Next Chapter of Drilling is Opened by Using New Technologies to Reduce Shocks and Vibrations and Improve Drilling Performance

In the oil and gas industry, one of the biggest challenges in drilling deep gas wells is to maintain the drilling tools in good working condition despite the harsh drilling environment, which can cause shocks and vibrations. This is especially true in long horizontal sections with reservoirs that have heterogeneous formations such as tight and interbedded porous limestone formations between anhydrite layers. During drilling operations, severe stick-slip, shocks, and vibration can occur. Furthermore, high-frequency torsional oscillations (HFTO) can be generated, reducing the rate of penetration and damaging drilling tools or bits. This affects the drilling performance and efficiency. A new technology of HFTO dampener tools was used in a Lump SumTurnkey (LSTK) gas project in the Middle East. By applying certain optimized drilling parameters, significant improvements were made in drilling performance. The longest footage was drilled with more than 4,450 ft in a single run, achieving a total measured depth of 19,800 ft. The new technology reduced vibrations amplitude by 50% and enabled drilling in highly challenging long-lateral sections more efficiently. These results played a crucial role in achieving the well objectives with a huge increase in drilling performance and efficiency. The technology also allowed for proper identification of optimum drilling parameters in the reservoir. This paper describes the field deployment of the HFTO dampener tool and the application of optimized drilling parameters, which were used for the first time to drill the challenging horizontal lateral section in the LSTK gas project. The results can be implemented in any project worldwide.