Copyright 2003, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

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Abstract
Drilling with production casing while underbalanced is
improving the drilling performance dramatically in South
Texas fields. This approach allows drilling of depleted and
high pressure sands intermingled within one hole section,
resulting in significantly less expensive well plans. Drilling
cost reductions of 30% have been realized. Smaller reserve
targets are viable, a key advantage in the mature South Texas
Vicksburg play.

Introduction
Shell has developed and operated gas fields in South Texas for
the past 50 years. These 10,000 ft - 16,000 ft high pressure,
high temperature (HPHT) wells normally have initial shut in
tubing pressures approaching 10,000 psi when virgin pressure
sands are completed. The bottom hole temperatures range
from 280-400
o
F. Most wells have multiple low permeability
pay sands, which require massive hydraulic fracture
treatments to produce economically. Each pay interval is
fracture treated in a separate stage and the production from all
the sands is commingled.

Most current drilling activity is in and around mature
fields where large volumes of gas have been produced. Severe
reservoir pressure depletion intermingled with high pressure
sands is often encountered. The presence and level of pressure
depletion is difficult to predict due to complex geology, low
permeability and production commingling.

The underbalanced drilling with casing approach was first
applied to a slim-hole reentry program that began in 1995.
These reentries were either sidetracks to replace wells that
failed due to casing damage or wells that were deepened to
new objectives. The reentries normally cost half what a new
well would allowing smaller reserve targets to be drilled
economically. They were sidetracked out of the existing 5or
5- casing and a new string of 2-7/8 casing was run and
cemented. By 2000, remaining reentry candidates were
difficult to drill with lost circulation and well control problems
more common. The program was becoming uneconomic due
to the inability to set liners in the small hole size. Drilling
with casing
1,2
while underbalanced was applied to resolve
these problems and ten reentries have been drilled this way
since 2001. The low permeability Vicksburg sands allow
operations with a higher underbalance than would be possible
in most other applications.

The learnings from the reentry program have been
transferred to the drilling of new South Texas wells. Drilling
new wells with casing while underbalanced enables the casing
size programs to be reduced, eliminates liners and reduces
trouble cost resulting in cost savings of up to 30%. The
majority of Shells new South Texas wells utilize drilling with
casing while underbalanced.

Vicksburg Well Design Evolution
A typical South Texas well plan prior to 1990 (figure 1a)
required 13-3/8 surface casing and 9-5/8 protective casing,
with the option for a 7-5/8 liner when needed. Wells were
completed with 5 or 5- production casing, 2-7/8 tubing
and a permanent packer. The sands were produced one at a
time from bottom to top. A workover rig was used to plug
back and recomplete to the next zone. Well lives needed to be
30 years or longer which was beyond what a typical
Vicksburg well would last before failure.

In 1990, the new completion philosophy was to
commingle production from all sands (figure 1b).
Commingling accelerated production and reduced the
necessary well life, providing an opportunity to improve
drilling economics. In 1994, a change to a 3-1/2 tubingless
(or cemented completion) design (figure 1c) was made. The
9-5/8 protective casing was designed to withstand loads
under producing conditions in addition to being designed as
protective casing. This design change resulted in a 15%
decrease in well cost and the resulting monobore made multi-
stage completion operations much simpler.

During the same time, drilling problems due to reservoir
depletion became more common. Severe lost circulation in
depleted zones intermingled with high-pressure zones led to
costly well control problems. Poor reservoir pressure

SPE 84173
Underbalanced Drilling with Casing Evolution in the South Texas Vicksburg
Doug Gordon, SPE, Rich Billa, SPE, Mike Weissman, SPE, Shell Exploration and Production Company, Fu Hou, SPE,
Shell International Exploration and Production Inc.
2 SPE 84173
prediction due to the complex geology required well plans to
become more conservative. The standard 13-3/8 x 9-5/8 x
7-5/8 program often became 16 x 11- x 9-5/8 with a
7-5/8 contingent liner to set before drilling into a potentially
depleted zone. Although trouble costs were reduced total well
costs increase.

