WELLBORE STABILITY

1.1 Introduction___________________________________________________ 64
1.1.1 Mechanical effects ___________________________________________________ 64
1.1.2 Chemical effects_____________________________________________________ 64
1.2 Common Misconceptions _________________________________________ 64
1.3 The Mechanisms of Wellbore Instability - Mechanical Aspects ____________ 66
1.3.1 Unconsolidated Formations ____________________________________________ 66
1.3.2 Competent Formations ________________________________________________ 67
1.4 Mud weight window_____________________________________________ 70
1.4.1 Increased well inclination ______________________________________________ 70
1.4.2 Open hole time ______________________________________________________ 70
1.5 Preventative Action - Mechanical __________________________________ 71
1.5.1 Pre Drilling ________________________________________________________ 71
1.5.2 Planning Stage ______________________________________________________ 72
1.5.3 Symptoms and Remedial Action_________________________________________ 74
1.6 The Mechanisms of Wellbore Instability - Chemical Aspects______________ 75
1.7 Preventative Action - Chemical ____________________________________ 76
1.7.1 Pre Drilling ________________________________________________________ 76
1.7.2 Oil Based Mud - Engineering Comments __________________________________ 77
1.7.3 Water Based Mud - Engineering Comments ________________________________ 78
1.7.4 Symptoms and Remedial Action_________________________________________ 79
1.8 Special Cases __________________________________________________ 80
1.8.1 Salt Formations _____________________________________________________ 80
1.8.2 Coal Formations_____________________________________________________ 81
1.1 Introduction

The maintenance of wellbore stability is one of the most critical considerations

in any drilling operation.

An unstable wellbore will reduce drilling performance, result in drilling and

tripping difficulties and in the worst case could result in the loss of the hole
throug h borehole collapse.

Wellbore instability can occur as a result of:

• Mechanical effects,
• Chemical effects,
or a
• Combination of both.

1.1.1 Mechanical effects

In simple terms, mechanical effects are usually related to :

• Inadequate mud weight (too high or too low).

• Inappropriate drilling practices (rate of penetration, vibration
effects, torque and drag, poor practices, and frequency of trips).

1.1.2 Chemical effects

Chemical effects are mud type related for formation being drilled and may
result due to

• Inappropriate mud type

or
• Inadequate inhibition.

The following sections give more detail on this, and provide a guide to
minimise wellbore instability in the planning, implementation and drilling
phases.

1.2 Common Misconceptions

Before detailing aspects of hole stability problems some of the common
misconceptions should first be discussed.
1. Well control purposes do not solely dictate the required mud weight.
2. Hole collapse is not simply a result of drilling with insufficient mud weight.
3. Drilling with a nominal safe overbalance will not necessarily ensure hole
stability.

The logic behind the above statements are fundamentally flawed as certain
weak formations may need overbalance in excess of 1000 psi to prevent hole
collapse, whereas some mudstones can be drilled problem free in
“underbalanced” conditions.

4. Increasing the mud weight will rectify hole instability problems.

Increasing mud weight can in instance amplify problems. E.g. More rapid
failure could occur in fractured rocks, whereas in some porous formations the
resulting higher fluid losses and thicker mud cakes could promote differential
sticking.

5. Oil-based mud will prevent any problems occurring while drilling in shales.

Hole instability can still occur however particularly if mud weight or water
phase salinity is inappropriate.

6. Mud recommendations based on theoretical models are liable to be

unreliable and often require “fixing” to give sensible, practical mud weights.

Area experience is a better guide.

7. Too high an annular velocity will result in hole enlargement.

Reducing API filtrate and increasing inhibition and overbalance will often have
a more beneficial effect than reducing annular velocity.

8. Backreaming is an efficient and effective method to trip out of the wellbore

or work the drillstring through excess drag.

Reciprocating the drillstring and pumping out may have a more beneficial
effect and not result in filter cake removal or inducing wellbore pack off or
instability to occur.
1.3 The Mechanisms of Wellbore Instability - Mechanical Aspects

1.3.1 Unconsolidated Formations

Unconsolidated formations are associated with top hole intervals, in deep
water, but may also be encountered in fault zones or in unconsolidated or
depletedreservoirs.

Unconsolidated formations have no cohesive strength. Consequently when

they are drilled with a clear fluid, the fluid (e.g. sea water) exerts no
conflicting stress on the wall of the hole and the formation will slough into the
hole.

Most commonly the unconsolidated formation will be a sand. However, in

some tectonically active areas, a fault zone will be encountered that contains
rock flour and unconsolidated rubble, cobbles and/or boulder beds.

1.3.1.1 Preventative and Remedial Action

• Drilling this type of formation with a mud that has good filtration
characteristics will produce a filtercake on the rock.
• The pressure drop across this cake will impart cohesive strength and a
gauge, or near gauge, hole can often be achieved.
• The mud may be added with bridging solids (usually calcium carbonate or
fibrous seepage loss material) to promote the rapid build up of a filter
cake. If a cake is not quickly established the turbulent flow at the bit will
produce washed out hole.
• Use the minimum flow rate that will clean the hole to prevent the erosion of
the filter cake.
• Consider the use of a mud with good low shear rheology so that high
pump rates are not required. Xanthan polymer and mixed metal hydroxide
muds have an application in these situations.
• Do all that is possible to avoid the mechanical removal of the filter cake -
minimise trips, minimise reaming and backreaming, avoid rotating
stabiliser next to the unconsolidated formation.
• Use of a mud known to have enhanced fracture sealing capabilities to help
stabilise fault zone “rubble beds” etc. Cons ult with mud companies to
discuss how this can be best achieved. Recent work by fluid specialists
has highlighted the use of specific mud systems and specialist additives
for this problem.
1.3.2 Competent Formations

There are two extremes of mechanical hole instability, referred to as

compressive failure and formation breakdown (Figure 1).

1.3.2.1 Compressive failure.

Compressive failure occurs when the mud weight is too low - this results in
hole closure (tight hole) or hole collapse.

1.3.2.2 Formation breakdown.

In contrast to this, formation breakdown occurs if the mud weight is too high.
Mud pressure may then induce a fracture or open a natural fracture system,
leading to massive mud losses.
In general, hole sections will contain shales / mudstones tha t will collapse if
given insufficient support.

Breakthrough in Sands / carbonates may result in mud losses and/or

differential sticking if drilled with too high an overbalance.

To drill a hole section with little or no instability problems requires the

maximum mud weight tolerated by the sand/carbonates to exceed the
minimum mud weight required to support the mudstones.

These upper and lower bounds to the mud weight define the “mud weight
window” (see Figure 2a).

• The wider the window the easier the well is to drill.

• The narrower the window the more difficult it is to contain the mud
weight within the stable region.

Hence the risk of wellbore instability is much greater.

In certain highly tectonically stressed regions (e.g. foothills of the Casanare

region in Colombia) the collapse gradient in the shales can exceed the
fracture gradient in the sands, even for nominally vertical wells.

In such cases there is no drilling window and it is impossible to select a mud

weight to simultaneously a void both losses and collapse. Hence, one or both
forms of instability must be tolerated to some extent
1.4 Mud weight window
In general, a mud weight window will exist.

The “width” of the window will depend on a number of operator controlled

factors, b ut primarily well inclination.

1.4.1 Increased well inclination

Increased well inclination will usually reduce the width of the mud weight
window (Figure 2b), increasing the risk of staying in the region of safe mud
weights.

Hence, ERD wells are typically more prone to instability than other more
conventional wells drilled in the region.

1.4.2 Open hole time

Another factor strongly influencing the integrity of the hole is the open-hole
time. Even stable shales are seldom stable for an indefinite period and the
longer the open-hole time the greater the risk that instability will occur.

This is particularly the case when using water based muds.

Increased hole section length and therefore, increased open-hole time are a
natural consequence of drilling ERD wells. Where possible, a gradual
increase in mud weight can be effective in combating this time element and
can stabilise the formation for a longer period.

When assessing ERD options in a region previously drilled with conventional

wells, the primary hole stability consideration is to assess the impact of
trajectory on the mud weight window.

If conventionally drilled wells have proved difficult to drill due to a narrow mud
weight window, then serious thought must be given to whether a casing
program can be designed to combat the increased risks projected in the ERD
well.
1.5 Preventative Action - Mechanical

1.5.1 Pre Drilling

The purpose of any data collection is to attempt to define the optimum drilling
window for offset wells and to project that window to planned wells. Without
any offset well data then there is little value in any wellbore stability study.

The data of most value are:-

• Drilling Completion reports from offset wells (which may contain much of
the other information listed below).

• Details of any formation stress tests including LOT’s and FIT’s.

• Daily mud properties.

• Details of any mud losses encountered.

• Details of any pipe “sticking” and/or excess reaming, backreaming.

• Composite logs, dipmeter or borehole geometry logs, any caliper logs,

density logs and sonic logs.

• Description of any major faulting in the region (normal, stick-slip, etc.).

1.5.2 Planning Stage

1.5.2.1 Well Inclination

• Allow for increases in mud weight of between 0.5 ppg and 1.0 ppg per 30
degrees inclination through shale/mudstone sections to combat hole
collapse. Only local experience will determine at which end of the scale
you need to be.

• No increased in mud weight with hole inclination is necessary across

permeable formations, e.g. sands. Formations with reasonable matrix
permeability can be drilled with nominal overbalance, regardless of well
trajectory or formation strength.

• Be aware that the fracture gradient may reduce with increased inclination.

1.5.2.2 Fracture Gradient

• Recognise that the fracture gradient for a hole section is more likely to be
controlled by a carbonate or sand rather than the shale within which the
LOT was performed (see Figure 2).

• On ERD wells, drilling high-pressure reservoirs may prove extremely

difficult due to a very tight mud weight window between taking a kick and
getting losses. The extent and effect of ECD’s need careful consideration
at the planning stage.

• During appraisal, consider performing micro-frac tests (essentially a LOT

taken beyond the point of breakdown) to better determine the fracture
gradient in formations that may prove to be critical in an ERD well.
1.5.2.3 Regional Stress State
• Process any dipmeter or boreholes imaging log data to determine in situ
stress directions. This may help to interpret any problems seen during the
drilling operation and thus hasten corrective actions.

• In highly tectonically stressed regions, drilling up dip of the major faults

may provide a larger mud weight window than drilling down-dip, cross-dip
or vertically.

• The in-situ stress state near a salt diapir is highly disturbed, such that well
trajectories which approach the diapir normal to its surface provide a larger
mud weight window than trajectories tangential to its surface.

1.5.2.4 Casing Program

• Having planned for an increased mud weight to control shales in an ERD
well, assess whether the planned casing setting depths still provide a
sufficient mud weight window.

• In ERD wells the mud weight required to drill a normally pressured

reservoir is often significantly less than that required to prevent collapse in
the cap rock. The setting of the production casing should minimise or
exclude the presence of cap rock in the reservoir hole section, thus
allowing the reservoir to be drilled with a nominal overbalance.

1.5.2.5 General
• Oil based muds often allow a lower mud weight to be used to prevent
collapse in shales. This provides a larger mud weight window.

• The risk of instability in highly laminated shales may be reduced when

adopting a trajectory normal to bedding.
1.5.3 Symptoms and Remedial Action

• The onset of cavings from a formation while it is being drilled may indicate
underbalance conditions. An increase in mud weight or a reduction in
ROP may help.

• The onset of cavings more than a few hours after drilling a shale indicates
that the benefit of the initial overbala nce has been lost. This is a result of
migration of filtrate into the formation causing near wellbore pressure
increases. An increase in mud weight and/or a reduction in fluid loss are
likely to help.

• Often an improvement in LOT value can be observed as the section is

drilled. Consider repeating the LOT where low values have originally been
obtained.

• Even in normally stressed regions the mud weight window may be

influenced by well azimuth. Be prepared to increase the mud weight in
wells with azimuths sub -parallel to the maximum horizontal stress
direction.

