Cable-tool Drilling Research Articles

Sonic Drilling on Embankment Dams and Levees

Abstract Sonic drilling, auger drilling, and cable-tool drilling are the preferred methods utilized to drill through le-vees and embankment dams. Sonic drilling is the most recently developed of the three and has distinct advantages over the other methods. Notably, sonic drilling offers a high rate of advance through most materials while still protecting embankments from erosion and hydrofracturing. The method is not without limitations, as cost and space constraints prevent it from being the most effective choice in some circumstances.

Steerable Liner Trims Nonproductive Time and Boosts Oil Recovery in Problem Well

Technology Update To compete successfully in the global energy market, exploration and production companies must operate efficiently, economically, and safely in increasingly difficult environments. Subsalt applications, unstable coal and shale layers, tar zones, depleted zones, and formations with variable flows and pressures are among the problems routinely encountered that must be overcome. In these problem zones, nonproductive time (NPT) of 30% in drilling operations has become commonplace in many areas, with 45% reported in some wells. Wellbore instability appears to be the main cause of NPT. Some operators report that it accounts for more than 40% of their NPT and approximately 25% of drilling costs in difficult wells. NPT related to wellbore stability in these applications ranges from several hours to several weeks in just one section, and costs run from thousands to millions of dollars. Other causes of NPT in these wells include narrow drilling margins and lost circulation. In many situations, operators must compromise ideal well placement to avoid troublesome formations, leaving millions of barrels of oil in the ground. Baker Hughes recently developed the SureTrak steerable drilling liner (SDL), the industry’s first SDL system that has been used to drill, evaluate, and place a liner to total depth (TD) in complex, 3D directional wells in a single run (Fig. 1). The advent of SDL technology mitigates the risk of drilling through problem zones or formations and creates opportunities to maximize reservoir potential by reaching reservoirs that were previously unreachable. The SDL system was recently used in an innovative openhole patch application that saved drilling time and significantly increased oil recovery in a problematic North Sea well. Technology Evolution The concept of drilling with a string of casing rather than conventional drillpipe has existed since Reuben Baker’s original 1907 patent for a casing shoe used in cable tool drilling. In its most basic form, casing is driven into soft formations by circulating and rotating. The addition of basic cutting structures on the casing shoe facilitates the procedure. It also allows harder formations to be drilled and enables the shoe to be drilled out conventionally afterward so that drilling can continue. Various casing drilling technologies and approaches have been used throughout the decades; in general, the main goal was to reduce drilling time by combining the casing and drilling into a single operation. As the need arose for more power to the bit in high-torque operations, a system was developed with the motor installed inside the casing. However, only minimal steering was possible with this system, which led to the emergence of steerable casing while drilling (CWD).

Permian Basin Oil History: Mirroring the Rise in Hydraulic Fracturing

Permian Basin What gave rise to oil drilling in the Permian Basin—in particular the Spraberry trend area? Why now the focus on the various Wolfcamp plays? What strategies and techniques have proven useful in exploiting the potential of the Spraberry—and now, of the Wolfcamp source rock? Who are some of the players, where are they buying, where are they holding leases or developing them—and how? According to J. Michael Party, vice president for Exploration Reliance Energy, writing in the May 2012 AAPG Explorer, “The early exploration efforts in the Permian Basin started in Mitchell County on the basin’s eastern shelf, with a 10-barrel-a-day well [the W.H. Abrams No. 1 well] that opened the Westbrook field in 1920. This set off a frenzy of activity in the basin,” due in large part to the availability of inexpensive leases from the University of Texas Land System. The true potential of the prolific and problematic Permian Basin, however, was not evident until the Santa Rita #1 well erupted on 28 May 1923. Spudded at a place called Texon in Reagan County, Texas, the project endured 21 months of cable-tool drilling that averaged less than 5 ft a day. After the Texon Oil and Land Company struck oil, the well produced until May 1990, and was named by Texas Monthly Magazine as the “Oil Well of the Century.” This field, which came to be known as Big Lake, proved to be 4.5 sq miles. Its wells revealed that vast oil reserves in west Texas originated in both shallow and deep horizons. The Westbrook and Big Lake field successes were followed by a series of discoveries, including the World and McCarney fields in 1925 and the Yates field in 1926. In 1928, a Big Lake well was drilled deeper than any in the world up to that time, to a depth of 8,525 ft. According to the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), before the Hobbs field discovery in 1928, all Permian Basin discoveries were made as a result of random drilling or surface mapping using Cretaceous outcrops that could give indication where structures were in the subsurface. “The Hobbs field discovery,” states the TSHA, “was made after magnetometer and torsion balance surveys both showed the area to be anomalous.”

Applying HSE Lessons to Information Management

Business has entered the age of information management, and the oil and gas industry is no different. Remember the days of cable-tool drilling and even the good old Kelly? Well, the top-drive days are here—or should I say the “hard drive” days?—and the oil and gas industry should capitalize on the benefits of this evolution through judicious and efficient practices. Probably no other industry is as dependent on data and its manipulation in such variety as ours. Some industries have greater information flow per unit of time (e.g., banking), and there are those in which the quality of data is absolutely crucial (e.g., health care), but where else would you find an industry that has such large volumes of data, shifts between aggregated data at very macro levels (e.g., seismic), and correlation with very-high-resolution data (e.g., logging)? And where else would you find such a capital-intensive industry in which the information itself is such a vital asset? But the industry is still leaving a lot of value on the table by not capitalizing on optimum information management opportunities. I have had the good fortune to have led many lives in this industry over the last 20 years, and that experience has led me to conclude that perhaps the answer lies within the industry itself. There are many lessons to be learned from other areas, which might be initially counterintuitive, and in particular health, safety, and environment (HSE) management. The HSE Parallel The 1970s and even the early 1980s saw an industry that did not see a terrible need to invest heavily in safety and the environment. Oh, yes, the talk was there, but not the walk. It was not until the realization came that HSE was, indeed, good business that the momentum for change in this area began to occur. Even then, progress was slow, and the concept of a job in HSE only gradually shifted from being viewed with a negative connotation (a “pasture” job) to that of a job that really made a difference to the business. The industry was still largely in a reactive mode when the effects of poor HSE management started to become evident after some industry accidents. Then came the most important change in thinking that really caused the step change in HSE performance: HSE became a line-management responsibility. I can still remember the first questions in almost every HSE audit that I have ever done or received: “Who is in charge of HSE around here?” was a question typically asked to the base or facility or enterprise manager. The answer slowly moved over the decade from “My safety manager” to “I am.” And that is precisely what the missing link is today in information management. Information management is not a line-management responsibility today; it is either the responsibility of the chief information officer (CIO) or someone in the information technology department.

Time-dependent changes in viable numbers and activities of aerobic heterotrophic bacteria in subsurface samples

Vadose and saturated zone sediment cores from depths to 212 m were obtained from the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site in south-central Washington by cable tool drilling, and volcanic ashfall tuff samples were obtained from tunnels 400 m beneath the surface of Rainier Mesa at DOE's Nevada Test Site (NTS) in southern Nevada. Numbers of viable aerobic heterotrophic bacteria were determined by plate counts and metabolic activities were determined by [ 14C]glucose radiorespirometry at t = 0 and at various post-sampling time points up to 154 d in order to assess the influence of sample storage on microbiological properties of subsurface samples. Increases in post-sampling populations of viable bacteria were observed in all samples, although the magnitude of the increase and time after sampling at which the maximum population size was reached varied with the sample type. The greatest post-sampling increases in viable counts and [ 14C]glucose mineralization occurred in a high-organic carbon lacustrine sediment. The population of aerobic heterotrophs increased from below detection at t = 0 to > 10 6 CFU g −1 after 139 d. Significant increases in culturable counts were shown to occur within 24 h for tuff samples from NTS. These results indicate that precautions are necessary in the post-drilling handling of subsurface sediments and rock for microbiological analysis. In addition, these results suggest that even low biomass subsurface environments may be readily stimulated for applications such as in situ bioremediation.

