DRILLING THROUGH SALT: CONSTITUTIVE BEHAVIOR AND DRILLING STRATEGIES

Maurice B. Dusseault
GEOMEC A.S. and Porous Media Research Institute, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario Canada, N2L 3G1

Vincent Maury
GEOMEC A.S., 12 Avenue des Pyrnes, 64320 IDRON, France

Francesco Sanfilippo
GEOMEC A.S., Via Cairoli 106, Casalmaggiore (CR), 26041, Italy

Frdric J. Santarelli
GEOMEC A.S., Olav Duuns gate 12, Stavanger N-4021, Norway

ABSTRACT: Drilling through salt sections requires that the particular properties of salt, its creep behaviour and high solubility, be recognized and incorporated in the drilling plan. Salt is a viscous material and creeps under differential stress; the creep rate is a strong function of both temperature and stress difference (actually underbalance between the mud pressure and the vertical stress). A simple model approach to account for these effects in a reasonably quantitative manner is described. Problems encountered in drilling through salt include hole closure leading to stuck tools, differential dissolution of beds of carnallite, bischofite and other halides, encountering stiff and non-viscous stringers in salt strata, and exiting salt into non-salt rocks, always a challenging phase of the drilling. Strategies for successful salt drilling involve recognizing salt closure behavior, stresses, and adjusting drilling fluid density and temperature to minimize problems. Casing design issues in salt are also discussed.

1. INTRODUCTION Large oil and gas reservoirs are associated with salt structures. Domal structures in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM Jurassic salt emplaced during the Tertiary), Williston basin (Mid US Continent Devonian age) the North Sea (Zechstein age salt emplaced in the Cretaceous), Iran (Zagros salt plugs, which in some areas outcrop), Brazilian and West African offshore basins, and other areas, provide targets for exploratory oil and gas drilling. Sub-salt resources are found in the GoM salt tongue regions, in large areas in Kasakhstan (Kashagan and Tengiz), and in other areas. These may involve drilling through as much as 1500-2500 m of salt to depths of 5-9 km. Drilling through salt is rapid if there are few nonsalt beds. Typical ROP of 15 to 40 m/hr means that a 1000 m section can usually be drilled in two or three days with a PDC bit. ROP is important because speed minimizes hole closure from creep. Salt is essentially impermeable, so the effect of drilling fluid density (MW) on ROP is small. MW management can be used to control closure rate while sustaining reasonable penetration rates. However, high MW carries risks of lost circulation in non-salt zones, and this risk must be properly managed through knowledge of stresses.

Salt does not present as serious drilling problems as fractured shale, but there are challenges such as washouts, rapid borehole closure, mud weight control issues, and casing placement decisions. Subsalt overpressure or pressure reversion may exist, and extensive rubble or sheared zones are common underneath salt tongues or adjacent to diapirs. It may be difficult to decide where salt ends and nonsalt sediments start: salt-infilled rubble zones and salt with 30-40% non-salt shale and sand inclusions can exist within salt beds, or at the boundaries of salt structures. However, most drilling problems within salt are managed relatively easily by considering salt properties during planning and drilling. Issues arising in drilling around salt structures are discussed elsewhere [1]. Salt is found as salt tectonics structures (domes, ridges, salt tongues, pillows) as undeformed bedded sedimentary salt, and as mixed domains, as in the GoM, PreCaspian Basin, South Atlantic margin basins (Brazil, Angola), Canadian Scotian Shelf and the Central Graben area and more southern parts of the North Sea. Because of viscous behavior at modest stresses and temperatures, salt can be tectonically mobilized solely because of density differences between salt (2.16 g/cm3 for pure NaCl) and other sediments (2.3 2.6 g/cm3).

Figure 1 shows cases ranging from shallow bedded salt to deep diapiric structures. In salt tongues (sheets) and bedded salt cases, well trajectory choice is limited, but with diapiric structures, a wide range of drilling trajectory choices exists, including paths which avoid salt altogether, and other paths designed to pass through as much salt as possible. Which is chosen depends on the geomechanical state of the rocks surrounding the salt, the depth (T, ) and creep rate of the salt, and other factors, some experiential, some gleaned from analysis.
500 10 20 30 40

Choose a suitable constitutive law for creep Calculate borehole closure rates as functions of depth and activating stress (v pb) Assess the risks and if necessary execute thermal (cooling and heating) calculations Choose the best mud weight program for the casing program and trajectory Monitor hole performance and be prepared to modify the program appropriately Be prepared to act decisively when exiting thick salt structures.
0

T (C)

Z (m)

Figure 1 (Left and Below): Some Conditions Encountered in Drilling Salt

c)

1000

Bedded salt zones

North Caspian Basin Sequence Weak Tertiary and Cretaceous clastic sequence Strong Jurassic and Triassic siltstones, carbonates, snds

1
Eastern Alberta Igneous bedrock

1500

a)
Different well paths
Residuum

Z - km 1 2 3 4
gas, oil

Z(km) 2 3 100C 4

Kungurian Thick salt beds, Salt Beds brine pockets Subsalt sediments, po ~ 17 kPa/m

