Open Hole Sidetrack: A Transformation in Drilling Dual

Lateral Khuff Reservoir Gas Wells in the Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia
Authors: Khalid Nawaz, Omar A. Al-Faraj, Naser A. Ajmi, Amir H. Awan, Jaywant Verma and Sukesh Ganda

ABSTRACT success story about the introduction of OHSDTR in

deep gas drilling.
This article describes the application of the open hole
sidetrack (OHSDTR) technique to drill deep gas INTRODUCTION
multilateral horizontal wells in Saudi Arabia. The
drawbacks of earlier whipstock exits were studied and The deep gas wells are predominantly drilled in the
an alternate technique was proposed and southern Ghawar field. The late Permian Khuff B and
implemented. Khuff C stacked carbonate reservoirs are the main gas
The typical approach to drilling Khuff dual laterals producing zones at depths of 11,500 ft to 12,000 ft.
was to drill the lower lateral and then set whipstock, Conventionally, single lateral wells were drilled
and cut a window in the base Khuff B, and drill the through Khuff C layers covering the horizontal section
upper lateral. Various problems observed using this of around 5,000 ft. Drilling deep wells involved high
technique were: costs, therefore technical feasibility was conducted to
drill and complete these wells as dual laterals that
1. Problem setting whipstock. would increase the reservoir contact area, resulting in
2. Premature setting while running in hole. enhanced production at lesser costs compared to
3. Problem cutting the window. Mill twist offs drilling two single laterals.
leading to a long fishing operation; in some Whipstock technique was initially employed for
cases setting another whipstock and cutting drilling dual laterals. After drilling the first lateral it was
another window. isolated by setting a packer, followed by setting a
4. Milling the top of the whipstock while cutting retrievable whipstock in the base of Khuff B, and
the window leading to a severe problem in cutting a window in the casing for drilling the second
retrieving the whipstock. lateral. Though whipstock was a known and proven
technique for a casing exit, various failures and
Whipstock from different companies were tried, problems in deep gas drilling led to excessive
however, we could not get rid of multiple failures while nonproductive time and associated costs. Problems
milling and retrieving the whipstock. Even with faced in deep gas drilling range from difficulties in
modifications, a new whipstock system was tried in setting whipstock at deeper depths, mill twist off while
which milling was done in two parts: a first run with the cutting windows in higher grade casings, and drilling a
milling machine to mill only the casing, and a second rat hole in extremely hard formations, to complications
run with different mills to cut the window through to in retrieving whipstock.
formation, but problems continued. Saudi Aramco and Until 2006, whipstock was the only option to drill
Schlumberger D&M came up with the idea of drilling dual laterals, however, a higher failure rate led to the
dual laterals using an OHSDTR technique to avoid need for a different approach to drill dual laterals in
complications due to whipstock failure. Well HRDH- deep gas drilling. Joint efforts were made by Saudi
XYZ was the first successful dual lateral horizontal Aramco and Schlumberger personnel to study the
Khuff C gas producer drilled with the OHSDTR alternate approach open hole sidetrack (OHSDTR)
technique, in a record time of 98.8 days against the and its associated risks, including exposing various
165 days planned, the technique saved approximately Khuff C layers with different pressures, stuck pipe due
$975,000 and two weeks of rig time. to differential pressures, lateral isolation, bit selection,
This was a step change in drilling practice, to drill weight transfer issues to initiate sidetrack at deeper
dual laterals saving considerable rig days to Saudi depths, and the ability to re-enter into both laterals
Aramco, and removing the time consuming whipstock prior to final completion.
operation to the extent of losing the well, due to
unsuccessful whipstock retrieval. This technique TYPICAL WELL DESIGN
brought a transformation in the way dual lateral wells
were drilled in deep gas drilling in Saudi Arabia. Later Two different types of casing designs are used while
on, a similar technique was applied in drilling dual drilling these deep gas wells, namely “K1” and “K2.”
laterals in the Khuff B reservoir as well. Since the Figure 1 shows the comparison of the casing designs.
introduction of this technique on well HRDH-XYZ, 50 In the conventional K2 well profile, a 13 3/8” casing is
wells have been drilled successfully saving set from the surface to 30 ft into the base of Jilh
(approximately) 735 days to Saudi Aramco. This article dolomite. A 12” build section is drilled and a 9 5/8”
further details challenges, lessons learned and a casing is set at about 70° inclination into the Khuff C

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2009

Fig. 1. Typical casing designs; K2 vs. K1.

carbonate. After setting the 9 5/8” casing, 8 3/8” dual

laterals are drilled. The first lateral is drilled either in
the desired layer of interest, or as a slanted pilot hole MWD
cutting through all Khuff layers for geological
evaluation and finalizing the Khuff C layer of interest
for the second lateral.
In a typical K1 design, instead of a 13 3/8” casing, RUNNING
TOOL
a 9 5/8” casing is set 30 ft into the base of the Jilh
dolomite formation. The build section is a 8 3/8” hole 1 JT DRILL
PIPE
size drilled to the Khuff C carbonate with a 7” liner run.
The 5 7/8” dual laterals are drilled in the Khuff C
reservoir layers.
K2 is preferred over the K1 casing design because MILL

it gives the opportunity to set additional casing string,

in case high-pressure is encountered in the Jilh
formation while drilling the 12” hole section
WHIPSTOCK
DRILLING DUAL LATERALS WITH
WHIPSTOCK
Packer with magnum disc is set in the casing to isolate
the first lateral. A scrapper run is then made to clean
the casing prior to running in hole with retrievable
whipstock for cutting a window in the casing. Figure 2 Fig. 2. Whipstock BHA.
shows a typical whipstock bottom-hole assembly
(BHA), which mainly consists of a whipstock, mills, flex Whipstock Operations
sub, DP single, running tool and a measurement while
drilling (MWD) tool. The top part of the whipstock is in The whipstock is run to the desired depth and oriented
the shape of a wedge with a tapered concave face1. to the required direction using the MWD tool. Then the
The taper depends on the build rate required for the whipstock is set and released from the running tool by
lateral. The commonly used taper in gas drilling is in shearing the running bolts.
the range of 1.5° to 3°. The upper section of the The next operation is cutting the casing window.
whipstock has a slot to provide a means for attaching Casing milling is done to cut a window in the casing,
the retrieving tool. and then to further drill a rat hole to allow smooth

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2009

 operations. If mills are undergauge, a second mill run
is required to ensure there is a full gauge casing
window with a new set of full gauge mills2.
After cutting the window, the directional drilling
BHA, comprising of either a mud motor or powered
rotary steerable system, is run in the hole and drilling
of the borehole commences through the pre-cut
window. Figure 4 shows the vertical section and the
plain view of a typical well profile with a whipstock
casing exit.
Once the upper lateral is drilled, the whipstock is
retrieved to gain access to the lower lateral and
completing the well. The whipstock retrieving tool is
designed to self-align and mate with the slots in the top
of the whipstock. The retrieving tool run on the
drillstring is latched on to the whipstock and the
whipstock is pulled out of the hole for running the
completion string.
Analysis of data for all dual lateral wells drilled in
2005-2006 using the whipstock technique showed a
success rate of only 36%. This data does not include
the additional number of trips made to cut the casing
window in some cases. There were five incidents when
it took from 10 to 25 days of rig time to retrieve the
Fig. 3. Cutting window and drilling rat hole. whipstock.

passage for drilling assemblies, Fig. 3. Upon OHSDTR: A STEP CHANGE IN DRILLING
completion of the window, the milling assembly is DUAL LATERALS
worked through the window several times to ensure a
smooth window. Upon completion of the window, mills Well HRDH-XYZ was the first in deep gas drilling in
are pulled out of the hole and inspected for outside Saudi Arabia that was planned and completed as a
diameter gauge. If the top mill is less than 1/8” dual lateral using the OHSDTR technique. The well
undergauge, then one can proceed with drilling was planned as a K2 design; drilling 12” build section

Vertical Section

Drilling through
unproductive
formation prior to
entering into the
reservoir.

Fig. 4. Dual lateral well profile with whipstock casing exit.

