SPE/IADC 119446

High Angle Directional Drilling With 9 5/8-in. Casing in Offshore Qatar

Michael Avery and Tod Stephens, Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd.; Ali K. Al-Hadad, Qatar Petroleum;
Mounir Turki, Tesco Corp.; and Malek Abed, Schlumberger D&M

Copyright 2009, SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 17–19 March 2009.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE/IADC 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 or the International Association of Drilling Contractors and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not
necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers or the International Association of Drilling Contractors, 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 or the International Association of Drilling Contractors 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/IADC copyright.

Abstract
Programs which require drilling through unstable formations at high angle before entering the productive zone for a horizontal
well are becoming more common. Casing while drilling is becoming a powerful method in mitigating both lost circulation as
well as wellbore stability issues in offshore directional wells.

Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd. (OPQL) is faced with this task in drilling horizontal Shuaiba wells offshore Qatar. The
unstable Nahr Umr shale formation lies directly above the Shuaiba payzone and is typically drilled with 12 ¼-in. bits. The
Nahr Umr shale tends to break up shortly after drilling, leading to stuck bottom hole assemblies (BHA) and difficulty running
9 5/8-in. casing. Exposure time with the Nahr Umr is often lengthened due to the requirement of continuous angle building and
turning to land near horizontal.

This paper details the directional casing while drilling (DCwD) developments that have been accomplished offshore Qatar and
the various advantages of the process. Due to recent advancements in tool design, it is now possible to circulate, rotate, and
reciprocate the casing during BHA retrieval and setting operations, all without modifications to the rig. These advantages
coupled with the versatility of rotary steerable systems allow for a much more flexible process and enables defensive measures
to be taken in the event of unforeseen complications.

Introduction
OPQL’s offshore operation in the Idd El Shargi North Dome (ISND), Qatar, currently drills a number of horizontal production
and injection wells in the Shuaiba limestone formation. Directly above the Shuaiba is the Nahr Umr formation, which is
composed of a non-reactive, but unstable, kalonitic shale. The 12 ¼-in. section is conventionally drilled about 80 ft into the
Shuaiba (20 ft TVD) at up to 86 degrees inclination, and a 9 5/8-in., 47 ppf, L-80 casing string is run and cemented to isolate
the shale and sand while drilling the 8 ½-in. reservoir section.

The Nahr Umr / Shuaiba interface is often a point where highly conductive faults are encountered. Severe losses of drilling
mud often occur at this interface resulting in a dramatic reduction of hydrostatic pressure as the wellbore annulus fluid level
falls. This pressure loss causes the unstable formation to collapse in on the drillstring and BHA, packing it off and making it
practically impossible to retrieve.

Until recently, the primary action in dealing with severe losses was to attempt to retrieve the BHA as quickly and as safely
possible to avoid stuck pipe and the loss of the assembly. The intention was to run back in the hole with a simple rotary BHA
and try to cure the losses so that drilling in the section could continue. However, in most cases to date, the collapse of the shale
occurs rapidly and without warning with the drill string packing-off on the way out of the hole. The BHA is usually lost with a
high economic impact on the well. The probability of this happening is directly related to the inclination angle of the well.
Wells in alternate horizons that are vertical or at lower angles do not have this problem. The Shuaiba exploitation strategy,
however, depends on landing wells at near horizontal angles so that long sections can be drilled in the reservoir.

A potential solution to this problem is to drill the section with casing and a retrievable BHA. DCwD technology uses the
casing, in place of drillpipe, to convey rotation, torque and act as a conduit for the drilling fluids.1 The directional BHA is
2 SPE/IADC 119446

latched to the lowermost casing joint and extends approximately 85 ft out of the shoe. It is driven by both surface rotation and
a downhole motor.2&3 For this application, an 8 ½-in. bit is used to drill a pilot hole, which is immediately opened up to
12 ¼-in. by an under-reamer positioned just below the 9 5/8-in. casing reamer shoe. The BHA can be retrieved through the
casing at any point during the drilling operation by running in through the casing with drillpipe and a latch tool.

The impact of using DCwD are that if losses occur at the Nahr Umr / Shuaiba interface, only 85 to 100 ft of drilling would be
required to get the casing at the planned TD. The hole is kept full with NaCl brine during this time to keep hydrostatic
pressure on the shale. The Shuaiba formation, with its higher mechanical integrity, is less prone to collapsing around the BHA.
The BHA can be quickly and safely retrieved through the casing to surface. This method eliminates the risky and lengthy trip
out the hole, as well as backreaming through the shale which stands a high chance of packing off due to the reduced stability in
the conventional drilling method.

