Remote Automated Directional Drilling Through Rotary Steerable Systems

Abstract

Rotary Steerable Systems (RSS) are well known as drilling optimization steering tools. Better borehole quality and faster rates of penetration are achieved by RSS capability to steer the wells without sliding. The evolution of RSS has been very rapid in the past several years, with most improvements focused on tool reliability, variety of collar sizes, electronics robustness and mechanical efficiency. This paper describes an innovative automated method for drilling directional wells remotely with RSS, which has been successfully deployed in south Mexico during 2008. The directional driller (DD) is located remotely in the operator's office with the ability to remotely control the mud pumps. If a command is required for changing the RSS program, the system remotely controls the rig pumps to execute the downlink sequence and change the downhole settings of the RSS. The automatic generation of the mud pulses to transmit the downlink sequences also eliminates missed commands due to human error. This system allows experienced DDs to control multiple operations, either directly through remotely drilling simultaneous wells or by providing direct supervision to less experienced DDs. The ability to have the DD work remotely with the well engineering team improves collaborative workflows to optimize drilling performance. Introduction Rotary Steerable Systems (RSS) have provided a step-change in the improvement of the rate of penetration (ROP) since their introduction in the last decade. There are multiple references of successes in different geological provinces; for example the North Sea (Eaton, 2005), the Gulf of Mexico (Chydi, 2008), the Middle East (Pratten, 2003) and many other places. Mexico is no exception; the RSS were introduced in 2005 with such success that in an onshore project in South Mexico the technology boosted the ROP from 90 meters per day to 170 meters per day through eliminating the slow ROP that is a consequence of slide drilling with motors (Figure 1). This increase in ROP, and corresponding reduction in required rig time, has enabled operators to significantly reduce well AFE costs. Aside from elimination of the slow "sliding" sections encountered while drilling with motors, RSS brings benefits from a well construction viewpoint. For example RSS leads to smooth wellbores, eliminating the "slide and rotate" profiles that characterize directional wells drilled by motors (Weijermans, 2001). This further reduces the well AFE by minimizing the problems due to running casing. Another example is that fully rotating systems reduce the risk of packoff due to poor hole cleaning found with some non-fully rotating systems (Riyami, 2008).

Drilling-Systems Automation: Current State, Initiatives, and Potential Impact

“…The delivery of remote surveillance is either through centralized solutions or on a point-to-point basis between the drilling engineer and the wellsite. Remote-surveillance technology is no longer new, and recent systems have demonstrated remote control of directional drilling (Melgares et al 2009). However, the question remains: How does a remote operation add value to the drilling system, and in particular, the automated drilling system?…”