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MANAGED PRESSURED DRILLING CASE STUDY

Pressure Drilling Service Cuts Drilling Time in Half

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Opportunity

Unconventionals

Opportunity
Specific Challenge

Design flexible system for varying pressure gradients, reduce drilling problems

REGION - MEXICO REGION - MEXICO

Southern Mexico

REGION - MEXICO

Challenge

  • Multi-well project 
  • Deep, depleted, fractured and compartmentalized reservoir with widely variable pore pressures
  • Requires a flexible system to cover pressure gradients from 2 to 8.34 ppg

Solution

  • Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) services
  • Precise selection of critical operating parameters such as injection flow rates, fluid properties and chemical injection control

Result

  • Successful implementation of MPD resulted in 
    • Process improvements from lessons learned while drilling challenging hole sections under changing conditions
    • Increased rate of penetration (ROP) despite controlled drilling for hole cleaning. 
  • MPD times were approximately half those of offset conventional overbalanced drilling (OBD) wells
  • Cleanup times fell from 20 days to an average of 3 days

Operator's Challenge 

This multi-well project was a deep, depleted, fractured and compartmentalized reservoir with widely variable pore pressures. The objective was to design a flexible system to cover pressure gradients from 2 to 8.34 ppg, minimizing overbalance because of the narrow margin between pore and fracture pressures, and to reduce drilling problems of differential sticking and lost circulation. 

Halliburton's Solution 

The operator controlled bottomhole pressure (BHP) through precise selection of critical operating parameters such as injection flow rates, fluid properties and chemical injection control. Utilizing Sperry Drilling Services’ GeoBalance™ Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) service, the operator was able to measure, record and display important variables at the rigsite and transmit them to other locations, allowing remote monitoring and real-time adjustments to maintain the narrow target range for BHP.

3

Days average cleanup time

17

Days less clean-up time

Economic Value Created 

Successful implementation of MPD in this case resulted in 1) process improvements from lessons learned while drilling challenging hole sections under changing conditions, and 2) increased rate of penetration (ROP) despite controlled drilling for hole cleaning. MPD times were approximately half those of offset conventional overbalanced drilling (OBD) wells. And when the MPD wells were brought on for production, cleanup times fell from 20 days to an average of three days.