Conventiona
l VS.
Unconventio
nal Drilling
Drilling techniques
Conventional Unconventional
Drilling techniques
Drilling techniques
Overbalance Underbalance
Unconventional drilling Unconventional drilling
MPD UBD
• In conventional drilling bottom hole pressure is
maintained greater than formation or pore
pressure but less then fracture initiation
pressure.
Conventi
onal • In Managed Pressure Drilling BHP is controlled
to prevent flow of formation fluid to the well
Drilling bore.
Vs. MPD
Vs. UBD • In Underbalanced drilling method focused on
preventing fluid loss to formation. So pressure is
maintained under pore pressure but above
pressure required to maintain wellbore stability.
Conventional Drilling Vs. MPD
Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD)
• Managed pressure drilling (MPD) is used in regions where the formation’s operational
pressure window is restricted.
• MPD is designed to maintain bottomhole pressure slightly above or equal to the reservoir
pore pressure (i.e. overbalanced or at balanced drilling).
• MPD is primarily a technique that uses a single-phase drilling fluid to control equivalent
circulating density (ECD) or dynamic mud weight (MW) without adding any weighting
material to the drilling fluid.
• The main purpose of any MPD operation is to work on issues that can be the cause of
heavy MW or high ECDs. By doing so, it improves the overall efficiency of the operation,
leading to a significant amount of savings in both time and cost.
Advantage of using MPD
techniques
• Reduce lost circulation.
• Higher penetration rate.
• Reduce non-productive time(NPT).
• No differential stuck in pipe.
• Earlier kick or losses detection using the intelligent control system.
• Reduce skin factor thus increase production rate and recovery.
• Improve production evaluation.
• Less consumption of mud.
• Reduced number of kick occurrences.
• Drill HPHT wells more safely.
• Trip more safely.
Primary well control system
for MPD
Secondary well control equipment should not be used for MPD
operations
Proper primary MPD flow paths and how they are separate from well control flow paths
RCD (Rotating Control Device)
Underbalanced drilling (UBD)
• In underbalanced drilling (UBD), the hydrostatic head of the drilling fluid
is intentionally designed to be lower than the pressure of the formations
that are being drilled. The hydrostatic head of the fluid may naturally be
less than the formation pressure, or it can be induced by adding different
substances to the liquid phase of the drilling fluid, such as:
• Nitrogen
• Natural gas
• Air
• Whether the underbalanced status is induced or natural, the result may
be an influx of formation fluids that must be circulated from the well, and
controlled at surface.
UBD Vs. Conventional drilling
• The effective downhole circulating pressure of the drilling fluid is equal to the
hydrostatic pressure of the fluid column, plus associated friction pressures, plus any
pressure applied on surface.
•
• Conventionally, wells are drilled overbalanced. In these wells, a column of fluid of a
certain density in the hole provides the primary well-control mechanism. The
pressure on the bottom of the well will always be designed to be higher than the
pressure in the formation (Fig. 1a). In underbalanced drilled wells, a lighter fluid
replaces the fluid column, and the pressure on the bottom of the well is designed
intentionally to be lower than the pressure in the formation (Fig. 1b).
Pressures in conventional drilling.
Pressures in underbalanced drilling
Open vs. closed circulation systems.
There are also specific advantages and disadvantages of performing a drilling
operation underbalanced. These are summarized in Table 1.
