IADC/SPE 126148

Riserless Reelwell Drilling Method to Address Many Deepwater Drilling

Challenges
M. Mir Rajabi, SPE, A.I. Nergaard, SPE, University of Stavanger; O. Hole, O.M. Vestavik; Reelwell AS

Copyright 2010, IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2010 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition held in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 24 February 2010.
This paper was selected for presentation by an IADC/SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not
been reviewed by the International Association of Drilling Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily
reflect any position of the International Association of Drilling Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any
part of this paper without the written consent of the International Association of Drilling Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is
restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of IADC/SPE copyright.

Abstract
Drilling a well in deep oceans is a daunting task due to both downhole drilling hazards and excessive floating rig package.
Traditionally many of these challenging wells are drilled with a low-pressure 21 marine drilling riser stretched from mudline
to surface. A huge rig with high weight, space, and tensioning requirement is vital to handle this monster fluid conduit.
Moreover, a reliable station keeping system is essential for the rig to keep it in a very tight operating radius to have drilling
operations running uninterruptedly.
When we move to deeper waters and harsher environments, it becomes more difficult, and in many cases becomes even
impossible to reach reservoir targets in such challenging environments. The problem of narrow formation pressure window
also exists and adds up.
Reelwell Drilling Method has been proven by series of tests and theoretical studies to have the potential to alleviate the
main drilling challenges by (1) elimination of the marine drilling riser to extend the capability of drilling in ultra deepwaters,
(2) providing a closed-loop circulation system to make it possible for the industry to deploy Controlled Pressure Drilling
(CPD) techniques and overcome many downhole pressure related challenges including narrow pressure window which is a
common problem in deepwaters (Mir Rajabi 2009).
Introduction
The way we drill offshore wells has not changed that much since the emergence of offshore drilling. Except from that the
BOP was moved to the seafloor as water depth approached to circa 1,000 ft, changes were all about increases in rig and
equipment sizes and slight enhancement to the tools. 13 5/8 wellheads were replaced by 18 , and 18 5/8 risers were
replaced by 21 low pressure risers as the water depth went beyond 1,000 ft in 1970s (Gault 1996).
The water depth of drilling operation increased even more, and it was soon realized that it would not be economically
viable, or even technically possible, to develop many deepwater reservoirs by this method. The length of the riser and the size
of the rig and equipments increased significantly and reached their technical and economical limits.
Drilling in deepwaters was not just all about the size and cost of marine drilling risers, floating rigs, and other
equipments. However, dealing with formations with narrow pore pressure/fracture pressure window in deepwater
environments has been challenging too. Even if one claims that all the problems pertinent to floating rigs and marine drilling
riser is solved at a reasonable cost, many downhole hazards are yet to be handled to reach reservoir targets.
The need for changes in the status-quo deepwater drilling method triggered many attempts around the world to search for
a solution. During the last 40 years, many different alternatives have been proposed and studied. These alternatives offer
possible means of elimination of the big and expensive marine drilling riser, downsizing the companion large drilling vessel,
and various tools to mitigate downhole drilling problems, but none of them is commercially available yet to the industry
worldwide.
The ever increasing needs for hydrocarbons has been pushing continually the industry for new resources in ultra
deepwaters for which development of a rather unconventional drilling method seems to be imperative.
In the midst of struggles for development of alternatives to overcome challenges of deepwater drilling, it was realized that
concentric drill string system of Reelwell Drilling Method could be considered as a reliable solution. RDM reduces overall
cost and allows us to access previously unattainable reservoirs in deepwaters by elimination of marine drilling riser and
deployment of MPD.

