American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2016 - 65

SpecialReport: Horizontal & Innovative Drilling
the vibratory tool.
Figure 3 shows the average time
required to install casing by the three
methods. Using a vibratory tool and high-

torque SF casing demonstrated a 55 percent decrease in rig time while rotating
the liner in the hole compared with buttress-threads casing and no tool, and a

FIGURE 2
Liner Running Speed Comparisons

Liner Running Speeds (ft/hr)

350
300
250
200
150
100

50
0

1

Casing Tool
High-Torque Threads
Method

2

No Casing Tool
Buttress Threads

3

4

No Casing Tool
High-Torque Threads

Average Length of Rotation

Average Running Speed

Delta: Speed Increase

No Casing Tool - Buttress Threads

5,201 ft

122.79 ft/hr

Benchmark

No Casing Tool - High-Torque Threads

5,201 ft

224.30 ft/hr

102 ft/hr - 83%

Casing Tool - High-Torque Threads

5,201 ft

271.45 ft/hr

149 ft/hr - 121%

FIGURE 3
Casing Run Time Comparisons
45
40
Liner Run Time (hr)

35
30
25
20
15
10

5
0

No Casing Tool
Buttress Threads

Method

No Casing Tool
High-Torque Threads

Casing Tool
High-Torque Threads

Average Length of Rotation

Average Running Speed

Delta: Speed Increase

No Casing Tool - Buttress Threads

5,201 ft

122.79 ft/hr

Benchmark

No Casing Tool - High-Torque Threads

5,201 ft

224.30 ft/hr

102 ft/hr - 83%

Casing Tool - High-Torque Threads

5,201 ft

271.45 ft/hr

149 ft/hr - 121%

17 percent decrease compared with hightorque SF casing and no vibratory tool.
As horizontal drilling activity has proliferated in U.S shale plays, the industry
has improved greatly its ability to lengthen
the horizontal sections of wells. As the
Niobrara/Codell field test shows, downhole, vibratory, horizontal casing installation tools are advancing in step with
the ongoing progress of extended-reach
drilling, significantly increased casing
running speeds, and decreased running
times while ensuring that casing is run
successfully to total depth.
Based on the technology's ability to
enable higher rotary speeds with less rotating torque, it can be inferred that the
potential exists to achieve additional cost
savings by utilizing vibratory casing tools
to prevent overtorqueing threaded connections, to avoid damaging casing and
completion equipment, potentially to
eliminate the need for high-torque threads
in some cases, and to increase recovery
efficiency.
❒
MATTHEW WARNER is a drilling
engineer at Kaiser-Francis Oil Company, responsible for all aspects of
drilling and rig operations, including
in the company's Niobrara/Codell program. He began his career in 2007 as
a senior logging engineer at Halliburton Logging Services Asia Ltd., and
then served as a directional drilling
engineer at Halliburton before joining
Kaiser-Francis in 2013. Warner holds
a bachelor's in electrical engineering
from the University of Rhode Island.
RYAN A. HALL is corporate business development manager at TTS
Drilling Solutions in Oklahoma City.
Before joining Thru Tubing Solutions
in 2014, he was a regional account
manager at Rockwater Energy Solutions. He began his career as a landman at Chisholm Energy LLC and
then Chesapeake Energy. Hall holds
a B.B.A. in marketing from the University of Central Oklahoma.
SEPTEMBER 2016 65
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