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Extended reach wells

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An extended-reach well is one in which the ratio of the measured depth (MD) vs. the true vertical depth (TVD) is at least 2:0.

Extended reach well achievement records

MD/TVD ratios

The current world record is Brintnell Well 2-10 (Amoco in Canada), with the highest MD/TVD ratio of 8.00. The top four wells are as follows.

  • Amoco Brintnell 2-10 (Wabasca): MD/TVD = 8.00
  • Amoco Brintnell 1-18 (Wabasca): MD/TVD = 7.39
  • Maersk Qatar BA-26 (Al Shaheen): MD/TVD = 7.04
  • BP Wytch Farm M16z: MD/TVD = 6.89
  • BP Wytch Farm Well M16z still holds the world record MD and horizontal departure (MD = 37,001 ft, and departure = 35,197 ft)

Horizontal departure limits

Other notable extended-reach-drilling (ERD) achievements in pushing the horizontal departure limit are:

  • 9,000 to 10,000 ft TVD: Phillips (Xijiang, China) = 8 km, Norsk Hydro (Oseberg, Norway) = 7.8 km, Woodside (Goodwyn, Australia) = 7.4 km, and Statoil (Sleipner, Norway) = 7.4 km
  • 13,000 to 15,000 ft TVD: Woodside (Goodwyn, Australia) = 7.4 km, and Statoil (Sleipner, Norway) = 7.4 km
  • More than 20,000 ft TVD: Shell (Auger, U.S.A.) = 3.9 km

Benefits of extended-reach wells

Extended-reach wells are expensive and technically challenging.[1] [2] [3] [4] However, they can add value to drilling operations by making it possible to reduce costly subsea equipment and pipelines, by using satellite field development, by developing near-shore fields from onshore, and by reducing the environmental impact by developing fields from pads.

Evolution and growth in extended-reach wells

There have been more than 1,700 extended-reach wells drilled to date, as shown in Fig. 1

Fig. 2 shows the evolution of extended-reach wells in the 1990s and the future. With new technology, the goal is to see the TVD push to 30,000 ft and the horizontal departure to 50,000 ft in the 21st century. As of this printing, we are still waiting to see that goal achieved.

References

  1. Scott, P.W. 1991. Increasing Reach From 3,000 m to 5,000 m. Presented at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 11-14 March. SPE-21983-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/21983-MS.
  2. Payne, M.L., Abbassian, F., and Hatch, A.J. 1995. Drilling Dynamic Problems and Solutions for Extended-Reach Operations. In Drilling Technology, ed. J.P. Vozniak, PD-Volume 65, 191–203. New York: ASME.
  3. Modi, S., Mason, C.J., Tooms, P.J. et al. 1997. Meeting the 10km Drilling Challenge. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 5-8 October. SPE-38583-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/38583-MS.
  4. Guild, G.J., Hill, T.H., and Summers, M.A. 1995. Designing and drilling extended reach wells: Part 2. Petroleum Engineer International 67 (1): 35-41.

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See also

Types of directional wells

PEH:Directional Drilling

Noteworthy papers in OnePetro

External links