20 Chap.

2 / Contouring and Contouring Techniques

As an exercise in contouring methods, use vellum to contour the data points in Fig.
2-16 using all four methods and, compare the results. Which method results in the most
optimistic picture? the most pessimistic?
Special guidelines are used in contouring fault, structure, and isopach maps. Ad-
ditional guidelines for these maps are discussed in the appropriate chapters .
 CHAPTER 3

DIRECTIONALLY
DRILLED WELLS
ANO DIRECTIONAL
SURVEYS

INTRODUCTION
A directionally drilled or deviated well is defined as a well drilled at an angle less than
90 deg to the horizontal (Fig. 3-1). Wells are normally deviated intentionally in response
to a predetermined plan ; however, straight boles often deviate from the vertical due to
bit rotation and natural deviation tendencies of subsurface formations.
The technique of controlled directional drilling began in the late 1920s on the US
Pacific coast (LeRoy and LeRoy 1977). Through the use of controlled directional drilling,
a wellbore is deviated along a preplanned course to intersect a subsurface target horizon(s)
at a specific location (Fig. 3-2). Our primary interest in directionally drilled wells centers
around their application to subsurface mapping.

APPLICATION OF DIRECTIONALLY DRILLED WELLS

There are a number of reasons to drill a directional well. Sorne of the more common
applications are shown in Fig. 3-3. The most common application is the drilling of offshore
wells from a single platform location [Fig. 3-3a]. The use of a single platform from which
multiple wells are drilled improves economics and simplifies production facilities.
- Onshore, wells are commonly deviated due to inaccessibility to the surface location
directly over the subsurface target. Buildings, towns, cities, rivers, and mountains are the
kinds of surface obstructions that require the drilling of a deviated well.
One very important safety application of a deviated well is the drilling of a relief

21
22 Chap. 3 / Directionally Drilled Wells and Directional Surveys

well to kill a well that has blown out [Fig. 3-3(f)]. There are other applications of deviated
wells, but they are beyond the scope of this textbook and are not discussed.

COMMON TYPES OF DIRECTIONALLY DRILLED WELLS

There are many complex factors that go into the design of a directionally drilled well;
however, most deviated wells fall into one of two types. The most common type is a
simple ramp well [Fig. 3-l(a)], sometimes called an "L" shaped hole. These wells are
drilled vertically to a predetermined depth and then deviated to a certain angle which is
usually held constant to total depth (TD) of the well. Many wells are drilled with an "S"
shaped design. With an "S" shaped hole, the well begins as a vertical hole and then
builds to a predetermined angle, maintains this angle to a designated depth and then the
angle is lowered again, often going back to vertical [Fig. 3-l(b)].

General Terminology

The terms used to describe various aspects of a directionally drilled well are defined here
and illustrated in Fig. 3-1.

SIMPLE RAMP WELL

o·-- SURfACE
-

1000' KOP • 1000' MO, 1000' TVD

2000'

ANGLE MAOE 202' TVO, 2$00'MO

3000'

4000'

TO 5000' TVO
5000' 5465' MO
HORIZONTAL
015TANCE 316' (a)
KICIC
 Figure 3-1
Diagrammatic
cross section
illustra- tion (a)
a simple ramp
or "L" shaped
well, and (b) a
more
complicated "S"
shaped well.
(Published by
permission of
Tenneco Oil
Company.)
Common Types of Directionally Orillad Wells 23

"s• SHAPE WELL

O' SUUACE

1000' KOP • 1000' MO, 1000' TVO

DROP RATE

5000'
1-VUllCAl POIN 1 5208' tvo, SSOO' MO
1
1
6000' 38b' 1 1 ---10 6000' I VD 6292'MO

KICK @ I
OROPPOI NT
. .-----.li
886 '
K ICK @
I

1399'
(b)
Figure 3·1 (contlnued )

rHORIZONTAL PLAN

Figure 3·2 Block dlagram showing the vertical and horizontal plan vlews of a di·
rectlonally drilled well to a predeterminad subsurface target. (Published by permission
of Eastman Christensen.)
24 Chap. 3 I Directionally Drilled Wells and Directional Surveys

(a} (b} (e) (d} (e) (f} (g} (h, i, j}

Figure 3 3 Applications of directional drilling. (a) Multiple we!!s offshore ·or from
artificial islands. (b) Shoreline drilling. (c) Fault control. (d) lnaccessible location. (e)
Stratigraphic trap..(f) Relief well control. (g) Straightening hole and side tracking.(h.
i, j) Saltdome drilling. (From LeRoy and LeRoy 1977. Published by permission of the
Colorado School of Mines.)

