the surface from their
bottomhole location will be
Time =
( )
( ) 3.5ft/sec
7,920ft
= (2,260 sec) |
.
|
\
|
60sec
1min
= 38 min
Not only will this Steady-State Flow Incompressible Continuity
Equation apply to the mud system, but the Steady-State
Incompressible Flow Equation (The Energy Equation) will also
apply.
The Steady-State Incompressible Flow Equation (The Energy Equation)
The Energy Equation may be considered an expression of the
First Law of Thermodynamics. It is often referred to as the Law of
Energy Conservation or, more appropriately, the Law of Energy
Accountability. The Steady-State Incompressible Flow Equation is
a special application of the Energy Equation limited to steady-
state incompressible flow conditions. It may be expressed as
follows:
L T 2
2
2
2
p 1
1
2
1
H E Z
P
2g
V
E Z
P
2g
V
+ +
(
+ + = +
(
+ + (Equation 4)
where
2g
V
2
=
Mechanical kinetic energy per unit weight of flowing
fluid (often referred to as the Velocity Head)

P

=
Flow work per unit weight of flowing fluid (often
referred to as the Pressure Head)
Z = Mechanical potential energy per unit weight of flowing
fluid (often referred to as the elevation head) where Z
is the vertical elevation above a 0 horizontal reference
plane
E
P
= Energy per unit weight of flowing fluid added to the
system by the presence of a pump located between
the upstream location 1 under consideration and the
downstream location 2 under consideration (often
referred to as the Pump Head)
E
T

= Energy per unit weight of flowing fluid removed from
the system by an energy sink or turbine located


between the upstream location 1 and the
referred to as the Turbine Head
H
L
= Energy loss due to friction per unit weight of flowing
fluid between the upstream location 1 and the
referred to as the Head Loss Due to Friction)
V = Mean flow velocity across an area perpendicular to
the flow direction at a specified location in the flow
stream
G = Acceleration due to gravity at the location.
P = Static pressure in the flow stream at the flow location
under consideration.

= Specific weight of the flowing fluid (A constant through
the flow system for incompressible flow)
One possible expression for H
L

for a simple flow system might be
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
2g
V
D
L
f H
2
L
(Equation 5)
where
F = Moody Friction Factor
L = Distance over which the pressure drop due to friction
occurs.
D = Diameter of the flow stream or, in case of a non-
circular area of flow, the Hydraulic Diameter of the
flow system.
2g
V
2

= Velocity Head over that section of the flow system
where pressure loss due to friction occurs
The Moody Friction Factor f is a function of the Reynolds Number
of the flow system and the relative roughness of the confining
walls of the flow stream.


The Reynolds Number R for the flow system at the flow stream
location is
VD
r =
(Equation 6)

where
V = Mean flow velocity
D = Diameter of the flow stream
= Mass density of the flowing fluid
= Dynamic viscosity of the flowing fluid
The relative roughness is symbolized as
D
= Relative roughness of the confining walls of the flow
stream. For the drilling hydraulics system, this HL
concept would be difficult to apply because of the
variations through the flow system, from the
discharge of the Mud Pump to discharge back at the
surface over the Shale Shaker. The various
parameters would be difficult to determine,
particularly in the annulus, since the wellbone will be
of varying diameter due to wellbore washout caused
by returning drilling fluid.
As an example of an application of the Steady-State
Incompressible Flow Equation, consider the flow system when
drilling at the depth of 7,920 ft with an 8-3/4" drill bit, with a 10.5-
ppg mud. Under these drilling conditions, the discharge pressure
of the mud pump is 2,500 psig into the 4"-I.D. discharge line of
the mud pump (Point 1 in the flow system), and the mud flow rate
is 700 gpm. The drilling fluid returns to the surface and is
exhausted from the annulus over the Shale Shaker (Point 2 in the
flow system) through a 6"-I.D. discharge line to atmospheric
pressure. The discharge line to the Shale Shaker is 10 ft vertically
above the Mud Pump discharge line. Unless otherwise specified,
assume that the acceleration due to gravity, g = 32.2 ft/sec
2
.
Applying the Steady-State Incompressible Flow Equation to this
condition, using the English Gravitational System of Units with the
appropriate conversions made as indicated, calculate the head
loss due to friction H
L

in the system.


