Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

National University of Oil and Gas «Gubkin University»

Oil and gas wells drilling department

Abstract
On the discipline "Designing the process of drilling oil and gas wells"

Topic: «Underbalanced drilling»

Performed by Mkrtchyan O.A.

group RMM-19-13

supervisored by Balitskiy V.P.

Moscow, 2019
Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
Underbalanced Drilling Technology...................................................................................3
Technical Data.....................................................................................................................4
Equivalent Circulating Density (ECD)................................................................................4
Gaseated Fluid And Flow Drilling.......................................................................................5
Underbalanced + Horizontal Drilling = UBHD...................................................................5
UBHD Well Construction....................................................................................................6
The Drilling Fluid Decision.................................................................................................7
Well Construction Challenges.............................................................................................8
Field Study...........................................................................................................................9
Validating Underbalanced Well Construction...................................................................11
Conclusions........................................................................................................................13
Reference...........................................................................................................................14

2
Introduction
UBD is a drilling practice where the dynamic wellbore pressure intentionally is less than
the formation pore pressure. Underbalanced drilling may improve drilling efficiency and
enhance well productivity. However, for operational safety overbalanced drilling is generally
preferred and the value of UBD is not yet fully acknowledged. At the same time UBD is
increasingly used in many parts of the world. The technology involved is matured and the
experience is increasing. UBD may be the only solution to unlock further drilling in depleted
reservoirs with abnormal pressure ramps. UBD is applied for a variety of reservoir types at
different complexity levels. The motivation is to increase the drilling efficiency and to enhance
production. Normal drilling procedures, even with minimum conventional mud density (0.8 s.g)
is not possible in many of the fields due to heavy to complete mud loss. In practice, drilling
horizontal wells with heavy mud loss creates two severe drilling challenges:
 Stuck pipe due to cutting accumulation
 Loss of data transmission
In fractured carbonate reservoirs, non-producing wells are a major challenge either due to
formation damage by loss of drilling fluids or not appropriate well placement and direction to
intersect the fractures. The key aspects for promoting UBD are;
 Improved drilling performance
 Avoiding drilling fluid loss
 Improved ROP o Less bit wear and tripping time
 Improved reservoir fracture productivity
 Early and improved fracture detection
 Avoiding reservoir impairment
 Allowing open hole completion
 Reduced need for well stimulation

Underbalanced Drilling Technology

The UBD methodology involves two major technologies:
 Types of UBD fluid; gas, foam, gasified- and one phase liquids
 Circulating system; open system, closed loop system and snubbing unit
There are two ways to create underbalanced conditions which are also dependent on the
formation pore pressure:
 Artificially underbalanced

3
  Naturally underbalanced
Artificially underbalanced operations apply to depleted reservoirs where the pore
pressure gradient is less than the water pressure gradient. Gas is then required and mixed with
the drilling fluids. Natural underbalanced operations mean that the reservoir pressure is able to
flow the well by itself. However, starting the underbalanced condition, the mud column of the
well has to be unloaded by a lighter fluid. The method is referred to as “flow-drilling”. UBD
systems are modular and self-contained and can in principle be installed independently of the
drilling rigs. Some extension of the surface pad is needed for the equipment involved. Top-drives
are advantageous, avoiding the square drilling kelly running through the rotating control head
(RCH) creating extra wear on the seals. A standard UBD package is designed as a closed loop
system. Flexibility is a key issue allowing production while drilling and reservoir testing.
Drilling with volatile fluids (high GOR) and managing H2S environments are important safety
issues.

Technical Data
Normally on light weight fluid drilling operations a gas (air or nitrogen) is used pure or
combined with a liquid. So the operations can be performed with aerated mud (drilling fluid+ air
or nitrogen), foam or mist. In the project analyzed in this article it was used nitrogen fluid. The
gas can be transported to the location (N2 liquid) or generated on site by an equipment that
separates the nitrogen from the air. In the operations performed in Brazil’s South Region liquid
nitrogen was used in the first WO wells and on the others it was used on site generation.
The main reasons for use of underbalance drilling in this project were:
 improve drilling performance;
 improve detection of hydrocarbon on gas surface samples during drilling
operations;
 minimize formation damage.

Equivalent Circulating Density (ECD).