Monitoring Well Installation, Purging, and Sampling Techniques — Part 2: Case Histories

ABSTRACTThree case histories are presented to illustrate the problems encountered using some monitoring well installation, purging, and sampling techniques. Hollow‐stem auger‐ing was found to pose problems during the installation of monitoring wells in terms of potential for cross‐contamination of strata, the inability to emplace an adequate filter pack, the potential for smearing natural clays into sand and gravel strata, and the possible need for excessive purging of sediments that accumulate between sampling events. Cable tool drilling was found to allow construction of high quality wells, but was slow and expensive. Concern over the potential for increased emissions of noxious vapors from the borehole when drilling with the air rotary method prevented its use in situations where highly contaminated strata were likely to be encountered. A hybrid drilling technique, augering with temporary casing, was able to provide the advantages, and minimize the disadvantages, of the foregoing drilling methods.The installation of vertically separated clusters of monitoring wells lent important insights into the potential movement of a contaminant plume. Detailed aquifer tests provided needed information on the hydraulic behavior of the subsurface strata occupied by the plume so that potential pathways of contaminant transport could be more accurately identified. Obtaining reliable data from such tests depended greatly on the ability of each monitoring well to act as a high quality hydraulic observation well. The selection of drilling and installation techniques that ensured minimal disturbance of the near‐borehole environment provided the best guarantee of such performance.

804236 fishing techniques in water well drilling: Cable tool drilling : Cruse, P K Ground Engng, V13, N1, Jan 1980, P37–44, 50

804236 fishing techniques in water well drilling: Cable tool drilling : Cruse, P K Ground Engng, V13, N1, Jan 1980, P37–44, 50

The Ice-Rock Interface and Basal Sliding Process as Revealed by Direct Observation in Bore Holes and Tunnels

AbstractThe glacier bed, where basal sliding occurs, was reached by cable-tool drilling and sand-pump bailing in seven bore holes in Blue Glacier, Olympic National Park, Washington. Basal sliding velocities measured by bore-hole photography and confirmed by inclinometry are unexpectedly low, ranging from 0.3 to 3.0 cm/day and averaging 1.0 cm/day. This is much less than about half the surface velocity of 15 cm/day, which was the sliding-rate expected from earlier deformation measurements in bore holes made by thermal drilling alone.

The Ice-Rock Interface and Basal Sliding Process as Revealed by Direct Observation in Bore Holes and Tunnels

Abstract The glacier bed, where basal sliding occurs, was reached by cable-tool drilling and sand-pump bailing in seven bore holes in Blue Glacier, Olympic National Park, Washington. Basal sliding velocities measured by bore-hole photography and confirmed by inclinometry are unexpectedly low, ranging from 0.3 to 3.0 cm/day and averaging 1.0 cm/day. This is much less than about half the surface velocity of 15 cm/day, which was the sliding-rate expected from earlier deformation measurements in bore holes made by thermal drilling alone.

Basal Sliding and Conditions at the Glacier Bed as Revealed by Bore-hole Photography

AbstractBore-hole photography demonstrates that the glacier bed was reached by cable-tool drilling in five bore holes in Blue Glacier, Washington. Basal sliding velocities measured by bore-hole photography, and confirmed by inclinometry, range from 0.3 to 3.0 cm/d and average 1.0 cm/d, much less than half the surface velocity of 15 cm/d. Sliding directions deviate up to 30° from the surface flow direction. Marked lateral and time variations in sliding velocity occur. The glacier bed consists of bedrock overlain by a ≈ 10 cm layer of active subsole drift, which intervenes between bedrock and ice sole and is actively involved in the sliding process. It forms a mechanically and visibly distinct layer, partially to completely ice-free, beneath the zone of debris-laden ice at the base of the glacier. Internal motions in the subsole drift include rolling of clasts caught between bedrock and moving ice. The largest sliding velocities occur in places where a basal gap, of width up to a few centimeters, intervenes between ice sole and subsole drift. The gap may result from ice—bed separation due to pressurization of the bed by bore-hole water. Water levels in bore holes reaching the bed drop to the bottom when good hydraulic connection is established with sub-glacial conduits; the water pressure in the conduits is essentially atmospheric. Factors responsible for the generally low sliding velocities are high bed roughness due to subsole drift, partial support of basal shear stress by rock friction, and minimal basal cavitation because of low water pressure in subglacial conduits. The observed basal conditions do not closely correspond to those assumed in existing theories of sliding.

