Application of Targeted Bit Speed Technology to Directional Drilling in Buzuluk Russia

摘要

A new technology has been developed using a technique called Targeted Bit Speed (TBS) to improve drilling efficiency. Derived from a system that uses a conventional bent housing mud motor in conjunction with a measurement-while-drilling (MWD) tool, TBS technology provides advantages similar to a rotary-steerable tool, and allows for full 3D directional control, while continuously rotating the drill pipe. Steering is accomplished by modulating the fluid flow within the drillstring, creating slight oscillations in the flow rate through the mud motor. This technology takes advantage of these controlled undulations in flow rate to allow high-frequency variations in drilling parameters to control bit speed in order to steer the well in any targeted azimuth. If a planned objective cannot be achieved using TBS technology, then the motor can still be oriented in the desired direction and slid using standard mud motor-orienting techniques. This paper will examine the field results of a multi-well project in the Buzuluk area, where the operator used TBS technology to drill S-shaped wells required to access the reservoir targets. S-shaped wells are typically the most challenging to drill with continuously rotating drill pipe and a mud motor-based bottomhole assembly (BHA) because the same tools are used to drill the curve, hold the tangent, and drop the angle. This single BHA concept was not feasible before the introduction of this technology. This paper will focus on the improvements achieved in not only directional control but also in the resultant rate of penetration (ROP) by using the new system. This project constituted the first wells drilled in the Eastern hemisphere using TBS technology.