Well Test Manual 1

Section 3

Drilling and Well Completion

Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………… 3-2
Objectives………………………………………………………….. 3-2
Drilling for Oil….…………………………………………………… 3-3
• Types of Drilling Rigs…………………………………………… 3-3
Well Completions…...…………………………………………….. 3-6
Well Casing……..………………………………………………….. 3–7
• Conductor Casing………………………………………………………. 3 – 7
• Surface Casing…………………………………………………………. 3 – 7
• Intermediate Casing………………………………………………….. 3 – 8
• Liner Strings………………………………………………………… 3–8
• Production Casing…………………………………………………….. 3 – 8
Cementation…...……………………………………………………… 3 – 10
Types of Completions……………………………………………….. 3 – 10
• Open Hole…………………………………………………………… 3 – 11
• Conventional Perforated Completion…………….……………… 3 – 12
• Sand Exclusion…………………………………………………….. 3 – 12
• Permanent…………………………………………………………… 3 – 13
• Multiple Zone……………………………………………………….. 3 – 13
The Wellhead…………………………..…………………………….. 3 – 15
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Introduction
The section contains information on the Drilling of oil and gas

Objectives
After completing this section, you should be able to

• Know about different types of drilling rigs.

• Know about some of the new innovations in drilling.
• Understand the basics of well completions
• Know the different types of casings used.
• Know the types of completions.
• Learn a little on well treatments
• Know about gas and water lift.

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DRILLING FOR OIL

From the first official oil well drilled in Titusville, Pa., in 1859 to today’s wells drilled
on land, in oceans and beneath lakes, oil exploration and gathering have changed a
lot.

TYPES OF DRILLING RIGS

There are 6 main types of Drilling Rigs, they are as follows:

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Showing the various methods of drilling to the reservoir from different surface
locations

Logging while drilling, where the logging tools supply real time information to the
drilling engineers as the hole is being drilled

An example of horizontal directional drilling

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Not all oil deposits are readily accessible to a traditional vertical well. In fact, in
recent years many oil wells have been dug beginning on one piece of land and
crossing underneath a body of water to another piece of land to reach the deposit.

The record is 10 miles for BP wells on the southern coast of England. These
start onshore and penetrate an offshore field. The main reason for doing this is to
minimize environmental impact in an area of great natural beauty.

At one U.S. site, a pipe stretches about two miles. Drilling on solid ground is much
easier than doing so in a swamp or in water, which is why some wells are dug
horizontally. Occasionally, a potential oil deposit is found beneath a town, which is
another reason for getting at it from afar.

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Here’s how it works. Surface drilling equipment is offset from the oil deposit. At the
start of the drill process, the well is drilled vertically, and then a few degrees at a time
it turns whichever direction is needed to hit the deposit. Sometimes the arc of the
well is great, other times less, depending on how sharp a turn has to be made.
Horizontal drilling itself has been around for some time, but about 10 years ago it
regained notoriety in its use to increase production from narrow, fractured
formations, said Joe Hurt, director of land operations for the International Association
of Drilling Contractors.
“When a vertical well is drilled through a narrow formation, its exposure to the
formation is limited,” he said. “But if the well is turned and follows the formation for a
distance, the well bore to formation surface is greatly increased.”
This increase in surface contact allows for easier retrieval of oil.

WELL COMPLETION

Once a natural gas or oil well is drilled, and it has been verified that commercially
viable quantities of natural gas are present for extraction, the well must be
'completed' to allow for the flow of petroleum or natural gas out of the formation and
up to the surface. This process includes strengthening the well hole with casing,
evaluating the pressure and temperature of the formation, and then installing the
proper equipment to ensure an efficient flow of natural gas out of the well.

There are three main types of conventional natural gas wells. Since oil is commonly
associated with natural gas deposits, a certain amount of natural gas may be
obtained from wells that were drilled primarily for oil production. These are known as
oil wells. In some cases, this "associated" natural gas is used to help in the
production of oil, by providing pressure in the formation for the oils extraction.
The associated natural gas may also exist in large enough quantities to allow its
extraction along with the oil. Natural gas wells are wells drilled specifically for natural
gas, and contain little or no oil.

Condensate wells are wells that contain natural gas, as well as a liquid condensate.
This condensate is a liquid hydrocarbon mixture that is often separated from the
natural gas either at the wellhead, or during the processing of the natural gas.
Depending on the type of well that is being drilled, completion may differ slightly. It is
important to remember that natural gas, being lighter than air, will naturally rise to the
surface of a well. Because of this, in many natural gas and condensate wells, lifting
equipment and well treatment are not necessary.

