Air Drilling Services
Drilling
Evaluation
Drilling hazard mitigation SM
Completion
Production
Secure Drilling Services - Compression services Air drilling Nitrogen services Percussion services - Downhole tools - Fluid systems - Managed pressure drilling ling - Pressure-control Pressure-control equipment - Underbalanced drilling lling Drilling-with-casing Drilling-wit h-casing (DwC™) systems
Intervention
Solid expandable systems
Get there faster. Increase ROP and reduce drilling costs through proven engineering and service delivery excellence.
Air drilling can make the difference Address hard formations, lost circulation and deviation problems to increase penetration rates.
Air drilling is part of our compression services offering and is used through primarily nonhydrocarbon bearing zones to optimize drilling performance. In this type of performance drilling, the bottomhole pressure is maintained as low as possible to increase drilling performance. Reducing the bottomhole circulation pressure significantly increases the rate of penetration (ROP), which ultimately yields the following benefits: Decreased costs. In hard-rock formations, air drilling provides an ROP that is up to ve times faster than drilling with conventional uids. Air drilling removes
cuttings from the face of the bit using high air velocities in the range of 3,000 to 4,000 ft/min (914 to 1,219 m/min). This increased ROP not only reduces costs but brings wells on line faster. Minimized deviation tendency in faulted formations. Air drilling produces straighter holes with lower bit weights and results in fewer deviation issues while maintaining a good ROP. Minimized lost circulation compared to conventional uid systems. Drilling with air, mist and foam—as
opposed to conventional mud—reduces hydrostatic pressures and helps manage lost circulation without resorting to costly and time-consuming techniques.
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© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
Air Drilling Services
Air drilling is just one drilling technique in our Secure Drilling services suite, which also SM
includes managed pressure drilling and underbalanced drilling. We have the technology, systems and support to help you safely drill your wells, whether you need to drill faster, reduce nonproductive time (NPT) or enhance your well productivity and reservoir recovery.
Type of Air Drilling (Energized Fluid System)
Application
Dry air (dust)
Hard-rock and dry formations Zero water production Formation cannot withstand hydrostatic pressure
Mist Foam Gasied uids
Gasied uid standard package layout
Hard-rock formation Small amounts of water inux
Large hole diameters Medium amount of water inux
Loss-circulation zones Unconsolidated formations
Get there faster with Weatherford We offer a complete air-drilling package.
Performing an air-drilling operation for the rst time may appear a daunting
prospect, but Weatherford can provide advice and guidance—in the form of expert operations drilling engineering support—to assist you in well planning and programming, as well as rigsite supervision. As the industry’s largest and most established air-drilling supplier, we have the whole package to help you get the most out of your air-drilling operations, from engineering planning and support to the right products and services for any application.
Engineering planning and support Weatherford has some of the most experienced air-drilling experts, many of whom came, through acquisition, from the industry’s premier air-drilling companies. Our qualied experts can help with your planning process from
project inception to completion. Start at the beginning with our SURE™ candidate selection process, which improves the success rate of various drilling applications by simplifying the screening of candidate wells and quantifying the potential benets.
The SURE process is comprised of two main components: People. Our SURE process team helps you select the most technologically and economically appropriate way to drill a successful air, managed pressure or underbalanced drilling well by quantifying the relationship between reservoir impairment, drilling hazards and NPT associated with conventional drilling. Proprietary analysis tools. Phase I includes candidate screening via the RST™ reservoir screening tool. Phase II includes an in-depth assessment of drilling processes, including f ormation-damage evaluation, NPT, performance-drilling evaluation, production forecasting and economic evaluation.
Visit the online SURE selector at http://sure.weatherford.com.
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© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
Air Drilling Services
We assist with hydraulic ow modeling
during the planning phase of the project. Modeling determines gas rate, uid
rate and injection pressure required to maintain optimal drilling parameters during operations. Once the air-drilling project has begun, we provide on-site engineering and supervision. And upon completion of the work, we develop end-of-well reports that include information such as operational summaries, lessons learned and future planning.
ROP (ft/hr, m/hr ) 12,795
0
16
33
49
5
10
15 20 25
66
82
98 115 131 148 164 30
35 40 45
50
3,900
13,123 4,000
13,451 4,100
13,779 4,200
)
m
/ t f (
14,108 h 4,300 t p e D 14,436 4,400
14,764 4,500
Enterprise Excellence Process (EEP) Weatherford’s EEP focuses on creating a preventative
15,092 4,600
culture with error-free performance and empowerment 15,420 4,700
Conventional drilling Air drilling and hammer
ROP comparison between conventional and air drilling
of all employees to achieve continuous improvement in all work processes.
© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
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Real Results: speeding up operations around the globe
USA. Air-drilling package yields
USA. Advanced air-hammer drilling
Canada. Air drilling produces signifcant
Canada. Performance drilling improves
Latin America (Bolivia). Hot-air injection results in
considerable savings
technology produces signifcant cost savings
savings by reducing drilling time
ROP and reduces drilling time
successful foam recycling and increased ROP
A well that was drilled overbalanced suffered uid
On a Barnett shale well in
Air-drilling system produced
Performance-drilling
A hole section was drilled using
losses of 40,000 bbl and had
Texas, USA, a hammer
signicant cost savings
techniques were used on
hot-air injection into the blooie
differential sticking, resulting
tool with light weight-on-bit
by reducing drilling time
two onshore wells to reduce
line, resulting in a 30 percent
in the operation running over
and a stabilizer were used
on an onshore well, when
drilling time from 35 days
prot in the use of chemicals.
budget by US$6 million.
to minimize doglegs and
compared to conventionally
on a conventionally drilled
The size of the foam pit was
Using an air-drilling package,
reduce deviation, resulting
drilled offset wells. No safety
well to 9 and 11 days on two
reduced from 100 to 10 bbl,
Weatherford drilled an
in a savings of 12 to 15 days
or environmental issues
additional wells in the same
the return uids were recycled,
offset well within the same
of drilling time. A reduction in
occurred during the operation.
formation. Drilling costs
and ROP was increased up
formation. This well lost less
deviation by approximately
The results were considered
were reduced and QHSE
to ve times, compared to
than 200 bbl, suffered no
50 percent enabled
to be 50 percent better than
measures were improved.
conventional drilling.
differential sticking and was
successful completion of the
the planned target.
completed under budget.
section in just one bit run. The operator saved more than 50 percent in total drilling costs compared to conventional drilling methods.
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© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
Air Drilling Services
North Africa (Libya). Air-drilling technique
Middle East (Oman). Ultradeep air-hammer
Middle East (Pakistan). Foam drilling overcomes
Asia Pacifc (China).
Asia Pacifc (Indonesia).
Air drilling improves
Air drilling in
improves drilling performance and
success increases ROP Use of Weatherford’s air
loss-zone challenges and improves
performance, saves more than 100 days
geothermal well saves over US$800,000 in
minimizes uid loss
hammers resulted in a more
penetration rate
of rig time per well
Based on offset well
than 20-fold increase in
Using air-foam drilling enabled
On average, wells were
drilling costs and reduces mud expenses
information, total losses were
ROP, resulting in signicant
the operator to improve
being completed in 40 days,
up to 13 percent
expected during drilling. The
time and cost savings to
average ROP, saving 4.8 days
nearly 10 times faster than
Use of the combination
upper sections were drilled
the operator. Additionally,
of rig time. The concurrent
comparable offset wells.
of several Weatherford
using aerated mud-drilling
the ability to establish that
handling of shale sloughing
In total, use of air-drilling
air-drilling products
technologies with minimal
both overgauge hole and
by the foam contributed to
techniques improved drilling
increased ROP by more
loss of drilling uids into
deviation were minimal
the successful setting of the
performance and saved the
than 80 percent, enabling the
the formation, resulting in
enabled the operator to
casing strings.
client more than 100 days of
well to be completed 6 days
returns of 100 percent.
more accurately predict the
rig time per well.
ahead of schedule. Aerated-
Risks and costs associated
next best course of action
uid drilling helped establish
with drilling with total losses
to achieve a successful and
returns of up to 80 percent
were mitigated, enabling
cost-effective operation.
while drilling through a lost-
an overall evaluation of the
circulation zone, yielding a
formation properties and
signicant reduction in mud
reducing rig time.
costs and an improvement in hole cleaning.
© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
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Air-drilling equipment: downhole As the largest air-drilling provider , Weatherford offers a wide array of equipment to help increase drilling performance. Equipment requirement can be divided into two categories—downhole and surface equipment. Percussion hammers. Use of percussion air hammers requires low weight-on-bit. The weight-on-bit is only enough to ensure that it is in contact with the face of the
Heavy-weight drillpipe (HWDP)
formation. String rotation in hammer drilling is slower than conventional means, usually between 20 to 45 rpm. The highest ROP in hard rock is attained with air hammers. Air-hammer bits last longer than conventional bits, resulting in longer intervals and single-bit runs. The straightest holes are drilled with air hammers, partly because of the low weight-on-bit and pendulum effect of the bottomhole assembly (BHA). Hammers and bits range in size from 3 1/8- to 29-in. OD.
