Courtesy of bakerhughes.com

An operator drilling in the Mississippian Woodford formation wanted to improve drilling efficiency and cost-effectiveness by drilling the vertical and curve in one run. A critical requirement for success would be a motor with a low-enough adjustable kickoff (AKO) to rotate in the vertical while still maintaining appropriate buildup rates (BURs) from kickoff through the curve.

Baker Hughes recommended its 6¾-in. Navi-Drill™ Ultra™ Curve motor, which features reduced bit-to-bend length to complete the vertical, curve, and lateral sections in one run. This motor delivers high BURs in the curve section and improves overall drilling performance in directional wells.

By using the Navi-Drill Ultra Curve motor, the operator decreased average time on wells by more than seven days, increased rate of penetration (ROP) twofold, and saved more than USD 350,000 per well.

“The average drilling time was reduced from 11.2 days to 3.5 days per well, saving the operator 7.7 drilling days, eliminating multiple trips, and reducing nonproductive time,” says Tracy Wilson, Central U.S. drilling applications engineer for Baker Hughes. “Estimated savings for the four wells was calculated at USD 1.4 million in total savings. They were also the only one-run wells drilled in the Mississippian Woodford formation.”

To produce the required dogleg severity, the motor was set at a 1.8°AKO and paired with a Baker Hughes Talon™ PDC drill bit.

Three additional wells were drilled using the same BHA. The average ROP for the four wells, using the Ultra Curve motor and the PDC drill bit, was 159.5 ft/hr [48.6 m/hr], an increase of 84.7 ft/hr [25.8 m/hr] over wells drilled with conventional motors.

Source: bakerhughes.com