Department of Petroleum Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad – 826004

VI Semester B.Tech Petroleum Engineering 2023-24
Lecture 9 / 2023-24
(For internal circulation only)
SLIM HOLE TECHNOLOGY

BY
Prof. A.K.Pathak
Department of Petroleum Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad
E-mail: akhilendra56@iitism.ac.in

INTRODUCTION:
Slim hole is a drilling, evaluation and completion technology which allows fully engineered 6 ¼” and
smaller holes at target depth. The well drilled using this technology is called a slim line well, which is a
well with a cost effective design around an optimal production. All logging tools smaller than 4 ¾” or
minimum 2 7/8” size can be used while using this technology.
Each slim hole is drilled with a small, truck-mounted rotary drill rig or coring rig similar to those used for
water well drilling. The rigs are equipped with diesel engines, storage tanks, mud pumps, and other
typical auxiliary equipment. During drilling, the top of the drill rig derrick is 30 to 40 feet above the ground
surface. Drilling is typically conducted 24 X 7days.
The drilling program involves a sequence of drilling or “coring” a hole to a selected depth, cementing a
steel casing of smaller diameter into the drilled hole, then repeating the process with progressively
smaller holes and cemented casings. This is done at progressively greater depths until the design depth
(or the depth selected by the project geologist) is reached. The initial casing is approximately 8-5/8
inches in diameter.
The hole is drilled or “cored” using special, non-toxic drilling mud composed of a bentonite clay-water or
polymer-water mix. The drilling mud helps to circulate the rock cuttings to the surface where they are
removed by the surface equipment. The drilling mud or other drilling fluids would then be re-circulated.
Compressed air may be used to reduce the weight of the drilling mud in the hole and assist in carrying the
cuttings to the surface in some circumstances. The air, drilling mud, cuttings, and any reservoir fluids
brought to the surface are then diverted through a separator/muffler to separate and discharge the air and
water vapor to the air and the drilling mud and cuttings to a plastic-lined reserve pit.
Once drilled to the final depth, the drilling mud in the hole is circulated out using water. Steel tubing,
typically 2-3/8 inches in diameter and perforated at the bottom, is hung in the hole. The water in the hole
is “bailed” by either lifting with a mechanical bailer (basically a small diameter bucket) or by lifting the
water out with air pumped into the hole so that a sample of the geothermal fluid in the reservoir can be
obtained for chemical analysis.
Slim Hole Monitoring: Following completion of drilling and bailing, all drilling equipment is removed from
the site. The surface facilities remaining on the site consist only of several valves on top of the surface
casing, covered by a locked steel canister approximately three feet in diameter and up to six feet high
which provides protection for the valves
The drilling of each small observation hole is expected to take 25 days, while larger exploration wells
generally take 35 days. Once drilling begins, it is possible that difficulties encountered during drilling may
extend the time needed to complete the drilling. Work is typically performed at the drilling site 24-hours
per day, 7-days per week.
By the use of Slim Hole technology, operators can reduce well costs 40 to 70%, plus reduce
environmental costs and concerns. Tools and equipment exist and operations can be performed safely.
Experience indicates that slim holes do not usually restrict production. Slim holes were used as early as
1960 in the U.S. Over 1,300 wells were drilled in the 1,000 to 3,000 ft range in Kansas, Texas and

1
 Department of Petroleum Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad – 826004
VI Semester B.Tech Petroleum Engineering 2023-24
Canada using slim-hole 2 ½- to 2 7/8-in casing and 1-in EUE hollow sucker rod tubing. Operators realized
a 40 to 50% reduction in tubular costs and 17% cost savings overall.
There are several documented examples from later slim-hole drilling programs. Conoco used slim-hole
drilling in Indonesia in the 1983 to 1986 time frame, realizing cost reductions of 65 to 73%. In the early
1990s, Oryx realized 50% cost savings in an eight-well, slim-hole re-entry program. In Thailand, Unocal
used slim-holes in its Gulf of Thailand operations in 1999, realizing over 40% savings. Productivity of
Unocal's slim-hole wells has exceeded that experienced with conventional wells. Pemex realized 30%
cost savings in a late 1990s slim-hole drilling program. But success is not guaranteed. In a three-well
slim-hole drilling program in Wyoming's Powder River basin, Domain Energy successfully completed slim-
hole wells, but twist-off due to stabilizer torque problems eliminated any cost savings.
There have been sufficient slim-hole drilling programs to establish the following. Areas that are not
concerns include logging, perforating, tubing buckling and sticking, wellhead design, and BHA design.
Concerns, which experience indicates can be solved, still include:
1. Casing program, 2. Drill string torsional strength, 3. Fishing and milling,
4. Lost circulation, 5. Bit design and reliability 6. Down hole motors,
7. Cementing, 8. Stimulation 9. Workovers.
Slim hole drilling decreases drilling waste volumes and requires smaller operational footprints. DOE cites
the example of a slim hole drilled to 14,760 ft ending with a 4 1/8-in. hole. The volume of cuttings
produced in such a well is one third less than that of a standard well at the same depth. Since equipment
used for slim hole drilling can be smaller than conventional rigs, the area cleared for a location can be as
small as 9,000 sq ft, including mud pits. That’s about one-fourth the size of a conventional location.
Slimhole drilling costs are typically only a fraction of large-diameter rotary drilled wells (Finger, 1998;
Goranson, 1998). The relative portability of the small rigs used to drill slim holes should prove
economically advantageous in remote locations. Furthermore, the environmental impact and land-use
requirements of the minerals style slim hole drilling operations are much less than for conventional rotary
drilling. To-date, wire line-cored and rotary drilled slim holes have been used primarily for geothermal
exploration and reservoir assessment in many parts of the world.

Types of slimhole drilling

1. Shallow rotary 2. Continuous coring 3. Downsized conventional 4. Combination
5. Small horizontal side tracks 6. Coiled tubing drilling

Slim hole: Need and Applications

Advances in slim hole technology promise to open new opportunities for marginal field development while
addressing important subjects like cost reduction and environmental protection. Some of the major
applications of slim hole technology finds in the fields like-
1. Exploration in immature areas 2. Exploration in mature areas
3. Production applications 4. High temperature and pressure wells
5. Safety and environmental 6. Economics

Advanced technology makes drilling operations steadily more efficient in recovering oil and gas
resources, cleaner, and safer. Environmental benefits: reduced waste and smaller footprints. And
because the joint connection operations of a conventional drill string are not required, noise levels are
reduced as well. Of course, like any technology that permits drilling highly deviated wells, slimhole drilling
can be used to avoid environmentally sensitive areas by using directional drilling techniques. Saving
weight and space is a never-ending challenge for designers and operators of all types of rigs. The latest
advance in this quest is lighter modular rigs that make use of lighter, stronger materials. They can be
especially useful in remote locations.

2
 Department of Petroleum Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad – 826004
VI Semester B.Tech Petroleum Engineering 2023-24
Both Saudi Armco and Total Indonesia found benefits in electing 4 in. drill pipe with streamlined double
shoulder connections for the drilling of wells, for which the 3 ½ in. drill pipe was unsuitable. Although
dealing with different environments and applications, these benefits can be summarized in “successfully
drilling longer slim holes with a drill string having enhanced torsional, tensile and hydraulic Characteristics
at a lower overall cost”.
:

Comparison between the conventional and slim hole technology

The above figure depicts the difference in completion technology for a conventional and a typical 3 ½”
monobore (slim line well). The additional tools required for the slim hole completion are PBR tieback and
liner hanger, retrievable straddle and retrievable or permanent bridge plug and standard thrusters ( to
reduce the variations in hook load).
The sequence of placement (surface to TD) of
Equipments: standard flow control equipment side pocket mandrels liner hanger with tubing tieback
straddlebridge plug.
Tubular: drill pipe drill collarsthrusters mud motors bit.
The following figure shows the impact on environment
.
An exploratory boring or "slim hole" technique that uses a down hole test tool provides hydrological data
in significantly less time and cost than the conventional pilot well alternative. The conventional method of
drilling a large-diameter pilot well can prove expensive when poor water quality or inadequate production
rates force drillers to abandon a drilling site. The cost difference between the two methods is substantial:
US$30,000 for a 1,200-ft exploratory borehole analysis compared to US$ 150,000 for the pilot hole
analysis at the same depth. Rather than a 17.5-inch diameter hole, the exploratory borehole, using
standard mud-rotary drilling techniques (no air line), measures approximately 6.5 inches in diameter. This
offers significant cost and time savings and provides accurate logging results.

Advantages of slim hole drilling over conventional technique:

1. A 3 ½” monobore can produce 4000 bopd or 50 million metric standard cubic feet per day
2. Downsizing the completion from 7” to 3 ½” can reduce the well cost by 15- 40 %.
3. Hole diameters can be reduced by 50 %
4. Mud consumption and cuttings can be reduced by 75%
5. Site area can be reduced by 75 %
6. Lower day rate and material cost 7.Lower mobilization and demobilization cost
8. Less waste disposal 9. Lower locations preparations cost

3
 Department of Petroleum Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad – 826004
VI Semester B.Tech Petroleum Engineering 2023-24
10. Smaller crew required for operation and maintenance
11. Reduced tonnage, location, construction work
12. Reduced driving hazards 13. Anti-vibrational technology
14. Easier well kick detection 15. Good quality logs.

Features of slim hole technology:

 Production rate vs. tubing size  well productivity vs. diameter

Slim hole rigs:

