Chapter 2

Drilling platforms

Drilling platform

WHY DRILLING IS A MUST?

Prove that oil and gas existed in the reservoir
Obtain oil and gas samples for analysis
Measure fluid pressure within the reservoir
Determine the depth of O/W or O/G contacts
Take core sample for reservoir studies
Test the oil Layers to measure reservoir characterization
Start production
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Classification of rigs

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Offshore rigs

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Drilling platform: Offshore oil rigs

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Jackup

Different marine rigs

semisubmersible

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Tower platform

Drilling platform: Onshore rig

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Drilling platform
Oil Drilling Preparation
1.

The land is cleared and leveled, and access roads may be built

2.

Because water is used in drilling, there must be a source of water

nearby

3.

They dig a reserve pit, which is used to dispose of rock cuttings and
drilling mud during the drilling process

4.

Several holes must be dug to make way for the rig and the main hole

5.

A rectangular pit, called a cellar, is dug around the location of the

actual drilling hole

6.

Additional holes are dug off to the side to temporarily store equipment - when these holes are finished, the rig equipment can be brought in and
set up.
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Drilling platform

Mechanical drilling
Percussive drill
Jack hammer (sinker)
Drifters
Wagon-drill
Cable or Churn drill
Down The Hole drill (D-T-H)

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Drilling platform
Percussive drills bit

Chisel bit

Cross bit

Button bit

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Drilling platform

Rotary drill
Rotational system

Hoisting system
Circulation system
Power system
Controlling system
Monitoring system
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Drilling platform

Rotary drill
Rotational system
Swivel
Kelly
Rotary table Top drive

Drilling pipe or drilling string

Collar
Force to bit

Centralize
Bit

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Drilling platform

Rotational system
Swivel - large handle that holds the weight of the drill string; allows the string to
rotate and makes a pressure-tight seal on the hole

Kelly - four- or six-sided pipe that transfers rotary motion to the turntable and drill
string
Turntable or rotary table - drives the rotating motion using power from electric
motors
Drill string - consists of drill pipe (connected sections of about 30 ft / 10 m) and
drill collars (larger diameter, heavier pipe that fits around the drill pipe and places
weight on the drill bit)

Drill bit(s) - end of the drill that actually cuts up the rock; comes in many shapes
and materials (tungsten carbide steel, diamond) that are specialized for various
drilling tasks and rock formations

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Page 14

Rotary
table

Kelly

Drilling platform

Hoisting system
1.Derrick
2.Crown block
3.Traveling block

4.Draw work
5.Storage reel
6.Retentive wires
Fast line
Dead line

7.Hook
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Drilling platform

Hoisting system
Used for lifting heavy loads; consists of a mechanical
winch (draw works) with a large steel cable spool, a
block-and-tackle pulley and a receiving storage reel for
the cable.
Derrick (The most important part of hoisting system)
Support structure that holds the drilling apparatus; tall
enough to allow new sections of drill pipe to be added to
the drilling apparatus as drilling progresses
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Page 17

Drilling platform

Circulation system
Mud pump

Stand pipe
Kelly hose
Annulus (Mud return)
Shale shaker
Reserve pit

Mud pit
Mud mixing hopper

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Drilling platform

Circulation system
Pumps drilling mud (mixture of water, clay, weighting material and
chemicals, used to lift rock cuttings from the drill bit to the surface)
under pressure through the Kelly, rotary table, drill pipes and drill
collars.
Mud pump - sucks mud from the mud pits and pumps it to the
drilling apparatus
Pipes and hoses - connects pump to drilling apparatus
Mud return line - returns mud from hole

Shale shaker - shaker/sieve that separates rock cuttings from the

mud
Shale slide - conveys cuttings to the reserve pit
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Page 20

Drilling platform

Circulation system
Reserve pit - collects rock cuttings separated from the mud
Mud pits - where drilling mud is mixed and recycled
Mud-mixing hopper - where new mud is mixed and then sent to
the mud pits

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Drilling platform
Gas

Drilling mud
types

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Air
Methane
Nitrogen
CO2

Liquid

Fresh water
Salt water
Oil

Mud

Water base mud

Water-foam mud
Oil base mud

Drilling platform
Cleaning
Smoothing

Pressure
control

Usages of
drilling
fluid
Cutting
suspension
and
movement

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Cooling

Drilling platform

Power system
large diesel engines - burn diesel-fuel oil to provide the
main source of power

electrical generators - powered by the diesel engines to

provide electrical power

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Drilling platform

Controlling system
Casing
Conductor casing
Surface casing
Intermediate casing

Long casing
Liner
Blow out preventer
Shear rams
Blind rams
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Annulus preventer

Drilling platform
Controlling system
Casing

Large-diameter concrete pipe that lines the drill hole,

prevents the hole from collapsing, and allows drilling mud
to circulate
Blowout preventer
High-pressure valves (located under the land rig or on the
sea floor) that seal the high-pressure drill lines and relieve
pressure when necessary to prevent a kick-off or a
blowout (uncontrolled gush of gas or oil to the surface,
often associated with fire)
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BOP
If the formation pressure is
more than the imposed by
drilling fluid, in this case
formation fluids flow into
borehole and eventually to the
surface. This effect is called
blowout
The main function of blowout
preventers is to close the
annular space between the
drill pipe and casing

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Drilling platform

Rotary drills bit

Blade bit

Con type or rolling cutter bit

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Drilling platform

The Oil Drilling Process

There are five basic steps to drill the surface hole:
1. Place the drill bit, collar and drill pipe in the hole.

