Tripping & Backreaming Practices

This is the most important subject of this school

– The serious problems experienced are self-inflicted, and unnecessary

This section will cover:

¾ What is required for safe tripping
¾ Practices
¾ BHA requirements

¾ Backreaming
¾ Is it good or bad ?
¾ Why do you see what you do ?
¾ How to do it safely (and when to do it)

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Key Messages
Back-reaming or pumping out should be avoided whenever
possible in high-angle wells
– The ability to trip out without pumping or backreaming is a
critical objective
– Choosing any practice or equipment that forces you to
backream to trip out flies in the face of risk-management
• Because back-reaming and/or pumping out are the single-most
dangerous operation in any ER well
– Maximum risk of stuck pipe, and of destabilizing the wellbore
– It is also time consuming, and destructive on BHA equipment
– Engineers :
• It’s not just a matter of circulating more … it’s a design issue too

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Classic Train-Wreck Scenario
K&M review a lot of high-angle train wrecks
– Most have almost identical chain-of-events
– 2 common themes :
• Those that had bad hole cleaning while drilling (but they thought it
was good). These also tend to have poor tripping practices.
– More common with motor BHAs
– Note – Can have good hole cleaning with motors !!
• Those that had good hole cleaning while drilling, but still have poor
tripping practices.
– This has become the most common of the two, ever since RSS became
popular
– Does the following sound familiar ?

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Say operator is drilling high or medium angle 12¼” hole
• Inhibitive mud, possibly with rotary-steerable BHA

1. No problems drilling to TD
• Good hole cleaning while drilling, and no cavings reported
• How do they know it was good hole cleaning ?
• Using high RPM
• No tight hole at connections
• Good cuttings flow
• PWD, T&D are all OK (more later)

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 2. At TD, hole is cleaned up
• Multiple bottoms up circulated at TD
• Shakers clean up quite soon … team thinks hole must be clean
• In reality, hole cleaning system has shut down when low-RPM
used for clean-up cycle
3. Trip commences
• Soon pulls tight.
• Attempt to back-ream thru tight spot
• Hole packs off (initiating circulation or soon after)
• 1st cavings reported at this point

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 4. Back-reaming continues …
• Packing off all the way to the shoe
• Relatively little cuttings while back-reaming, until ≈ 30o, then
shakers blind with lot’s of cuttings… and cavings.
• Packs off also inside casing

5. Trip Back In
• For some reason, the trip back-in is whistle-clean…
despite the nightmarish trip out…

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Tripping and Backreaming
• Part 1 – What is Happening Downhole
• Part 2 – How to Enable Tripping on Elevators
• Part 3 – Tripping Procedures
• Part 4 – Backreaming Procedures

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Tripping and Backreaming
• Part 1 – What is happening downhole
– How does the cuttings bed & BHA interact when tripping ?
• Trouble-free tripping vs tight hole
• Normal tripping vs. Back-reaming vs. Pumping Out
– Separating myth from reality
– Why do we see what we see ?

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 The Myth of Clean Hole
Most people visualize that tripping looks
something like this…

And that “tight hole” looks like this…

If this is correct, then normal reactions are valid

© K&M Technology Group - 2008
• Drop down a few feet, and commence back-reaming thru obstruction
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 What Really Happens?
What happens downhole when tripping in a deviated well ?
– Firstly, assume that the hole is NOT 100% clean
– Even with a thorough clean-up
– Even with Rotary Steering Tools !
– The BHA does NOT pull cuttings up the hole
– Cuttings flow around the BHA, until they become too compressed
– BHA design is critical to “flow around” ability
– Has significant implications for how to manage tight hole

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 What Really Happens?

When pulling out, the BHA pulls up through the dirt…

• For a trouble-free trip, the dirt must flow around the BHA as
the BHA moves through the bed Video Clip

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 What Really Happens?

If this component blocks the flow of dirt,

then tight hole looks like this …

Video Clip

© K&M Technology Group - 2008 But if this component blocks the flow of
12/70 dirt, then tight hole looks like this …
 What is “Tight Hole”?
Note that this volume of dirt is small …
• Only requires kilograms (not tons) to be stuck)

Unfortunately, this is the most common situation

• Because of typical bit & BHA designs
•If you pull too far, you can’t go back down
•Turning pumps on is worst-possible response to tight hole

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Practices
What is backreaming?
Standard trip – no rotation or circulation, harmless cuttings bed by-passed

Backreaming – rotate and circulate while POOH, cuttings bed fully removed
from the bottom of the hole. Cuttings drop out to form a dune above the BHA

Video Clip

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Practices

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Practices
Pumping Out is Even Worse!

Pumping Out – dirt still pipes up behind the BHA due to high velocity around
the bit, stabilizers, and drill collars, but the conveyor belt is off!

Video Clip

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Practices
What are the downsides/risks associated with
Backreaming?
– Stuck pipe
– BHA equipment failures due to vibration
– Key seating
– Lost returns (if packoffs exceed fracture gradient)
– Self-inflicted wellbore stability problems

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Practices
Backreaming itself doesn’t damage the wellbore…
– Rather, it is the Hydraulic Hammer effect that causes all the
problems…
– Sudden large ECD pressure shock below pack-off
• Same principle will destroy pipelines, power stations, etc ...Why
expect it to be less severe in a wellbore?
• These are often too large for PWD to measure

Video Clip

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Hydraulic Hammer
What PWD sees when hydraulic hammer occurs…
• Pressure spikes are often “off the scale”
• Remember, when you see a pack-off at surface, you only see
what’s left are dampening thru the bit, BHA & drillstring
3 ppg scale

How bad was this ECD spike ?

Normal drilling ECD …

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Basics
Interpretation of “wellbore stability” problems changes
entirely if the wellbore has been “Hammered”
– Often, the presence of cavings after packoffs is perceived as
the very cause of the packoffs
• K&M contend that it is more likely the packoff created the cavings
due to the hammer effect
• Evidence of this is “wellbore stability” problems often go away when
tripping practices are modified (due to avoidance of packoffs)

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Tripping and Backreaming
• Part 2 – How to enable conventional tripping out
Many operators say “don’t back-ream unless you have to …”
But experienced ER people “know” that no-matter what the
procedures say, that’s the only way they can get out of the
hole

The ability to trip regularly on elevators is possible

– But simply circulating more isn’t the answer

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Tripping and Backreaming
How clean must the hole be for tripping ?
− It depends on the bit & BHA ...
• Junk slot area affects how thick a safe cuttings bed can be.

Video Clip

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 © K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 The “Un-Trippable” BHA
Unless the BHA components are addressed as a high priority….
– Conventional tripping may be impossible despite best practices
– It only takes one component to make a BHA un-trippable
• No matter how much circulation is done

– This flies in the face of every risk management precaution we make, if

this isn’t addressed as the highest priority

THIS IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST THING YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE

(OR INCREASE) RISK IN YOUR PROJECT

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 The “Un-Trippable” BHA
What needs to be done to bit & BHA ?
– Junk-slot-area & junk-slot-tortuosity are key BHA
design priorities
• Remove sleeve stabilizers on big-OD collars
– Classic 9½” tools for 12¼”, 6¾” tools for 8½” hole
– Especially on RSS, motors and MWD-LWD tools
– Shoot for a minimum of 30% open area
• Or downsize to smaller collars
– Eg. 8” tools instead 95/8” for 12¼” hole
• Replace sleeve stabilizers with integral blade stabilizers

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Sleeve vs. Integral Blade

How an Integral Blade Stabilizer How a Sleeve Stabilizer sees a

sees a 12¼” hole (8” body OD) 12¼” hole (10½” body OD)

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 The “Un-Trippable” BHA
Consider this New Zealand ER Well…
• 9 1/2” tangent to ±6100m (20,000’) MD
• Excellent HC parameters
o 700 gpm / 150 rpm
o 3xBU cleanup cycles, shakers clean after 2xBU
• Previous wells have never had problems tripping
o Identical fluids, practices, drillpipe, BHA…

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 …However, the bits have changes “a bit”…

