In the present paper, directional drilling job failures were carefully analyzed for the period 2014 and 2015 in wells drilled in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The focus of the study was to evaluate the performance and efficiency of the Positive Displacement Motors (PDM) and Rotary Steerable Systems (RSS) during drilling operations. The data was collected from Saudi Aramco database and limited to wells that used PDM and RSS as a directional drilling system. A total of 7772 runs were reviewed and the information was classified according to tool size, number of runs, operating time, lost time, number of failures and hole size. A detailed and comprehensive study was conducted individually for each run that a PDM and RSS was used, reviewing daily drilling reports and analyzing the performance and efficiency of the PDM and RSS in drilling operations across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Focusing on PDM failures, it was observed that 45.41% of the problems occurred before 50 hours of operating time. In the case of RSS, the study revealed that 49.59% of the failures occurred before 50 hours of operating time. The causes of the failures were a combination of different factors such as vibration, temperature, type of drilling fluids used and reservoir properties such as H2S and CO2 content. The PDM average operating time remained almost the same (77 hours to 78 hours from 2014 to 2015), moreover the efficiency improved from 95.37% to 96.94% (1.64% improvement). The RSS average operating time dropped from 103 hours to 97 hours from 2014 to 2015, a reduction of 5.83%. The efficiency improved from 88.78% to 90.83% (2.30% improvement). The study concluded that the reduction of the operating time can lead to a higher efficiency on the PDM and RSS and this can be achieved by replacing these tools on every trip and performing preventive maintenance after each run. Also, improving the drilling parameters and durability of the directional drilling system will improve their performance and efficiency. The research became a useful reference to analyze the performance and efficiency of PDM and RSS Systems across Saudi Arabia's drilling operations. Directional Drilling Service Companies are encouraged and challenged to improve the performance, efficiency, and durability of their drilling tools.

In the present paper, numerous stuck pipe events were carefully studied in wells drilled in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between 2013 and 2014. Stuck pipe events were analyzed per different hole sections (from 34 in. to 5 7/8 in.) and it was noted that overall the number of stuck pipe events were less for the top hole sections. Therefore, the focus of the study was to evaluate the utilization and effectiveness of Drilling Jars in the top hole sections 34″, 28″ and 22″ during stuck pipe events. The data was collected from Saudi Aramco Stuck Pipe database and limited to new wells, a total of 42 fields and 1026 wells were reviewed. After that, each stuck pipe event was classified according to field name and to the respective hole size where the incidents occurred. A detailed and comprehensive study was conducted for each stuck pipe incident independently, reviewed daily drilling reports and determined the utilization of the Drilling Jars as well as the effectiveness to free the drill string during the stuck pipe incidents. Classifying the stuck pipe events and analyzing the results, showed that the effectiveness of Drilling Jars in the top hole sections was uncertain. For the 34″ and 28″ hole sections, the effectiveness of Drilling Jars was minimal. For the 22″ hole sections, it showed higher number of utilization and effectiveness. The study concluded that the use of Drilling Jars in the 34″ and 28″ hole sections were ineffective, therefore it was recommended to eliminate the use of Drilling Jars for the respective hole sections across drilling operations in KSA. This decision will result in significant savings, and help to free up service provider resources for use in other hole sizes. The research became a useful reference in defining the utilization and effectiveness of Drilling Jars across Saudi Aramco Operations. Drilling Engineers are encouraged to optimize the use of drilling equipment in the bottom-hole assembly, to improve efficiency and reduce drilling costs.