Completing a well consists of a number of steps; installing the well casing,

completing the well, installing the wellhead, and installing lifting equipment or treating
the formation should that be required

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Well Casing

Installing well casing is an important part of the drilling and completion process. Well
casing consists of a series of metal tubes installed in the freshly drilled hole. Casing
serves to strengthen the sides of the well hole, ensure that no oil or natural gas
seeps out of the well hole as it is brought to the surface, and to keep other fluids or
gases from seeping into the formation through the well. A good deal of planning is
necessary to ensure that the proper casing for each well is installed. Types of casing
used depend on the subsurface characteristics of the well, including the diameter of
the well (which is dependent on the size of the drill bit used) and the pressures and
temperatures experienced throughout the well. In most wells, the diameter of the well
hole decreases the deeper it is drilled, leading to a type of conical shape that must
be taken into account when installing casing. There are five different types of well
casing.

They include:

Conductor Casing
Surface Casing
Intermediate Casing
Liner String
Production Casing

Conductor Casing

Conductor casing is installed to prevent the top of the well from caving in and to help
in the process of circulating the drilling fluid up from the bottom of the well. Onshore,
this casing is usually 16 to 20 inches in diameter while offshore casing usually
measures 30 to 42 inches. The conductor casing is cemented into place before
drilling begins.

Surface Casing

Surface casing is the next type of casing to be installed. It can be anywhere from a
few hundred to 2,000 feet long, and is smaller in diameter than the conductor casing.
When installed, the surface casing fits inside the top of the conductor casing. The
primary purpose of surface casing is to protect fresh water deposits near the surface
of the well from being contaminated by leaking hydrocarbons or salt water from
deeper underground. It also serves as a conduit for drilling mud returning to the
surface, and helps protect the drill hole from being damaged during drilling. Surface
casing, like conductor casing, is also cemented into place. Regulations often dictate
the thickness of the cement to be used, to ensure that there is little possibility of
freshwater contamination.

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Intermediate Casing.

Intermediate casing is usually the longest section of casing found in a well. The
primary purpose of intermediate casing is to minimize the hazards that come along
with subsurface formations that may affect the well. These include abnormal
underground pressure zones, underground shales, and formations that might
otherwise contaminated the well, such as underground salt-water deposits. In many
instances, even though there may be no evidence of an unusual underground
formation, intermediate casing is run as insurance against the possibility of such a
formation affecting the well. These intermediate casing areas may also be cemented
into place for added protection.

Liner Strings
Liner strings are sometimes used instead of intermediate casing. Liner strings are
commonly run from the bottom of another type of casing to the open well area.
However, liner strings are usually just attached to the previous casing with 'hangers',
instead of being cemented into place. This type of casing is thus less permanent
than intermediate casing.

Production Casing
Production casing, alternatively called the 'oil string' or 'long string', is installed last
and is the deepest section of casing in a well. This is the casing that provides a
conduit from the surface of the well to the petroleum producing formation. The size of
the production casing depends on a number of considerations, including the lifting
equipment to be used, the number of completions required, and the possibility of
deepening the well at a later time. For example, if it is expected that the well will be
deepened at a later date, then the production casing must be wide enough to allow
the passage of a drill bit later on.

Well casing is a very important part of the completed well. In addition to

strengthening the well hole, it also provides a conduit to allow hydrocarbons to be
extracted without intermingling with other fluids and formations found underground. It
is also instrumental in preventing blowouts, allowing the formation to be 'sealed' from
the top should dangerous pressure levels be reached. Once the casing has been
set, and in most cases cemented into place, proper lifting equipment is installed to
bring the hydrocarbons from the formation to the surface. Once the casing is
installed, tubing is inserted inside the casing, from the opening well at the top, to the
formation at the bottom. The hydrocarbons that are extracted run up this tubing to
the surface. This tubing may also be attached to pumping systems for more efficient
extraction, should that be necessary. At the bottom of the casing will be a guide
Shoe as shown to allow for easier entry to the Well Bore.

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Conductor casing
30” OD or 36” OD

Surface casing
20” OD

Intermediate
casing
133/8ths” OD
Production
casing
10 3/4 or 9 5/8 OD

When casing is run into the hole then attached to the outside of the will be
centralizers and scratchers.
The centralizers keep the casing from dragging on the side of the well bore it also
enable cement to be completed pumped round the outside of the casing.
Scratchers are used to remove mud cake on the side of the well bore left by residual
drilling mud. By rotating the casing and moving it up and down it scrapes of this mud
allowing better sealing by the cement to the well bore.