Bit #1 Bit #2 Bit #3

5 Blade, 9 Blade 8 Blade,
14.5in2 Group - 2008
© K&M Technology 12.5 in2 20.9in2
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 Trip #1 (5 Blade, 14.5in2 JSA)
No problems, very similar to behavior on first well (similar bit)
Minor 20-30k “peak” over pull in places (fairly slick on average)
Average FF = 0.16 – 0.18

Trip #2 (9 Blade, 12.5in2 JSA)

Long and troublesome trip with several intermediate circulation
points required due to 50-60 k overpull in several locations
Average FF = 0.19-0.20

Trip #3 (8 Blade, 20.9in2 JSA)

Very smooth trip with the fewest number of tight spots of all the
trips out. “Peak” overpull of <15k.
Average FF = 0.16-0.18

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 The “Un-Trippable” BHA
What needs to be done to bit & BHA?
– Straighten up highly tortuous components
• Eg. Tight-spiral long-gage bits

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 The “Un-Trippable” BHA
Prioritize Bit Junkslot Area
– Steel body bits have much larger JSA than Matrix
– Better impact resistance with Steel too

12 ¼”, 6-Blade Matrix Body Bit 12 ¼”, 6-Blade Steel Body Bit
39.2 in2 JSA (33%) 54.3 in2 JSA (46%)
© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 The “Un-Trippable” BHA
What needs to be done to bit & BHA ? … continued
– A very effective option to enable normal tripping with
“tight” components is to enlarge the hole
• Using Ream-While-Drilling (RWD) under-reamers
• Very popular in the North Sea

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 Under-Reamer Considerations
• K&M recommend this as a short-term “band-aid, until the
root cause is fixed
• Due to side effects of using RWD
– The danger of this technique is the “false sense of security”
gained from a trouble-free trip out prior to running casing…

Video Clip

How the BHA sees a “Dirty” How Casing sees a “Dirty”

under-reamed hole…. under-reamed hole…

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Hole Cleanup Practices

The hole must be cleaned up prior to tripping

• To be successful, the following is necessary :

– Conveyor belt must be turned on (> 120 rpm)
– Sufficient circulation is required
• Multiple BU required at > 120 rpm
• Looking for at least 2 waves

• Remember saltation flow side-effects

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Cleaning up for a trip
• The Conveyor belt requires > 120 rpm
• Common directional-drilling practice ….
•RPM is often slowed whenever off-bottom (see next slide)
• Hence, hole cleaning system is shut-down, convincing the team that
the hole is clean
• Cuttings don’t know if the bit is on or off bottom !!
• Conveyor belt must be on when bit is off-bottom too.

This is one of the most common mistakes

… and one of the most illogical ones too !!

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Hole Cleanup Practices
RPM vs Time log - Clean up on 18 July
Time-log showing RPM at end of drilling, and then
during clean-up cycle
160 • Drilling RPM = 138, clean-up RPM only 80 – 90
• Shakers cleaned up soon ... hole was interpreted as clean
140

•
RPM drops from 138rpm to 80+ rpm.
This was their expected
Cleanup is therefore largely non-
result since they were using a
120 rotary-steerable
existant, and tripping starts in dirty!
hole
• Or did the hole cleaning system just shut down ?
100
Pipe RPM

80

60 End Drilling. Start clean up

40

20

0
0:00:00 2:24:00 4:48:00 7:12:00 9:36:00 Time RPM 14:24:00
12:00:00 rpm 16:48:00 19:12:00 21:36:00 0:00:00

End Drilling / Start Clean-up

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Hole Cleanup Practices

How much clean-up is necessary ?

Cleaning up takes time
– Bottoms up is irrelevant for high angle wells
• Expect 2 – 4+ x BU for cleanup time
– This is very sensitive to angle above 70o (see next page)
– Patience is critical

• AND only “conveyor belt ON” time counts

– Circulation time at < 120 rpm is irrelevant and wasteful

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Hole Cleanup Practices
Effective Circulation Volume vs. Angle
20,000' (6000m) tangent length, shallow KOP

6
This gives some feel for how much circulation is
necessary for different angles
5
• Note – only convey or belt circulation counts !
Min. Circulation Volume

4 This is a minimum volume requirement … the

“talking” at the shakers takes priority in
3
decision-making.

