During the drilling of the Bonga 10ST 3 (sidetrack No. 3) horizontal well in deepwater offshore Nigeria, Shell Nigeria Exploration Co. (Snepco) introduced an at-bit-inclination sensor and agitator tools that allowed the driller to optimally place the Bonga 10ST 3 drain hole in the reservoir. The application of these horizontal drilling technologies was a first for Shell Nigeria. The most critical real-time data required for drilling directional wells is the angle of inclination. The advantages of measuring inclination within a few feet of the bit are enormous, as it allows the driller to determine the directional behavior of the bottom hole assembly, reduce the number of sidetracks due to directional steering problems, and more precisely place a wellbore in a reservoir.
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