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5 - Well Trajectory Design

The document discusses directional well surveys and trajectory design. It provides details on: - The purpose of directional surveys is to determine wellbore location and monitor well path to ensure targets are reached. Surveys measure depth, inclination, and hole direction. - Trajectory design calculates 3D wellbore coordinates using survey measurements to plot the path. Design considers build and turn rates to navigate to targets while avoiding other wells. - Dogleg severity expresses curvature in degrees per 100 feet and is calculated from build and turn rates to evaluate wellbore shape.

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100% found this document useful (1 vote)
1K views74 pages

5 - Well Trajectory Design

The document discusses directional well surveys and trajectory design. It provides details on: - The purpose of directional surveys is to determine wellbore location and monitor well path to ensure targets are reached. Surveys measure depth, inclination, and hole direction. - Trajectory design calculates 3D wellbore coordinates using survey measurements to plot the path. Design considers build and turn rates to navigate to targets while avoiding other wells. - Dogleg severity expresses curvature in degrees per 100 feet and is calculated from build and turn rates to evaluate wellbore shape.

Uploaded by

Ali Abdullah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Well Trajectory Design

EE060-3.5-3
Advanced Drilling Engineering
Directional Survey
• The method used to obtain the measurements needed to
calculate and plot the 3D well path is called directional survey.

• Purpose of directional survey:


– Determine the exact bottomhole location to monitor reservoir
performance.
– Monitor the actual well path to ensure the target will be reached.
– Orient deflection tools for navigating well paths.
– Ensure that the well does not intersect nearby wells.
– Calculate the TVD of the various formations to allow geological
mapping.
– Evaluate the Dog Leg Severity (DLS), which is the total angular
inclination and azimuth in the wellbore, calculated over a standard
length (100 ft or 30 m).
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Measured Parameters in Directional
Survey
• Measured depth (MD)
– MD is the actual depth of the hole drilled to any point along the
wellbore or to total depth, as measured from the surface location.
Inclination is the angle, measured in degrees, by which the wellbore
or survey-instrument axis varies from a true vertical line.
• Inclination
– An inclination of 0° would be true vertical, and an inclination of 90°
would be horizontal. Hole direction is the angle, measured in degrees,
of the horizontal component of the borehole or survey-instrument axis
from a known north reference. This reference is true north, magnetic
north, or grid north, and is measured clockwise by convention.
• Hole direction
– Hole direction is measured in degrees and is expressed in either
azimuth (0 to 360°) or quadrant (NE, SE, SW, NW) form.

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• Each recording of MD, inclination, and hole direction is taken
at a survey station, and many survey stations are obtained
along the well path.

• The measurements are used together to calculate the 3D


coordinates, which can then be presented as a table of
numbers called a survey report. Surveying can be performed
while drilling occurs or after it has been completed.

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Exercise 1

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Basic Concepts

• The distance from rotary table to Point B as measured along


the wellbore is called a measured depth.
• The vertical distance from rotary table to Point B is called a
true vertical depth
• The inclination angle ‘I’ is the angle between vertical and the
wellbore.
• The direction angle ‘A’ is specified as the azimuth between the
geographic north and the projection of a wellbore on a
horizontal plane.

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Basic Concepts

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• The continuous curve O-S represents the well trajectory
(wellbore center line). Let us consider a small element ‘ds’
with the components of dx, dy and dz.
• Since the element ‘ds’ is small we can approximate it as a
straight segment with the inclination angle I and azimuth A.
• The projection of the small element ‘ds’ on a horizontal plane
we denote as ‘dl’. As we move along the well path, in general,
both inclination angle and azimuth will change.
• In other words, hole inclination angle and azimuth are
functions of measured depth‘s’.

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• Build rate: rate of change of hole inclination angle along the well
path

• Horizontal turn rate: rate of change of azimuth angle along the


projection of well path on a horizontal plane

• Turn rate: rate of change of azimuth along the well path

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• In directional drilling the build and turn rates are usually
expressed in deg/100ft (deg/30m) and care should be
exercised when calculations are carried out in a consistent
system of units (radians rather than degrees).
• The rate of change can be positive or negative depending
whether the angles increase or decrease with the measured
depth.
• For example, the negative build rate indicates that the
inclination angle decreases with depth and then it is usually
called a drop rate.

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• The task of the designer is to calculate the coordinates, of all
other points on the well path.
• This is usually accomplished in a stepwise manner by
selecting the subsequent point on the trajectory distance Δs
(measured along the trajectory) from the initial point (e.g.
KOP).
• To carry out the required calculations assumptions must
frequently be made about well path build and turn rates as
well as hole inclination and directions angles.
• Calculations are repeated until a smooth well path is obtained
that will reach the target / targets.

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2D Assumption

• When a well path is confined to a vertical plane, its azimuth


‘A” is constant along the trajectory. Then, the equations take
forms of:

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2D and R Constant Assumption
• If a wellbore segment is a circular arc with the radius R, the build
rate is constant and equal to 1/R. Then, the equation take forms
as:

• The parameter x = +1 for positive turn rate and x = -1 for


negative rate. R = 1/B
• The horizontal departure HD between point 1 and point 2 is

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Example 1

Consider two points on a curved part of a trajectory located in a


vertical plane with the azimuth A = 60°. The hole inclination angle at
Point 1 is I1 = 65° and point 2 is I2 = 32°.
The drop off rate is 6.5°/100 ft. (B = −6.5°/100 ft). The rectangular
coordinates of Point 1 are x1 = 1650 ft., y1 = 2858 ft. and z1 = 4250 .
Calculate:
i. x, y, z coordinates at Point 2
ii. Radius of curvature R
iii. Horizontal departure between Point 1 and Point 2
iv. Length of the segment Δs

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Solution

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Wellbore Curvature
(Dogleg Severity)
• In directional drilling nomenclature, the wellbore curvature is
frequently named as a dogleg severity (DLS) and expressed in
deg/100ft as mentioned in the earlier lectures.
• We know from the course on calculus that the curvature of a 3D
curve can be calculated as follows:

• The equation gives curvature in any consistent system of units


e.g. 1/ft , 1/m.

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• In practical directional drilling terminology drillers frequently use the
term the dogleg severity rather than curvature and express it in
degrees per unit length. If the dogleg severity is expressed in
deg/100ft. (imperial unit):

• Note: the unit of curvature K is 1/ft. And 180° equivalent to p in


radian. Therefore the unit of DLS is degrees/100ft.

• The radius of curvature R is defined as the inverse of curvature:

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• The wellbore curvature in terms of build rate, turn rate and
hole inclination angle is given as:

• The equation can also be written in terms of build rate and


horizontal turn rate:

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• The overall angle change (dogleg) between two points on wellpath
is defined as the angle between the tangent lines at the two points
under considerations.
• The curvature is the rate of overall angle change along the
trajectory; therefore, the overall angle change "β " between two
neighboring points on the trajectory located Δs apart is obtained by
integrating curvature along the trajectory as follows:

• Note that:

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• If there is no change in azimuth along the well path, the
dogleg (DL) would be:

• Lubinski (1953) was the first to derive the equation for


dogleg with a change in azimuth along the well path:

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Design of 2D Well Profiles

• Typically the design of a directional well profile consists of two


phases:
– Firstly a wellpath is constructed to connect target with the
surface location and then adjustments are made to
account for factors that will eventually influence the final
trajectory.
– After the base well trajectory is calculated the designer
needs to make corrections to compensate for the
anticipated effects related to drill pipe rotation (bit walk),
formation hardness and dip angle, type of drillbits etc.
Bit walk: the natural tendency of the drill bit to drift in a lateral
direction during drilling and occurs in every operation

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Type I: Build and Hold (Slant)

= HD

b = I 2 – I1 = I 2

= HD
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• Combining these equations give:

• If target total vertical depth TVD, kick off point depth KOP,
horizontal departure DT and radius of build section are given then
the equation can be solved for the dogleg angle β (slant angle):

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Example 2

• Design trajectory of a slant type offshore well for the conditions


as stated below:
- Elevation (above sea level) = 780 ft. It is required to find:

- Target depth (sub-sea) = -5374 ft. 1. Slant angle, β

- Target south coordinate = 2147 ft. 2. Vertical depth at the beginning of


tangent part
- Target east coordinate = 3226 ft.
3. Departure at the beginning of tangent
- Declination = 6° E
part
- KOP depth = 1510 ft.
4. Measured depth to the target
- Build-up rate = 2°/100 ft.

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(ab)

(bc)

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Radius of Curvature

• Typically, horizontal wells are classified by their radius of


curvature as follows:
– Long radius with the radius R = 1000 - 3000 ft (DLS = 6 – 2
deg/100ft)
– Medium radius with the radius R = 200 - 1000 ft (DLS = 30 –
6 deg/100ft)
– Short radius with the radius R = 30 - 200 ft (DLS = 180 – 30
deg/100ft)
• There are also ultra short radius systems that apply high
pressure jetting techniques for turning the well from vertical to
horizontal.

