OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LIMITED

INSTITUTE OF DRILLING TECHNOLOGY

KAULAGARH ROAD, DEHRADUN
FAX 0135 758926.


File No. IDT.DRDTG / OVL / 2012-13 / 1 Dated 13.06.2013

From: - ED,HOI-IDT

To: - GM(D)-Head Drilling, ONGC Videsh ltd

Subject: Feasibility of carrying out Radial drilling at imperial energy

This is in reference to the letter dated 22.05.13 from GM(D), OVL
regarding carrying out of 'Radial Drilling' at Imperial Energy Projects in
Russia to enhance production, on trial basis. It has been desired to have
the opinion of IDT on trying out this technology in the above mentioned
fields.
Regarding the use of this technology, a presentation was made by Indian
representative of M/s Radial Drilling Services on 27.05.2013 at IDT. After
going through the presentation and examining the data available on the net
regarding claims made by various vendors of this technology like Buckman
jet drilling, Jet drilling WS, eSteams, Jereh ESC, ZRL, it is opined that Jet
drilling/radial drilling is being effectively used to capture the benefits of
horizontal drilling in smaller-scale reservoirs. It has been proven to
enhance production rates, reduce decline rates, reduce near wellbore
damage and recover more resources from mature wells, Also this
technology can be used for deep acidization, Directional water injection to
reduce injecting pressure and enhance impact, CO2 injection in place
of SAGD in thick oil reservoir etc..
It involves drilling 1 to 2 lateral hole extending upto 300ft in length.
However some company like JET drill refutes such claim and give realistic
average length of lateral as 60 to 160ft only.The number of such radial
holes is normally 3-4 from a particular depth after cutting holes in the
casing using the same set of equipments.


The stability and straightness depend on formation characteristic like
homogeneity and in situ stresses level. Currently no technology is
commercially available to map or track the progress and placement of the
Radials being drilled. A lateral can turn left -right or up -down after drilling a

loose/soft lump of formation.Also when a natural fracture is encountered ,
further drilling is not possible. Other constraint or limitations are:

Existing Perforations:No comments from any vendor as to what effect
they will have on success of casing milling



Casing size. Currently available radial drilling equipment can operate in
production casing sizes of 5 in.
OD or greater. The equipment can also operate in 4-in. or greater in-gauge
open hole.

Casing grade. The tungsten carbide bits used to mill casing exits are limited to
casing grades of N-80Sand abrasion cutting limit not known
(Russian grade D) or less.
Casing wall thickness. The maximum casing wall thickness that the
available casing cutters can mill is
10 mm (0.4 in.).
Casing cementation. In order to successfully initiate a casing exit, radial
drilling equipment requires a good cement bond between the casing and the
formation. A poor casing bond generally results in difficulty or failure in jetting
operations. The competence of the cement bond is generally assessed by
cement bond logging.
Wellbore inclination. Since the radial drilling system discussed here relies
upon gravity to seat the radial
drilling assembly in the deflector shoe, the well inclination should not exceed
60 from vertical.
Wellbore depth. Currently available systems are designed to operate at a
maximum depth of 3,000 m-3500m..
Porosity Min 3-4%
Wellbore rathole. A rathole of at least 10 m (33 ft) is required to allow the
jetted debris to settle beneath
the deflector shoe.
Bottomhole conditions. Operating temperatures at reservoir depth
shouldnt exceed 120C (250F).Bottomhole pressure should not exceed
6,500 psi.

As such, the limitations associated with radial drilling technology are mainly
no control over direction, managing production in case of undesirable
zone entry, no possibility of intervention etc.

Oprerational sequences can be generally summarized as


WORK OVER RIG RJD UNIT & Accessories
1 Kill Well
2 Remove X-Mas & Install BOP
3 POOH Prd String, Packer
4 Clean hole, Scraper and bit trip
5 RIH Deflector tool on tubing
6












3

t
o

5

d
a
y
s

RIH gyro tool on wire line,
engage with DeflectorUBHO
7 Ascertain Direction, rotate tubing
to orient D-tool in desired
direction

8 POOH Gyro ???
9 RIH casing cutter, Cut hole in
csg, pull cutter inside D/tool and
rotate to next hole direction?? Or
again gyro run required
10 POOH cutter . RIH jetting tool
Jet dn laterals.POOH. CT, and
tubibg with D/tool. R/DN CT unit
etc.
11 RIH tubing w/completion assembly
Remove BOP, install X-mas,Set
Packer etc

12 Swabbing the well required to fully
activate flow through radials

13 WELL CONTROL: TUBING
CASING ANNULUS- RIG
RESPOSIBILTY-contingency plan
if Lubricator on CT fails
Ct TUBING , Responsibility
RJD




It is beyond the purview of IDT to comment on enhancement of production
through such radially drilled laterals as it invoolves complex reservoir
mechanics and production technology alternatives and overall economics.
However, most of the vendors have claimed substantial gain in production
through implementation of this technology in mature fields. As per
literature survey, it appears that this technology is best suited for mature
and depleted fields and most effective when vertical permeability is much
higher than horizontal one.

It is understood that Radial drilling is going to be implemented in India in 4
wells of Gujarat of M/s SELAN in August/September 2013 and is expected
to be completed in appox 1 month time. Therefore it is suggested that
results of same can be compared with G & G data of imperial wells of
before taking a decision regarding implementation of radial Drilling in
Russia.






















Applications of Radial Drilling
Technology Radtech

Reverse declining production rates.
Improve and extend drainage area in
productive formations.
Reach beyond the damaged area of the Well
Bore.
Improve the drainage.
Produce heterogenous formations.
Improve water injection.
Improve vertical cleaning.
Reduce water coning.






























Regards,



( K Krishna Pratap))
ED-HOI-IDT

Well Selection Criteria
Required technical information for a proper well selection:
Electric logs CBL VDL CCL GR
Rock mechanics
DST and RFT results if available
Well spacing
Depth of interest ( producing formation)
Thickness of the producing formation
Mechanical integrity of casing
W/O and O/G contacts
Historical production data of oil, gas and water
Previous optimization data (if any)
Porosity and permeability data of the producing formation
Hole deviation/inclination
Type and weight of drilling fluid used
BHT/BHP