A candidate well was identified to test this DCwD method. The well is a single lateral injector drilled through a region in the
field where a number of BHAs had been stuck due to lost returns on previous wells. Although the seismic information did not
indicate any conductive features at the interface, there were a number of other features which made this an ideal well for
DCwD.

• The 12 ¼-in. section in the well is just over 2000 ft in length, which was shorter than average for this type of well.
• The directional plan requires only 2.5°/100 ft doglegs (building and turning).
• The candidate well was planned for the rig that had experience in Tesco casing running services which is used in DCwD,
and the crews were familiar with the equipment.

On the 17th of April, 2008, this 12 ¼-in. section was successfully drilled to a total depth of 5820 ft measured depth after
having directionally drilled 2025 ft in from the 13 3/8-in. casing shoe to the casing point about 100 ft in to the reservoir. The
assembly built inclination from 28° to 76° and turned in azimuth from 14° to 41°.

Background and Planning

A significant level of engineering and operational preparation was performed to ensure that the operation was a success. This
included determining the suitability of the DCwD equipment, well control equipment, rig compatibility, hole cleaning and
hydraulics, directional tools and control, torque and drag modeling, BHA retrieval operations, and cementing the casing.

The project was planned in three stages. The first stage was to run 9 5/8-in. casing on a conventional (drillpipe) well using a
Casing Drive System (CDS). The next stage was to run 9 5/8-in. casing conventionally in a second well using the CDS. This
time the casing was rotated at a set number of depths to capture torque and drag data. This allowed the engineering model to
be better calibrated and to give a more accurate prediction of expected mechanical conditions while drilling. The third step was
to directionally drill the entire 12 ¼-in. section using DCwD.

Running Casing Using the CDS

The CDS (Figure 1) is made up to the rig’s top drive. API 6 API
5/8-in. RH Universal Hydraulic
Universal Hydraulic Trip and
Trip Torque
Cup Stabbing
It holds and rotates the casing. An internal grapple,
6 5/8" RH Reg Actuator and Torque Cup
Packer
Stabbing
Reg Connection
Connection Actuator
Grapple Grapple Packer Guide
Guide
which is hydraulically activated, grips the casing
while drilling and running. Packer cups below the
grapple seal against the inside of the casing to allow
circulation down the casing string from the top drive
during drilling.
Figure 1. Diagram of the Casing Drive System (CDS).

The CDS also has a set of link-tilt arms which uses single joint elevators to pick pipe up out of the V-door and stab the joint
into the casing string. The connection is made-up by rotating the CDS with the top drive against a back-up tong on the lower
joint. Once the joint is made up to the required torque, the slips are pulled, and the casing is run in the hole.

Running casing with the CDS proved compatible with the rig equipment, improved understanding of the system, developed
logistics procedures and allowed the rig crew to gain exposure to the system prior to drilling. The first casing running exercise
was a success and led to the next step in the planning process which was to develop an accurate torque and drag model.

Torque and Drag Modeling

The second step was to run casing in a drillpipe-drilled 12 ¼-in. section and rotate the casing at various depths. This allowed
the torque and drag measurements to be taken and the development of an accurate engineering model. Previous casing runs on
conventional wells had given axial friction factors in open hole of approximately 0.48, as exhibited in Figure 2.
SPE/IADC 119446 3

Initial torque modeling for rotating the casing required multi-lobe torque (MLT) rings to be pre-installed inside the 9 5/8-in.
Buttress Thread Connections (BTC) to boost the torque allowance on the casing connections. These rings effectively created a
shoulder-to-shoulder connection inside the BTC Tension Point Plot:
Tension Point Plot for 9 5/8-in. Casing Running 9-5/8" Casing Running

collar and increased the theoretical torque limit on Hookload (klbs)

0 50 100
Hookload [kip]
150 200 250

each connection to above 45,000 ft-lbs. During 0

running, however, the connections were made up to 1000

an actual 25,000 ft-lbs. The highest predicted torque

Depth (ft)
2000

while rotating at TD was well below this value. The

3000
torque values recorded during this run indicated a
rotating friction factor of 0.30 (cased hole and open 4000

MD [ft]
Measured
hole). This run allowed the torque and drag model to 5000

be used with confidence in predicting drilling 6000

parameters for DCwD operations.

7000

Well control 8000

Complete well control has to be demonstrated 9000

through the entire operation to consider DCwD as a Tripping In, 0.3ff Actual Tripping In - Model: csg 0.42ff, OH 0.48ff

feasible option. The operator and service companies

worked on a number of scenarios that could occur Figure 2. Tension Point Plot for running 9 5/8-in. casing conventionally.
at any point during the operation and ensured that
an absolute solution existed for each circumstance.

