ERD Drilling Practices

Directional Considerations
Directional Drilling practices play a major role in any ERD operation. They will directly impact on the Torque
and Drag and Hole Cleaning issues, two areas that are critical to the success in ERD.

Rotary Drilling should always be maximized, no matter whether the build or the tangent section is being drilled
– BHAs should always be designed to achieve the objective in rotary mode. Minimizing of hole tortuosity,
especially in upper sections of the well, is absolutely critical to reducing Torque & Drag while drilling and to a
successful running of casing strings.

Seriously misbehaving BHAs should not be kept in the hole for longer intervals, as this will result in an
increased sliding percentage, impacting hole cleaning, as well as the final torque and drag.

Bent Housing settings of the steerable motors should always be selected with 2 things in mind – achieving
directional objectives efficiently and being able to rotate the string at highest possible RPM.

If steerable motors are expected to operate at the higher range of flows, then nozzling of the rotors should be
considered – this will help to prolong the stators and bearings life, resulting in longer bit runs and better drilling
performance. Oversized stators should also be considered but always exercised with care as this may reduce
the overall power output and increase the stall tendency.
In order to achieve the optimum bearings life from the motor, drill bits should be jetted accordingly, however on
long ERD wells this may not always be possible due to the system pressure limitations – in this instance, at
least 250 psi pressure drop across the bit should be aimed for.

If the anti-collision criteria is permitting, no attempts to “drill to the line” should be made. Directional Drillers
should not be judged by their ability to closely follow the planned wellpath – the primary goal is to hit the target
with the smoothest possible profile and with the best possible drilling performance. It must be remembered
that trying to catch up with the plan at all cost can often result in the excess shallow doglegs and these will
have an impact on torque, drag and buckling.

If sliding of the downhole motor becomes increasingly difficult Advanced Slide Drilling techniques may need to
be considered. This method involves “rocking” of the drillstring in order to overcome the static axial friction.
This way the string is in a dynamic friction mode, which helps the weight transfer to the bit. Tool Face control
however, will be more difficult under these circumstances, and if running with a PDC bit greater care should be
taken as the motor may experience more frequent stall-outs. Sufficient safety margin from the pop-off valve
settings should be maintained.

The stabilizers selected by DDs for a motor run should be of a large junk slot area and have a smooth melon
blade profile if possible. This will help to overcome some of the hanging up problems.

Rotary Steerable Systems are widely accepted within the industry today and should be given serious
consideration on any ERD well. RSS technology eliminates the problems normally associated with sliding of
downhole motors, results in improved tortuosity and can greatly impact the drilling performance.

The following points should be looked at during the Bit Selection process: Vibration avoidance in High Angle
drilling, Steerability, Erosion issues due to long runs, Limited Hydraulics, Tripping Problems, Junk Slot area vs.
cuttings beds in long / high angle tangents, Impact Resistors and Back Up cutters, RSS requirements.

Detailed reports should be prepared offshore for each BHA run and passed to town in order to be able to
optimize directional drilling strategy. The level of reporting should be extended beyond normally accepted DD
standards – Directional Driller is expected to frequently analyze the Drilling Dynamics logs provided by MWD
crew and to communicate any potential problems with a Perform Engineer and mudloggers.
A frequent interaction between a DD and Mud Engineer should also be taking place.

Wellbore Stability & Hole Condition Monitoring

Wellbores are usually less stable at high angle, the hole sections in ERD are also longer and therefore stay
exposed open for longer time.

Combination of higher mud weights required to maintain formations in a stable condition with an extra ECD
rise from the large volume of cuttings in the annulus, may impact on the increased sticking risk.

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For this reason careful monitoring of the hole conditions is extremely important – it is recommended that the
so called “Trend Sheets” are maintained by as many parties as possible and the results compared frequently
with any anomalies communicated immediately. Off bottom torques, rotating string weight, pick-up and slack-
off weights should be recorded every connection.

A detailed log of all hard stringers, unstable intervals, tight hole, formation changes, faults, etc should be kept.
This information should be plotted by the offshore team on Directional Plots and frequently updated. It can
become a very useful source of information especially during the trips. Monitoring, evaluation and logging of
any cavings returns from the wellbore should also be taking place. Anadrill Perform Engineer together with a
Wellsite Geologist should take the overall responsibility for this exercise.

