New Method of Plotting Slant Holes
By TRACY L. ATHERTON·
DRAWINGS BY FRANCIS J.
(Los Angeles Meeting, October 1940)
THE mapping of slant-hole oil fields is
complicated by the fact that relationships
between wells are subject to variations in
three dimensions and are not readily
adaptable to representation on a plane
surface. Formalized perspectives usually
expand into an undecipherable maze of
lines and peg models with the necessary
supporting dividers serve only to awe the
beholder with their perplexity. The usual
compromise arrived at is a plotting of the
projection of the courses of all of the wells
in the field onto a horizontal plane (Fig. I),
These complicated plots, when used in
conjunction with the individual vertical
projections of the wells, heretofore have
been the most practical foundation for the
study of general field problems, This
method has many shortcomings, however,
which are not found in the recently
developed straight-hole equivalent projec-
tion method. The new method supplies a
series of maps similar to the type now in
common use in straight-hole fields. It is
remarkably simple to use and supplies a
ready check on clearances between wells.
Perhaps the method can best be understood
if the steps that led to its development are
described.
Common practice of oil-well surveyors is
to supply the owner with a tabling of the
survey and a plan view plotted against the
true meridian. If a vertical projection is
plotted, it is usually plotted separately
and shows vertical depths against the
Manuscript received at the office of the Institute
Oc •• 21, 1940. Issued as T.P. 1283 in PETROLEUM
TECHNOLOGY. January '94'.
* Division of State Lands, State Lands Commission,
State of California, Los Angeles, California.
HORTIG AND C. L. MOORE
projection of the stations along a section
line joining the top and bottom of the hole
on the plan view. A more practical method
would be to plot the section line of the plan
parallel to the abscissa of the vertical
projection (Fig. 2). If this is done, any
line parallel to the "base line" will pass
through the points on each projection that
represent a single point in the hole. Another
very useful graph, which the well surveyor
could provide, would be plotting of vertical
depths against measured depths.
Fig. 3 illustrates the next step facilitated
by this form of plotting. The lines desig-
nated "well A" represent the proposed
course of a hole to be drilled. Superimposed
on the drawing, in its proper relative
position, is the plan view and a portion
of the vertical projection of a present
producer, "well B." From an inspection of
the plan view we arrive at the correct
conclusion that the only indicated possibil-
ity of collision is at the point of crossing
of the wells on the plan view. Referring
to the vertical projection, note that the
vertical depths of stations on B, in the
vicinity of the crossing, are plotted on
the same plane of projection as A. The
clearance is the indicated distance between
the two vertical sections measured along
the parallel to the "base line," which
passes through the point of intersection
of the plan view. Repeat this process for
the other wells crossing the proposed
course of A on the plan view and you have
a preliminary check of clearance for the
proposed course. A similar comparison of
. h . al ..
crossmgs on t e vertic proJectIOns 0 a
f 11
28
 TRACY L. ATHERTON
wells whose plans approach within 50 ft.
of A is next in order, and in the vicinity
of the oil measures the comparison on both
plan and vertical sections should be
FIG. I.-PLAN VIEW OF A SI.ANT-HOLE FIELD.
widened to include all wells within the
predetermined minimum well-spacing dis-
tance. At best this is but a trial and error
method, even though it does have the
marked advantage of placing all of the data
on a single sheet. Fig. 4 illustrates a map
prepared for such a check.
The course of the hole as it is drilled
can be plotted on the same sheet and
further comparisons made as the drilling
progresses. Maintaining an exact course
would be prohibitive in cost and variation
within a reasonable limit is common prac-
tice. This in turn requires that extensive
portions of adjacent wells be plotted in
order that the data be readily available for
comparison. With the necessity to consider
tolerances due to possible inaccuracies in
well surveys, any approach of the drilling
well on either the plan or vertical sectiun
necessarily has to be analyzed. In tight
spots the proposition of looking at the
situation from the top and then figura-
tively running around to one side to see
how it looks from there is too inconclusive
-what is required is the whole story in one
picture.
The logical answer is to look at the
situation from the point of view of the
drilling bit; that is, plot the wells at their
points of intersection with a plane con-
structed reasonably perpendicular to the
drilling hole. The construction of such a
projection is relatively simple if the pro-
posed course is used as a guide (Fig. 5).
The drilling well on the vertical section is
95 ft. above the proposed course and at the
same point 10 ft. to the left of the proposed
30 NEW METHOD OF PLOTTING SLANT HOLES

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VERTICAL

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FIG. 2.-RECOMMENDED METHOD OF PLOTTING OIL-WELL SURVEY DATA.
 TRACY L. ATHERTON 3I

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FIG. 3.-GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION OF AN ADJACENT HOLE ON THE RECOMMENDED PLOT.
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32 NEW METHOD OF PLOTTING SLANT HOLES

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FIG. 4.-GRAPHIC D~:VET.OPME~T OF ALL NEAR-BY WET.LS ON THE RECOMMENDED PLOT.
 TRACY L. ATHERTON 33

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FIG. 5.-METHOD OF DEVELOPING SECTION AT POINT REACHED BY DRILLING BIT.

