Coiled Tubing Drilling on the Alaskan North Slope

Drilling with coiled tubing has evolved from an experimental technique to a proven
technology now used for nearly half of all new wells on the North Slope of Alaska,
USA. Specially designed arctic coiled tubing units can move, rig up and begin work
in a matter of hours. By working concentrically through large production tubulars,
wells can be sidetracked at lower cost than with conventional drilling rigs.

Lamar L. Gantt
Erin M. Oba
ARCO Alaska Inc.
Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Larry Leising
Rosharon, Texas, USA
Ted Stagg
Mark Stanley
Eric Walker
BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.
Anchorage, Alaska
Rohan Walker
Anchorage, Alaska
For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Arvell
Bass, ARCO Alaska Inc., Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, USA;
David Gallagher and Scott Tinkham, Dowell, Sugar
Land, Texas, USA; Perry Kline, Dave Smith and Russell
A. Wagstaff, Dowell, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska; Dale Meek,
Anadrill, Sugar Land, Texas; Andy Rike, Dowell, Sugar
Land; Jim Todd, Dowell, Rosharon, Texas; Tim Smith,
Wireline & Testing, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska; Rick Whitlow,
BP Exploration, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska; and Brock
Williams, BP Exploration, Sugar Land, Texas.
CTD (Coiled Tubing Drilling) is a mark of Schlumberger.

20

Reentering existing wellbores is an efcient

and effective way to increase recovery from
mature elds.1 Use of coiled tubing avoids
the signicant time and cost incurred by conventional drilling units, which require
removal of the existing tubing, packer and
wellhead before drilling can begin. Throughtubing reentry with coiled tubing allows a
lateral wellbore to be drilled without removing the production tubing, provided the production tubing has a large enough internal
diameter. This difference promoted the
advancement of CTD Coiled Tubing Drilling
technology and is the main driver for its proliferation on the North Slope of Alaska, USA.
In many areas, CTD techniques are still
viewed as experimental. This is not the case
on the North Slope, where it has taken center stage as an economic means of tapping
new pools of oil.2 Numerous factors have
come into play to make the CTD process
economically and technically successful in
Alaska. The vast number of wells and unique
operating conditions presented many opportunities for remedial well operations. The
repetitive nature of coiled tubing workovers
gave engineers and crews extensive experience and fostered efciency.

ARCO Alaska Inc. (ARCO) and BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. (BPX) have become
leaders in the development and use of coiled
tubing. The majority of their CTD techniques
have been developed by working together
and in partnership with Dowell and other
service companies.
Prudhoe Bay is the largest reservoir in the
USA and accounts for 5% of the total US oil
production. The eld, discovered in 1968, is
jointly operated by ARCO and BPX. First production came on-stream in 1977, and peak
production reached 1.5 million BOPD
[240,000 m3/d] in 1989.
1. Hightower CM and Blount CG: An Operators Coiled
Tubing Drilling History, presented at World Oils 6th
International Coiled Tubing & Well Intervention
Conference & Exhibition, Houston, Texas, USA,
February 9-11, 1998.
Kunkel B: Benets Fuel CT Growth, Petroleum
Engineer International 70, no. 7 (July 1997): 36-41.
Sjonberg G: Coiled Tubing Drilling: Successful
Drilling Offshore in the North Sea, presented at
World Oils 5th International Conference on Coiled
Tubing and Well Intervention, Houston, Texas, USA,
February 4-6, 1997.
Hill D, Neme E, Ehlig-Economides C and Mollinedo
M: Reentry Drilling Gives New Life to Aging Fields.
Oileld Review 8, no. 3 (Autumn 1996): 4-17.
2. MacDonald RR and Crombie DL: Balanced Drilling
With Coiled Tubing, paper IADC/SPE 27435, presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, Dallas,
Texas, USA, February 15-18, 1994.

Oileld Review

Summer 1998

21

The Prudhoe Bay eld, with numerous

wells of similar design, was ideal for rapid
development and growth of CTD technology. In the early 1980s, the development of
coiled tubing cement-squeeze techniques,
inatable packers and electric line inside the
reel increased condence in expanding the
role of coiled tubing beyond intervention.
Prudhoe Bay eld has 1338 wells: 1128 producers and 210 injectors. Of these wells,
1062 are conventional vertical wells, 261 horizontal, and 15 multilateral. Coiled tubing
reentry drilling is currently used on vertical
producer and injection wells that have
reached their economic limit. The drilling
schedule for rotary and CTD rigs targets about

100 wells per year, with slight increases from

year to year. On average, 85 of these wells are
sidetracks, and 15 are new wells. Each CTD
rig can drill about 20 sidetracks a year. In
1998, CTD rigs drilled more than 40% of the
wells (below). About 60 will be drilled with
three CTD rigs next year, accounting for more
than half of planned Prudhoe Bay drilling. To
date, ARCO has drilled more than 70 wells
with coiled tubing and BPX more than 50. All
were drilled in the Prudhoe Bay eld, except
for two in the Kuparuk eld.
Economics encourage growth in CTD use
on the North Slope. The prize is largemore
than 3 billion bbl [476 million m3] of oil
remain to be recovered.3 The reserve size of

new targets continually decreases as the eld

matures. The cost to drill a CTD well is about
half that of a conventionally drilled well. The
comparison is not exact, because conventional rotary rigs can drill longer horizontal
stepouts. Nonetheless, CTD units routinely
drill several thousand feet horizontally, keeping development cost per barrel low. CTD
technology currently delivers new production at an average development cost of 60%
of rig costs on a per barrel basis.
This article discusses strategies for drilling
with coiled tubing, drilling techniques and
tools developed in Alaska, and the rig designs
that have played a crucial role in the technical and economic success there.
Reservoir Strategies

Prudhoe Bay CTD Job Count

Prudhoe Bay unit total wells
120
Prudhoe Bay unit CTD wells
100
80
60
40
20
0
1993

1994

1996

1995

1997

1998

Worldwide CTD Job Count

500
Directional
400
Number of jobs

Nonsteered
300

200

100

0
1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

CTD well count. Coiled tubing drilling continues to increase its share of drilling activity in
the Prudhoe Bay eld in Alaska. About 40% of the wells are drilled with coiled tubing, and
that number should increase when an additional CTD rig is brought in next year (top). This
trend follows the global increase in CTD wells as the technology becomes more economical to apply in other elds (bottom).

22

As the Prudhoe Bay eld matures, new wells

are needed to recover small pockets of oil
missed by previous wells. Targeting new
wells in this large, mature eld is challenging.
It calls for consensus among interdisciplinary
groups of reservoir, drilling, facility and production engineers as well as geoscientists.4
To help mitigate eld decline, an extensive
inll-drilling program, predominantly horizontal reentry wells, was undertaken.
The eld is a combination structural and
stratigraphic trap, and the producing formations comprise the Sag River, the Shublik and
the Sadlerochit group. The most important
interval is the Ivishak, part of the Sadlerochit
group, which accounts for the majority of
3. Ramos AB, Fahel RA, Chafn MG and Pulls KH:
Horizontal Slim-Hole Drilling with Coiled Tubing:
An Operators Experience, Journal of Petroleum
Technology 44, no. 10 (October 1992): 1119-1125.
Leising LJ and Newman KR: Coiled Tubing Drilling,
SPE Drilling & Completion 8, no. 4 (December
1993): 227-232.
Simon AD and Peterson EJ: Reservoir Management of
the Prudhoe Bay Field, paper SPE 38847, presented at
the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
San Antonio, Texas, USA, October 5-8, 1997.
4. Shirzadi SG and Lawal AS: Multidisciplinary
Approach for Targeting New Wells, Journal of
Petroleum Technology 45, no. 10 (October
1993): 998-993.
5. Dyke CG and Crockett DA: Prudhoe Bay Rig
Workovers: Best Practices for Minimizing Productivity
Impairment and Formation Damage, paper SPE
26042, presented at the SPE Western Regional
Meeting, Anchorage, Alaska, USA, May 26-28, 1993.
6. Szabo DJ and Meyers KO: Prudhoe Bay:
Development History and Future Potential, paper
SPE 26053, presented at the SPE Western Regional
Meeting, Anchorage, Alaska, USA, May 26-28, 1993.
7. Kay EA, Bodnar DA and Cazier EC: Faulting: A Major
Control on Fluid Flow and Production Performance,
Prudhoe Bay Field, Alaska, paper SPE 26061, presented at the SPE Western Regional Meeting,
Anchorage, Alaska, USA, May 26-28, 1993.

Oileld Review

Gravity drainage/
waterflood interaction

Gravity drainage

Waterflood

,,,
,,,
,,
,,,,,
,,,
,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,
,,,,
,,,,
Shublik

8000

Zone 4

Zone 3

2500

Zone 2

Sag River

8400

Zone 1

Shublik
Zone 4

2600

8600

Zone 2

8800

Shublik

2700

True vertical depth subsea (TVD SS), m

True vertical depth subsea (TVD SS), ft

8200

Zone 1

Zone 4

Heavy oil/tar (HOT)

9000

Zone 3

Aquifer

Zone 2

9200

miles

8 kilometers

Original gas cap

Water influx

Expanded gas cap

Aquifer

2800

Light oil column

Prudhoe Bay eld cross section. As the Prudhoe Bay eld matures, remaining pockets of oil become smaller and smaller. Injection of
produced gas from above and water inux from below are the main reasons for shutting in wells. Coiled tubing drilling has found a
niche market by drilling horizontal sections into small pools of oil missed by these shut-in wells.

proven and potential reserves. The Ivishak

formation is a gradual upward fining
sequence of uvio-deltaic, ne-to-medium
grained sandstones with thin interbedded
siltstones and shales. The interbedded
siltstones and shales play a key part in
the accelerated use of CTD techniques in
this eld because the streaks isolate small
pools of oil that are currently economically
accessible only by coiled tubing. Permeability of the producing intervals varies
widely throughout the eldfrom about
10 mD in the peripheral regions to several
hundred millidarcies.5

Summer 1998

The four dominant recovery processes are

gas-cap expansion and gravity drainage,
waterood, miscible ood and gas cycling.6
Continuous management of these processes
and analysis of eld performance have led to
identication of attractive targets for further
development (above).7
In the gravity drainage area, which is the
predominant recovery mechanism, oil production is controlled initially by well productivity. Once gas breaks through, however,
wells become rate-restricted because of the
gas-handling capacity of the production
facilities. As gas/oil ratios increase, wells
become uneconomic to keep on-stream.
Once an existing well reaches its economic
limit, it is typically shut in and considered a
candidate for reentry drilling.

Horizontal wells in the gravity drainage

area have greater initial production rates
than vertical wells for a given drawdown, but
because of a greater standoff from the gas/oil
contact, gas breakthrough is delayed. The
amount of oil produced by these wells
increases with increased standoff between
the perforated section of the wellbore and
the gas-oil contact. Geoscientists evaluate
the untapped pools of oil in relation to
recently shut-in wells. Smaller pools close to
vertical wellbores are prime candidates for
CTD use, which currently has a maximum
horizontal reach of some 3000 ft [900 m].
Conventional rotary drilling rigs tap the
larger pools more distant from existing
wellbores because they can drill longer
horizontal sections.

23

Rig Designs

Coiled tubing services were rst developed

for the workover market. Most coiled tubing
units are not capable of running casing or
pulling and running completions. As a result,
the rst applications of CTD techniques were
reentry drilling, usually performed in conjunction with a workover rig.8
Currently, three CTD rigs operate in Prudhoe
Bay. The rst unit consists of a conventional
arctic well service unit coupled with a coiled
tubing unit. The second unit is a purpose-built
hybrid containing a coiled tubing unit permanently attached to the end of a mobile arctic
workover unit. Nordic Calista and Dowell
built that rig in a joint venture to drill reentry
wells specically for BPX. In mid-1998,
ARCO brought in a third CTD rig.

Cuttings box
Pill pit
Dry-add
hopper

Generators

Disposal tank
Mud pits

Doghouse

Injector
head

Pressure accumulator
Choke
Bottles
manifold
Prime
Generators movers

Main carrier unit

Shaker

Mud pump

Tool trailer

MWD unit

Directional
drillers trailer

Pipe rack

Upright tanks

Arctic coiled tubing unit

Boilers

Solids-removal skid

Comparing CTD unit 4 with a conventional rig. The rst arctic CTD setup
(above), consisted of Dowell coiled tubing
unit no. 4 working in conjunction with an
arctic workover unit. This drilling package
occupies considerably less space than the
conventional drilling rig on the right in the
photo. With much less equipment, the CTD
rig can mobilize and demobilize much
faster. The current CTD equipment layout
(right) is shown with the coiled tubing unit
perpendicular to the well service rig. This
setup is used by ARCO Alaska Inc. in the
Prudhoe Bay Eastern Operating Area and
has drilled more than 70 wells.

Backup
pump

24

Oileld Review

CT Unit 4The rst dedicated CTD rig at

Prudhoe Bay combined a conventional arctic
well service unit, Nabors Drilling Rig 3S,
with a coiled tubing unit, Dowell CT unit 4
(previous page). This setup drills exclusively
for ARCO on the North Slope. The standard
rig up for the CTD operation requires removal
of the protective well house and Christmas
tree, excluding the master valve. The well service rig main carrier is then centered over the
well, and the derrick raised. The main carrier
provides a heated, enclosed rig oor and a
protective enclosure for the blowout preventer (BOP) stack. The main carrier also
houses the primary mud pump system, pump
and choke manifolds, and diesel-powered
generators. The pit module is located adjacent to the main carrier and provides steam
boilers, 300-bbl [50-m3] uid-storage capacity, uid mixing and degassing equipment,
and limited solids-removal capability.
Once the rig modules are in place, the
coiled tubing unit is positioned adjacent and
perpendicular to the main carrier. The injector head is placed inside the rig oor wind
walls and moved into position over the well.
The injector head is protected from extreme
weather and can be continuously monitored
during operations. Drilling and tripping are
controlled from the coiled tubing unit operations cab. Hydraulic tongs on the rig oor
make up bottomhole assemblies (BHAs),
jointed pipe liners and completion strings.
The rig pump and BOP equipment can be
controlled in the coiled tubing unit operations cab or from the well service rig oor.
A solids processing unit, in combination
with the rig pit module, maintains critical
drilling uid properties. The unit contains a
linear motion mud shaker and a high-speed
centrifuge to remove drilled solids. To minimize operational cost, the portable unit is
rigged up and operated only during drilling
in openhole.
The BOP stack consists of two sets of
double rams, one annular preventer and
a conventional coiled tubing lubricator
and stripper head (right). Other surface
equipment includes a measurements-whiledrilling (MWD) trailer for monitoring and
maintaining directional equipment, a trailer
for the directional driller and geologist,
and a trailer for rebuilding drilling tools.
Upright tanks are used to store up to 800 bbl
[130 m3] of clean auxiliary uids (methanolwater for freeze protection and seawater)
and 800 bbl of used uids.

