Marine Drilling - Planning a Multiple Well Directional Drilling Program for Offshore Locations (TP 2325, Petr. Tech., March 1948, with discussion)

The many mechanical, geological, and economic factors which influence the planning of a directional drilling program are thoroughly discussed and analyzed. It is demonstrated that the planning of a directionally drilled multiple-well artificial island location is a complicated undertaking and that it is imperative that complete planning and engineering analysis be undertaken before the program is started. Complete planning is profitable because all of the factors influencing the directional work are in general interrelated and many time compromises have to be made before a harmonious program results. The engineering control necessary to accomplish a complicated directional drilling program is outlined. Various means by which engineering control can be increased, such as cylinder drilling specifications, are given. A hypothetical example is developed for a complete offshore artificial island of ten wells to demonstrate the more important factors involved in the planning. Included with this example are special charts and tables which make more rapid the drafting of directional drilling proposals and maps. Introduction A petroleum engineer must consider many and varied factors when planning a long range directional drilling program for an offshore or inaccessible location on an oil structure. The basic principles of direc- tional drilling planning and operation must be reconciled with his company's drilling practices, and frequently special concessions to standard drilling and production practices should be made. The field techniques and tools used in directional drilling are well known and widely used, but the deliberate, careful planning of a complete directional program is in the main a recent innovation. This development, plus the increased demand for oil resources and the consequent exploitation of inaccessible structures and offshore locations, has placed this problem before many engineering departments for the first time. Directional drilling programs of a very complex and difficult nature have been successfully carried out in the Mid-Continent and Pacific Coast regions. The planning itself of a directional drilling project, however, has not had the careful analysis it deserves and we can reasonably expect widespread future progress along thesc lines. Data and experience gained in these programs by the directional drilling service companies and the oil producers have been studied with the objective of giving the engineer a better conception of the factors which govern the various steps in planning a series of directional wells. The newest engineering procedures are the result of recent careful analysis of years of directional drilling work accomplished under the supervision of directional drilling service companies working with the oil companies. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate