SPE/IADC-200506-MS

Improving Horizontal Well MPD by using a Dual-Channel Drillstring

Dag Helge Breivik, OMV; Helge Rørvik, Halliburton; Ola Michael Vestavik, Reelwell

Copyright 2020, SPE/IADC Managed Pressure Drilling and Underbalanced Operations Conference and Exhibition

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/IADC Managed Pressure Drilling and Underbalanced Operations Conference and Exhibition originally scheduled
to be held in Denver, Colorado, USA, 21-22 April 2020. Due to COVID-19 the physical event was postponed until 29-30 October 2020 and was changed to a virtual
event. The official proceedings were published online on 29 October 2020.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE/IADC 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 Society of Petroleum Engineers or the International Association of Drilling Contractors and are subject to correction
by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers or the International Association of Drilling Contractors,
its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers or
the International Association of Drilling Contractors 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 SPE/IADC copyright.

Abstract
The Wisting Field is located offshore in the Barents Sea north of Norway. The field development requires
drilling and completion of horizontal wells in a narrow pressure window, which is challenging for
conventional technology. The Reelwell Drilling Method (RDM) provides a solution for managed pressure
drilling (MPD) to mitigate these challenges. Based on the use of dual-channel drillpipe, RDM enables the
pressure gradient in the openhole section to be held constant and nearly independent of the drilling fluid flow
rate. RDM provides low-energy drilling, i.e., efficient drilling and hole cleaning when using low flow and
low-drillstring rotation speed. This allows drilling of horizontal sections within a small pressure window
and limits drillstring fatigue in high-dogleg applications.
In order to start qualification of RDM for the Wisting Field, a horizontal trial well was drilled in fall
2018 at the Ullrigg Drilling and Well Test Centre, located at the NORCE Norwegian Research Centre in
Stavanger, Norway. The goal for this trial well was to prove the dual-channel drillpipe capability to perform
low-energy drilling, i.e., low-rotary speed, low flow, and stable downhole pressure gradient. The trial well
had a challenging geometry with up to 14°/30-m build rate, as required for the field. The 9½-in. horizontal
section was drilled in order to check the performance of the RDM and start the qualification of the RDM
for the Wisting Field.
The trial well was drilled with a low-flow motor, i.e., with flow rates around 700 lpm. The string rotation
speed was held lower than 5 rpm to limit drillstring fatigue in the high-dogleg section of the well. Efficient
drilling and hole cleaning of the 9½-in. horizontal hole section was demonstrated. The results from the trial
confirm the predicted performance for the RDM. The results indicate that RDM can keep well pressure
gradient within the required window and mitigate the drilling challenges for the Wisting Field. The RDM
architecture with return flow in the inner string represents a major advantage to avoid cuttings build up in
the well, challenges with laminar return flow, formation wash-outs, mechanical down hole dynamics and
ECD control by low energy drilling.
2 SPE/IADC-200506-MS

Background
The Wisting Field
The Wisting Field is located offshore, in production license PL 537, in the northern part of the Barents
Sea, Norway. The field was discovered in 2013 and is shared by the licence partners, OMV Norge, Petoro,
Idemitsu Petroleum Norge, and Equinor. In 2019, the operatorship was transferred from OMV to Equinor.
The shallow reservoir is located about 250 m below the seabed, at a water depth of approximately 400 m.
The field is estimated to contain between 200 million and 500 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Fig. 1 presents a schematic of the geological model of the Wisting Field. Several exploration and appraisal
wells have been drilled in recent years. The wells have revealed that the reservoir is comparted and that
there are several faults and fractures throughout the field. It is believed that a high number of wells are
required for proper drainage of the field.

Figure 1—Schematic geological model and reference well examples in the Barents Sea.

The reservoir has low pressure and low temperature, with an initial reservoir pressure of approximately
70 bar and temperature of 17°C. It is foreseen that the depleted reservoir pressure will reach down to around
45 bar. Drilling challenges are especially related to the small pressure window and the potential losses
during drilling.