DCwD inherently involves a number of unique potential risks with regard to well control. One such risk is that the larger size
casing in a standard size hole reduces the annular clearance. This would, in turn, cause any influx of gas to elongate further in
the annulus compared to the larger annulus capacity in normal drilling operations with drillpipe. Kick detection must be even
more accurate than normal to prevent a serious well control situation occurring. Pit drills were run with the rig crews regularly
in the months before the job began, and the kick detection volume was reduced to a value believed to be well within the
design’s safety limit.

Another unique aspect occurs with BHA retrieval and replacement. Two annuli are exposed; namely between the open hole
and the outside of the casing (outer annulus) and between the inside of the casing and the drillpipe used in retrieval (inner
annulus). A false rotary table on top of the casing
stump on the rig floor is used while tripping
drillpipe in retrieval and replacement operations
through the casing.

Drillpipe tool joint 9-5/8" BTC Casing BTC

9 5/8-in. Swab Cups Drillpipe pin
Thread
Casing thread connection

Figure 3. The Threaded Casing Drive (TCD) used for well control.

Well control is maintained by replacing the upper pipe rams in the BOP stack
with 9 5/8-in. casing rams, and a Threaded Casing Drive (TCD) is ready on an Connection
Connection to TDSto TDS

air tugger on the drill floor. The TCD is a tool that has an NC50 pin/box
connection on the bottom and top respectively. A 9 5/8-in. buttress pin Casing thread
Casing Thread connection
Connection

connection is positioned mid tool. This allows the TCD to be made up between Rotary
Rotarytable
Table
Swab
Sw ab Cups cups
the drillstring hanging inside the casing and the top drive. It is then made up to 9 5/8-in.
9-5/8" rams
Rams Closed closed on csg
on Casing
the top joint of 9 5/8-in. casing set in the rotary table. A barrier is thus created Gas
Gas in annulus
in Annulus
on the inner annulus. It also allows for rotating and reciprocating the casing Ported
Ported sub
string and drillstring inside it, while circulation can be established down the 13-3/8" Casing
13 3/8-in. csg
drillstring. A diagram of the TCD is shown in Figure 3. 5" DP
5-in. drillpipe

A short ported sub is installed below the TCD. This allows pressure Drilling fluid
Drilling Fluid
measurements in the inner annulus in case a gas bubble migrated up the inner
annulus to surface. Additionally, a safety valve was added to the top of the
TCD
which could be closed once the tool had been made up to the drillstring and
casing. The arrangement is depicted in Figure 4.
Figure 4. The TCD shown installed for a well
control incident.
4 SPE/IADC 119446

This configuration allowed the annular preventer or rams to be closed on the outer annulus and the TCD to be installed on the
inner annulus if a well control situation arose during BHA retrieval. The TCD is not required in DCwD drilling operations
since circulation could be established down the casing with the CDS. The mud-cross with choke and kill lines positioned
below the rams allows circulation down the drillstring and up the outer annulus to circulate out a gas influx, if necessary.
These tools and procedures allow complete well control to be maintained during casing running, drilling with the casing, and
BHA retrieval and replacement.

Vertical Section Plan View

Vertical Section View Plan View
0 6000

1000 5000

2000
4000 DCwD
section
TVD [ft]

N/S [ft]
DCwD 3000
3000
section 2000
4000
1000

5000
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 -500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
VS [ft] E/W [ft]

Figure 5. Vertical Section and Plan view of the well showing the 12 ¼-in. section in red. This was drilled directionally with 9 5/8-in.
casing.

Rig Compatibility
DLA A significant advantage of this DCwD method is that
no significant modifications to the rig are required. DLA
internal Everything can be sent to the rig on one boat and
tandem returned after the section is finished. The rig on this internal
stabilizer project is a jack-up with a TDS-3 top drive system. tandem
The CDS interfaced with the top drive using a 6-5/8” stabilizer
REG box by NC-50 pin saver sub. This top drive can
casing deliver 30,000 ft-lbs of continuous torque. This was
shoe adequate for the proposed well trajectories based on Non-Directional
the torque and drag modeling. The rig power supply Motor
was investigated and found to be sufficient. A series
of physical measurements were taken prior to the first
casing running job which showed that the CDS link
tilt arms were long enough to pick the casing joints casing shoe
MWD out of the V-door. The trial runs with the CDS while Motor Bit Box
System running casing familiarized the rig crews with the
Under-reamer
equipment and confirmed that the rig was capable of
interfacing with the required equipment. roller reamer

Directional Plan and BHA

As with most wells in the Idd El Shargi North Dome,
MWD
Bent Housing the directional plan called for targets in the reservoir
some distance away from the surface location. System
Steerable Motor
Conventionally, a 13 3/8-in. casing string is set at
about 3700 ft MD at an angle of 30° inclination. The Rotary Steerable
remainder of the build is accomplished in the 12 ¼- System
in. section to land in the reservoir between 75° and
Under-reamer
86°. The maximum dogleg requirement for the
PDC Bit PDC Bit
section was 2.5°/100 ft and required a substantial
amount of turn.
Figure 6a. DCwD BHA using Figure 6b. DCwD BHA using a RSS.
a bent housing motor.