Shape and Volume of cuttings on shakers should be constantly monitored and any deviations from normal
reported as these may give an early warning of the stability problem and the required mud density adjustment.

Hole Cleaning

It must be remembered that in ERD drilling it is virtually impossible to have a hole that is 100% clean – cuttings
beds will always be present in the wellbore – however, how the cuttings are managed will become a key to the
efficient drilling or tripping operations.

Majority of the ERD wells will have the long tangent sections over 60 degrees. It is important however to
understand the cuttings transportation mechanism through each portion of the well.

At low hole angles (30-40 degrees and less), the cuttings move up directly and are effectively suspended by
the fluid - cuttings beds do not normally form in such sections and the hole can be cleaned with stationary
drillpipe. Conventional transport calculations based on vertical slip velocities can be used.

In hole sections of around 40-60 degrees the cuttings move up the hole mostly on the low side, but can be
easily stirred up into the flow regime. The problem is that when the pumps are off the cuttings will avalanche
down the hole until the angle is too high to continue sliding and then a dune will form.

In high angle sections the cuttings will stay on the low side of the hole regardless of the flowrate or viscosity of
mud. Mechanical agitation is required to move the cuttings and the usual “bottoms-up” term becomes
completely meaningless.

There are many factors that affect hole cleaning - Bit & BHA strategy, Drillstring Design, Mud Rheology,
Wellbore Stability, Drilling & Tripping practices, Flowrates, Pipe RPM, LoVis / HiVis pills etc. - none of them
can be looked at separately or be forgotten – it is absolutely critical for a successful ERD well that all aspects
of this subject are looked at at the same time. All these factors are discussed in detail within this document.

Penetration Rate

Hole Cleaning, Directional considerations and safe ECD levels should all be looked at the same time when
discussing ROP issues. Different limits and procedures may need to be assumed depending on whether RSS
or motor assemblies are being used.

There are two different approaches regarding penetration rates:

1. Maximum instantaneous ROP and then perform remedial hole cleaning, and
2. Nominal - Controlled ROP

In ERD operations first option is often the preferred one – it is important to remember that a smooth wellbore
profile is of extreme importance and often in order to achieve the best directional performance in rotary mode
certain Weight On Bit must be maintained.

This, on some occasions, may produce ROPs higher than recommended by the hole cleaning models,
however it is possible to safely drill a high angle well at relatively high sustained penetration rates for a certain
time, providing that there are other practices or strategies in place, and the rig capabilities permit to clean the
hole periodically (remedial actions such as stopping to circulate at connections, pumping sweeps or wiper trips
should be considered).

If controlled ROP approach is taken then poorer directional control may need to be accepted – this will result in
the increased sliding percentage, which in effect will impact the hole cleaning process as well as the overall
well tortuosity.

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If the section however, is drilled in a scenario of downhole mud losses, then controlling of ROP and drilling
parameters may be the only way of successfully passing the loss zones. A close eye on directional behavior of
BHA should then be kept.

Flow Rate

A maximum possible flowrate should be used at all times and combined with the optimum string RPM –
flowrate alone is ineffective unless the pipe is being rotated fast enough to stir the cuttings into the flow regime.
GPM and RPM impact on ECD should also be fully realized, especially when in weak formations.

Bit nozzling should be done with flowrate limitations in mind – downhole mud motors, Rotary Steerable
Systems and standard rotary assemblies will all require certain pressure drop at the bit for the optimum
performance.

Field experience suggests that at least 950-1100 GPM is required to clean a 12 ¼” section, when 500-600
GPM may need to be considered to clean 8 ½” hole. Again, this will largely depend on all other parameters
impacting hole cleaning.

Drillstring Rotation

High Speed rotation is critical for good hole cleaning – at high angle drilling fluid is almost stationary on the low
side of the hole where the cuttings are. In other words, when sliding in ERD well, hole cleaning is nearly non-
existent. Experience from other ERD wells suggest that the minimum RPM for efficient hole cleaning is in a
region of 110-130 RPM, but this often depends on many other factors and should be verified while drilling the
section by observing cuttings returns on shakers.

Note, that some downhole tools (ie. mud motors) may impose certain RPM restrictions – this should always be
discussed prior to making the BHA selection. These limits should be published and be readily available at the
wellsite .

