The Basic Applications of Directional Wells

(1) Requirements for subsurface geological conditions

Directional wells are often used for complex layers, salt mounds and faults that are difficult to penetrate with straight wells.

For example, well leakage in An 718 section block, wells in Bayin block in Erlian area with natural orientation of 120-150 degrees.

(2) Drilling technology requirements

Directional well technology is often used when encountering downhole accidents that cannot be dealt with or are not easy to deal with. For example: dropping drill bits, breaking drilling tools, stuck drills, etc.

(3) The need for cost-effective exploration and development of hydrocarbon reservoirs

1.Directional wells can be drilled on the inside of the original borehole when the original well is falls through, or when the oil-water boundary and gas tops are drilled through.

2.When encountering oil and gas reservoirs with multi-layer system or fault disconnection, one directional well can be used to drill through multiple sets of oil and gas layers.

3.For fractured reservoirs horizontal wells can be drilled to penetrate more fractures, and both low-permeability formations and thin oil reservoirs can be drilled with horizontal wells to improve single-well production and recovery.

4.In alpine, desert and marine areas, oil and gas reservoirs can be exploited with cluster of wells.