• Controlling mud filtrate loss to a minimum is particularly important in ERD

wells and all hole sections, not simply the reservoir section.

• Swab and surge pressure may trigger off instability in weak or highly
fractured shales. Particular care is required when running in and pulling
out of hole sections with such formations present. Pressure while drilling
(PWD) measurements indicate that surge pressures equivalent to 1.5 ppg
(0.18 SG) can be generated not just when tripping but also on connections
made with a top drive.

• Unless absolutely necessary, do not reduce the mud weight while drilling if
a shale is present in the open hole section, otherwise the risk of hole
instability is greatly increased. If operational difficulties necessitate a mud
weight reduction then the slower this is done the better.
1.6 The Mechanisms of Wellbore Instability - Chemical Aspects

Chemical wellbore instability is due to chemical interaction between the

formation being drilled and the drilling fluid. This can occur in two main types
of formation:

• Shales
• Salt formations

In both cases, it is an interaction with water which causes instability.

Thus, chemical instability is always minimised by using oil based muds.

When shales react with water, they can soften, disperse, swell and crack.
These effects can cause a wide range of operational problem such as tight
hole, hole enlargement, ledging, bit balling and caving.

To minimise these problems it is important to characterise the shale type at

the planning stage of a well and to use an appropriately-designed drilling fluid
(see Section 1 - Shale Problems).

In salt formations, chemical instability occurs if the formation is soluble in

water. The use of an incorrectly formulated fluid will lead to uncontrollable
washouts in these situations. Formation types which exhibit this behavior
are:-

• Halite (NaCl)
• Carnallite (KMgCl3 .6H2 O)
• Bischofite (MgCl2.6H2 O)
• Sylvite (KCl)
• Polyhalite (K 2Ca2Mg(SO4)4 .2H2O)
1.7 Preventative Act ion - Chemical

1.7.1 Pre Drilling

• When planning a well, first decide if shales or salts will be encountered.
Offset well data and mud reports will be particularly useful.

• Design the casing/well programme to minimise the length of time reactive

formations are exposed to the mud. Because shales have very low
permeability (10-9 - 10-6D) they may appear stable for a time, but water can
slowly penetrate leading to time-delayed effects.

• Characterise shale types by XRD analysis. This technique should also be

supported by laboratory inhibition tests, which are best done on preserved
shale.

• Watch out for inter-bedded formations (e.g. salt stringers in shale or

reactive shale in competent shale). A mud system compatible with both
formation types will be required.

• The best way to minimise chemical instability in shales or salt sections is

to use an oil based mud. This should be the first choice.

• Do not rely on chemical-mechanical wellbore stability models to design the

mud. There is invariably insufficient input data, and they do not take
account of specific chemical reactions.
1.7.2 Oil Based Mud - Engineering Comments
• Oil mud salinity must be at least as high as the pore fluid salinity of the
shale. This will prevent water entering the shale by osmosis.

• When drilli ng salt formations, OBM salinity should be high (e.g. 300,000
mg/l chloride), to minimise salt dissolution into the water phase of the mud.

• Synthetic oil muds (pseudo oil muds) should be considered where

environmental constraints restrict the use of conve ntional oil. Shale
inhibition is equally effective in these systems.

• In microfractured shales, use a very low fluid loss mud (HTHP < 3 mls)
and add fracture sealing additives.

• Always consult BP mud specialists as systems vary widely in rheological

properties, temperature stability and cost per barrel.
1.7.3 Water Based Mud - Engineering Comments
• If water based mud is to be used, carry out a screening programme at an
early stage to allow optimisation and discuss issues with BP fluids
specialists and the mud companies.

• Water based muds are less lubricating than oil muds, therefore expect
higher torque in high angle wells. It may be necessary to add lubricants to
the system.

• In salt sections, it is important to match the fluid to the type of salt. Salt
saturated muds (NaCl) are used for simple halites; mixed salt systems are
available for complex salts such as Carnallite. Obtain specialist advice on
these.

