Managed Pressure Drilling

More Productive Drilling™

Application Answers:
Dual-Gradient Drilling
Well Design to Energize Assets

Challenge
In deep-well and deepwater drilling, conventional fluids and casing programs result in numerous
fluid density changes to navigate pore-pressure and fracture-gradient windows and multiple
casing strings, which ultimately restrict well depth achievable in the desired hole size.
In depleted producing zones, mud and cuttings invasion impairs achievable well productivity.

Constraints
Reservoir hydrocarbon returns to surface are not desirable and may even be prohibited. Drilling
flat time to adjust mud density must be minimized. Varying pore-pressure and fracture-gradient
regimes that manifest kicks and losses in the same openhole section must be managed. Pore-
pressure prediction is uncertain, and well productivity must be maximized.

Dual gradient-variant managed pressure drilling

(MPD) enables total well depth in the right hole
size in deep-well and deepwater drilling.

Answer
In dual-gradient MPD, the wellbore is drilled with two different annulus fluid gradients in place.
How this is accomplished depends on the operating environment. Techniques to achieve a dual
gradient include injecting a lower-density fluid through a parasite casing string in a land well or
through the marine riser when operating subsea, or actively pumping fluid returns from the
seafloor through lines external to a seawater-filled riser. In all cases the objective is to allow
adjustment of the bottomhole pressure (BHP) to within a predetermined range without changing
the base weight of the drilling mud.

Weatherford International Ltd.

515 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 600
Houston, Texas 77027 USA
Tel: 713-693-4000
www.weatherford.com
© 2005 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
 Managed Pressure Drilling

Dual Gradient-Variant MPD

Single-gradient drilling
Depth

Dual-gradient drilling

Conventional single-gradient
drilling results in formation
fracture and losses. Dual-
gradient drilling enables
successful navigation through
pore-pressure and fracture-
gradient windows.

pp Fp
Pressure

Pressure-versus-depth illustration of dual-gradient MPD. The intentional instigation of

dual pressure gradients in the wellbore mitigates hazards caused by rapid pressure
increases or radically reduces applied BHP.

Features, Advantages and Benefits

! Dual-gradient drilling presents the opportunity to adjust equivalent mud weight or effective
BHP by as much as 0.5 ppg equivalent or more without having to incur flat time to perform a
mud-density change.
! In effect, from a hydraulic perspective, dual-gradient deepwater drilling effectively moves the
rig closer to the mud line. The component of hydrostatic head imparted on the wellbore by the
mud and cuttings contained in the marine riser is more manageable.
! Dual-gradient techniques are most often associated with the challenges of drilling in deep
water from floating rigs; however, these techniques are applicable in other operating
environments, specifically when drilling deep wells in shallow water or on land.
! Dual-gradient MPD can be applied in concert with other MPD techniques. Pressurized mud-
cap drilling (PMCD) and constant bottomhole pressure (CBHP) are the MPD variants most
likely to be applicable.

Weatherford International Ltd.

515 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 600
Houston, Texas 77027 USA
Tel: 713-693-4000
www.weatherford.com
© 2005 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
 Managed Pressure Drilling