34 NEW METHOD OF PLOTTING SLANT HOLES
course. In the same fashion the location
of the near-by wells may be determined
with relation to the proposed course.
Plotting these data gives the result shown
" '"I RILLING
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FIG. 6.-SECTION DEVELOPED AS ILLUSTRATED IN FIG.
by the circles in Fig. 6. Practical estimates
of the clearance can be scaled directly
from the plot.
Presuming that this section was drawn
at the last point reached by the bit, extend
the drilling hole on both the plan and
vertical projection and construct another
section to show the anticipated clearances
after the next ISO ft. has been drilled.
Now superimpose the first section on the
second, with the proposed course positions
coincident, and the shift in relationship of
anyone hole with relation to the proposed
course will be apparent. Arrows are drawn
to show this shift and on a single plot the
entire picture of conditions for the next
ISO ft. is given.
Variations on the same theme will pro-
duce a connected chain of arrows for each
well, each link representing the transition
to the next of the series of planes; or, and
this is the preferred plan, a series of sec-
tions similar to the one described above.
~ ELL
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PROPOSED COURSE
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5.
If the latter are prepared on tracing sheets
they can be laid over each other to obtain
the chain of arrows and yet can be used
singly to reduce confusion.
This briefly describes the evolution of
the mapping process that led to the
straight-hole equivalent sections. Obvi-
ously, it had paid its way by the rationali-
zation of the problem of clearance in
connection with drilling holes; but the real
value of the principle lay in its application
to the pool as a whole as a medium of
facilitating a general study of well spacing
and the formulation of an orderly plan for
future development.
At Huntington Beach the tideland pool
east of 23rd Street is tapped by a bank of
90 wells located within 900 ft. of the shore
along a 4000-ft. front. The general direction
 TRACY L. ATHERTON
of the wells is perpendicular to the shore.
A par hole, mathematically determinate,
was computed and against it each of the
wells in the pool were referenced as shown
in Fig. 7·
The par hole was given a course per-
pel'~icular to the shore. The surface loca-
tion was chosen so as to approximate the
weighted average distance from the shore
of all the slant-hole derrick locations. In
vertical section, the par hole is a parabola
with vertex at sea level, and a horizontal
offset of 2000 ft. at 4000 ft. below sea level.
This parabolic form was found to approxi-
mate closely the earlier wells drilled,
though at present what might be termed a
"railroad form" of tangents and circular
curves is preferred. The choice of a para-
bolic vertical section facilitated the ready
calculation of horizontal offsets, normals
and tangents against vertical depth. Even
the "measured depth," the length along
the curve, can be computed with the aid
of a I 2-cylinder formula. "Measured
depth" is a primary item in a well survey;
but, even though these figures were calcu-
lated for the par hole, no important use has
yet been found for them.
The plan and vertical sections of the
par hole were then drawn as shown in
Fig. 7. The normals to the par hole are
shown on the vertical section-these are
the traces of the straight-hole equivalent
planes. Two typical wells, C and D, are
also shown, plotted in proper relation to
the par hole. In practice the plans and
verticals of about 15 holes and the par
hole with normals were plotted on a single
sheet. When the number of lines on the
sheet became confusing, a new sheet was
started. Upon completion of the plotting,
tabulations were made for each of the
straight-hole equivalent sections; listing
for each section: (I) from the vertical
projection, the distance, measured along
the trace of the section, of each well above
or below the par hole (indicated as C. and
D.), and (2), from the plan, the distance
35
right or left of I he par hole of the point o[
intersection of each well with the desig-
nated section (indicated as C H and DH).
Each straight-hole equivalent section is
then plotted from the tabulated data
against the par hole. Since on each section
each well is correctly represented in rela-
tion to the par hole, each well is correctly
represented with relation to every other
well. Superimposing the section over the
next section below, making the par holes
coincident, an arrow is drawn from the
well on the upper section to the position
the same well occupies on the lower section.
Each arrow represents graphically, by
length and direction, the movement of a
well relative to the par hole in passing to
the next section.
PRACTICAL RESULTS
Fig. 8 is a straight-hole equivalent sec-
tion in the easterly end of the Tideland
pool at Huntington Beach. The par hole
on this section is at a vertical depth of
3400 ft. below sea level and about 1000 ft.
seaward of the shore line. If the top of the
drawing is raised until the sheet makes an
angle of 40°22' with the table, the observ-
er's eyes will approximate relatively the
surface location of the wells.
Any new holes drilled will be reasonably
perpendicular to the section. If an arbitrary
drainage radius of 200 ft. in the oil sand
is adopted, measured in the plane of the
section, the possibility of new locations is
evident. These new locations are indicated
tentatively and then checked through the
lower sections against the possibility of
pinching out, and are then plotted on the
horizontal and vertical projections to see
that they satisfy practical drilling require-
ments. When surface locations are selected
for the new bottoms, tentative horizontal
and vertical courses are laid out and tested
on the straight-hole equivalent sections. In
a surprising number of instances revisions
in the courses are necessary to assure a
predetermined minimum clearance for
 NEW METHOD OF PLOTTING SLANT HOLES

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FIG. 7.-METHOD OF DEVELOPING STANDARDIZED SECTIONS AGAINST A PAR HOLE.

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FIG. B.-COMPLETE STRAIGHT-HOLE EQUIVALENT SECTION FOR FIELD, DEVELOPED AGAINST A PAR HOLE.
 NEW METHOD OF PLOTTING SLANT HOLES

wells in place. When drilling is under way
clearances are checked upon the sections
as the well progresses.
The sections also are very helpful in
directing the best course for redrilling in
order to avoid collision, provide better
spacing for drainage and minimize the
possibility of damage to other wells.
The method is quite workable in opera-
tion and the sections provide a relatively
simple map for laymen. While the applica-
tion described here was tailored for the
Huntington Beach Tideland pool, the
primary principle, of mapping perpendicu.
lar to the hole, will simplify many slant-
hole mapping problems.