Chapter 3 Introduction to Exploration and Drilling

Chapter 3

Introduction to Exploration
and Drilling

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Chapter 3 Introduction to Exploration and Drilling

Chapter 3 Contents
3.1 Exploration Methods
3.1.1 Geological Methods
3.1.2 Geophysical Methods
3.1.3 Geochemical Techniques
3.1.4 Seismic Surveys

3.2 Traps
3.2.1 Anticlinal Traps
3.2.2 Fault Traps
3.2.3 Stratigraphic Traps
3.2.4 Lenticular Traps

3.3 Drilling
3.3.1 Rotary Drilling
3.3.2 Drilling Rig Components
3.3.3 Surface and Intermediate Casing Strings
3.3.4 Drilling Control

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Chapter 3 Introduction to Exploration and Drilling

Chapter 3
Introduction to Exploration and Drilling

3.1 EXPLORATION METHODS

3.1.1 Geological Methods
Surface, subsurface geology and remote sensing
Oil has been often found in subsurface tarps (anticlines). These traps were first
recognized by their sometimes distinctive features, so surface geological maps can be
helpful.

Surface mapping and photogeology, i.e., aerial photos and photogrammetric "stereo
pairs" using Earth Resources Satellite (ERSAT) scans, are used extensively for
lithological and structural determinations. Another type of surface exploration is
agrochemical prospecting, a recent technique based on the supposition that some
hydrocarbons in an oil accumulation migrate vertically to the surface directly over
the oilfield.

Subsurface geology becomes advanced of surface geological either from drilled

wells, outcrops, and geophysical data which help identify the possible presence of oil
and gas.

3.1.2 Geophysical Methods

The geophysical branch of the exploration is primarily concern with defining

subsurface geological features through the use measuring the physical properties of
rocks.

In petroleum exploration the three main methods are:

 Seismic : Studies the elastic characteristics of rocks.
 Magnetic : Studies the magnetic properties of rocks
 Gravity : Studies the density properties of rocks.
By 1920 it was obvious that anticlinal folding was only one of a number of
geological factors controlling oil and gas accumulation and that much could not be
determined from surface mapping alone. The seismic method, the most important in
today's predrilling exploration, uses the transit time of sound waves (the time
required for a sound pulse to travel a fixed distance between a transmitter and
reciever) generated by an explosion. These transit times depend on the nature of the
rocks penetrated, particularly their density. The transit time measured is for a wave
reflected from a

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surface in the subsurface (Figure 3.1). Under favorable conditions geologic beds
may be mapped quite accurately to create subsurface contour maps of structure and
possible reservoir locations.

Figure 3.1 Reflected Seismic Waves

3.1.3 Geochemical Techniques
The geochemistry is the study of the chemical properties of rocks, and petroleum.
This study will lead to determine qualitatively and quantitatively the potential of the
source rock to generate oil and gas. Geochemistry, also, studies the thermal
maturation of the source rock, and correlates petroleum of different reservoirs.
3.1.4 Seismic Surveys
The significant features of a conventional land operation are depicted in Figure 3.2.
For clarity of representation, only with a limited number of seismicray paths are
shown, but it should be noted that for each seismmeter there is a corresponding
reflecting point at each reflecting surface as well as at least one retracted ray path.
A wide variety of specialized instruments and equipment has been developed for
particular operations, such as swamp, sand, shallow water, and open water.
The basic seismic field instrumentation can be considered as the seismometers, the
seismic amplifiers, and the magnetic tape recording system. It is not uncommon for
operators to have strong opinions concerning all three. During the early history of
seismic exploration, instruments were not commercially available. Each operator set
up a shop to design and build his own instruments and equipment, and this
background and "Organization in being" often influence present day thought.
However, the field of modem seismic instrumentation manufacture is now highly
competitive, and instrumentation with any desired performance characteristics is
available commercially.

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Figure 3.2 Seismic Data Acquisition

Geochemical prospecting as a direct indicator of oil has had limited success because
hydrocarbons do not migrate directly upward from an accumulation. Migration
occurs along faulted and fractured zones and through more permeable beds such as
glacial drift or continental deposits. Water in sands overlying accumulations can
redirect any upward migration. Consequently, surface indications may be useful in
defining oil, gas or barren regions, but they cannot pinpoint an accumulation.
Seeps and natural asphalts give surface evidence of oil or gas that has migrated from
its original accumulation. Outcrops, if not weathered, contain traces of hydrocarbons
that are indicative of the oil potential of the sediment.

