IADC/SPE-178788-MS

Fully Mechanical Vertical Drilling System Delivers RSS Performance in

Vertical Drilling Applications While Providing an Economical Alternative to
Conventional Rotary Steerable Systems Set-Up for Vertical Hold Mode
Steve Jones, Chad Feddema, and Juan Castro, Scout Downhole Inc.; Junichi Sugiura

Copyright 2016, IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition

This paper was prepared for presentation at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition held in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 13 March 2016.
This paper was selected for presentation by an IADC/SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s).
Contents of the paper have not been reviewed by the International Association of Drilling Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to
correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the International Association of Drilling Contractors or the Society of Petroleum
Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the International Association
of Drilling Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineersis prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words;
illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of IADC/SPE copyright.

Abstract
Deviation control in a vertical well (or the vertical portion of a directional well) can be challenging,
especially when pushing the limits for maximum penetration rate. Over the years rotary steerable systems
(RSS) have been adapted to fit the vertical drilling market. These electro-mechanical directional control
systems are set-up to seek low-side but they come at a relatively high cost of RSS.
This paper describes a purpose-built 100% mechanical vertical drilling system. The vertical drilling
system has been developed to drill vertical wells economically with the accuracy and borehole quality of
a rotary steerable system. The intelligent mechanical control system has been instrumented to analyze
response in different drilling environments throughout North America land. Compact measurement
sensors embedded into key components of the tool record system behavior and response.
Through case studies, the effectiveness of the mechanical control system to eliminate deviation on
vertical wells will be demonstrated. Onboard memory data from the sensors will be used to examine the
stability of the system and prove that simple mechanical control is an efficient and effective method for
vertical drilling.

Introduction
An attempt to drill vertical wells using downhole closed-loop drilling tools started in the early 1990s
(Oppelt et al. 1991). In 1993, Chur and Oppelt called their tool an automatic Vertical Drilling System
(VDS) in their paper SPE 25759-MS. In this paper, this particular fully mechanical closed-loop vertical
drilling tool is referred to as a VDS (using a non-commercial, generic name). Maintaining a wellpath
vertical can often prove to be more challenging than a directional well. Bottom-hole assembly (BHA)
response in vertical applications is quite different to a directional well especially when high Weight on Bit
(WOB) is used to achieve maximum rate of penetration (ROP).
The specific VDS has been developed over the past 10 years (and eight versions) to provide a
cost-effective alternative to RSS. RSS used for vertical control are typically the same tools used for
directional control, but they are set up to steer on lowside gravity toolface and 100% steer force

IADC/SPE-178788-MS

(Akinniranye et al. 2007; Chamat and Israel 2012). The particular VDS discussed in this paper is designed
specifically for vertical well control or bringing a well with angle back to vertical.
The VDS is available for 6 to 17 borehole sizes. VDS is typically run with an inclination-only or
measurement-while- drilling (MWD) survey device. A straight mud motor can be used to drive the VDS
to provide better drilling performance in certain applications. Since 2012, Version 08 of the VDS has
drilled 4,279,589ft and 82,288 drilling and circulating hours in all types of drilling environments across
North America.
To better understand the downhole performance of the mechanical VDS, the system has been
instrumented with sensors to provide recorded data of the control housing and pendulum response. The
sensors also provide recorded shock and vibration measurements to allow for post-well drilling dynamics
analysis. The recorded data provides an invaluable insight into the mechanical system response downhole
and enables intelligent decisions to be made for BHA and bit design changes.

Vertical Drilling System (VDS)