The directional plan view and vertical sections are shown in Figure 5, with the casing drilling section shown in red. Two
options were considered in designing the BHA. The first option uses a bent housing positive displacement motor to achieve
SPE/IADC 119446 5

directional control. The drilling assembly would be operated in rotary mode to drill tangent sections and slide drilling would
be used to achieve the required build and turn. The second option utilizes a rotary steerable system. Both options are shown in
Figure 6.

The primary advantage of a steerable motor is the relatively low cost of the assembly for operation and economic risk in lost-
in-hole situations.
Some disadvantages are:
• Less efficient hole cleaning while sliding and the possibility of axial stick slip, which would make it difficult to
maintain a uniform weight-on-bit. This can increase under-reamer damage.
• The motor is underpowered because there is a one step size reduction in the motor for hole size relationship. A
6 ¾-in. motor is used for a 12 ¼-in. hole where an 8-in. motor is normally used in conventionally drilling a 12 ¼-in.
hole.
• DCwD steerable motor assemblies tend to build aggressively in rotary mode.4

RSS tools are used in the majority of conventional wells drilled in the ISND field with considerable success in terms of rates
of penetration, directional control, and hole cleaning. The rotary steerable system has the following advantages over the bent
housing motor assembly:
• Constant rotation of the casing string breaks static friction, which allows an even weight-on-bit application. This also
helps in hole cleaning by moving cuttings into the flow stream.
• Changing directional orientation with a RSS is easier in DCwD than with steerable motors.

The disadvantages of the RSS tools are:

• Higher operations costs and lost-in-hole risk.
• A straight motor (no bent housing) is used for generating additional turns downhole and is subject to the same size-
reduction power disadvantage described above with the steerable motor approach. It is placed above the under-
reamer and most of the BHA is below it. This puts additional stress on the motor transmission.
• The BHA exposure length outside the shoe is slightly greater than with the bent housing motor assembly

A risk analysis was done, and it was decided that the well would be drilled using the RSS assembly as the advantages
outweighed the disadvantages. Plans initially called for a 6 ¾-in. push-the-bit RSS tool, but prior experience had shown
limited dogleg capability in the 8 ½-in. section through the target formations. Point-the-bit RSS performance was proved
during this planning phase, and that type of system was selected. This would be the first point the bit tool application in DCwD
worldwide.

The BHA is locked into place in the casing shoe joint using a drill lock assembly (DLA) which fits into the casing profile
nipple (CPN). Torque transmitted down the casing string is transferred to the DLA through the CPN. The DLA has a set of
dual opposing packer cups which seals against the inside of the CPN and divert flow from the casing through the BHA.

Motor selection was a major component of the BHA design. The under-reamer and bit are driven by both the motor and
surface rotation. It is important to keep the under-reamer speed within its design limit of 150 – 200 rpm. A balance between
flowrate, motor configuration and surface rotation was developed to keep the tool within its limit. The flowrate could not be
significantly reduced since hole cleaning and bit hydraulics would suffer. A motor with a 0.29 rev/gal power section was
selected. A flowrate range between 450 and 550 gpm was needed in the well design. Plans also called for 40 RPM from the
surface. Thus, the external BHA, bit, and under-reamer would turn at a collective speed between 170 and 200 RPM.

The measurement while drilling (MWD) tool is positioned below the motor in this configuration (see figure 6). Taking
directional surveys, therefore, had to be done with the pumps off to prevent the tool rotating. This requires a battery operated
MWD tool that can be programmed to survey a set time after the pumps are switched off when a connection is made. The
MWD then sends this stored survey to the surface when the pumps are brought up after making the connection. Continuous
gamma ray measurements were transmitted to surface through the motor while drilling.5 This is needed in identifying the
formation tops. Due to the large number of wells drilled in the field, a high level of steering accuracy was required by the RSS
tool because the wellpath included severe anti-collision concerns for the next section.