Reelwell Drilling Method (RDM)

Fig. 2 presents a schematic of the RDM rig installation:
– A dual-channel drillstring is used, taking the return fluid back to surface inside the string.
– A top-drive adapter connects the rig's top drive to the top of the dual drillstring. It contains a swivel
that allows for pumping mud into the drillpipe annulus, as well as the return flow from the inner pipe
to be directed back to the surface mud system.
– The lower end of the dual drillstring connects to a standard bottomhole assembly (BHA) by means
of an inner pipe valve. This valve contains entrance ports for the return fluid and isolates the well
during pipe connections.
– A flow control unit contain chokes, valves, and sensors for pressure, temeperature, and flow. The
flow control unit is positioned close to the rig and is remotely controlled from a screen unit in the
SPE/IADC-200506-MS 3

driller's cabin. The flow control unit regulates the flow into and out of the well in order to keep a
near-constant downhole pressure gradient during the drilling operations.
– A rotating control device at the top of the blowout preventer (BOP) is used for pressure control.

Figure 2—Schematic of the RDM drilling a horizontal well.

The dual-channel drillstring allows two different types of drilling fluids to be used in the well during the
drilling operation. The active drilling fluid is circulated inside the dual drillstring and around the BHA. A
near-static passive drilling fluid fills the annulus outside the dual drillstring above the BHA. This passive
fluid can have different density and fluid properties compared to the active fluid.
The case where the passive well annulus fluid has a higher density than the active fluid inside the dual
drillstring is called heavy over light (HOL). When using HOL, the dual drillstring is exposed to positive
buoyancy forces due to the differences in fluid densities inside and outside the string. The buoyancy forces
result in a reduction in the drillstring torque and drag during drilling. Additionally, the HOL solution implies
that the wellhead casing pressure can be kept low during operation.
The features for RDM compared to conventional MPD are:
– MPD operations can be performed with little or no wellhead casing pressure.
– The downhole pressure gradient can be held constant and independent on the fluid flow.
– The flow rates can be held low since the cuttings transport is high at low flow inside the string.
– The rotation speed of the drillstring can be held low since cuttings in the well annulus are avoided.
4 SPE/IADC-200506-MS

Goal for the Operation

In order to start the qualification of the RDM for the Wisting Field, a decision was made to drill a trial well
at the Ullrigg test rig at The NORCE Norwegian Research Centre in Stavanger, Norway. The main goals
for the trial well were as follows:
– Verify reliable performance of RDM tools, equipment, and operation procedures
– Verify the RDM hydraulic models by comparing predicted and measured well pressure
– Validate the HOL solution and capability to provide a constant downhole pressure gradient
The following success criteria were stated prior to operation:
– Safety during rig-up, rig-down, and drilling operations
– Ability to drill through 12°/30-m doglegs
– Confirmation of good hole cleaning during drilling
– Stable equivalent circulating density (ECD) in openhole section
– Rate of Penetration (ROP) comparable to conventional drilling
– HOL: reduced torque and drag
– HOL: acceptable level of mixing between active and passive fluid
– HOL: no flow up drillpipe during connection
– HOL: capability to keep correct mud weight in both fluid systems
– Pressure at RCD: actual pressures in line with simulations
– Choking returns from well: ability to keep downhole pressure stable while staging pumps up/
down

The Ullrigg U6B - Wisting Trial Well

Fig. 3 presents the well trajectory for the Ullrigg U6B – Wisting trial well. The trajectory has a steep build
section from 0 to 90° inclination. The radius of the build section is about 180 m, giving a dogleg severity
(DLS) of about 12°/30 m, similar to the requirements for the Wisting Field applications. The well U6B was
a reuse of the well slot of the well U6A, which prior to operation was plugged back after having been used
as a shallow test well. The formation for the whole well is a phyllite shale.

Upper section – conventional operation

The upper section was drilled with conventional 5-in. drillpipe. The following operations were planned:
– Set a cement plug in the original U6A well for kickoff to the new U6B target
– Drill the 12¼-in. section, building the inclination from vertical at about 140-m TVD to horizontal at
about 350-m TVD with a positive displacement motor (PDM) and DLS of about 12°/30 m
– Perform a reamer run to smoothen the trajectory prior to running the 10¾-in. casing
– Run and cement a 10¾-in. surface casing, 60.7-lb, P-110 casing shoe at 461-m MD, 350-m TVD
– Drill out the cement and casing shoe into formation using a 9½-in. bit to 471-m MD