Through the late 90s, drilling mud lost circulation
material (LCM) pretreatments and squeeze through the bit
procedures to combat lost circulation were developed. With
these improvements, it became common to drill with a 5,000-
6,000 psi overbalance without a drilling liner. In cases where
lost circulation could not be controlled, the thief zone was
squeezed and a 7-5/8 liner was run above it so drilling could
proceed with a reduced mud weight.

By 2000, the overbalances were beyond the capabilities of
the LCM pretreatment techniques and casing programs for
new wells began to get larger in order to set an additional
liner. On the reentry wells, liners could not be run in the slim
holes. To continue drilling and reentering wells economically
the mud weight had to be reduced so that the overbalance was
manageable which caused much of the wellbore to be
underbalanced. Most of the wells could be drilled successfully
to TD but this underbalanced condition made it impractical to
trip in order to run production casing. Drilling with casing
was identified as a possible solution.

A drawback to drilling with casing while underbalanced is
that open hole logs are not obtained and the completion must
be done based on cased hole logs. Open hole log information
is generally not critical in the reentries since the open hole
logs from the original hole are available. This made the
reentries ideal candidates for the first underbalanced drilling
with casing attempts.

Re-entry Program
The reentries usually targeted partially depleted reservoirs
with anticipated shut-in tubing pressures (SITPs) of less than
7,000 psi. These wells had 5 or 5- production casing with
a premium connection which provided a second barrier if the
2-7/8 casing leaked after completion. The drill with casing
connection selected for the reentries was 2-7/8, RTS-6. This
connection has been used successfully as both work string and
production tubing in South Texas wells.

In a typical reentry (figure 2), the existing production
equipment is recovered as deeply as possible above the point
of casing failure. A whipstock is set and a window is cut in
the 5 or 5- casing. A modified drilling assembly is used
(figure 3) to drill with casing and work underbalanced. A
3-7/8 or 4-1/8 PDC bit is able to drill the entire interval, 500
ft-1800 ft without tripping. A back pressure valve is installed
in the bit sub and a landing nipple is run above the bottom
hole assembly (BHA) so an additional back pressure valve can
be run on wireline as back up. Watermelon mills are used
rather than stabilizers so the window can be elongated as
required. A profile for a latch-down cement wiper plug is run
above the drill collars. The drill string is not centralized and
the string is rotated during cementing to aid displacement.
The BHA is shortened to 100, which minimizes the rat hole
needed below the objectives sands. Drill string modeling of
the short BHA indicated minimal buckling problems because
of the small annular clearances. Short flag joints were spaced
out in the casing string for subsequent correlation purposes. A
surface stripper was used to divert the well returns and hold
well pressure so influx from underbalanced zones could be
managed. A remotely operated valve on the flow line was
added so that pressure on the backside could be held while
making connections to keep the bottom hole pressure constant.

The first three reentries drilled with casing were
representative of the entire program and demonstrate the
advantages of drilling with casing while working
underbalanced. Drilling started in the Well A sidetrack with
14.6 ppg oil based mud at 10,038 ft. After drilling to 10,056
ft, a high pressure (17.0 ppg) wet zone was encountered which
resulted in a steady water flow of approximately 2 bbls/hour.
Drilling continued at 3 fph while pumping 1-2 bpm, rotating
110 rpm, and maintaining 2000#-3000# WOB. The workover
rig had a small mud system (300 bbls) so the oil based mud
was discarded several times during the job due to water
contamination. As drilling continued through several depleted
zones the mud weight was adjusted between 14.6 and 17 ppg
in an attempt to balance the water flows and mud losses.
Water influx was minimized by ECD and by holding 300-500
psi on the annulus while making connections. Drilling
continued until complete returns were lost at 11,449 ft. The
mud weight could not be reduced any further due to the water
flow so a LCM cement squeeze was pumped and the 2-7/8
casing string was cemented in place in the 4-1/8 hole. The
final mud weight was 15.8 ppg. The 2-7/8 casing was
cemented with lighter cement, 15.3 ppg, to guard against lost
returns. The casing was not rotated but the cement bond
looked adequate on cased hole logs. Although the desired TD
and one of the reserve targets was not reached on this first drill
with casing well, the equipment all functioned well and there
were no directional problems with the shortened BHA. This
hole section was drilled with a mud weight 1.5 ppg lighter
than when originally drilled and could probably have not been
drilled using conventional drilling techniques without setting a
liner across the water sand.

