SPE 166344

Steerable Drilling Liner Used to Increase Recovery on the Grane Field at

the Norwegian Continental Shelf
Morten Eidem, Gaute Grindhaug, Marius Paulus, Christian Kanzler and Eirik Skarsb; Statoil ASA
Sascha Schwartze, Niko Spreckelmeyer and Carl C. Clemmensen; Baker Hughes

Copyright 2013, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 30 September2 October 2013.
This paper was selected for presentation by an 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 Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
Steerable Drilling Liner (SDL) was originally designed to remove downtime related to drilling in unstable formations and/or
into depleted formations as it allows the well to be lined/cased off simultaneously as it is drilled. The SDL system consists of
a standard drill pipe as the inner-string, inside a conventional liner. The system uses a conventional rotary steerable Bottom
Hole Assembly and has been designed to drill complex 3D well trajectories, up to 2000 m long, with the same directional and
logging capabilities as conventional drilling. Two sizes are developed: 7 for 8 hole and 9 5/8 for 12 hole. Using
SDL gives several benefits to the drilling process, including:

Reduced openhole time; the liner is always on bottom.

Reduced pressure fluctuations; tripping of BHA/innerstring is always in cased hole.

Reduced mechanical impact on the formation; stable centralised liner with no lateral movement against formations
when drilling.

All the above will contribute greatly in the goal of preventing formation collapse prior to drilling a section to planned total
depth (TD).
Based on a request from the Grane field in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), additional ways of using the SDL
technology has now been introduced as an 7 SDL system was drilled fully into open hole and left as an open hole clad (with
both the liner top and bottom in a reservoir sand) to prevent unstable intermediate formations to collapse and subsequently
prevent drilling the 8 reservoir section to planned TD.
Unstable shale protruding into the reservoir at Grane causes regular adjustment to the wellpath. As the formation instability
develops over time, getting the liner/completion through a shale interval has been proven difficult and often results in
sidetracks due to wellbore collapse and/or pack-offs. The solution has been to place the well path above the shale intrusions
to avoid the stability problems. This drilling practice limits the total reservoir drainage since the gravity based drainage only
allows the reservoir above the drilled wellpath to be produced. Using 7 Steerable Drilling Liner (SDL) on a well on the
Grane platform allowed drilling through the shale section and seal it off immediately before problems started to develop. This
enabled optimisation of the well placement for improved access to reserves that otherwise would be inaccessible due to shale
intrusions.
The entire operation was carried out with great success. SDL not only removed drilling related issues but also contributed to,
based on the more optimally placed wellpath, increased reserves. At TD, the liner was released from the inner-string without
any issues and left as a horizontal protection through the shale with both ends of the liner in the reservoir sand.

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Introduction
Many oil and gas operators around the world are faced with drilling operational risks when entering the matured field phase.
Narrow drilling margins, hole collapse (i.e. due to palesoles, loose sands, instable shale) and lost circulation are among the
challenges that must be dealt with safely and economically.
Steerable Drilling Liner (SDL) has been recognized as a very promising technology to overcome the challenges when drilling
in such environments based on contributing with the following benefits over conventional drilling:

Time
o
o
o

Time between drilling and lining the formation is removed as the liner is always at bottom
No need for typical wellbore conditioning, e.g. reaming and back-reaming
Better cement job since the hole is in better shape and likely to be more in gauge

Removal of self-induced formation stability

o Dramatically reduced hydraulic fluctuations since there is no tripping of BHA in open hole
o Reduced mechanical impact load on the formation since the liner rotates slowly (+/- 30 rpm) and
experience shows that shock & vibration levels while drilling are very low

Improved drilling dynamics

o Reduced shock, vibration and stick slip reducing the likelihood of BHA failure

Several design concepts have been reviewed based on field requirements and the Operators Research department within
Drilling & Well has now, in close collaboration with the Service company, developed, qualified and commercialized a
Steerable Drilling Liner system, see figure 1. The system enables the operator to drill and secure the wellbore with a liner in
one continuous operation, removing the time consuming and risky tripping normally performed between drilling and
casing/lining of the wellbore. This system has now been successfully utilized on, among others, Grane, with several
candidates coming up both in near and not too distant future.