51/8-in. BOPs

CT blind or shear rams

CT pipe or slip rams

71/16-in. annular preventer

71/16-in. BOPs

BHA or liner pipe rams

BHA or liner slip rams

Choke line

Kill line

Master valve

Hydraulically
controlled
remote valve

Casing valve

Typical CTD BOP conguration. The lower 711 6-in., 5000-psi [3.5-MPa] double ram set
and annular preventer are used during BHA makeup and for running liners. The upper
518 -in., 10,000-psi [6.9-MPa] double ram set contains combination blind/shear and
pipe/slip rams for the coiled tubing workstring. A hydraulic stripper head sits atop
the BOP stack and provides an additional level of protection.

8. Leising et al, reference 3.

Summer 1998

25

Hybrid rigThe Dowell/Nordic Calista

hybrid CTD rig began working at Prudhoe
Bay in November 1996.9 This one-piece,
self-propelled unit is capable of running
both 238-in. coiled tubing and jointed pipe
(right). The unit is uniquely suited to the
harsh arctic environment. It was originally
developed as an arctic workover rig by
Nordic Calista and serviced wells for ten
years on the North Slope. In January 1996,
Dowell and Nordic Calista developed a conceptual foundation for completely modifying
the unit to accept coiled tubing components.
The rig package is fully self-contained and
comprises mud pumps, mud pits and uidhandling equipment, and a pipe-handling
shed. In most cases, the rig can be moved
with pipe standing in the raised derrick. The
rig oor cantilevers over the wellhead to
allow access to wells in tight clusters and is
capable of leaving the tree and owline
intact during reentry drilling. This capability
reduces system cost and maintains tree and
tubing integrity.
The hybrid rig provides a fast, efcient
method of running jointed pipe for liners, as
well as running and pulling the 114-in. tubing
that is used for perforating and cementing
liners. The rig mast and traveling block simplify picking up and laying down BHA components and handling the injector head.
Although the rotary table has been removed
to facilitate coiled tubing operations, all support components remain in place and the
rotary table can be replaced quickly to allow
use of jointed pipe and drill collars for special operations or complex shing jobs. If the
mechanical integrity of a wells production
tubing is questionable, the rig can pull,
repair and rerun the tubing prior to sidetracking operations.
Where possible, existing rig components
that could satisfy both coiled tubing drilling
operations and jointed pipe operations were
left intact. The hydraulic system for coiled
tubing components remains independent of
the rig. A hydraulic power pack works in
combination with electronic controls developed for the hybrid coiled tubing unit. The
hydraulic pumps are powered by a DC traction motor, the same motor that powers the
two mud pumps. Although this motor delivers more horsepower than required to operate the coiled tubing components, it was
chosen because replacement parts are identical to those for the mud pumps, thereby
reducing inventory.
The hydraulic power pack operates the
injector, reel, power tongs and hydraulic
rams on the doors that enclose the coiled
tubing reel. Other than using the DC traction

26

Self-propelled arctic
CTD hybrid unit. Dowell
and Nordic Calista
jointly constructed this
hybrid CTD rig specically for arctic operations at Prudhoe Bay.
The coiled tubing unit
was attached to the
end of the mobile
workover unit opposite
the derrick. The selfpropelled rig can move
from one well and rig
up on another in
roughly 4 hr. This rig
began working for
BP Exploration (Alaska)
in the Prudhoe Bay
Western Operating
Area in late 1996 and
has drilled more than
40 wells.

motor for power to the hydraulic pumps, the

power pack is nearly identical to other units
currently in service. To date, the electric
motor has been failure- and maintenancefree, and maintenance costs and downtime
are expected to be less than for a conventional diesel power pack.
The fluid-handling system is rated to
5000-psi [34.5-MPa] working pressure. The
two mud pumps can be operated independently from either the coiled tubing
operator console or the driller console on
the rig oor. The triplex pumps had to be
sized to handle the relatively low rate but
high-pressure requirements of coiled tubing
drilling. Typical pump pressures are 4000 psi
[27.6 MPa] at 2.7 bbl/min [0.4 m3/min]. A
linear motion shaker and high-speed centrifuge maintain solids content in the drilling
uid below 1% by volume. BOP equipment
can be controlled from the rig oor, the
coiled tubing operator console, or the main
accumulator closing unit.
Coiled tubing electronic monitoring systems, in general, have evolved signicantly
since 1990. Most equipment and well
parameters are currently recorded and displayed on two computer screens and three
video monitors in the operations cab. The
hybrid CTD rig system records and displays
information from more than 40 sensors.
The unit electronics package was upgraded
to include a watchdog network, which
monitors all critical rig equipment and alerts
the operator through audible warnings if

readings go outside a preset operating window. Explosion-proof video cameras are part
of a closed-circuit television system that
monitors critical areas of the rig and allows
the operator located in the control cab to
visually check on components. Along with
the watchdog system, they give the operator
extra eyes to compensate for reduced rig personnel and provide earlier problem detection. Another signicant upgrade to the
electronics package uses a computer to override the injector in case the operator
attempts to exceed coiled tubing limits.
The electronics package and computer
can perform some drilling functions, and
an electronic autodriller with downhole
feedback has also been developed for this
system, which advances the coil into the
hole at a rate based on the pressure drop
across the downhole motor. As the motor is
subjected to additional weight from the coil,
more torque is required to rotate the bit
as indicated by a pressure increase at surface. Generally, the operator sets the pressure limit at a value less than the pressure at
which the motor stalls. The computer
advances the coil into the hole until the
upper pressure limit is attained; coil movement is stopped until the motor pressure
drops below the preset limit. When this
occurs, the motor no longer drills ahead,
indicating that additional weight can be
applied to the bit. The computer then
reengages the injector and begins advancing
coil into the hole.

Oileld Review

,,,,,
,,,,,
,,,,,
,,,,,
,,,,,
,,,,,,
,,,,,
,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,
,,,,,
,,,,,,,,
,,,,,
0
97

ft

SS

Q-02A

R-29A

3000 ft

D-26A

D-22A

1000

300

2000 feet

600

meters

G-12A

Massive very fine grain sands

2000 ft

1000 ft

H-22A

Q-01A

E-13A

D-14A
D-17A

G-03A

Clean sands with thin

interbedded shales

Coarse, hard conglomerates

with poorly sorted sand matrix

Interbedded clean sands and

lenticular conglomerates; local
to extensive thin shales

Interbedded sands and shales

Drilling pad
Surface location

Gamma ray
Sag River

F-43L1

Shublik

S-28A

Zone 4

Zone 3

,,,,,,
,,,,,,
D-17A

R-29A

D-26A

Zone 2

Q-01A

F-13A

100 ft [30 m]

Ivishak

E-13A

Zone 1

Horizontal reach. This gure shows the range of horizontal sidetracks drilled from a
hypothetical wellbore. The well paths in the plan view (top) and vertical section are the
trajectories of wells drilled with coiled tubing. These paths (red) are all superimposed on
one hypothetical wellbore (bottom) to indicate the extent and variety of horizontal wellbores now being drilled.

This system allows maximum penetration

rates while limiting the number of motor
stalls. An experienced coiled tubing operator
can drill at least as effectively as the autodriller, which is measured by rate of penetration and frequency of stalls. For the
inexperienced operator, however, the system
can increase drilling efciency.
Personnel requirements are minimized by
using specialized equipment to monitor
engines, uid levels, pit levels and hydraulic
components. This technology allows the
CTD rig to be manned by a toolpusher,
driller, motorman, coiled tubing supervisor
and service technician; a conventional rotary
rig has a crew twice this size. Because of
operational differences between CTD opera-

Summer 1998

reel into the injector head without having to

pass through a gooseneck. Bending at the
gooseneck causes a great deal of stress on
the coil, so eliminating this point of fatigue
should increase coil life. Transocean Drilling
estimates that the coil will last three to four
times longer than that for CTD rigs using a
standard gooseneck.

tions and jointed-pipe drilling, the roles of

team members change with each operation.
For example, during drilling operations,
responsibilities typically assigned to the
driller become the responsibility of the
coiled tubing supervisor. Cooperation is
required by all personnel as the reporting
status changes depending on the operation.
CDR-1Nabors/Transocean Drilling Rig
CDR-1 began CTD operations on the North
Slope in June 1998. It is a purpose-built
coiled tubing drilling rig and has drilled
more than 20 underbalanced wells in
Canada. The design is unique because the
reel sits above the injector head, directly
over the well. The injector head is placed at
the rig oor, and tubing feeds directly off the

Drilling Operations

The techniques and equipment associated

with CTD operations have undergone rapid
development since the rst operations in
1991.10 A principal stimulus for this activity
was the availability of reliable, large-diameter coiled tubing to allow sufcient hydraulic
horsepower to power the downhole motor
and provide sufcient ow rate to ensure
adequate hole cleaning. Larger, heavier-wall
tubing gives the necessary weight for efcient drilling and withstands drilling torque
and fatigue.
The CTD process has several advantages
over conventional drilling rig operations.
Well-control equipment conguration for
coiled tubing provides a higher degree of
control and safety, which is maintained
throughout drilling and tripping because tubing is pulled continuously through a sealed
stripper. The equipment allows underbalanced drilling to be conducted safely and
efciently, which can reduce reservoir damage from invasion of drilling-uid ltrate.
Under many conditions, CTD techniques
have the potential to cut drilling and well
costs signicantly. The principal areas of cost
savings come in reduced hole size, reduced
trip time and lower mobilization and demobilization costs.
Coiled tubing drilling has its limitations,
however. In formations prone to sloughing or
washing out, coiled tubing is not appropriate. If wellbore stability problems develop,
coiled tubing cannot be rotated, nor can it
withstand the stress that conventional drill
collars and drillpipe can.
Due to the size, strength and weight of
coiled tubing, horizontal drilling reach and
hole size are generally less than for conventional equipment. The longest horizontal
section drilled using coiled tubing has a
reach of nearly 3000 ft, whereas the longest
extended-reach well drilled by rotary means
has a step-out length ten times farther
(above left).
9. Larson EB, Huffman A, Williams BA, Parker C and
Snisarenko P: Update on Hybrid Rig Development for
Coiled Tubing Drilling, presented at World Oils 5th
International Conference on Coiled Tubing and Well
Intervention, Houston, Texas, USA, February 4-6, 1997.
10. Ramos et al, reference 3.
Leising et al, reference 3.

27

BHA Design

A variety of BHAs has been used on the

North Slope during evolution of the CTD
sidetrack program. The typical drilling BHA is
approximately 50 ft [15 m] long and consists
of several standard components (below).11
Bottomhole assemblies are designed according to their function: casing or liner exit,
angle-build section, or horizontal section.
Overall angle-build rate is a function of the
motor housing bend, the size of the motor
wear pad, motor and bit diameters, and the
length of the housing from bit to pad. Other
factors inuence angle-build rates. Smalldiameter bent housing motors will ex when
subjected to drilling loads. The amount of ex
is a function of weight on bit, type of bent
housing (adjustable or xed), and hole geometry. Other factors such as motor bearing
tolerances, lithology, bit type and wear also
affect performance and contribute to uncertainty in predicted build rates.

With experience, renements to motor

housing angles have been made and a more
precise motor geometry is now employed.
Housing angles as exact as 0.625 are specied for use. Further renements to motor
bearing tolerances have also led to a reduction in the build-rate variances observed
with smaller angle motors.
Most of the CTD projects have been performed through 412-in. production tubing
using 334-in. [95-mm] bits. The BHAs are
3116 in. [78 mm] in diameter or smaller, with
a maximum of 3.42 in. [86.9 mm] at a collar
on the MWD ow tube.
The coiled tubing connector is a dimplestyle fastener that makes up to the coiled tubing with set screws. The dimple-type
connector was selected for its superior capability to withstand torque, overpull and
drilling shock. The durability of the dimple
connector has been established through
repeated eld use in high-vibration and
high-impact applications.

Coil
Connector
Check valves

Disconnect

Gamma ray tool

MWD collar

Circulation sub
Direction and
inclination package
Nonrotating joint

Bleed sub

A dual-apper check-valve system prevents

backow of wellbore uids into the coiled
tubing drillstring. The checks are positioned
just below the coiled tubing connector. A
ball-actuated hydraulic disconnect is located
below the check valves. The hydraulic disconnect provides the option to release the
BHA should it become stuck in the wellbore.
The circulation sub is positioned below the
hydraulic disconnect and is activated by circulating a ball onto a seat. When the sub is
opened, the uid path is diverted above the
MWD tools and mud motor and directed
radially through side exit ports. The circulation sub allows increased circulation rates by
eliminating the pressure loss and ow rate
constraints through the BHA. The sub is normally opened when tripping out of cased
hole. The higher ow rate improves cuttings
removal. Circulation to surface is possible
without concern for bit or production tubing
damage because the bit does not rotate with
the circulation sub open.
It is often necessary to deploy tools into the
hole in two or more sections due to the
length of the BHA. After the lower BHA is
deployed, it is held in place by the BOP
slips. String rotation is no longer possible
and a conventional threaded connection
cannot be made up. A splined nonrotating
joint is used to make up this connection. The
two pieces slide together and lock with internal splines to prevent rotation. A threaded
collar slides over the splined section to
secure the BHA.
An orienting tool rotates or indexes the
lower section of the BHA to adjust the toolface in the desired direction. The tool is actuated by cycling the ow rate through the
tool. An internal-to-annulus pressure differential drives a piston which, in turn, indexes
the tool. A clutch and cam rotate the tool
clockwise by a preset amount, typically 20.
The orienter generates up to 500 ft-lbf
[680 N-m] of torque. A jetted sub is installed
below the orienter and is used to increase
the pressure drop through the tool string and
enhance the torque generated. The jetted sub
also has a bleed port that allows approxi-

Orienter

Mud motor
Flow tube

Drilling BHA. CTD operations on the North

Slope typically use three different types of
BHA designed according to their function.
Separate BHAs are used to sidetrack out of
the casing, drill the angle-build section and
drill the horizontal section through the reservoir. Each type of BHA uses a different
motor conguration and MWD package
depending on the drilling objectives.

