GS 705: Oilwell Drilling Technology

Syllabus​

Introduction to drilling methods, types of drilling operations, Designing an oil well, Downhole equipment, The drilling rig – its components and functions, rig sizing and selection, Drilling fluids, Wellheads, Casing and cementing operations, Principles of kick control, fishing jobs, The drill stem test (DST). Drilling a well- from top to bottom, Drilling methods and equipment for directional, horizontal and multilateral wells. Prediction of formation pore pressure and stress gradients. Determination of safety mud weight bounds for different in-situ conditions. Types of offshore drilling rigs- bottom founded vs. floating, Special issues for offshore drilling operations- motion compensation, station keeping. Stresses around a borehole, hole stability. Drilling in overpressured regimes, Drilling in depleted zones, underbalanced drilling. Waste disposal and environmental factors in drilling.

Texts/References

  • Baker, R. A Primer of Oilwell Drilling: A Basic Text of Oil and Gas Drilling, Petroleum Extension Service, University of Texas at Austin, 2001
  • Chilinger, G.V. and Vorabutr, P. Drilling and Drilling Fluids. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, 1981
  • Hyne, N.J. Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geology, Exploration, Drilling and Production, 2nd edition, Pennwell Corporation, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 2001
  • Nguyen, J.P. Drilling, Editions Technip, Paris, 1996