Sheared salt, shale, anhydrite Carnallite zone

2. IN SITU CONDITIONS 2.1. Stresses and Temperatures Figure 2 shows a profile of a thick salt tongue in the GoM. The temperature is ~0C at the sea floor, and ~80C at 5.5 km subsea. In the cases sketched in Fig 1, the geothermal gradient is on the order of 2025C/km, typical values for sedimentary basins, but there is a lower geothermal gradient, on the order of 15C/km in the GoM deep offshore area. These low T gradients facilitate salt drilling, compared to North Sea cases where gradients within salt approaching 38C/km have been found. Because salt rocks are viscous and flow slowly at all non-zero shear stress states, one may assume that v = HMAX = hmin = z , where is the mean overburden bulk density. Careful measurements in mines and LOT or FIT values obtained during salt drilling all tend to confirm this condition. Isotropic stresses are only found in viscous rocks and very

b)

GoM Salt Diapir

Assuming that salt dissolution issues in the drilling fluid are properly managed, the two major concerns are borehole closure through creep, and borehole instability when exiting salt or in cases of sharp lithology contrasts (e.g. anhydrite/salt interfaces). Casing point choices must account properly for stresses so that drilling can proceed at low blowout and lost circulation risk. To manage drilling risks, it is necessary to: Determine the in situ conditions, T(z), (z)

soft mud; in frictional materials such as sandstone, limestone and shale, the in situ stresses are invariably unequal. Because salt is a viscous liquid, the term under-balance is used herein to mean a mud pressure less than the vertical stress pb < v. Stress, pressure, MPa 0 50 100 0
Fluid pressures

1 2 3 4 5

H2O, ~ 1.025

laboratory measurements on cores). Running successive caliper logs is feasible, but expensive. It is best to monitor tripping conditions during bit trips and short trips, and Fig. 3 illustrates this for a North Sea well drilled with OBM. It shows a periodic recurrence time for critical closure with the chosen mud weight. In some regions (Williston Basin), critical periods as small as 1 hour have been reported in dirty salts i.e. rich in clay making drilling almost impossible.
14 Depth (000 ft) 15 16 17 0 Drilling Days Zechstein Salts 5 10 15 20 25

Soft seds, ~ 1.9

1.2 g/cm3 1.4 g/cm3 1.6 g/cm3 1.8 g/cm3

Salt, ~ 2.16

Z(km)

80C Sub-salt sediments

Figure 3: Salt Closure, North Sea Well. Black bars represent back-reamed sections while tripping.

Figure 2: Thick Salt Sheet, Deep Offshore GoM

The vertical stress is plotted with depth in Fig 2 as a solid line, as well as dotted lines for pressures that would be applied from a borehole full of a static fluid. When an offshore deep water borehole is full of a drilling fluid and penetrates a large sequence of salt, it is not possible to equilibrate the stresses by drilling mud pressure at both the top and bottom of the salt. Suppose one wishes to balance the stress while drilling at the base of the salt to avoid all creep; when the fluid is static at = 1.8 g/cm3, there is a surplus pressure at the top of the salt sequence of >10 MPa. But, if it is necessary to stay below the fracture pressure in the soft sediments at the top of the salt, for which a 1.3-1.4 g/cm3 mud would be used, there would be >18 MPa underbalance (v pw) at the salt base, and creep closure would be an issue, especially with high T cases. It is best, in most circumstances, to place a casing shoe into the salt as far below the salt top as possible. This discussion shows that a high creep rate potential exists and it is difficult to balance the rock stresses in deep water conditions (leaving aside technologies such as sea-floor booster pumps or gas lift). Thus, closure rate potential must be evaluated to see if borehole closure is a potential problem. Direct well closure rate measurement the best approach to determine creep rate (rather than

2.2. Permeability and Pore Pressures Under stress, sedimented granular salt continues to compact, expelling brine, until porosity is totally occluded ( < 2-4%). Even after this, particularly with high stresses and temperatures, salt continues to compact until a brine-filled porosity of 0.3-1.5% remains. This consists of thin, dendritic voids at grain boundaries, but for practical purposes, salt permeability can be taken as zero. Flow through salt in engineering time scales (<100 years) occurs in non-salt lithologies or through introduced flaws (e.g. hydraulic fracture). A filter cake cannot form, and 100% of the mud pressure acts directly on the salt. The same is assumed of rocks where pores are filled with precipitated salt: there is no intercommunicating flow path, therefore the concept of pressure as a state descriptor is not useful. Though fluid flow and pore pressure concepts are not applicable to salt, brine pockets can be encountered, sometimes with po approaching v. In bedded salts of lithostratigraphic complexity, there can be non-salt zones where porosity is filled with brine that can enter the well. Estimating po in brine pockets is impossible; in our experience, in a typical sub-Zechstein field, brine pockets from 1 to 2.2 equivalent SG pressures can be encountered during drilling. Brine kicks and gas inflows in intact salt sequences are often of small volume and generally inconsequential, but high pressure brine pocket

kicks in Pakistan led to casing collapse and surface brine flow for many years. 3. A CONSTITUTIVE MODEL FOR HALITE Since chances of obtaining salt core and performing comprehensive constitutive testing are exceedingly rare, to analyze borehole closure rate it is necessary to adopt a constitutive law that captures first-order processes, yet is simple enough to be used in sensitivity studies with field calibration. 3.1. Minerals in Salt Strata Natural salt deposits are usually pure NaCl (halite) crystals of 1 20 mm mean grain diameter with 0-15% insoluble materials such as shale beds or intercrystalline clay (chaotic salt). Deep bedded salts (>2000 m depth) and all diapiric or tectonically mobilized salts have undergone recrystallization. Non-salt mineral content is lower and the crystalline fabric more uniform, with crystals of 5 mm to 10-20 mm. Other halides may exist in beds of limited thickness and extent, such as the 3-6 m thick potash beds of ~50% KCl, ~50% NaCl being mined in Saskatchewan and elsewhere. Sylvite (KCl) behaves similarly to halite, but there can be beds, streaks or mixtures of carnallite, bischofite, tachyhydrite, polyhalite, and other rare halides. When encountered, they can present particular difficulties; coping with such cases is discussed later. Thin streaks of shale or other halides is of great interest in mining, where pillars can be seated on other mineral types, or where differential strain rates in roof strata lead to slab detachment and roof falls. In drilling, these minerals may not cause problems if zones are thin as they tend to be weak and soft so that it is easy to sustain a borehole and to back-ream if hole gauge problems develop. An exception may develop in chaotic salt, where even small creep closures lead to debonding and sloughing of chunks of clayey salt into the borehole. In drilling with NaCl-saturated WBM, non-salt zones are preferentially dissolved because the aqueous fluid is not saturated with respect to them, and this dissolution tends to counteract any squeeze. Hole enlargement issues may arise in these zones, or else they will have to be redrilled when running into the hole, and such redrilling takes only a few minutes. However, mud properties may change dramatically, especially if Ca++ or Mg++ cation

halides are encountered. Thus, the creep behavior of other halides is generally of secondary interest, and one may focus on the creep behavior of NaCl. If there are difficulties associated with rapid closure of a zone of non-NaCl halide minerals, the only practical method of reducing the problem is to raise MW to a level close to the stress to reduce creep. 3.2. Halite (NaCl) Halite (NaCl) is a natural mineral deposit of low porosity; this low porosity is brine-filled, and the brine plays an important role in creep behavior. Before 1975-1985, salt creep was modeled with empirical equations, such as a fractional time & = At a ), to emulate triaxial tests exponent (e.g. and model pillars or field data. These non-physical equations lumped all phenomena in one term so different processes could not be deconvolved. For example, in a mine creep leads to pillar widening and thus slowing of the closure rate (creep stress is reduced). Empirical equations based on such data cannot lead to a physically correct constitutive law because macroscopic creep is a function of constitutive behavior combined with geometry and stress changes. It is now clear that these must be treated separately and correctly, using continuum mechanics approaches [2]. Pursuit of a physics-based constitutive law for salt has been quite successful, though in complex cases (e.g. salt/shale mixtures, mineralogical complexity, small-scale heterogeneity) substantial uncertainty exists. The major aspects of the physics of salt are discussed in order to rationalize the model used. At conditions encountered during salt drilling (T = 10-150C, v - pb = -10 to +30 MPa), lattice bonds in halide minerals are strongly ionic, whereas bonds in most minerals (quartz, feldspar, calcite) are covalent. Only at high temperatures are ionic energies overcome and can lattice deformations take place in a dry polycrystalline material without accumulating damage. Processes involved in high temperature creep, within 10-20% of the melting temperature (in K) do not have to be considered in drilling, so these mechanisms are irrelevant. A single dry salt crystal shows no transient creep behavior. Once some stress threshold is exceeded, dislocation glide and climb within the lattice dominate creep. If the applied stress is high, the dislocation processes evolve rapidly toward the

generation of Griffith cracks, leading accumulating damage, and perhaps weakening.

to

It is thus sufficient that a constitutive law for salt account only for steady-state creep.

An assemblage of salt crystals evidences complex, self-organized behavior because of the structural interaction of crystals and boundaries, and because of the presence of water. Transient creep occurs whenever stresses are changed because external loads must be distributed at the lowest energy state within the crystalline structure, which takes time (strain). Also, transient creep is larger when there is damage, as in microfissured core specimens (because of de-stressing during coring). In a borehole, transient behavior occurs for a short time after drilling, and damage level is minimal because a high r continues to act on the salt from the drilling fluid. Transient creep during drilling can be ignored: it is attenuating and inconsequential. Because of brine in the non-connected intergranular porosity, a process known as FADC (fluid-assisted diffusional creep) affects salt creep over a T and v range typically found during drilling. FADC appears to be a critical component of the mechanisms that dominate creep, and these involve salt dissolution at highly stressed points, diffusional transport, and precipitation in regions of low stress, thereby allowing for simultaneous mass transfer and stress equilibration. If an external deviatoric stress is maintained, as in the vicinity of a borehole where pb v, steady-state creep continues as long as the crystalline fabric of the salt rock remains the same. Because creep distortion is modest (r/r < 20%), given that a borehole remains open for a limited time, effects associated with change of water content or salt fabric are small; it is reasonable to assume that a physically-based steady-state creep law will suffice for borehole closure simulation. In summary, based on our experience and on observations, we will assume the following:

