Field Proof of the New Sliding Technology for Directional Drilling

Abstract

Field Proof of the New Sliding Technology for Directional Drilling Eric Maidla; Eric Maidla Slider LLC Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Marc Haci; Marc Haci Slider LLC Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Scott Jones; Scott Jones IDR Inc. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Michael Cluchey; Michael Cluchey ChevronTexaco Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Michael Alexander; Michael Alexander ChevronTexaco Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Tommy Warren Tommy Warren Tesco Corp. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 2005. Paper Number: SPE-92558-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/92558-MS Published: February 23 2005 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Maidla, Eric, Haci, Marc, Jones, Scott, Cluchey, Michael, Alexander, Michael, and Tommy Warren. "Field Proof of the New Sliding Technology for Directional Drilling." Paper presented at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 2005. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/92558-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition Search Advanced Search AbstractThis work shows how sliding to make a trajectory correction can significantly improve directional drilling with a mud motor and measurement while drilling (MWD) system using a new surface only technology called Slider.Slider deploys a small robot to interface with the trop drive control panel that automatically rocks the pipe to the right and left following a rigorous analysis of torque by a computer/software that receives the surface torque and stand pipe pressure values as feedback.Improvements from this sliding technique included the following:- Increasing sliding rate of penetration (ROP) by more than three-fold in some cases.- Reducing motor stalls to zero (sometimes seven stalls per slide were recorded for the conventional method on a slide distance that ranged from 5 ft to 15 ft).- Reducing time to orient tool face by an order of magnitude. Tool face orientation was obtained in about 11/2 to 2 minutes without coming off bottom, as compared to enormous difficulties while trying to do this manually for the larger horizontal departures.- Providing a means to release the bottomhole assembly (BHA) when becoming differentially stuck without having to come off bottom and with minimal disturbance to the tool face.- Removing the tedious work the directional driller had in "rocking" the pipe, which also reduces the risk of torque breakouts.IntroductionSteerable motors have been used for about 20 years to drill directional wells. These motors include a bend at the motor bearing housing so the bit points at an angle relative to the borehole centerline. The bend (typically 0.5° to 2°) can be selected to allow the borehole trajectory to be changed by several degrees per 100 ft when the drillstring is advanced without rotation. This bend is sufficiently small so the entire assembly can be rotated for drilling a tangent section.Large portions of most directional wells drilled with motors are drilled while rotating the drillstring; drilling proceeds without drillstring rotation - sliding - when it is desired to change the borehole trajectory. An MWD tool detects and transmits the orientation of the bend (tool face) so the directional driller can orient it in the desired direction by slightly turning the drillstring. The mud motor powers and rotates the bit so the drillstring can be advanced without pipe rotation. The geomet