Increasing energy demand is challenging the industry as never before to drill safer, faster and drive down cost in Shale plays. Well-spacing regulations and reduced environmental footprint are just some of the reasons why longer extended-reach laterals are more frequently drilled than before. Safe and efficient well-construction is also key to the overall economic success of unconventional E&P programs. Shale formations can be complex and present many challenges in performance optimization, operational efficiencies, borehole quality, hole cleaning and service life of the drill pipe. Most common symptoms of drilling dysfunctions include slow rate of penetrations, difficulties in sliding, wiper trips, backbreaking, excessive drill pipe tube wear and connections damage. The underlying main cause of most drilling problems in shale plays is the excessive buckling of the drill string which reduces effective transfer of surface WOB, induces vibrations & fatigue, adversely affects hole cleaning and more than often results in poor hole quality.
In response to these industry needs, a new type of drill pipe optimized for shale drilling was developed. This allows operators the opportunity to improve performance in these wells, while still offering an economic alternative to several more costly solutions. This new innovative and optimized drill pipe design allowing effective transfer of WOB, reducing tubular wear and improving hydraulics.
The case study examines the field results of two horizontal wells drilled in Western Oklahoma. The first one which served as the baseline, was drilled to the planned total depth using a drillstring with conventional 4" drill pipe, the other lateral was drilled using the newly developed 4 ¼" shale drill pipe.
This innovative new design in drillstring technology is one of the industry's first solution's addressing drilling challenges at a fundamental level.