The Vertical Drilling System (VDS) was designed to maintain a vertical wellbore or to bring a wellbore
with angle back to vertical. The unique mechanical design with no electronics or batteries allows it to
operate in a wide range of environments, even at extreme temperatures where electronic tools cannot
operate.
The fully mechanical vertical-drilling tool provides autonomous vertical control without the use of
high-cost, vibration- sensitive electronics. The tool works in a push-the-bit configuration with four
mud-operated pads located close to the bit, which continuously push the borehole wall to seek verticality.
High-temperature downhole sensors and electronics were instrumented in the tool to examine the
effectiveness of the vertical-drilling mechanism.
Fig. 1 shows the layout of the purely mechanical VDS. The tool has a large diameter mandrel with a
substantially non-rotating housing. The non-rotating housing contains three distinct components for the
mechanical control system.
1. Steering pads - apply steer force to formation and provide an anti-rotation mechanism.
2. Mud control valve - direct the mud to apply steer force to the pads.
3. Pendulum - positions the mud control valve based on inclination in wellbore.
The pads have been designed in a configuration that allow the maximum diameter of mandrel to be
used. The unique design with two opposing pads on different axial plains gives the maximum achievable
space to optimize the mandrel diameter. Weight on bit (WOB) and torque are transferred through the
mandrel. The large-diameter mandrel on each tool size allows for maximum WOB during vertical drilling
applications, limiting shaft deflection and ultimately extending the life of this component.
The force applied to the pads is controlled by differential pressure. The system operates effectively with
500psi of differential pressure. The differential pressure between drill string and annulus is achieved by
appropriate sizing of the bit nozzles or use of a restrictor sub.
A small percentage of mud flow is diverted to the mud valve during operation. This mud flow is used
to activate the steering pads (based on the position of the mechanical pendulum mounted mud valve) and
also lubricate the thrust and radial bearings that support the substantially non-rotating housing on the
mandrel.
Mud solids are controlled by grinding and filtering inside the tool. This ensures no mud solids (or
debris) can enter into the mud valve or bearing sections of the tool. This eliminates the possibility of solids
interrupting the performance of the tool.
When the tool is not vertical, the pendulum, which stays vertical, opens up one or two ports on the mud
valve which causes a resultant low-side steering force (from the steering pads) to bring the well back to
vertical. More details are shown in the next section.

IADC/SPE-178788-MS

Figure 1Mechanical Vertical Drilling System (VDS)

The pure mechanical design of the VDS makes the system cost effective, reliable and quick to turn
around at service. The VDS is perfectly suited to the high-volume, lower-cost land market. Also, due to
the simplicity to service with limited service equipment, the VDS is well suited to remote operations with
limited service infrastructure.

Purely Mechanical Control System

When the tool is at zero degrees, no bias force is applied with the steering pads. When the tool is above
0.03 deg. (as the pendulum remains vertical inside the non-rotating section of tool), the tool starts opening
up one or two ports on the mud valve which causes a resultant low-side steering force (from the steering
pads) to bring the well back to vertical.
Fig. 2 shows the non-linear controller (mechanical control system) used in the VDS. For simplicity,
only the absolute value of the steering force response (|SteeringForce|) from the tool is illustrated. |e(t)|

IADC/SPE-178788-MS

is the absolute value of the inclination error (or simply tool inclination) at a given time t. As can be seen,
there is a dead zone very close to the vertical position (less than 0.03 deg.), where the pads apply no bias
force. At very low inclinations less than 0.03 deg., a small gripping (no biasing) force is exerted against
a borehole. A full pad-bias force is applied when the tool is above 0.06 deg.

Figure 2Non-linear controller used in the fully mechanical VDS

Instrumentation to Evaluate Mechanical Operation

To understand the operation of the VDS in various environments, the tool has been instrumented with
various measurement devices that record data to memory for post-well performance evaluation. Three
measurement devices have been used to gather downhole data from the tool as described below:
1. Drilling dynamics recorder located in the substantially non-rotating housing.
2. Drilling dynamics recorder located in the mandrel connection.
3. Toolface and offset recorder located in the pendulum.
The measurement instruments have been embedded into the tool in such a way that they do not change
the length or mechanical integrity of the tool. Fig. 3 shows the position of the sensors located in the tool.

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Figure 3Location of measurement recorder devices

The embedded sensor recording devices have provided valuable data to understand the operation of the
mechanical VDS. Embedded sensors recorded the measurements detailed in Table 1.

Table 1Location of measurement recorder devices

Device

Measu rements

Dynamics Recorder in Mandrel

Dynamics Recorder in Housing
Pendulum Recorder

3-Axis Shock and Vibration RPM Stick-Slip Temperature

3-Axis Shock and Vibration Housing Roll Speed RPM Temperature
Pendulum Toolface Pendulum Offset

Fig. 4 shows the completely assembled VDS being lifted up to vertical position in the workshop for
verification of measurements.

IADC/SPE-178788-MS

Figure 4 VDS getting lifted to vertical position for sensor verification

Downhole Data Acquisition

The downhole recorder device has been designed to be durable over long runs. The compact device with
self-contained 3-axis inclinometers (16G), 3-axis shock sensors (200G) and two temperature sensors
are housed in a pressure housing and installed in the tool under a hatch cover. This unique design allows
the sensors to be embedded into existing tools without increasing tool length or compromising mechanical
integrity.
For installation under a hatch cover, the sensor package is housed within a -in diameter and 3.8-in
long pressure barrel (up to 15,000 psi) shown in Fig. 5.

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Figure 5Sensor pressure housing embedded in the rotating and non-rotating sections of tool

The heart of the mechanical control system used to maintain verticality is the pendulum. The pendulum
is located in the nonrotating section of the tool. The pendulum is weighted with tungsten weights. The
mud valve is located at the bottom of the pendulum and the position of the pendulum dictates what pad
is energized to provide steer force for maintaining verticality.
In order to evaluate the pendulum operation, a set of sensors and electronics were designed to fit into
the existing pendulum. Four magnetic-field sensors were embedded into the pendulum and four magnets
were installed in the outer housing. The system was calibrated to give accurate measurements of pendulum
position (toolface and offset from center). The data was recorded to memory for post-well analysis of
performance. Fig. 6 shows the instrumented pendulum.

Figure 6 Instrumented pendulum

Vertical Drilling Results

The VDS has drilled vertical wells across North America land in borehole sizes from 6 to 17 . One
of the largest markets for the system has been in West Texas drilling surface or top-hole sections. The
system is frequently used from spudder rigs drilling from surface and has proved to be very effective on
these small low-powered rigs.
The 9 5/8 VDS has drilled the most footage to date, with 858 runs covering 2,887,226ft and 52,307
drilling and circulating hours. From these runs, 94% maintained the average inclination between 0 and

IADC/SPE-178788-MS

1.25 degrees, 4% maintained the average inclination between 1.6 and 2.5 degrees, and 2% maintained the
average inclination above 2.6 degrees.
A few case histories are presented to show the effectiveness of the VDS.

Case History #1
The 9 5/8 VDS was used to drill the 12 vertical section in Grimes Co, TX. The objective was to drill
out shoe track and shoe, then drill from 4,504 ft to 9,850 ft maintaining the well vertical and within target.
The VDS was driven with an 8 7/8 4.0 PDM. The well was drilled with oil based mud (OBM) utilizing
a 616 PDC bit.
A compact dynamics recorder (Fig. 5) was installed under the hatch cover at the top of the substantially
non-rotating housing (Fig. 3). At the beginning of the run, the VDS quickly dropped the inclination as
shown in Fig. 7.

Figure 7MWD static inclination vs. VDS continuous inclination

At the beginning of the run where the tool inclination was dropped from 3 deg. to 1 deg., a moderate
housing rotation speed was confirmed from downhole data as shown in Fig. 8. The housing was slowly
rotating in the clockwise direction approximately at 7.5 revolutions per hour. During this period, both
lateral and axial vibration was approximately 0.1 Grms. The inclination, housing toolface, and housing
rotation speed data were retrieved from the downhole recorder device shown in the above section.

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Figure 8 Housing toolface (TF) and the housing rotation speed at the beginning of the run

Fig. 9 below shows the data acquired from the instrumented pendulum. The upper plot displays
slowly-rotating steering housing Pad 1 toolface and pendulum offset distance. The lower plot shows
pendulum position in inches measured at four sensors placed 90 degrees apart. Pad 1 (on the housing) is
physically aligned with Sensor 1 (on the pendulum).

Figure 9 Housing Pad 1 toolface (deg.), pendulum offset (in.) and pendulum position (in.)

It can be seen that as the steering housing rotates slowly, the pendulum position remains on the
low-side of the hole. When Pad 1 is high-side, pendulum position Sensor 1 is at maximum. When Pad 1
is low-side, pendulum position Sensor 1 is at minimum.
The VDS and PDM assembly performed well over the entire section, maintaining the well vertical and
within target while drilling at very high ROP. The assembly drilled 5,346ft in 27.5 drilling hours with an

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average ROP of 194 ft/hr. The bit graded 1/1 and the assembly was in good condition. Fig. 10 shows the
VDS at surface and the bit condition.

Figure 10 VDS on surface and bit condition

Case History #2
The 9 5/8 VDS was used to drill the 12 vertical section in Loving Co, TX. The objective was to drill
out shoe track and shoe, then drill from 957 ft to 4,590 ft maintaining the well vertical and within target.
The VDS was driven with an 8 7/8 4.0 PDM. The well was drilled with brine utilizing a 616 PDC
(Polycrystalline Diamond Compact) bit.
Two dynamics recorders were embedded in the VDS. One was placed in the upper mandrel (rotating
section) of the VDS (Fig. 3), and another was installed under the hatch cover at the top of the substantially
non-rotating housing (Fig. 3). Fig. 11 shows the shaft rotation speed from the mandrel sensor. Fig 12
shows the housing rotation speed from the substantially non-rotating housing sensor.

Figure 11Shaft rotation speed

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Figure 12Surface recorded ROP, housing toolface (TF) and the housing rotation speed

As can be seen, various housing rotation speeds were observed. At fast drilling conditions, the housing
rotation speed was about 1.33 revolutions per hour (rev/hr) and at slower drilling speed, the housing
rotation speed varied from 2-4 revolutions per hour. The inclinations in this drilling interval were between
0.5 and 1.5 degrees, based on MWD static surveys.
Figs. 13 and 14 show the comparison of the axial vibration from two different parts of the VDS (the
rotating shaft in Fig 13 and the substantially non-rotating housing in Fig. 14). It is noticed that axial
vibration at the rotating shaft was twice as much as that of the substantially non-rotating housing. It is
thought that the substantially non-rotating housing dampens vibrations and helps stabilize the pendulums
movement allowing precise control of the mud valve.

Figure 13Axial vibration from the rotating shaft

Figure 14 Axial vibration from the substantially non-rotating housing

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The VDS and PDM assembly performed well over the entire section, maintaining the well vertical and
within target while drilling at very high ROP. The assembly drilled 3,633ft in 31.9 drilling hours with an
average ROP of 114 ft/hr. The VDS dropped inclination from 1.3 degrees to below 1.0 degrees,
maintaining the inclination below 0.8 degrees over the course of the section. The inclination surveys are
shown in Table 2.
Table 2Survey depth and inclination
Survey Depth (ft)
942
1197
1468
1942
2053
2334
2429
2619
2905
3095
3380
3855

Inc ()
1.30
1.20
0.70
0.10
0.20
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.10
0.20
0.80
0.40

The bit graded 1/1 and the assembly was in good condition. Fig. 15 shows the bit condition post-run.

Figure 15Bit condition post-run

Conclusions
The VDS has proven itself to be a cost-effective alternative for drilling vertical wells with high WOB and
high ROP. The mechanical design of the tool with no electronics in the control system makes it well suited
for the lower-cost high-volume land market.
The tool has been effective in maintaining wells vertical and dropping wells back to vertical. It has
performed as well as higher- cost rotary-steerable systems that are set up for vertical drilling applications.

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Since there are no electronics in the tool the cost of servicing and maintaining the tool is significantly
lower than that of more complex RSS.
The instrumented sensors have given a valuable insight into the response of the mechanical control
system. The embedded sensors continue to be used in different drilling environments in North America
land to provide continuous improvement and help reach the technical limit for maximum drilling
efficiency.
With more pad wells requiring the capability to nudge for well separation, the VDS is already
undergoing upgrades to provide nudge capability.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Turbo Drill Industries and Scout Downhole Inc. for their willingness to
publish the data obtained with the mechanical VDS and downhole dynamics sensors. We are grateful to
the management of Turbo Drill Industries and Scout Downhole Inc. for permitting the publication of this
work.

References
Akinniranye, G., Kruse, W.D., Bautista Gomez, A. et alet al. 2007. Rotary Steerable System Technology Case Studies in
a High-Volume, Low- Cost Environment. Paper SPE 105468-MS presented at the SPE Middle East Oil and Gas Show
and Conference, Kingdom of Bahrain, 11-14 March.
Chamat, E. and Israel, R. 2012. Efficient and Reliable Vertical Drilling of Top Holes with RSS in Deepwater GOM. Paper
SPE 151395-MS presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition, San Diego, California, USA, 6-8
March.
Chur, C. and Oppelt, J. 1993. Vertical Drilling Technology: A Milestone in Directional Drilling. Paper SPE 25759-MS
presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 22-25 February.
Oppelt, J., Chur, C., Feld, D., and Juergens, R. 1991. New Concepts for Vertical Drilling of Boreholes. Paper SPE
21905-MS presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 11 -14 March.