Horizontal section – RDM

The section was drilled to verify the RDM performance. The following operations were planned:
– Drill the first part of the 9½-in. horizontal section with the RDM using a 1.07-sg mud to confirm
proper operation, with the same fluid used in both the well annulus and inside the dual drillstring
– Drill the second part of the 9½-in. horizontal section with the RDM to confirm the HOL solution,
i.e., using a 1.07-sg mud inside the drillstring and a 1.15-sg mud in the well annulus above the BHA
SPE/IADC-200506-MS 5

The upper section was drilled with conventional drilling equipment. The detailed description of the
drilling tools and procedures for the upper section are omitted here since the main objective of the project
was the qualification of tools and procedures in connection with the RDM operations

Figure 3—Trajectory of the Ullrigg U6B - Wisting trial well.

Drilling Equipment and Arrangements

Table 1 presents the drillstring components used for drilling the 9½-in. horizontal section with the RDM.
6 SPE/IADC-200506-MS

Table 1—Drillstring and BHA components for drilling the 9½-in. horizontal section with the RDM.

The BHA, supplied by the service company, consisted of a roller cone bit, a rotary steerable system, and
pressure-while-drilling (PWD) and measurement-while-drilling (MWD) tools driven by a mud motor, i.e.,
motor above rotary steerable system (MARSS). The mud motor was a low-flow, 7/8 lobe and high-torque
PDM. The MWD pulser was adapted for the low flow, i.e., 650 to 700 lpm, to be used for the entire section.
An additional gyro tool was installed above the motor for redundant MWD measurements. The inner pipe
valve was positioned on the top of the BHA and connected to the dual drillstring.
Fig. 4 shows the rig adapted to accommodate the RDM equipment used for drilling the well as per the
schematic description above:
– Top-drive adapter: installation, performed before operation, involved elongation of the gripper
column and installation of a second hose for the return flow.
– Flow control unit: positioned at the ground near the rig, containing pressure sensors, chokes, and
valves for the mud-flow control. The unit enabled remote control from the driller's cabin, data logging,
and sensor monitoring. The software provided automated procedures for pump startup, shutdown,
pressure control on selected set points, and alarms with associated recommended actions.
SPE/IADC-200506-MS 7

Figure 4—RDM equipment installed on Ullrigg.

Fig. 5 presents the two different types of dual-channel drillpipes used during the operation. These included
6⅝-in. steel dual drillpipes used in the vertical and build section of the well, as well as aluminium dual
drillpipes used in the build and horizontal section of the well.

Figure 5—Dual drillpipes racked in front of Ullrigg prior to operation.

Fig. 6 presents the tool joints of the dual-channel drillpipes. The box end of the dual drillpipe contains
the inner pipe pin and sealing element. The pin end of the dual drillpipe contains the inner pipe box end
for the stab-in connector.
8 SPE/IADC-200506-MS

Figure 6—Tool joints of the dual drillpipes.

Fig. 7 presents the rotating control device (RCD) used during the operations. The RCD was supplied by
the service company and is a new type of offshore RCD that was tested as part of the operation. Because
there was no need for it, the operation was performed without the use of a BOP, thus the RCD was directly
connected to the wellhead during the operations. The RCD has a side-entry port connection for pumping
into or taking returns from the well annulus during the operations.

Figure 7—The RCD installed on the U6B wellhead.

Results from Drilling the 9½-in. Section using RDM

Prior to the RDM operation, there had been an error in the equipment selection for the cementing of the
10¾-in. casing. This error resulted in a small leak in the cement around the casing shoe, and it also led to
the presence of metal junk in the hole during startup. The drillout of the casing shoe was performed with
a 9½-in. drill bit in a conventional 5-in. drillstring. The conventional circulation was unable to properly
clean the casing shoe area from the aluminium junk produced when drilling out the casing shoe. The junk
resulted in jamming and stalling problems during startup of the RDM operation; however, the RDM proved
to have good hole-cleaning capabilities. The metal junk was cleaned from the well by lifting it up the inner
string of the dual drillpipe.
Fig. 8 presents examples of the cuttings produced during the startup drilling using the RDM. The left
side of the figure presents typical cuttings produced from drilling of the rock. As can be observed, the hard
phyllite rock particles are typically a few millimeters in size. The right side of the figure presents a sample
SPE/IADC-200506-MS 9

of the metal junk collected at the shale shaker during the startup drilling using the RDM. The metal junk
particles, judged to be remains of the liner float shoe, drilled out in the previous bit run, were small enough
to pass the 30-mm inlet hole restriction at the downhole inner pipe valve at the top of the BHA for the
drilling fluid return.