2. Attach the kelly and turntable and begin drilling.

3. As drilling progresses, circulate mud through the pipe
and out of the bit to float the rock cuttings out of the hole.

4. Add new sections (joints) of drill pipes as the hole gets

deeper.
5. Remove (trip out) the drill pipe, collar and bit when the
pre-set depth (anywhere from a few hundred to a couplethousand feet) is reached.
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Drilling platform

Once they reach the pre-set depth, they must run and
cement the casing -- Casing-pipe sections are placed into
the hole to prevent it from collapsing in on itself.
The casing crew puts the casing pipe in the hole
The cement crew pumps cement down the casing pipe
using a bottom plug, a cement slurry, a top plug and drill
mud.

Finally, the cement is allowed to harden and then tested

for such properties as hardness, alignment and a proper
seal.
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Page 31

Directional drilling

Page 32

It is often difficult to place a

drilling rig directly over the
spot where a well should be
drilled.
1. This is particularly true
offshore, where a
number of wells must be
drilled from the same
location.
2. Directional drilling is the
process of drilling a
curved well, in order to
reach a target that is not
directly beneath the drill
site.

Different directional drilling

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Drilling Hazards
Tools dropped while drilling
Pipe stuck
Increased size of hole

Lost circulation problems

Sloughing shale
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Drilling
Conclusion

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Oil field development

Drilling aims to reach the oil formation in the reservoir

A high pressure pump is used to pump the drilling mud

Mud is pumped back to the drill pipe continuously
Mud is consumed due to absorption and seepage through the
pores and crevices of the layers
An alarming decrease in the level indicates leakage due to
seepage in crevices or channels, while an increase in the level
indicates ingress of underground water
Samples are useful for surveying and assessing the drilling
operation as they carry valuable information about the layers
and formation.
Well logging is then carried out using a modern system of data
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acquisition
and analysis

Oil field development

After drilling of 3040 ft, the casing string is carried out to protect
the wall of the hole formed
Casing is then cemented to the wall by pumping a fast-setting
cement solution (usually Portland cement without sand)

Casing prevents caving of the wall and seepage of water from

the layers
The drilling operation is then continued and an additional casing
pipe of a reduced diameter until the target depth is reached
A pipe riser (tubing) is inserted in the well to lift the oil and is
connected to the well-head piping and valves
The well-head connection consists of a tubing header and a
Christmas tree header for collection of oil, gas, and water to
the respective
storage tanks.
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Mud in

Mud and cuttings out

Drill joints

Steel casing
Cement
Bore hole

Drill bit and holes

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Christmas tree head

Pressure gauge

Tubing head
Tubing for lifting oil
Casing head
Casing hole

Oil formation layer

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Oil formation layer

Oil production process

The gas lift method uses high pressure gas (air or carbon
dioxide) introduced through the annulus and oil is carried
through the inner tubing
At first, the well is filled with the mud fluid and the oil cannot
move up owing to the hydrostatic head of the mud fluid.
As the gas enters the annulus and piping, the density of the mud
column decreases and the hydrostatic head decreases, and as
a result, the mud fluid is lifted by the oil pressure.
Mud-oil mixture is separated on the surface tanks
When complete displacement of mud takes place from the well
and from the pores of the layer by the oil pressure, oil
production starts to rise up
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Oil production process _ sucker rod lift

The piston is operated by a
metallic wire
The piston is contained in a
cylinder with non-return
valves fitted at both ends

Sucker rod
driving wire
Oil to receiver

During the upstroke of the

piston, the bottom valve
opens, keeping the top valve Upper valve
closed and so, the cylinder
pressure falls below the
reservoir pressure, forcing Lower valve
oil to enter the cylinder

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Reciprocating arm

Tubing
Cylinder with piston
Well casing

Oil formation

Oil production process _ sucker rod lift

Sucker rod
driving wire

Reciprocating arm

During the down stroke of the

piston, the upper valve
opens and the bottom valve Oil to receiver
closes and oil in the cylinder
is pushed up to the tubing
through the upper valve.

Thus, the volume of oil

displaced upward in the
tubing is proportional to the
stroke length of the piston.

Tubing
Upper valve

Cylinder with piston

Well casing

Lower valve

Finally, oil starts flowing

upward and is collected

Oil formation

For more info: Submersible pumping for oil lifting!!!

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