This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper SPE 163534, ’Innovative Drilling System With a Built-In Kickoff Ramp Allows Dependable Curve Building in Granite Wash Formation,’ by G.A. Bruton, SPE, and J. Talkington, Chesapeake, and P. Desai, S. Swadi, SPE, and J. Kelley, Schlumberger, prepared for the 2013 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, 5-7 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. The Granite Wash formation presents several challenges in drilling the build section from a vertical open hole to form a lateral. The formation is hard and abrasive, and it is difficult to anticipate downhole rock properties. The erratic nature of the formation results in unpredictable performance by the steerable drilling assembly and drill bits. In most cases, the target build rates are not achieved, forcing multiple trips. An innovative drilling system has been developed that provides a dependable kickoff ramp and a firm beginning for initiating the build section without having to rely on the fulcrum point of the drilling bottomhole assembly (BHA) in a single trip downhole. Challenges The complex Granite Wash formation (Fig. 1) presents many drilling challenges, particularly beyond 12,000 ft, specifically when building a curve to horizontal at 14°/100 ft. One of many formation-related challenges was to reduce the number of trips. The conventional sidetracking technique for the open hole has been to run and set a whipstock/anchor assembly at the kickoff point in a separate trip using a different BHA. Once the whipstock was secured, the directional-drilling assembly was run to initiate and finish the curve and reach the landing point. The extra trip, however, needed to be eliminated. The erratic nature of the formation also makes it difficult for the driller to use the offset to optimize bit selection to drill the highly abrasive formation efficiently. The driller usually selects a proven tricone bit dressed with abrasion-resistant cutters. Despite that, the bit’s cutting structure wears pre-maturely, forcing the operator to make multiple trips downhole with a new polycrystalline-diamond-compact (PDC) bit to finish the curve. Solution: Innovative Drilling System The most prevalent sidetracking technique in an openhole application has been to set a cement plug and time drill with controlled rate of penetration (ROP) with a directional-drilling assembly. The cement-plug method generally required 3 to 5 days to get a plug set and dressed off in an oil-based mud. The cement-plug method was replaced by a conventional but reliable whipstock/anchor system, which required a separate trip.