Drilling Engineering and Well Completion

:Lecturer
Dr. Ali Piroozian
Contact Number: 09198486907
E-mail: alipiroozian@yahoo.com
: Main Reference
.Bourgoyne, A.T., Applied Drilling Engineering, SPE, Richardson, Texas,1986

:Other References

(1) American Petroleum Institute, Recommended Practice for Standard Procedure for Testing
Drilling Fluids (API RP 13B), Dallas, Texas.
(2) The University of Texas at Austin, Lesson in Rotary Drilling, Petroleum Extension Services,
Texas.
(3) Adams, N.J., Well Control Problems and Solution, PennWell Publishing Company, Tulsa, 1980.
(4) Perrin, D., 1999. Well Completion and Servicing, Editions Technip, France.
(5) Allen, T.O. & Roberts, A.P., 1993. Production Operation:Well Completion, Workover and
Stimulation, Vol. 1, Oil and Gas Consultants International Inc., Tulsa.
(6) Nelson E.B. (ed.), 1990. Well Cementing. Elsevier, New York.
(7) Cementing Technology, Dowell Schlumberger.
Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU
 Assessment

The breakdown for grading is as follows:

• Test 10%
• Midterm 15%
• Final Exam 75%
Total 100%

:Extra marks
Up to 20% will be added to the class monitor
will be added to those who answer the final exam in English 10%

Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU

 Fundamentals of Drilling

. Drilling means to make a hole in order to get access to the earth’s subsurface

:Objectives may be
•Gaining information about the subsurface from
sampling/testing/logging
• Production/injection of fluids
(oil, water, gas)
• Monitoring of subsurface properties
(aquifer pressure, stress state, etc.)

Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU

 Fields of Drilling Applications

Exploration/production of natural resources

oil and gas
Geothermal energy, produced from the natural heat of the
water Earth itself, is a renewable source of energy with multiple
geothermal energy .applications, from heat pumps to power production

Site Investigation
 Scientific
Site Investigation is the process of collecting information,
 Foundation/Construction assessment of the data and reporting potential hazards
 Environmental .beneath a site which are unknown

Mining exploration

Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU

 Drilling in Petroleum Industry

The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major
sectors: upstream (or exploration and production-E&P), midstream and
.downstream

Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU

 Drilling Engineering

Drilling engineering is a subset of petroleum engineering. Essentially, a drilling

engineer is in charge of drilling the well to produce oil or gas. Drilling Engineers
also develop, plan, cost and supervise operations necessary for drilling oil and gas
wells. They are involved from the initial stages of designing the well, through to
.testing, completion and eventually, abandonment

:Drilling engineers are typically involved in

1.Conducting a geological survey
2.Designing a wellbore plan
3.Providing a layout of the type of equipment required to reach the depth of
the well.
4.Estimating the value and accessibility cost of the reserve
5.Acquiring necessary property by lease
Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU
 Contd.

Drilling Engineers work in office and field environments including well sites,
which can be on land, offshore or on mobile drilling units. They are employed
either by the operating oil company, specialist drilling contractors or a service
.company

:Types of Drilling Engineers

Completions Engineer
Workover Engineer
Well Abandonment Engineer
Deepwater Drilling Engineer

Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU

 Types of Wells
1) Exploratory/Wildcat Well: to discover petroleum reservoir.
A well drilled either in search of a new and as yet undiscovered accumulation of oil and gas, or in an attempt
to significantly extend the limits of a known reservoir.
2) Discovery well: Exploratory well that discovers a new gas or oil field.
If the well does discover a new field, it is called the discovery well for that field.
3) Appraisal/delineation well:
After the discovery the size of the filed must be determined. Filed size is determined by appraisal or
delineation well that are drilled to the sides of the discovery well.
4) Production wells:
They are drilled primarily for producing oil and gas, once the producing structure and characteristics are
determined.
5) Development Well: exploit a known reservoir.
A well drilled in or adjacent to a proven part of a pool to optimize petroleum production.
6) Infill well: Any well that is drilled on a closer-than-normal well spacing pattern or requirement. Also any
well drilled between existing wells producing from the reservoir.
Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU
 Types of Wells
1) Exploratory/Wildcat Well: to discover petroleum reservoir.
A well drilled either in search of a new and as yet undiscovered accumulation of oil and gas, or in an attempt
to significantly extend the limits of a known reservoir.
2) Discovery well: Exploratory well that discovers a new gas or oil field.
If the well does discover a new field, it is called the discovery well for that field.
3) Appraisal/delineation well:
After the discovery the size of the filed must be determined. Filed size is determined by appraisal or
delineation well that are drilled to the sides of the discovery
.Geological group: well.
recommends wildcat wells’ location
4) Production wells: Reservoir Engg. group: recommends development
They are drilled primarily for producing oil and gas, once the producing structure and characteristics are
determined. wells’ number and locations
Drilling group: design and cost estimate
5) Development Well: exploit a known reservoir.
A well drilled in or adjacent to a proven part of a pool to optimize petroleum production.
6) Infill well: Any well that is drilled on a closer-than-normal well spacing pattern or requirement. Also any
well drilled between existing wells producing from the reservoir.
Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU
Drilling Techniques-Classification
by Hole making Methods

Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU

 Principles of drilling technique - Cable Tool
Drilling
Cable tool, or percussion drilling, is the method of drilling when a tool is simply
raised and dropped on the end of a cable or rope.
Very old drilling technique (applied more that 4000 years
ago by Chinese)
2 Phase technique (discontinuous)
Phase 1: Rock Drilling
Free falling bit strikes the bottom with a heavy blow –
Repeated lifting and dropping makes the bit drill

Phase 2: Removal of Cuttings

Water in the hole keeps the cuttings in suspension for
removal at regular intervals by bailing. Interruption
of drilling to remove the cuttings by bailing
Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU
 Principles of drilling technique - Cable Tool
Drilling
Cable tool, or percussion drilling, is the method of drilling when a tool is simply
raised and dropped on the end of a cable or rope.
Very old drilling technique (applied more that 4000 years
ago by Chinese)
2 Phase technique (discontinuous)
 Suitable only for hard rock
Phase 1: Rock Drilling
 Total efficiency of drilling
Free falling bit strikes the bottom with a heavy blow –
Repeated lifting andprocess is fairly
dropping makeslow
the bit drill

Phase 2: Removal of Cuttings

Water in the hole keeps the cuttings in suspension for
removal at regular intervals by bailing. Interruption
of drilling to remove the cuttings by bailing
Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU
 Principles of drilling technique - Cable Tool
Drilling (contd.)
Cable tool bailer:

Bailers: Bailers are used to clear cuttings from the hole.

Bailers are run on a separate “bailing line”
when the drill string in out of the hole.
The bailer is attached to an eye in
the end of the line.
Selection of the most suitable type of bailer
will depend on how well the cuttings are
mixined. The dart valve bailer will only
pick up well-mixed cuttings.

Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU

 Principles of drilling technique –
Rotary Drilling
Rotary drilling rigs are used for almost all drilling done today.

The drill string is rotated by means of a rotary table to

turn the bit; it is fed down as the penetration
Bit is pushed into the bottom and rotation makes it cut
Drilling Fluid is circulated by being pumped down the
drill string
Return circulation carries cuttings up the annulus
between the drill string and the wall of the hole

Key Elements:
 Drill Bit
 Drill String
 Drilling Fluid

Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU

 Principles of drilling technique –
Rotary Drilling
Rotary drilling rigs are used for almost all drilling done today.

The drill string is rotated by means of a rotary table to

turn the bit; it is fed down as the penetration
Bit is pushed into the bottom and rotation makes it cut
Drilling Fluid is circulated by being pumped down the
drill string
Return circulation carries cuttings up the annulus
between the drill string and the wall of the hole

Key Elements:
 Drill Bit
 Drill String
 Drilling Fluid

Dr. Ali Piroozian, SRBIAU