For this Conventional Rotary Drilling System and the locations of
Point 1 and Point 2 in the flow system, there will be no pump or
turbine within the flow system between these locations. Therefore,
E
P
and E
T
are 0. One advantage of the form of Equation 4 is that
the form will also apply when drilling with a Bottomhole Drilling
Assembly (a Positive Displacement Motor or Drilling Turbine) as
represented by E
T
in the equation.
Prior to applying Equation 4, the Steady-State Incompressible
Flow Continuity Equation (Equation 3) is applied. The following
unit conversions are made using the English Gravitational System
of Units:
q = 700 gpm =
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
.
|
\
|
60sec
1min
7.48gal
1ft
min
gal
700
3
= 1.56 ft
3
/sec
A
1
= ( )
(
(
|
.
|
\
|
|
.
|
\
|
2
12in
1ft
4in
4
= 0.0873 ft
2
V
1
=
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
2
3
1
0.0873ft
/sec 1.56ft
A
q
= 17.9 ft/sec
A
2
= ( )
(
(
|
.
|
\
|
|
.
|
\
|
2
12in
1ft
6in
4
= 0.196 ft
2

V
2
=
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
2
3
2
0.196ft
/sec 1.56ft
A
q
= 8.0 ft/sec
P
1
= 2,500 psig = gauge
ft
lb
360,000
1ft
144in
gauge
in
lb
2,500
2
f
2
2
2
f
=
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
.
|
\
|

=
M
= 10.5 ppg =
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
3
f
1ft
7.48gal
gal
lb
10.5 = 78.5 lb
f
/ft
3

After substitutions, Equation 4 becomes
( )
( )( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )( )
( )
( )
( ) | | 0 H 0 10ft
/ft 78.5lb
gauge /ft 0lb
32.2ft/sec 2
8.0ft/sec
0 0ft
/ft 78.5lb
gauge
ft
lb
360,000
32.2ft/sec 2
17.9ft/sec
L
3
f
3
f
2
2
3
f
2
f
2
2
= + +
(
+ + +
= +
(
(
(
(
+
|
.
|
\
|
+



which simplifies to
4.97 ft + 4590 ft + 0 + 0 = 0.99 ft + 0 + 10 ft + 0 + H
L
Therefore
H
L
= 4,584 ft
From the above values, the only terms of significance will be the
pressure head on the discharge side of the mud pump and the
head loss due to friction. Relative to these values, the other terms
are negligible. Therefore H
L
is essentially equal to:
M
1
P
= 4590 ft
The values given are representative of those parameters that
exist in an actual drilling operation hydraulics system. Note that
the change of velocity head in this example equals 3.98 ft and the
change of elevation head in this example equals 10 ft. From this
result for the Conventional Rotary Drilling System, essentially all
of the pressure on the discharge side of the mud pump is lost to
friction in the system. The pressure loss in the system is
essentially equal to 2,500 psi. This example is representative of
the application of the Steady-State Incompressible Flow Equation
to a typical drilling hydraulics system.
If the drilling rate is a priority for the drilling operation, the
hydraulics system will be designed to optimize bottomhole
cleaning in order to maximize penetration rate in ft/hr (fph). There
are two dominant theories that may be applied in the design of the
system to optimize bottomhole cleaning. They are to:
Optimize bottomhole cleaning by maximizing Bit Hydraulic
Horsepower
Optimize bottomhole cleaning by maximizing Jet Impact Force
Power loss across the jet nozzles of the drill bit (Bit Hydraulic
Horsepower) can be maximized by selecting the drilling mud flow
rate and the jet nozzle diameter of the three jet nozzles in the drill
bit, so that for the drilling system at a particular depth, 2/3 of the
pressure on the discharge side of the mud pump is lost to friction
across the jet nozzles of the bit.


Jet Impact Force can be maximized by selecting the drilling mud
flow rate and the jet nozzle diameter of the three jet nozzles in the
drill bit so that for the drilling system at a particular depth, 49% of
the pressure on the discharge side of the mud pump is lost to
friction across the jet nozzles of the bit. Most bit companies
provide procedures or nomographs to simplify selection of these
parameters.
The Steady-State Incompressible Flow Equation is applicable to
any flow system in the E & P operation (the drilling system or the
production system) as long as the steady-state incompressible
flow conditions are satisfied.