It is also important to remember that certain rotary speed ranges may create severe downhole vibrations,
which can be detrimental to the tools life. Downhole shock environment should constantly be monitored by
MWD tools and drilling parameters adjusted as and when required.

Connections

The general objectives of discussing this point in relation to ERD should be recognized. As majority of the
string and BHA will rest on the low side of the hole this operation must be conducted in a safe and most
efficient manner. The time immediately prior to connection may need to be utilized to aid the hole cleaning or
at least in order to move the cuttings above the BHA section. Some important information about the hole
condition can be gathered during this time as well.

Different projects will have different approaches as to whether rotate the string while picking up, or on the way
down, or perhaps both ways. One thing that must be observed is that as with the longer open hole sections in
ERD the Pick-Up Weight becomes significantly higher than the Normal Rotating Weight (potentially making
reaming up a very slow and inefficient process), a different than previously adopted approach to connections
may need to be considered.

It is suggested that prior to the connection, once the stand has been drilled, the driller picks up all the way up
without rotation (recording the up drag). Then, once the neutral weight position of the string is reached, the full
rotary speed is re-established and the stand is reamed down (duration of this and the number of times
depending on how dirty the hole is and how competent the given formation is). Then the pick up and slack off
weights are checked again, and connection is made.

After connection pick up out of slips making sure the string is free, reach again the neutral weight point, bring
the pumps up for MWD survey – once the survey is being transmitted start gradually the string rotation. Once
the survey confirmed OK go on bottom drilling.

Drilling Dynamics
Due to the fact that in ERD the overwhelming majority of the drillstring is in a low side contact with casing and
open hole at significant inclinations, higher than normal frictional forces occur. The bit selection can
significantly impact the torsional characteristics of the drillstring. If inappropriate bit is used these vibrations
can cause chaotic bit and drillstring motion and adversely affect bit life, ROP, drillstring integrity and rotary
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drilling limits. It will be very important to understand downhole conditions through information provided by
IWOB and Shock sensors in order to select the most appropriate drilling parameters and the bit.

ECD monitoring

The most valuable information regarding ECD can be provided in realtime by Pressure While Drilling tools.
Close monitoring of ECD in ERD wells is critical for two reasons: first of all the margin between the formation
pore pressure and the fracture pressure is usually much narrower resulting in the increased risks of inducing
either mud losses or potential hole instability problems. Secondly, observing of ECD trends can give a true
picture of the hole cleaning process.

Anadrill Perform Engineer should play an active role in helping to educate the essential drilling personnel
offshore on how to interpret ECD trends.

Impact of drillstring RPM and the flowrate on ECD must be fully realized – it is suggested that once the mud
system is properly warmed up, and the hole is still relatively clean of cuttings, a benchmark ECD readings are
taken at various flows and RPMs at the start of the section. This will provide with the baseline that should
always be referred to during the entire section and any anomalies from the normal trends should be
immediately investigated. Understanding of what parameters produce what ECDs and what parameters clean
the hole will be of extreme importance, especially if mud losses become a problem later on during the section.
In this situation it will be necessary to know an optimum pipe rotation speed that still provides with adequate
hole cleaning whilst keeping ECD within reasonable limits.

With higher ROPs and the increased volume of cuttings in the well ECDs will rise, but only providing that the
cuttings are actually lifted into the flow regime when high RPM is applied, therefore a careful look at all 3
parameters (RPM, GPM & ROP) at the same time is needed to fully understand the downhole conditions. On
occasions, if the hole cannot be properly cleaned given the optimum RPM, GPM and the maximum allowable
ECD, then controlling of ROP may need to be considered.

After prolonged sliding intervals extreme care should be taken when beginning to rotate the drillstring – slide
drilling results in a build-up of cuttings within the BHA area, and although ECD will remain low while sliding, it
may dramatically increase when pipe rotation is initiated. For this reason string RPM should be increased
gradually in a controlled fashion so no pressure surges are experienced. Once the cuttings have been lifted
above the BHA then normal string rotation can resume – this process shouldn’t normally take longer than just
few minutes.

If backreaming is attempted at any stage then a very careful monitoring of ECD should be taking place as this
operation can very easily lead to a pack-off.

When reaming the stands down, the impact of the reaming speed on ECD should also be fully realized as this
may produce damaging surging effects. Also, when tripping In and Out of the hole through any weaker
intervals tripping speeds may need to be controlled – memory PWD data should assist in understanding the
impact of the tripping speeds on ECD.

