“TARGET-30 CAMPAIGN”

Directional Drilling
Samip Umaretiya
Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University,
Gandhinagar.
Directional drilling is defined as the practice of controlling the direction and
deviation of a wellbore to a predetermined underground target or location.
Reasons
Side Tracking
Restricted locations
Reach Multiple targets and reduce number of platforms
Horizontal drilling
Reach in thin reservoir
Salt dome and fault drilling
Relief wells and etc.
Reference System(Depth & Geographical)
Trajectory is related to money.
3D reference system
Vertical depth
Horizontal distance from well head in northerly direction
Distance traversed from wellhead in easterly direction
Depth Reference System
Geographical Reference System
Planning & Profile of well

Build and Hold

S-shaped
Deep kick-off
Parameters for defining well path:
Kick off Point (KOP):
Easier to kick off at shallower than deep formation.
Always initiated at stable formation so that it can not cause any well bore
problems.
Build up rate & Drop off rate:
Choose based on the location of target and availability of tool (In
conventional 1-3 degree per 100 ft.)
>3 degree per 100 ft.=Doglegs
Tangent(Drift) Angle:
Generally b/w 10-60 degree.
Calculation
Directional Bottom Hole Assemblies (BHA)
Deflection Tools
Motive: Changes the inclination and
azimuthal direction.
All tools are generally work based on the two
principles.

1. Bit tilt angle

2. Side forces
Bent Sub & Mud Motor  It is manufactured in such a way that
the axis of the lower connection is
slightly offset (less than 3 degrees)
from the axis of the upper connection.

 The introduction of a bent sub into the

BHA means that the centre of the bit
is also offset from the centre line of
the drillstring above the bent sub and
it is not possible therefore to rotate
the drillbit by rotating the drillstring
from surface.

 The bent sub must therefore be used

in conjunction with a Positive
Displacement Motor, PDM or a Drilling
Turbine. The PDM is often called a
mud motor and is used in far more
wells than the turbine.
Disadvantage:
The bent sub and PDM can of course only be used in the build up or
drop off portion of the well since the bit will continue to drill in the
direction of the tilt angle as long as the bent sub is in the assembly
and the mud motor is being used to rotate the bit.

When the well is drilling in the required direction (inclination and

azimuth), the bent sub and PDM must then be pulled and the
conventional assembly re-run.
 Steerable Motor System
It consists of: a drill bit; a stabilized positive displacement steerable mud
motor; a stabilizer; and a directional surveying system which monitors
and transmits to surface the hole azimuth, inclination and “Toolface” on
a real time basis.
Produces much lower bit off-set; Can be possible to rotate string from
the surface.
Bent housing is installed within motor (Give bent of 1-1.5 degree)
This bent housing introduce deflection much closure to bit; so that larger
turn is possible than bent sub.
“Rotary” Drilling
“Oriented or Sliding” drilling
Use where changes in the direction of the borehole are difficult to
achieve.
Use with LWD & MWD tools.
Jet Deflection

Soft Formation (Low compressive

strength)
One bit nozzle will be large and
another two will be small
Assembly includes orienting sub
and NBS
Max. Circulation rate generally
used for washing without rotating
drill string (Only up-down motion)
If found that deflected section is
not drills as intended then larger
nozzle will be rearranged and
process repeated.
Advantages: Disadvantages:

Full gauge hole may be drilled Erosion in very soft formation.

at the beginning (Although pilot Smaller capacity rig may not be
holes may be required) able to pumping at high
Several attempts we will get pressure.
without pulling out of hole. Dogleg can be happen if jetting
is not done carefully controlled.
Whip-Stokes
The whip-stock is a steel wedge,
which is run in the hole and set
at the KOP.
Use in Cased hole when side
tracking is required.
Purpose is to apply side forces.
Disadvantage of Whip-stokes:
Rotary Steerable System (RSS)
A tool designed to drill directionally with continuous rotation from
the surface, eliminating the need to "slide" a mud motor.
This tool Directs the well path into two broad categories:

Push the bit: Use pads on the outside of the tool which press
against the well bore thereby causing the bit to press on the
opposite side causing a direction change.

Point the bit: direction of the bit to change relative to the rest of
the tool by bending the main shaft running through it.
 Advantages:
Continuous rotation of the drill string allows for improved transportation of
drilled cuttings to the surface resulting in better hydraulic performance,
better weight transfer for the same reason allows a more complex bore to
be drilled.

The well geometry therefore is less aggressive and the wellbore (wall of the
well) is smoother than those drilled with a motor.
Push the bit Point the bit
  Why Directional Survey?

Obtaining Actual Trajectory of the location with respect to planned

trajectory
Build Up Section (3 Survey, 30’ Interval)
Long Tangential Section (@ Interval 120’)
Back on Course: If well is not drilled according to planed course then with
the help of orientation tool we will back it to original course.
 Surveying Calculation

Principle is same as 2 Dimensional  If AB & 𝜶 is known then we can find out

coordinate of B
𝒀𝒃 = 𝑨𝑩𝑺𝒊𝒏𝜶
𝑿𝒃 = 𝑨𝑩𝑪𝒐𝒔𝜶

 Wellbore Surveying is different from 2D

Surveying in two things,

1. 3D
2. Trajectory b/w two stations may not be straight
line.

 As trajectory is not defined by straight line so

that some geometric model will be use to
accommodate that trajectory.
 Steps for Co-ordinates Determination

Initial Reference Point (Rotary Table)

MD(AHD) of Survey Station
Azimuth (Degrees from North)
Inclination (Angle from Vertical)
Mathematical Model
Depth type Reference System
RKB
MSL
20’’ Wellhead Housing

MD/AHD
Based on the number of drill pipes are run into the well

Azimuth of Wellbore
When survey is taken at that time the direction in which bit is pointing that’s called as
azimuth.
Magnetic North (Based on earth megnatic field components)
True North (Geographic North pole)
Grid North (From the map, Rectangular grid system)
 UTM (60 zones are devided into the 6 degree latitude, central meridian=GN)
 Mainly 2 Conversitions are applied to the measured azimuth
 Grid convergence & Declination (+ve & -ve)

Inclination
How much degrees we are deviating from the vertical
1. Tangential Method
Use Inclination & Azimuth @ lower survey station only
Assumed path is tangential (Straight line) throughout survey interval
If Angle is high; More survey interval; more inaccurate result
Model (Highly Inaccurate & Not Recommendable)
2. Balanced Tangential
Use both Stations survey data (inclination and azimuth)
Assume well path (2 straight line segment of equal length)
2 time tangential model is applied
Model (Approximate closure shape & yields more accurate result)
3. Average Angle Method
Inclination and direction will be averaged @ both survey stations
Wellbore path assumed to be straight line
Simple Calculation can be done by hand held calculator & Accurate
4. Radius of Curvature Method
Assumed path (Curvature which has a shape of spherical arc)
Inclination and direction are varying in course of length
Less sensitive to error even if survey interval is long
Complicated & Best handled by computer
5. Minimum Curvature
Takes space vectors
Curvature path is calculate by ratio factor defined by dogleg of wellbore
Total curvature is minimized into arc
Calculation best handled by computer