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• In practical applications, horizontal wells are high angle wells with the
inclination angle in the range of about 80 deg to 100 deg. An ideal horizontal
well, as the name indicates, is with the inclination angle equal to 90 deg.

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Exercise

It is desired to design the simple tangent horizontal well profile


given:
• KOP = 8206 ft.
• TVD = 9000 ft.
• Tangent length = 120 ft
• Tangent angle = 50 deg
• Target angle = 90 deg. at TVD
• The expected build rate is 8 deg/100 ft.

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b1

b1

b2

90o
b1
b1

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Dz1 = ab
ab= R sin b = 716 x sin 50 = 549 ft.

bd

dg

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Design of 3D Well Profiles

In engineering practice any


well trajectory that is not
located in a vertical plane is
considered as a 3D well.

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• In general, the design task is to construct a 3D smooth path
that connects the surface or subsurface location to a know
target or targets.
• In addition to 3D geometrical requirements the designer must
also consider other factors related to the drilling process such
as drill string mechanical integrity, wellbore stability, cuttings
transport, running casing, cementing and perforating
operations etc.
• For the purpose of the well-path optimization we usually use
minimum cost of drilling or minimum drilling time as the
optimization criteria.

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Design of 3D Well Profiles

1. Average Angle Method


2. Tangential Method
3. Balanced Tangential Method
4. Radius of Curvature Method
5. Minimum Curvature Method

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Average Angle Method

• One of the earlier methods is the


so called Average Angle Method
(AAM). When using the average
angle method, the inclination
and azimuth at the lower and
upper survey stations are
mathematically averaged.

• The wellbore course is assumed


to be tangential to the average
inclination and azimuth.
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Since the average angle method is both fairly
accurate and easy to calculate, it is the method that
can be used in the field if a programmable calculator
or computer is not available.

The error will be small and well


within the accuracy needed in the
field provided the distance between
surveys is not too great.

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Example 3
Measure the wellbore length when the actual measured depth
from I1 to I2, ΔMD = 400ft.
I1 = 14° A1 = 20°
I2 = 24° A2 = 80°

ΔTVD = ΔMD x Cos(I1+I2)/2


= 400 x Cos (14° + 24°)/2 = 378.20 ft

ΔNorth = ΔMD x Sin(I1+I2)/2 x Cos(A1+A2)/2


= 400 x Sin (14° + 24°)/2 x Cos (20° + 80°)/2 = 83.71 ft

ΔEast = ΔMD x Sin(I1+I2)/2 x Sin(A1+A2)/2


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= (400) x Sin (14° + 24°)/2 x Sin (20° + 80°)/2 = 99.70 ft
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Exercise

Calculate the rectangular coordinates of a well for


the depth range from 8,000 to 8,400 ft. The KOP is
at 8,000 ft, and the build rate is 1°/100 ft, using a
lead of 10° and a right-hand walk rate of 1°/100 ft
(the turn rate in a horizontal plane). The direction of
the target is N30E. Assume that the first 200 ft is to
set the lead, where the direction is held constant to
8,200 ft and then turns right at a rate of 1°/100 ft.

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Solution

• The origin of the coordinates is set at the top of the hole ( x0 = 0, y0 = 0, z0


= 0) and the first segment is vertical, hence the inclination angle I1 = 0
deg. and the azimuth is undetermined. The coordinates of kick off point
are: x1 = 0 ft, y1 = 0 ft and z1 = 8000 ft.
• For the point located at Δs = 100 ft. from the kick off point we calculate:
Note A2 = 30 – lead angle = 30 – 10 = 20o.

(100)

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• From the depth of 8100 ft. to 8200 ft. the inclination angle is
increased to 2 deg. And azimuth is N20E.

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• From 8200 ft to 8300 ft the inclination angle is increased to 3
deg. and azimuth to N21E hence we calculate:

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• From 8300 ft. to 8400 ft. the inclination and azimuth
angles increase to 4 deg. and N22E and we get:

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Tangential
• This method uses the inclination and hole direction at the
lower end of the course length to calculate a straight line
representing the wellbore that passes through the lower end of
the course length.

• Because the wellbore is assumed to be a straight line throughout


the course length, it is the most inaccurate of the methods
discussed and should be abandoned completely.

• With the tangential method, the greater the build or drop rate,
the greater the error. Also, the distance between surveys has an
effect on the quantity of the error. If survey intervals were 10 feet
or less, the error would be acceptable.

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ΔNorth = ΔMD SinI2 x Cos A2
ΔEast = ΔMD SinI2 x Sin A2  ΔTVD = ΔMD CosI2 

I1I2 is the actual wellbore course.


To calculate the inclination at I2,
draw a tangent to I2.

The tangential method states that


the tangent drawn at the survey
station I2 is the assumed wellbore
course and angle A is the required
inclination which is similar to
inclination at I2.

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Example 4
Measure the wellbore length when the actual measured depth
from I1 to I2, ΔMD = 400ft.
I1 = 14° A1 = 20°
I2 = 24° A2 = 80°

ΔNorth = ΔMD SinI2 x Cos A2  ΔTVD = ΔMD CosI2 


= (400 Sin 24°) x Cos 80° = 400 Cos 24°
= 365.42 ft.
= 28.25 ft

ΔEast = ΔMD SinI2 x Sin A2 


= (400 Sin 24°) x Sin 80°
= 160.22 ft

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Balanced Tangential Method

• Modifying the tangential method by taking the direction of the


top station for the first half of the course length, then that of
the lower station for the second half can substantially
reduce the errors in that method.

• This modification is known as the balanced-tangential


method. This method is very simple to program on hand-held
calculators and in spreadsheets and gives accuracy
comparable to the minimum-curvature method.

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Balanced Tangential Method

I1

A1

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This technique provides a
smoother curve which should
more closely approximate the
actual wellbore between
surveys.
The longer the distance
between survey stations, the
greater the possibility of error.
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This method assumes that the actual wellpath can be
approximated by two straight line segments of equal
length.
s
x   sin I1 cos A1  sin I 2 cos A2 
2
s
y   sin I1 sin A1  sin I 2 sin A2 
2
s
z   cos I 1  cos I 2 
2

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Example 5
Measure the wellbore length when the actual measured depth from
I1 to I2, ΔMD = 400ft.
I1 = 14° A1 = 20°
I2 = 24° A2 = 80°

ΔTVD = ΔMD/2 x (CosI1 + CosI2 )


= (400/2) x (Cos 14° + Cos 24°) = 376.8 ft

ΔNorth = ΔMD/2 x (SinI1 CosA1 + SinI2 x CosA2)


= (400/2) x (Sin 14° Cos 20° + Sin 24° Cos 80°) = 59.59 ft

ΔEast = ΔMD/2 x (SinI1 SinA1 + SinI2 SinA2)


= (400/2) x (Sin 14° Sin 20° + Sin 24° Sin 80°) = 96.66 ft
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Exercise

Survey 1 Survey 2
Depth = 3500 ft Depth = 3600 ft
Inclination = 15 degree (I1) Inclination = 25 degree (I2)
Azimuth = 20 degree (A1) Azimuth = 45 degree (A2)

Use the tangential and balanced tangential method to calculate


Dx, Dy, and Dz.

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Radius of Curvature
• Radius of Curvature Method is the most famous method for
directional survey calculation. It enables drillers to calculate
North, East and TVD between directional surveys based on the
Radius of Curvature Method.

• The radius of curvature method is currently considered to be


one of the most accurate methods available. The method
assumes the wellbore course is a smooth curve between the
upper and lower survey stations.

• The curvature of the arc is determined by the survey


inclinations and azimuths at the upper and lower survey
stations. The length of the arc between I1 and I2 is the
measured depth between surveys.
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B and H are constant implying
that the projections on the vertical
and horizontal plane have
constant curvature.
Rv = 1/B
Rh = 1/H

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Example 6
Measure the wellbore length when the actual measured depth from
I1 to I2, ΔMD = 400ft.
I1 = 14° A1 = 20°
I2 = 24° A2 = 80°

ΔTVD = [(180) (ΔMD) (SinI2 – SinI1 )] / π (I2 - I1)

ΔNorth = [(180)2 (ΔMD) (CosI1 – CosI2)(SinA2 – SinA1) ] / π2(I2 - I1) (A2 - A1)

ΔEast = [(180)2 (ΔMD) (CosI1 – CosI2)(CosA1 – CosA2) ] / π2(I2 - I1) (A2 - A1)

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Minimum Radius of Curvature

• This method smooth the two straight-line segments of the


Balanced Tangential Method using the Ratio Factor (RF).

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Example 7

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Solution
MD = 3600 – 3500 = 100 ft

North = 27.22 ft
East = 19.45 ft
TVD = 94.01 ft
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END OF LESSON

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