Well B was sidetracked at 7,850 ft and drilled with 14.2
ppg oil based mud at 10-15 fph to 8,801 ft, just above the
known depleted sands. The mud weight was reduced to 12.7
ppg before drilling ahead. High background gas readings and
water influx were managed by holding 250 psi was held on the
annulus while making connections. The penetration rate
dropped to 1-2 fph in the depleted sands. Both seepage and pit
gains were observed from the intermingled zones. At 8,994 ft,
the mud weight was reduced to 12.2 ppg and the penetration
rate immediately increased back to 10-15 fph. At 9,625 ft, the
2-7/8 string was cemented in place with a 12.7 ppg slurry
while rotating. Subsequent cased hole logging indicated an
excellent cement bond. This section of hole was drilled with a
mud weight 2.5 ppg less than in the original hole.

Well C was sidetracked at 9,450 ft with 13.6 ppg oil
based mud. High background gas readings were observed. At
SPE 84173 3

9,515 ft the drill string started packing off and sticking in a
suspected fault zone. Mud weight was raised to 13.8 ppg and
the hole stabilized (normally the mud weight can be reduced
to 12 ppg before hole stability problems occur). Drilling
continued with high background gas readings and as each of
the four depleted sands were drilled the penetration rate
slowed to approximately 1 fph and the well started losing
mud. Full returns were lost several times. An LCM pill was
pumped to slow the losses and drilling continued. The water
influx continued to affect the mud properties so the mud
weight was raised to 14 ppg and additional pressure was held
on the stripper while making connections. In an attempt to
control losses, three LCM cement squeezes were pumped at
10,559 ft. They were not successful. An extremely difficult
interval was drilled with 3 ppg lighter mud than when
originally drilled. This interval could not have been drilled
with a conventional drilling operation.

The drilling with casing while underbalanced approach
was also used to deepen several existing wells. During 2001
and 2002, ten reentries were drilled with casing
underbalanced. Only one had a poor cement job (returns lost
while cementing) requiring remedial work. In most cases the
hole sections were drilled with considerably lighter mud
weight than previously possible, which allowed the intervals
to be drilled and improved the drilling performance through
the depleted sands. The reentry program is continuing in 2003
and the underbalanced drilling with casing approach is being
utilized in nearly all open hole operations.

First Application on New Well
Well D was the first new well which utilized underbalanced
drilling with casing techniques. A 7-5/8 liner was set above
five separate, depleted sands. The mud weight was cut from
17 ppg to 15 ppg to reduce the overbalance across the sands.
Drilling continued until the last zone was reached, where
higher than expected pressures were encountered and
background gas and connection gas readings increased. At
TD, the mud weight was increased to 15.8 ppg, but short trips
indicated the drill string could not be safely tripped. While
raising the weight to 16.0 ppg, complete returns were lost in
one of the upper zones, and the fluid level dropped 2600 ft.
The drill string was quickly tripped back into the 7-5/8 casing
shoe, at which point the lowermost, high-pressured sand began
to flow. The open hole was squeezed with LCM cement,
leaving 500 ft of cement inside the 7-5/8 shoe (figure 4a).

Normally at this point, an attempt would have been made
to clean out to above the high pressured sands so that a 5-1/2
drilling liner could be run across the depleted zones. Instead,
the decision was made to attempt to ream out the cement
squeeze with the production casing to TD and cement the
string similar to the successful reentry work. A 6- PDC bit
and a conventional double-valve float collar was run on the
bottom of 3-, 12.7 #/ft, L80, VAM. The string was tripped
to the top of cement, a rotating head was installed and the mud
weight was reduced to 15.0 ppg. The cement reaming torque
was limited to 2,000 ft-lbs since the make-up torque on the
VAM was 4,420 ft-lbs.