1 Notice how “gut feel” and “experience

betray you, once angle gets > 70o
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Angle

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 Hole Cleanup Practices
• It depends on where you are in the wellbore…
– Laying down a rule of “4 x BU” may be wasteful

Consider this 80o well

Is the same # of BU required

shallow, as when deep ?
• Each is at 80o

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 At End-of Build, only need 2xBU

At TD , need at least ±4 x BU

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Hole Cleanup Practices
– You are looking for at least 2 waves of cuttings
• Saltation flow side effect
• If you’ve been drilling start-stop style, then expect more waves
A 2nd wave of cuttings flow is very common, if
circulation continues (with the conveyor belt on)
• Similar to gravel packing, in reverse
• It’s easy to get suckered-in to stop
clean-up when 1st wave finishes at ≈ 1 x BU

• Shakers will reduce to a background level

(fines will never clean up)
Normal At > 80o, 2nd wave is often
circulation after 3rd bottoms up
•
Volume cuttings

If there are still cuttings still on

the shakers, the hole is NOT yet clean …
– Pay now, or pay later (with interest) !

1 2 3 4

Times bottoms up

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Hole Cleanup Practices

Cleaning-up for a trip

– This process does leave cuttings in the hole
– The hole doesn’t have to be completely clean.
– The goal is to have trouble free trips.

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Tripping practices

When hole has cleaned up …

– Trip out on elevators
(i.e. no pumping or backreaming)

– Back-reaming is only to be used as a last-resort

option (more later)

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 Tripping Practices
• Part 3 – Tripping Out Procedures
– Following the road-map
• How to identify “abnormal” from “normal”
• How to identify “a ledge” from “cuttings”
– How to respond to tight hole
• Do’s & Don’ts
– Pipe Stretch discussion

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 Tripping Out Procedure
1. Pull out of hole without rotation or circulation
• Trip speed is important … controls speed of dirt flow
through the stabilizers & bit
• Tighter BHAs require slower speeds
2. Monitor P/U weight while tripping out of hole
• Compare real-time to theoretical drag trends (“roadmaps”)
• Must have a road-map to know what “normal” is
(see following plots)

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Using Road-Maps
1. If you are to make wise decisions about when “something is abnormal”,
you need to know what normal looks like …
Experienced hands assume that they know this
… “I don’t need a computer to tell me when I’ve got tight hole”
2. People also assume that they are looking for a sudden change

Both of these are vertical hole logic, and are perhaps the most common
reason wells get into trouble while tripping
• If we had a genuinely clean hole, and “ledges” were the problem, then this
logic is OK
• But remember we are looking for dirt build-up between stabilizers, which
happens gradually

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

Video Clip

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 15k Here is a trip out, plotted against depth
45k
• Is this OK ?

But this is about to get stuck …

• Can’t you see the train-wreck coming at you ?

This is the next stand pulled ?

• What is the over-pull ?
• Looks like 15 k ?
Classic indication of cuttings
building up is diverging PU loads In reality, hole is “talking” to you
• Between “normal” and actual loads for +/- 10 stands
• Usually over 4 – 5 stands •And overpull is 45k -lbs

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Tripping Out Procedure
• If tight hole is encountered
– Set overpull limits low – 30 kips / 15 tonnes MAX
– Either via roadmap or not…
• For tight spot or increasing drag, always assume the
problem is cuttings
– Run in the hole 3 to 5 stands to get BHA away from tight
spot
• If obstruction is dirt, you must un-pack the BHA before doing
anything else
– If it took > 5 stands to pack the BHA, it will probably take that many
to un-pack it !!
– Remember that cuttings can move down hole with BHA (in
avalanche regime <65°±)!