KOP Kick-off Point = Depth of initial deviation frorn vertical measured as

=
measured depth (MD), true. vertical depth (TVD), or subsea true ver-
tical depth (SSTVD). .
Build Rate = Build Angle = Rate at which the angle changes during deviation. It
is usually expressed in degrees per 100 ft drilled. Example: 2 deg
per 100 ft.
Rarnp Angle = Hold Angle, Drift Angle, Angle of Deviation = Angle frorn the vertical
that a well rnaintains frorn the end of the build through the ramp segment
of the well.
BHL = Bottorn Hole Location = Horizontal and vertical coordinates to the
total depth point usually rneasured frorn the surface location.
Drop Rate = Rate at which the ramp angle changes in degrees per 100 ft. Measured
in "S" shaped holes.
Vertical Point = The depth where the well is back to vertical rneasured as MD, TVD,
or SSTVD.

DIRECTIONAL WELL PLAN

A variety of data go into the design of a directionally drilled well, including the depth
and distance frorn the surface location to each subsurface target, diarneter of the target,
kick-off point , build rate, platforrn location, lease lines, hole size, and total depth of the
well. Once preliminary studies indicate the need for a deviated well, most companies rely
on a directional drilling service company to prepare the final directional plan.
A directional well design consists of both vertical and horizontal plans. Figure 3-4
shows the horizontal and vertical plans for the Diarnond Shamrock Well No. 1 in West
Cameron Block 75 offshore Gulf of Mexico. Reviewing Fig. 3-4a, we see that the kick-
off point for this well is about 950 ft measured depth (MD), and the build rate averages
about 2 deg per 100 ft to a maxirnurn deviation angle of 45º30' at a rneasured depth of
4800 ft. Figure 3-4b shows the horizontal plan for the well . The plane of the proposed
direction is south 46 deg 25 rnin west frorn the surface location with the bottorn hole
location (BHL) 10,872 ft frorn the surface Jocation . The well is drilled to a measured
depth of 19,484 ft, which is equal to a true vertical depth of 15,695 ft.
Oirectional Well Plan 25

PLANE OF PROPOSAL PLANE OF PROPOSAL

S 46º 25' W s 46º 25' w
0°0' EAST OºO ' EAST
GRID GR I D

VERTI CAL SECTI ON HORI ZONTAL PLAN

SCALE: 1 " = 4000' SCALE: 1" = 2000'
8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 o \ 000
, 1 , 1 1 t 1 1 1 S/L 1
100 - 100· >A) 100• MO
-900' ..,
- 1749 ' vo -1000

4000 - -2000

-3000

8000 - -4000

-5000

-6000

-7000

15695 - '===='=::n;::·::==== ue..

s 46º w
08

25'
1«>
B.H.L.
10873' S-47º 12 ' 07" W -8000
S-7386.19' . W-7976.55'
1 T.V .O. -15695'

o 4000 8000 12000 M.O . -19484 '

(a) (b)

Figure 3.4 (a) Vertical section plan for a directional well. (b) Horizontal plan for the
same directional well shown in Fig. 3-4a. (Published by permission of Gardes Direc-
tional Drilling.)

Figure 3-5 illustrates the vertical plan for a well that has a maximum deviation angle
of 94 deg and a maximum build angle of 14 deg per 100 ft. The wellbore starts out vertical,
and at a depth of 1659 ft (TVD) it is horizontal. Such wells are not commonly drilled ;
however, with technique and equipment advances, high angle wells (60 deg-80 deg) are
becoming more common. A well such as the one shown in Fig. 3-5 is referred to as a
horizontal wellbore . Lateral (horizontal) drilling is used for various purposes, including
(1) to parallel low permeability sand beds to maximize production; (2) to restrict unwanted
water flow; and (3) to optimize drilling in coal seam methane operations.
Commonly, deviated wells are drilled with a build rate of 2 deg per 100 ft of hole
drilled. Figure 3-6 shows the scaled chart for a 2 deg per 100 ft build rate. Such charts
are used to make a quick estímate of well design after structure maps have been made
on target horizons. For example, from the chart, a target horizon located at a TVD of
10,000 ft and a horizontal distance of 4000 ft from the platform location requires the
drilling of a well with a deviation angle of approximately 23 deg to a measu red depth of
10,800 ft. Such charts are available from directional service companies ranging in build
rate from 1 deg to 5 deg per 100 ft.
26 Chap. 3 / Directionally Drilled Wells and Directional Surveys

111211/88

OllLON KEIRS NELL NO 1

PINE l8LANO FIELO

-
•º 30'EAST
TRUE

lf!
AAOU
.,._ICl>OH.U.
.UL.WO

VERTICAL PLAN
SCALE l'•!SOO .o ·
o

40
eoo
.o
e
Q

...