Gas was handled by a rotating head and a large gas
separator. The cement reaming was accomplished with low
torque due to the low compressive strength design of the LCM
cement. The cement was drilled out in 24 hours. At this
point, the mandrel hanger was positioned above the casing
bowl and the string was rotated at 20 rpms while cementing.
The tubing string was cemented with full returns and the
mandrel hanger landed and tested (figure 4b).

The underbalanced reaming with casing operation on the
Well D eliminated the need for a 5- liner saving $300,000.
This along with the reentry success indicated that drilling with
3- casing was feasible.

Drilling Casing Connection Testing
Most of the new wells in South Texas target some high
pressure reservoirs. The 3- production casing is designed
to handle both the high SITPs and stimulation pressures. A
3- casing connection was needed that could be used to drill
formation and then remain gas tight during high-pressure
production operations. Although reaming the casing string on
Well D had been successful, a casing connection with a high
torque yield rating and compression rating was necessary for
drilling new hole. The maximum drilling torque recorded at
the surface in most Vicksburg drilling operations is low (2,500
ft-lbs for 4- hole, 3,500 ft-lbs for 6- hole). To verify
load conditions a down hole memory tool was run to record
vibrations and shock loads while drilling 6- hole. No
severe vibrations or shock loads were recorded.

After reviewing the available connection capabilities, 3-
, 12.95 #/ft, L-80, Hydril 533 was chosen for testing
because of the high yield torque (9,900 ft-lbs) and the 100%
rating in compression. This connection has a smooth external
profile that would minimize wear in a rotating head. A field
test on a South Texas well was designed to test the connection
for gas sealing ability after being used as a drill string. Three
sets of four test connections were manufactured to the extreme
tolerances and tapers. The test connections were made up in
the worst case combinations and then run in the top, middle
and bottom of the string along with a down hole memory tool,
so the effect of various loading conditions on the connections
could be tested (figure 5). The test string was used to drill
from 9,063 ft-11,900 ft (2,837 ft) in 200 rotating hours with
2,000-3,000 ft-lbs surface torque, 3,000-7,000 lbs WOB and
110-150 rpms. A drill string vibration analysis had been run
forecast and the predicted excitation RPMs were avoided.
The bit was tripped once so that multiple field make and
breaks could be done on the test samples.

The recorded bottom hole vibration loads were minimal,
although some slip-stick could be observed. The test
connections were sent to the lab for testing. On breakout, the
maximum torque seen was 7,900 ft-lbs, even though the
maximum torque recorded at surface was only 3,000 ft-lbs.
Six samples, two from each section, were selected for a gas
sealing capability test, and two more were used for multiple
make and break galling tests. The gas sealing capability test
envelope test is shown in figure 6. The test parameters were
designed to apply the maximum expected loads while
4 SPE 84173
producing as follows: maximum internal pressure - 11,000 psi,
tension - 90% of pipe body yield, maximum compression - 90
Kips. Bending loads (20 degrees DLS) were applied with the
combined axial and pressure loads. Ten thermal cycles were
performed between 125 and 350 degrees F. Bending loads of
20 degrees DLS were also applied. All six samples passed the
gas sealing capability test without a leak.

Four samples were tested to failure all failed outside the
Equivalent Von Mises (VME) envelope. The connection was
deemed suitable for South Texas well conditions.

First New Well Drilled with Casing Underbalanced
Well E was the first new well designed to include
underbalanced drilling with casing. A smaller casing program
was possible than what was typically used in offset wells
(figure 7a). The smaller design eliminated a drilling liner by
drilling in a tapered string of production casing (3- x 2-7/8)
through depleted sands intermingled with high-pressure sands
(figure 7b).