BHA Retrieval
Another major advantage of the DCwD method selected is that it is possible to retrieve the BHA at any point during the
process while leaving the casing in place. This means that the BHA could be retrieved if there was a BHA tool failure or if a
design change was required before reaching the end of the section. A new BHA could then be run in the hole to replace the
previous one in order to continue drilling. Upon drilling to the section total depth, the BHA is retrieved for the final time prior
to advancing to the next operation.
6 SPE/IADC 119446

Two methods of BHA retrieval are available, wireline or drillpipe operations. The drillpipe method of latching the BHA was
selected since wireline retrieval would prove difficult due to the high angle of the well at the end of the section and the overall
weight of the BHA..

A false rotary table was required at surface to run the drillpipe through the casing. It is important to set the top joint of casing
as low as possible in the slips on the drill floor to ensure safe working conditions for the rig crew while running drillpipe for
BHA retrieval and replacement operations.

The latching tool is a grapple-type tool which locks into the DLA and, when picked up, releases lock dogs. It then causes a
bypass port to open through the seal cups in the DLA to prevent swabbing on retrieval. Once the BHA is pulled back into the
casing, it is retrieved at nominal tripping speeds in casing to surface. If a new BHA was required to be run, the assembly could
be made up to a DLA and run back in through the casing. The DLA is then latched back into the CPN using a hydraulic shear
system. The drillpipe is tripped out and DCwD operations are resumed.

Hole Cleaning and Hydraulics

Considerable attention was given to hole cleaning and hydraulics for DCwD operations. The reduced annular clearance
between the casing and open hole increases the risk that the string could quickly become packed off if hole cleaning was not
properly maintained. A method was developed using pump pressure and hookload trends to calculate a hydraulic pump off
value, which gives early indications if the hole is becoming loaded with cuttings. The reduced annular clearance allows for
increased sensitivity to the readings and provides a useful tool to provide early warning of a packed-off annulus. Once the
pressure and hookload trends indicate insufficient hole cleaning, circulation, sweeps, and reciprocation of the casing string are
used to clean the hole.

The reduced annular clearance actually improves hole cleaning with the reduced flowrate as the annular velocity (AV) is
higher than in conventional drilling conditions. Also, the fact that a RSS was used means that the casing string is constantly
rotating. This helps move cuttings beds into the flow stream and up the hole at high angle. The flowrate in DCwD is usually
bounded between two limits. A minimum flowrate needs to provide an AV of 150 ft/min. This is recommended as the lower
boundary for effective hole cleaning. The upper limit is determined by the equivalent circulating density (ECD) capability of
the wellbore. An ECD of 1.0 ppg over the normal mud weight is a common design criteria.

The flowrate used to drill a conventional 12 ¼-in. section normally ranges between 900 and 1000 gpm to ensure effective
cuttings transport up the hole. However, due to the reduced BHA size used in DCwD, the flowrate is reduced to between 450
and 550 gpm. The flowrate, in this operation, was set primarily according to the desired rotational speed of the under-reamer
as it was driven by both surface rotation and by the downhole motor.

The lower flowrate reduces the hydraulic horsepower per square inch (HSI) delivered at the bit. This plays a role in deciding
which bit to use. A 7 blade, 16 mm cutter polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit potentially offered more stability, but
also meant that there were more nozzles reducing HSI. To gain an effective HSI, the number of nozzles would have to be
reduced or smaller nozzles used. Reducing nozzle size below 10/32-in. increases the risk of plugging. A 5 blade, 19 mm cutter
PDC has the potential to be less stable and possibly outdrill the under-reamer, putting greater stress on the under-reamer arms.
However, the reduced number of nozzles improves the HSI potential with the lower flowrate.

After performing an engineering analysis on the two bits, the team decided to use the 5 blade bit with the improved hydraulics
to lower likelihood of bit balling in the shale section. Additionally, DCwD has the advantage of negligible pressure losses
through the string due to the increased inside diameter and reduced fluid velocity in the casing. This allowed significantly
more hydraulic energy delivered to the BHA and bit while drilling, even with the reduced flowrate.

The drilling fluid was designed to be thinner than the conventional drilling fluid used on the 12 ¼-in. section. A polymer mud
system was designed with a mud weight ranging between 9.0 ppg at the start and 9.8 ppg at the end of the section. Yield point
was designed between 14 and 22 lbs/100 ft2. High viscosity sweeps were planned for the lower angle section of the hole, and
weighted sweeps were pumped as the angle increased. The effectiveness of the sweeps was monitored and their application
adjusted based on the findings.

There is a lot of discussion on the smear effect in casing while drilling. Previous work1&6 leads to the conclusion that it is not
proven. There are no tools to quantify specific benefits from the narrow annulus geometry that is casing while drilling. Thus,
no allowances were made for it in the design of this 12 ¼-in. DCwD section.
SPE/IADC 119446 7

Cementing and Centralizers

A drillable cement retainer with a check valve was installed near the shoe upon reaching TD since the casing did not have a
traditional shoe and float system. The plan was to install the valve via drillpipe as the angle of the hole would be relatively
high.