IADC/SPE 126148

Theoretical studies and series of tests proved Reelwell Drilling Method to be an effective tool for drilling in deep and
ultra deepwaters without any need for overwhelmingly expensive 5th or 6th generation floating rigs. Marine drilling riser is
replaced by an especially designed slim pipe lodged inside the conventional drill pipe. A choke manifold equipped with a
computer system handles the adjustment of downhole pressure for a better navigation through problematic narrow pressure
windows to avoid kick/loss and well control scenarios. Well control is marginal in deepwater environments and such delicate
control on return flow and pressure is vital.
The idea of drilling with concentric drill string was first proposed to address the industry need for better hole cleaning and
better control over Weight On Bit in coil tubing drilling. While initial applications focused solely on these issues, the
technology has evolved into a dynamic tool addressing an extensive range of common challenges of both land and deepwater
drilling.
RDM development research by Reelwell AS started in 2005 when a Joint Industry Project was launched by Reelwell AS,
Shell, StatoilHydro, and Norwegian Research Council (Vestavik 2008). The unique features of this new technology have
been proven throughout several pilot tests and theoretical studies.
As one of the latest JIP activities, a full scale test was performed in March 2009 at Ullrigg located at IRIS (International
Research Institute of Stavanger) site in Stavanger, Norway. Sucessful results showed that RDM has made great strides since
the JIP was launched, and that RDM is now ready for the industry.
Riser Drilling Challenges
One of the main reasons that the industry can hardly extend its capability to drill in ultra deepwaters is that the current 21
marine drilling riser is missing many essential properties for drilling purposes. Though so costly and unsuccessful in many
deep water cases, it has been the main component of conventional riser drilling system since 1970s.
It hinders economically and technically the progress of drilling industrys attempts to reach deep geological horizons in
deepwater areas. The size, weight, mechanical properties, and hydrodynamic behaviors of 21 marine drilling riser are the
provenances of many challenges that the drilling industry have been facing.
The bare conventional LP marine drilling riser is 21 OD, but its OD practically reaches usually up to 50 and it may
weigh as much as 500 lb/ft when kill/choke line, booster lines, and control lines are attached to it (Leach 2002). For a certain
water depth, enough riser joints are required to be stored on a floating rig from which the drilling operation is to be
performed. As the water depth increases, apparently the number of riser joints increases, and as the result, more space and
weight capacity is required upon the rig.
What makes a floating rig bigger and more expensive is its capability to drill in deeper environments by providing
adequate space and weight requirement for the essential equipments for running drilling operation smoothly. It is not
possible to put 10,000 ft of riser joints on to a rig that has been designed to work in, for example, 5,000 ft of water depth.
Indeed, you will not find enough space for such amount of riser joints upon this rig or any other rig with sizes in the same
order.
A bigger rig with higher Variable Deck Load (VDL) capacity must be constructed to satisfy the requirements for drilling
in ultra deepwaters. VDL capacity of 6,500 tones are normal in average for semi-submersibles that are designed to operate in
water depth of 10,000 ft water depth, while average VDL capacity for 5,000-foot-waterdepth semi-submersible rigs are circa
4,000 tones.
In many situations that mobility of the rig is in priority and/or good motion characteristics of a semi-submersible has a
less degree of importance, drillships are preferred just for taking advantage of their high VDL capacities as higher VDL
capacity is crucial in ultra deepwater drilling due to enormous requirements for conventional riser drilling. Ultra deepwater
drillships VDL capacities usually exceed 10,000 tones; as an example, Discoverer America that is able to operate in 12,000
ft of water depth is designed to carry a deck load of 20,000 tones. Drilling vessels in these sizes are very expensive and their
availability is so limited.
From the top tension point of view, weight of the riser in ultra deepwaters is also costly and technically challenging.
Adequate top tension must be held on the riser to insure riser integrity and to keep the riser system (including the ball joint)
straight enough to drill without rubbing and damaging the riser and wellhead equipment (Sheffield 1982).
Marine drilling riser is fixed to the wellhead at one end and supported by riser tensioner at its upper end from the vessel.
It has a tendency to curve, but the curvature can be controlled against waves, current, riser weight, and weight of mud in the
riser if enough tension is applied.
Riser tension is a function of riser weight; as the length of the riser increases accordingly to water depth, the weight of the
riser increases, and as the result, more top tension is required on the marine drilling riser. In average, riser tensioner
capacities of 10,000-foot-waterdepth floating rigs and 5,000-foot-waterdepth rigs are 3,500 and 1,250 kips respectively.
If marine drilling riser is needed in long lengths, the riser and the mud contained in it become quite heavy. The weight of
the riser becomes such that it can not be tensioned with vessel mounted tensioning systems, and thus, auxiliary buoyancy of
one kind or another is required. Accordingly, these risers are becoming more expensive, and this expense is not linear with
depth (McLeod 1976). Moreover, the auxiliary buoyancy makes the riser more sensitive to the environmental loadings.
The problem of 21 marine drilling riser doesn't stop with its enormous weight. The 21 marine drilling riser with a
capacity of about 400 bbls/1,000 ft needs to be filled up with drilling mud that comprises most of the mud system in
deepwater cases, although it does not benefit the drilling process that much.