A B

E2 1 2

E1

1 2

Fig 4: Several Simple Constitutive Models for Salt

Figure 4 shows several simple rheological models to represent salt behavior, with the bottom two showing elements of transient response or multiple mechanisms (many highly complex models have been suggested). We claim that the first model is sufficient to simulate salt behavior in drilling. The viscosity is not Newtonian, nor is it independent of temperature, but the Youngs modulus may be taken as constant at 31 GPa and the Poissons ratio for elastic stress changes is 0.36. The viscosity &ss ) is expressed as: (steady state strain rate -
Q pb RT &ss = A e o n

(1)

Transient creep strains in boreholes are small and can be ignored for practical purposes. At conditions encountered in salt drilling, induced damage (microcracks) is of no consequence because of high confining stress and the tendency of salt to anneal during creep. Except in chaotic salt, creep failure or strain weakening will not occur in salt with a reasonable MW.

- pb is the difference between in situ stress (v) and borehole pressure (generally pb = MWz), termed the plastic stress. The Arrhenius thermal activation term has the activation energy Q for creep; Q = 95 kJ/mole is recommended for borehole conditions, though the literature reports values from 55 to 272 kJ/mole. Specimens from Avery Island in southern Louisiana and the Palo Duro bedded salt from New Mexico gave Q values of 55 kJ/mole and 90 kJ/mole respectively in the temperature range of 25C to 200C, but European research has tended to give higher values. Note that different mechanisms have different activation energies, but we assume that one dominates. A is a constant determined through calibration, and o is a normalizing stress value that we commonly take to be 10 MPa.

. ln(ss)
- pb > ) 1,

)2 - pb

diagram (Munson and Dawson data). It appears that only one mechanism acts in the range of drilling, therefore a single exponent creep law is justified. Finally, we note that determining the constant A independently is laborious [6], thus, in predicting hole closure rates, experience is required and field calibration is desirable. 4. BOREHOLE RADIAL CLOSURE MODEL

-Q/R

)2 - pb

-Q/R 1/T

Figure 5: Temperature and Creep Rate

In Fig. 5, the effect of T on creep rate is presented. In general, for one mechanism, the slopes are assumed to be the same for different stress levels; in fact, there is a weak confining stress effect, but it is small and can be ignored (as in Equation 1). Choice of an exponent n is a highly contentious issue. Back-analyses from large-scale mine cases [3.4] lead inexorably to a value of 3.0, no matter what the theoretical arguments. Similarly, back analysis of laboratory data for radioactive waste repository studies [5] suggests that n = 3.0. In a mine, there is another faster creep process (stable microcracking) that does not occur in a borehole because of the confining stress of the drilling fluid.
-200 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 100

4.1. The effect of stress (v pb) A numerical or analytical model that links the system parameters and the stress difference to the rate of radial closure is needed to complete the design process. In this axisymmetric case it is possible to extract a closed-form approximation for steady-state closure. We use the method developed by Bogobowicz et al. for steady-state closure of openings in non-newtonian viscous materials [7].
3 3 ( v pb ) &o o = r o 2 n
n

Deleted: 4

(2)

Temperature (oC)
Dislocation Glide Creep LT Dislocation Climb Creep Fluid Assisted Diffusional Creep FADC HT Dislocation Climb Creep

Here, vo is the borehole closure rate, n is taken to be &o is a calibrated strain rate coefficient, or 3.0, and is chosen based on comparison of the salt being drilled to other salts if possible. It represents the salt creep rate at 20C; for dry salt that creeps &o 0.002 yr-1, for a salt that creeps rapidly slowly, (e.g. with carnallite around the salt crystals or with &o 0.02 yr-1. unusually high moisture content),

Log (/)

0.1

0.01 Coble Creep Nabarro 0.001 -Herring Creep 0.0001

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

Homologous Temperature

Figure 6: Creep Mechanisms in a - T Plot ( can be taken as ~ v pb in a reasonable first approximation)

Fig. 6 shows the T and range in typical drilling conditions (ellipse), plotted on a mechanisms

(MPa)

10

&o for If vo can be determined independently [8], that particular salt can be calculated. Suppose one is drilling with an OBM with no salt dissolution, and that pb is constant. The drill string is withdrawn with acoustic (ultrasonic) logging of hole diameter, or a caliper log is lowered to measure diameter (over time if desired). These data give borehole &o closure versus time, which is used to determine directly. In practice, monitoring trip conditions can also be used (Fig. 3). If there are zones with other halide minerals, it is unlikely that good closure rate data can be collected because of continued dissolution of these materials during drilling, even if OBM is used (the aqueous phase of the OBM may be saturated with NaCl, and this means that as other minerals are encountered, they can be dissolved into the aqueous phase, reducing apparent closure rate).