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CEMENTATION

Primary Cementing
Immediately after the casing is lowered into the hole it must be cemented in place.
This operation, known as primary cementing, provides protection for the casing and
seals off the various formations, preventing migration of fluids.
Basic materials and equipment are required to carry out primary cementing:
- Cement and additives
- Cementing pump and mixing unit
- Cementing manifold
- Plugs

Types of Completion
Well completion commonly refers to the process of finishing a well so that it is ready
to produce oil or natural gas. In essence, completion consists of deciding on the
characteristics of the intake portion of the well in the targeted hydrocarbon formation.
There are a number of types of completions, including:

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Open Hole Completion

Conventionel Perforated Completion
Sand Exclusion Completion
Permanent Completion
Multiple Zone Completion
Drainhole Completion
The use of any type of completion depends on the characteristics and location of the
hydrocarbon formation to be mined.

Open Hole Completion

Open hole completions are the most basic type and are only used in very competent
formations, which are unlikely to cave in. An open hole completion consists of simply
running the casing directly down into the formation, leaving the end of the piping
open, without any other protective filter. Very often, this type of completion is used
on formations that have been treated with hydraulic or acid fracturing.

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Conventional Perforated Completion

Conventional perforated completions consist of production casing being run through

the formation. The sides of this casing are perforated, with tiny holes along the sides
facing the formation, which allows for the flow of hydrocarbons into the well hole, but
still provides a suitable amount of support and protection for the well hole. The
process of actually perforating the casing involves the use of specialized equipment
designed to make tiny holes through the casing, cementing, and any other barrier
between the formation and the open well. In the past, 'bullet perforators' were used,
which were essentially small guns lowered into the well. The guns, when fired from
the surface, sent off small bullets that penetrated the casing and cement. Today, 'jet
perforating' is preferred. This consists of small, electrically ignited charges, lowered
into the well. When ignited, these charges poke tiny holes through to the formation,
in the same manner as
bullet perforating.

Sand Exclusion Completion

Sand exclusion completions are designed for production in an area that contains a
large amount of loose sand. These completions are designed to allow for the flow of
natural gas and oil into the well, but at the same time prevent sand from entering the
well. Sand inside the well hole can cause many complications, including erosion of
casing and other equipment. The most common method of keeping sand out of the
well hole are screening, or filtering systems.
This includes analyzing the sand experienced in the formation and installing a screen
or filter to keep sand particles out. This filter may either be a type of screen hung
inside the casing, or adding a layer of specially sized gravel outside the casing to
filter out the sand. Both of these types of sand barriers can be used in open hole and
perforated completions.

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Permanent Completion
Permanent completions are those in which the completion, and wellhead, are
assembled and installed only once. Installing the casing, cementing, perforating, and
other completion work is done with small diameter tools to ensure the permanent
nature of the completion. Completing a well in this manner can lead to significant
cost savings compared to other types.

Multiple Zone Completion

Multiple zone completion is the practice of completing a well such that hydrocarbons
from two or more formations may be produced simultaneously, without mixing with
each other. For example, a well may be drilled that passes through a number of
formations on its way deeper underground, or alternately, it may be efficient in a
horizontal well to add multiple completions to drain the formation most effectively.
Although it is common to separate multiple completions so that the fluids from the
different formations do not intermingle, the complexity of achieving complete
separation is often a barrier. In some instances, the different formations being drilled
are close enough in nature to allow fluids to intermingle in the well hole. When it is
necessary to separate different completions, hard rubber 'packing' instruments are
used to maintain separation.

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DUAL STRING COMPLETION

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The Wellhead
The wellhead consists of the pieces of equipment mounted at the opening of the well
to regulate and monitor the extraction of hydrocarbons from the underground
formation. It also prevents leaking of oil or natural gas out of the well, and prevents
blowouts due to high pressure formations. Formations that are under high pressure
typically require wellheads that can withstand a great deal of upward pressure from
the escaping gases and liquids. These wellheads must be able to withstand
pressures of up to 20,000 psi (pounds per square inch). The wellhead consists of
three components: the casing head, the tubing head, and the 'Christmas tree'.

Platform Wellheads

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Land Wellhead

The casing head consists of heavy fittings that provide a seal between the casing
and the surface. The casing head also serves to support the entire length of casing
that is run all the way down the well. This piece of equipment typically contains a
gripping mechanism that ensures a tight seal between the head and the casing itself.

The 'Christmas tree' is the piece of equipment that fits atop the casing and tubing
heads, and contains tubes and valves that serve to control the flow of hydrocarbons
and other fluids out of the well. It commonly contains many branches and is shaped
somewhat like a tree, thus its name, Christmas tree. The Christmas tree is the most
visible part of a producing well, and allows for the surface monitoring and regulation
of the production of hydrocarbons from a producing well.

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