Figure 1

The Steerable Drilling Liner concept

Directional Casing Drilling (CwD) is also a technology well suited to overcome the above mentioned issues, however, as the
majority of the Operators reservoir sections are completed with a liner instead of a casing, combined with the fact that CwD
does not fit the requirements for drilling subsea wells from a floating rig, the usability of the existing CwD technique is
limited. CwD may also not apply in deep water wells based on limited rig load capacity due to the potential very heavy
casing string.

The Steerable Drilling Liner system and components

The Steerable Drilling Liner is an integrated drilling system that combines the advantages of rotary steerable drilling
technology with the liner drilling concept. The system consists of a retrievable and changeable inner string/pilot BHA and an
outer liner string. Inner and outer strings are connected via a running tool that is located at the top of the liner. The liner
rotates slowly with +/-30 rpm to overcome axial friction while the reamer bit and pilot BHA/bit rotate with additional +/-120
rpm provided by a modified positive displacement motor. An overview about the system is shown in figure 2.

SPE 166344

Figure 2

The Steerable drilling Liner system including main components.

A running tool (1) provides the mechanical connection between drill pipe (8) and liner (7). It transmits the torque required to
rotate the liner and the axial force that is needed to run the liner in hole (RIH) or pull out of hole (POOH). The setting tool is
based on conventional equipment with some modifications for this application. The running tool has a hydraulic release
mechanism which is ball activated. The hydraulic release mechanism is isolated during drilling in order to prevent premature
release as a result of drilling pressure spikes. As a contingency option, the tool can be released with left hand torque. The tool
can be re-latched downhole after being serviced at surface. The running tool latches into a mating setting sleeve with a short
polished bore receptacle (PBR). This setup results in an increased flow area outside the liner and thus lower equivalent
circulation density (ECD) and less operational risk compared to running a hanger/packer assembly on the initial drilling run.
If required the hanger/packer assembly is carried into the well with a seal stem in a consequent run, latching into the short
PBR and being kept in place through a special latch mechanism.
As the innerstring and liner is connected in both ends of the liner, the lengths of the two parts need to be equal. To
accomplish this, a thruster (2) is placed in the inner string on top of the drilling BHA. The application of the thruster eases the
space-out and make-up of the innerstring to the Liner running tool. The thruster has an increased stroke compared to standard
thrusters in order to be able to re-drill or ream the pilot hole if needed. The created thrust force, which is dependent on the
pressure drop below the tool, pushes the landing splines (3), which are mounted on the motor, into a mechanical seat inside
the liner shoe in order to define the axial position of the pilot BHA relatively to the liner. A position sensor allows to monitor
the position of the inner string relative to the liner in real-time and to adjust drilling parameters if required. The utilized motor
(3) is based on proven technology but has been modified in order to provide increased torque capability, as the motor is
powering both the reamer bit and the pilot BHA including the pilot bit.
In order to transmit weight and torque to the reamer bit, which is mounted via swivel connection to the liner shoe, a reamer
drive sub (RDS) (4) with extendable pistons is specially developed and used. The pistons provide a reliable connection
between reamer bit (5) and inner string that can transfer the required weight on bit (WOB) and torque on bit (TOB). All the
drilling forces of the reamer bit are taken by the inner string and not by the liner shoe.
The RDS piston elements are actuated by an internal oil hydraulic system and can be switched on and off via downlink from
the surface. For failsafe the tool de-activates automatically after a pre-set time if no circulation is present. The tool status is
monitored in real time.
A unique feature of the system is the possibility to change the pilot BHA while the liner remains on bottom. The feature is
not only valuable when a BHA component change-out trip is required, but also provides the option to run back in with a
shorter pilot BHA and ream the liner shoe TD, minimizing the rat hole. This can be done by de-activating the RDS and
releasing the setting tool. Subsequently the inner string can be pulled out of hole while the liner remains on bottom. For reconnection downhole the inner string is simply RIH until the landing splines detect the target position and the setting tool relatches. If required, the pilot hole can be reamed by moving the inner string up and down before latching back in at the liner
top.
The pilot BHA (6) can be configured according to the needs of the particular drilling application. For the first field
deployments a standard rotary steerable system (RSS) BHA configuration was used consisting of a steering unit, an MWD &
Control-module for directional and gamma measurements, a bi-directional power and communication module and a modular
motor to drive pilot and reamer bit. In addition a drilling dynamics sensor sub was placed into the BHA directly below the
reamer bit in order to monitor downhole vibrations and WOB/TOB distribution.
The drill bits features of the reamer bit such as cutter size, blade count, cutter exposure and nozzle sizes have been optimized
during the field tests. When selecting the pilot bit for the RSS the focus was on steerability, durability, hydraulics and
addressing the needs for a minimum of 5 deg/100 ft build up rate (BUR) capability. The features incorporated into the bit
were designed specifically for the rate of penetration (ROP) range planned to be drilling in and to control the aggressiveness
of the pilot bit. In drilling with reamers and pilot bits, it is important that the pilot bit does not out-perform the reamer bit and
by controlling bit aggressiveness, the correct balance between weight on reamer and weight on bit can be maintained. This is
of high importance as an overly aggressive pilot bit will translate into excessive weight on reamer and cause pilot string
instability. The hydraulics was optimized to prevent balling and the nozzles sizes were chosen to achieve the desired
horsepower per square inch (HSI) for the application.

