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Technical Paper: The Evolution of Rotary Steerable Practices to Drill Faster, Safer and Cheaper Deepwater Salt Sections in the Gulf of Mexico
Paper 118870
Abstract
The North American Gulf Coast offshore continental basin was formed following the breakup of the super continent Pangaea at the end of the Permian period and contains one of the largest known deposits of salt in the world. The salt encountered in this region is relatively soft, with negligible porosity, and may deform under temperature and pressure. Drilling salt in different regions requires different drilling practices and challenges. Because of the variable range of salt properties and because of salt’s effect on nonproductive time, to date there has been no substitute for experience for successful salt drilling.
The petroleum industry is continually pushing to drill longer, faster, and safer sections; salt drilling is no exception to this philosophy. The dramatic advancements in salt drilling performance over the last decade—from the use of traditional drilling practices with rotary systems, mud motors, and possibly turbines—have been used to slightly improve penetration rates. The first Schlumberger push-the-bit rotary steerable salt drilling run in the USA Gulf of Mexico was executed in 2000. Since then more than 150 runs and almost half a million feet have been drilled in salt with this type of rotary steerable system.
This paper summarizes the analysis of the Schlumberger push-the-bit rotary steerable runs in the North American Gulf of Mexico. The analysis confirms the successful drilling assembly design and drilling techniques to yield optimum salt drilling performance toward a benchmark for today’s salt drilling environment.
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