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2009
 OHSDTR point

Fig. 5. Selecting sidetrack point for OHSDTR.

and landing at 72° inclination, followed by drilling two Selection of Sidetrack Point
8 3/8” laterals. The plan was first to drill the upper
lateral with a 4,000 ft of reservoir contact targeting the Selection of the sidetrack point was important for a
Khuff C4 layer, followed by sidetracking from the upper successful OHSDTR. The sidetrack point was picked
lateral using the OHSDTR technique, and drilling a after studying logging while drilling (LWD) log
lower lateral in the Khuff C7 layer. Successful response, including density image, neutron porosity
execution of HRDH-XYZ came out after detailed and density data, survey listing and slide sheet data of
preplanning as described in the next paragraphs. the first lateral already drilled, Fig. 5. The idea was to

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2009

 Drill Pipe

5" HW DP

Drill Pipe

HW DP

Jar

HW DP

Fig. 6. Sidetrack bit flat profile with short gauge.

NMHW DP

pick up a competent formation with a possible highside

slide while drilling the first lateral. This helps in getting
a quick separation between two laterals while NMSS
executing the OHSDTR.

Bit Selection PowerPulse

A dedicated sidetrack bit was carefully selected based

on its profile, gauge length and side cutting action. A NMSS
flat profile and the short gauge bit were chosen to
provide a sharp edge for enhanced side-cutting ability, Flex Joint w/ float
Fig. 6. Its low aspect ratio and less aggressive face
helped in giving better steerability. Further, the cutting
Mud Motor
structure was designed to give maximum side cutting
capability in a relatively low rate of penetration (ROP)
8 3/8 " Bit
for controlled drilling applications. The bit was not
designed for fast drilling or long intervals, but was
suitable for OHSDTRs.
Fig. 7. OHSDTR BHA.
BHA Configuration and Execution of OHSDTR
helped to avoid the need for picking up the drillstring
For the optimal BHA to do the sidetrack job, various for making any connections while time drilling for
bent housing settings and stabilization points were run sidetrack. To avoid any possible error due to drillpipe
through a BHA tendencies program. Based on results tally, a check shot was taken prior to initiating sidetrack
and local knowledge of the formations, it was decided and compared it to the original hole survey to confirm
to run a 6¾” motor with 1.83° bend and 8¼” sleeve on the sidetrack point. Additional precaution was taken by
the motor. Figure 7 shows the sidetrack BHA. The gamma ray (GR) correlation with the previous lateral.
drillstring was spaced out to have the sidetrack point Once the sidetrack point was confirmed with the
close to the first tool joint of the stand, so that we had checkshot and GR correlation, the string was worked
about 60 ft of drillpipe above the rotary table. Doing so about 15 ft above the sidetrack point with a tool face of