Figure 8—Pictures of cuttings and aluminium junk particles collected at the shaker during startup.

During the RDM startup, rotation speeds above the recommended values were used on the drillstring
to try to solve the junk problem. This excessive rotation in the high dogleg resulted in a leak in the inner
string. The damaged string components were replaced, and the remaining drilling was performed with low-
rotation speed, as planned.
Drilling was performed with a flow rate of approximately 700 lpm and a string rotation speed of
approximately 5 rpm to limit drillstring fatigue. It should be noted that the RDM allows slow drillstring
rotation since the cuttings are transported to surface inside the drillstring and rotation is not required for
hole-cleaning purposes. The penetration rate was limited by the hard rock and wellbore geometry, allowing
weight on bit (WOB) from 2 to 5 tons, resulting in ROP from 1 to 5 m/h. The MARSS proved to have
good data transmission, and no downtime was recorded. Downhole real-time data of torque and WOB were
recorded. The data indicated a balanced BHA, with no significant vibration, and 70% steering force on the
rotary steerable system was used to maintain horizontal drilling.
Fig. 9 presents an example of measurements performed during a pipe connection when drilling with
RDM. The upper graph presents the circulation flow rate; the graph in the middle presents the choke
pressure; and the lower graph presents the wellhead casing pressure measured below the RCD. The time
unit on the x axis is seconds. The choke pressure during stop and startup of the mud pump was controlled
by a computer during the connection. The duration of the start and stop sequences were in the order of 3
to 5 minutes.
10 SPE/IADC-200506-MS

Figure 9—Example of measurements performed during a pipe connection during drilling.

A 1.05-sg water-based drilling fluid was used for both active and passive fluids down to 709-m MD. The
fluid in the vertical section of the well annulus outside the dual drillstring was then displaced to a 1.15-sg
density KCl polymer mud to continue drilling the horizontal section in HOL mode. The remaining section
to the target 754-m MD was drilled in this mode with active and passive fluid densities maintained at 1.05
sg and 1.15 sg, respectively. The effect of the HOL fluid configuration is to reduce casing pressure. The
difference in density of 0.10 sg and the vertical depth of 350 m gave approximately a 3.5-bar reduction in
the wellhead casing pressure.
Fig. 10 presents a set of graphs recorded during the displacement to HOL when drilling with the RDM.
The upper graph presents the flow rate of pump 2, which was used to pump the heavier 1.15-sg fluid into
the well annulus at the wellhead, i.e., displaced through the RCD fluid port during drilling. The lower graph
presents the wellhead casing pressure measured at the RCD. The pumping of the heavier fluid into the well
annulus was performed in the time interval between 9,500 to 11,000 s, as indicated on the figure. Before
and after the displacement, the main mud pump rate was around 650 lpm, but this rate was adjusted to only
100 lpm during the displacement by pump 2. Observations from the figure confirm that the heavy fluid in
the well annulus reduced the wellhead RCD pressure as expected:
1. The casing pressure at the RCD was reduced by around 3.5 bar after displacement.
2. The casing pressure at the RCD decreased linearly with time during the displacement.
SPE/IADC-200506-MS 11

Figure 10—Example of measurements performed during displacement to HOL.

The RDM operation continued in the HOL mode. The HOL operation was judged to be successful, with
all procedures confirmed. The passive and active drilling fluids proved to be sufficiently seperated during the
drilling. All results were close to prewell predictions, and cuttings removal and transport met expectations.
Since the main success criteria were fulfilled, a decision was made to stop the operation at 754-m MD. No
issues were experienced when pulling the BHA out of hole, indicating a clean well annulus.