Bit

28

Oileld Review

8. Leising and Newman, reference 3.

9. Larson EB, Huffman A, Williams BA, Parker C and
Snisarenko P: Update on Hybrid Rig Development for
Coiled Tubing Drilling, presented at World Oils 5th
International Conference on Coiled Tubing and Well
Intervention, Houston, Texas, USA, February 4-6, 1997.
10. Ramos et al, reference 3.
Leising et al, reference 3.
11. Leising LJ, Hearn DD, Rike EA, Doremus DM and
Paslay PR: Sidetracking Technology for Coiled
Tubing Drilling, paper SPE 30486, presented at the
SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Dallas, Texas, USA, October 22-25, 1995.

Polycrystalline-diamond-compact (PDC)
bits have been used extensively in CTD operations on the North Slope. The typical bit has
a ve-bladed design and contains a combination of round and attened 8-mm cutters
to reduce motor stalling and reactive torque.
Rates of penetration typically range 30 to
70 ft/hr [9 to 21 m/hr] in sands and 10 to
20 ft/hr [3 to 6 m/hr] in shale zones. Cutter
breakage typically limits bit life to approximately 1000 ft [300 m] of hole or 60 to 70 hr
of rotating time.
Coiled tubing geometry changes and the
coil begins to buckle as compressive force is
increased behind the bit. Initially, the coiled
tubing buckles in a two-dimensional, sinusoidal fashion and then deforms into a helical shape when the compressive force
exceeds a critical level. Additional slackoff
at the surface reduces the pitch of the helix
and increases the normal force of the coiled
tubing against the hole wall. This normal

2500

3000

Summer 1998

3500

4000

4500

10,100

Window depth
10,200

10,300

10,400

30/100 ft
build section

10,500

10,600

10,700

Horizontal
section

10,800

Predicted weight on bit. A model of the

maximum weight on bit before helical lockup
occurs helps determine the total measured
depth possible for a given well design with a
particular BHA and coil. Once the well
reaches horizontal, the available weight on
bit drops dramatically, limiting the total possible length of the well.

force, combined with wall friction, results in

a net force that opposes coiled tubing movement into the well, and eventually this force
prevents advancement of the coiled tubing.
This condition is known as helical lockup.12
Helical lockup is modeled during the well
planning process (below). Predictions of
maximum weight on bit before helical
lockup occurs help in designing the BHA
and coil size to match the desired well path.
Available weight on bit falls rapidly once
the well begins the horizontal section.
Many wells on the North Slope are drilled
with 2-in. diameter coiled tubing, due in part
to the operational efciency realized from
working inside the 278-in. liner completions
run after drilling the sidetrack. However,
238-in. coiled tubing is used in wells where
available weight on bit would not be sufcient to attain the desired horizontal reach
with the smaller diameter coiled tubing.

Maximum weight on bit before lockup, lbf

2000

Measured depth (MD), ft

mately 10% of the drilling mud to escape to

the annulus prior to reaching the motor. The
bleed port allows the pressure to equalize
below the orienter; this pressure might otherwise be trapped by the motor when the
pumps are shut down. Pressure built up in
the tool string as a result of high-viscosity
mud can prevent the orienter from cycling.
The MWD system currently in use is a positive-pressure, turbine-powered, mud-pulse
system. Mud-pulse telemetry allows gamma
ray, toolface, inclination and azimuth measurements to be transmitted to surface
through the mud column by pressure pulses
generated by the pulser assembly. Nonmagnetic collars house directional and gamma
ray probes between the mud motor and ow
tube. Inclination is typically recorded 12 ft
[3.7 m] behind the bit, and the gamma ray
sensor is approximately 24 ft [7.3 m] behind
the bit. The tool has performed satisfactorily
through doglegs up to 56.
A 112-stage, 278-in. [73-mm] positivedisplacement mud motor with a 7:8 lobe
ratio has been used to drill most wells on the
North Slope. Larger 312-in. [89-mm] motors
are sometimes used when production tubing
is larger than 412 in. Nonmagnetic rotor/stator combinations have been developed for
drilling through the formation. The use of the
nonmagnetic material reduces magnetic
interference sufciently to allow the steering
tools to be placed within 2 ft [0.6 m] of the
motor. Conventional steel motors require the
use of 10 to 15 ft [3.0 to 4.6 m] of nonmagnetic collars below the directional probe to
eliminate magnetic interference, resulting in
bit-to-sensor spacing up 25 ft [7.6 m].
Wellbore trajectory projections are greatly
improved with shorter bit-to-sensor spacing,
resulting in more precise directional control.

Parameters:
33/4-in. openhole
2-in. coil
0.156-in. wall thickness
80,000-psi yield strength
E=32 x 106 psi
8.8-ppg fluid
0-psi wellhead pressure
3500-psi coil pressure
Slackoff coefficient 0.26
in casing and 0.36 in openhole

10,900
2190-lbf weight on bit
at total depth
11,000

29

Window Milling

In 1991, operators began encouraging suppliers to develop a mechanical whipstock

that could be run through 412-in. tubing and
set inside 7-in. casing. Although initial
results were encouraging, tool reliability was
a problem. The capability to mill a window
was crucial to sustaining the entire CTD project. An alternative method was needed.
Milling off a cement plug was originally conceived as a stop-gap measure until mechanical whipstocks could be made more
reliable, but what was originally thought of
as a risky technique turned into a reliable,
economic method of sidetracking.
Cement sidetracking, the most straightforward technique, is generally used in wells
with 412-in. production tubing set inside
7-in. or 958-in. casing.13 A specially designed
cement plug is placed in the casing and
directionally drilled with a bent housing
motor to cut the window and lateral wellbore. Time drilling (increasing depth by small
increments at specied time intervals) is
used to start the window.
The cement plug technique has several
advantages over mechanical whipstocks. No
iron whipstock is left in the well. The cement
can easily be drilled out at a later date.
Moreover, if the existing wellbore must be
plugged and abandoned with cement, there
is effectively no additional cost for the plug.
The method has several disadvantages,
however. The windows tend to be shorter
than those drilled with a mechanical whipstock. The cement ramp tends to be fragile, so
care must be taken when the BHA is run
through the window. Despite these disadvantages, more wells are sidetracked off cement
plugs than with mechanical whipstocks on
the North Slope.
In 1994, a coiled tubing BHA cut the rst
window below production tubing. The window was cut off a ber-cement plug without
the use of a mechanical whipstock. The time
required to a mill a window off cement
dropped to less than one day once the capability to cut a window in a single mill run was
developed. The majority of windows cut off
cement plugs use a 3.8-in. [96.5-mm] diamond speed mill run on a 278-in. motor or a
4.55-in. [115.6-mm] mill on a 312-in. motor.
The rst step in sidetracking without a
whipstock is to spot a cement kickoff plug.
The cement provides a foundation for
window-milling operations, and most importantly, access through the window until the
well reaches total depth. The cement system
is a 17-ppg [2-sg], Class G formulation with
nylon bers added for strength, although