As hole sections in ERD wells are longer, any trips tend to give the mud system more time to gel up. This may
have a serious impact on ECD and it is very often required to stage up the flow when tripping back in.
Competent intervals should be selected along the wellbore where circulation can be broken at intermediate
points. The flow and RPM should then slowly be increased to maximum levels, observing the impact on ECD.
It can often take a significant length of time before the shakers can handle the increased flow of the mud that
is still warming up. A large volume of fines can be expected to be blocking the screens at this stage, this
however is part of a more general issue of Solids Control.

Solids Control
In ERD operations, more than usual thoughts must be given to solids control. Due to higher angle and
consequently cuttings remaining in the hole longer than in standard wells, the quantity of produced fines is far
greater, and the solids control equipment must function correctly if the mud is to remain in good condition. This
may seem as a less important issue, but poorly controlled solids may seriously affect the tools life and add to
the overall well cost.

Casing Wear Avoidance

Due to high angle and longer than usual hole sections casing wear remains an issue for ERD. On one hand
maximizing rotary drilling is the primary aim, on the other, very long tangent sections with long rotary intervals
may affect the casing integrity.
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Ditch magnet should be cleaned and readings taken and plotted by mudloggers on a daily basis, if necessary
mud lubricants or mechanical friction reducing devices should be considered. Careful attention to Drillpipe
Hard-Banding condition should be paid on trips.

Surveying
Since the step-out in ERD is larger than normal, and the relative target sizes have reduced, survey uncertainty
has become an important issue than on standard high angle wells.
Several factors work together to magnify the effects of small errors:
- systematic errors accumulate over a longer distance
- instrument errors are usually greater at higher inclinations
- targets appear smaller when approached at high inclination

There is the additional problem of getting the gyro wireline tools to bottom in a high angle ERD well, and
obviously surveys in long wells take longer and cost more. Sufficient attention to the well condition should be
paid prior to and during the surveying operations.

Continuous D&I MWD readings should be utilized whenever possible in order to limit the number of stationary
surveys. If BHA behavior is well established (in a tangent), and the company surveying policy permits, reducing
of surveys frequency should be considered.

It must be noted that in a high angle well drillstring magnetic interference has a larger impact on the
magnetometers accuracy than in standard wells and therefore careful attention to the length of Non-magnetic
Components should be paid when designing BHAs. Also, a close eye on any potential hot spots developing
within the non-mag collars should be kept. Due to greater depths, increased attention to the MWD signal
strength modeling should be given.

In Field Referencing is a recommended technique for ERD – it eliminates the need for performing of deep gyro
runs and improves the wellbore positional accuracy. In order to make it effective in real time, this technique
requires establishing of efficient and accurate reporting procedures and excellent communication between
MWD crew, Directional Drillers and an IFR co-ordinator in town.

Clean-up Practices
It is absolutely vital in ERD that the hole is cleaned adequately prior to pulling out. It doesn’t mean that the well
is completely clean of cuttings – the situation impossible to be achieved in any ERD operation. It means
however that the amount of cuttings left in the hole will not interfere with neither POOH or RIH operation. This
is extremely important especially in the situation when there may be some other factors disturbing the tripping
process (i.e. unstable formations) – it is much easier to interpret the events and to deal with one problem at
the time.

Prior to POOH, the hole should be circulated with maximum available flowrate and maximum allowable pipe
RPM, while working the stand off bottom. The amount of time that a stand is worked across one given interval
will largely depend on how competent the formations are, but this in general should be no longer than 1hr.

It is a good practice that the stands are racked back every ½ - 1hr, however, if formations are prone to ledging
and washouts this time should be further reduced and often after a short period of circulation BHA may need
to be pulled to the next competent zone where the circulation will continue.

Experience from various ERD projects suggests that 3-4 times Bottoms-Up circulation is normally required
before the hole is relatively clean – circulate until shakers “clean-up” plus ECD stabilizes at minimum levels.

Tripping

Tripping should only be attempted after the clean-up operation as described above has been performed.
POOH without pumps or rotation – if a tight spot is encountered make an assumption that this is due to
cuttings, run back in below the obstruction and circulate for ½ hr (depending on formation competency)
rotating the string at the maximum allowable RPM.

