Innovation: Innovative Drilling Operations

Abstract

President's column The first wells used to search for oil were drilled more than 150 years ago. Since then, various innovations have been adopted and adapted to enable us to drill deeper and deeper wells, with longer and longer reach, and in ever-increasing water depths, resulting in access to oil and gas reserves that have fundamentally changed the world. We have encountered various challenges over the years, but by seeking new ways of getting the bit down to the depth required in a safe manner, our industry has allowed billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of gas to be produced for industrial growth and development. Those first wells were drilled with very basic tools. The floaters of today, drilling in thousands of feet of water, are clearly far advanced from the early efforts, which used a steam engine powered by a wood-fired boiler. Edwin Drake is famous for his pioneering drilling work, and as with most innovators, he met head on with potential failure when he drilled his first well. Drake encountered losses and potential hole collapse that would have prevented him from drilling to his planned total depth. He is reported to have driven a surface pipe and then proceeded to drill and reach into deeper horizons. This fundamental principle of isolation has served the industry well and forms the basic design of wells drilled today. However, innovation has permitted some operators to drill through surface sections that present swelling problems that lead to premature setting of surface pipe, which in turn lead to delays in drilling operations and increased well cost. Some operators have successfully applied innovative casing-while-drilling techniques, which use large pipes as the drilling string. This technique allows the operator to minimize exposure of the wellbore to the drilling fluids and reach surface setting depth as planned (SÁnchez, Houqani, Turki, and Cruz. 2012). The history of drilling is rich with innovations. They are too many to cover in one column, but I think two are noteworthy: the advances that permitted drilling in deeper and deeper waters and the development of mud motors. The early move away from land operations took place approximately 120 years ago when wells were drilled from platforms that were constructed on piles in fresh water and then on piers in various areas offshore the US. As explorers found prospects in deeper and deeper waters, new technology was needed to drill from barges, artificial islands, or concrete barges. Today’s jackups and semisubmersibles are a far departure from the rudimentary equipment used for early offshore drilling.