In the pressure depleted section of the Safah Field in Oman, use of conventional overbalanced drilling techniques resulted in complete lost circulation of drilling fluid, differential sticking of the drill string and inability to drill horizontal sections.

Underbalanced drilling techniques were successfully utilized to add horizontal lateral sections to existing wells, complete the Shuaiba Carbonate Reservoir waterflood pattern and increase Safah Field production.

Keywords:
safah 175, application, drilling operation, drill string, directional drilling, horizontal lateral section, recovery, waterflood pattern, crude, personnel
Subjects:
Drilling Operations, Directional drilling
Copyright 2001, SPE/IADC Drilling Conference
You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.