Centralizers were crimped onto the casing joints before being sent offshore. Two were placed on the shoe joint, with eleven
more spaced with one for every four joints from the shoe joint upward. The centralizers provide hole cleaning assistance by
stirring up the cuttings bed and provide stand-off to improve the cement job around the casing. Torque and drag analysis
helped to determine the optimum number of centralizers for this well.

Wellhead and Wearbushing

A ported mandrel hanger is used to land the casing off in conventional wells. This means that a wearbushing could not be
installed prior to drilling with the casing because removal before landing the hanger would involve a technique that had not
been fully developed at the time of this project. The low lateral displacement of the casing string while drilling was not
expected to damage the wellhead significantly.

Preparation and Logistics

A certain amount of equipment preparation was done prior to sending the tools out to the rig. A special cut-to-length shoe joint
was made to accommodate the DLA, internal tandem stabilizers, and motor which were to be installed before shipping. The
DLA was made up to the internal tandem stabilizers which prevented excessive vibration at the DLA/CPN connection. The
motor was made up to the stabilizers, and the casing shoe joint was cut to such a length that the motor’s rotor sub was the only
part that extended past the reamer shoe. A sleeve stabilizer that matched the drift (inner diameter) of the casing was installed
on the motor so that it would be located just inside the casing shoe. This location is critical in mitigating vibrations between
the motor inside the casing and under-
reamer just outside the casing below the
9 5/8-in. casing shoe
9-5/8" Casing joint
shoe Joint Motor Sleeve
Sleeve Stabilizer
Stabilizer
shoe. This assembly, shown in Figure 7,
was loaded into the casing shoe joint and
Motor
locked in place with the DLA to the CPN.
Bit Box
This assembly was sent to the rig pre-
assembled to save time. Tests were done on
the rig to ensure that an assembly of this CPN Internal tandem
CPN DLA
DLA Internal tandem Motor
Motor Reamer Shoe
Reamer Shoe
length could be picked up from the cat- stabilizer
walk into the derrick without interference.
Figure 7. The pre-assembled motor and DLA in the shoe joint.

A variety of additional equipment was prepared prior to the job. This included crossovers for both casing and drillpipe, casing
pup joints for space-out on landing the hanger, and casing to drillpipe crossovers to allow a cup tester to be run to pressure test
the BOPs and the wellhead.

Drilling Operations
The 13 3/8-in. casing shoe and an additional 100 ft of new formation were drilled conventionally before DCwD operations
started to ensure that the under-reamer would be positioned in open hole when the pumps were brought on to commence
drilling. The shoe and rat-hole were drilled with the same bent housing motor assembly used to drill the previous 16-in.
section, but with a 12 ¼-in. milled tooth bit. On the previous section, an effort was made to get ahead of the directional plan
requirements so that if there were any issues with achieving the required build and turn rates, it would not compromise the
well trajectory. Once the rat-hole was drilled, the hole was displaced to new mud. The clean-out BHA was then pulled to
surface and the wear bushing removed.

The 9 5/8-in. casing was measured to verify internal drift and joint length. A tally referencing three depth points: 1) bit depth
that can change with different BHAs, 2) total under-reamer depth, also changing with the BHA, and 3) casing shoe depth is
needed to control DCwD operations.

The lower components of the directional BHA were made up conventionally and secured in the rotary table. These included
the bit, RSS, MWD, roller reamer and under-reamer. The CDS system was then rigged up to the top drive, and the shoe joint
with motor and internal sleeve stabilizers was picked up. The motor was made up to the directional assembly using the rig
tongs and the casing joint with the BHA hung off beneath it in the slips. The casing was then run using conventional Tesco
casing running procedures until the under-reamer was below the 13-3/8” casing shoe and in open-hole. Care was taken not to
break circulation on the trip in the hole as this could have opened the under-reamer inside casing and damaged the tool.

Each BTC casing joint connection had an MLT ring pre-installed which increased the make-up torque to 49,000 ft-lbs.
8 SPE/IADC 119446

Experience from the casing running trials found that making the connections up to 25,000 ft-lbs ensures a high integrity seal
and exceeds any expected torques while drilling.

Drilling commenced once the under-reamer was located outside the 13 3/8-in. casing shoe and the bit positioned on bottom.
The flow rate was set at 460 gpm, weight-on-bit was 7-9 klbs, and top drive speed was 40 rpm. This resulted in 8-9 K ft-lbs of
torque, a downhole rotation rate of 173 rpm, and a surface standpipe pressure of 1350 psi.