!•: 1000

"
L
>
•
...
L

11100

1
2000 'ºº º 1
2060 2ebo
1 00
vert ical S1 c t >on

Figure 3 5 Vertical plan for a nearly horizontal wefl with a maximum deviation angle
of 94 deg. (Published by permission of Gardes Directlonal Drilling.)

DIRECTIONAL TOOLS USED FOR MEASUREMENTS

The tools that are used to survey directionally drilled wells fall into two categories: magnetic
and nonmagnetic.

Magnetlc Surveys

Magnetic is a generic term used to describe severa] surv.eying methods which use a
magnetic compass for dirction and therefore must be run inside a special nonmagnetic
drill collar to negate the effects of the drill pipe. An example of such a survey is the
"single shot" magnetic survey. This device records on a heat-resistant film disc the
magnetic direction and inclination angle of the wellbore at specific depth intervals. A
"multi-shot" survey uses a film strip to record severa] readings of hole angle and direction
at different depth intervals.

Nonmagnetic Surveys

A nonmagnetic survey, sornetimes referrcd to as a drift indicator or Totco, is usually run

in vertical or nearJ y vertical wells where directionaJ information is not required . This tool
generally consists of a housing or barre!. a motion indicator. a timer, a punch , and a
 "\ ...
100 FT OF HOLE DRILLED
Ü' ::.."" :

1 1500.00
1600.00
200.00 199.84 6.98 1700.00 489.11 oo •
300.00 1800.00
1 27.88 1763.74
43.52 2000.00
595.62 2100.00 1916.92
693.06 85.10 2200.00 1990.05
2300.00
1 885.27 2400.00 947.87 48·oo •
1000.00 2500.00
1100.00 2600.00 2257.48
. • 1200.00
1300.00
1165.21 247.67 2700.00
2800.00
2317 .66 1180.91
2375.02 1262.82
' 1344.94 335.33 2900.00 2•29.48 13'6.68 oo •
3000.00

7,000

1 !'\.
l 1

"' ,
10,000
1
+-l\. <+--+·.."..¡

1 1
11 \ " • 1\ 1\ "\
1\ 1 1 ' ,)

\ \ \

f
"'
11
11 1\ 1

4º 16" 20°
1,000' 2,000' 3,000' 4,ooo: 5,000' 6,000' 7,000' 8,000' 9,000' 10,000' 11,000'
O'

H ORIZO NT AL DEV IATION

Figure 3-6 Scaled chart for a build rate of 2 deg per 100 ft of hole drilled.
(Published by permission of Eastman Christensen.)

27
28 Chap. 3 ! Directionally Drilled Wells and Directional Surveys

Figure 3·7 Example of a Totco survey. Well deviation angla 4.5 deg.

printed paper disc. The unit is either run on a wire line or dropped on a drill bit. When
the motion sensor determines that the tool is no longer moving, the timer is activated ,
and after a predetermined Jength of time the punch is released. The punch, which is
allowed to swing freely and act as a plumb bob, drops vertically and punches a hole in
the paper disc, which is marked in degrees. Figure 3-7 shows a Totco disc scaled to a
maximum of 8 deg. The hole punched in the Totco indicates that the well in which it was
taken was at an inclination angle of 4.5 deg.
One of the newer surveys is called a Gyroscopic Survey. Because the magnetic
compass is replaced by a gyro compass disc, the system can be run in both cased and
noncased holes. The gyro system can be set up as a single or multi-shot instrument.

DIRECTIONAL SURVEY CALCULATIONS

There are a number of methods which have been developed to calculate the directional
survey for a deviated well. These methods include (1) tangentia1, (2) trapezoidal, (3)
average angJe, (4) mínimum curvature . and (5) radius of curvature. These methods are
used to calculate the three-dimensional location of a directional wellbore anywhere along
its entire length.
Three measurements go into the directional survey : (1) measured depth, (2) deviation
angle, and (3) direction of deviation . These measurements taken at specific depth intervals
are used to calculate the directional survey of a well. Figure 3-8 shows a portion of the
Directional Survey Calculations 29

DIRECTIONAL SURVEY

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8! (9)