Crossover (XO)
Percussion hammer bits. Weatherford supplies various air-hammer bits, ranging in size from 3-1/2 to 29 in. Numerous design congurations of bits are available
depending on the application. Bits can be designed for any size and special need with appropriate time allocation.
Drill collar (DC)
Bit sub with apper oat
Air hammer
Hammer bit
Standard BHA for most hammer operations for surface and intermediate hole sections
Weatherford offers a wide variety of hammers and bits that are designed to industry standards.
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© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
Air Drilling Services
Air-drilling equipment: surface Air-compression equipment
Two-phase separation
Primary compressor. A primary compressor
De-aeration tank (D-tank). A D-tank is
takes a large volume of air from the atmosphere
an atmospheric tank used in gasied uid
and compresses it to low pressures—maximum:
applications and is designed to separate the
350 psi (2.4 MPa). Air volume coming out of the
returning of two-phase uid into liquid and gas.
primary compressor feeds the booster compressor.
The function of the D-tank gas/liquid separator
Booster compressor. A booster compressor is a reciprocating type of compressor that takes a high volume of gas at low pressure—175 to 350 psi (1.2 to 2.4 MPa) from the primary compressors
is to remove free injected gas from the returning ow when an aerated mud system is used as a drilling uid. These separators are rigged up on
top of the shaker.
and boosts it to high pressures. Boosters are
BAMBI tank. The BAMBI tank was designed for
manufactured for different pressures and volumes.
dust- and mist-drilling applications where it was
The use of a booster becomes necessary especially
undesirable to have only a blooie line because
in gasied uid applications where the air-injection
of environmental and worksite conditions. Dust
pressure must overcome the mud-pump pressure
on location is kept to a minimum because of
to enter into the liquid phase.
the specially designed vortex cluster and waterdampening system. Water can be handled at
Rotating control device (RCD) The RCD is the barrier between the annular
surface and solids can be sent to the solids handling system.
pressure of the well and the rig oor. It diverts ow
from the wellbore to the separation unit or settling pit. Weatherford offers an array of RCDs for any environment, including a range of low- and highpressure options.
© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
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The right chemicals for any application Throughout the planning phase of any air-drilling job, selecting the proper uid for specic jobs is one of the most important tasks. Weatherford
provides one of the broadest product offerings in the industry, including a full suite of chemicals and uids.
We operate in all major oil and gas sectors across the globe. We offer chemical and operational technical solutions for the management of reservoir and environmentally friendly uids and corrosion in air-drilling operations.
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© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
Air Drilling Services
Secure Drilling services: A better way to drill SM
Compression services are part of an expanded range of Secure Drilling services that we offer to minimize the risk of drilling hazards related to a wellbore’s pressure prole, and ultimately, to optimize life-of-well performance.
Our Secure Drilling services encompass: Personnel and asset protection. The use of RCDs to protect wellsite personnel and rig equipment is a cornerstone of our Secure Drilling methodology. Detection and management. We use advanced identication and control systems to rapidly detect kick and uid loss, and manage the wellbore pressure prole during
drilling operations. Reservoir evaluation. We draw on our extensive evaluation capabilities to obtain pertinent reservoir data—such as pore pressure, fracture gradient, hydrocarbon composition—that drive drilling and completion decisions. Performance optimization. Leveraging reservoir data and other resources, we design and implement strategies to optimize life-of-well performance.
© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
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Air Drilling Services
Secure Drilling services: offering an alternative to conventional drilling methods when drilling hazards, formation damage and speed are of particular concern. Our Secure Drilling services incorporate several drilling techniques— including air, managed pressure and underbalanced drilling—and associated technologies to optimize drilling performance, minimize formation damage and mitigate hazards. SM
Visit us at weatherford.com/securedrillingservices , or contact us at
[email protected] for information about… A better way to drill
weatherford.com
© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
4564.00
Weatherford products and services are subject to the Company’s standard terms and conditions, available on request or at weatherford.com. For more information contact an authorized Weatherford representative. Unless noted otherwise, trademarks and service marks herein are the property of Weatherford. Specications are subject to change without notice. Weatherford sells its products and services in accordance with the terms and conditions set
forth in the applicable contract between Weatherford and the client.