In order to determine the gas and liquid flow rates to be used and also the expected
surface and bottom hole pressures it was used the simulators SIMULT (from Petrobrss) and
Mudlite (from Maurer Engineering). Once an ECD was chosen, the simulators were used to
obtain the combined liquid and gas flow rates to produce at the bottom hole the desired ECD. On
the simulator it was necessary to enter with fluid data (liquid and gas), well geometry,
temperature, Mill string diameters, well depth and expected rate of penetration. The annular
4
velocity should be above a minimum necessary to provide cuttings carrying and hole cleaning. In
the fwst well it was done extensive circulation tests with registration of bottom hole pressures in
order to check the results firnished by the simulators. During the operation liquid and gas are
pumped independently with the mixing occurring in the injection line. In the return line (flow
line) the flow is deviated by the rotating head to the separator that directs the liquid and cuttings
to the shakers and the gas to the burner.

Gaseated Fluid And Flow Drilling

Underbalanced conditions exist in a wellbore when the hydrostatic pressure exerted by a
column of fluid is less than the formation pressure. This underbalanced condition is often
achieved by the injection of a gas into the drilling or return fluid to create a gaseated fluid,
thereby reducing its density. The process typically requires gas compression and surface pressure
control equipment. This intentional and controlled method of using compressed gas to lower
hydrostatic pressure by creating a lightweight fluid is what differentiates gaseated underbalanced
drilling from “flow drilling,” which is another type of underbalanced drilling.
Flow drilling relies on reservoir conditions and not on compression equipment to create
the underbalanced state. Flow drilling is a drilling technique that developed in the US Austin
Chalk because the reservoir is characterized by lost circulation. Losing circulation lowers the
fluid column in a well, and as a result, the hydrostatic pressure is lowered causing a well to
become underbalanced. This was usually an unplanned but anticipated event, so controlling a
series of kicks while drilling was what generally defined “flow drilling.” Drilling in over-
pressured formations is another condition that can be taken advantage of to create “flow drilling”
conditions. Flow drilling in over-pressured formations uses techniques and procedures similar to
those described in “Managed Pressure Drilling” operations.

Underbalanced + Horizontal Drilling = UBHD

Drilling underbalanced is one of the key procedures used in a reservoir to prevent
formation damage. The reduction or elimination of formation damage has proven to be an
effective component in the effort to improve productivity by reducing skin damage. In the past,
eliminating skin damage in a reservoir with high permeability and porosity was not a priority
with many companies. After all, if a reservoir with 600 millidarcies of permeability had 50
percent of its pore throat system plugged with fines from an overbalanced drilling operation,
theoretically there would still be 300 millidarcies of permeability. This is probably the reason for
the old saying, “You can’t hurt a good reservoir.”

5
 Unfortunately, the same overbalanced mud system applied to a reservoir with only 10
millidarcies of permeability usually reduces the permeability in the near wellbore region to zero,
hence the need to use a technology such as hydraulic fracturing to reconnect the reservoir to the
wellbore. Low permeability reservoirs benefit the most from fracturing because they are
extremely susceptible to damage from overbalanced drilling. They are generally drilled the same
way medium to high permeability reservoirs are drilled. In other words, they are drilled with
little regard for the damage being done to the reservoir because conventional completion
practices have typically restored productivity to an acceptable level by reconnecting the wellbore
to the reservoir. Horizontal drilling is another technology that has come a long a way in the past
25 years. It can be utilized both as an exploration and a completion tool. The primary benefit of
including horizontal drilling as part of the completion process is that the wellbore can be steered
at a bearing that is perpendicular to the primary stress direction, thereby connecting natural
fracture permeability to the wellbore. It also increases the wellbore exposure to the reservoir,
which increases the drainage area. An obvious benefit of a larger drainage area is a reduction in
the number of wells needed to develop a field.
The application of horizontal drilling is important in the exploitation of reservoirs that
have limited primary permeability. Horizontal drilling has the potential to overcome this
condition by intersecting the secondary permeability that is derived from natural fractures.
As a result of being able to connect fractures to a wellbore, horizontal drilling technology
has turned what were assumed to be non-productive reservoirs into economic successes.
Fractured reservoirs drilled vertically will usually have a single highly elliptical drainage pattern
due to permeability anisotropy, whereas horizontal wells drilled in the appropriate direction in
the same reservoir will connect multiple elliptical drainage patterns to the wellbore, resulting in
greater production. Horizontal drilling combined with underbalanced drilling creates a
completion technique that delivers more productivity because the reservoir’s permeability that
has been connected to the horizontal wellbore has not been damaged.