30

some current cement plugs no longer include

the bers. The cement placement technique
was adapted from the successful coiled tubing
cement-squeeze program.14
Nylon bers are often added to the sidetrack cement because they help bind fragments together. The bers provide impact
resistance when the bit mills on top of or
through a cement plug, reducing the likelihood of cracking.15 If the cement does
develop cracks during milling, the ber
holds the cement intact, so cement pieces
are less likely to fall on top of tools run in the
well during subsequent operations. The
bers reduce cement compressive strength
somewhat, but so far that has not been a
problem. The benets of the bers cannot be
measured with standard oileld test procedures; however, examination of cement test
cubes after compressive failure has shown
the bers benets qualitatively.
The next step is the drilling of the pilot hole
to just above the kickoff point. The shape of
the pilot hole sets the stage for the remainder
of the milling operation. A conventional, short
parabolic diamond bit has proven the best
choice in drilling the pilot hole. It is run on a
steerable positive displacement motor with a
1 bent housing. A downhole orienter and
mud pulse MWD steering tool provide directional control for the BHA. This BHA also
mills a 3.725-in. [94.6-mm] no-go nipple in
the tubing string to 3.8 in. Each bit can drill
ve to ten pilot holes and nipples.
The typical pilot hole trajectory is curved.
The pilot hole is drilled down the opposite
side from the window, and the toolface is
rotated 180 to the direction of the window.
The pilot BHA builds angle across the
cemented liner to the opposite wall. This
method provides easy BHA orientation and
predictable build. When the bit contacts the
wall, a counterclockwise reaction in toolface
occurs. The pilot assembly is pulled, and the
milling assembly is then run.
The milling assembly has an aggressive
double-bend BHA to start cutting the casing
wall. The milling BHA is the same as the
drilling BHA used later in the well, except it
includes four to six 318-in. [79-mm] drill collars between the steering tools and tubing.
The coiled tubing string is compliant in compression due to helical buckling. The collars
provide weight on bit during milling and
keep the coiled tubing in tension, making
weight and depth control more precise.
Milling occurs at 1 ft/hr [0.3 m/hr] using a
hesitation procedure; once the mill contacts
the casing wall, it is time drilled by advancing the coil in 0.1 ft [0.03 m] increments. The
time required to mill a window is primarily
determined by the metal-cutting process.

Window-milling test. In a mockup test, a

mechanical whipstock was set inside 7-in.
casing, and a mill run on coiled tubing
drilled a window out of the casing. This
proof-of-concept test early in the CTD program helped in rening the design of
through-tubing whipstocks and the drilling
parameters to cut an optimum window.
13. Leising et al, reference 11.
Hightower CM, Blount CG, Ward SL, Martin RF,
Cantwell DL and Ackers MJ: Coiled Tubing
Sidetrack: Slaughter Field Case History, SPE Drilling
& Completion 10, no. 1 (March 1995): 4-9.
14. Harrison TW and Blount CG: Coiled Tubing
Cement Squeeze Technique at Prudhoe Bay,
Alaska, paper SPE 15104, presented at the SPE
California Regional Meeting, Oakland, California,
USA, April 2-4, 1986.
15. Loveland KR and Bond AJ: Recent Applications of
Coiled Tubing in Remedial Well Work at Prudhoe
Bay, paper SPE 35587, presented at the SPE
Western Regional Meeting, Anchorage, Alaska,
USA, May 22-24, 1996.

Oileld Review

Mechanical Whipstock

Several types of through-tubing mechanical

whipstocks are available. All consist of an
anchor that reacts against torsional and axial
loads and are designed to allow the small
through-tubing diameter to span from the
high side to the low side of the much larger
casing inside diameter. Through-tubing whipstocks are run inside the 412-in. casing and
expand to t inside a 7-in. or 512-in. liner.
These whipstocks are typically used for a
near-high-side exit. Gravity forces the upper
whipstock taper to lie against the low side of
the casing. The disadvantage to this design is
that it requires signicant hole angle.
A through-tubing mechanical whipstock,
developed by Baker Hughes, is used on the
North Slope for sidetracking. The procedures
and BHAs used to mill through the liner with
minimum dogleg severity, while providing a
clean window area, were developed at a test
facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, and
rened during the subsequent windowmilling operations. This whipstock was
designed with a maximum diameter of
358-in. [92 mm] so it could easily run through
the 412-in. nipple in the typical 412-in. completion. The whipstock is run and set on electric line to allow good depth control and
whipstock face orientation.
The windows are milled with ltered, slick
produced water or seawater. Viscous pills
have been pumped to clean the metal debris,
but downhole videos have shown that significant amounts of metal cuttings remain in the
wellbore. There is signicant annular area,
however, around the whipstock body to
allow the metal cuttings to settle inside the
liner, so the cuttings have not caused overpull problems on any wells to date. The windows are usually milled in two runs. The rst
mill opens up the nipple, which later serves
as a reference point for depth control.
In 7-in. casing, the initial point of contact is
3 ft down on the whipstock (previous page).
The mill breaks through the casing and contacts the cement sheath 2 ft [0.6 m] later. The
length of window is typically 6 ft [1.8 m]
from this point, and the mill enters the
formation. The initial BHA is normally
pulled, and a second BHA is run with a pilot
mill designed to drill formation. This BHA
includes a string reamer to dress off the window and drills a pilot hole just far enough for
the reamer to clear the window (right).

Summer 1998

Coil

Motor

Coil

Motor

Flex
joint

Watermelon
mill

Starting
mill

Flat face
mill

,,,,,,,,
,,
,,,
,,,
,,
,,,
,,,
,,
,,,
,,,
,,
,,,
,,,
,,
,,,
,,,
,,,,,,,,
,,
,,,
,,,
,,
,,,
,,,
,,
,,,
,,,
,,,,,,,,

Whipstock window-milling procedure. A 12-ft long through-tubing whipstock is rst run

and set with electric line in a directional well. The mechanical whipstock is permanently
anchored in the well and orients toward the high side of the well. A ex-joint BHA opens
the window out of the casing, and a second, stiff BHA with a tungsten carbide mill then
opens a 3.8-in. by 6-ft long window through the casing. A key to developing and rening
the operational procedure was the use of downhole video technology to inspect the various steps in the window-milling process.

31

Drilling Techniques

Because the CTD string is not rotated, hole

cleaning and weight-transfer benefits
attributed to pipe rotation are not realized.
Effective hole cleaning and weight-transfer
techniques for both cased and openhole
operations have been established, however.
Many of the drilling mechanics and hole
cleaning problems experienced in early
wells have been reduced or eliminated with
the use of a low-solids polymer drilling uid.
Satisfactory drill rates with coiled tubing or
rotary drilling require adequate transfer of
weight to the bit. Conventional rotary drilling
relies primarily on BHA weight. For rotary
drilling of horizontal wells, weight is often
transferred to the bit by placing a section of
heavy-weight drillpipe or drill collars in the
drillstring above the build section to push
the lower end of the drillstring in the horizontal section. Drillstring rotation improves
weight transfer to the bit by reducing drag;
it changes the direction of friction from drag
to torque.
Weight transfer in CTD operations occurs
primarily by pushing on the resilient coiled
tubing drillstring in the horizontal section.
Due to its smaller diameter, coiled tubing is
less rigid than drillpipe, and helical buckling
and eventually lockup will occur as the
coiled tubing is increasingly compressed.
Maximum weight on bit with coiled tubing is
less than with rotary drilling in horizontal
wells. Because of the small hole sizes, however, the weight on bit in pounds per inch of
bit diameter is adequate, and high-speed
motors yield comparable penetration rates to
those of rotary drilling.

