An overview of underbalanced drilling applications in Canada
Underbalanced drilling is quickly becoming an important technology in the Canadian oil and gas sector. While drilling impairment has always been a concern, a significant increase in horizontal completions has brought this issue to the forefront. A number of stimulation techniques are available for overcoming impairment in vertical wells or shallow damage in horizontal wells, however, deeper matrix damage is often difficult to remove in long horizontal sections. With this in mind, Canadian producers have looked to underbalanced drilling to prevent damage caused by fluid leak-off and fines migration. Many of the oil and gas fields in Canada are subhydrostatic, therefore underbalanced drilling operations often require the entrainment of a gas phase in the drilling fluid to generate the appropriate bottomhole pressures. In most cases, because of safety concerns, nitrogen gas is used. This paper focuses on two UBD techniques, addressing the advantages and limitations of each. Two-phase flow analysis and job design will be discussed. A summary of the jobs completed, operational details and production results will be given.
- OSTI ID:
- 379649
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950533-; TRN: IM9644%%105
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Formation damage conference, The Hague (Netherlands), 15-16 May 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of European formation damage control conference: Proceedings; PB: 571 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Development and verification of a dynamic underbalanced drilling simulator
Designing underbalanced drilling operations for dynamic effects