UBHD Well Construction

The number one challenge when using horizontal underbalanced drilling as a completion
technique is staying underbalanced or at balance 100% of the time6. This is critical because it
only takes a few minutes to damage a wellbore from overbalanced conditions. The use of a
proper fluid system can help mitigate some of the damage problems and is particularly helpful
during periods of reservoir/wellbore pressure balance. The challenge includes staying
underbalanced or at balance even when the time comes to get off the well.

6
 Constructing a well using the concentric casing technique is particularly suited for UBHD
because it is simple to employ, and it ensures that the underbalanced conditions are maintained at
all times1. With concentric casing, a dual annulus drilling system is created, and the drilling fluid
is not gaseated in the drill pipe2. Instead, the return fluid is gaseated downhole through ports that
connect the inner annulus to the outer annulus. Compressed gas is pumped down the outer
annulus. Two distinct advantage of this technique are the ability to have better control over the
degree of underbalance by locating the communication ports at an optimal depth downhole and
gas injection can continue without interruption while making a connection.

The Drilling Fluid Decision

If drilling an underbalanced wellbore into a reservoir to reduce formation damage, then
careful attention needs to be paid to the selection of the drilling medium in order to protect
permeability. The basic choices for creating a gaseated fluid include gases such as air, nitrogen,
or natural gas and liquids such as oil or water.
The proper selection of the liquid phase is especially important in tight sandstones. Tight
rocks are noted for having high capillary forces. The potential to imbibe the liquid phase can be
stronger than the underbalanced condition if the inappropriate fluid is selected. For example,
sandstones that are “water wet” should be drilled with oil because a nonwetting fluid cannot be
drawn into a “water wet” formation9. If water is used and spontaneous imbibition10 occurs, the
permeability can be reduced through a well-documented formation damage mechanism known as
“phase trapping.”
Because of their normally high clay content, sandstones can experience reduced
permeability when a water-based fluid makes contact with reactive clay minerals11 such as
smectite. Many operators see the greatest potential for underbalanced horizontal drilling
(UBHD) in sandstones because it is able to significantly reduce permeability damage due to
swelling clays, as well as having a potential for greater fracture intensity12 than limestones.

Another often ignored decision of an underbalanced operation is the selection of solids

control equipment for the liquid phase of a gaseated fluid in a closed loop operation. High solids
1
Saponja, J., “CHALLENGES WITH JOINTED PIPE UNDERBALANCED OPERATIONS”,
SPE Paper 37066 presented at the 1996 SPE International Conference on Horizontal Well
Technology, Calgary, Alberta, November 18-20
2
Ralmalho, John; “CHANGING THE LOOK AND FEEL OF UBD REQUIRES INDUSTRY
TO BREAK OUT OF CONVENTIONAL THINKING” Drilling Contractor Article, July/August
2007 Issue, pages 62-67

7
content in the liquid phase adds hydrostatic weight to the system. Of course solids control
equipment is not needed if a blooie line is used and goes straight to a pit. In this type of
operation, a “one pass” fluid can be used, which means the fluid that is returned from the well
never goes back down the well.