Cuttings beds, which accumulate around

the coiled tubing in deviated and horizontal
hole sections, reduce weight transfer and
can result in differential sticking unless
removed by frequent short trips. The combination of mechanical agitation by the bit, jetting force at the nozzles and continuous
circulation of drilling uid during short trips
mitigates the problem of cuttings bed accumulation. Short trips to the start of the build
section or the casing window are performed
after 50 to 100 ft of new hole are drilled.
Extended short trips to the tubing tail to
remove cuttings from the large casing annulus above the window are made once per
12-hour tour, or as necessary. Short trip rates
of 15 to 20 ft/min [4 to 6 m/min] while
pulling out of the hole are used to allow adequate agitation and cuttings sweep. Trip
speeds while returning to bottom are typically 40 to 50 ft/min [12 to 15 m/min] to
reduce the possibility of accidentally sidetracking. Drill rates in soft sands are normally
limited to 75 ft/hr [23 m/hr] to prevent rapid
buildup of a cuttings bed and to allow adequate hole cleaning.
The drilling uid inuences weight to bit
transfer, particularly in the horizontal section. Weight transfer diminishes as the horizontal section is extended and the drilling
uid is spent. The coiled tubing and BHA,
which move freely at normal tripping speeds,
can become differentially stuck with a spent
drilling uid at normal drill rates. Dead
crude oil is typically circulated into the
openhole to free the drillstring in stuck pipe
conditions involving differential sticking. The
drillstring is commonly freed before suf-

cient crude is pumped to signicantly reduce

the hydrostatic pressure, perhaps because
the crude increases lubricity or breaks a
drilled solids lter cake. As weight-transfer
problems become signicant, the standard
practice is to displace the well with new
drilling uid.
In addition to weight-transfer techniques,
coiled tubing drilling requires special methods or tools for orienting the BHA. The
indexing hydraulic orienter is used to make
directional changes. The orienter is actuated
by bleeding off and then restoring coiled
tubing pressure. Each cycle results in a
preset toolface change of 20. Small toolface
changes can often be made by altering
weight on bit. The resulting change in
reactive motor torque causes variations in
toolface. To minimize drilled doglegs, directional changes are made in 20 increments,
when feasible, to correspond with orienter
capabilities. If a dogleg or tight spot is
observed, the section is back reamed. Three
passes upward, typically at 60 to 120 ft/hr,
are made with 120 toolface changes
between each pass. Reaming while running
in the hole at slow rates is avoided to reduce
the possibility of accidentally sidetracking.
Directional drilling with a conventional
drilling rig is usually accomplished using
a combination of rotating and sliding.
Rotating results in straight hole, while sliding
(not rotating the drillstring) creates a turn.
With this technique, the turn rate of a particular bent motor BHA can be controlled
by drilling combinations of angle build
and straight (tangent) sections. This combination of sliding and rotating results in an
average directional change over a given
interval of hole. Directional changes in CTD
jobs occur only by sliding because the drillstring cannot rotate.
Motor bend selection is critical for drilling
the build section. If the drilled build rate
exceeds the target build rate, a series of
S-shaped turns may be used to reduce the
effective build rate. If the resulting doglegs
are projected to be severe enough to cause
weight-transfer problems while drilling the
remainder of the well, the motor is tripped
and replaced. Motor selection while drilling
the horizontal section is less critical. The
most common CTD well types have short
build sections with longer horizontal sections (left).

,,,,,,
,
,,,,,,
,,,,,,
41/2-in. tubing

Drilling fluid in coiled tubing

95/8-in. casing

Drilling fluid in liner

Cement

Window in 7-in. liner

31/2-in. openhole

27/8-in. liner with spiral centralizers

13/4-in. coiled tubing

Seal assembly
Landing collar

Whipstock

Original perforations

Dart

Stinger

Float

Typical CTD well. A typical CTD well on the North Slope has a short build section and a
long horizontal section into the reservoir. The liner is made up in the derrick of the rig, run
at the end of the coiled tubing string and cemented in place. The wells are then perforated with coiled tubing-conveyed perforating guns.

32

Oileld Review

Distance west of surface location, ft

2000

1600

1200

800

400

400
G-3A plan
800
Target
1200

8100

8300

8500

Original hole
G-3

8700

G-3A plan

8900
G-3

True vertical depth subsea, ft

2400

Distance south of
surface location, ft

Accurate depth control is important in

high-build-rate directional calculations and
critical to successful window-milling operations. Depth control with coiled tubing is
accomplished by rst accurately locating a
production string component of known
depth, such as the tubing tail or prole nipple, and then marking or agging the coiled
tubing at surface. The BHA depth on subsequent runs can be corrected to the ag point,
independent of mechanical depth counters
on surface. CTD operations use real-time,
MWD gamma ray data for accurate depth
control. Gamma ray tie-in is obtained during
each trip in the hole. Bit depth is correlated
to a baseline log, and a ag is then painted
on the coiled tubing at surface (right).
The use of gamma ray tie-in logs conrms
the phenomenon of pipe stretch. The elongation of the coiled tubing is determined by the
depth shift of the reference ag painted on the
pipe. Up to 4 ft [1.2 m] of coiled tubing
stretch is often measured for a 10,000-ft
[3000-m] round trip using 2-in. diameter pipe
with a 0.156-in. [4-mm] wall thickness. The
stretch probably reects deformation of the
coiled tubing as it is bent over the coiled tubing gooseneck, straightened out by the injector chains and then loaded axially.

9100
2000

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

Departure, ft

Complex well trajectory. The G-3A well is one of the longest wells drilled to date with
coiled tubing. The sidetrack was drilled 2725 ft [830 m] directly into a small target
area. This well indicates the high degree of directional control now possible with coiled
tubing drilling.

Low Shear-Rate Viscosity

Drilling Fluid

Summer 1998

40
1.5 ppb-xanthan
30
Viscosity, thousand cp

Critical uid functions are to provide cuttings transport and suspension in large
annuli, optimize pump pressure and ow
rate, minimize stuck pipe, provide lubricity
between the coil and wellbore, control
leakoff or uid loss, minimize formation
damage, provide wellbore stability, allow
accurate MWD and logging data acquisition,
and enhance cementing operations.
The rheologically engineered, solids-free
drill-in uid was designed to address the
unique challenges of CTD operations on the
North Slope. Rheologically engineered uids
exhibit viscoelastic, time-dependent properties and are designed to have elevated low
shear-rate viscosity (LSRV). A high LSRV correlates with the drilling uids capability to
suspend drilled solids, especially in the wide
annulus between the coil and original casing.
LSRV is measured at a shear rate of 0.06 sec-1
on a Brookeld viscometer (right). The
drilling uid contains ve basic components:
base liquid phase, biopolymer, lubricant, biocide and potassium hydroxide.

Fann viscometer rpm

3
6
20

10
3.4-ppb HEC
0
0.01

0.1
LSRV

10

100

Shear rate, sec -1

Low shear-rate viscosity (LSRV) drilling uid. High frictional pressure losses inside the coil
and BHA limit the ow rate possible during CTD operations. The low ow rate leads to low
annular velocity for the uid carrying drilled solids in the wide annulus between the coiled
tubing and casing. The xanthan biopolymer drilling uid used in CTD wells provides
better particle suspension at these low ow rates than hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) polymer uid. The measure of this property is low shear-rate viscosity, taken at a shear rate of
0.06 sec -1 on a Brookeld viscometer.

