Directional Drilling

[zdas04]

In one of my classes, we were talking about directional drilling and I explained about mud motors and steerable bits. He then asked the crucial question "you mean that you can't air drill a directional hole?" I stammered and told him I'd get back to him. Is there any way to air-drill a horizontal well in a sensitive formation like CBM?

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.
The plural of anecdote is not "data"

 

[rommar]

Hi i wondering how you would airdrill horizontal and make circulate the hole clean? what is CBM formation? Clay based mud?

anyone know about Horizontal Directional Drilling to drill and pullback pipes?

 

[zdas04]

CBM is CoalBed Methane. Whenever you mud drill it, you lose a lot of mud into the coal and get a crappy well. A lot of people are proposing directionally drilling the coal (to work from a pad), but I don't know how to do that without mud drilling which generally damages the formation. The only successful pad wells I've seen have been "S" shaped holes that topset the coal and then air drilled it. I was just wondering if there is a tool I hadn't heard of to allow air-drilling the coal at a high angle.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.
The plural of anecdote is not "data"

 

[BigInch]

I think you've got to have liquid to lubricate, clean and better support the sidewalls. Air drilling is only suitable for very short lengths. All HDD pipeline installation, other than short thrust bores, I know of is mud based. Formation damage from drilling fluid is always a possibility, which is why there are so many additives available to do it while minimizing the possibility of just that.

Independent events are seldomly independent.

 

[CSmiff]

A company called CDX Gas has a patented method for drilling CBM laterals using 9.5 - 10.0 ppg drilling mud. To the best of my knowledge they have successfully used the process in the Black Warrior and the Arkoma basins.

 

[zdas04]

CDX drilled several of their pinate wells here in the San Juan Basin with really lousy results. They drilled a few in Queensland with the same results. I just don't see good mud-drilled results in CBM. That is what makes me wonder if all of the [failed] CBM horizontals had to have been mud drilled.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

Law is the common force organized to act as an obstacle of injustice Frédéric Bastiat

 

[shawnpeter]

It is possible with a hammer bit. Atlas Copco has been working on a directional hammer. Allis Chalmers did a lot of research on this. Javins made one of the first DDH's, capable of 15 deg/100'.



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