Successfully Drilling the Longest Shallow ERD Wells in the Sultanate of Oman
Authors: Vasquez Bautista Ramiro Oswaldo , Busaidi Adil Al , Awadalla Muhannad , Hawy Ahmed El , Rawahi Qasim , Haeser Patrick , Naamani Hafidh , Rashdi Hussain Al 
Published: October 2019

An operator and a service company parternered in successfully drilling the longest extended-reach drilling (ERD) wells in the Sultanate of Oman. The project consisted of four wells to be drilled in the G field. These wells will be the first aquifer pumpoff wells drilled in the field with a goal of lowering the reservoir water cut (oil/water contact) for all nearby oil producers, and to minimize water production and maximize oil production.

The buildup section required drilling through the risky gas cap and zones having possible total fluid losses. The risk of stuck pipe and the likelihood of gas kick, as well drilling through fractures on the horizontal section and experiencing potential total fluid losses, made successfully drilling the wells to TD even more difficult and challenging.

The buildup section was divided into two string designs based on a previously used single-string design. The drilling objectives were to reduce and separate the risks in the different sections and to drill the gas cap formation in the 12.25-in. shale section, plus landing the well with possible fluid losses while entering the reservoir with the 8.5-in. bottomhole assembly (BHA). This drilling plan eliminated known risks, using BHAs for drilling the 12.25-in. section with a push-the-bit system, and drilling the 8.5-in. section with a high-buildup rate rotary steerable system (RSS) for dogleg severity assurance. Drilling both sections was performed with a near-bit gamma ray adapter for geostopping.

The 6-in. lateral section was the main challenge in the drilling operations due to the anticipated highly fractured reservoir with possible total fluid losses and high-equivalent circulating density management. Poor borehole cleaning was expected due to the high-critical transport rate, as well severe shock and vibrations. The BHA was designed to be able to drill to TD using the following techniques: A finite element analysis (FEA) model was developed to determine the most excellent drillpipe to be used in terms of shock and vibration and buckling moments. The model recommended 4-in. drillpipe to reduce the high-surface pressure expected at TD.The FEA model helped in selecting the best driving system (motorized BHA) because the simulations indicated that the BHA would have lower shock and vibration and be able to handle the expected high-surface torque. Due to the expected faults and possible sidetrack, the final BHA selection was a motorized high-buildup rate RSS.The real-time parameter management and plan helped in selecting the best drilling parameters to minimize real-time shocks and vibrations.

Drilling the buildup section with the two-casing string design solved the risk reduction and allowed for landing the four wells successfully. For the lateral section, the BHA design met the expectation of completing the drilling operation on one run to TD. Both companies teamed to successfully drill the two longest ERD wells in the Sultanate of Oman. All of the wells are in the very extended-reach group by ERD definition. Well G-55 is the longest ERD ratio well drilled to date by the operator with a 4.01 ratio.