While drilling Well E, the 7-5/8 shoe at 9,000 ft broke
down at 16.8 ppg rather than the expected 17.7 ppg and could
not be repaired. Drilling continued with a 16.3 ppg oil base
mud to 10,862 ft, with high background gas and lost returns.
Offset wells had required a 17.0 ppg mud to drill to the next
casing point (11,300 ft) but the mud could not be raised above
16.3 ppg without losses. The decision was made to drill-in a
liner to the next casing point and then sidetrack out of the liner
to TD.

The original design for the Well E had a 5-1/2 flush joint
liner not suitable for drilling operations. A 5, 18#/ft, P110,
Hydril 513 liner was selected for drilling. A conventional
PDC bit was run on bottom, and crossed back to the casing
with a bit sub containing a back pressure valve. A full
opening auto fill (ball activated) float collar was run two joints
off bottom. A setting sleeve without a hanger or packer was
used to rotate the liner on 3- drill pipe. After tripping to the
7-5/8 shoe, the mud weight was reduced from 16.3 ppg to
15.8 ppg. The liner was drilled 468 ft in 26 hrs (4000#-5000#
WOB and 90-100 rpm) through a fault zone that had
required 3-4 LCM cement squeezes on offset wells. Drilling
the liner in allowed the mud weight to be reduced 1.7 ppg
lower than on offset wells, resulting in less lost circulation
problems. Penetration rates were similar to conventional
drilling results in offset wells.

At TD, a ball was dropped to release from the hanger, but
the steel ball seat had been eroded and the ball failed to seat.
A standing valve was run but the tool would still not release.
The 5 liner shoe was tack-cemented in place, the liner
running tool backed off in the casing, and the top of the liner
squeezed with cement. A whipstock was run just above the
liner float collar and a window was milled in the 5 liner. At
this point, a BHA similar to that of the reentry program was
picked up and run on a tapered 3-, 12.95#/ft, L80, Hydril
533 x 2-7/8, 7.9#/ft, L80, RTS-6 casing string. The oil base
mud was reduced to 12.6 ppg to minimize overbalance in the
depleted sands.
A rotating head, with remotely operated valves off the
flow line, was used to divert gas to a large separator or
through the choke manifold. Prior to picking up the BHA, a
sufficient number of 90 ft stands to drill to TD were made up
and stood back in the derrick. Casing tongs and torque turn
equipment was used to make up each stand. A crossover back
to the top drive connection was made up on each stand. The
bit, BHA, 2-7/8 and 3- were tripped to the window. To
drill ahead, a stand of 3- with a crossover was picked up
and made up into the string with tongs. The crossover was
then made up to the top drive and drilling commenced. The
well was drilled from 11,313 ft to 12,431 ft through seven
sands of varying pressure in 91 hrs for an average of 11.3 fph.
The deepest and highest pressured sand which had normally
required a liner was actually 400 psi higher than the mud
weight at TD. High background gas and a constant 5 ft to 30
ft flare were observed. At TD, 100 bbls of 12.0 ppg mud was
pumped ahead of 14.5 ppg cement. The cement was displaced
with 11 ppg CaCl2 and the rate was varied from 1-3 bpm
throughout the cement job to maintain constant bottom hole
pressure. The string was rotated at 20 rpm, and the mandrel
hanger was landed after the plug was bumped. Subsequent
cased hole logging indicated excellent cement bond.

Eliminating the liner and downsizing the program saved
$750,000 (25% cost reduction). Well E was completed
successfully utilizing cased hole logs. This well demonstrated
that severely depleted sands and high pressure sands could be
drilled together as long as there was no need to trip once TD
was reached.

Drilling with Casing Underbalanced Examples
Well F. A conventional well design (figure 8a) would not
have been economic to drill. By drilling with casing
underbalanced, a smaller less expensive casing program
(figure 8b) made the replacement well an economic project. A
tapered 3- Hydril 533 x 2-7/8 RTS-6 casing string was
used to drill 1,610 ft of 4- hole to 15,860 ft (1,000-3,000#
WOB, 70-80 rpms, 145 gpm). Five sands with varying
pressures were drilled with 13.5 ppg oil based mud. One of
the sands was high pressure (17.5 ppg ). It was drilled with
1,000-2,000 units of gas (measured downstream of the gas
buster) with a constant 5 ft to 30 ft flare. While picking up the
mandrel hanger to cement, the casing became stuck at TD.
The well was cemented with full returns and a conventional
slip and seal assembly was used to land the casing string.
Having the production casing assembly in the hole allowed a
sound completion to be made despite being stuck. Over
$1,800M (30%) was saved compared to the conventional
well plan.