SPE 166344

The reamer bit was designed with 5 blades and matched to the pilot bit. The blades were designed to provide sufficient junk
slot area to evacuate the cuttings generated by both the pilot bit and reamer bit. The reamer bit does not have any nozzles but
instead is cleaned by the fluid flowing up the annulus. Reamer balling was a concern due to the low velocity of the annular
flow. Placement of the stabilizer below the reamer was optimized using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to ensure
optimal annular fluid velocity along the reamer bit. The cutting structure was designed for durability but with some more
aggressiveness than the pilot bit. This was achieved by optimizing the cutter exposure to the specific operating parameters.
To prevent cuttings accumulation inside the liner and possible difficulties pulling the innerstring, a portion of the flow is
leaking out through the motor bearings creating flow out through the reamer bit. This prevents debris from entering into the
end of the liner.

Operational procedure
Figure 3 shows the SDL make-up, drill and release procedures:
First (1), the liner shoe with the attached reamer bit is run in hole, followed by normal casing joints. Once the required length
has been run using standard casing running equipment, the liner is set in the rotary table with a connection tool facing up that
allows an easy final assembly of the system in the later steps. The connection tool enables the use of a mating C-plate, which
results in a low footprint and the possibility to run the inner string drill pipe with the iron roughneck.
In a next step (2) the BHA is picked up and run on drillpipe to its latching position inside the liner. After spacing out the
inner string, the liner top is picked up and the whole system can be run in hole on drill-pipe.
Before drilling is started the RDS is activated by downlink. After bedding in the pilot BHA, the system can drill the desired
well path while proving realtime formation and tool status data (3). The system is drilling very stable with low vibration
levels observed by realtime downhole dynamics tools, which is attributed to the good stabilization of the whole system.
At TD, the RDS is deactivated and the liner running tool released after dropping a ball. The whole inner string is retrieved to
surface leaving the liner at its desired depth (4).
In the discussed application the next section was directly drilled through the liner left in the well. In more standard
applications the open ended liner is cemented in a separate run while also installing a liner top packer/hanger assembly.

Figure 3 operational procedures for SDL system.

SPE 166344

Using Steerable Drilling Liner on Grane

Standard drilling and completion issues on Grane, leading up to use of Steerable Drilling Liner
The Grane platform in the Norwegian side of the North Sea produces mainly heavy oil from the "Heimdal" reservoir. This
reservoir lays approx. 1725m TVD below the mean sea level, is in average 50-60m thick and the base and top of the reservoir
are enclosed by the Upper and Lower "Lista" shale formations. The surfaces of this shale enclosure are very uneven and
characterized by steep shale intrusions into the Heimdal sand body. A typical Grane oil producer well is a multilateral
horizontal well with an average lateral length of 2000m that is completed with sand control screens. These reservoir sections
are normally drilled with an 8 "bit and a 3D RSS.
Grane's latest drainage strategy maximizes the oil recovery by positioning the well paths as close as possible to the base of
the reservoir due to the small amount of water in the reservoir. An azimuthal and deep reaching resistivity LWD combined
with a gamma ray LWD makes it possible to accurately geosteer these wells, more precise than seismic interpretations that
often struggle to identify all existing shale intrusions due to a limited resolution. However, steep and unforeseen intrusions
lead regularly to undesirable penetration of the Lower Lista shale. Due to the progressed depletion of the reservoir pressure
and the existence of faults as thieve zones, it seems not possible to drill through Heimdal with a mud weight that is high
enough to counteract the hole collapse in the Lista shale intrusions. A consequently low mud weight (lately down to 1,05 SG)
leads therefore to hole collapse, normally within 1-2 days. Particularly when drilling through shale intrusions relatively early
in a wellbore, the time window for a stable hole does often not suffice to drill the wellbore or even run sand screens to TD.
So far, the conventional way of avoiding the shale intrusions was a technical sidetrack. This solution is time consuming and
often implies a significant lift of the well path to achieve a safe distance to the identified shale intrusion. As a consequence,
the oil volume below the well path cannot be produced.