3.2 TRAPS
Once the hydrocarbons have been generated and expelled from the source rock,
migration is a continuous process, regardless of whether they are, moving through a
reservoir rock or through a fracture system. Obviously, then, a barrier or trap is
needed to impede this migration in order to get an accumulation.
A trap is produced by a set of geological conditions which cause oil and gas to be
retained in a porous reservoir or at least allowed to escape at a negligible rate. Shales
and evaporates make good seals, although any un-fractured rock that has a
displacement leakage pressure higher than that of the hydrocarbon accumulation will
seal a trap.

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Most traps are not filled to their structural or stratigraphic spill point. A spill point is
illustrated by the successive diagrams in Figure 3.3. Note in Stage 1 the
stratification of gas, oil and water above the trap spill point. In Stage 2,
hydrocarbons fill the trap to the spill point; oil is spilling out and migrating farther
up-dip. In Stage 3, the trap is filled with gas. Gas moving from below enters the trap,
but a like volume spills out at the same time; oil bypasses the trap entirely.
Incomplete filling of a trap is more likely the result of the seal not sustaining the
greater hydrocarbon column pressure rather than being the result of insufficient oil
and gas to fill the trap (Figure 3.3). For this reason, traps often may be filled to
capacity and yet have water levels far above the spill point.

Figure 3.3 Spill Point of a Hydrocarbon Trap

Traps for oil and gas under hydrostatic conditions have two general forms: the
trapping factor is either (1) an arched upper surface or (2) an up-dip termination of
the reservoir. Figure 3.4 shows some of the simpler forms.

Traps for hydrocarbons under hydrostatic conditions (liquid at rest) are of structural
or stratigraphic origin, either alone or in combination, and have horizontal gas-water
or oil-water contacts. Hydrodynamic (moving liquid) traps may also occur in
different structural environments, but they are characterized by inclined gas-or oil-
water contacts.

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Figure 3.4 Fault Trap Leakages

Figure 3.5 Basic Reservoir Traps

3.2.1 Anticlinal Traps

These vary widely in shape and size. However, they all have a common characteristic
in that a gas-water or oil-water contact completely surrounds an accumulation of
hydrocarbons. The structure generally extends through a considerable thickness of
formation so that traps are formed in all the potential reservoir rocks affected. The
culminations of the various hydrocarbon accumulations will be offset if the anticline
is asymmetric (not uniformly shaped) so that a shallow accumulation may not overlie
a deeper one even though it is on the same structure. An example of this can be seen
in the anticlinal traps associated with rotational faults (discussed under Fault Traps).

3.2.2 Fault Traps

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These traps depend upon the effectiveness of the seal at the fault. The seal may be
the result of placing different types of formations side by side (for example, shale
against sand), or it may be caused by impermeable material called gouge within the
fault zone itself. The simple fault trap may occur where structural contours provide
closure against a single fault. However, in other structural configurations, such as a
monocline, two or even three faults may be required to form a trap. In fault trap
accumulations, the oil-water contact closes against the fault or faults and is not
continuous as in the case of anticlinal traps. Fault trap accumulations tend to be
elongated and parallel to the fault trend.

Figure 3.6 Potential Hydrocarbon Traps Associated with Rotational Faults

Many kinds of traps are associated with curved rotational faults; (Figure 3.6).
Accumulations tend to be along the faults and are found in fault traps and anticlinal
traps in a complex pattern. An understanding of the nature of these traps is most
important for their efficient development.
Traps associated with thrust faults may be either fault traps as in the lower sands or
anticlinal as in the uppermost sand (as illustrated in Figure 3.7). Accumulations in
such traps usually tend to be elongated and parallel to the direction of thrust; they
may be quite long but relatively narrow. Thrust traps are often compound.

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Figure 3.7 Thrust Traps

The intrusion of underlying material (usually salt) into overlying strata often forms a
variety of traps, both structural and stratigraphic. Figure 3.8 illustrates three types of
traps. Piercement may be more or less circular, or long and narrow. The salt and
associated material forms an efficient up-dip seal. Hydrocarbon accumulations in the
peripheral traps around a salt plug may not be continuous. Oil accumulations are
usually broken into segments in smaller traps formed by modifying faults or
structural closure against the plug. This discontinuous nature of oil accumulations in
piercement traps is detrimental to development operations because it cannot be
predicted and thus increases the risk of dry holes.

Figure 1.1.8 Piercement Traps Associated with a Salt Dome

3.2.3 Stratigraphic Traps

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These result from lateral change that prevents continued migration of hydrocarbons
in a potential reservoir bed. Many are directly related to their environment of
deposition, but others, particularly carbonates, are caused by later changes such as
dolomitization. Many large oil and gas fields are associated with this type of trap.
The East Texas Field accumulation occurs in the truncated edge of the Woodbine
Sand below an unconformity sealed by the Austin Chalk as shown in Figure 3.9.

