A Guide to Directional Boring/ Drilling Services

Background for Directional Drilling or Boring

Hydrocarbons are an essential component of any modern economy because they are a primary source of energy that is extensively utilized by the power, transportation, and industrial sectors. Every day, there is a growing demand for hydrocarbons, which puts a lot of pressure on the upstream petroleum sector. The upstream petroleum industry is in charge of finding and processing hydrocarbon resources to meet energy needs. Trapped beneath the Earth’s surface is a pool of oil and gas held within rock formations, referred to as a petroleum reservoir. Reservoirs are made of porous rock that is covered by rock. This creates a trap for hydrocarbons that are moving toward the surface through the earth’s crust. If you bore or drill at least one mile down to the hydrocarbon trap and seal it with steel pipe and cement, so that the hydrocarbons can be released on their own accord, then you will reach an area of economically viable accumulations of natural resources.

Introduction to Directional Boring

Due to the ever-growing demand for hydrocarbons, conventional reservoirs of this precious resource are being drained at alarming rates – resulting in extreme levels of production from traditional storage sites. Exploration of harder-to-produce hydrocarbons like unconventional reservoirs and deep water has increased as conventional reserves have been depleted. Directional boring companies drill long, up to three-mile lateral extensions through the formation is necessary to boost productivity due to the difficulty of producing unconventional reservoirs. Drilling such intricate wells requires three-dimensional control of the well’s direction. To ensure the well’s efficiency and effectiveness, directional boring contractors must meticulously execute a three-step process. This consists of drilling straight down first, then curving at the bottom to reach the reservoir, before finally following its shape.

Directional drilling is also used to reach subsurface targets that are further away from the location of the surface well or to avoid a subsurface geological feature that can complicate drilling, like a fault. Additionally, blown-out or uncontrolled wells can be eliminated with directional drilling. Lighting contractors are consistently overseeing the wellbore path to guarantee it remains on its planned course. During directional boring, inclination, azimuth, dogleg severity, and other parameters are measured.

What are Services for Directional Boring?

We would like to go over the various types of directional boring services as well as the primary directional boring companies that you are familiar with the term. To effectively hit the subsurface target, directional drilling is a complicated procedure that requires sophisticated equipment and specialized directional boring contractors. Oil and gas service companies specialize in directional drilling, offering comprehensive services such as geo steering, measurement while drilling, logging while drilling, and more. These innovative techniques provide the precision necessary for this type of work. For any directional drilling job to be successful, these complex procedures require specialized equipment and personnel. Directional boring contractors are commonly sought after by exploration and production companies when they need services, tools, or human resources.

Tools Used in Directional Drilling

Directional drilling is a method of drilling in which the drill string is directed on every foot to stay as close as possible to the good design or plan. The directional driller can set the well’s future trajectory by measuring the exact location with sophisticated tools. Occasionally, the well’s vertical section must be guided, but the well’s curve and horizontal section must also be guided.

Directional drilling requires specific pieces of equipment, such as drill bits, mud motors, and rotary steerable systems. The key to success with directional drilling is the progressive cavity positive displacement pump known as the mud motor which forms an integral part of its construction. The motor gives a bit more power, making the drilling process more productive. The mud motor uses the arrangement of the rotor and stator to make the drilling process more effective. The power assembly’s length and number of lobes are both increased to improve the mud motor’s horsepower efficiency. When there is no mud motor present in the drill string, the bit rotates at a speed relative to the rotation rate of the table on the rig. Yet with a mud motor inserted into this equation, more torque and angular velocity are applied to get that bit spinning fast!

Rotary Steerable System (RSS)

With a rotary steerable system, the directional drilling process is simplified as wellbore angles can be regulated at the surface level. These tools are highly efficient and eliminate the need for mud motors altogether – if your rig is outfitted with one of these systems, you’re good to go! The rotary steerable system’s preservation of the borehole’s quality is another advantage over a mud motor. The surface system is utilized in rotary steerable systems to tilt the wellbore in the desired direction. When compared to mud motors, the primary drawback of rotary steerable systems is their high cost.

Measurement during Drilling (MWD)

Another important service associated with lighting contractors is measurement during drilling. Measurement while drilling, or MWD, is done to accurately and efficiently document the wellbore path that leads to the subsurface target and to report the bit’s position and orientation. Telemetric connections connect MWD tools to a surface control station and accurately measure directional data in the good bore. Directional boring companies keep an eye on the real-time data and communicate well direction to directional drillers. The wellbore deviation survey data are recorded after being processed and interpreted. To ensure that the good path is accurate, the aforementioned parameters are used to track the wellbore path in three dimensions.

Why was Drilling Combined with Logging Introduced?

The well path is inclined at various angles as a result of directional drilling. The well path may be nearly horizontal in some instances. Because it can result in cable-conveyed tool striking, conventional logging, also known as wire line logging, is extremely challenging to perform in horizontal wells. Therefore, logging while drilling was implemented as a solution to this issue by lighting contractors. As a result, drilling a well took less time because conventional logging was no longer required.