Directional surveys indicated that the BHA did not build as expected after 91 ft was drilled. The MWD survey sensors were
positioned approximately 32 ft behind the bit. Directional performance should have been evident after this distance. Three
options were considered possibilities for this lack of directional control: 1) BHA design, 2) RSS failure, and 3) insufficient
drilling parameters.

The team decided to pull the BHA for inspection and replace RSS tool as a precaution. Once the BHA was at surface, most of
the assembly was racked back, a modified bit breaker was used to break out the bit, and the RSS was changed out. The same
MWD was used in the replacement BHA. The RSS tech log data was downloaded from the tool at surface to attempt to verify
whether the tool had failed. All indications from the tool were that directional downlinks to the tool had been received, and
that it was functioning properly. This data also gave an indication that more aggressive drilling would improve directional
performance. The new BHA was run in hole and re-installed into the CPN using the hydraulic shear tool.

The flowrate was increased to allow for higher differential pressure across the motor and to prevent stalling. This put the
MWD in a different portion of its flow range. Drilling recommenced with the rate at 500 gpm, weight-on-bit was increased to
between 10 and 12 klbs, and top drive speed was lowered to 30 rpm. This resulted in 10-11 K ft-lbs of torque, a downhole
rotation rate of 175 rpm, and a surface standpipe pressure of 1600 psi.

After drilling ahead, the achieved build rate was between 3° and 4°/100 ft with effective steering. Motor stalling occurred
approximately 2 to 5 times per joint. The flowrate was increased from 500 gpm to 530 gpm to give more stall resistance due to
increased differential pressure. Rate of penetration increased with further improved directional control. The directional
performance of the BHA was, to some degree, a function of the increased drilling parameters. The continuous gamma ray
measurement from the MWD was intermittent while on bottom drilling but was regained when off bottom. This was attributed
to noise from the BHA in the harder formation. Various sources of the noise were suggested, which included the bit, the under-
reamer, the sleeve stabilizer on the motor inside the shoe joint, or any number of other components within the BHA.

However, because signal was still available off bottom, two joints were backreamed across the expected formation interface to
allow the wellsite geologist to pick the formation top with continuous gamma ray data. The MWD was brought back above the
expected interface and reamed down slowly to pick up the
Hookload (klbs)
Hookload (kip) reading. A concern at the time was the potential for the under-
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
0
reamer to lie on the low side of the hole while backreaming
and cut a ledge into the formation, thereby damaging the tool.
However, this was not observed, possibly due to the
1000
centralization provided by the reamer shoe above the under-
reamer and the roller-reamer below it. Backreaming
2000
parameters were 10 rpm, and the flowrate was reduced to 100
gpm. Drilling resumed once the formation top had been
identified. The noise in the MWD signal was reduced, and the
(ft)

3000
on-bottom continuous signal was regained when both the bit
Depth
(ft)

and under-reamer penetrated the next, slightly softer formation

MeasuredMD

4000
layer.

The casing string had a tendency to speed up and slow down at

5000
surface when on bottom drilling. This was attributed to stick-
slip downhole along the casing/wellbore contact area. Surface
6000
turns were increased to 35 rpm, and this irregularity
disappeared. Forty-four joints of casing were directionally
drilled to a TD of 5820 ft with a final inclination of 76 degrees
7000
with this BHA.
Pickup (Model) Slack Off (Planned) Rotating (Model)
Pickup (Actual) Slack Off (Actual) Rotating (Actual) The casing was drilled to section TD with the parameters set
for the second BHA. Rotating torque and hookload values,

Figure 8. T&D modeled hookload (with 0.30 FF) vs actual measurements for the 9 5/8-in. DCwD section.
SPE/IADC 119446 9

along with non-rotating pick-up and slack-off hookload values were recorded. These were used to reconcile the torque and
drag models. These are shown in Figures 8 and 9. A lower-than-expected drag friction factor of 0.30 fit the slack-off data
while the pick-up drag was lower than the expected 0.48 but greater than 0.30.

Between 4000 ft and 5000 ft measured depth, the torque was greater than expected, averaging approximately 13 K ft-lbs with a
few peak values reaching 15.5 K ft-lbs. Reciprocating the casing string and circulating the hole clean before connections
appeared to reduce the torque to some extent. The average torque reading remained almost constant at 13 K ft-lbs for a large
part of the section. From 5300 ft measured depth to total depth, the torque followed a similar trend to the predicted values
modeled with a 0.30 friction factor. At no time, however, did the torque increase to anywhere near the top drive maximum or
the casing connection make-up value nor was the torque erratic at any point through the section.