Figure 3.9 Cross-Section of Pinch-out Trap between Unconformities, East Texas

Field
3.2.4 Lenticular Traps

These pinch out or change permeability on all sides. Lenticular traps are fairly
common in carbonate rocks, usually occurring in the upper part of reef carbonate
buildups.

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3.3 DRILLING

Once exploration techniques have indicated the location of a potential petroleum

reservoir, the drilling phase, the complex process of drilling a hole from the surface
to the reservoir, begins.

Although the process of drilling can be complex, its goal rather simple: to make a
small hole in the earth, often measuring no more than few inches diameter.

Drilling forms the final test of the exploratory stage and the first step of the
Production stage. It is only drilling into the potential oil bearing rock structures that
the presence of oil can be finally determined.

3.3.1 Rotary Drilling

Rotary drilling represented one of the petroleum industry's greatest technical
breakthroughs. This drilling method reduced drilling time and complexity and
permitted a great deal of control over well-bore size, depth, and orientation.
Drilling string
Figure 3.10 is a pictorial representation of the rotary drilling process. A drill bit is
threaded onto a string of pipe called the drill string. The first few joints of pipe above
the bit are usually drill collars, very heavy pieces of pipe. The bit and drill string are
lowered to the bottom of a well. Then the drill string is turned at the surface, causing
the entire drill string and the bit to rotate.

Figure 3.10 Operation of the Rock Bit with Drill Collars and the Mud System

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The weight of the drill collars forces the bit against the bottom of the well with great
pressure. When the drill string and bit are rotated, the teeth of the bit break the
subsurface rock into small pieces called cuttings.

Drilling Mud (Drilling fluid)

Drilling mud, a liquid mixture of water and / or oil, clay, weighting material and
various chemicals, is pumped down the drill string from the surface. The mud passes
through and around the hollow drill bit and returns to the surface in the space
between the drill string and the well-bore. The mud carries the cuttings from the
well-bore to the surface, where the cuttings are removed and discarded.

Returning mud is directed into a series of screens pits or tanks which allow cuttings
and other solids to settle out of the mud. The clean liquid mud is then pumped back
to the drill string by mud pumps. Thus, the mud is constantly circulating into the well
to the mud pits, and back to the well.

Figure 3.11 Drilling fluid circulation system

To remove cuttings from a well-bore, mud must circulate down the well and back to
the surface. As the drill bit passes through some formations, the mud pump pressure
and the hydrostatic head of the mud are sufficient to inject the mud into these
formations. Since the cuttings cannot flow, they are left in the well-bore while the
mud

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leaves the well-bore. This condition is referred to as "lost circulation" because the
mud no longer returns to the surface and cuttings are left in the well-bore. In such
conditions, lost circulation materials are added to the drilling mud to prevent its
escape from the well-bore. Figure 3.12 illustrates lost circulation.

Figure 3.12 Lost Circulation Zones Accept Drilling Liquids, but the Solids
Remain in the Well-bore

Even under normal circulation conditions, a certain amount of drilling mud enters a
formation. When this occurs, liquid in the mud enters a porous formation while solid
materials in the mud remain pasted to the sides of the well-bore. The solid materials
left in the well-bore are referred to as the "mud-cake". The liquids that enter the
formation are called the "mud filtrate". Both the mud-cake and filtrate are important
considerations when completion procedures are begun after a well has been drilled.

The tri-cone drill bit

The tri-cone drill bit, or rock bit, is a piece of mechanical equipment. Usually consist
of three equally spaced toothed wheels mounted on a head so that as the head rotated
the wheels also rotate against the rock, each tooth chipping away a small piece of
rock. The drill pipe immediately above the drill bit is much heavier than normal drill
pipe and is referred to as a drill collar. The drill collar is heavy enough to force the
teeth of the drill into the rock. As drilling proceeds, more lengths of drill pipe are
added under the Kelly.

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Figure 3.13

As the bit rotates these cones rotate (over bearings). The bit's teeth are on the cones,
and as the cones rotate, these teeth, made of very hard steel or hard metal such as
tungsten carbide, break and grind against the rock. Figure 3.14 is a photograph of a
standard rock bit.

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Figure 3.14 Standard Rock Bit

Other bits have industrial diamonds imbedded in the surface of the cones. Diamond
bits are used in very hard rock formations. However, after continued use, the
diamonds wear or break off. When a diamond drill bit becomes dull, it must be
removed and discarded.

3.3.2 Drilling Rig Components

Figure 3.15 shows a schematic view of a drilling rig and the associated equipment
and facilities. The derrick is used to support the drill string and to allow raising and
lowering of the string. The traveling block is an arrangement of pulleys in which
cables are run through the crown block to the draw-works.

