New Developments in Short-, Medium-, and Long-Radius Lateral Drilling

Abstract

While traditional definitions classify short-, medium- and long-radius lateral wells by angle build rates, the technology now employed to achieve those build rates suggests an industry definition which characterizes lateral wells not only in terms of wellbore geometry, but in engineering terms as well. In proposing such a definition, this paper examines new developments in downhole technology, focusing on short- and medium-radius systems to show how choice of drilling hardware can determine the type of curve drilled, as well as how it is planned and completed. New horizontal well-planning techniques developed in light of recent hardware improvements are also discussed, while technicaf innovations still in development are noted. Field results of recent lateral wells present examples of problem-solving, since a detailed discussion of lateral applications exceeds the scope of this paper. Concluding remarks suggest areas for further development to improve economics and performance in lateral drilling.

A New Bottom-Hole Assembly Design Method to Maintain Verticality and Reduce Lateral Vibration

“…The key to successful anti-deviation drilling is the reasonable design of the drilling BHA structure according to the characteristics of the formation. For this reason, some theories have been proposed to evaluate the anti-deviation ability of the drilling BHA, including the three-point circle method [4,5], limiting curvature method [6], and balance trend method [7,8]. The three-point circle method estimates the build rate of the BHA based on geometric relationships.…”

A multibody dynamics model of contact between the drillstring and the wellbore and the rock penetration process

“…[13][14][15] Some statics algorithms are also developed to directly predict the well trajectory in the stable drilling process. 16,17 In this article, section ''Modeling of the drillstringwellbore contact and the bit-rock interaction'' introduces a practical drillstring-wellbore contact model and a bit-rock interaction model. Section ''Drilling system governing equation and solution'' presents a multibody dynamics model of the drilling system, and the system governing equation is presented.…”