Well G. A smaller casing program was also used in Well G
by drilling underbalanced with casing (figure 9a, 9b). In
offset wells, lost circulation problems were common because
of the weak fracture gradient at the protective shoe (17.5 ppg)
and the T sand which normally required a 17.5 ppg mud to
drill. The S shaped well (maximum angle 11 degrees) was
drilled to 11,800 ft with 16.5 ppg oil based mud and open hole
logs were run. A full string of 3- Hydril 533 casing was
then picked up to finish drilling the 6- hole interval to TD.
SPE 84173 5

The T sand was drilled with 1,000-2,000 units downstream
of the gas buster with a constant 6-10 ft flare. The maximum
mud weight used was 16.8 ppg, which was 500 psi
underbalanced to the T sand. The casing was rotated during
cementing with full returns. Downsizing the program reduced
the drilling cost by $400,000 and another $350,000 was saved
by eliminating the liner (30% drilling cost reduction).

Well H. A 5- liner was eliminated in Well H by drilling in
a 3- full string of Hydril 533 casing, saving $400,000
compared to offset wells (figure 10). Like the McAllen 116,
the well was drilled halfway through the shallower, depleted
sands conventionally to allow for open hole logs. The drilling
with casing string was then picked up and used to drill from
13,320 ft to 14,770 ft with 13.5 ppg, oil base mud. The
interval was drilled in 103.5 hrs, at an average of 14 fph. A
constant 20 ft-30 ft flare was observed while drilling the
deeper, high-pressured sands. The casing was successfully
cemented at 14,770 ft while being rotated. The deepest high-
pressured zone had a bottom hole pressure of 11,500 psi
2,000 psi higher than the static mud weight at TD.

Conclusions
Drilling with casing while underbalanced makes it possible to
drill depleted sands intermingled with high pressure sands in
one hole section. Smaller casing programs are possible and
liners can be eliminated. Well costs in mature South Texas
fields have been reduced by 30% through utilization of drilling
with casing and underbalanced drilling techniques. Lower
drilling costs makes smaller reserve targets viable, a key
advantage in a mature play like the South Texas Vicksburg.

Drilling with casing while underbalanced is now used as a
contingent plan in case of unanticipated problems rather than
increasing the casing program size. This allows conventional
well plans to be more aggressive and results in reduced costs
even when drilling with casing is not needed.

No significant rig modifications were necessary to drill
with casing while underbalanced and nearly all the equipment
needed was standard and readily available.

A 3- casing connection capable of handling high
pressure gas production after being used in a drill string has
been tested and utilized successfully in new well applications.

Drilling with a liner while underbalanced was done
successfully on one well but several problems were
experienced. Drilling with liners has many of the potential
benefits of drilling with casing, however, the current liner
running systems need to be modified for drilling.

A limitation of drilling with casing while underbalanced
is the inability to obtain open hole logs. In most cases in
Shells South Texas fields there is enough offset data to make
an effective completion based on cased hole logging. In step-
out or exploration drilling this is a significant limitation.

Before attempting drilling with casing underbalanced in
other areas, note that the low permeability Vicksburg sands
allow a higher underbalance than would be possible in most
other applications.

Acknowledgement
We would like to express our appreciation to SEPCO
management for allowing this paper to be published.

