APPLICATION

/ Wellbore Placement
/ Geosteering

TECHNOLOGY

/ Directional Drilling
     / TiTAN22 Performance Drilling Motor
/ Logging While Drilling (LWD)
     / BitSub Azimuthal Gamma Ray/Inclination sensor
/ Measurement While Drilling (MWD)

LOCATION

South Texas

DOWNLOAD CASE HISTORY

/ PDF File

CLIENT CHALLENGE

The operator intended to access new reserves in a developed oil field. Thus, the process required a strategic plan of re-entering older producing wells to sidetrack and drill new laterals in the virgin pay zone. Geosteering in the oil-filled target was critical for the well’s economics by maximizing reservoir exposure while reducing water production by staying above the oil/water contact.
With the area’s long history of lucrative production, numerous offset wells require pinpointing the wellbore placement accuracy to minimize the risk associated with the comparative approaches necessary for the newly planned sidetrack laterals.

SCIENTIFIC SOLUTION

Scientific Drilling’s BitSub LWD sensor package provides at-bit azimuthal gamma ray and continuous inclination, allowing the precise well placement needed for the operator’s challenging project. Scientific Drilling partnered with the client to drill a total of 11 sidetrack laterals which utilized the 5” BitSub option.
The 4-sector real-time gamma-ray images collected by the BitSub provided an accurate interpretation of geologic structure dip and contributed to placing the laterals in-zone for 97% of the footage drilled.
Continuous inclination at-bit granted accurate determination of motor dogleg output when sidetracking off the original wellbores.

CLIENT VALUE

Implementing the BitSub technology allowed the operator to successfully drill the laterals without a rotary steerable system (RSS).                                                                         The wells’ shallow actual vertical depth (TVD) and short lateral lengths warranted significant cost reduction without sacrificing the reduced LWD bit-to-sensor distances required for the geosteering team to keep well in the target zone.
The at-bit inclination facilitated a collaborative effort between the directional supervisors and the operator’s geosteering leading to drilling the laterals on the intended target lines to allow for future potential lateral sidetrack development.

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