• Use a low fluid loss mud (e.g. API < 5ml, HTHP (250°F) <14ml) in
microfractured shales and add fracture sealing additives.
1.7.4 Symptoms and Remedial Action
Having planned the well using all available data the risk of mechanical and/or
chemical borehole instability will be limited. It is, however, important that
should instability occur it should be identified and suitable remedial action
should be quickly adopted.

Indication of the condition of the hole can be inferred from torque and drag
measurements, the condition and quantity of cuttings seen at the shale
shakers and variations in mud volumes.

• When drilling shales, monitor cuttings quality as a qualitative measure of

inhibition. Very soft cuttings will mean insufficient chemical inhibition or, in
the case of OBM, would suggest that the water phase salinity is too low.

• High torque values would suggest a tight hole possibly requiring increase
in mud weight or an increase in inhibition to reduce the swelling of clays.

• A sudden appearance of large or increased volume of “cuttings” at the

shale shakers is indicative of well bore caving.

• An unplanned i ncreased in mud rheology could be due to a build up of fine

solids in the mud which in turn could be an indication of poor inhibition or
hole washout.

• The downhole loss of whole mud would indicate that the formation was
being fractured by the use of too high a mud weight.

• Difficulty running in the hole could be attributed to ledges, swelling clays or

caving formations.

A caliper log can be run at section TD. The gauge of the hole will give an
indication of whether mud weight and inhibition was at a correct level for that
interval. If an oriented 4-arm caliper is used information on stress orientations
can be obtained. A typical indication of stress induced borehole instability is
the presence of an oval rather than circular hole. Information regarding the
two horizontal in situ stresses can be deduced from this type of log. Knowing
the direction of the stresses is valuable when planning development wells as
the well directions least prone to hole problems can be established.
1.8 Special Cases

1.8.1 Salt Formations

• Drilling near a salt diapir presents a special case because of the altered in
situ stresses near to the diapir. The behavior of wells within a few hundred
meters of a diapir may be totally different to wells only a kilometer or so
away. In general hole problems are accentuated near a diapir.

• The maintenance of gauge or near gauge hole is important when drilling

massive salt formations. Greatly washed out hole will probably result in a
poor cement job. This in turn will allow salt behind the casing to creep,
impinging on the casing and, in extreme cases cause the casing to buckle.

• Stuck pip is a common problem when drilling in salt formations. Salt

formations tend to creep and impinge on the drillstring. The only way to
stop this process is to drill with a mud weight equivalent to overburden
pressure (approximately 19 ppg in the S N Sea and 17 ppg in the Gulf of
Mexico). In practice the rate of creep can often be reduced to acceptable
levels at lower mud weights, typically 14.0 ppg. The use of eccentric bits
to slightly increase the diameter of the hole has proved beneficial in some
operations.
1.8.2 Coal Formations
Coal is a very brittle formation with low compressive strength. It is usually
highly fractured and in areas of high tectonic stress can instantly collapse into
the bore hole when the horizontal stress is relieved by the bit - stuck pipe is
often the end results. High mud weights can rarely be used to stabilise the
coal formations because of their inherent low fracture gradients. The
recognised technique to drill coal is to limit penetration so that the stresses
are given chance to equilibrate and so that the blocky pieces of coal can be
removed from the hole. Good hole cleaning is essential - it may be necessary
to modify the cleaning capacity of the mud while drilling coals. The properties
can be restored to normal when the coal has been drilled. Alternatively
viscous, weighted sweeps can be used to enhance hole cleaning - this is
particularly appropriate if the coal seam is anticipated to be thin.

Should the pipe become stuck in coal, and circulation is possible, experience
shows that spotting a high pH pill around the coal can help to freeze the pipe.

Where the coal seam is not tectonically stressed and geological information
regarding the seam is required care must be taken with fluid properties and
drilling practices. Seat earth’s and marine bands both provide valuable
information about the coal but both are easily washed out. When coring with
water based muds a low filtrate should be utilised and jet velocity should be
minimised. There is some evidence that these fractured rocks can be
stabilised with products such as Gilsonite and Soltex.