References
1. Tessari, R.M., SPE and Madell, Garret, SPE: Casing
Drilling A Revolutionary Approach to Reducing
Well Costs SPE 52789, presented at SPE/IADC
Drilling Conference held in Amsterdam, Holland 9-
11 March 1999.
2. de Leon Mojarro, Jose C., SPE, Terrazas,
Martin,SPE, Eljure, Abraham Julian, SPE: Breaking
a Paradigm: Drilling with Tubing Gas Wells SPE
40051, presented at SPE International Petroleum
Conference and Exhibition held in Villahermosa,
Mexico 3-5 March, 1988.
6 SPE 84173



























































Figure 1 - a) Pre-1990 Conventional tubing packer completion,
b) 1990-1994 - Commingled tubing packer completion,
c) 1994 Present tubingless commingled completion
Figure 2 - (a) Failed well due to casing damage, (b) Well reentered and sidetracked
a) b)
5
3
13 3/8
9 5/8
7 5/8
5
c)
Casing
Damage
Casing
Damage

high pressure
high pressure

depleted
depleted

5 or 5-1/2
2-7/8 casing
in 3 7/8 or
4 1/8 hole
a) b)
SPE 84173 7





























































Figure 3 - (a) Reentry BHA prior to drilling with casing,
(b) Reentry BHA used for drilling with casing while underbalanced
high pressure
depleted
9-5/8
13-3/8
7-5/8
LCM
squeeze
Figure 4 Well D. (a) Depleted sand with lost circulation problems squeezed off,
(b) 3- casing string drilled into place while underbalanced and cemented
a) b)
3-1/2
PDC Bit
Pony Drill Collar
Stabilizer
Drill Collar
Stabilizer
Ten Drill Collars
3 7/8 or 4 1/8 PDC Bit
Watermelon Mill
Drill Collar
Watermelon Mill
Drill Collar
340
Bit sub w/ back pressure valve
Cement Plug Landing Collar
Drilling Landing Nipple
2 7/8, 7.9#, RTS-6 Casing
2 7/8, 8.7#, RTS-6
Work String
100
Flag Joints
Tubing stripper
Remotely Operated
Flowline Valve
Rotate pipe during cementing,
no centralization
a) b)
Pony Drill Collar
8 SPE 84173




























































Test samples @ 5400
Test samples @ 500
6- PDC
IBS Stabilizer
1 4- Drill Collar
IBS Stabilizer
5 - 4- Drill Collars
200
BHA
Test samples @ 10,800
Figure 5 3- , 12.95#/ft, L-80, Hydril 533 Test Assembly
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
-300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400
Axial Load (Kips)
100% Pipe Body VME
95% Pipe Body VME
Tension Compression
Connection Test Envelope
w/ 20 degree bending
Figure 6 3- Hydril 533 Connection Test
Pressure (PSI)
SPE 84173 9
































































20
13-3/8
11-
7-5/8

9-5/8
5-
2-7/8
3 depleted sands
high pressure
depleted
13-3/8
9-5/8
3- x 2-7/8
casing drilled in
high pressure
7-5/8
Fault Zone
5-
a) b)
Figure 8 Well F. (a) Conventional well plan,
(b) Drill with casing underbalanced well plan

13-3/8
9-5/8

7- 5/8

3- X 2-7/8
depleted
high pressure
10-
7-5/8
5 Liner
Drilled in
3- x 2 -7/8
Drilled in
high pressure
shoe
problems
fault zone
a) b)
Fig. 7 Well E. (a) Conventional well design in offset well,
(b) New design - drilling with liner and drilling with casing while underbalanced

10 SPE 84173












































13-3/8
9-5/8

depleted
10-
7-5/8
3-
Tbg drilled in
high
pressure
High pressure (T Sand)
a) b)
Fig. 9 Well G. (a) Conventional well plan in offset well,
(b) Drill with casing underbalanced well plan
Open hole logs
run to 11,800
prior to picking
up DWC Assy




13-3/8
9-5/8

7-5/8
5-
3- x
2-7/8 Casing
Depleted
High pressure
High
pressure
3-Casing
drilled in
Open hole logs
run to 13,320
prior to picking
up DWC Assy
a) b)
Fig. 10 Well H. (a) Conventional well plan in offset well,
(b) Drill with casing underbalanced well plan