Discussion
A main challenge to the operation was that the DLS of the planned well was 12°/30 m, whereas the existing
dual drillpipes’ operation range were specified to 9°/30 m. Since the upgrading of pipes would be very
time consuming and expensive, a decision was made to move forward with the operation using the existing
dual drillpipes, thereby risking pipe failure in the operation. These steps were judged as the fastest and
least expensive way to investigate the feasibility and qualify the RDM for the Wisting Field development.
Therefore, the problem of leakage of the dual drillpipe that occurred at high-rotation speeds inside the high-
DLS curve of the well was somewhat expected as a part of the risk considerations prior to the operation.
In order to address the problem, an improved design of the dual drillpipe for the high-dogleg application
is in development as a next step in the project.
A main topic for the project was to demonstrate the ability of the RDM to control the ECD challenge,
related to the Wisting Field applications. The above results have confirmed that the operational procedures
are working and that the observed pressure readings are in line with the hydraulic models for the RDM.
Fig. 11 gives example calculations of the well pressure for a long horizontal well in the Wisting Field,
i.e., an example well with a horizontal section from 1,000 to 3,500-m MD. To compare the RDM with
conventional drilling, two plots show the measured depth vs. calculated pressure in the well. The left-side
plot is for conventional drilling, and the right-side plot is for the RDM. The horizontal section of the example
well starts just before 1,000-m MD, and the area between the yellow and red dotted vertical lines represent
the allowed pressure window. The allowed pressure window is small because of the shallow depth. The blue
lines in both figures represent the pressure in the well annulus outside the drillstring.
12 SPE/IADC-200506-MS

Figure 11—Example calculations of pressures in a horizontal well, conventional drilling vs. RDM.

The following points should be noted from the plots in Fig. 11:
1. The left-hand plot for conventional drilling shows a nonvertical blue line, indicating that the well
pressure below about 1,500-m MD is outside of the allowed pressure window.
2. The right plot for RDM shows a vertical blue line, indicating that the well pressure is inside the
allowed pressure window for the whole length of the well.
The reason for the differences in the well pressure gradient between the RDM and conventional drilling
is that conventional drilling needs a high-flow rate in the well annulus for hole cleaning, whereas the RDM
allows for little or no flow in the well annulus since the cuttings are transported back to surface inside
the dual drillpipe. During connections and pump stops, the blue line will also be vertical for conventional
drilling. The flow in the well annulus changes the pressure gradient due to the ECD of the annular fluid.
The observations from the trial well and the above considerations confirm that RDM can solve the ECD
challenge for long horizontal wells in the Wisting Field, i.e., it can enable longer horizontal sections and
thereby reduce the required number of wells for the field development.
One further challenge for this application is to obtain sufficient trust in the RDM technology to allow it
to be the selected technology for the field development. A development to optimize the dual drillpipe for
this high-dogleg application has been started to meet this challenge.

Conclusion
In order to verify the suitability of using RDM for the horizontal wells for the Barents Sea Wisting Field
development, a shallow horizontal trial well was drilled using the RDM at Ullrigg, Stavanger. A 9½-in.
horizontal hole section at 350-m TVD was drilled from 471 to 754-m MD in the hard rock formation.
The results were positive and verified the objectives of the trial well:
– Low-energy drilling; section drilled using string rotation speed of 5 rpm and flow rate of 700
lpm
– High-dogleg capability, up to 14°/30-m dogleg
– Successful implementation of MARSS
SPE/IADC-200506-MS 13

– Successful verification of the HOL solution

– Verified hydraulic models and reliable RDM tools
As further preparation for this application, developments have been initiated to further optimize the dual
drillpipe and the BHA for Wisting.

Acknowledgements
Thanks to OMV and the Wisting licence partners for supporting the project and allowing the publication of
the results. Thanks also to the personnel at Ullrigg Test Centre, NORCE, Stavanger, and all personnel from
other companies involved for their support to enable safe operations.

References
1. Breivik, D. H., Rørvik, H., and Vestavik O. M. 2019. Reelwells lavenergi boremetode - en
mulighet for økt kostnadseffektivitet på Wisting?. Paper presented at the Norwegian Drilling
Conference, Krisitiansand, Norway, 16–18 September.
2. Vestavik, O. 2019. Recent experience on the use of dual channel drill pipe for drilling a shallow
horizontal well onshore Norway. Presentation at the SPE Workshop on Innovative Arctic
Technologies, Harstad, Norway, 20–21 March.
3. Vestavik, O., Thorogood, J., Schmalhorst, B. et al 2017. Horizontal Drilling with Dual Channel
Drill Pipe. Paper presented at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, The Hague,
The Netherlands, 14–16 March. SPE-184683-MS.