Because of their portability, low cost, and limited environmental impact, it is desirable to use diamond-bit
coring (or small hybrid) rigs for drilling boreholes. If a slim hole, drilled by a minerals style diamond-bit
coring or a small hybrid rig, could be used instead, substantial savings in drilling costs and hence a lower
electricity price would be realized. With proper casing design, the discharge capacity of slim holes can be
increased by as much as 200%.
Slim-Hole Logging Tools:
Logging tools with diameters in the 3.62- to 5-in range are considered slim hole, while smaller tools are
considered ultra slim hole. In addition to expected tools (gamma ray, porosity logs, caliper, etc.), Baker
Atlas offers special slim-hole tools, including acoustic borehole imaging logs, reservoir performance
monitor (RPM), and measurement while drilling (MWD) and logging while drilling (LWD) tools. The
acoustic borehole-imaging tool, which provides 360-degree coverage and is useful for identifying
fractures, can be used in oil-based muds. Baker's RPM tool is a multi-detector pulsed neutron instrument
that can operate in multiple modes, including: (1) carbon/oxygen, (2) pulsed neutron decay, (3) holdup
imaging, (4) activation water flow, and (5) radioisotope monitoring. In different ways, these modes assist
in defining reservoir conditions that control reservoir performance. Slim-hole LWD tools include multiple
propagation resistivity, density/neutron, and Navi185 directional/gamma ray. Slim-hole multiple
propagation resistivity tools, which measure eight resistivities with separate depths of investigation, are
quite useful for geosteering, as they can provide real-time data enabling horizontal wells to stay "in zone."
Operators are encouraged to contact logging service companies about the latest advances applicable to
their situation.

The conventional technology limits oil recovery to 40 % of the total oil originally in place for existing
reservoirs on a world wide basis. Next 20 % will be bypassed and further 20 % will be residual oil
saturation.But with the application of slim hole technology recovery of half of the remaining 20% oil can
increase recoverable reserves by 50%.

4
 Department of Petroleum Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad – 826004
VI Semester B.Tech Petroleum Engineering 2023-24

Problems encountered in slim hole technology and there solutions:

Some of the problems that can occur while using slim hole technology are as follows:-
1. Problems during cementing- Due to the small space between the drill string and the well bore
cementing problems are very common.
2. Smaller clearances and hole problems- Shear thinning fluids (formats) and use of thruster in place of
drill collar are advisable.
3. Drill string failures- The vibrations have a more detrimental effect on the smaller sized tubulars used
thus resulting in drillstrings failures. This problem can be minimized by the use of vibration mitigation, high
torque drill string and use of thruster.
4. Reduced bit life and poor penetration rate can be taken care of by using PDC bits and anti-whirl bits
5. Other problems related to fishing, well control, and well evaluation may also be encountered which can
be solved by using proper fishing tools, accurate flow in and flow out measurements and slim hole logging
and testing tools respectively.
Case history 1:-Exploration ( BP- West Africa):
Highlights:
This project was undertaken by BP during its
exploratory work in West Africa. Initially the
exploratory wells were drilled using the
conventional technique. Introduction of the new
technology in this field gave better results. The
overall operating cost was reduced
considerably. Moreover less of waste material
was generated during drilling, smaller number
of crew members was required and there was
very less environmental impacts.

Negative Learning:
Poor hydraulics Unable to get desired mud weight
Hole erosion due to higher annular velocity Limited choice of bits
Requirement of non-standard tools The 3 ½” logging tool was unsuitable for 4 ¼” hole

Case history 2: Exploration (Madagascar)

5
 Department of Petroleum Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad – 826004
VI Semester B.Tech Petroleum Engineering 2023-24
Highlights:
There was a significant decline in the cost of the
wells drilled by the application of the slim hole
drilling technique as is depicted by the adjacent
figure.
Apart from the usual benefits observed, this
particular project also showed that if proper
precautions are taken then excellent well logs and
early kick detection and control can be obtained
even while using slim hole technology. However
some of the drawbacks that came into picture were
too high bit TFA and poor bit selection, requirement
of assorted rig packages and special mud pumps
for cementing.

Case history 3: Production ( Germany )

Highlights: In this project at Germany, a comparison was studied between three wells of different well
bore sizes. It was found that for same target depth of 5000 m , well cost decreased from 100% to 60%
and cuttings volume decreased from 100% to 30% when the completion was reduced from 7” to 3 ½”
Slim Hole.

Field experience retrofit slim hole drilling.

Slim hole technology has been found effective and reliable. More and more operators and service
companies are embracing this new technology due to its added advantages. Slim hole technology is
supported by its application in new areas like coiled tubing drilling and dedicated slim hole rigs. In coiled
tubing drilling this new technology is finding applications in “ ultra short radius jetting “, “under balanced
drilling “, and “coiled tubing completions”. The idea can be started with a retrofit system before committing
to a dedicated rig.
In nutshell it can be said that “slim hole” is an emerging technology in petroleum sector. Application of this
technology with good planning and integration of slim hole campaign can lead the petroleum sector to a
bright future. The results can always be found to be better information for less cost, reduced findings,
increased reserves, better safety and safe drilling.

6
 Department of Petroleum Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad – 826004
VI Semester B.Tech Petroleum Engineering 2023-24
Short Answer Questions
1. What is a Slim Hole?
2. What are the basic differences between a slim well and a conventional size well?
3. What are basic factors to be considered for planning a Slim hole?
4. What are different types of Slim Hole Drilling?
5. What are applications of Slime Hole Technology?
6. Compare the casing program of a conventional well and a Slim Hole well?
7. Compare site utilization wise between a conventional well and a Slime hole well?
8. Compare the production rate wise a conventional well to a Slime hole well?
9. What are advantages of Slim Hole well and conventional well?