Introduction and Objectives

One of the main objectives for the drilling engineering is to create a possible

design of wells from the targets that has been given from the reservoir engineer

while making it economically sound and at concurrently obtain as much relevant

information as possible to further understand the reservoir by using logging tools

whenever possible.

This can be done by first aim is to know the location of the targets,

obtain information of any offset wells that may interfere with the targets, try

to get a proper location for the drilling platform and once the location has

been selected, the trajectories of the well can be made.

Even though the trajectories are made, pore pressures need to be calculated to

get a possible casing designs for each of the trajectories while at the same time

fulfil the requirements for the production technologists to create their own

configurations to the well. All of the above requirements must be fulfilled to get a

plausible well design targets and as such, the objectives that was considered for

this specific project are:

1. Design the trajectories with low dog-leg severity

2. Distance in measured depth to be drilled to be as low as possible

3. Within the limits of the capability of the drilling rig selected with the estimated

measured depths for all wells

4. Create a casing designs within the pore pressure and fracture pressure

estimation

5. Will not interfere with any offset wells or facilities

6. Estimate the cost for drilling.

Drilling History

At the end of 2007 and early 2008, Located 57 km away from Cuyo Island and

117km from IloIlo City, two exploration wells were drilled in Tatusan whereby one

was a vertical well and the other was a sidetrack of the vertical well with the

coordinates of latitude 10° 59’ 19.43” N and longtitude 121° 31’ 36.25” E in offshore

Mindoro-Cuyo Basin. Reasons for the sidetrack are the possibility of finding

potential extra 5MMbbls of hydrocarbon in the up-dip position of Unit 9 and to make

full use of the availability of the drilling rig to minimize the cost and time of drilling.

Information with regards to the wells is tabulated below Table_:

Well name Well-1 Well-1 ST

Spud date 30th Dec 2007 14th March 2008

Reach date 5th March 2008 22nd April 2008

Actual depth mRKD 1636 1797

Actual depth 1635.8 1580.3

mTVDSS

Status Plugged and sidetracked Plugged

 DF Elevation(m) 27.3 27.3

Water depth (MSL- 42.8 42.8

Seabed)(m)

DF to seabed (m) 70.1 70.1

type Vertical Deviated

GOC (mTVDSS) 1492 1492

OWC (mTVDSS) 1507.7 1507.7

Maximum deviation 1.91 39.81

angle

Deviated at TD 1.39 35.79

Table _ Summary of previous well data (PNOC)

The wells were previously drilled by Baker Hughes, Inc using a semi-

submersible platform and took an overall duration of 28 days. There were issues

that rose during the drilling of the past wells mitigations to be suggested for drilling

any future wells in Tatusan in each corresponding subsequent points. All

corresponding depths mentioned after this has a datum point from the drilling floor.

Information from the wells were recorded in the form of Mudlogging and

wireline logging, four logging suites were ran on Well-1 which were the Super

Combo, MDT (Modular Formation Dynamic Tester), CSI (Combinable Seismic

Imager) and the SWC (Side-Wall Core). As for the case of Well-1 Sidetrack, only

the super combo was a successful run. An MDT logging was attempted but the

tool was stuck at 1571m which requires the tool to be fished out using the drillpipe.
 In attempt to further understand the geology of the reservoir, the SWC was

done where 26 cores were shot between the depths of 1086m and 1617m and 22

cores were retrieved while 4 cores were empty although no particular reason was

mentioned on why it came up empty even though the recorded wireline logs has

shown the wellbore size to be quite consistent (12 ¼”) throughout the section.

Mudlogging evaluation was also recorded in both the Well-1 and the Well-1 Side

track wells and the recorded information from both wells and with information from

the cores are compiled below (Note that the compiled information is condensed

from the geological section of report):

For Well-1:

In between the interval of 553m-1120m, there are interbedding of

Sandstone which are mainly soft to friable in texture, with partly medium hard,

which indicates that it is unconsolidated, Claystone that are mainly soft to firm

comprising of mainly of silt and very fine quartz grain with some traces of carbonate

rocks such as dolomite and pyrite. Dolomite was also present with a hard to very

hard texture. As for the Interval of 1120m to 1320m, there are interbedding of

claystone having soft texture, comprises of partly silt with traces of carbonaceous

matter and thin sandstone that are mainly soft to friable in texture, with a mixture

of silt.