POOH without pumps or rotation – if tight spot disappeared or moved up hole, then the tightness was probably
due to cuttings beds. In this instance the hole may require some additional circulating period while in a safe
competent area.

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If a tight spot is in the same place, then it’s most likely due to a ledge - try to work the string up through the
ledge with a minimum possible string rotation and flow in order to avoid repositioning of the cuttings in the
annulus.

Make a note of all the tight spots encountered on the way out – this will provide an invaluable record for
tripping the BHA back in the hole.

Wiper Tripping

In general wiper trips in ERD should only be performed when hole conditions indicate it’s necessary. If
however certain formations require checking out prior to exposing further zones then all good practices
highlighted for tripping should be followed.

Backreaming

On certain occasions backreaming may be the only way to come out of the hole and should only be used as
such. Backreaming can cause significant cuttings beds to form in certain areas in the wellbore and lead to
pack-offs if the dunes are disturbed suddenly. Backreaming can be extremely risky operation from the stuck
pipe and ECD point of view and should be avoided at all cost.

After backreaming took place, BHA must never be simply Pulled Out – the hole must be circulated clean first.
It must be remembered that backreaming also tends to generate more cuttings (often cavings) in the wellbore
and to be safe and effective must be done at a low speed.

Breaking Circulation
This topic has already been partially discussed in the ECD section above. It is important to pay careful
attention to this operation especially after the trips, when the mud is cold. It should be stated that during
normal drilling operations, if no downhole losses are experienced, the flow after the connections should be
brought up in a normal fashion in order to enable an MWD survey to be acquired and successfully transmitted
to surface.

Well Control
Likelihood of swabbing and surging is higher in ERD – this is due to the fact that usually bigger drillstrings with
larger tool joints are used, plus much narrower margins to pore pressure exist.
“Roll back” (wellbore breathing) of the drilling fluid on flow checks can also be expected on extremely long
wells where formations can store some of the energy of the huge circulating system. In instances like this
however all the company well control policies should be followed until it’s fully confirmed that the “influxes” are
totally harmless and take place due to the above phenomenon.

Risk Assessments

It is highly advisable that all the risks of the upcoming operations are reviewed and discussed between all the
parties concerned during the Daily Team Meeting. Experience from various ERD projects shows that an
additional late afternoon Team Call with the rig is very beneficial for the operations, especially in terms of
discussing a detailed contingency plan for the night ahead.

The proactive approach of all the team members will aid in optimizing the real-time plans for the well, Anadrill
Perform Engineer should play a major role in forecasting the risks.

Data Collection
The ability to accurately predict Torque and Drag is one of the fundamental requirements for the successful
ERD operation. This becomes extremely important issue especially when planning more challenging wells in a
future.

The accurate collection and analysis of foot/time based data will be required to improve confidence in T&D
predictions. This data should be collected on a daily basis by mudlogging unit and cover both drilling and
tripping operations.

Comparisons of established trends and characteristics from this database can then be used to derive accurate
Friction Factors that will become invaluable in planning of forthcoming wells.

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Teamwork
The last, but certainly not the least important area for consideration. In the actual fact, I would not hesitate to
put it right in front of everything else stated above: The key to success in Extended Reach Drilling is
People.

ERD wells usually push everything to the limits, therefore best technologies and rigs are required, however - in
order to make a project successful a very strong Team of people needs to be built. The Team with a right
attitude towards the challenge, The Team prepared to accept the risks, being able to deal with failures and
learn the right lessons from the failures. The Team where all it’s individuals and specialists have a good
understanding and appreciation of concerns of each other’s discipline and have a big picture approach to the
operation. All members should be able to develop the ownership of the project they are involved in.

During the planning phase, the Teambuilding workshops with the entire crew are recommended. During these
sessions a general plan and a vision of what is possible (Theoretical Technical Limit) should be introduced.
The purpose of the workshop would be to enroll and engage the whole team in the delivery of the well.

The benefits of the Technical Limit approach:

- it drives innovations and the use of best practices and best in class services
- enables all the team members to contribute to performance and it’s incentives
- ensures complete commitment and ownership of one set of targets by the entire Team
- continually focuses the whole Team on performance improvement

What is especially important during the Execution Phase of the wells is to accept the fact that it is not always
possible to be in front of a drilling curve. Problems do happen - at all times however, the efforts should be
made to maintain the right attitude and to re-focus on the well targets in order to deliver the best possible
performance.