IADC/SPE 126148

The mud required to get the riser filled up in case of drilling in 12,000 ft of water depth is equivalent to 3.2 million lbs of
weight in case of 16.0 ppg mud weight. The weight of the mud in the riser increases loading on the riser tensioners, and this
effect is more pronounced as the riser deflects more from vertical. The more the riser deflects from vertical (more curvature),
the bigger mud weight component of top tension will be.
Volume of the mud in ultra deepwater cases is of concern as well. 4,800 bbls of mud is required to just fill up the riser in
case of drilling in 12,000 ft of water depth. This means consideration of significantly bigger active and reserve mud pits for
ultra deepwater rigs, along with additional mud pumps, solids separation equipments, and bigger bulk storage capacity. These
items are among the factors that contribute to increasing the size of the rig. Table 1 compares partially mud equipment for
some floating drilling vessels which are designed to operate in different water depths.
Table 1Conventional riser drilling requires more competent mud system as water depth increases (Offshore Mag.).
Mud Pit
Volumes,
bbls

Max. WD, ft

No. of Mud
Pumps

Semi-Sub.

1,500

National 12P-160

1,976

TRANSOCEAN RICHARDSON

Semi-Sub.

5,000

Continental Emsco FB-1600

3,500

WEST AQUARIUS

Semi-Sub.

10,000

National Oilwell 14P-220

17,100

DISCOVERER CLEAR LEADER

Drillship

12,000

NOV HEX-240

20,000

Vessel Name

SONGA VENUS

Vessel Type

Manufacturer & Model

In conventional riser drilling, the cost of the mud required to fill up the riser is significantly high as well. By a riserless
drilling method, a huge amount of cost saving on drilling mud, in an order of $1,000,000 in some cases, is possible.
Marine drilling risers in long length are more sensitive to environmental loading including currents. Currents cause
Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) that increases fatigue damage to the riser, riser accessories, and conductor pipe. More
tension on the riser may reduce VIV effects to some extent. However, VIV suppression tools such as fairings and strakes
should be used as well in many cases to reduce VIV, but using theses tool will result is considerable additional cost.
Station keeping also becomes of concern as water depth increases in riser drilling operations for it is quite challenging to
keep the position of the rig in a certain operational window to avoid having riser and ball joints overstressed. According to a
rule of thumb, this operational window is approximately equivalent to 5 to 6% of water depth (Sheffield 1982). This
operational radius is considered as a very tight operational window on the ground that it is very difficult to keep the position
of the vessel in that area in rather harsh environments. Such a tight operational radius means excessive downtime in drilling
operations which is very costly.
At such sizes and capacities, floating rig day rates rise to half a million dollars. Day rates in this order are sometimes 50%
more than day rate of smaller rigs whose operational water depths are so limited. According to RIGZONE, day rate of the
rigs that are not able to operate in areas deeper than 4,000 ft are reported to be less than $250,000 in average which is much
less than later generations of drilling vesels.
Even if the high cost of the operation is not hindering us from reaching geological objectives in deepwaters, the 21
marine drilling riser cannot be pushed much further by existing rigs as the riser itself cannot withstand the stresses (Gault
1996). Furthermore, there are a lot of geological problems that the conventional riser drilling technology is not able to
address due to existence of low pressure marine drilling riser in the system.
21 marine drilling riser is a low pressure riser. It is necessarily used as a duct to transfer the return from the mud line to
the surface. Any possible pressure inside the wellbore will be trapped below the subsea BOP. That means that in situations
when a pressurized fluid exists in the system, it must be handled by kill/choke line while the well is shut in by subsea BOP;
no pressure is held inside the 21 marine drilling riser. For this reason, establishment of a closed loop circulation system in
deep and ultra deepwater environmentswhere its need is more pressing than land drillingis impractical.
Having a closed loop circulation system is very important on the ground that it is the essential tool for deploying managed
pressure drilling techniques to establish a much better and more precise control over the Equivalent Circulation Density
(ECD). MPD is an excellent primary well control and non-productive time reduction tool (Mir Rajabi 2009) in drilling
operations.
Here we discuss how Reelwell Drilling method can address floating drilling challenges by elimination of low pressure
riser from the system and by providing us with a closed loop circulation system.
Riserless Reelwell Drilling Method
Reelwell Drilling Method is designed to transfer the cuttings to the surface in an unconventional manner. A specially
designed pipe is hung off inside the conventional drill pipe from the internal shoulder of its tool joints setting up a concentric
drill string system. In this new system, returns flow up to the surface from the inner pipe so that the need for any size and
type of marine drilling riser, either low pressure or high pressure riser, is dismissed. In deed, the inner pipe takes the role of
marine drilling riser, but it differs from conventional riser in that the inner pipe can hold the pressure so that it makes it
possible for us to establish a pressurized fluid system for performing CPD.