In the interval of 1320m to 1636m, there is the presence of interbedded

sandstone and claystone. The sandstone is mainly soft to friable in texture, partly

medium hard again with traces of carbonaceous matter. For the claystone, it is
very soft to soft in texture, partly silty with very fine quartz grains and as before,

traces of carbonaceous matter were observed.

The Wel-1 ST well was drilled from a depth of 560m to a total depth of 1797m.

Between the intervals of 560m to 1200m, dominant sandstone interbedding

with claystone and dolomite were observed. The sandstone is mainly soft to friable

and partly moderately hard in texture with traces of carbonaceous matter, pyrite

and dolomite present. Claystone in the interval is very soft to soft in texture, partly

soluble and it comprises of mainly silt and some traces of very fine quartz grain

and the dolomite is moderately had to hard in texture.

For the interval of 1200m-1600m, the layer is dominant with claystone with

minor sandstone. The claystone has a soft to moderately hard in texture, partly

soluble comprising of mainly silt and partly very fine quartz grains and as before,

there were traces of carbonaceous matter. The sandstone is moderately hard to

hard in texture, mainly comprises of loose quartz grains and traces of

carbonaceous matter were present as well.

Finally in the interval of 1600m to 1797m, interbedding of sandstone and

claystone with minor dolomite were recorded. The sandstone here is moderately

hard to hard in texture, comprises of loose quartz grains with traces of

carbonaceous, claystone having very soft to soft in texture. It comprises of slit and
traces of very fine quartz grains. Dolomite grains here are moderately hard to hard

in texture.

There is an evidence of erosion on layers U3.2, U4.0, U5.0, U6.0, U7.0, and

U8.0 as when they are correlated between the two wells, there are evidence

supported by the layers which are laterally discontinuous on Well-1 ST. The

erosion also gives to the evidence of an angular unconformity, which forms

stratigraphic traps. Stratigraphic traps are formed from an arrangement of seals

and reservoir rocks. Correlation of layers U9.0, U9.1 and U9.2 through both wells

show that there is lateral continuity of these layers, although the thickness varies

from one well to the other.

Drilling Targets

One of the first item to make a decision for was the number of wells to be

drilled in the field. The number of producer wells and its coordinates must also be

identified, through this we can show the target locations with the exploration wells

in place in a diagram.

It can be seen clearly the location of the exploration wells may pose as a

problem in hitting the targets but this has been considered when attempting to

obtain the trajectories. Figure _ shows the structural map of Unc/U3.2 layer of the

Tatusan Field
Figure _ Structural map of Unc/U3.2 layer(PNOC, 2009)

Platform Location

Another decision required is the number of locations to place the well and it

was decided to drill using one drilling rig at one location to ensure that the costs of

the drilling to be kept as low as possible as multiple locations can lead to increasing

costs as well as the drilling time to be extended due to rig moves. The addition of

extra facilities will further escalate the price for the overall project and therefore

selecting multiple locations to drill the well has been taken out of consideration for

this project.

The first objective is to consider a decent location where all the targets could

be reached the platform to reduced the extreme dog-leg severity. The

consequence in placing the rig must be tabulated and come up to the final rig

platform location to give decent results.

The target is given covering a wide range of the reservoir, a best location

on which will ensure the objectives could be attained. Another is the number of

locations to place the well and it was decided to drill using one drilling rig at one

location to minimize the costs of the drilling as multiple locations can result to

escalate expenses as well as the drilling period is needing to be extended due to

rig moves. The needs of additional facilities will further increase the cost for the

overall development plan and therefore choosing multiple locations to drill the well

is not considered in this plan.