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Figure 3.15 Drilling Rig

The drill string is attached to a square or hexagonal-shaped piece of pipe called the
kelly. The kelly is attached to the swivel, which is supported by the traveling block.
The swivel is attached the mud-line, a flexible hose which allows mud to be pumped
down the drill string.

The kelly passes through a similarly shaped opening in the kelly drive table, or
rotary drive bushing, which rotates the drill string. The diesel, LPG, gas or electric
engines which operate the draw-works also can be used to power the kelly drive
table.

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3.3.3 Surface and Intermediate Casing Strings

As a well is drilled, the bit passes through a number of formations before a potential
reservoir is reached. It is important that some of these formations be protected against
invasion by mud filtrate or they may interfere with later drilling activities.

A great deal of the world's drinking water supply comes from shallow, fresh-water
aquifers. These aquifers often occur within a few hundred feet of the earth's surface.
Obviously, it would not be desirable to allow mud filtrate to enter these aquifers if
they supply water used for human consumption or irrigation. Thus a string of pipe
called surface casing is placed in a well-bore and cemented in place after the drill bit
has passed through the formation.

Figure 3.16 illustrates the use of surface casing. After the well has been drilled
through the formation, usually with fresh water as the circulating medium, the drill
string and bit are removed. A string made up of several joints of large-diameter pipe
is lowered into the well-bore until it rests' on the bottom of the hole. Then cement
mixed with water in a thin liquid form is pumped down the casing and allowed to
circulate up to the surface in the area between the casing and the well-bore. When
the cement hardens, the cement and casing form a complete seal against
contamination of the aquifer by future drilling operations. Casing that has been
cemented in place will remain in the well permanently.

Figure 3.16 Surface Casing is Used to Isolate Shallow Water Zones

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Drilling operations resume once the casing is in place. Since some cement is usually
left in the casing, the drill bit will first have to remove this cement. Also, since the
casing is smaller than the original well-bore, a smaller-size drill bit must be used for
continued drilling.

After surface casing is set and drilling operations continue, the drill bit often passes
through other formations that can interfere with drilling. Such formations might have
very high porosity and permeability and could cause severe lost circulation problems.
Other formations, such as unconsolidated clay and sand formations, can slough into
the well-bore, fall on top of the bit, and wedge the bit in the well-bore. With
unconsolidated clay and sand formations, one or more other casing strings, called
intermediate casing strings, should be installed.

Figure 3.17 pictures a well in which drilling has been resumed after setting both
surface and intermediate casing strings. As each casing string is set, the drill bit size
must be reduced.

In most wells surface casing is required to isolate aquifers and the soft earth near the
surface. Intermediate casing is required in some areas, though not in all.

The decision to use surface and intermediate casing strings is often dictated by
various reservoir and formation conditions. Most decisions regarding casing strings,
casing sizes, setting depths, and cementing methods are governed by various
regulations. Most state governments, have specific regulations governing casing
usage.

Figure 3.17 Several Casing Strings are required in Some Wells

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3.3.4 Drilling Control

Drilling technology has advanced significantly since the early days of cable tool
drilling. With modern techniques, it is possible to precisely control hole size, depth,
and direction.

Seldom do drill strings create a perfectly straight hole. More often, a well-bore takes
a path resembling a corkscrew. Figure 3.18 shows an exaggerated view of what
might be considered an average well-bore. Curved holes can create problems when
production activities begin.

Figure 3.18 Seldom are Well-bores Drilled without some Deviation which Affects
the Casing Design

Sometimes the drill bit encounters a change from very hard rock to soft rock, or vice
versa. When that happens, it is possible for the bit to travel at an angle away from the
intended path, as shown in exaggerated form in Figure 3.19.

Where wells are drilled in populated areas, it is not possible to place a drilling rig
directly over the intended location of a well. Thus, a well-bore may be intentionally
angled from the surface as shown in Figure 3.20. Well-bore direction can be
controlled to a surprisingly accurate degree. By careful control of weight on the bit,
rotation speed, selection of bit types, and use of some specialized tools, it is possible
to intentionally change the path of a well-bore.

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Figure 3.19 A Change in Rock Density can Cause the Bit to Change Direction of
Travel

Figure 3.20 Population Centers and Terrain Features Require that a Well-bore
be Deviated Intentionally

Some well-bores encounter soft formations which would be washed out by the action
of drilling mud. Such large-diameter sections could interfere with later operations.
However, by careful control of mud consistency, weight, and pressure, it is possible
to avoid such problems.

Depth measurement is often surprisingly difficult. Because of deviations in well-bore

direction and stretch of the drill string, depth measurements may be in error by
several feet. To maintain precise depth measurement, it is necessary to use other data
such as orientation and direction.

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