Directional drilling–
challengeand
opportunity
Steve Krase,
RyanDirectional Services,
North America, explores the
challenges and opportunities
raised by the directional drilling of
unconventional wells.
D
rillingunconventionalwellsprovidesmany
challenges for thedirectional drilling
serviceproviderbut also just asmany
opportunities. Although the ‘unconventional’
termoriginally related specifically to the reservoir,
the termunconventional isnowbroadlyused
todefine thehorizontalwells that aredrilled to
exploit theseunconventional reservoirs. Froma
drillingperspective, theplanningandexecutionof
unconventionalwells ismorecomplexand these
wells require special technologyand techniques to
develop. The shifthasmoved from simplykeeping
awellborevertical orhittinga ‘target’ toefficient
wellboreplacement and remaining ‘in zone’ for
longer and longerdistances. Asdrilling records for
lateral lengthanddrilling speedcontinue tobe
shattered inmanyof thesebasins, the requirement
for further reduction innon-productive time, and
faster, highaccuracydata isgrowing rapidly.
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