I N NOVATI N G WH I LE DR I LLI N G
Going the distance:
Drillers push innovations
to drill extended laterals
Extreme depths necessitate solutions to handle high torques and
lateral vibrations, ensure accurate horizontal wellbore placement
BY STEPHEN WHITFIELD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
E xtended-reach drilling has become not only more common
in recent years but also more extended than ever. Operators
are drilling longer and longer laterals in order to access
previously untapped hydrocarbons, often from existing offshore
platforms or from one single pad location. The value propositions
are clear: Fewer number of wells have to be drilled to achieve the
same production goals, and there is lower cost per foot.

“We’re seeing dramatic increases in lateral levels in many
of the areas we’re working,” said David Millwee, VP – Drilling
Performance at Patterson-UTI. “The 7,500-ft laterals are kind of
Highlights
In some shale basins, 10,000-ft laterals are
becoming standard even as 12,000- and
15,000-ft laterals are pushing rig engines,
top drives and mud pumps to new limits.

New floor wrench designed with
enhanced gripping and sensors can help
to prevent over-torqued connections.

To maximize chance for one-run laterals,
downhole tool reliability and accurate
well placement are key. Using AI-enabled
bit guidance software can help increase
lateral footage placed in drilling window.

14 going away, and we’re seeing more of a 10,000-ft standard, with
some companies pushing 12,000 or 15,000 ft. For the operator, that
additional 2,000 or 3,000 ft of lateral wellbore gives them better
paybacks than trying to drill another well.”
On the flip side, extended-reach wells are notoriously challeng-
ing and require specialized planning to execute. It can be difficult
to hit target zones. Lost circulation and wellbore instability risk
is higher. Downhole tool reliability is also challenged. “As we’re
drilling deeper laterals, we’re seeing that the current tools we
have are hitting their technical limit,” said Chris Jones, Field
Service Manager at Helmerich & Payne (H&P).

Addressing these challenges will require companies to consid-
er both operators’ short-term production demands and long-term
needs to reliably handle downhole stresses. In this article, DC
speaks with Patterson-UTI and H&P about recent efforts to enable
better drilling of extended-reach wells.

Handling excessive torque downhole
In recent years, H&P has made significant upgrades to its rig
equipment to help handle the challenges associated with longer
laterals in extended-reach wells. These include an engine pack-
age to increase the rig’s power output, upgrading top drives from
800 hp to 1,200 hp, as well as mud pumps with higher pressure
capacity to handle the increase in fluid pressures and flow rates.

More recently, the company has also been focused on new
ways to address challenges around the surface torque limit on
drill pipe and couplings. Longer lateral wells typically require
drill pipe connections to be exposed to extreme torques that may
render them ineffective in getting the drill string to location;
sealability can also be compromised.

M A R C H/A P R I L 2023 • D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R



I N NOVATI N G WH I LE DR I LLI N G
Extended-reach drilling has become more common and more extreme in recent years as operators seek to generate more
production out of each well, but drilling long laterals comes with significant challenges, like excessive torque and damaging
lateral vibrations. Last year H&P launched its Failure Prevention Package to address problems often encountered in long later-
al s. The company says it has already seen fewer unplanned trips and more footage drilled between unplanned trips.

The two points of contact that a standard torque wrench has
with the drill pipe can create a slight bowing effect on the drill
pipe, and the wrench can sometimes relax its grip on the pipe
as it moves downhole. These two variables increase the likeli-
hood of inaccurate readings of the torque value on each connec-
tion, which can lead the driller to apply an excessive amount
of torque. “If you over-torque downhole, you’re having to rig up
manual tongs to break your connections, which slows the whole
well cycle down. Additionally, you’re damaging pipe and making
it unusable. That’s added costs and added time we need to avoid,”
Mr Jones said.

To combat this challenge, H&P worked with a third-party
equipment manufacturer to develop the HexGrip 120 automated
floor wrench , which can handle higher torques than a con-
ventional torque wrench. Rather than using two dies to make
contact with the drill pipe like a conventional wrench, the new
wrench contains six dies, creating a concentric gripping effect
where the dies grip around the circumference of the drill pipe.

The improved gripping of the six-point torque wrench also
translates to less connection deformation on the tool makeup
and improved torque accuracy.

The new wrench also contains sensors so it can provide an
exact reading of the back-off torque inputs, or the torque needed
to break a given drill pipe connection. This gives the driller a
more accurate view of how much torque is being applied to the
drill pipe at any given time.

“With the type of downhole environments we see, there will
be sections where you’re adding torque, so you need to know
exactly how much is going to break out,” Mr Jones said. “If
you’re not correct, you’re going to see a lot of problems when you
have to go downhole and break the connections loose. Having
that functionality to adjust and make sure our torque loads are
exactly what we want them to be and what we need for the hole
conditions – that helps to avoid a lot of the problems we face.”
H&P has been field-testing the floor wrench on a Permian rig
since early 2022, and a second wrench was added to a rig in
Oklahoma this year. The company foresees adding more of these
tools across its rig fleet this year.

The extreme torques seen in extended laterals can also
increase the possibility of encountering damaging lateral vibra-
tions, resulting in stick-slip, whirl and overall downhole tool
failure. This can lead to longer drilling times, higher costs
D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R • M A R C H/A P R I L 2023
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