9/10/2014

Geosteering Glossary | CHINOOK CONSULTING SERVICES

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Glossary
of geosteering terms
Term

Azimuth

Directional terms

Also
named

Azi, Azm,
Drift

Unit

Compass heading of trajectory, angle between

wellpath and North axis (true north or magnetic North)
measured in plan view, clockwise from North. 0 for
degrees
heading North, 90 for heading East, 180 for heading
South, 270 for heading West. Also called "Drift
direction".

Bend

degree

Angle between downhole mud motor and drill bit,

used to achieve build or turn while sliding. Usually a
mud motor is "dialled" at 1.8 to 2.8 on the build
section, and 1.5 to 1.8 on a horizontal section.

Build

or
meters

Increase of inclination; in horizontal drilling also

decrease in TVD as a direct result of building angle.
As opposed to drop.

Build rate

/30m

Inclination angle difference between two consecutive

survey points, extrapolated to 30m meters (or 100
feet); measured in vertical plane. Typical build rates in
a build section of a horizontal well are 6-8/30m.

Directional drilling is becoming the predominant method

of opening up reservoirs in the mature Western Canada
Sedimentart Basin. Wellsite geologists are supervising
and controlling the wellpath in order to achieve maximum
exposure to the reservoir or to hydrocarbons within a

Build
section

Build

Closure

Closure
distance

Closure
direction

Closure
azimuth

Dogleg

Dogleg
severity,
DLS

reservoir. Strong understanding of directional drilling

terms is paramount in this capacity.

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Definition

Drop

Easting

-W/+E

Section of a well where the wellpath is changed to a

different inclination, usually from vertical (0) to
horizontal (90).
meters

Length of wellpath projected on horizontal plane (plan

view) .

/30m

Combination of build and turn rate; normalized

measure of curvature (bend and turn) at a certain
point. High doglegs pose difficulty in tripping and
running casing or liner.

or
meters

Decrease of inclination; in horizontal drilling also

increase in TVD as a direct result of dropping angle.
In an "S" shape well, the section where a well is
steered back to vertical after a build and hold section.
As opposed to build.

meters

Horizontal distance between survey point and NorthSouth axis in plan view.
Directionally controlled drilling of a well, usually with
the intent of keeping the hole in the pay zone,
achieving maximum exposure to the reservoir.

Geosteering

Heel

Landing
point

First point in a horizontal well trajectory where the

inclination reaches 90. Usually an intermediate
casing is set at this landing point to isolate the pay
zone.

High side

HS

Toolface oriented up (or 0) in horizontal drilling when

attempting to increase inclination angle (build
wellpath).

Hold
section

Hold

Section of a well where the wellpath is maintained

along a pre-defined inclination and azimuth. If the
inclination ids different from 0 (vertical) or 90
(horizontal), it is also called a tangent section.

Lateral
section

Section of a wellpath where the inclination is

maintained at around 90, usually with the intent to
keep the hole in the pay zone in order to maximize
exposure to a reservoir. Typically inclinations are
maintained in the 87 to 93 range. If steeper
inclinations are planned, a more general term used is
"Lateral section".

Horizontal
section

Inclination

Inc, Incl

Angle between a tangent to the wellpath and a

vertical line, measures the deviation from vertical at a
certain point, measured with pendulum,
degrees accelerometer or gyroscope. Inclination increases in
the build section, is 90 in a perfectly horizontal well,
and can exceed 90 in a horizontal well that points up.
A vertical well has inclinations close or equal to 0.

Kick off
point

KOP

meters

Measured depth from where a well is steered (usually

beginning of the build section).
Landing is the process of increasing the TVD and
inclination until a wellpath reaches horizontal or near-

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horizontal position in a desired reservoir formation. A

soft landing is a landing where a specific inclination
(usually 80 to 85) is maintained until a formation top
is confirmed, and the wellpath is turned to horizontal
only after that reservoir top was confirmed. The
landing point often coincides with the heel (the point
where inclination reached 90, horizontal), and many
times a casing string is run at this point.

Landing

Landing
point,
Heel

Low side

LS

Measured
Depth

MD

Mud motor

Downhole
motor

Mud driven downhole motor which rotates the bit

below the bend.

MWD

Measured
while
drilling

Set of physical parameters measured in a wellbore

while drilling the well. Typically measurement of
inclination, azimuth, gamma, sometimes resistivity (if
more parameters are recorded, the operation is called
LWD, Logging while drilling).

Northing

+N/-S

Toolface oriented down (or 180) in horizontal drilling

when attempting to decrease inclination angle (drop
wellpath).
meters

meters

Depth of well measured as the bit goes.

Horizontal distance between survey point and EastWest axis in plan view.

Rotary
steerable

Device used to geosteer while rotating from surface,

usually driven by mobile pads.

Rotating

Rotation of drilling bit is driven from surface (rotary

table or top-drive), usually higher rate of penetration,
but no steering (except for rotary steerable devices).
A leg of a well that is started from a point along the
wellpath that was previously drilled. The bottomhole
assembly is positioned with the bend facing the
desired direction, a through is formed by working the
pipe, followed by time drilling to achieve proper
separation.

Sidetrack

Leg

Sliding

Slide

Station
depth

MD

meters

Survey tool depth, measured depth where survey is

recorded, usually 10-15m behind the bit.

Subsea

SS,
Subsea
level

meters

Vertical distance between see level and survey point.

Survey

Directional
survey

A geometric measurement of inclination and azimuth

at a certain depth (station depth) along the well
trajectory. A series of other parameters (such as TVD,
VS, dogleg, etc are then determined using
calculations such as minimum curvature method.

Tangent
section

Tangent,
hold
section

Section of a well where the wellpath is maintained at

a certain inclination, with the intent of advancing in
both TVD and vertical section. Short tangent sections
are build for housing submersible pumps for example.

Drilling without rotating the entire drillstring (by way of

the rotary table or top-drive), rotation of bit occurs
only below the bend, achieved by the mud driven
downhole motor.

Time drill

Procedure where well is oriented in order to start a

sidetrack.

Toe

Total depth of a horizontal well. A toe-up profile is

achieved when the inclination is more than 90
throughout the horizontal section (the well rises,
"builds"), a toe-down profile is achieved when the
inclination angle is below 90 in the horizontal section
(the well points down, "drops", and the toe is located
at a lower TVD than the heel).

Toolface

degree

Orientation of motor bend: in horizontal drilling

measured relative to vertical line (up is 0, down is
180, right is 90 or 90R, left is 270 or 90L); in vertical
drilling relative to magnetic north (N is 0M, E is 90M,
S is 180M, W is 270M).

Total Depth

TD, Final
TD, FTD

meters

Measured depth to which a well is drilled.

True
Vertical
Depth

TVD

meters

Vertical distance between KB and survey point.

Turn rate

Walk rate

/30m

Azimuth angle difference between two consecutive

survey points, extrapolated to 30m meters (or 100
feet); measured in horizontal plane.

Turn
section

Turn

Vertical
Section

VS

meters

Horizontal distance from wellhead to survey point,

measured along a pre-defined azimuth in the
horizontal plane.

Vertical
section
plane

Vetrical
section
azimuth

degrees

Pre-defined azimuth angle along which the VS is

calculated, usually angle between North and a line
uniting wellhead and Total Depth, measured in plan
view.

Section of a well where the wellpath is steered in the

horizontal plane to a different azimuth.

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Geosteering Glossary | CHINOOK CONSULTING SERVICES

Wellpath

Trajectory

The trajectory of a directionally drilled well in three

dimensions.

Directional drilling is becoming the predominant method of opening up reservoirs in the

mature Western Canada Sedimentart Basin. Wellsite geologists are supervising and
controlling the wellpath in order to achieve maximum exposure to the reservoir or to
hydrocarbons within a reservoir. Strong understanding of directional drilling terms is
paramount in this capacity.
August 2010, Chinook Consulting Services
References:
Stoner Engineering. Geosteering Glossary
Schlumberger. Oilfield Glossary

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