Directional Drilling

Controlled Directional Drilling
The science of deviating a wellbore along a planned course to subsurface target whose location is at a given lateral distance and direction from the vertical, at a specified vertical depth.
Drilling a wellbore with planned deviation from vertical to pre-determined target(s)
Reasons for Drilling Directional Wells
Surface reasons
Subsurface reasons
Special needs
1. Surface Reasons
» Surface obstructions (rig/well positioning problems)
» Restrictions (health, safety or environmental)
» Economics of rig positioning
Rig/Well Positioning Problems
- Unsuitable terrain (sloped ground, marsh, forest, sand dunes, etc)
- Proximity to other wells, pipelines, oilfield facilities
- Populated area (city or rural area, farmhouse, industrial facility)
- Proximity to power lines
- Airports, radar or radio stations
- Access road and site preparation difficulties
2. Sub-surface Reasons
» Collision risk with existing wells
» Multiple targets to open for production
» Horizontal drain(s) needed
» Re-entering producing formations
» Drilling extended reach wells (ERD) to remote target(s)
» Geological problems exist
• Faults
• Floating Blocks,
• Salt Domes
» Known natural deviation tendencies caused by significant formation dip
» Sidetracking (lost) downhole objects
» Relief well required
Collision Risk
Economics - Return On Investment
- Multiple wells from a single surface location
- Extended reach - 5-6 miles
- Extended reach reentry and re-drilling options
Economics - Reservoir Drainage
- More borehole opens the productive formation
- More productive intervals in a given formation sequence

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Horizontal Well Technology

Overview Of Horizontal Well Technology
Introduction
In the last few years, many horizontal wells have been drilled around the world. The major purpose of a horizontal well is to enhance reservoir contact and there by enhance well productivity. As an injection well, a long horizontal well provides a large contact area and therefore enhances well injectivity, which a highly desirable for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications.
In general, a horizontal well is drilled parallel to the reservoir bedding plane. Strictly speaking, a vertical well is a well which intersect the reservoir bedding plane at 90 degrees. In other words, a vertical well is a drilled perpendicular to the bedding plane. If the reservoir bedding plane is vertical, then a conventional vertical well will be drilled parallel to the bedding plane and in the theoretical sense it would be a horizontal well. Even in the reservoir with vertical bedding plane, it is possible to drill down vertically and drill side ways. The objective here is to intersect multiple pay zones. (In some instances, from the drilling standpoint, it may be easier to stay in one zone to have effective control on well trajectory.) In the mid-continental region and in the Gulf Coast region of the United States, some reservoir bedding planes are almost vertical. Similarly, in California some reservoirs are steeply deepening. Thus, while analyzing horizontal well performance, geometric configuration of the reservoir bedding planes should be considered.

A typical horizontal well project is different from a vertical project because productivity of a well depends upon the well length. Moreover the well length depends upon the drilling technique that is used to drill the well. Therefore, it is essential that reservoir and drilling engineers work together to choose the appropriate drilling technique which  will give the desire horizontal well length.
The other important consideration is well completion scheme: one can either have an open hole, insert a slotted liner, insert a line with external casing packer, or case the hole and perforate the casing, depending upon local completion needs and experience. The type of completion effect horizontal well performance, and certain types of completions are possible only with certain types of drilling techniques. Thus, well length, the well physical location in the reservoir, the tolerance in drilling location and the type of completion that can be achieved strongly depend upon the drilling method. Therefore it is very important for reservoir engineers to understand different drilling techniques, their advantages and disadvantages. Similarly, drilling engineers, completion engineers, production engineers and geologists.

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Blood diamonds in Tibet? Tibetan anti-mining protestors confront Chinese security forces

This is to share news reports and images of anti-mining protestors (local Tibetan villagers) having to confront Chinese security forces in Zatoe County in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province. From what I can tell from these news reports, the situation has been very tense for the last few days and it is getting worse. 

All photos on this post are from Woser's blog. Read her Chinese language blog for more information about the situation.

Compare this photo to the one below. It looks like the protestors lying on the ground have been shot with tear gas.

Ultimatum Issued to anti-mining protestors. Phayul.com August 18, 2013

Mass protest in Tibet against Chinese mining. Phayul.com August 18, 2013

Several Tibetans Wounded in Crackdown on Mining Protest (Updated). Central Tibetan Administration, August 17, 2013

China's diamond rush in Tibet sparks massive protest, Central Tibetan Administration, August 16, 2013

Tibetans in Tense Standoff With Chinese Miners. Radio Free Asia, August 15, 2013

                                       

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U.S. Considers Exporting More Oil for First Time Since �70s

by Jim Efstathiou Jr. & Jim Snyder, Bloomberg, Jun 18, 2013

The U.S. oil boom is moving Congress closer than it has been in more than three decades to easing the ban on exporting crude imposed after the Arab embargo.

 

Advances such as hydraulic fracturing are leading to record production that may outstrip refinery capacity within 18 months to three years, said Benjamin Salisbury, a senior energy policy analyst at FBR Capital Markets Corp. in Arlington, Virginia. Net petroleum imports now account for about 40 percent of demand, down from 60 percent in 2005, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Energy Department research unit.

