IADC/SPE 59260
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Underbalanced Drilling in High-Loss Formation Achieved Great Success – A Field
Case Study
Shiying Luo, Southwest Petroleum Institute, Ruyu Hong, Yuzhou University, Yingfeng Meng, Liehui Zhang, Yun Li
Southwest Petroleum Institute, Changqing Qin, Liaohe Oilfield, China.
Copyright 2000, IADC/SPE Drilling Conference.
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2000 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in
New Orleans, Louisiana, 23-25 February 2000.
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
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Abstract
This paper describes the execution of Well Xian-2 using
underbalanced drilling technique. At first, new equipment was
specially designed for the well, including a liquid/gas
separator and a new manifold. Then, the design of wellhead,
drillstring, casing, gas injection program, bit selection, well
completion and base drilling fluid used in the well are
discussed. Besides, operation of UBD in the well is
summarized in the paper. Finally, it is concluded that: UBD
technique can minimize loss of drilling fluid into formation
and increase productivity. As a whole it makes money, though
the drilling cost is increased compared with conventional
drilling. Simulation for underbalanced drilling plays an
important role in optimization of the drilling parameters,
which is dictated by actual reservoir inflow performance and
well conditions.
Introduction
Xianduhe oilfield is located in Quxian County, Sichuan
Province, China. The depth of the carbonate oil formation with
rich fractures is from 2780m to 2904m. In June, 1997, well
Xian-1 was drilled with 1.02 g/cm3 clay base mud in the oil
formation and 123 m3 mud lost into the oil formation due to
the low formation pressure of 22.2Mpa. Although loss of mud
stopped after plugging materials were added into the mud, the
cost of the well construction increased and the formation was
damaged because the initial oil production rate was 3.5 m3/d,
much lower than 14 m3/d anticipated. After this,
Underbalanced Drilling (UBD) of gasified liquid was
recommended in the drilling of the oil formation and the first
practice of UBD was conducted in well Xian-2 in Oct., 1997.
Before drilling, an UBD technical team was formed and the
team performed underbalanced drilling design carefully and
discussed operation seriously. As a result, this UBD practice
was very successful. No loss circulation happened and that the
initial oil production was 13.4 m3/d showed formation damage
had been reduced. After this, more wells were scheduled to be
drilled with UBD technique, even if the drilling cost in Well
Xian – 2 was 1.2 times of a well drilled conventionally in the
same area. The following mainly introduces the technical
considerations in Well Xian-2.
Technical Considerations for UBD
Determination of magnitude of underbalance. During a
UBD’s operation, a large pressure difference will lead to not
only possible well instability but also high producing velocity
in the formation, which would cause particles movement in
either velocity sensitive formation, sand production in
unconsolidated formation, or permanent damage in stress
sensitive formation. On the other side, a small pressure
difference would be subjected to pressure fluctuation at the
bottom of a UBD’s well and positive pressure difference
would appear and drive drilling fluids into the formation. So,
UBD’s pressure difference determination should be based on
combined consideration of wellbore stability analysis,
potential formation damage data, pressure fluctuation at the
bottom, formation properties and the capabilities of the
equipment in use. According to this principle, simulation and
experiment were conducted for proper negative pressure
difference in Well Xian-2. The result was that it should be
0.5Mpa to 1Mpa.
How to select optimal underbalanced drilling parameters.
UBD is an irreversible process affected by many factors, such
as base mud density and pumping rate, gas injection rate, back
pressure, etc. Determination of these parameters by simple
empirical formula is not enough to ensure successful
underbalanced drilling. Thus, selection proper multi-phase
model for simulating underbalanced drilling to optimize some
operation paramters is necessary. So, a software especially for
UBD simulation was developed in VB5.0 by us. Its model,
related to oil and gas properties’ change with the temperature,
pressure and phase distribution in a borehole , was
2 Shiying Luo, Ruyu Hong, Yingfeng Meng, Liehui Zhang, etc.
developeded using multi-phase drift flux theory, in which
totally 6 phases are considered - injected gas, injected liquid,
produced gas, oil, water and cuttings. This software is a
powerful tool for UBD’s optimal parameter selection.
Base mud for UBD. Like a conventional well, the circulating
drilling fluid for an underbalanced operation can be very
important. For an under-balanced well, the major functions of
a drilling mud are:
l Transporting drill cuttings in an effective and dispersed
fashion to the surface.
l Lubricating the bit or powering a downhole motor
assembly
l Effectively transporting produced formation fluids back
to surface in a safe fashion.
Several factors are significantly different when considering
base mud designs for UBD operations in comparison to
conventional over-balanced applications. Most of these are
associated with the fact that there is a non-condensible gas
and produced formation fluids in continuous contact with the
circulating drilling fluid. One of these considerations includes
compatibility with formation fluids. A second factor in
considering base mud design for UBD operations is dilution
by produced formation fluids. A third factor to consider is
corrosion. The last factor is viscosity. In Well Xian –2, the
base mud used for underbalanced drilling was from mud used
for the upper formation after it had been treated according to
the above special considerations.
Cutting tranport. Properties of the base fluid considered for
cutting moving include that its density is below 1.05 and the
base fluid has enough viscosity to carry cuttings and formation
produced fluids to the surface.
Before underbalanced drilling, the base mud was treated
by all possible equipments, such as vibrating screen, desander
and desilter, etc. Be sure to remove weight additives and
useless solid from the mud.
Consistency index n and coefficient k of the base mud was
adjusted to 0.6~0.8 and 0.9 Pa.sn respectively. The funnel
viscosity is 40to 50s and gel strengthô0 were 8 to 12
Pa(10seconds) and 20 to 30 Pa(10min). The ability to make
mud by the formation is not strong, so it is not considered for
the mud design.
In additon, flow regime in annulus must be bubble or slug
phase to ensure the ability of multiphase to carry cuttings.
Here again, operation parameters optimization is important.
Gas injection program. Adjustable parameters, such as gas
injection rate, mud pumping rate and density, back pressure,
have different influence on flow parameters in annulus and
bottom pressure. UBD’s simulation can optimize these factors
for assuring safe, smooth UBD’s practice and. One result from
UBD simulation for Well Xian - 2 is 6~10m3/min gas injection
rate and 8~14 1/s mud pumping rate.
Mud pumping rate adjust. During underbalanced drilling
process, a stepless pumping speed pump is a better choice, or
if the condition is not available, we can turn on only one mud
pump and choose a small cylinder liner for the pump, remove
one output valve of the pump and let one cylinder stop
IADC/SPE 59260
working. Then, we can adjust the pumping rate slightly to
satisfy the requirement by changing the rotary speed of the
diesel.
Gas injection rate adjust. The gas volume injected into the
well can be adjusted by diverting part of gas into air when two
air compressors are working at the same time.
Stability of the well bore. During underbalanced drilling
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process, well stability is a major concern because of the
decrease of mud density. One primary aspect is the instability
of shale layer. So, KCl or KOH was added into the mud to
improve concentration of K+ in the drilling fluid.
Formation damage control. Experience has indicated it is
difficult to maintain a condition of continuous under-balance
pressure throughout the complete drilling operation, resulting
in fluid losses to the formation due to no mudcake on the
borehole wall and leading to possible significant damage. So,
a new elastic fiber-shaped additive, calcium carbonate
particles, a kind of polymer were added into the base mud.
The size of the fibers and particles are determined by the
distribution of the pore diameters and/or fracture widths of the
target formation. This drilling fluid has the ability of
instantaneous plugging on the wall and reducing largely
drilling fluid invasion into formation when instantaneous
positive pressure difference is formed during underbalanced
drilling. When the underbalanced situation is resumed, fibers
and particles can be pushed back into well from the pores or
fractures by the underbalance pressure.
Well configuration. In order to minimize cost of
underbalanced drilling, conventional drilling was used before
entering the reservoir and 177.8mm casing was put to the
position 10m just above the target formation. The oil
formation was drilled to 2908m with 152.4mm bit where a
127mm liner was set. The specific well configuration of Well
Xian-2 is shown in Fig. 1.
Drilling string and bit
Drilling string. Drilling string design for underbalance drilling
has no essential difference from the conventional drilling.
However, because underbalanced drilling can avoid some
problems of overbalance drilling, consequently, bumper jar
and centralizer can not be used. For avoiding the bottom fluid
flowing back into drilling string and pipe connection’s safety,
back pressure valve and cock on the drilling string is
necessary. The way of installing back pressure valve and cock
is as follows ( Fig. 2 ):
(1) Both of them must be installed corollarily;
(2) One back pressure valve must be connected just next to
bit.
(3) Near the wellhead, the back pressure valve and cock are
fixed every two strings.
The drilling string for Well Xian-2 is: 6in bit+ back
pressure valve(one) + 4 3/4in drilling collar +3 1/2 in drilling
pipe +cock+back pressure valve+3 1/2 in drilling pipe.
Bit selection. Select the most proper drilling bit according to
rock mechanical properties. Try to penetrate the target
formation using only one bit. So, we must perform
underbalanced drilling operation carefully.
IADC/SPE 59260 Underbalanced Drilling in High-Loss Formation Achieved Great Success – A Field Case Study
Safety consideration
Explosion-proof. We carried out the experimental research on
limits and regularities of explosion when injected air mixes
with formation produced fluids under wellbore conditions
during underbalanced drilling. Our study was used in the
design for underbalanced drilling in Well Xian - 2.
Meanwhile, we adopted explosion-proof membrane which
was equipped at the boosting pipe. Under normal
underbalance drilling operation, the membrane can work well
under 2Mpa pressure. If sudden explosion happens near the
wellhead or in the surface pipe, instantaneous pressure surge
may firstly destroy the explosion-proof membrane and release
the pressure in the wellbore or pipeline, so the important
equipment, such as surface separator, can escape from the
explosion.
Besides this, management is also an important factor for
safe underbalanced drilling.
Special Equipment. Special equipment is a key factor for
underbalanced drilling.
Rotating head. An important part of the light weight drilling
system is the well rotating head. This equipment allows the
well to be drilled with the annular closed and eventually with
some pessure in the well head. In our project, a new rotating
head was developed by us. This equipment has dual seal(an
elastic layer and and a rubber layer) and can be operated up to
120 RPM and 10 MPa. On static conditions a pressure of up
to 14 Mpa is admissible. In order to minimize leaking
problems during the operation the rotating head must be
aligned with the center of the rotary table to avoid premature
wear of the rubbers. The return line from the well ( flow line)
is connected to the lateral of the rotating head and goes to the
top of the separator.
Separating System. For the drilling of well Xian-2, a new gas-
liquid separator was designed by us. This equipment is a
cylinder (diameter 1m, height 2.1m) that internally has 2
concentric pipes. The fluid enters the cylinder tangentially in
the upper part of the two internal pipes in a helical trajectory
where the separation between liquid and gas occurs. The gas
goes to the line of the burner and the liquid and cuttings are
then deviated to the shakers. A liquid seal is always present
internally in the separator to avoid the gas to travel to the
shakers. There is an automatic control with sensors for the
liquid level that activate the pumps in order to keep the level
of the liquid seal within certain limits.
Manifold. In the flow line, between the rotating head and the
separator, there is a manifold that will restrict the flow to
control sudden increases in pressure due to slugs that normally
occur in this kind of operation. It is shown clearly in Fig. 3.
Conclusions and Remarks
After use of UBD technique in Well Xian-2, the main
conclusions are:
1. UBD technique used in such naturally fractured can prevent
loss circulation. In Well Xian–2, loss circulation did not
happen. At the same time, formation damage was reduced and
well productivity was improved.
2. Penetrating rate was improved. The average drilling speed
3
increased by about 52% compared with conventional drilling
in the same formation.
3. Post job analysis showed that underbalanced drilling
technique is successful in Well Xian –2, and more wells have
been scheduled to be drilled underbalanced.
4. UBD’s simulation plays an important role in optimization
of the drilling parameters, which is dictated by actual reservoir
inflow performance and well conditions. In next UBD design,
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more attention should be given to it.
5. Completion method and well stimulation after well drilled
underbalanced need further study.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank W. Zhang, Hong Liang for their
cooperation in the project.
References
1. J.C. Cunha & Fabio S. N. Rosa, Petrobras S. A.,” Underbalance
Drilling Technique Improves Drilling Performance – A Field
Case History”, Paper IADC/SPE 47802 presented at the 1998
IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Conference held in Jakarta,
Indonesia, 7-9 September 1998.
2. J. Surewaard, K. De Koning, M. Kool, SPE, D. Woodland, H.
Roed, SPE, and P. Hopmans, Petroleum Development Oman,”
Approach to Underbalanced Well Operations in Petroleum
Development Oman”, Paper IADC/SPE 35069 presented at the
1996 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in New Orlean,
Louisiana, 12-15 March 1996.
3. T. W. Hogg and J. E. Boyle, BP Exploration,” Colomian
Underbalanced Drilling Operations – Start Up Experience”,
Paper IADC/SPE 37677 presented at the 1997 IADC/SPE
Drilling Conference held in Amsterdam, The Netherland, 4-6
March 1997.
4. F.J. YURKIW, P.L.CHURCHER, etal., PanCanadian Petroleum
Limited, “Optimization of Underbalanced Drilling Operation to
Improve Well Productivity”; The Journal of Canadian Petroleum
Technology, p. 28, September 1997.
5. D. Brant Bennion, F. Brent Thomas etal., Hycal Energy Research
Laboratory Ltd, “Underbalanced Drilling, Praises and Perils”;
Paper SPE 35242 presented at the SPE Permian Basin Oil & Gas
Recovery Conference, Midland,Texas, March 27-29, 1996.
6. J. Saponja, P. Eng., UBD Engineering Inc.,” Challenge with
Jointed Pipe Underbalanced Operations”; Paper SPE 37066
presented at the 1996 SPE International Conference on
Horizontal Well Technology held in Calgary, Canada, 18-20
November.
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IADC/SPE 59260
Shiying Luo, Ruyu Hong, Yingfeng Meng, Liehui Zhang, etc.

Fig.2 Schematic of drilling string

Fig.1 Well configuration
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IADC/SPE 59260 Underbalanced Drilling in High-Loss Formation Achieved Great Success – A Field Case Study 5

Air compressor

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Gas flux meter

Valve
To stand pipe

Gas/liquid mixer
Rotating head

Sample analysis Fire

Depressurizing
Fire float

Flow-line Separator

Anti-explosion
membrane

Pump
Cutting Pump

Cleaning system
oil

Fig. 3 Schematic of surface flow chart