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Tripping Out Procedure
Tight Spot Procedure (…continued)
• Circulate & rotate at > 120 rpm for 30 minutes
– Goal is to verify cuttings dune, so as not to waste time if otherwise
– Conveyor belt must be on, if cuttings are to be moved

• POH carefully without rotation or circulation watching for the

tight spot to recur
– If the tight spot has moved up hole, then obstruction was cuttings
– Continue cleaning the hole up, per standard clean-up procedures

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Tripping Out Procedure
Tight Spot Procedure …continued
• If the tight spot has NOT moved up hole, then genuine tight
hole is likely (key seat, ledge, swelling formation, etc.)
– Circulating or backreaming may be used with caution
– Must avoid pack-off while circulating or backreaming out of the hole
• Risk of stuck pipe
• Pressure damage to wellbore below pack-off
• Don’t want to lose returns
– Hole cleaning get’s really messy if we can’t circulate !

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 Stretch Implications
- Vertical: Pick-up weight = Rotating wt = Slack-off wt
- High angle: Weights are very different ….so what ?

Consider what’s actually happening downhole when the

weight indicator changes when you kick the rotary on …
- BHA immediately sucks up the hole, with missing force load
- typical stretch deep in 12¼” = 3 – 6m (10 – 20 ft)
- If you rotate with any tension remaining …
- I think I’m stuck, will just make sure about that before I call somebody !

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 Stretch Implications
The same thing happens while tripping in …
- How many times have you tried to roll off a “ledge” while tripping in?
- What happens to the bit when rotation is imitated with the string in
compression?
- The bit leaps forward, uncontrollably (up to 20-30’ in long wells)
- This is a really good way to destroy a drillstring (if buckling is
present)!
- Can also cause lost-returns due to surge effect

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Practices
• Part 4 – Back-reaming Out Procedures
– When is back-reaming OK ?
– How to back-ream safely
• Do’s & Don’ts

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Basics
• Sometimes backreaming is necessary …
– Tight hole on trips
–after verifying that the obstruction is NOT cuttings
– Swabbing (can’t trip conventionally)
– When removal of ALL cuttings is necessary
• To clean up hole for extreme casing runs in ER wells
• Typical “trigger” is if casing run is so challenging as to require
flotation
• For production liner cement jobs, or running screens

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Back-reaming Introduction
When back-reaming, have you ever noticed ?....
• Once you start back-reaming in a directional well, you can’t stop …until you
get to +/- 30o
– Actually, normal tripping can be resumed, with changes to normal practices

• You don’t see cuttings while backreaming, until you get to about 30o
– Then you get lot’s of cuttings suddenly

• Back-reaming was easier on lower angle wells ….

• The faster you go, the more problems you have ….

• Have you ever noticed severe cavings after back-reaming, despite never
seeing them before hand ?
© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Is back-reaming OK ?

• Firstly, let’s define what back-reaming is …

– Tripping, while rotating & pumping
– A means of fighting tight hole

• Back-reaming is not …
– Working the pipe up (with rotation) during normal connections
– When racking back stands during the clean-up process.

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 Back-reaming (continued)
What is K&M’s opinion on back-reaming ?
– Dangerous, with high risk of stuck pipe, packing off, and inducing
wellbore failure (more later)
• Only operation that has higher risk is pumping out !
– Tough on MWD & BHAs (vibration), and causes casing wear
– Can be done safely …
• But needs to be done slowly to be safe
• Practices must vary according to angle
• Back-reaming is not faster than cleaning up thoroughly before tripping

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 How fast is safe to back-ream?
You must be pumping-out / backreaming slower than the dune
… remember the dune moves much slower for higher angles
Pack-offs occur when the BHA is pumping-out or
backreaming faster than the dune is moving
This is a good application for the bladed DP
• Placed in the HWDP to move the dune faster
(if conveyor belt is on)

BEA
CH

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Procedure
• Clean hole up first
• Never commence back-reaming while in overpull or tight hole
- BHA is literally embedded in cuttings
- Consider pipe stretch: what direction does the BHA move if pipe is in
tension and we start to rotate?
- Always drop down away from the tight spot before beginning to backream
- Applies also to tripping in
- …. actually, this may be worse, since cuttings must now clear the bit & BHA
pinch-points

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 Backreaming Procedure
• Think of backreaming as drilling backwards
• Be patient - Backreaming must be done slowly
- 10 min/stand sounds slow, but is ROP of 600’ or 180 m/hr
- Acceptable ROP is very sensitive to angle when above 70o
- Dune will move slowly, especially if using low RPM
- Pack-off will occur if pickup speed is too fast
• Very few options if lose returns