A number of sweeps were pumped during the drilling of this section. High viscosity sweeps were pumped in the beginning at
lower angle, and weighted sweeps were pumped further
down as inclination increased. The hi-vis sweeps were Torque
Torque ft-lbs)
(K (K ft-
built using fresh water which, coupled with the increased 0 2 4 6 lbs) 8 10 12 14 16 18
length in the lower capacity annulus, dropped the
standpipe pressure significantly as they were circulated
around. None of the sweeps brought back significant 1000
increases in cuttings over the shakers, but all sweeps
came to surface on time which indicated an in-gauge
hole. It should be noted that caliper runs made on 2000
previous wells in the shale had shown significant hole
Measured Depth (ft)

enlargement after drilling. Cuttings were small, having

been significantly ground up by the large diameter 3000
casing, and very uniform in size. Very few cavings were
seen from the shale. These observations were considered
a positive indication that wellbore quality improved with 4000
casing while drilling. This adds another bit of anecdotal
evidence that can perhaps be attributed to the smear
effect. 5000

A magnetic correction algorithm was used to correct for

6000
the interference from the casing string which proved to
be reliable. The MWD surveys taken during drilling
compared very closely with the wireline gyro multi-shot
run that was made after the casing was set. This confirms
that it is not necessary to run non-magnetic drill collars in Actual torque measurements Modeled w/ 0.30 FF
the BHA allowing for shorter, lighter BHA design in
DCwD. Figure 9. T&D modeled torque (with 0.30 FF) vs actual torque
measurements for the 9 5/8-in. DCwD section.

Once the under-reamer had been drilled to the correct depth, the casing string was pulled back, a number of joints were
removed from the string and laid down, the hanger was installed, and then run back down to the wellhead to land off. The
hanger was a conventional ported mandrel hanger used on similar wells.

Two options were available for the final BHA retrieval. One option was to leave the casing landing string in the rotary table
while running the BHA retrieval tool on drillpipe. The other option was to remove the landing string and lay it down and
retrieve the BHA conventionally through the rotary table. By leaving the landing string in place, well control was maintained
with the 9 5/8-in. casing rams and annular preventer on the outer annulus and the TCD on the inner annulus. The disadvantage
was that the C-Plate and bowl would need to be used to trip the drillpipe at the rotary table. Ultimately it was decided to
remove the landing string, lay it down, and trip drillpipe conventionally through the rotary table. In this manner the annular
preventer and lower rams were in place to maintain well control. This was determined to be the safest and most efficient
method of BHA retrieval with the mandrel hanger landed.

Prior to latching the BHA on the retrieval run, 9 5/8-in. swab cups were placed in the string and run into the top of the casing
string to allow a final circulation of the annulus. The swab cups ensured that all fluid was diverted down through the BHA and
up the annulus. This would be the last opportunity for a number of hours to circulate the hole clean in preparation for the
cement job. The BHA was successfully latched and pulled to surface without any problems. Once the BHA was laid down,
preparation was made for cementing the casing string.
10 SPE/IADC 119446

Cementing the Casing

A drillable 9 5/8-in. bridge plug with a pump-through float valve was run in the hole and installed approximately 10 ft above
the CPN. The cement was pumped through the drill string and through the float. Once the cement was in place, the bridge plug
running tool was unstung and the float valve closed. The drill string was pulled to surface, and preparation was made to run a
gyro multi-shot survey for the next section.

Conclusions
The directional casing while drilling of this 12 ¼-in. section is considered an engineering and operational success. By drilling
the subject well to high angle with DCwD and accurate 3D directional control, the stability issues in landing horizontal wells
across the Nahr Umr/Shuaiba interface can now be addressed. More aggressive trajectory designs can be considered to
effectively exploit the reservoir. The rate of penetration was slower than expected, but this was attributed to the demanding
directional control (frequent survey stations) and caution with the low level of DCwD experience through the formations. Care
was taken not to over stress the under-reamer or motor by applying excess weight-on-bit. High performance motors are
required, and improvements in motor designs are expected. The team believes that penetration rates will increase significantly
with these type of improvements and the experience gained as more wells are drilled with this method. This will lead toward
time-and-cost savings in the future. In a field with significant conductive faulting and with longer reach wells drilled at high
angle, the economic impact of reducing the risk of stuck pipe by being able to retrieve the BHA using DCwD techniques is
considerable.

Acknowledgements
Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd is the operator in the Idd El Shargi North Dome field. The authors acknowledge
permission to publish this information from Qatar Petroleum. The authors also thank Tesco Corp and Schlumberger for their
help in this project. The authors also wish to thank the supervisors and crew of Hercules Rig 170 as well as the tactical support
staff in helping make this project a success.

References
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