33

A premium-grade, claried xanthan gum

produces LSRV in the uid. Claried xanthan
has had bacterial residue from the manufacturing process removed. Conventional rheological properties can be adjusted at
relatively low polymer concentrations, but
LSRV does not develop until a critical polymer concentration has been exceeded. As
LSRV is the last property to develop, it is also
the rst to degrade.
Conventional drilling experience has
shown that a 60,000 to 80,000 cp LSRV controls leakoff to permeable zones up to 5 D.
Unfortunately, LSRV alone cannot control
losses to secondary permeability, such as
faults and fractures, which have been a
problem in Prudhoe Bay where wells have
crossed faults. Once a wellbore crosses a
fault, losses can range from simple seepage

to severe, depending on fault size. Lost

returns contribute to problems with hole
cleaning, well control, lubricity and stuck
pipe. Conventional lost-circulation materials
are routinely pumped to attempt to control
losses. Different crosslinked polymer pills
and other ways of controlling these losses are
under investigation.
The typical brine concentration is
5% potassium chloride and 3% sodium
chloride, for a total chloride concentration of
40,000 mg/L. This concentration optimizes
polymer performance, provides adequate
density at 8.8 ppg [1.06 sg] and achieves
more than a two-to-one potassium-tosodium ion ratio for shale inhibition and
formation protection. Potassium hydroxide
maintains pH around 9.0 to 9.5 to optimize
polymer performance and lower corrosion
rates from the drilling uid.

Solids free does not mean the uid

never contains solids; rather, it means no
solids are added during preparation or
maintenance of the uid. No particulate
matter is used for either density or uid-loss
control. Obviously, some drilled solids will
enter the uid system, but aggressive solids
removal minimizes their effect on uid
performance. The solids-control program
uses linear-motion shakers and a high-speed
centrifuge to keep the drilling uid clean
and maintain total solids concentration less
than 1%. Once the solids content reaches
1%, the system is diluted with fresh solidsfree uid.
The uid relies on viscoelastic properties
and elevated LSRV, not lter cake, to control
invasion of ltrate into the formation, creating
a high differential pressure gradient. As uid
leaks off radially into the formation, the shear

250

200

Downtime

Perforating

Drilling time

Rig up and rig down

Liner

Other

Waiting on cement

Hours

150

100

50

0
Well 1

Well 2

Well 3

Well 4

Well 5

Well 6

Well 7

Well 8

Total drilling time improvement. Throughout the CTD programs on the North Slope, the percentage of nonproductive time on the rigs
has decreased steadily as the CTD learning curve progressed. The greatest improvements in time utilization were seen in the decrease
in drilling time. These improvements resulted from a better understanding of the CTD process and improved equipment reliability. On
average, on-bottom drilling time accounts for 49% of the total well time, liner operations 9%, downtime 9%, perforating 7%, rigging
up/down 7%, waiting on cement 5% and the rest miscellaneous activities.

34

Oileld Review

rate decreases, and the viscosity prevents further penetration. Temperature, overbalance
pressure, formation permeability and porosity, and formation uid viscosity control the
depth of uid penetration into the formation.
A gradual pressure gradient develops as
drilling uid enters the formation, reducing
the potential for differentially stuck pipe,
which is critical because there is no pipe
rotation to minimize the chance of stuck
pipe. The uid invasion depth has not been
quantied yet, but well productivity has met
or exceeded expectations, demonstrating the
uids nondamaging characteristics.
Minimal solids provide several benets.
Pump pressures remain low, improving coil
life. Stuck-pipe potential drops if the uid
system has less than 1% solids. At greater
solids concentrations, a lter cake begins to
form along with a greater differential pressure gradient. With lower solids content, the
coefficient of friction in the wellbore
decreases, and lubricants function better
because of less solids surface area to coat.
Plastic viscosity increases with increasing
solids content; a higher plastic viscosity
results in higher pump pressures and lower
penetration rates.
Outlook

CTD technology has proven to be a viable

drilling method in Prudhoe Bay, and operators in Alaska are considering its expansion
into the nearby elds of Milne Point,
Lisburne, Endicott and Kuparuk. CTD techniques are also used, but to a lesser extent,
offshore in the Kenai elds of Alaska. Both
BPX and ARCO are evaluating their Alaskan
CTD experience for use in other elds worldwide. There is some concern that the unique
operational and reservoir conditions on the
North Slope which have fostered CTD development may not necessarily be the case in
other elds. Another issue is the high startup
cost of CTD techniques, especially for onewell projects.
The success of through-tubing CTD jobs
has spawned development of through-tubing
rotary drilling (TTRD). TTRD is in its infancy
and is an emerging technology that may provide many of the same benets as coiled tubing drilling. Both types of through-tubing
drilling offer the main economic benets of
not having to remove the production string.
CTD technology is maturing, as evidenced
by the focus on improving operational efciency (previous page). The current challenge
to contractors is to provide incident-free
operations while delivering 15% year-onyear cost reduction and achieving annual
production targets (above).

Summer 1998

Contingency
10%

Before
rig up
6%

After rig down

4%
Perforate
10%

Plug and
abandon
7%

Mill window
18%

Run liner
8%

Logging
6%
Drill
build section
18%

Drill
horizontal section
13%

Typical CTD cost distribution on the North Slope.

Wells will become increasing complex as

Prudhoe Bay production continues to
decline. The length of horizontal sections
drilled by coiled tubing will need to
increase. Operators expect to drill wells with
multilateral sections to tap even smaller
pools of oil from a single surface site.
Several technical areas warrant further
improvements. Drilling uids and hydraulics
are critical to operational efciency. The
biopolymer drilling uid works adequately,
yet there is much room for improvement. The
drilling uid wears out rapidly, but the exact
cause is unknown. The used drilling uid
must be replaced, as it typically lasts for
about 1000 ft (half a typical well). The next
generation of uids will need to improve
hole cleaning, thereby reducing wiper trips,
and improve lubricity to allow better weight
transfer to the bit.
Equipment reliability has been a concern
and will continue to be a focus for improvement. The goal is to decrease failures in
MWD tools, injector heads, tubing and
pumps. To that end, there has already been
signicant improvement. Downtime comparisons between rotary rigs and CTD rigs
are unfair, however, because rotary rigs typically have built-in redundancy and backup
systems. Coiled tubing units have historically
been designed for compactness with only
one of each critical item.

In Alaska, there have been more problems

with downhole drilling tools during CTD
operations than during conventional rotary
drilling. These problems primarily stem from
the smaller tools used. Service providers
working in Alaska are focusing on strengthening these tools, while simultaneously
developing the next generation of even
smaller tools for drilling through 312-in. completion strings, using the same electronics as
in larger tools.
The drilling engineers wish list is obvious:
a desire for every tool and service available
for conventional rotary drilling, only made
smaller and less expensive. Realistically,
these advancements will take some time and
there will be many problems to solve during
development. Building bigger, stronger tools
is typically easier than building smaller ones.
The number of skeptics is fewer than in
the early days of coiled tubing drilling.
Although coiled tubing drilling will not
replace rotary drilling, some applications
are particularly well-suited for CTD techniques. Of these, Prudhoe Bay is the biggest
success story.
KR

35