Well Construction Challenges

Maintaining underbalanced in both drilling and completion is a complex and challenging
operation. Due to this complexity, some underbalanced drilled wells may be completed in
overbalance and the initial production capabilities of the well may be lost. Underbalanced
conditions are important for all phases of the well construction comprising:
 Drilling
 Tripping (in and out)
 Logging and formation testing
 Running casing and pumping cement
 Perforation and completion
Hard rock drilling and low rate of penetration (ROP) is a common challenge. In tight
carbonated reservoirs an ROP of one meter per hour has been experienced. This low ROP
impacts the drilling costs and is also very relevant to the formation damage issue due to
increased time of exposure of mud to the reservoir. The bit life is generally low and several bit
runs are required. UBD can dramatically reduce drilling time and up to 10 times improvement
has been reported. Abnormal pressurized salt water formations and depleted and fractured
reservoirs need to be carefully addressed. Logistic is a very important issue and impacts the
drilling efficiency and the ability to handle critical well operations. With UBD it is possible to
manage unforeseen pressure regimes and mitigate the logistics challenge related to heavy mud
loss. Mud losses occur when fractures are encountered ahead of the bit. Depending on the
fracture characteristics the mud loss rates can vary. Dyke3 described three types for fracture
apertures. With micro-fractures (less that 250 µm) mud will block the fracture near the wellbore
without any detectable mud loss. Fracture openings between 250 and 500 µm can be detected by
monitoring the mud loss, but will be blocked by the mud after some time. When the fracture
opening is larger than 500 µm, mud can not seal the fracture by itself and lost circulation
material (LCM) may be required to stop losses. However, using LCM can destroy the
conductivity of the fractures damaging the production potential of the well. This risk need to be

3
Dyke, C.G., Wu, B. and Milton-Tayler, D.: "Advances in Characterizing Natural Fracture
Permeability from Mud Log Data", paper SPE 25022 presented at the European Petroleum
Conference 1992, Cannes, Nov. 16 – 18
8
balanced with the potential drilling hazards such as stuck pipe and gas blow out. In some cases
the data acquisitions programme has to be cancelled due to mud loss. During well completion,
back flushing is generally carried out to clean the well. A successful clean up or stimulation of
the fracture network is hard to achieve. This is demonstrated with field data in the further
discussion. Optimized well direction and placement in respect to the fracture network pattern is
very important. Experience has shown that predicting and characterizing the fracture network
prior to drilling is very difficult. UBD can assist for early detection and assessment of the
fractures.

Field Study
The normal production mechanism of carbonate reservoirs is through natural fracture
networks with high conductivity. The dense matrix usually feeds the fracture network. If the well
trajectory does not intersect any fractures, production will be low or even absent. In such cases,
field experiences have shown that stimulation efforts like acidizing often are unsuccessful.
Although the production history has been poor, the potential of the fields have been found to be
high, but dependent on efficient exploitation methods like horizontal wells, underbalanced
drilling and smart data acquisition programs.
The Dehluran (DH) field is a relevant field for UBD operations because of the nature of
the field and the long and problematic production history. DH is located in the southwestern part
of Iran close to the Iran-Iraq border. The field is 20 km long and 9 km wide with an average
reservoir thickness of 300 m. The field was discovered in 1970 and 22 wells have been drilled so
far. Only 13 wells have reached the reservoir target. The rest of the wells have been abandoned
due to serious drilling challenges like high salt pressure and also due to the Iraq-Iran war (1980-
1988). The estimated recoverable oil is 15 % by natural depletion. So far only 10 % of
recoverable oil is produced. To date, horizontal wells have not been drilled.
The integrated study showed:
 The majority of wells has poor production history
 General lack of fracture knowledge
 Uncertainties apply with respect to reservoir compartments and fluid contacts
Only a few wells have shown a reasonable production potential. It is assumed that the
exposure to the fracture network govern the well productivity. It was not possible to explain the
production capabilities from the available petropysical log data.
Fractures can be identified and characterized by different methods. With formation image
logs the fractures can be visualized directly. Accurate mud loss detectors combined with annulus

9
pressure sensors near the drill bit can give a continuous log of minor to severe losses. Small
fractures may however be difficult to detect by this method. The microfractures will be filled and
blocked by mud within few seconds when the mud is non-Newtonian.
Mud loss logs or image logs were not available for the Dehluran field. Mud loss data,
extracted from the daily drilling reports was thus studied as an approach to characterize fractures.
Four types of mud losses can be distinguished based on severity of mud losses. The wells were
ranked with respect to mud loss rate as follows:
 No mud loss (zero)
 Partial mud loss ( 1 to 9 bbl / hour)
 Moderate mud loss (10 to 49 bbl / hour)
 Severe mud loss (50 bbl / hour to total mud loss)
The results are shown in Table 1 together with the cumulative production. The mud loss
distribution is summarised in Figure 3 and shows that 65 % of the wells had no mud loss to
partial mud loss while 35 % of the drilled wells had severe to moderate mud loss. The rapid and
unexpected mud loss observation is the main indication for existence of fractures. The complete
mud loss probably happened when large fractures were hit.
A correlation is found between the mud-loss and production history. It seems as the
northern part of the field has higher probabilities of fractures. No systematic regional fracture
pattern can however be deduced.
The drilling logistic issue is very important when operating in remote and desert areas
like the Dehluran field. Rough terrain with long access roads and also military regulations due to
the closeness to the Iraqi border is a challenge. The logistics are related to both human support
and securing of needed equipment and materials. A downtime analysis from daily drilling reports
shows that while hole condition problems was the major issue for early wells, the logistics are
the major area of concern for the later wells. The major factors involved for the logistics are
transportation and the availability and quality of materials and spare parts. Figure 7 shows
downtime analysis of nine DH wells. The downtime is caused by severe mud losses and securing
water supply is the most predominant issue and impacts the ability to handle critical drilling
operations.

Validating Underbalanced Well Construction

Different field and formation characteristics need to be screened with respect to the
potential benefits of underbalanced well construction:
 Fields or formations where UBD can obviously offer advantages; depleted
formations, hard rock formations and formations subject to damage.
10
  Fields or formations which need in-depth evaluation; low permeable formations,
very permeable formations, macro-fractured formations and abnormal pressurized
formations.
 Fields or formations where UBD is not recommended; highly unconsolidated
formations and swelling formations. Before commencing drilling operations the
following considerations need to be carefully addressed:
 Wellbore collapse or enlargement
 Drilling operation safety
 Net present value (NPV) UBD operations should be evaluated for different
contributions to validate the enhancements:
 Short-term enhancement related to drilling ability and ROP achievements
 Long-term production enhancement related to improved well productivity.
In the seven fields study UBD solutions for production enhancement have been
addressed. The fields have been screened and drilling and production histories were evaluated
for UBD applications. Fracture characteristics and pressure gradients have been analysed and
summarizes the findings. Three out of the seven fields have more than 5 wells drilled while the
rest still are in an exploration phase. Recommendations with respect to UBD application in the
seven fields are summarized.
Flow drilling is a UBD technique where the well is left flowing while drilling. This
technique is applicable for reservoirs with sufficient pore pressure to overcome hydrostatic
pressure in the well.
In fractured reservoirs, the reservoir fluid can flow easily when exposed to an
underbalanced condition due to the high flow conductivity of the fractures. The observed
reservoir pressures in DH are between 414 – 428 bar at the datum depth of 3900 mss. Normally
10% overpressure in the reservoir is required to achieve underbalanced conditions.
For safety issues criteria for hole collapse and procedures for surface handling of the
fluids need to be clearly defined. The open hole production history in the field shows that the
rock is generally stable and the use of crude oil fluid should be acceptable and recommended
both with respect to reservoir evaluation and rock compatibility. Surface handling of fluids need
to be carefully assessed by the service contractor.
The Dehluran study showed the importance of precise positioning and characterization of
the intersected fractures. This is of special importance if the reservoir section is completed with a
casing and the production intervals are perforated. When the flow-drilling method is applied,
influx to the well will increase rapidly after the bit intersects fractures. By monitoring the rate of

