Drilling more efficiently has always been an important consideration throughout the industry, but with the ever more complex and far reaching wells that are being drilled today, it has reached the stage of being a critical factor in the economic viability of many projects. This has lead to the development of many tools and techniques which have enhanced the overall process of drilling deviated wells and helped to realize significant savings in drilling time and improvements in well geometry. Two such developments are the adjustable gauge stabilizer (AGS) and torque-and-drag reduction tools, which provide a method of reducing drilling times in directional wells with build and tangent sections, thereby decreasing the cost while mitigating risk. An AGS eliminates the need to pull and replace the bottomhole assembly (BHA) after completing the build section, thereby saving one complete round trip. Torque-and-drag reduction tools enhance the ability to make directional adjustments while rotating and facilitate reaching well targets which high levels of torque and drag would otherwise prevent. As a result, the time spent drilling with a positive displacement motor (PDM) without pipe rotation (sliding) in the tangent section is mitigated, reducing overall drilling time for the section by an average of at least 20%. This paper will discuss the evolution, design and operational characteristics of these tools and will present case studies of wells drilled in Ecuador where either the application of both adjustable-gauge stabilizers and torque-reduction tools, or the application of an AGS reduced drilling time when compared to offset wells drilled with conventional directional assemblies.
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