The Barnett Shale field of North Texas is the most prolific and fastest-growing natural gas field in North America. It has a multi-trillion cu ft equivalent upside potential, but efficient extraction of natural gas from the Barnett shale poses drilling and geological challenges. Geological complexity requires precise placement and drilling of the well as per the directional well plan. Major challenges that affected efficiency were down-hole drill string dynamics, high torque and drag, hole paek-offs and loss circulation. Engineers determined that early detection of downhole problems, such as high vibrations, poor hole cleaning and high equivalent circulating densities, were key to improving drilling performance. Bed boundary detection and formation dip determination were absolutely essential for precise placement of the well as per the directional well plan.
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