Basal Sliding and Conditions at the Glacier Bed as Revealed by Bore-hole Photography

AbstractBore-hole photography demonstrates that the glacier bed was reached by cable-tool drilling in five bore holes in Blue Glacier, Washington. Basal sliding velocities measured by bore-hole photography, and confirmed by inclinometry, range from 0.3 to 3.0 cm/d and average 1.0 cm/d, much less than half the surface velocity of 15 cm/d. Sliding directions deviate up to 30° from the surface flow direction. Marked lateral and time variations in sliding velocity occur. The glacier bed consists of bedrock overlain by a ≈ 10 cm layer ofactive subsole drift, which intervenes between bedrock and ice sole and is actively involved in the sliding process. It forms a mechanically and visibly distinct layer, partially to completely ice-free, beneath the zone of debris-laden ice at the base of the glacier. Internal motions in the subsole drift include rolling of clasts caught between bedrock and moving ice. The largest sliding velocities occur in places where a basal gap, of width up to a few centimeters, intervenes between ice sole and subsole drift. The gap may result from ice—bed separation due to pressurization of the bed by bore-hole water. Water levels in bore holes reaching the bed drop to the bottom when good hydraulic connection is established with sub-glacial conduits; the water pressure in the conduits is essentially atmospheric. Factors responsible for the generally low sliding velocities are high bed roughness due to subsole drift, partial support of basal shear stress by rock friction, and minimal basal cavitation because of low water pressure in subglacial conduits. The observed basal conditions do not closely correspond to those assumed in existing theories of sliding.

Development and Field Use of a High-Frequency Gas-Operated Rotary-Percussion Drilling Tool

Abstract A successful air or gas-operated percussion tool has been developed and used in drilling nine wells - one each in New Mexico, Utah and Montana; five in Wyoming; and one in Alberta, Canada. Penetration rates with the percussion tool in these wells have averaged 2.5 times faster than those obtained with rotary gas drilling and approximately 5 times greater than rotary mud drilling. Laboratory and field tests indicate that bit footages with rotary-percussion drilling have averaged 1.3 to 4 times those observed with conventional air rotary. Evaluation of laboratory drilling tests and field results shows that, where air drilling is economical, the percussion tool should be used to further decrease well costs. The additional savings should increase the number of wells in which it is profitable to drill with air instead of with liquid-base drilling fluids. Introduction Holes have been drilled in the earth for centuries by variations in the cable tool or churn drilling method. With this percussive method, a heavy steel bit suspended on a cable is dropped a few feet onto the bottom of the well where the bit's kinetic energy is used to chip and crush the formations. The rotary drilling system, introduced to the oil industry around 1900, drilled faster and cheaper than cable tool drilling for most wells. With the development of roller rock bits, rotary drilling gained widespread use in all areas. In an effort to further speed rotary drilling, air was substituted for liquid as the drilling fluid on an experimental basis on several wells in the early 1950's. Air drilling resulted in faster penetration, greater footage per bit, alleviation of lost circulation problems and lower drilling costs. As a result, at the present time air or gas drilling is a routine procedure in parts of Arkansas, Pennsylvania, West Texas and the San Juan basin. The biggest deterrent to widespread use of air drilling has been the water control problem, but, as solutions to this problem are perfected, the scope of rotary air drilling will undoubtedly grow.