4.2. The effect of temperature Salt has a high thermal conductivity coefficient () and can dissipate T differences much more rapidly than shales and limestones. For example, at 20C and 100C, thermal conductivities of 5.6 and 4.2 Wm-1K-1 have been given. A range for salt is therefore 6 and 4 Wm-1K-1, about 2 to 3 times higher than for shale, limestone, and sandstone. It is necessary to account for T effects in long salt sections (e.g. 2000 vertical m), as T can be as high as 45-70C between the salt top and bottom. T effects are accounted for in model simulations by &o with &T : replacing the salt material property

heating of the salt at the shoe increases the closure rate at that point, significant cooling at the bit reduces the closure rate at depth. Hence, drilling ahead rapidly helps to reduce total creep closure at the base of the salt interval. There is also the effect of redistribution from T-effects: cooling causes salt shrinkage around the borehole;,this reduces (1 3)max, and redistributes it farther out into the rock mass. Reduced 1 3 means a slower closure rate.
cooling in tanks T heating casing

&T = &o e R 298

1 Q 1 273+T

(3)

&o plays the same role as A in Here, the product r Eq. 1 and allows an empirical temperature effect estimate. Depending on Q, the creep rate increases on the order of a factor of two for every 16-18C.

geothermal temperature mud down pipe mud temperature depth

shoe +T

However, reality is not so simple: depending on various factors, such as hole size, circulation rate, riser heat loss, and so on, the mud temperature may be higher or lower than the salt in situ, and this leads to a non-uniform T(r,t) in the borehole wall. Though T(r) is easy to calculate if T is constant, this is rarely the case, and a numerical solution is used to determine T(r,t). Because of the nonlinearity in Eq. (1), a correct creep calculation now requires a numerical radial closure calculation. Fortunately, the error arising from an assumption of a uniform temperature seems to be modest, compared to the uncertainty in material parameters. This suggests that the method outlined is sufficiently robust for practical application. A critical part of drilling is setting of casing. Depending on depth, there may be a 10-16 hour period between stopping circulation and setting casing. During this period the hole bottom must not close excessively so that casing cannot be installed. Calculations for the lowest salt point is a critical one in the process of active borehole planning. Fig. 7 shows a schematic T vs. Z curve for the drilling fluid in the case on an onshore drilling operation. In the upper part of the salt interval, the salt is heated; in the lower part, it is cooled substantially with respect to in situ T. This has the interesting effect of reducing the difference in hole closure rate with depth as a function of temperature:

-T cooling
T - C

bit

Figure 7: T vs. Z for a Typical Onshore Circulating Well

0 0

20

40

60

80

T - mud 1

sea (GoM)

soft strata

3 Depth - km salt strata sequence

sub-salt strata

geothermal gradient

Figure 8: T vs. Z for an Offshore Deep Water Case

A quantitative diagram of T(z) in the drilling fluid (Fig. 8 is an example for a deep offshore case) can be generated by commercial software, giving a reasonable estimate of the T between the borehole fluid and the virgin rock. Including all T diffusion effects into creep analysis makes it necessary to adopt a numerical model to predict closure, entirely feasible, but likely unnecessary in practical cases. All the required elements for design and hole planning in salt have been defined. It is necessary to have knowledge of the stresses and temperatures at various depths, and also information about fracture pressures in non-salt rocks, whether overpressures are expected beneath salt, and so on. These are normal parameters that are collected as part of any drilling program. 5. DESIGN STRATEGY In drilling thick salt sections, MW and T issues related to creep closure can be quantified reasonably well in advance, and a program chosen to reduce closure problems.
Closure (%/d)
1000

axi-symmetric diffusion model, or if desired, a numerical model may be used (at any depth above the bit in Figs 7, 8, T = (z,t)). A T(r,t) example for a circular borehole is given in Figure 10.
80

T - C

t = 0 hr 1 hr 2 hr 10 hr

70

0.5 hr

60

50

borehole radius
40 0 0.25 0.5 Figure 10: T(r,t) for a Salt at T = 32C

Radius - m
0.75 1

10

C 130 C 100 70C 40C

0.1

0.001

v pb - MPa 0 5 10 15 20
Figure 9: A Closure Chart with T and Underbalance Effects

Consider a sequence such as that shown in Figure 2. The salt at the base is much warmer than the salt at the top, and a creep-rate difference of 6 is a reasonable expectation. Therefore, it becomes more important to keep v pb smaller at the base to keep the hole open. How small this should be depends on the time the hole is open, the diameter of the casing to be run with respect to the drillhole diameter, and other factors. Because the lowest salt is the last drilled, MW can be adjusted to the desired level for the out-trip before running casing. In this case, for safety, it may be most appropriate to assume a rapidly creeping salt, and use a low v pb value by increasing MW. Upper salt strata can sustain some overbalance (pb > v) because any hydrofracturing tendency in salt is counteracted by its impermeable nature and the limited extent to which a fracture would grow. Upper salt is also usually heated, so there is tendency to a higher tangential stress. With a creep model linked to underbalance and temperature, one can design salt drilling activities quantitatively and study scenarios equating risks and costs with factors such as borehole closure rate and ROP. Models are calibrated to reality, extrapolated to other cases and windows of acceptable closure rates and underbalance defined in terms of acceptable risk, with charts for specific areas to define MW ranges for different depths, T gradients, and so on. These charts are refined quantitatively as real data become available from salt drilling.