IADC/SPE 126148

Having 21 marine drilling riser eliminated by RDM, all riser accessories, riser handling tools, and other requirements
that are found upon semi-submersibles and drillships are uninvolved. RDM helps us to increase the capability of smaller rigs
(3rd or 4th generations of rig) to drill in ultra deepwater environments with much less difficulties and technical limitations. In
conventional riser drilling system, a colossal rig (5th or 6th generations rig) is required to accommodate the riser, apply
enough tension on the riser, and position the rig in a very tight operational radius (as discussed above) to keep the drilling
operation running uninterruptedly.
It is very important to be able to drill in ultra deepwaters by smaller rigs as the industry faces limited fleet of 5th and 6th
generations of drilling vessels. Moreover, the cost of later generations of drilling rigs is considerably higher than smaller rigs.
Riserless RDM can be deployed in water depths of 12,000 ft or even deeper by floating drilling vessels that are currently
used for conventional riser drilling in water depths shallower than 4,000 ft of water depth. The rig from which RDM is to be
deployed can be a conversion or a new-build rig. If it is to be a new-build vessel, a rig with the same size as current 3rd or 4th
generation rigs might be adequate. However, the station keeping of such system must be capable of positioning the rig at any
water depth of operation; it can be any depth up to 12,000 ft or even deeper.
If the rig is to be a conversion, not much modification is required on it. Almost all current floating drilling vessels may be
a candidate for conversion in order for riserless Reelwell drilling in deepwaters. Station keeping system of such rigs shall be
upgraded in a way that the rig can be positioned in ultra deepwaters in an operational radius of 15 to 20% of water depth.
This means that the drilling operation by RDM can be performed uninterruptedly as long as the rig is positioned in this wide
operational window. This is much wider than that of conventional riser drilling method.
An operational radius in this order will lead to relaxation of station keeping, less expensive mooring system, and smaller
thrusters in case of DP system. Such a relaxed station keeping will reduce wait-on-weather times dramatically, and this will
result in huge cost savings especially in harsh environments. Moreover, incidents of drive off will be reduced for this wide
operational radius. Conventionally, the riser must be disconnected from the BOP if the offset is more than 10% of the water
depth according to a rule of thumb.
Everything about wellhead structure and subsea BOP remains unchanged in riserless Reelwell floating drilling. However,
a subsea RCD must be installed atop the subsea BOP stack. This RCD has to be always installed on the top of the subsea
BOP during all operations to cap the annulus of drill string and wellbore; this means that the wellbore annulus is always shut
(Fig. 1).
The RCD should allow for a certain amount of rotational speed (150 to 200 rpm) and stripping speed (120 fpm). The
RCD should function for longer periods as possible without maintenance. Annular seals (stripper rubbers) must be capable of
stripping long 6 5/8 drill pipe (~30,000 ft) with Tool Joints (up to 8 5/8). The size of RCD is determined by the size of the
BOP; it might be selected to be 18 as the size of today subsea BOPs, or 13 5/8 in case of slimhole drilling for smaller
wellheads. Furthermore, subsea RCD should withstand bending moment of drill pipe.
In this system, mud is pumped down the concentric drill string through the annulus of inner pipe and outer pipe (Fig. 2).
This is provided by a patented swivel tool called Top Drive Adaptor that is made up to the string so that it connects the
drillstring to the Top Drive System (TDS). The return that comes up the inner pipe will flow into the Top Drive System
through the upper outlet of TDA. The return then flows out of the TDS and into a computerized choke system (Fig. 3) that
dynamically controls the return flow and pressure, making it a reliable tool for MPD (Mir Rajabi 2009). Fig. 2 and 3 depict
clearly how mud flows in this system.
Downhole pressure is always controlled precisely and kept constant during drilling by RDM system. More precise
wellbore pressure management can address a significant amount of the NPT. In narrow pressure windows usually
encountered in offshore environments, MPD comes to be very important as it paved the way to reach the reservoir objectives
that would have been impossible without MPD. MPD is proven to be a perfect drilling tool according to statistical data; it
helps to avoid many drilling problems successfully including differential sticking and loss/gain of fluid. Inheriting traits of
MPD, RDM is able to detect any small amount of kick immediately and control it in a safe and reliable manner. This feature
is very useful as well control is very marginal in deepwater drilling.
Downhole pressure remains also constant during making connection owing to Dual Float Valve (DFV). DFV shuts both
inflow and outflow once the pump is switched off. DFV is an integrated tool with Flow Cross Over tool (Fig. 1 and 2) that is
made up right above the ordinary BHA and diverts the flow of fluid from above the ordinary BHA to the inner pipe. BHP is
always the same; no matter if the pump is off or on (Mir Rajabi 2009). This novel feature of RDM is also very important
especially in narrow pressure windows where only a delicate downhole pressure control will get us through.
Conventionally, Continuous Circulation System (CCS) is used in cases where it is necessary to keep the mud being
circulated during making connection to avoid downhole pressure changes in narrow pressure windows situations. However,
RDM (without CCS) keeps downhole pressure constant while the pump is not running. In floating Reelwell drilling system
the well is shut in from downhole and the pressure is trapped below the RCD and DFV.
Conclusion
Because RDM does not employ the large 21 marine drilling riser, all riser accessories, riser handling tools, and
equipment including riser tensioning system is eliminated from the drilling vessel, and thus, the payload and space demands
on the drilling rig are significantly reduced. This enables drilling rig in ultra deepwater to reach deep reservoir targets with a
smaller rig that would otherwise have been impossible by conventional riser drilling method.