Well Trajectories

With a rig location, it is now possible to create trajectories for the well. There

are a few matters that require further study. In particular is the location of the offset

wells that can create problems in the drilling design. This is where using the

Compass software as one of the features available is the anti-collision capabilities.

This enabled the study of trajectories with a selected drilling platform location and

will ensure that the trajectories made will not collide with any existing offset wells.

Another factor to be taken into account when designing the well is the dog-

leg severity. For the designs for all of the wells, the dog-leg severity is to be kept

at a minimum angle as possible while still maintaining the trajectory to hit the

targets. The basis in designing the trajectories into the well will have the following

configurations to be placed into the software:

1. All the wells will be built based on the optimum align setting which will allow the

software to calculate a trajectory at the lowest build up rate as possible to hit the

targets

2. The dog-leg severity is to be kept at a minimum as possible

The anti-collision is made to set at the default settings as it will attempt to

make sure that the wells are not close to each other in accordance to its algorithm

and by having it to calculate the distance from the center of the wellbore from one

well trajectory to another trajectory.

Rig Selection

Drilling rig selection is crucial. With the known approximation of the required

to be drilled for all the wells, the technical capability of the drilling rig must be

able to drill all the objectives safely. For the rig selection, these are the following

factors need to be considered:

 Capable to drill wells up to 3500m MD

 Can withstand the weather condition.

 Has loading capabilities of handling drill pipes.

 Having mud pumps capable of delivering high pressures of mud when

needed.

 Solids control capable of handling fine sands as records from past wells

indicate the presence of unconsolidated formations.

Specifications of some of the available marine offshore drilling units (MODU) are

shown in Table _ below.

 Type of MODU Water Depth Average Daily Rate

(USD)

Jacket Rig 40-400ft $77,000-$137,000

Jack-up Rig 60-330ft $77,813-$143,496

Tender Assisted Rig Anchor Length $44,463-$117,780

Semi-Submersible Rig 150-6000ft $300,279-$396,342

Drill Ship/ Large 1000-8000ft $237,900-$420,324

Submersible

Table_ Types of Marine offshore Drilling Unit (Rigzone, 2019)

Available Well Configurations

After getting the possible trajectories for each of the producer wells, there

are a few items which require considerations. The foremost information that needs

to be decided first the final hole size at the target depths of each well and this

information can only be planned after the following information was known:

• The desired production or completion tubing to be used

• The type of completion to be done to the well (is sand control required?)

• The type of logging to be done to the well as there might be some

difficulties when performing any logging with a highly deviated well

• There is a need to know if any contingency hole to be drilled

• There is a need to know if the rig is capable to drill the proposed producer

wells
 The main reason for the above consideration is that when attempting to

calculate for the casing size, kick, setting depths and given that the well

configurations are all horizontal, this is a serious decision as it will affect the entire

project.

Fig. _ Sample Well Configuration

Drill Bit Selection

Bits are selected based on the performance of similar bits at offset wells.

Parameters affecting a bit performance have a complex pattern. For a given field,

studied were variables such as bit size, weight on bit, rotary speed, pump rate,

drilled interval, and bit type. Factors such as hydraulics, formation hardness, bit

design, and operational parameters are also considered in the selection process.

For the case of drilling the exploration wells, two types of bits were used

which is the roller cone bit and the PDC bit but there were problems encountered

when using the PDC bit as it did not performed as expected and hence, there was

a need to have a bit change back to a roller cone to finish of the hole section. A

summary of the bits used is tabulated below:

Table _ Summary of the drillbits used when drilling the Well-1 (PNOC.2009)
 Table _ Summary of the drillbits used when drilling the Well-1 ST (PNOC.2009)

Drilling Fluid

Number of drilling fluid formulations have been developed to suit various

subsurface conditions. Selection of the best fluid to meet anticipated conditions will

minimize well costs and reduce the risk of catastrophes such as stuck drill pipe,

loss of circulation, and gas kicks.