Operational Outline
! Performing a dual-gradient operation for the first time may appear a daunting prospect. There
are a number of ways to achieve a dual gradient. Some are relatively simple and require
minimal rig modifications, additional equipment or procedural change. The method adopted
depends, to a large extent, on the degree of BHP reduction required to address a specific
drilling hazard, coupled with variables such as well depth, water depth and wellbore
architecture.
! Weatherford will provide advice and guidance—in the form of expert operations drilling
engineering support—to assist you in well planning and programming as well as rig-site
execution. We also can assist with hydraulic flow modeling during the planning phase of a
dual-gradient hole section.
! Dual-gradient system components and rig-ups will vary, depending on application specifics,
rig type and operating environment. When dual-gradient MPD is applied, the components are
rigged up and tested before drilling of the expected hazard zone commences. Once the
components are rigged up, the switch to dual-gradient mode can be made quickly should an
unexpected drilling hazard arise.
! On land wells and jackup or platform rigs with a surface blowout preventer (BOP), dual-
gradient MPD is most often accomplished by injecting, through a parasite string, an inert gas
or light liquid to some predetermined depth in the casing.
! On a deepwater rig with a subsea or surface BOP, the rig's existing booster pump line may be
used as a conduit to gasify returns and reduce hydrostatic head resulting from the mud and
cuttings in the riser.
! Optional dual-gradient system enhancements may include: wireline-retrievable drillstring
floats, which remove the need to trip to service floats; a downhole deployment valve (DDV) to
accelerate and increase the safety of tripping operations; and pressure while drilling (PWD)
and DataPro™ software to enhance downhole- and surface-pressure management.
! When applied to its maximum potential in deepwater operations, dual-gradient MPD removes,
from the mud line to the rig, all hydrostatic head induced by mud and cuttings. This operation
requires significant additional equipment and changes from routine drilling practices. For
instance:
- Weatherford's internal-riser rotating control device (RCD), which is latched into a housing
spool of the riser, serves as an annulus barrier. Mud and cuttings are diverted to the riser
chokeline or to a dedicated additional returns line and back to the rig. A parasite string
injects nitrogen to gas-lift returns in this line.
- Riserless or zero-discharge dual-gradient MPD uses Weatherford's Virtual Riser® subsea
RCD to apply backpressure on the wellbore and/or divert annulus returns to a subsea pump
or other means of assisted lift. Mud and cuttings are returned to the rig through a flexible
flowline. Precise wellbore pressure management, to combine dual-gradient with other MPD
variants, is accomplished by varying the rig's mud pump rate, degree of applied
backpressure and rate of assisted lift.

Weatherford International Ltd.

515 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 600
Houston, Texas 77027 USA
Tel: 713-693-4000
www.weatherford.com
© 2005 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
 Managed Pressure Drilling

! Much of the potential of dual-gradient MPD can be delivered with relatively minor rig-system
modifications. For example, limited dual-gradient MPD can be practiced using a nitrogen
production unit, an RCD and a semi-submersible rig's existing booster pump line.

MPD Defined

Managed pressure drilling is an advanced form of primary well control that uses a closed and
pressurizable fluid system to more precisely control wellbore pressure.
The benefit MPD produces is drilling what may otherwise be economically undrillable prospects
so that total recoverable assets can be increased at an economically viable cost. The adoption
of MPD techniques is usually “drillability” driven when there is a need to mitigate drilling hazards
and maximize drilling AFE cost certainty. The intent in applying MPD is to optimize the drilling
process by decreasing nonproductive time (NPT) and mitigating drilling hazards. The primary
distinction between MPD and the other related techniques of performance drilling and
underbalanced reservoir drilling practiced by Weatherford is that influx of hydrocarbon-bearing
formation fluids is not invited during the MPD drilling process.
Reactive MPD. The technique is effectively on “standby” as an enhanced form of passive well
control to help manage unexpected downhole pressures.
Proactive MPD. The technique is used to its maximum effectiveness to mitigate a wide range
of drilling hazards. Proactive MPD radically reduces drilling NPT by enabling fundamental
changes to fluid, casing and openhole programs.
The four primary variants of proactive MPD enable deeper openhole sections; reduce the
number of casing strings, NPT and mud-density changes needed to reach total depth
objectives; and enhance well control.

Ask Weatherford to help you assess your MPD opportunity and tailor an MPD variant to suit your
specific drilling hazard mitigation needs.

SM
Simply Productive

Weatherford International Ltd.
515 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 600
Houston, Texas 77027 USA
Tel: 713-693-4000
www.weatherford.com
Weatherford products and services are subject to the Company’s standard terms and conditions, available
on request or at www.weatherford.com. For more information contact an authorized Weatherford
representative. Unless noted otherwise, trademarks and service marks herein are the property of
Weatherford. Specifications are subject to change without notice.
© 2005 Weatherford. All rights reserved. doc. 1460.00