Charts can be generated with creep laws and radial closure models: Fig. 9 is an example with both variables of underbalance and T included. Closure is expressed as percent per day, for a given creep &T ). In this case, a law (different choice of A or rapidly creeping salt was assumed. For running of casing (12 hour time lag), 1% closure is acceptable, and because the depth gives the ambient T, a mud weight can be chosen to give a value of closure commensurate with perceptions of risk and uncertainty. Also, one may study the rate of T diffusion into the borehole, using either a simple

6. STRATEGIES IN SALT DRILLING Because salt is impermeable and geochemically inert (except for its high solubility), no chemical means can be taken to improve hole stability: only stress and temperature can have any effect.

has to be changed, and in the interim delays, often including density maintenance problems, hole closure is large enough to require full section reaming or a sidetrack. Should one use WBM or OBM? Using salt saturated WBM with sheared attapulgite for viscosity had already showed its limitations as early as the 1970s. A salt-saturated WBM at surface conditions is not saturated at downhole conditions, leading to washouts, often beyond mechanical caliper limits. Cementing then becomes extremely difficult, and the irregular cementation leads to irregular casing loading and consequent early casing collapse (many examples around the world have been well documented). To avoid this, WBM must be oversaturated at surface conditions. One claimed way of doing this is to use chemical additives to increase salt (NaCl) solubility under surface conditions. However, field testing of this technique has shown mixed results. In some cases, caliper data showed better profiles i.e. less enlargement in other cases it did not. Furthermore, laboratory dissolution tests have shown that few commercially available chemicals had any significant benefit. Also, this approach was not appropriate for other salt saturated muds such as the KCl-MgCl2 systems used in the North Sea. Another WBM technique has been developed by North Sea operators: the mud is heated on surface through the use of a heat exchanger so that surface temperature becomes equal to downhole circulating temperature. (The hot fluid source is generally produced hydrocarbon on the same platform.) By salt saturating the hot mud, less downhole dissolution occurs, and the method has proved highly successful and is favored by several operators involved in sub-Zechstein plays in the southern North Sea. Using OBM with an appropriate water phase salinity will strongly reduce if not suppress dissolution. As a consequence, salt closure may become a more important issue because there is no dissolution to counteract it; this can lead to serious tripping difficulties. For example, in Williston Basin deep drilling operators are known to short trip the hole every stand to fight against salt closure, hence losing extensive amounts of drilling time. In OBM, an obvious method is to use as high a mud weight as possible to minimize v pb. However,

6.1. Pressures and Stresses Pressures must be compared to stresses to assess uphole fracture potential, but in salt, it is possible to drill overbalanced at the shoe, if it is intact salt with a thick salt sequence above the shoe (>150 m). This is because salt has some tensile strength that is more reliable than other rocks because it is unfractured, because salt at the shoe is being heated by the warmer mud arising from depth (hence is increased), and because fractures will tend to be of limited length and aperture. At the shoe, an overbalance of no more than 5 MPa is advised, and in general, less than 3 MPa is preferred; great care should in all cases be exercised when pb > v at the salt shoe. 6.2. Penetration Rates Because salt has no porosity or pore pressure, ROP is less sensitive to degree of balance (v pb) than permeable rocks (shales, sandstones). A PDC bit designed for salt, which has a low UCS compared to limestones, anhydrites and low- sandstones, may encounter problems in cases where salt alternates with stronger, stiffer rocks. Also, extremely rapid penetration rates lead to severe bit wandering in salt, but these problems are easy to rectify. In fact, a high ROP helps reduce salt closure issues. However, frequent anhydrite or dolomite layers do not always allow high ROP.. 6.3. Drilling Fluid Type Mud system choice must address two issues - the chemical composition of the water phase and the choice of OBM versus WBM.
With respect to water phase chemical composition, multiple choices are possible but all are guided by mineralogy. A general rule is to saturate the water phase with the most soluble salt(s) to be encountered (except if they are only present in thin streaks). Thus, NaCl is usually used in the GoM, Williston and Permian Basins, whereas KCl-MgCl2 is used in the North Sea Zechstein wells because of thick bands of bischofite and carnallite. Failing to follow this strategy may lead to serious problems of mud contamination, flocculation and difficulty in advancing. To continue drilling, the mud system

salt horizons are often surrounded by thief zones fractured formations where losses are frequent. Using a high mud weight is not feasible everywhere and particularly not where several salt zones have to be drilled in one section, with intervening zones where losses can occur. The second method to fight salt closure is to use bicentered bits and under-reamers close behind the bit to enlarge the hole and gain time; this technique has been tried in practice with various degrees of success. Its main downside is that under-reamers and bi-center bits do not react well when hitting repeated hard anhydrite and dolomite streaks. The third method to minimize closure is to cool the mud and use the temperature sensitivity of salt creep, which can be quantified using analysis. Thus, a choice is to be made between OBM and WBM. OBM has minimal ability to dissolve salt, even other halides encountered in thin beds. OBM is favored for drilling the upper hole where drilling goes from ductile shales and mudstones into salt. Where lost circulation is common above salt, WBM is cheaper. In continuous salt sections, NaClsaturated WBM is favored. In theory, salt dissolution using a slightly undersaturated aqueous base drilling fluid is an option to cope with creep closure; in fact, this is achieved naturally in the drilling process from the changing temperatures with depth and precipitation of salt in the surface mud tanks. Furthermore, because the hole bottom is the zone of the largest underbalance and therefore highest closure rate, the salt is preferentially removed from the most appropriate region. In fact, however, most of the resaturation of the drilling fluid takes place from dissolving salt from the drill cuttings rather than from the borehole wall, and this controlled dissolution strategy is difficult to use in a quantitative manner, and is in general not advised, unless the salt section can be drilled rapidly in just a few days, so as not to lead to washouts.

will tend to occur in the region of the new minerals. However, there is little direct contact between the aqueous phase globules and therefore the dissolution rate is slow. If the creep rate of the non-salt halide bed is higher than that of NaCl at that [T, ]-state, the higher dissolution rate focused in the new mineral zone tends to over-compensate for this behavior, and this leads to fewer borehole closure problems.