SAUDI ARAMCO OFFSHORE DRILLING RIGS
As a result of relatively shallow water depths in the Arabian Gulf
(40 ft to 140 ft), Saudi Aramco offshore operations are conducted
from sea floor supported structures (non-floating platforms). In a
typical operation, two types of platforms are used.
Several variations might be used in the procedure. A Steel Jacket
Structure might be constructed and placed on location over the
offshore reservoir as a production or wellhead platform. A Jack-
Up Drilling Rig, which is a mobile structure, moves in and sets up
over the steel jacket to drill the well. Wells are drilled directionally
from the Jack-Up Drilling Rig through the Steel Jacket Structure,
and completed back to wellheads on the permanent steel
platform. Once the wells have been drilled and completed, the
Jack-Up Drilling Rig will move to the next location for further
drilling operations.
Jack-Up Drilling Rig (For Drilling the Wells)
Jack-Up Rigs are moved to location by initially jacking up the legs,
which sets the drilling deck on the water surface and permits it to
float. As the legs are further jacked up, lifting them from the sea
floor, the drilling deck can then be towed or self-propelled to the
next site. If these rigs must be moved long distances, they will
often be placed on a barge and towed to location without using
the buoyancy of the deck itself. Once on the new location, the
legs are jacked down until they reach the sea floor. As further
jacking procedure occurs, the drilling deck is lifted off the water
surface. This permits the drilling operation to occur from a non-
floating structure. Under this condition, except for logistics, the
drilling process is as if it were onshore. There are two basic types
of Jack-Up Drilling Rigs:
Cantilever
Slot



Cantilever
For the Cantilever Jack-Up, as illustrated in Figure 20, the drilling
rig is cantilevered over the edge of the platform deck, where it can
be set up over the permanent steel platform to permit drilling to
occur. Once the wells have been drilled and completed back to
their wellheads, the platform is moved to its next location.
Figure 20. Cantilever Jack-Up Rig Schematic


Slot
In the Slot Jack-Up, as illustrated in Figure 21, the drilling rig is
located in a slot in the platform deck. As with the cantilever, the
platform can be located over the permanent steel structure for
drilling of the wells and completing them back to the permanent
platform. Once the wells are completed, the Jack-Up is moved to
the next drill site.

Figure 21. Slot Jack-Up Rig Schematic


Steel Jacket Structures (As the Production or Wellhead Platforms)
For the Steel Jacket Structures, the jacket is the steel structure
itself. It is attached permanently to the sea floor by driving piles
into the sea floor and connecting them back to the steel structure.
Two of the most common designs of Steel Jacket Platforms are
the Gulf Coast and North Sea designs.
In the Gulf Coast design, the piles are driven through the legs of
the platform into the sea floor, using a pile driver, and then
cemented back into the legs, attaching the platform to the sea
floor. If additional piles are required, skirt piles are distributed
around the perimeter of the base of the platform, driven into the
sea floor, and attached back to the platform structure. In the North
Sea design, the piles are driven in bundles around the legs of the
platform. There may be several piles around each leg attached to
the platform legs connecting it to the sea floor. These are referred
to as bottle legs.
Saudi Aramco also uses single well structures where a conductor
pipe is driven into the sea floor and serves as the basic support
structure back above the water surface, supporting the wellhead
at the top of the conductor casing. This also is considered a
permanent structure, obviously sea floor supported. This type of
completion is common practice in Saudi Aramco offshore
operations.



GLOSSARY
annular preventer A blowout preventer included in the BOP stack to seal off
the annular space outside the drillstring.
annulus The space between the drillstring and wellbore by which
drilling fluids return to the surface during drilling. In
general, the annulus is space between the O.D. of a
smaller pipe and the I.D. of a larger pipe in which the
smaller pipe is placed.
bailer A heavy steel pipe device used in cable-tool drilling to
retrieve rock cuttings from the wellbore and bring them
back to the surface.
barite An abbreviation for barium sulfate, the weighting material
used to increase the density of the drilling mud to control
reservoir fluid pressures.
bent sub A short drill collar with an angular offset, used in kicking
off the wellbore in a new direction or in making a
correction in the wellbore direction when drilling with a
Downhole Motor or Downhole Turbine.
bentonite A mined clay used as an additive in drilling muds.
Particles of bentonite are colloidal in characteristic and
are flat platelets in shape.
bit A device used in the drilling operation for fracturing,
abrading, or shearing the rock.
bit weight The axial force applied to the drill bit during the drilling
operation. The weight of the drill collars provides the bit
weight.
blind rams Blowout preventers included in the BOP stack which,
when activated, close off the wellbore and seal off
downhole pressures. The blind rams blindly seal off the
wellbore.
blind/shear rams Blind rams designed with the capability to shear the
drillstring or any other equipment or materials that might
be passing through the BOP stack when activated.