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Implications of Saltation
Effective Circulation Volume vs. Angle
20,000' (6000m) tangent length, shallow KOP

7
Very Slow
Back-reaming “safe speed” is driven by same
6 “saltation flow” mechanism that drives how much
circulation is necessary to clean the hole for a trip
Relative Backreaming Speed

Safe speed slows significantly beyond 70o

Min. Circulation Volume

Slow
3

Fast1

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Angle

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Remember Saltation Flow, and it’s side effects
This has important implications for a drilling operation …
Side effect of back-reaming in a wellbore that has been cleaned-up

But saltation flow requires that the hole must re-fill to full
drilling height, before you see cuttings at surface …

This sucker-punches drilling operations all the time …

• You have back-reamed for 12 hours at slow ROP, and haven’t seen any dirt …
•How do you interpret this … the hole must be clean
•So back-reaming get’s faster … and then the hole packs off

Imagine we have cleaned the hole up, and commence back-

reaming from here …

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Procedure
• Torque is primary tool to monitor pulling speed
• If rig systems allow, consider pumping at drilling flowrate &
rotate at 120+ rpm (for larger hole sizes)
- This will help disperse cuttings dune above BHA
- However, hard on top drive & may cause casing wear
- Alternative is low RPM while up-reaming, then high RPM down-reaming,
before final pick up to rack stand (without rotation– repeat cycle if tight)

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 Backreaming Procedure
40 4000
Packoff Tendencies (ie, BHA is
35 colliding with cutting dune)
3500
Torque (k ft-lbs)

30 3000

SPP (psi)
25 2500

20 2000
Torque
SPP
15 1500

10 1000
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (min)

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming PWD Example
8 ½” Backreaming Example
• Losses at 5971m (19,600’)
• Parameters:
– Flow 1800lpm (475 gpm)
– RPM 180
1. Pressure Increase of 25 bar (360 psi)
2. Torque Increase of 10 k Nm (7.5 k ft-lbs)
3. No indications on PWD indicating pack
off below pressure sensor

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Backreaming Procedure
• Clean up hole immediately after finish of backreaming – Don’t
just pull out of the hole
– Applies for cased hole as well as open hole
– This explains the industries “typical” experience that once backreaming
starts, it can’t be stopped (in reality, all we need to do in order to return
to tripping on elevators is erode the due away from the top of the BHA)
• Take special care coming into a casing shoe
– Large OD rathole/washout accumulates cuttings
– Consider extra circulation with rotation before proceeding

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 Underreamer Considerations
• Under-reamers add an additional level of complexity /
risk to backreaming
– Most RWD devices cannot be locked closed, causing vibration and un-
controlled hole enlargement / undercutting while backreaming (since the
pilot BHA is unstabilized)
– One Exception is Halliburton’s XRReamer (drop-ball locking action)
AnderGauge: Smith: Halliburton:
Anderreamer Rinoreamer XRReamer

Video Clip Video Clip

© K&M Technology Group - 2008

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 Underreamer Considerations
• Backreamed 8 ½”x9 7/8” with RWD in string
• Memory resistivity shows rugous and washed out hole after backreaming
• Multiple packoffs and subsequent instability ensued on trip in

Intended Gauge Hole Diameter

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 A Final Word On Backreaming

• Backreaming at high angle in larger hole sizes should be

thought of as “drilling backwards”
- The cuttings dune is forced up-hole by the flow restriction
around the BHA
• Backreaming at 1-2 minutes/stand may not be enough
time for the dune to “get out of the way”
• The time for patience is when backreaming to run
casing

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 So, let’s talk about how this impacts what “good
oilfield practice” means for different wells:
•Consider our response to a major equipment failure …
• Lose 1 of 2 pumps (24hr repair)…
• Swivel packing leak (1hr repair)…
• Top Drive pinion gear breaks (3 day repair)…
• Washout in the drillpipe
• 1000’ (300m) from surface…
• 1000’ (300m) above the BHA…

What about a high angle well ?

What about a Medium angle well ?

What should we do on a vertical well ?

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