There are nine distinct categories of drilling fluids according to World Oil’s annual

classification of fluid systems:

  Saltwater systems

 Freshwater systems

 Oil- or synthetic-based systems

 Pneumatic (air, mist, foam, gas) “fluid” systems

To determine the type of fluid to be selected for a specific well, three factors

are considered:

 Cost

 Environmental Impact

 Technical Performance

Water-based liquids (WBFs) are the most generally utilized drilling fluid

system, and are viewed as more affordable than oil-based liquids (OBFs) or

synthetic based liquids (SBFs). The OBFs and SBFs—otherwise called invert

emulsion system—have an oil or engineered base liquid as the continuous (or

outside) stage, and brackish water as the interior stage. Invert emulsion system

have a greater expense for each unit than most water-based liquids, so they

regularly are chosen when well conditions call for solid shale hindrance or

potentially incredible lubricity. Water-based system and invert emulsion system

can be formulated to endure generally high downhole temperatures.

Water-based fluids

Approximately 80% of all wells were drilled using water-based drilling fluids.

The base fluid can be formate brine, saturated brine, seawater, or freshwater. The

type of fluid selected depends on anticipated well conditions or on the specific

interval of the well being drilled. For example, the surface interval is drilled with a

low-density water- or seawater-based mud that contains few commercial additives.

These systems incorporate natural clays in the course of the drilling operation.

Some commercial bentonite or attapulgite also may be added to aid in fluid-loss

control and to enhance hole-cleaning effectiveness.

WBFs fall into two broad categories: nondispersed and dispersed.

Saltwater drilling fluids

Shale inhibition and salt formations are commonly drilled using salt water

drilling fluids. They also are recognized to inhibit the formation of ice-like hydrates

that can gather around subsea wellheads and equipment for well-control, impeding

critical operations and blocking lines. Solids-free and low-solids systems can be

formulated with high-density brines, such as:

 Calcium chloride

 Calcium bromide

 Zinc bromide

 Potassium and cesium formate

KCL PHPA

The water-based KCL-PHPA Polymer system provides effective inhibition

when drilling reactive shales through two mechanisms:

 Potassium Chloride provides a source of Potassium ions, which are small

enough to fit between the clay platelets without distorting the shale lattice.
 The Potassium ions are adsorbed on the exchangeable cation sites in the

shale lattice and this holds the platelets together, which helps to minimize

clay and shale hydration, swelling and dispersion.

 PHPA (Partially-Hydrolyzed Poly-Acrylamide) is a very high molecular

weight polymer that adsorbs onto clay and shale surfaces to encapsulate

drilled cuttings and coat the wellbore with a viscous polymer layer. This acts

as a barrier to prevent water coming into contact with clays and shales,

which again helps minimize clay and shale hydration, swelling and

dispersion.

The PHPA coating helps keep drilled cuttings intact as they travel up

the annulus, improving solids control efficiency on the surface and helping

control the build-up of solids in the drilling fluid. The KCL-PHPA Polymer

system is easy to mix and inhibitive properties are easy to adjust according

to clay and shale reactivity while drilling. However, the Potassium ion

concentration needs to be adjusted carefully to suit shale reactivity,

because low concentrations will encourage shale hydration and dispersion,

while over-treatment may dehydrate and destabilize the wellbore.

Regular treatments are usually required to maintain Potassium ion and PHPA

concentrations that gradually deplete through cuttings removal at the surface. The

drilling fluid system is versatile and can be converted into more inhibitive water-

based drilling fluid systems using appropriate additives. With increasing focus on

environmental protection, the discharge of chloride-based fluids is restricted in

some environmentally sensitive areas of the world, but Potassium ions can be

provided using environmentally acceptable fluids such as Potassium Formate.

When drilling the exploration wells, the type of mud used when drilling both of the

exploration wells is tabulated below:

Well-1 and Well-1 ST Type

26" hole phase (70.1m to 110m) Seawater with high viscosity sweep

17½" Phase (110m to 553m) Seawater with high viscosity sweep

12¼" Phase (553m to 1636m) KCL / PHPA

Table_ Mud types used during drilling the exploration wells