Congress has limited oil exports since the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo triggered shortages that pushed up prices and led to long lines at gas stations. An increase in domestic production last year by a record 766,000 barrels a day [please see my remark below - D.R.] is challenging a notion that Americans need foreign oil, while setting up a debate policy makers may be reluctant to begin.

�Americans are unbelievably politically sensitive to oil and more specifically to gasoline prices,� Salisbury said in an interview. �For politicians to do anything, the pain has to come first. You have to see the rig count fall and then and only then can we have a decision about whether we want to export crude.�  [...]

The U.S. sends about 120,000 barrels of crude a day to Canada under a Commerce Department license. Congress allows exports from Alaska�s Cook Inlet and for consumption in Canada, along with sales determined by the president to be in the national interest.

Exports must expand to sustain the boom that increased U.S. production last year by the most since the first commercial well was drilled in 1859, said Robin West, chairman of the oil consulting firm PFC Energy. Output is putting the nation on pace to surpass Saudi Arabia as the world�s largest producer by 2020, according to Energy Department data. [...]

The oil rush, spurred by technology that makes it cheaper and easier to extract oil from rock formations, has boosted U.S. stockpiles of light, sweet crude, which is less costly to process than high-sulfur grades pumped by Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, making it more profitable for export. Landlocked by the ban and limits on transportation, U.S. light oil trades at a discount to the European blend that sets prices for more than half the globe�s oil.

�If you have an opportunity to export the more expensive product and import the cheaper one, why not do it,� John Felmy, chief economist with the Washington-based American Petroleum Institute, said in a telephone interview. �It�s something that we as a country need to take a look at.�

Still, Americans may balk at the idea of sending oil overseas because they�re concerned it may lead to higher gasoline prices, said David Goldwyn, president of Goldwyn Global Strategies LLC, a Washington-based energy consultant. [Read more]

(According to EIA data, U.S. crude oil production, including lease condensate, increased from 5.652 million barrels a day in 2011 to 6.505 million barrels a day in 2012, i.e., an increase of 853,000 barrels a day in just one year - the largest single-year increase in U.S. oil production ever recorded!---please see here - D.R.)

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BP: US oil production growth hit record-high in 2012

by Conglin Xu, OGJ, June 12, 2013

The US recorded the largest single-year increase in oil production in 2012, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. The review, released June 12 [2013], was the company�s 62nd annual report.

Backed by increasing production of unconventional oil and gas, the US recorded the highest growth in both oil and natural gas output in 2012, BP said. Meanwhile, coal consumption in the US experienced the largest decline in 2012 as it was displaced by less-expensive natural gas in electric power generation.

According to BP, world nuclear output recorded the largest annual decline in 2012. After 2011�s Fukushima accident, �higher imports of fossil fuels including [LNG] kept the lights on� in Japan. Due to higher natural gas prices in Europe, power generators substituted coal for gas�an opposite course from the US. [...]

World [primary - D.R.] energy consumption also dropped to 1.8% in 2012, down from 2.4% the previous year, BP reported. The decline was attributable to the economic slowdown as well as improved energy consumption efficiency due to high prices. As the major source of demand growth, emerging countries accounted for 56% of global consumption, up from 42% just 20 years ago.

Global oil consumption increased by 890,000 b/d, 0.9% below the historical average. OECD consumption declined by 1.3% (530,000 b/d) and non-OECD consumption grew by 3.3% (1.4 million b/d).

Global oil production climbed by 1.9 million b/d. Despite a decline in Iranian output due to international sanctions, OPEC contributed to about three quarters of the global increase. [Libyan production recovered strongly after the sharp drop in output in 2011, and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar all produced at record levels - D.R.]. Non-OPEC production grew by 490,000 b/d [revised figure 440,000 b/d, according to BP data - D.R.] with increases in the US, Canada, Russia, and China.

BP�s review also stated that world natural gas consumption grew by 2.2%, below the historical average of 2.7%. [Read more]

(Please see BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2013 - D.R.)

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False attribution in media on the Yarlung Tsangpo dam projects

When you work with media, there is the risk of being quoted out of context. Sometimes it can be worse: you will be attributed to having said things you have not. Such an incident occurred with me recently.

I was approached by Richard Finney, an editor at the Radio Free Asia, about concerns on the Zangmu dam project on the Yarlung Tsangpo-Brahmaputra river.

I e-mailed back saying:
"Zangmu and other dams they are currently building on the mainstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo-Brahmaputra river are run-off-river projects so it may seem like, as several Indian leaders seem convinced, that these will not impact flow into India. However, the concern is not about one or two dams but [that] a series of dams will be built on the river. No one knows how all of these dams will cumulatively affect the river's environmental flow, especially given the uncertainties of climate change impacts on the glaciers that feed these rivers."

However, Finney's published article, "Concerns Arise Over China's Dam Building Drive in Tibet", published on 17 April 2013, quotes me as having said:
"The Zangmu and other dams planned for the Yarlung Tsangpo will not make use of reservoirs."

As readers can see, I did not say that the planned dams will not use reservoirs. I said that the dams they are currently building are run-off-river projects. There's a big difference between projects currently under construction, which we know from reports that these are run-off-river projects, and other planned projects, the technical details of which are unknown.

I have requested Richard Finney to rectify the false attribution. Let's see what can be done.

******
Richard Finney apologized and made changes to the original news story.

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