IADC/SPE 126148

Apart from minor changes including upgrading station keeping system, the entire drilling requirement is satisfied by the
equipment typically found upon a semi-submersible rig which is designed to operate in less than 4,000 ft of water depth.
As an overall conclusion we may say that application of RDM in deepwater drilling will result in;
Cost saving: Riserless drillling in ultra deepwater with smaller rigs (lower day rates).
Extension of water depth capability: Riserless RDM enables drilling at any water depth even beyond 12,000 ft as
the main limiting component (marine drilling riser) is eliminated.
Wait-On-Weather time reduction: Wider operational radius due to relaxed station keeping.
Non-productive time reduction: Many downhole drilling hazards in offshore drilling are addressed by RDM as it
proves to be a reliabl tool for MPD.
Improved primary well control: Any small amount of kick is immediately detected and controlled by the
dynamic return pressure and flow control system on the surface.

Kill/Choke Lines,
Control Lines

Concentric Drill
String

Subsea RCD

Subsea BOP
Mudline

Ordinary BHA
Inner Pipe

Inner Pipe

Outer Pipe

Flow Cross Over

Bit

Outer Pipe

Fig. 1Riserless Reelwell Drilling Method from a semi-submersible rig.

IADC/SPE 126148

Fig. 2Reelwell Drilling Method outline.

Bypass
Choke

Mud Pump

Return
Choke

Top Drive
Adopter
Ctrl Panel
Dump Valve
Inner Pipe
Outer Pipe
Concentric
Drill String
Subsea RCD
Subsea BOP

Flow X/O &

Dual Float
Valve

Sea Floor

Bit

Fig. 3Flow & Pressure Control System (Mir Rajabi 2009)

IADC/SPE 126148

References
Gault, A. 1996. Riserless Drilling: Circumventing the Size/Cost Cycle In Deepwater. Offshore 56 (5): 49 54
Leach, C., Dupal, K., Hakulin, C., Shell, Fossli, B., ORS, Dech, J., Altinex. 2002. Design of a Drilling Rig for 10,000 ft
Water Depth Using a Pressured Riser. Paper SPE 74533 presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in Dallas,
Texas, 2628 Feb.
McLeod, W.R. 1976. A review of Riserless Drilling Alternatives. Paper SPE 5768 presented at the SPE European Spring
Meeting, Amsterdam, Netherland, 89 April.
Mir Rajabi, M. Nergaard, A., University of Stavanger; and Hole, O., Vestavik, O.M., Reelwell AS. 2009. A New Riserless
Method Enable Us to Apply Managed Pressure Drilling in Deepwater Environments. Paper SPE/IADC 125556 presented at
the IADC/SPE Middle East Drilling Conference & Exhibition, Manama, Bahrain, 2628 October.
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Vestavik, O.M., Hole, O. and Brown, S. 2008. Dual Drill Pipe A New Approach to Drilling. World Oil 229 (10): 4755