What Are the Main Applications for Directional Drilling?

The term “directional drilling” refers to a process in which a hole is drilled in the ground along a specific path to a target a specific lateral distance and direction away. It may include drilling either vertically or horizontally.

Here are a few examples of some of the circumstances in which directional drilling services will be required in Roseville, CA.

Straight hole drilling

You can use directional drilling when you’re simply drilling a hole straight down. Here, the primary efforts are to keep the hole vertical. There are several reasons why this might be important. You may need a vertical hole to stay within contract specifications, or in the oil industry, to meet spacing requirements in a field that has already had developed wells. It might also help you avoid crossing lease lines and getting into potential disputes.

Side tracking

Side tracking is a process in which a new hole can be started at any point above the bottom of an old hole, thus “tracking” off the side of an existing hole that’s been dug out.

There are a few reasons why side tracking might be performed. It can allow the bottom of a hole to intersect another formation at a better position, such as above the oil-water contact area. Side tracking a well can also help to resolve any problems associated with gas or water coning. In older wells, a side track can be performed to move the location of the bottom of the hole if one portion of the reservoir has already been depleted to an area that proves to be more productive, such as across a permeability barrier or fault.

Side tracks can be either blind or oriented. A blind side track has an unspecified direction, and thus is not considered a directional well. An oriented side track, then, has a specified direction and is considered a directional well.

Controlled directional drilling

In this process, you drill multiple wells from a structure such as a drilling pad, manmade island or offshore platform. Because it would be economically prohibitive to build multiple structures to ensure every well has its own platform, you can use controlled directional drilling to drill dozens of wells from a single platform, making the process much more feasible economically and logistically.

Drilling to otherwise inaccessible locations

In some cases, deposits might lie underneath areas that would be impossible to access, such as rivers, towns, mountains or existing structures. In such a case, directional drilling allows for the hole to be created away from the inaccessible location with horizontal directional drilling used to access the reservoir.

Relief wells

If wells are no longer accessible from the surface due to a blowout, a relief well can be drilled to intersect that well close to the bottom. Directional drilling will be used to create that well and get the necessary access.

For more information about some of the most common applications for directional drilling services in Roseville, CA, we encourage you to contact Es7 Comm-2 U, Inc. today with your questions.

Categorised in: Directional Drilling

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