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2009

180° for 1 hour. Every time when it reached the completion purpose. A BHA comprised of a bull nose,
sidetrack point, the bit was kept there for 2-3 minutes 2° bent sub and MWD was utilized for entering into the
with an objective to cut a groove and create a ledge on laterals. At the sidetrack point, the BHA was oriented
the low side of the hole. For successful OHSDTR, the to the high side, and entered into the upper lateral
bit needed to be given sufficient time to undercut the without any problems. After displacing the upper lateral
hole, therefore time drilling was initiated with 1 ft/hr at with brine pulled out to above the sidetrack point, and
the low side of the tool face. After time drilling for 12 ft, oriented to the low side to enter into the lower lateral it
the rate of drilling was increased to 2 ft/hr and another entered the lower lateral without any hindrance, and
6 ft of hole was drilled. At this moment, the time drilling displaced the lower lateral and pulled to surface.
speed was increased to 3 ft/hr and it was observed Well HRDH-XYZ was successfully drilled and
that the measurement while drilling (MWD) tool face completed as the first dual lateral in deep gas drilling in
started moving to the left due to reactive torque; and Saudi Arabia utilizing the OHSDTR technique. The
increase in weight on bit (WOB) was also observed well was completed in a record time of 98.8 days
along with differential pressure, which was an against 165 days planned. The OHSDTR technique
indication that the bit had started cutting the new saved approximately $975,000 and two weeks of rig
formation. After observing the change in the tool face time compared to conventional whipstock technique.
with an increase in WOB, the drilling speed was
progressively increased to 4-5 ft/hr and slide drilling LESSONS LEARNED AND
was continued for another 10 ft to gain further
separation from the motherbore. Turning the string
RECOMMENDATIONS
while time drilling was avoided as a change in the tool
face would be a true indication of the success of Taking a check shot survey prior to initiating sidetrack,
OHSDTR. Differential pressure, at least in early stages and comparing it with original holes survey is important
of time drilling, is sometimes not a very reliable means for avoiding any possibility of sidetracking at an
of gauging progress of sidetrack as there may be incorrect depth, due to a possible error in the drillpipe
changes in mud properties, which can result in varying tally. The sidetrack point should also be confirmed by
pressure. Also, for the same reasons, WOB is not the doing GR correlation.
best indicator of the progress in the early stages. Once Picking up the bit off bottom should be avoided
all the positive indications of a successful sidetrack while doing time drilling for the OHSDTR. To avoid
were observed, including differential pressure, reactive picking up string for connection during time drilling, it is
torque and WOB, the sidetrack BHA was pulled out of suggested to space out the drillstring in such a way
hole for picking up a directional BHA for further drilling that the planned sidetrack point is close to the first tool
a 5,000 ft lateral through the Khuff C7 layer. Figure 8 joint, or there should be about 60 ft of drillpipe above
shows the profile of the well using the OHSDTR the rotary table. Doing so avoids making any
technique. connections while time drilling.
After successfully drilling both the laterals, it was It is recommended to reciprocate the string for
required to displace the drilling fluid in both legs for about an hour at low side prior to time drilling for

Vertical Section

Fig. 8. Dual lateral well profile with OHSDTR technique.

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2009

sidetrack. This cuts a groove at low side, which helps REFERENCES
in initiating sidetrack and subsequent entering into the
sidetrack lateral with a directional BHA. 1. Konopczynski, M.R., Hughes, J. and Best, J.E.: “A
WOB and increase in on bottom pressure are not Novel Approach to Initiating Multilateral Horizontal
always confirmation of successful OHSDTR. Surface Wells,” SPE paper 29385, presented at the
WOB may be due to drag, and pressure increase may SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, The
be due to change in mud properties. One needs to Netherlands, February 28 - March 2, 1995.
look for reactive torque or a change in tool face,
coupled with WOB and motor differential as a positive 2. Hinojosa, R., Ryan, J., Wyman, R. and Wiley, B.:
indication of OHSDTR. For this reason it is “Whipstock Performance Review in Gulf Coast
recommended not to turn the drillstring while time Region Yields Operational,” SPE paper 39402,
drilling. presented at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference,
Successful transfer of weight to bit is the key to Dallas, Texas, March 3-6, 1998.
OHSDTR. Sometimes weight transfer to the bit
becomes a problem in deep gas drilling. This is due to
differential sticking, due to cutting through various
Khuff C layers having different reservoir pressure.
Drilling challenges faced in the first lateral, and ease of
weight transfer to the bit should be considered while
selecting the OHSDTR point. Further density and
porosity logs, directional surveys and slide sheet of the
previous lateral should be referred while finalizing the
sidetrack point. Sidetracking in harder formation
requires relatively longer time drilling.
Based on success and lessons learned from the
Khuff C OHSDTR, the technique was implemented in
the Khuff B formation. Khuff B is comparatively harder
formation than Khuff C. To be able to effectively
sidetrack in Khuff B formations, 2.12° motor bend
setting and a revised time drilling schedule was
formulated. There have been only two incidents when
the well was not sidetracked in the first attempt in very
hard Khuff B reservoir with porosities ranging in 2-3
porosity units, however, the bit was found damaged in
both cases. Sidetrack was then successfully
completed in subsequent runs with a new bit and
revised time drilling plan.