blowout The result of a loss of control of downhole reservoir fluid
pressures, resulting in uncontrolled release of subsurface
fluids to the surface or, in the case of a downhole
blowout, uncontrolled flow between downhole reservoirs.
BOP stack A combination of, or a stack of, different types of blowout
preventers.
BOP system The BOP stack and associated activation and control
equipment.
Bottomhole Assembly
Drilling
The drilling process where a downhole system provides
the necessary power for rotation of the drill bit. The
common systems in use are the Positive Displacement
Motor (PDM) and the Drilling Turbine. These are often
referred to as the Downhole Motor and the Downhole
Turbine.
Cable-Tool Drilling The drilling process where a heavy metal wedge or chisel
device (tool) is run downhole on a cable and fractures the
rock by impact for the drilling operation.
casing Steel pipe run into the wellbore after drilling, to serve
various functions such as isolating the wellbore from
downhole pressures, contaminating or other undesirable
fluids, zones of lost circulation, and regions of wellbore
washout. It also provides surface protection from
downhole contaminants. In general, the casing provides
control of the downhole environment.
casing point The depth to which a particular casing is set.
centralizers Devices placed around casing, tubing, drill pipe or other
components of downhole assemblies, to centralize those
systems within the wellbore.
choke line A flow line where manipulation of the flow area controls
mass flow rate or volume flow rate, permitting control of
backpressure at the flow control and therefore control of
pressure within the upstream flow system.
colloidal A particle that is so small that it cannot be viewed with an
optical microscope, yet is larger than a molecule. It may
be viewed with an electron microscope.


conductor pipe

The casing set initially in the wellbore to support the
wellbore against collapse of unconsolidated materials
near the surface, and to protect the surface diameter of
the well from washout due to flow of returning drilling
fluids.
Conventional Rotary
Drilling
Rotary drilling where the drill is driven from the surface by
the kelly/kelly bushing/rotary table system or a power
swivel. These mechanisms apply torque to the drillstring,
causing rotation of the drill bit.
core A cylindrical sample of subsurface rock taken during the
drilling operation and returned to the surface for analysis,
in order to obtain properties of downhole rock and fluid
systems.
core barrel A device within the drillstring, above the bit, used to
collect a core and to retrieve the core to the surface.
core bit The drill bit used for taking a core sample.
crown block (stationary
block)
The stationary pulley rotating on top of the derrick as a
part of the hoisting system.
dead line The fixed end of the wireline of the hoisting system.
derrick (mast) The drilling structure itself that supports the
drilling/hoisting system.
differential sticking Downhole sticking of components of the drilling system
as a result of overbalanced drilling to prevent blowout.
Differential sticking occurs when components of the
downhole system rest against the wall of the well, where
a higher wellbore pressure acts on exposed surfaces,
and lower reservoir fluid pressure acts on that portion of
the component resting on the wall of the well. The
resultant differential force holds the component against
the wellbore.
drawworks The component of the hoisting system to which power is
supplied by the drilling rig power system, resulting in
sufficient torque applied to the drawworks drum so that
there is adequate tension response in the wireline to
meet hoisting load requirements.