TRUE TOTA L OOG
LEG
S<.J eSEA MEAS. VERTICAL ORIFT DRIFT VERTICAL R E C TA N G U L A R C L O SU R E S SEVERIT
::lEPTH DEPTH DEPTH ANGLE DlREC SECTlON C O O R O 1 N A T E S OISTANCE OIRECT DEG/lOOFl
r ET FEET FEET o M o M FEET FEET FEET FEET D M
5299.88 5700 S330°88 31 30 N 37 O E 1490.00 1390.73 N S38.16 E 1491 .22 N 21 9 E 1.04
5385.14 S800 S416.14 31 30 N 32 O E IS4J .27 1433.77 N S67.75 E 1542.09 N 21 36 E 2.61
5470.52 S900 SSOI .52 31 15 N 25 O E 1s93.10 1479.SO N 592.S7 E 1593.76 N 21 SO E 3.6S
5556°01 6000 SS87.0I 31 15 N 20 O E 1644.9S 1S27.41 N 612.42 E 1645.61 N 21 51 E 2.S9
5ó41.95 6100 5672.95 30 15 N 14 O E 1695.73 1576.28 N 627.36 E 1696-54 N 21 42 E 3,23
S/28.23 6200 S7S9.23 30 30 N 10 O E 174S.28 162S.73 N 637.87 E 1746.39 N 21 25 E 2.04
S8!4.SO 6300 584S.SO 30 15 N 8 O E 1 794.24 1675.67 N 645.78 E 179S.81 N 21 5 E 1.04
5000.88 6400 S931 .88 30 15 N 8 O E 1842.79 1725.S6 N 652.79 E 1844.91 N 20 43 E o.oc
1.2s
5987.59 6SOO 60l8.S9 29 30 N 10 O E 1891.02 1 774.76 N 660.59 E 1893.71 N 20 25 E
6075.26 6600 6106.26 28 o N 12 O E 1937.98 1821.97 N 669.76 E 1941.17 N 20 1 1 E ¡,78
ói 4.16 6700 6195.16 26 30 N 12 O E 1982.85 1866.75 N 679.28 E 1986,50 N 19 60 E 1 .50
6 54. 3 6800 628S.23 2S o N 1 3 O E 2025.so 1909.17 N 688.68 E 2029.S8 N !9 50 E J.56
6:34 .86 6900 637S.86 2S o N 16 O E 2067.24 1950.08 N 699.26 E 2071 .66 N 19 44 E 1.27
o:?S.40 7000 6466.40 2S IS N 18 O E 2109.,3 1990.68 N 71 1 .68 E 21 1 4.07 N 19 40 E o.89
6 5.75 7100 6556.75 25 30 N 20 O E 21s .:s 2031 .20 N 725.63 E 2156.92 N !9 40 E o.89
6616.10 7200 6647.1 o 2S 15 N 20 O E 2194.92 2071 .47 N 740.29 E 2199.77 N 19 40 E 0.25
6706.73 7300 6737.73 24 45 N 20 O E 2237.l l 21 J l.18 N 754.74 E 2242.03 N 19 40 E o.so
6797.82 7400 6828.82 24 o N 20 O E 2278.30 2149.96 N 768.86 E 2283.30 N19 41 E o.75
6889.17 7500 6920.17 24 o N 20 o E 2318.90 2188.18 N 782.77 E 2323.98 N 19 41 E o.oo
6980.53 7600 701 J .53 24 o N 20 O E 2359.50 2226.40 N 796.68 E 2364.65 N 19 41 E o.oo

Radl us oí Curvat ure Cal cul at ion

Figure 3·8 Part of the directional su rvey for a deviated well.(Published by permission
of Gardes Directional Drilling.)

directional survey from a deviated well. The tabular printout for this directional survey
has nine separate columns of data for each survey point in the well.

Co/umn Data
1 Subsea depth of wellbore in feet
2 Measured depth of wellbore in feet
3 True vertical depth of wellbore in feet
4 Angle of wellbore deviation
5 Direction of wellbore (true bearing)
6 Distance in feet from the surface location along the pro·
posad directional path
7 True bearing and distance of each survey point from the
surface location in rectangular coordinates
8 True bearing and distance from surtace location directly to
each survey point
9 Maximum change in hole angle in degrees per 100 ft .

lf the cased or surface section of the hole was surveyed with a nonmagnetic survey
such as a Totco, the angle of the cased portion of the hole will be displayed on the survey
along with an estímate of the maximum possible deviation of this portion of the hole, as
shown in Fig. 3-9. The 146.75 ft highlighted on the survey indicate that if the wellbore
drift in the cased portiÓn of the hole was all in the same direction, the well at a depth
of 3513 ft could be up to a maximum of 146.75 ft from the surface location. Notice at
the end of the survey that it indicates that the bottom of the hole lies within a circle of