CONCLUSIONS
Successful drilling of the HRDH-XYZ dual lateral with
the OHSDTR technique brought a transformation in
deep gas drilling in Saudi Arabia. It is now considered
as the preferred choice for drilling multilaterals. Like
whipstock, OHSDTR is not a positive sidetrack
mechanism and there is a certain amount of risk
involved, however, careful planning and execution of
the sidetrack led to a 96% success rate. A total of 48
out of 50 dual lateral wells were successfully
sidetracked in the first attempt. Saudi Aramco has
saved 735 rig days using the OHSDTR technique in
deep gas drilling.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank Saudi Aramco management
for their support and permission to present the
information contained in this article. The authors also
thank Mr. Hussain M. Al-Haleimi, Mr. Thafnan F.
Dossary and Mr. Hussain A. Al-Yami for their
guidance, support and technical assistance.

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2009

 Khalid Nawaz joined the Saudi Aramco Amir H. Awan is the Operations
in 2005 and currently works as a Manager for Schlumberger D&M in
Drilling Engineer on a deep gas rig, and ‘Udhailiyah. Prior to this position, he
also as an acting Supervisor in the Gas was regional Technical Manager for
Development Drilling Department. He East Africa and the Eastern
has 19 years of drilling experience in all Mediterranean region supporting
phases of drilling. D&M operations in Egypt, Sudan,
Khalid received his B.E. degree in Mechanical Syria, Jordan, Tanzania and Kenya.
Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology, Amir received his B.S. (Honors) degree in
Ranchi, India, and went to work in drilling for the Oil Mechanical Engineering from University of Engineering
and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in India. During and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan in 1993. He has 14
his 16 years there, he also worked in the R&D Institute years of industry experience; is an active Society of
and the technology group in Bombay Offshore. Khalid Petroleum Engineers (SPE) member and has
is also associated with and worked as an executive published several technical papers for SPE. Amir
committee member with Petrotech, the Indian oil and specializes in directional drilling, measurements while
gas conference and exhibition held every 2 years in drilling, logging while drilling, geosteering, drilling
India. engineering and drilling optimization techniques.

Omar A. Al-Faraj joined Saudi Aramco Jaywant Verma is a Drilling

after finishing high school in 1980. He Engineering Manager working with
then went on to receive his B.S. degree Schlumberger Drilling & Measurement.
in Petroleum Engineering from Tulsa He has 21 years of experience in the
University, Tulsa, OK in 1985. Omar drilling industry. Jaywant’s areas of
has worked in several departments expertise are drilling engineering and
within Saudi Aramco, mostly in drilling, directional drilling. His key achieve-
i.e., production, reservoir, data management and ments in deep gas drilling in Saudi Arabia are the
drilling engineering and operations. He is currently successful introduction of powered rotary steerable
working in the Exploration Drilling Department as an systems (vorteX*), the open hole side track technique
Exploration Drilling Engineering General Supervisor. to drill challenging Khuff laterals and the planning and
execution of medium and short radius wells. These
techniques have helped in improving drilling
performance and extending the frontier of drilling and
Naser A. Al-Ajmi is a Reservoir workover operations. His areas of interest include
Engineer working in the Gas Reservoir drilling optimization, performance improvement and
Management Division. He joined Saudi introduction of new technologies to provide solutions to
Aramco in 1996 after receiving his B.S. drilling problems.
degree in Chemical Engineering from Jaywant received his B.S. degree in Mechanical
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Engineering in 1986 from the University of Rajasthan,
Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Jaipur, India.
Arabia.
Naser has worked in several departments within
the Company, including production engineering,
reservoir description and reservoir simulation. He has Sukesh Ganda is a Senior Drilling
also been part of several projects and reservoir Engineer with Schlumberger, Drilling &
development assignments for the Kingdom’s Gas Measurements with 10 years of
Program. petroleum industry experience.
Currently, he is handling Saudi
Aramco’s deep gas drilling operations
in ‘Udhailiyah. Sukesh’s main
responsibilities include pre-job well analysis and
planning, monitoring and optimizing drilling execution,
mentoring the directional drilling group, lessons
learned capturing, and operations support. He also
handles Saudi Aramco’s drilling related technical
requirements on a day to day basis. Sukesh has been
a key team player in the introduction and induction of
vortex* services in the deep gas environment in Saudi
Arabia.

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2009