drill collars Components of the drillstring usually run directly above
the drill bit as large O.D., thick walled, heavy steel pipe
with threaded connectors, primarily providing necessary
weight on the bit for the drilling operation. Typical drill
collars are 30 feet in length.
drill pipe High grade steel pipe providing the closed flow system
from the surface to the top of the drill collars within the
drillstring. Drill pipe transmits torque from the surface to
the drill bit for rotation, in conventional rotary drilling.
Typical drill pipe joints are 30 feet in length.
Driller Supervisor of the roughneck crew during the drilling
operation who operates equipment and controls various
drilling parameters. The Driller is in charge of the drilling
operation during his tour.
drilling hook The component attached to the traveling block from
which the drillstring is suspended from the hoisting
system into the wellbore. The drilling hook latches onto
the bail of the swivel.
drilling rig The complete drilling system, including the derrick,
substructure, engines, pumps, blowout prevention
system, drill pipe, drill collars, and other necessary
accessories for the drilling operation. The drilling rig
moves as a complete system from one well to the next.
The only accessories changed will be those for that
particular well, such as drill bits and drilling fluid additives.
drillstring The drilling system suspended from the hoisting system
into the wellbore, including drill bit, drill collars, drill pipe,
kelly, swivel, and any other components or accessories
within the drillstring, such as stabilizers, shock absorbers,
jars, reamers, bit sub, etc.
ERD Extended Reach Drilling.
e.u. Externally upset.
externally upset (e.u.) Pipe or tubing where the O.D. at the threaded
connections is greater than the O.D. of the body of the
pipe or tubing. Drill pipe is normally externally upset.
filter cake The bentonite cake formed during laboratory tests of the
sealing effect of the drilling mud.


finger board The structure near the top of the derrick that supports the
drill pipe and drill collar stands during a trip.
fishing Attempting to retrieve equipment that has been lost in the
wellbore.
fph Feet per hour, a measure of drilling rate.
Gangpusher Supervisor of the roustabout gang.
gas kick Gas returning to the surface through the annulus during
the drilling operation, as a result of reservoir fluid flowing
into the wellbore during a potential blowout condition.
Gas kick is also used to describe an indication of gas in
the return drilling mud during a mud log analysis. This
indicates that a hydrocarbon reservoir has been
encountered in drilling.
gauge diameter The diameter of the drill bit that must be maintained
during drilling. This determines the diameter of the
wellbore.
gpm Gallons per minute, usually used in indicating drilling fluid
flow rate.
heave The vertical motion response to wave action during
drilling from a floating offshore platform, such as a
semisubmersible or drill ship.
heavyweight drill pipe Drill pipe with sufficient strength to withstand loading in
compression, used in horizontal drilling where the drill
collars are placed in the drillstring above the heavyweight
drill pipe.
hole opener

A device designed specifically to open the hole through
the unconsolidated materials near the surface to solid
rock in the subsurface.
hook load The hoisting pull-back load applied by the drilling hook to
the drillstring.
hydril A term used to represent the annular blowout preventer.
Hydril is one company manufacturing these systems.
I.D. Inside diameter of tubular components, such as drill pipe,
drill collars, tool joints, or tubing.


intermediate string A casing string run between the surface string and
production string or liner.
jacket The steel structure of an offshore steel jacket platform.
jars Mechanical components of the downhole drilling
assembly used to apply an impact load, in an attempt to
release stuck pipe or equipment from the hole.
jet nozzle The flow nozzle of predetermined diameter, in the drill bit,
which controls velocity and pressure drop across the bit
to optimize bottomhole cleaning.
junk Any equipment, usually metal, that is lost in the wellbore.
kelly A component of the drillstring passing through the kelly
bushing, to which torque is transmitted to rotate the
drillstring and the drill bit.
kelly bushing The mechanical component that rests in the rotary table,
through which torque is transmitted from the rotary table
to the kelly, to rotate the drillstring and the drill bit.
kelly cock Flow valve within the kelly.
(to) kill To get control of downhole reservoir fluid pressures by
causing the pressure within the wellbore to be greater
than the reservoir fluid pressures. This is usually
accomplished for the drilling operation by increasing the
density of the drilling mud.
kill lines Those flow lines connected to the BOP stack, through
which the more dense drilling mud is pumped into the
wellbore in order to kill the well.
LCM Lost circulation material.
lost circulation The loss of drilling mud into the downhole geological
formations, through faults, caverns, or formations of
extremely high permeability. Lost circulation is indicated
when the return drilling mud flow rate is less than the rate
at which drilling mud is being pumped into the wellbore.
LWD Logging While Drilling.


Martin Decker Usually refers to the gauge at the Drillers Station, which
indicates hoisting pull-back load and therefore bit weight.
Martin Decker is one of the companies manufacturing
such gauges.
mast (derrick) The drilling structure itself that supports the
drilling/hoisting system.
minimum yield strength The maximum stress in tension or compression, usually
expressed in psi that can be applied to a drillstring
component without the yielding of the metal. This means
that if the minimum yield strength is exceeded, a
permanent set will remain in the component once the
load is removed. Yielding is considered failure in these
systems. If the component is loaded beyond the
minimum yield strength, when the load is removed it will
not return to its original undeformed dimensions.
monkey board The supporting platform in the derrick for the derrickman
during a trip, as he places the top of the stands of drill
pipe and drill collars in the fingerboard.
mousehole A hole through the rig floor, adjacent to the rotary table,
where the next joint of drill pipe to be added to the
drillstring is stored prior to making the connection.
mud Liquid drilling fluid.
mud cake The layer of bentonite particles that accumulates on the
wall of the well at permeable formations, as a result of
mud fluid loss into the permeability. The mud cake (or
wall cake) seals the wellbore from further fluid loss.
mud pit level indicator A device indicating rising or falling levels of the drilling
mud storage pit, indicating increasing mud return rates
which imply blowout conditions, or decreasing mud return
rates indicating lost circulation.
MWD Measurement While Drilling.
O.D. Outside diameter of tubular components, such as drill
pipe, drill collars, tool joints, or tubing.
overbalanced Wellbore pressure is greater than reservoir fluid pressure.
PCD Polycrystalline diamond bit (same as PDC or compact
bit).


pcf Pounds per cubic foot, a unit of specific weight (weight
density).
PDC Polycrystalline diamond compact bit (same as PCD bit).
pipe elevators Equipment attached to the traveling block that latches the
hoisting system onto the top component of the drillstring,
while tripping out of or into the well.
pipe rams Blowout preventers that are used to seal off the annulus
against pressure and potentially support the weight of the
drillstring when activated. These are also annular
preventers, but are of completely different design and
function when compared to the annular preventers.
power swivel The swivel as a drillstring component that has the
capacity to apply torque to the drillstring and rotate the
drillstring and therefore the drill bit. This is referred to as
a top drive system.
ppg Pounds per gallon, a unit indicating specific weight
(weight density).
production string Casing string through which the reservoir will be
produced. The actual reservoir fluid may flow through
production tubing within the production casing.
rathole Casing passing through the drilling rig floor, off to the side
from the rotary table where the kelly is stored when not
needed. This casing is slightly tilted from the vertical and
extends several feet above the rig floor. The kelly is
stored in the rathole when making a trip or performing
various other operations where the kelly is not needed.
The term rathole also is used to indicate the distance
below the bottom of the reservoir to well bottomhole
location or total depth (also known as the basement,
cellar, or pocket).
reamers Components within the drillstring that maintain or
increase wellbore diameter as drilling progresses.
ROP Rate of penetration during the drilling operation, usually
expressed in fph (feet per hour).
rotary hose The reinforced hose connected from the top of the
standpipe to the top of the swivel, through which the
drilling fluid flows into the drillstring during drilling.


rotary speed The speed of rotation of the rotary table and the drill bit,
usually expressed in RPM (revolutions per minute).
rotary table A component in the plane of the drilling rig floor to which
the drilling rig power system supplies the necessary
power to impart rotation to the rotary table, the kelly
bushing, kelly, and drillstring, and therefore to the drill bit.
rotor The mechanical component to which torque is applied,
rotating through mechanical or fluid linkage, accessory
mechanical systems such as the drill bit. In the case of
the Bottomhole Drilling Assembly, drilling mud flowing
through that assembly results in net torque applied to the
rotor.
roughnecks The labor crew for the drilling operation, supervised by
the Driller.
round trip Procedure where the drillstring is removed from the
wellbore, perhaps for changing the drill bit, and is then
returned to bottomhole. A round trip consists of a trip out
and a trip in.
roustabouts The general laborers of the oil field or the offshore
platform, supervised by the Gangpusher. In offshore
operations the roustabouts are often responsible to the
Crane Operator. Their work consists of general
equipment maintenance, painting, cleanup, welders
helper, etc.
RPM Revolutions per minute.
shale shaker Vibrating sieve system over which the drilling mud returns
for removal of the larger rock cuttings from the drilling
operation.
shear rams The blowout preventer that is a part of the BOP stack,
designed to shear the drillstring or any other equipment
or materials that might be passing through the BOP
stack.
shock absorber A drillstring component included to reduce the
transmission of vibrational energy resulting from
bottomhole excitation through the drillstring.


sidetracking Changing the direction of the wellbore. Sidetracking is
often necessary in order to bypass equipment abandoned
in the well. It may, however, be changing the direction to
make an angular correction during directional drilling.
skin The region around the wellbore where permeability
damage has occurred resulting in a large pressure
gradient during production operations.
skin factor The property of the region around the wellbore indicating
the magnitude of the skin effect.
slips A set of hinged wedges that are dropped by the
roughnecks into the rotary table around the drillstring.
Slips suspend the weight of the drillstring from the rotary
table when making a connection or making a trip.
spm Strokes per minute of the mud pump pistons, as an
indication of mud pump speed.
Spring-Pole Drilling The technique originally developed by the Chinese as the
source of impact energy for drilling.
(to) spud, spud in To initiate drilling.
stabilizers Downhole components within the drillstring to stabilize
the drillstring within the wellbore.
stand Joints of drill pipe or drill collars that remain connected as
the drillstring is removed from the wellbore during a trip.
Each stand is stored in the derrick by standing it from the
rig floor through the fingerboard within the derrick. A
typical stand is a triple, implying that the drillstring is
disconnected three joints at a time as it is stored in the
derrick. A triple, when 30 ft drill pipe is used, implies a 90
ft stand.
standpipe A steel pipe attached to one leg of the derrick, through
which the drilling fluid flows from the mud pump or
compressor into the rotary hose and eventually into the
drillstring.
stationary block
(crown block)
The stationary pulley resting on top of the derrick as a
part of the hoisting system.


stator The fixed or stationary part of a system where rotation is
imparted to an interior rotor. In the case of a Bottomhole
Drilling Assembly (Positive Displacement Motor or
Turbine Drill), the stator consists of the outer housing and
any attached stationary components.
stinger Usually a steel rod extending below the low point of a
downhole tool, so that when approaching the bottom of
the well, upon impact, the extended stinger will open or
initiate action of mechanisms within the tool.
stripper preventers Annular blowout preventers, through which drillstring
equipment can be removed even after the preventers
have been activated.
sub A drill collar shorter than normal length.
surface string The casing string connecting from its casing point back to
the surface, which serves to protect or seal off the
surface environment from downhole fluid contamination.
The initial BOP stack in the drilling operation is normally
attached to the surface string of casing.
swivel A mechanism by which the drillstring is suspended from
the hoisting system into the wellbore. It is also the
mechanism that makes the necessary transition from the
non-rotating hoisting system to the rotating drillstring.
tool joints Threaded connections consisting of the pin and box
attached to the ends of the body of the drill pipe joints
and drill collars.
Toolpusher Supervisor for the overall drilling operation. The
Toolpusher is responsible for efficient and effective
drilling operations within the limits of the
Drilling/Completion Program, for maintenance of
equipment, and for making certain that accessory
equipment is at the drill site at the scheduled time. The
roughnecks are responsible to their Driller, and the
Drillers are responsible to the Toolpusher.
top drive A drive system for the drilling operation using a power
swivel, where energy is supplied to the swivel and,
through its electric or hydraulic drive, rotates the
drillstring and therefore the bit.


tour (pronounced tower) The daily shift for each crew, such as Driller, roughnecks
and roustabouts, and other personnel at the drill site or
on the platform. For onshore operations, a tour is
normally 8 hours (three tours per day). For offshore
operations, there are normally two 12-hour tours per day.
traveling block The movable pulley as a component of the drilling rig
hoisting system.
(to) trip in Returning the drillstring or other equipment to bottomhole
within the well.
(to) trip out Removing the drillstring or other equipment from the
wellbore.
underbalanced Condition where wellbore pressure is less than reservoir
fluid pressure.
wall cake The layer of bentonite particles that accumulates on the
wall of the well at permeable formations, as a result of
mud fluid loss into the permeability. The wall cake (or
mud cake) seals the wellbore from further fluid loss.
water table The top of the drilling rig, on which the stationary block
(crown block) rests.
weight up Adding materials to the drilling mud to increase its
density. The most common material used to weight up
the mud is barite.
wellbore damage Damage around the wellbore, resulting in decreased
permeability. This damage is represented as the skin and
is measured by the skin factor.
whipstock A mechanical assembly used to sidetrack, kick off, or
change the direction of the wellbore. It is a mechanical
wedge type system that includes a drill bit for the purpose
of drilling a shallow pilot hole in the new direction for
diverting the regular drill bit.
wireline The cable system strung from the drawworks through the
pulley system to provide the necessary tension for
hoisting pull-back (hook load) requirements.

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