6.5. Cooling the Mud Clearly, because of the T-sensitivity of salt creep, it is a viable strategy to cool the mud deliberately [9]. Offshore, this may happen automatically because of heat transfer through the riser (Fig 8). This means the mud going back down the hole is thoroughly chilled (although the use of seafloor booster pumps changes matters). Onshore, the cooling effect of the riser is lost and mud may come out of the hole at 70-80C (as in Kazakhstan salt drilling). In these cases, there is merit in considering cooling the mud through heat exchange (a problem in desert areas, but not in the shallow Caspian Sea conditions for the Kashagan oil field).
In the case of setting casing in a rapidly closing salt, it is possible to circulate cooled mud for 10-15 hours before tripping to run casing, taking advantage of the reduced creep rates and the more favorable stress conditions around the wellbore. As a rule, circulate with the coolest mud possible without rotation, and circulate 1.5 hours for each hour that the hole will be in a static condition.

6.4. Drilling Other Halides If OBM is being used, when a seam of a mineral such as bischofite or carnallite is encountered, the saline aqueous phase of the OBM (~40% by volume) is unsaturated with respect to the new mineral. Because the aqueous phase was NaCl saturated, there will be a slow dissolving of the new minerals, precipitation of NaCl in the mud (the common ion effect) and gradual hole enlargement

6.6. Exiting Salt A critical period in drilling is when salt is being exited, either at the base of a thick salt section (Fig 1c) or from the flank of a salt dome (Fig 1b). If a zone of pressure reversion and stress reversion exists below the salt, sudden lost circulation can take place. If there is trapped overpressure, high po can be encountered. In many locations a rubble zone with salt-occluded porosity (hence low k) exists, and a good strategy in these cases is to place a strong casing with the shoe below the base of the continuous salt beds, reducing all types of well control risks. The salt blocking the pores helps in keeping troubles at bay while completing the well. If the sediments below the salt are not salt blocked and stresses or pressures are abnormal, great care must be exercised in locating the subsalt shoe just at the exit point, or somewhat above it (though this point is hard to determine in practice). In such

cases, loading mud with LCM just before exiting the salt is a strategy to maintain hole control [11]. In the case of salt domes, exiting through the flank means exiting into a shear zone where the country rock may be fractured, sheared, and so on. Also, the thickness of the sediments that may be salt cemented is often less than in the case of bedded salt, giving less room for error.

critical aspects of borehole processes such as creep, heat flux, temperature sensitivity, and so on. Recommendations for drilling salt follow: 1. Carry out a careful estimate of T and v before drilling so that underbalance level and hole closure rates can be quickly calculated. Because of viscous behavior, assume that stresses in salt are isotropic and = v. 2. In drilling into thick salt bodies (thick tongues, beds or domes), place the salt casing shoe as deeply into the top part of the salt bed as possible to avoid an extra casing string. This is particularly important offshore. 3. Drill long salt sections with a PDC bit as rapidly as possible, as time is of the essence in drilling through creeping materials. Vibration management devices may help when non-salt intervals and xenoliths in the salt strata are drilled. 4. Carry out an assessment of the creep closure rate likely to be encountered in the worst conditions. Because of uncertainty, a range of 4-5%/d closure rate seems appropriate as a maximum rate criterion. 5. In all cases, drilling mud density can be adjusted to reduce closure rates, but limits exist because of potential fracture problems at the shoe in salt. However, the consequences of such fracture are less serious than in porous strata. 6. Drill with a fluid density sufficient to keep creep closure below 4-5%/d in the most rapidly creeping section, which will usually be at the base of the hole where the salt is hottest and the underbalance (v pb) is the greatest. 7. Either OBM or WBM may be used; in both cases the aqueous phase is best kept saturated. It seems of little use to design undersaturated WBM to counteract closure, and additive use to affect salt dissolution rates is of little value. 8. If other non-NaCl halides will be encountered in drilling and these minerals have a higher creep potential than salt, installing back reamers at the top of the BHA is advised in case of rapid borehole closure leading to BHA sticking. 9. In rapid drilling of long salt sections, the use of an under-reamer and stabilizer above a steerable rotary bit assembly can help achieve high rates

