An Introduction To Drilling

Ron Evett
Specialized Tools UK Sales Manager

1 12/08/2021 Confidential Information © 2010 M-I SWACO

 Oil – Where it Comes From !

Petroleum, the general name for all carbon

byproducts like oil and natural gas, is formed from
organic material. This material, coming from land or
from dead plankton and other marine organisms,
reaches the floors of bodies of water and becomes
part of the many layers of sedimentary rock that form
there. As these layers form and more layers arrive on
top of them the organic material turns into petroleum
that is contained in the rock, called source rock. This
petroleum becomes oil if the amount of heating and
pressure on the source rock is sufficient but not too
much. To put it simply oil is considered “mature”
petroleum, whereas source rocks that were heated
less or more than is required to reach the mature
level yield less oil and more natural gas. This occurs
in a time frame of 10 to more than 300 million years

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 Types Of Rigs

Semi-Submersible

Platform

Jack-Up

Drillship

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 Types of Wells

Exploration Wells – Drilling a well into a prospect to test and appraise the levels of oil and gas
that are present.

Development Wells – Drilling a well into a know prospect with the intention to complete and
produce/inject from the reservoir.

Work-Overs – Maintenance work carried out existing wells to improve production or correct a
deficiency.

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 Drilling Solutions – Drilling Fluids

Functions of a drilling fluid are:

1. Control Formation Pressure

2. Remove Cuttings
3. Suspend and release cuttings
4. Seal permeable formations
5. Maintain Wellbore Stability
6. Minimize reservoir damage
7. Cool and lubricate the drill bit
8. Transmit hydraulic energy to
tools and the bit

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 Environmental Solutions – Cuttings Containment/CRI

2
2
2
2 2
2
2
16 2
13 8
7 8
11 9 7
8
10 8
12 7
14 12
12
12
6
12

15

2
Cuttings Transfer 2
2
from Vessel to 2
2
2
Reinjection
1Vessel
2ISO Pump
Platform
Coarse Tank
10
Fines Tank
11 2
2
5
Boat Frame
3
4Tilt Table
Circulating
12 Pump 4
2
Classifying
13 Shaker 2
Floating
5 Hose Batch14 Holding Tank
Reinjection
6 Platform
H.P.
15 Injection Pump
7'R' Valve Injection
16 Wellhead
Weighframe
8 3 3
Slurrification
9 Unit 1
SW 03011

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 Well Construction – Casing and Liners

Marine Riser – The section of pipe that

connects the rig floor to the sea bed.

BOP –Blow Out Preventers

Casing – The section of pipe that is cemented

from the wellhead/seabed down into the well

Liner – Sections of pipe that are suspended

from casing by means of a hanger system

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 Production Casing

Large-diameter pipe lowered into an

open hole and cemented in place. The
well designer must design casing to
withstand a variety of forces, such as
collapse, burst, and tensile failure, as
well as chemically aggressive brines.

Basic Characteristics

•Size – 9.5/8”
•Weight – 53.5#
•Wall Thickness – 0.545”
•I.D. – 8.535”
•Drift – 8.379”

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 Production Liners

A casing string that does not extend to the top

of the wellbore, but instead is anchored or
suspended from inside the bottom of the
previous casing string. There is no difference
between the casing joints themselves. The
advantage to the well designer of a liner is a
substantial savings in steel, and therefore
capital costs.

Basic Characteristics

•Size – 7”
•Weight – 29.0#
•Wall Thickness – 0.408”
•I.D. – 6.184”
•Drift – 6.059”

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 Well Construction - Completions

Completion Types:

•Tubing Conveyed Perforation

•Open Hole Gravel Pack

•Pre-Packed Screens

•Multi-Lateral

•ESP

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 TCP

The use of tubing or drill-pipe convey

perforating guns to the required depth.
Initially, the technique was developed as a
means for conveying the gun string on the
production tubing, with the guns remaining in
the well until they are removed during the
first work-over. The subsequent popularity of
highly deviated and horizontal wells
increased the requirement for tubing-
conveyed perforating as the only means of
gaining access to the perforating depth. The
term is often abbreviated as TCP.

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 Gravel Pack

A type of sand-control completion in which

the gravel pack screen is packed off in an
open-hole section with no casing or liner to
support the producing formation.

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 Submersible Pumps

An artificial-lift system that utilizes a

downhole pumping system that is electrically
driven. The pump typically comprises
several staged centrifugal pump sections
that can be specifically configured to suit the
production and wellbore characteristics of a
given application. Electrical submersible
pump systems are a common artificial-lift
method, providing flexibility over a range of
sizes and output flow capacities.

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 Wellbore Clean-up

Typically between drilling and completion phases the fluid in the well is changed out or
“displaced” in order to prepare for running the completion.
During the displacement the host tubulars (casing and liners etc) are cleaned to prevent
the completion being damaged during running or to prevent debris that may have been
left in the well from causing damage to either the formation or the completion itself
during production. Such damage could shorten the life of the well and or bring on the
need for early work-over.

Typically there are two side to any wellbore clean-up:

1. Fluid/Chemical Clean-up
2. Mechanical Clean-up

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 Wellbore Clean-up - Fluids

In order to “displace” the drilling fluid and

prepare the tubulars for the introduction of
brine/completion fluid, a “pill train” is
typically pumped downhole.

This is designed in order to fully displace

the drilling fluid and then typically turn the
tubulars from an “oil wet” to a “water wet”
condition

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 Wellbore Clean-up – Mechanical

Mechanical Wellbore Clean-up Systems have been designed to effectively clean all types
of casings and liners and assist with debris extraction from the wellbore during
displacement to completion fluids.
Theses tools can be categorised as: -
Liner Top Test Tools
Casing Cleaning Tools
Circulating Tools
Debris Recovery Tools
Riser Cleaning Tools
BOP Cleaning Tools
Wellhead Cleaning Tools
Ancillary Tools
Customized Tools

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 Wellbore Productivity – Completion Fluids

A solids-free liquid used to "complete" an oil or gas well. This fluid is placed in the well to facilitate final
operations prior to initiation of production, such as setting screens production liners, packers, downhole valves
or shooting perforations into the producing zone. The fluid is meant to control a well should downhole hardware
fail, without damaging the producing formation or completion components.

Functions of a completion fluid are:

1. Maintain Hydrostatic in the well

2. Provide a clean environment for the completion
3. Be non-formation damaging

Inhibitors added:

4. Corrosion Inhibitor
5. Oxygen Scavenger
6. Biocide

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 Wellbore Productivity – Filtration

Basic Filtration Systems:

1. Bag Filter
2. Cartridge Unit
3. Filter Press and Cartridge Unit

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 Wellbore Productivity – Filtration

Filtration is required to provide the

cleanest possible environment for
the completion to exist in and to
protect the formation from invasion
of unwanted particulate.
The removal of debris from
completion fluids is required to
protect the completion components
and avoid the necessity for the well
to be worked over prematurely.

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 Wellbore Productivity – Pit Cleaning

Fluid is held within the rig’s “pit system” before being pumped downhole.
Therefore if the pits are not cleaned thoroughly before brine is transferred then
contamination will occur and well clean-up will be extremely time consuming.

2
3

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