Building on the application's success in larger diameter holes, rotary steerable drilling is becoming an established drilling method in 6" hole sections. Rotary drilling in these smaller hole sizes does, however, bring with it some concerns. These include the requirement for high surface rotary speeds to achieve acceptable penetration rates. As a result, these rotary systems may need to place very high dynamic loads on small diameter drillpipe. A new rotary steerable system has been developed which integrates a high performance drilling motor into the bottom hole assembly. By driving the drill bit with the downhole motor, drillpipe rotary speeds and weight on bit can be reduced while simultaneously increasing rate of penetration. This reduces the stress on the drill string and increases drilling performance. This paper describes this new system illustrated with results from real wells.

Keywords:
drilling operation, spe iadc 97422, torque, ruszka, upstream oil & gas, gruenhagen, stick slip, rotary speed, directional drilling, rpm
Subjects:
Drillstring Design, Drill Bits, Drilling Operations, Drilling Equipment, Drill pipe selection, Directional drilling, Directional drilling systems and equipment
Copyright 2005, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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