Master of

Well Engineering

Directional Drilling

1
 Directional Drilling

4 When is it used?
4 Type I Wells (build and hold)
4 Type II Wells (build, hold and drop)
4 Type III Wells (build)
4 Directional Well Planning & Design

4 Survey Calculation Methods

2
 What is Directional
Drilling?
Directional Drilling is the process of directing
a wellbore along some trajectory to a
predetermined target.

Basically it refers to drilling in a non-vertical

direction. Even “vertical” hole sometimes
require directional drilling techniques.

Examples: Slanted holes, high angle holes (far from vertical),

Extended Reach Holes, and Horizontal holes.

3
 Reasons for directional
wells
4Cannot drill to target from with a
vertical wellbore (more economic)

4
Non-Vertical
Wellbore θ, α or I
Inclination Angle
t i on
lin a Z Axis (True Vertical
Inc e Y Depth)
P la n
North

Direction
Angle φ, ε or A

Direction Plane X
5
 Lease Boundary

Surface Surface Location for Well No. 1

Location for
Well No. 2
Bottom Hole Location for Well 2

Houses

Oil-Water
Contact

Figure 8.2 - Plan view of a typical oil and gas structure under a lake showing how
directional wells could be used to develop it. Best locations? Drill from lake?6
 Top View

NOTE: All the

wells are
directional 5 - 50 wells
per platform

Figure 8.3 - Typical offshore development platform

with directional wells.
7
Drilling Rig Inside Building

Figure 8.4 - Developing a field under a city

using directionally drilled wells.
8
Why not
drill from Maximum
top of lateral
mountain displacement
?

Fig. 8.5 - Drilling of directional wells where the reservoir

is beneath a major surface obstruction.
9
Cement Plug Fish Lost in Hole
and Unable to
Recover
Sidetracked Hole
Around Fish

Figure 8.6 -
Sidetracking
around a fish.

10
 Figure 8.7 -
Using an old Oil Producing
Well Ready to
well to explore Abandon
for new oil by
Sidetracked
sidetracking Out of Casing
out of the
casing and Possible
New Oil
drilling
Old Oil Reservoir
directionally.

11
Horizontal
Departure
to Target
Type II
Build-hold and Drop (“S Type”)
Type I Build and Build-hold Drop and/or
Hold Type Hold (Modified “S” Type)

Type III Continuous

Build

Figure 8.8 - Major types of wellbore trajectories.

12
 Types of directional
wells

Type I Type II Type III

KOP

EOC

Build Build-Hold Continuous

and Hold and Drop Build12 13
 Figure 8.10 -
Geometry of the
build section.

Build Section

θ Build Radius:
18,000
r1 =
π * BUR
14
Build Section:
Length of arc, L = r1θ1

Vertical depth = C’D’ = r1 sin θ1

Horiz. Depart. = DD’ = r1 (1-cos θ1 )

L 100
r1 = 1
=
θ π
1 θ 1 *
180
↑ ↑
rad deg

18,000
r1 = BUR = build rate in deg/100 ft
π * BUR
15
 Start of Buildup

End of Build
Type II

Drop Off

Target

Build-hold-and drop for the case where:

r1 < x 3 and r1 + r2 < x 4
16
 Kickoff

Type II End of Build

Maximum
Inclination
Angle
Build-hold-and
drop for the case Drop Off
where:
Target

r1 < x3 and r1 + r2 > x4

17
 Maximum Inclination Angle

⎡ D − D − x 2 + ( D − D ) 2 − 2( r + r ) x ⎤
θ max = 2 tan −1 ⎢ 4 1 4 4 1 1 2 4
⎥
⎢⎣ 2( r1 + r2 ) − x4 ⎥⎦

18
 Planning Trajectory

Design a directional well with the following

restrictions:
4 Total horizontal departure = 4,500 ft
4 True vertical depth (TVD) = 12,500 ft
4 Depth to kickoff point (KOP) = 2,500 ft
4 Rate of build of hole angle = 1.5
deg/100 ft
4 Type I well (build and hold)
19
 Example 1: Design of
Directional Well

(i) Determine the maximum hole angle

required.

(ii) What is the total measured depth (MD)?

(MD = well depth measured along the

wellbore,
not the vertical depth)
20
(i) Maximum
Inclination
Angle
18,000
r1 =
. π
15
r2 = 0
( D4 − D1 )
= 12,500 − 2,500
= 10,000 ft
21
 (i) Maximum Inclination
Angle

⎡ D − D − x 2 + ( D − D ) 2 − 2( r + r ) x ⎤
θ max = 2 tan −1 ⎢ 4 1 4 4 1 1 2 4
⎥
⎢⎣ 2( r1 + r2 ) − x 4 ⎥⎦

⎡
-1 10,000 − 4,500 + 10,000 − 2(3,820 ) 4,500
2 2 ⎤
= 2 tan ⎢ ⎥
⎢⎣ 2(3,820) − 4,500 ⎥⎦

θ max = 26.3o
22
(ii) Measured Depth of Well

x Build = r1 (1 − cosθ )
= 3,820(1 - cos 26.3 )
o

= 395 ft
∴ x Hold = 4,500 − 395
= 4,105 ft
∴ L Hold sin θ = 4,105
∴ L Hold = 9,265 ft
23
(ii) Measured Depth
of Well

MD = D1 + r1θ rad + L Hold

⎛ 26.3π ⎞
= 2,500 + 3,820 ⎜ ⎟ + 9, 265
⎝ 180 ⎠

MD = 13,518 ft
24
Example 1: Design of
Directional Well

Design a directional well with the

following restrictions:
4Total horizontal departure = 4,500 ft
4True vertical depth (TVD) = 12,500 ft
4Depth to kickoff point (KOP) = 2,500 ft
4Rate of build of hole angle = 1.5 deg/100 ft

25
 Example 1: 2500’

Design of Imax

Directional Well
TVD1
10,000’

HD1
Imax
4,500’

4This is a Type I well (build and hold)

(i) Determine the maximum hole
angle (inclination) required.

(ii) What is the total measured

depth of the hole (MD)?

26
 Type I: Build-and-Hold

2500’
Imax
TVD1 12,500’
10,000’

HD1 Imax
4,500’
BUR = 1.5 deg/100 ft

27
 0’
Uniform 1’30”
Increase in
Drift per 100 ft
of hole drilled

o
10,000’ Try Imax = 27 ??
Vert.
Depth

4,500’ Horizontal Deviation

28
29
Solution
Type I Well 1.5 deg/100’

2500’ Available depth

Imax = 12,500-2,500
TVD1 = 10,000’
10,000’
From Chart,
Imax o
Try Imax = 27
HD1
30
 Build Section
o
From chart of 1.5 deg/100’, with Imax = 27
In the BUILD Section:
MD1 = 1,800’ (27/1.5)
Imax TVD1 = 1,734’
TVD1 HD1 = 416’

Remaining vertical
8,266’ Imax height
HD1 = 10,000 - 1,734 = 8,266’
31
 Solution
Horizontally:
o
416 + 8,266 tan 27 = 4,628
We need 4,500’ only:
Next try Imax = 25’ 30 min

8,266’ Imax MD2 = 1,700’ (25.5/1.5)

TVD2 = 1,644’
HD2 = 372’
32
Solution:
Remaining vertical depth
= 10,000-1,644
= 8,356 ft.
∴ Horizontal departure
= 372+8,356 tan 25.5

= 4,358 ft. { <4,500 } 4,628 + 4258

= 4,443
2

Approx. maximum angle = 26 1/4o

What is the size of target?

33
MD = MDvert + MDbuild + MDhold

8 , 266
MD at 27 o
= 2 ,500 ' + 1,800 ' + o
cos 27
= 13,577'

8,356
MD at 25.5 o
= 2,500 + 1,700 +
cos 25.5
= 13,458'

∴ MD ≅ 13,500'
34
 Type II Pattern

Given: KOP = 2,000 feet

TVD = 10,000 feet
Horiz. Depart. = 2,258 feet
o
Build Rate = 2 per 100 feet
o
Drop Rate = 1 30’ per 100 feet
The first part of the calculation is the
same as previously described.

35
Procedure - Find:

g a) The usable depth (8,000 feet)

g b) Maximum angle at completion
of buildup (e.g., try 18o)
using 2o/100 ft chart
g c) Measured depth and vertical
depth at completion of buildup
(M.D.=900 ft. and TVD = 886)
g d) Measured depth, horizontal
departure and TVD for
1.5o/100 ft from chart.
36
Solve:
g For the distances
corresponding to the sides of
the triangle in the middle:

g Add up the results.

g If not close enough, try a
different value for the maximum
inclination angle, Imax

37
 Horizontal
N View

Vertical
View

We may plan a 2-D well, but we always

get a 3D well (not all in one plane)
38
 MD, α1, ε1

∆MD

β = dogleg
angle α2 , ε 2

Fig. 8-22. A curve representing a wellbore

between survey stations A1 & A2
39
Bottom Hole Location
o
Direction : N 53 E
Distance : 2,550 ft
TVD : 10,000
E = 2 ,550 sin 53 o

= 2,037 ft
N = 2,550 cos 53 o

= 1,535 ft
Closure = 2,550 = E2 + N2

⎛E⎞
Closure Direction = tan ⎜ ⎟ = 53o
-1

⎝N⎠
40