Geological Controls on Drilling Performance

Dorset & Somerset, UK

5 Days | £3400+VAT per attendee | Alternative course locations available on request

Course Aims

To use the geological context of outcrops to help build a mutual understanding across a multi-disciplinary team of how rocks drill, and how we can predict behaviour, improve decision making, and achieve better drilling performance.

Target Audience

Well planning engineers, Drilling engineers, Wellsite Geologists, Operations Geologists, Exploration Geologists.

Delegates Will Learn:

How to place drilling problems in a wider geological context
How to predict and mitigate common drilling problems that can lead to NPT
How to solve drilling challenges within a multi-disciplinary team

wellbore vs outcrop scale

Drilling bit deflection on ledges

Faulting at outcrop scale

wellbore vs outcrop scale

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Course Outline

Purpose

After a poorly-performed or failed drilling operation, it usually becomes apparent that indications of drilling problems were missed, underplayed or ignored. It also often becomes apparent that the reaction to observed warning signs was inappropriate, and that a problem was exacerbated or escalated in consequence.

Many formation-related drilling problems can be predicted and mitigated during well planning, and the workshop will bring together a multi-disciplinary team to improve understanding and thus drilling performance by seeing drilling operations as part of a wider geological context.

Drilling Problem Scenarios

Four key 'drilling event' scenarios are considered and measured during the workshop.

An event that was identified and predicted during the well planning process that became managed.
An event that was identified and predicted during the well planning process which was worse than anticipated while drilling, but which was actively managed with minimal NPT.
An event that was not predicted during planning, but which, through timely reaction and mitigation, was managed with some NPT. A significant event NPT event was avoided.
An event that was not predicted during planning, was difficult to manage and resulted in significant NPT.

Field Discussions

Challenges associated with drilling unconsolidated, and poorly cemented sands
Mudrocks matter to drillers!, and getting to grips with gumbo
Sandstones, Chalk, marl and Limestone - Planning for and managing losses
Geological Scale: Seismic vs log resolution vs outcrop scale
Faults, folds and other geological structures at various scales, and the problems that they can cause
Bedding, Joints and other discontinuities and their influence on drilling
Hard bands and negative drill breaks of various types
Geological control on directional drilling and geosteering
Ledging , Key-seating and wellbore geometry
Considerations for casing running and shoe positioning
Predicting and mitigating drilling problems during the well planning process
Using drilling data to interpret geology in the absence of logs
Geosteering, geostopping and geology at the bit
Predicting and mitigating wellbore Instability
Understanding how geological uncertainty adds to the challenge of drilling
Reservoir, Source and Seal rocks, Oil seeps