American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2016 - 46

FIGURE 2
Different Views of Pad 1 and Offset Pad 2 Well Trajectories

TVD Depth (ft)

0

keep laterals in zone. The amount of directional drilling required to maintain
the BHA in the sweet spot could generate
wellbore tortuosity and abnormal torque
and drag.

Pad 1

Offset Pad 2

2,500

5,000

Attribute = md
20,000.0

NW Wells

18,000.0

43
0,
00
0
43
2,
50
0
43
5,
00
0

0

42
5,
00
0

0

g
thin
Nor

42
2,
50
0

0
7,
50

42
0,
00
0

t)

42
7,
50
0

0

Su
rv
ey
f

1,
30

S

1,
30

(U

SE Wells

5,
00

sti

ng

2,
50
1,
30

Ea

1,
30

0,
00

1,
29

7,
50

0

16,000.0
14,000.0
12,000.0
10,000.0
8,000.0

t)
ey f

6,000.0

v

ur
SS

4,000.0

(U

2,000.0

Attribute = md

Offset Pad 2
Pad 1

0

20,000.0
18,000.0

TVD Depth (ft)

16,000.0
14,000.0
12,000.0

2,500

10,000.0
8,000.0

NW Wells

5,000

6,000.0
4,000.0

00

7,

0

2,

00

30

S Su

30

ng (U

rvey

1,

Easti

7,

1,

50

0

30

5,

1,

1,

30

50

0

0,

29
1,

SE Wells

0

50

0

2,000.0

ft)

FIGURE 3
Pad 1 Well Trajectories (BURs up to 16 degrees/100 feet)
Attribute = dl_severity
16.0
14.0
12.0
10.0

16.0

8.0
6.0

2.0

16.0

0.0

Depth (feet)

4.0

16.0

430,000

432,500

435,500

437,500

46 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

440,000

Upper
Devonian

1,297,500

Marcellus
Shale

1,300,000

1,302,500
Easting (US)

Matched Bit/BHA Design
CONSOL Energy has been using
HBRSS technology since 2011 in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Honing its skills by collectively drilling more
than 1 million feet led to establishing best
practices. Figure 4 shows the company's
evolution in terms of average footage
drilled, illustrating the step change accomplished on PIT wells to expand the technology's technical limits.
The BHA and drilling progressions led
to implementing a motor-assisted BHA design to allow for longer laterals and increased rate of penetration. A reduced motor speed was introduced while drilling Pad
2 wells and became the standard for the
area.
Benefits include additional bit torque
at lower bit speed, increased drilling efficiency, and protecting the bit from abnormal damage while drilling hard/soft interbedded formations. The motor is specially designed to run through high-DLS
curves while providing additional rotation
and handling high differential pressures.
Figure 5 shows the optimized PDC
bit/BHA matching design utilized on Pad
1. The entire BHA underwent finite element analysis to check BUR capabilities
and bending moment limits, in addition to
static and dynamic scrutiny to ensure
performance. Besides high dogleg capabilities, HBRSS technology is able to precisely drill vertical, curve, and lateral
sections in one run. Automated, closedloop steering control allows continuous
steering for critical wellbore placement in
pad drilling with limited spacing.
The system features real-time, near-bit
inclination for holding tangents, BUR
projections ahead, accurate landing projections, and TVD control during drilling.
In addition, real-time near-bit bulk and
up/down gamma provide crucial data for
reservoir navigation in long-lateral wells,
while real-time near-bit vibration sensors
enable drilling parameter optimization
without compromising wellbore stability
or tool reliability.
Pad 1 wells had two main segments to
be drilled in one run: vertical/curve and
horizontal landing/lateral. In this area, the
vertical and curve sections are characterized by highly interbedded abrasive silt and
soft shale formations. The silt has infiltrated the shale, making it hard to anticipate
or observe with gamma readings while
drilling. It is important to maintain proper drilling parameters to prevent damage
American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2016

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