6.7. Cementing Through Salt Salt will dewater cement through osmotic suction, generating an annular zone of free water even though the cement achieved full displacement. This is not a serious issue in pure salt because continued closure will eventually expel the brine, giving uniform loading, but in the case of sedimentary rocks (matrix-supported) with salt in the pores, a gap between cement and the rock can be generated.
A good solution to potential salt problems is to use denser cement. A carefully graded quartz filler material with a wide grain size range is used, with D50 ranging from 20 m (silt) to 500 m (coarsegrained sand). Type-G cement content is reduced, and a superplasticizer agent is added to sustain pumpability. This allows placement of cement that is far less prone to shrinkage than conventional cement, and far stronger as well, so that when it sets, it tends to generate a stronger overall structure. Casing problems in salt are usually associated with differential or irregular displacements at interfaces between salt and an insoluble rock, or with a washed out zone [12]. Creep of salt means that point loads can be generated, and this is the most dangerous condition for casing impairment. To cope with this, it is possible to design a casing string so that a special schedule casing is used across the zone of concern, so that point loads can be more easily accommodated without a buckling of the casing. Also, the more uniform the cement sheath and the stronger it is, the more likely the wellbore will withstand a point load arising from differential closure. The same cannot be said for a generalized shear displacement if such a displacement is being load activated by large-scale and distant loads [10]. 7. CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS Drilling salt can be accomplished safely by applying knowledge of stresses and material behavior through simple models that capture the

without excessive deviation. This requires MWD technology and trajectory corrections. 10. Collection of closure data with acoustic calipers on trips will help in the calibration of creep models, which in turn will help guide subsequent holes in the same salt section. 11. Because salt creep rate is T-sensitive, closure rate can be reduced through cooling the drilling fluid. Cooling can be used just before casing setting so that the hole may be left for 10-15 hours without excessive closure. 12. In drilling through a thick salts to exit at depth, set casing a few metres after exiting salt so that the shoe is in matrix-supported sediments where permeability may be blocked by salt, minimizing hydraulic facturing or blowouts risk. 13. Casing distress in salt sequences is related to poor hole profiles or interfaces between salt and other rocks, leading to point loads on the casing because of closure. There is merit in using high density cements (minimum of cement powder, graded inert filler of sand and silica flour). Also, a strong cement sheath and steel casing helps counteract creep tendencies; expandable liners and casings may have few applications in salt. 8. SYMBOLOGY A, a E MW n pb R ROP Q T t empirical or measured coefficients Youngs modulus (i.e. stiffness) drilling fluid unit weight (mud weight) exponent on stress in a creep law borehole pressure, generally mud pressure Universal Gas Constant Rate Of Penetration (in drilling - m/hr) activation energy for a specific process temperature (C or K) time, z depth bulk density, : mean bulk density strain rate (steady state with subscript ss)

viscosity (e.g. of a rheological element) thermal conductivity stress (subscripts 1,2,3 for major, intermediate and minor stresses) a normalizing stress value

1 - 3 plastic stress (deviatoric stress) o v, hmin, HMAX, principal earth stresses

REFERENCES
[1] Dusseault, M.B., V. Maury, F. Sanfilippo and F.-J. Santarelli. 2004. Drilling around and under salt: Stresses and uncertainties. Proc. North Am. Rock Mech. Symp, GulfRocks 2004, these proceedings. [2] Fredrich, J. T. and A.F. Fossum. 2000. Large-scale threedimensional modeling of reservoirs: Examples from California and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Oil & Gas Science and Technology Rev. IFP, 57 (5), 423-441. [3] Rothenburg, L. Dusseault, M.B. & Mraz, D.Z. 1999. Steady-state creep of salt in mines follows a power-law exponent of 3.0, based on a reanalysis of published data and mine simulation. Mecasalt 99, Bucharest, Romania. [4] Frayne, M.A. and Mraz, D.Z. 1991. Calibration of a numerical model for different potash ores. Proc. 7th Int Congress on Rock Mechanics (Aachen), Balkema, Rotterdam,471-475 [5] Rothenburg, L. 1999. Personal communication and unpublished analyses, Univ. of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON [6] Dusseault, M.B., Mraz, D., Unrau, J. & Fordham, C.J. 1985. Test procedures for salt rock. 26th US Symp on Rock Mech. (ed: E. Ashworth), Balkema Rotterdam, 313319. [7] Bogobowicz, A., Rothenburg, L. & Dusseault, M.B. 1991. Solutions for non-newtonian flow into elliptical openings, Jour. of Applied Mechanics, ASME, V. 58, No. 3. [8] Preece, D.S. and Goin, K.L. 1986. Experimental and theoretical studies of salt creep closure of the SPR Big Hill site, Wells 106 110. Sandia Natl Laboratories, Geotechnical Div Rept SAND86-0191 [9] Maury V. and Guenot A. 1995. Practical advantages of mud cooling systems for drilling. SPE Drilling and Completion March, pp 42-48 SPE #25732. [10] Dusseault, M.B., Bruno, M.S. & Barrera, J., 2001. Casing shear: causes, cases, cures. SPE Drilling & Completion Journal Vol.16 Num. 2, 98-107. [11] Whitfill, D., Rachal, G., Lawson, J. and Armagost, K. 2002. Drilling salt effect of drilling fluid on penetration rate and hole size. SPE/IADC Drlg. Conf., Dallas, #74546 [12] Willson, S.M., Fossum, A.F. and Fredrich, J.T. 2003. Assessment of salt loading on well casings. SPE J. of Drlg. and Completions, March, pp 13-21.

FADC Fluid-Assisted Diffusional Creep

&

&s &T material constants for strain rate