Underbalanced Drilling

(UBD)

Lesson 1
Introduction
Chapter 1

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Introduction

 Course Syllabus
 Texts

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Introduction

 What is UBD
 Why Drill Underbalanced
 Techniques and Limitations
 Historical Perspectives

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering

 Course Description

 This course provides an introduction and

application of techniques that can be
utilized in underbalanced drilling. It will
cover topics such as BOP equipment, the
types of drilling fluids used (air, mist
foam, etc.), flow drilling, and mud cap
drilling.

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering

 Text
“Underbalanced Drilling Manual”
Gas Research Institute, GRI,
Chicago, 1997.

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 References
 “A project Management Approach To

Underbalanced Operations”.
Signa Engineering Corp., Houston, 1998.
 “Mudlite Air/Mist/Foam Hydraulics Model”.
Maurer Engineering Inc., Houston, 1988
 Selected papers and texts.

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering

 Instructor
 Dr. Jerome J. Schubert, PE, CPA
 Phone: 979/862-1195
 Office: Richardson Rm 501K
 e-mail: schubert@spindletop.tamu.edu

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering

 What is UBD

 Wellbore pressures “intentionally”

maintained below formation pressure
in the open hole section.
 Formation fluids flow into the well.

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 Additional Definitions

 Flow (Live) operations.

 Operations intentionally undertaken

with a liquid drilling fluid system

where the hydrostatic pressure exerted by
the liquid column is below formation pore
pressure such that the formation fluid is
allowed to flow to the surface during the
operations.
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 Additional Definitions, con’t
 Gasified Fluid Operations. (Aerated
Fluid Operated).
 Operations intentionally

undertaken with a two-phase

drilling fluid containing some form
of gas mixed with a liquid phase.
 Gasified fluids normally do not

contain a surfactant.

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 Additional Definitions, con’t
 Foam Operations:
 Operations intentionally
undertaken with a two-phase
drilling fluid containing some
form of gas mixed with a liquid
phase and tied together with a
surfactant.
 The liquid is the continuous
phase.
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Additional Definitions, con’t

Mist Operations:
Intentionally drilling with a
two-phase fluid having a gas
as the continuous phase.
The liquid in this fluid system
is suspended in the mixture as
droplets.

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering

 Additional Definitions, con’t
 Air Operations:
 Intentionally drilling using a
pure gas as the drilling fluid.
 The gas can be air, nitrogen,
natural gas, or any
combination of gases.

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering

 Additional Definitions, con’t
 Mudcap Operations:
 Operations undertaken when the annular

pressure during flow drilling exceeds the

safe pressure limit of the rotating control
element.
 Mudcap operations are not UB operation,

but often are a result of drilling

underbalanced and employ many of the
same techniques and equipment.
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 Additional Definitions, con’t
 Snubbing Operations:
 An intentional operation that
employs either a snubbing unit or
coiled-tubing unit in order to
operate at surface pressures that
exceed the limits of rotating control
elements such as rotating heads or
rotating blowout preventers.

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering

 Additional Definitions, con’t
 Coiled-tubing drilling:
 Use of a continuous-spool of pipe to drill
with instead of the conventional jointed
drillpipe.
 CT units were originally designed to operate
on live wells with surface pressure, without
the requirement that the well be “killed”
prior to entering the wellbore.

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering

Why drill underbalanced?

 Increased Penetration Rate.

 Increased Bit Life.
 Minimized Lost Circulation.
 Minimize Differential Sticking.

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 Why drill underbalanced?

 Reduced Formation Damage.

 Earlier Production.
 Reduced Stimulation Requirements.
 Improved Formation Evaluation.
 Environmental Benefits.

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 Historical perspectives

 UBD operations are as old as the

drilling industry:
 First wells were drilled with cable
tool.
 Cable tool drilling was
underbalanced.

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 Historical perspectives

 In 1866 a patent for air drilling

was issued.

 First recorded use of a gasified

fluid was in West Texas in 1932.

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 Historical perspectives

 In 1938 mist was used by

The Texas Company to drill in
California.
 Natural gas was continuous
phase and oil was the liquid
phase.

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 Historical perspectives

 Interest dropped off using gas as a drilling

fluid until the 1950’s were it showed a
resurgence in:
 Canada.
 West and Central Texas.
 Utah.
 San Juan Basin of New Mexico.

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Historical Perspectives

Typical of Nat Gas operations in New Mexico

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 Historical Perspectives

Early Air Compressors used in air drilling

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 Historical
Perspectives

Natural Gas
drilling in
West
Texas.

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering

 Historical Perspectives
In the 1960’s, the
U.S. Atomic
Energy
Commission
began to study the
use of foams to
clean wellbores as
large as 60” in
diameter from 45
feet as 2000 feet. Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
 Historical perspectives

 Until the mid 1980’s UBD was

just a niche industry, and only
utilized in certain areas
around the world.

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 Mid 1980’s Horizontal Drilling
Became Fairly Common (Plot
is for three companies)
No. of Wells

Year
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 Growth in Horizontal Drilling
Total Lightweight Fluid Wells

Spurred the Resurgence in UBD

Mid
(US1980’s Horizontal Drilling
operations)
Became Fairly Common (Plot is
for three companies)

Year
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 Until 1987 the maximum
working pressure rating of
rotating heads was 150-300
psi.

 RBOP was developed with a

working pressure of 1000 psi.

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 Rotating Control Devices
RBOP-1000 psi (1987) PCWD-3000 psi (1995) RCH-2500 psi (1995)

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 Closed Loop System
 Allows re-use of the drilling fluids in foam
systems environmentally friendly.

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 Nitrogen
Generation System

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Electromagnetic
MWD Tools

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Hollow Glass Spheres

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 Factors Leading
to Increased UBD
 Horizontal Drilling.
 Closed Systems.
 High-Pressure Rotating Control Devices.
 Electromagnetic MWD Systems.
 HP HV Compressors.

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 Factors Leading
to Increased UBD
Increased Availability of Nitrogen.
Better Reservoir and Rock Strength

Analysis.
Improved Hydraulics Analysis.

Percussion Tools.

Ability to Re-Circulate Fluids.

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
PETE 689
Underbalanced Drilling
(UBD)

Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering