Directional Drilling

Directional Drilling

What’s Directional Drilling?

Most wells for subsurface reservoirs are vertical , drilled straight down. This is not always possible or practical. It could be because of environmental restrictions, for example, reaching reservoirs in pipelines and other utility corridors, under bodies of water, nature reserves and other environmentally sensitive areas.

Directional drilling follows a predetermined path to reach a specific target.

Process

Pilot hole

The size of a pilot hole varies depending on the soil type and conditions.

Pre-ream

Pre-reaming usually involves multiple passes of consecutive larger reamers. The process enlarges the pilot hole to minimize the pullback force during installation.

Pull back the pipe

Once the hole is enlarged to desired size, drillers put the prefabricated and tested product pipeline on rollers and position it to enter the bore.

Benefits

Efficiency

Directional drilling can hit multiple pockets. The best example of this is a 2010 study by the University of Texas Arlington where a single pad was used to access 22 wells that drained natural gas from 1100 acres beneath the campus.

Costs

Vertical drilling sometimes runs into dry wells. By drilling into a blanket formation, directional drilling exposes a large production area. It almost guarantees a flow.

The Environment

Accessing multiple wells on a single pad has financial as well as environmental benefits. It considerably reduces soil disturbance and the overall footprint of the operation. It cuts down the number of wells, drilling pads and access roads required for the operation.

Conclusion

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Former GIS Analyst in Oil and Gas industry turned Copywriter.

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Ally Fumo

Former GIS Analyst in Oil and Gas industry turned Copywriter.