Mile Six Pool - An Evaluation of Recovery Efficiency

Abstract The Mile Six pool is located on the La Brea-Parinas Concession ofInternational Petroleum Co., Ltd., in northwestern Peru on the west coast ofSouth America. The reservoir pressure in this pool has been maintained within200 psi of its initial value throughout its history, and gravity drainage hasplayed an important role in the production behavior. It has now produced 95 percent of its estimated ultimate recovery. It is estimated that this interesting oil pool will ultimately produce 67per cent of the initial oil in place and that the resulting residual oilsaturation may be as low as 19 per cent of the pore volume (29 per cent of thehydrocarbon pore volume). An evaluation of reservoir rock and fluidcharacteristics and ultimate oil recovery is presented. Introduction This study of Mile Six pool was made to evaluate its performance accordingto latest available information. The production performance of this pool hasbeen discussed in various articles in the past, and the reported behavior hasbeen used as an example for application of computation procedures for gravitydrainage depletion and as an illustration of field behavior under gravitydrainage or expanding gas cap drive. There have been wide variations inreported values of initial oil in place, reservoir oil volume factor, connate-water saturation, volume of effective sand, and ultimate recoverybecause of the paucity of reliable basic data. These various factors have beendetermined as accurately as practicable with the latest available information, and this evaluation is presented herein. The production history of Mile Six isan excellent example of gravity drainage depletion with effective pressuremaintenance by gas injection. General Mile Six pool was discovered by cable-tool drilling in November, 1927, whenwell 1996 was completed in the Parinas sand. After slow development with cabletools and sporadic production, the pool was opened to continuous production inNovember, 1933, and development was completed with rotary rigs. Pressuremaintenance was started in December, 1933, by returning gas to up structurewells. Most of the development was completed by 1937, but some additional wellswere drilled in the period 1939–1947, and several old wells were deepened. Atotal of 46 oil and gas wells and 4 dry holes were drilled on approximately7-acre spacing. Of the producers, 21 are now flowing, 2 are pumping, 4 are gasinput wells, 3 are abandoned, 1 is a gas well shut in, and 15 are shut inbecause of non-commercial production or high gas-oil ratio. The locations ofall wells are shown on the map of Fig. 1. T.P. 3695

Use of Oil-emulsion Mud in the Sivells Bend Field

Abstract An oil-emulsion mud, consisting of a mixture of oil-base mud and bentoniticwater-base mud, has been used experimentally in drilling 8 of the 35 wells inthe Sivells Bend field, Cooke County, Texas. Experience indicates theoil-emulsion mud can be controlled in much the same manner as a water-base mud, and the "drilling" functions of the two types of mud are comparable.The average water-loss for the oil-emulsion mud was 3.8 cu cm per well. Whenusing oil-emulsion mud to drill the last 2000'Ft of 7000'Ft wells, the mudcosts were approximately 2Y2 times that of water-base mud. There is nothing toindicate well productivities have been affected through the use of oil-emulsionmud. However, drilling time and bit footages were increased and the holes weremaintained more closely to bit guage. The apparent advantages gained throughthe use of oil-emulsion mud in the Sivells Bend field do not appear to justifythe increase in mud costs. Introduction Until a comparatively few years ago most of the development of drilling mud wasdirected toward improving the functions of the mud as related to actualdrilling operations. The industry has long recognized that one disadvantage ofrotary drilling over cable-tool drilling is the possibility of injury toproducing zones through the blocking effect resulting from the infiltration ofwater or mud into the sands. Recognizing this disadvantage, considerableattention has been diverted toward the development of muds that will improvethe quality of well completions through the reduction or elimination of waterinto the sands, but without sacrificing too many of their "drilling"functions and at a cost commensurate with the benefits derived from their use.This phase of mud research has already found practical application, forexample, in the development of the Rangely field, Colorado, it appears the useof oil-base mud during drilling-in operations will contribute appreciablytoward making this exploitation more profitable. Much of the discussion to follow will be better understood if a brief sketch ofthe Sivells Bend field is given. The Sivells Bend field, discovered by TheTexas Co. in 1944 and still in the process of development, is in a large bendon the Texas side of the Red River about 85 miles north of Dallas.Geologically, the structure is an unsymmetrical anticline, with faulting havingcontributed to its development. The productive sands are of the Strawn seriesof Pennsylvanian age, the sands being lenticular in character and varyingconsiderably in development from well to well. At present there are 35producing wells in the field, producing from seven different sand lenses. Theproductive sand lenses vary from 15 to 50'Ft in thickness and the individualsands have average permeabilities of from 75 to 375 md. T.P.2227

Electricity for oil-well drilling

W. G. Taylor: Both cable-tool and rotary drilling impose extremely heavy duty on the power equipment, as is indicated to some extent by the graphic charts submitted in Mr. Murphy's paper. It would be even more interesting if he had shown some records of the work required to handle and set the casing which lines the well. In fact, it is this work which really determines the size of motor necessary for cable-tool drilling. The work is fully as heavy as handling drill pipe in rotary drilling.