Job planning
During the planning of the G-17 AY1 well, one large and steep shale intrusion was already identified by the seismic
interpretation and it was decided to penetrate this shale interval with a 7" steerable drilling liner. After having reached the end
of this shale interval, the liner was planned to be dropped in open hole in order to seal off the shale during further drilling of a
6" hole to TD. This solution enabled the deepest possible positioning of the well path in front and behind of this shale
intrusion and increased the producible volumes significantly.
Based on experience from previous SDL applications, along with simulations from the planning phase, hole cleaning was not
optimal with this mud system, see table 1. To properly clean the well, a ball operated circulation sub was included as part of
the innerstring. The circulation sub was to be activated after having released the liner at TD, using the same ball used to
release the running tool. By activating the circulation sub, much higher circulation rates could be applied in order to properly
clean the area above the liner and the larger sections of the well, particularly from above the 9 5/8 and up.

Liner and mud system information

Mud type
Mud weight
Liner type / grade
Liner weight
Liner length
Drill length
Table 1

OBM
1.12 sg.
7 VAM TOP HT / P110
32 lbs/ft
231 m
250 m

Liner and mud system

Execution
An 8 observation hole was first drilled according to plan to map the reservoir base topography to optimize the final well
path along with giving the topographical insight needed to properly plan the Steerable Drilling Liner job. After drilling to
TD, the drilling assembly was pulled back to above the first shale area and an open hole sidetrack was created using the 8
RSS BHA. This wellbore was afterwards drilled further conventionally down to a safe distance to the identified shale
interval. The drilling assembly was then pulled out of hole and the 7 SDL was made up and run in hole. 18 joints of 7

SPE 166344

32#/ft. High Torque Liner was made up and run in hole. After this, the BHA and innerstring were made up, run into the liner
and finally connected. The entire system was then RIH to 2214 mMD where a shallow hole test was performed to verify that
all tools where working as intended before RIH to TD. At TD, before drilling commenced, drilling parameters were
established and the system fully activated. Drilled ahead using RSS sleeve rotation as an initial indicator of what formation
being drilled (verified by the gamma ray censor further behind in the BHA). Drilling continued to TD with the same
parameters.
At TD, the liner was released from the inner-string without any issues and left as a horizontal protection through the shale
with both ends of the liner in the reservoir sand, see figure 4. The circulation sub was then activated with the ball from the
running tool and the well was cleaned before pulling the drill string and BHA to surface. Due to the short liner length and a
therefore very small up-weight difference that could indicate that the liner is really left in hole, the risk of accidently pulling
the liner out of the shale interval with a BHA ledge was mitigated with a short verification test of the top liner depth.
A total of 250 meters were drilled in 21 circulating hours and 16 drilling hours with a steering response equivalent to, and
drilling dynamics better than, conventional drilling: controlled ROP of 20 m/h, +/-3 tonnes weight on bit, steering response of
2 4,4 /30m and very low shock & vibration levels. Increasing ROP to 35 m/h was performed without any indications of
problems, verifying the systems potential to compete with conventional drilling in all aspects of a drilling operation. One
very important observation was that no pack-off tendencies, which is experienced when drilling conventionally, where seen
when drilling through the shale sections with the SDL system. This can be viewed as proof that a liner drilling system is
formation friendly, as it does not provide any excessive pressure fluctuations or mechanical loads on the formation, both
when drilling and tripping. ECD while drilling was stable at approximately 1.24 sg.
The main objective related risk of a too short SDL that could leave to a further exposed shale interval in front or behind the
dropped liner was reduced by an increased liner length compared to the shale interval length identified by the earlier drilled
observation hole. However, a balance had to be achieved with the opposing goal to seal off as little productive reservoir
length as possible. The excess liner length was therefore positioned in the less productive reservoir zone behind the shale
interval.
The liner was not cemented but held in place by (over time) collapsing shale. Liner placement was later verified by LWD
when continuing drilling the 6 section out of the liner. It is also to be mentioned that no issues were seen during the many
tripping operations in and out of the 7 SDL liner with drilling and completion equipment.

Figure 4

Liner left in open hole through shale protrusions

The entire operation was carried out without any issues and was a great success for Grane. SDL not only removed drilling
related issues but also contributed to increased reserves. Grane has several upcoming SDL candidates where use of the
technology will enable access to potentially huge additional reserves.

SPE 166344

Conclusion and further use of SDL on Grane and for Statoil in general
The successful implementation of steerable liner drilling technology will have a large impact on operations going forward.
The technology gives substantial reduction in operational downtime and also enables the operator to access reserves which
previously were unattainable.
Experience show that drilling into paleosoles and unstable shale formations often can be performed with little problems. The
instability and collapse problems normally starts after having reach TD of the section or if having to perform a BHA trip
before having reached TD. Drilling with SDL protects the formations from the pressure fluctuations seen during tripping as
only the inner string is tripped out of hole, leaving the liner as an isolating layer with surge and swab pressures from the trip
on the inside of the liner. Furthermore, drilling with SDL also prevents the mechanical load on the formations which is seen
during normal drilling. As the well centralized liner is rotated at low rpm (+/- 30) little lateral stress is transformed to the
wellbore compared to traditional drill string rotated at 120 rpm or more during drilling. The reduced load transferred to the
well bore prevents initiation of formation instability and postpone the problems normally seen.
In addition to the benefit of having the liner in place to secure the wellbore when having reached TD of the section further
time saving can be achieved through the use of SDL. The above effects means that time savings can be achieved through
reduced time combatting tight hole after a trip and with no need for back reaming and wiper trips after finishing the drilling.
Reduced well bore stability problems and delay of collapse in unstable problems also means that the company is able to
access additional reserves. In the Grane field, the capability of drilling through previously undrillable shale formations is
changing the planned drainage and gives access to substantial oil reserves.
Reduced stability problems also means that hole inclination and step out above the reservoir can be increased. In many of the
fields in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) hole angle limitations exist above the reservoir. Formations in the
overburden tend to give collapse problems if drilled at too high inclination. Current practice means that horizontal step out is
limited by these formations. Drilling with the SDL system enables the Operator to plan for wells at higher inclination in the
overburden and thereby reaching added reserves from existing infrastructure.
As the technology is new, a gradual step up in activity is expected. Currently, a total of 3-4 sections are expected to be drilled
during 2013, increasing to 5-10 for 2014.

Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge Statoil ASA and Baker Hughes for permission to publish this paper.

Nomenclature
BHA = Bottom Hole Assembly
DH
= Down Hole
ECD
= Equivalent Circulating Density
ESD
= Equivalent Static Density
FIT
= Formation Integrity Test
HIS
= Horsepower per square inch
MD
= Measured Depth
NCS
= Norwegian Continental Shelf
OTS
= One-trip Steerable Drilling Liner
PBR
= Polish Bore Receptacle
POOH = Pull out of Hole
PPG
= Pound mass per gallon
RIH
= Run in Hole
ROP
= Rate of Penetration
RPM = Rotation per Minute
RSS
= Rotary Steerable System
SDL
= Steerable Drilling Liner
SG
= Specific Gravity
TD
= Total Depth
TOB
= Torque on Bit
TVD
= True Vertical Depth
WOB = Weight on Bit

SPE 166344

References
1.

Torsvoll, J. Abdollahi, M. Eidem, T. Weltzin, and A. Hjelle, S. Krueger, S. Schwartze, C. Freyer, T. Huynh, and T.
Sorheim: Successful Development and Field Qualification of a 9-in. and 7-in. Rotary Steerable Drilling Liner
System that Enables Simultaneous Directional Drilling and Lining of the Wellbore, SPE paper 128685, ATCE
2009