Extended Reach Drilling ERD Design in Deepwater Application

Abstract Characteristic difference between Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) well and conventional directional well often cause problem in drilling an ERD well. Drag, torque, and hook load force that occur in an ERD well is higher than conventional well, because of long Horizontal Displacement and near 90° lateral inclination angle which are characteristics of an ERD well. Three critical parameters are affected by that characters, those parameters are: drill string design, casing design, and hydraulic design. Drill string design optimization in ERD well is analyzed based on four basic parameters, those are: neutral point, torque force, hook load force, and axial force. Casing design optimization is analyzed from hook load force that occurs when picking up and slacking off. For casing design, there are three alternative methods: conventional method, casing floatation or negative weight method, and partial floatation method. Hydraulic design optimization is analyzed base on cutting concentration, mud weight, and drill string rotary speed. Rig specification in drilling an ERD well is based on minimum requirement for rig hookload, rig drawwork, and pump power. Software with 3D trajectory visualization feature has been developed to calculate tubular and hydraulic design sensitivity regarding to friction force and pipe composition. In a study case, ERD method will be applied for deep water drilling process to extent the cluster system range. By using the developed software, calculation result gives information about ERD design optimization for similar case.