11
flow at the surface fracture interpretations can be made. This evaluation may be integrated with
data from the Logging While Drilling tool (LWD) in real time and comprehensive fracture
knowledge can be achieved. Micro-fractures which are difficult to detect by overbalanced mud
loss may be observed by flow-drilling.
Later stimulation of a microfractured reservoir invaded by drilling mud is extremely
difficult. Open hole completion is generally preferred in these competent formations and type of
reservoirs due to larger reservoir exposure. Drilling overbalanced contaminates the fractured
reservoir and open hole stimulation is difficult. An effective treatment requires selective
stimulation of each fracture. To perform this in open hole time consuming straddle pack
operations are required. A liner is normally set and perforated. In natural fractured reservoir one
needs to perforate in the exact position of the fractures which is very difficult to achieve.
Underbalanced well construction will help to avoid reservoir impairment maintaining the option
of an open hole completion. Moreover, production diagnoses are simpler in complex fields by
applying UBD and flow-drilling. With UBD, fracture monitoring can be done while drilling and
it is possible for completion and reservoir engineers to make dynamic decision how to complete
the wells.
Downtime due to logistics problems represents a challenge as shown in the Dehluran
field. UBD can help to reduce this downtime if an appropriate technique is selected. For
example, using foam as the UBD drilling fluid does not need conventional water amounts. A
closed UBD system will minimize waste of drilling fluids and improve environmental issues.
The specific field locations need attention as an UBD equipment package needs some
extra space. However, assembling an UBD system onshore is simpler than offshore due to less
space limitations.
UBD operations require a more careful planning than a conventional drilled well. It is
therefore possible to reduce the downtime significantly and to improve the drilling efficiency and
safety. As discussed before the root causes of mud losses or blowouts are unknown or not well-
known fractures and associated pore pressure. UBD is an operation which plays with the well
hydraulics, and thus adjusts the well pressure to the pore pressure.
Introducing UBD will add service cost to the drilling campaign. However, simple time
and cost estimates can also illustrate potential cost savings in addition to improved well
performance. Comparence estimated rig days with conventional drilling and with UBD for a DH
well and compares the total drilling costs for the same well. It is assumed that rate of penetration
with UBD will be twice compared to conventional drilling. Furthermore, it is assumed that
additional daily rates of UBD is comparable to a rig rate of 25000 $. Saved time on drilling and

12
tripping in the reservoir interval without stimulation needs sums up to 12 rig days saved and a
total cost almost equal to a conventional drilled well.
As most of the advantages of UBD come in the production phase a reasonable net
present value calculation of UBD should be as a lifetime calculation of the well.

Conclusions
In the evaluation of productivity improvements of UBD technology has been identified as
a promising tool. The value has been found to be mainly related to:
 Improved fracture network identification and characterization
 Improved well productivity avoiding fracture contamination
 Avoiding time consuming and risky stimulation operations
 While drilling decision support for optimized well placement and completion
contingency
 Less need for drilling water supply and mitigating logistics related to mud
materials
 Faster drilling with less rig days
Formation damage has been proven to significantly inhibit the recovery of hydrocarbons.
This could explain why the average recovery factor for oil in the US is only 5 to15 percent25.
Today operators are in a unique position to recover a significantly larger percentage of oil and
gas from existing fields by employing non-damaging horizontal drilling technology in the
reservoir as a completion method. While the use of the tri-cone bit brought faster penetration
rates than cable tool drilling, it also caused formation damage by the overbalanced mud system
that is used when drilling with a roller cone bit.
Thus, the challenge before our industry today is to properly apply the UBHD completion
technique in assumed to be depleted oilfields and recover another 15 percent or more of the oil in
place without any exploration risk.

Reference
1. McLennan, J.: “Underbalanced Drilling Manual”, Chicago, Ill.: Gas
Research Institute, GRI reference: GRI-97/0236, 1997.
2. Mathes, R.A. and Jack, L.J.: "Successful Drilling of an Underbalanced,
Dual-Lateral Horizontal well in the Sajaa Field, Sharjah, UAE", paper SPE 57569
13
presented at the 1999 SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling Technology Conference, Abu
Dhabi, Nov. 8 – 10.
3. Luo, S., Hong, R., Meng, Y., Zhang, L., Li, Y. and Qin, C.:
"Underbalanced Drilling in High-Loss Formation achieved Great Success – a Field Case
Study”, paper SPE 59260 presented at the 2000 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, New
Orleans, Feb.23 – 25.
4. Dyke, C.G., Wu, B. and Milton-Tayler, D.: "Advances in Characterizing
Natural Fracture Permeability from Mud Log Data", paper SPE 25022 presented at the
European Petroleum Conference 1992, Cannes, Nov. 16 – 18
5. Saponja, J., “CHALLENGES WITH JOINTED PIPE
UNDERBALANCED OPERATIONS”, SPE Paper 37066 presented at the 1996 SPE
International Conference on Horizontal Well Technology, Calgary, Alberta, November
18-20
6. Ralmalho, John; “CHANGING THE LOOK AND FEEL OF UBD
REQUIRES INDUSTRY TO BREAK OUT OF CONVENTIONAL THINKING”
Drilling Contractor Article, July/August 2007 Issue, pages 62-67

14