Question 4

Mobile halites and clay stones are plastic rock types, I.e. plastic formations are those formations that have the ability to deform and flow in response to applied stress, a hard clay stone formation when subjected to extreme stress and high water content will deform and flow. However drilling mostly through halite sections will cause formation mobility problem while drilling. Drilling into a plastic formation relieves the in-situ around the bored hole thereby causing the formation to extrude into the well. Above all, drilling through mobile halite sections and hard clay stones can cause stuck pipe i.e. mechanical sticking. Solution 1. Maintain a gauge hole(minimize possibility of its collapse due to moving salts and obtaining a uniform cementation of the casing) 2. BHA to be used must be as short as possible, no room for needlessly long assemblies. Drill collar numbers and large outer diameter pipes should be justified. 3. Use spiral drill collars and spiral heavy weight drill pipes. 4. Proposed mud plan must have a high inhibitive capacity and highly resistant to contaminants from the formation. 5. Proper mud weight must be used to maintain hole stability. 6. Minimize time spent with the drill string stationary and circulation stopped.

ALTERNATIVE FOR WELL C. A. The best alternative is to drill a deviated well/horizontal well. The picture shows a vertical well driven straight into the reservoir, and there is every possibility of having your pipe stuck if some rules such as above are not properly followed. So drilling only a deviated/horizontal well will bypass or completely avoid drilling through the hard clay stone and mobile halite.

Hard clay stone Mobile halite Reservoir

Reasons for this well path. Drilling a horizontal well might be twice the cost of drilling a vertical well, but you will definitely obtain double the production of a vertical well. Also problems associated with plastic formations like hard clay stones and mobile halites are avoided. E.g. stuck pipe B. The most effective tool one can utilize in the BHA to improve drilling performance in this aspect is called a steerable assembly/steerable motor (for directional drilling). The steerable motor is configured to steer the BHA through a specific well-path, usually towards a planned target and away from a subsurface object e.g. mobile halite. We have different models of steerable motors manufactured by different companies, but they all perform same functions. E.g Geopilot - Halliburton Power drive- Schlumberger anadril Auto-track -Baker Hughes Example of the Assembly that can be used to drill through a deviated/horizontal well as above. Bit Steerable motor DTU assembly 1 x short NMDC NM stabilizer MWD NM Stab 6 x DC Jar 1 x DC 1 x HWDP Hydril drop-in sub -HWDP

Question 5.
Risks associated with drilling a highly deviated well include. Dogleg severity This is usually expressed in degrees per 100ft of course length. It is a measure of the amount of change in inclination or direction of a well path. This can create drilling problems such as. Creation of key seats which can lead to stuck pipe. Drill pipe failure due to fatigue wear.(pipe undergoes cyclic bending i.e. when outer convex wall of pipe in a dogleg is stretched thereby adding on more tensile loads, the inner concave wall is compressed and experiences reduced tensile loading. As the pipe rotates through 180 degrees pipe that was previously stretched is now compressed and vice-versa To minimize;

Follow well plan to detail. Well type and casing sizes influences maximum doglegs allowable in a well. e.g. 20 casing maximum dogleg severity should not exceed 3 degrees per 100ft.At no point should it exceed the recommended value in API RP7G. Doglegs greater than 4 degrees per 100ft should be reamed at the earliest opportunity to remove potential key seat. Wiper trip.

Drag When the mud weight and hydrostatic pressure couldnt support the lifting of cuttings (hole cleaning) and it then tends to settle at sharp angles. This causes friction between the drill string and the walls of the well while the drill string is moving. It can occur while tripping, steering a down hole motor, drilling with surface rotation. Running in drag can be a limiting factor in drilling horizontal and long reach wells since a point can be reached when the drill string can no longer fall into the hole under its own weight as would happen in vertical wells. To Minimize. When planning a deviated or horizontal well, there are some predictions one has to make which when put to use will help minimize drag, this include; Drag forces while tripping Torque and drag while steering a down hole motor Torque and drag while drilling with surface rotation Buckling forces on the drill string.

Stuck pipe When drilling a highly deviated well, the risk of having a stuck pipe might be encountered. Pipe sticking is an expensive, time consuming problem and can lead to loss of equipment, side tracking and loss of hole. Stuck pipe is the inability to raise, lower or rotate drill string due to one or a combination of causes, such as stems from hole configuration or hole cleaning. E.g. Mechanical sticking occurs when hole diameter will not allow passage of drill string.

This can be caused by key seating, stiffness of BHA, ledges, micro doglegs and mobile formation. Stuck pipe can also stem from when hole cleaning is kind of difficult to obtain, (Mud density, inhibition and rheology are not sufficient to contain a continuous generation of cavings).So the deposition of cuttings on the low side of the well, cavings and possible hole collapse occupies space in the hole thus preventing proper working of the drill pipe, thus making it stuck. To Minimize. Mud properties should be maintained followed according to specifications. If cuttings become sticky or has tendency to breakup and disperse, increase inhibition or encapsulating chemical concentrations. Reduce ROP if shakers become over loaded. Increase bottoms-up time. Wiper trip at intervals Question 6.
GROUND LEVEL

20 CONDUCTOR SHOE

13-3/8 CSG SHOE

9 5/8 CSG SHOE

8 HOLE

KICK @12,000FT

BOP is closed. SIDPP (shut in drill pipe pressure) = 400psi. SICP (shut in casing pressure)= 720 psi. Pit gain = 20 bbls. Drill string is made up of = 480ft of 6-1/4 drill collars + 5 drill pipe back to surface. (MW) Mud weight while drilling= 12.6ppg. Dh= Diameter of hole.=8.5 Dp= Outer Diameter of pipe.=5 1029.4 = constant.

A. To obtain the nature of influx: We have to calculate annular volume of pipe and drill collar? Annular volume around pipe= Dh2 - Dp2 1029.4 = 8.52 - 52 = 0.0459bbls/ft 1029.4

Annular volume around DC

= Dh2 - Dc2 1029.4 8.52 - 6.252 = 0.0322bbls/ft 1029.4

No of Barrels= Collar length x annular capacity of DC. = 480ft x 0.0322bbls/ft = 15.456bbls Barrel of influx opposite drill pipe: Pit gain - Barrel opposite DC = 20 bbls - 15.456bbls. = 4.544bbls

Influx height opposite DP = 4.544 / 0.0322bbls/ft = 141.1ft Total influx height = Height of DC + Influx height opposite DP 480ft + 141.1ft = 621.1ft

To determine nature of influx, calculate influx gradient: INFLUX GRADIENT: (MW X 0.052) (SICP SIDPP) IH

(12.6ppg X 0.052) (400psi-720psi) 621.1ft

Influx gradient: = 1.17 and the nature of influx is gas. Gradient for gas is any value less than 0.2. Gradient for water is 0.4 or more. Between 0.2 and 0.4 is gradient for oil, or oil mixed with gas and water.

B. Mud weight required to kill the well:

Kill mud weight =

SIDPP TVD x 0.052

MW

400 12,000 X 0.052 Kill mud weight required= 13.24 ppg

12.6