Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on August 15, 2014 at 15:34

Trinidad Drilling Rig #125 reported 42 days Drilling Ahead, 8/15.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on August 23, 2014 at 3:25

Trinidad Drilling Rig #125 reported 49 days Drilling Ahead, 8/22.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on August 29, 2014 at 16:36

Trinidad Drilling Rig #125 reported 56 days Drilling Ahead, 8/29.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on August 31, 2014 at 12:03

Rock Man is correct.  The rig is required to set the casing.  That's why I'm I don't see the benefit of using one rig to drill two wells simultaneously.

Permalink Reply by William Thornton on September 1, 2014 at 15:14

Like I said, you guys know way more than I do.  But it seems that they are drilling 2 wells in about the same time that it takes to drill one.  They are saving time somehow. 

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on September 1, 2014 at 16:15

The first spud was 75 days ago.  And the rig is still reported Drilling Ahead. 

Permalink Reply by William Thornton on September 2, 2014 at 12:38

Skip,

Your report on 8/29 said they reported 56 days drilling/  What is the approximate time it takes when a rig is drilling a single well?  If they are on target to complete both wells by the last week of September is there not a time savings there?  I admit that I am clueless regarding these details but I hear several different things from several different sources.  I'm just trying to parse out which is correct.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on September 2, 2014 at 13:03

I'm counting the 75 days from the spud date of the first well.  The 8/29 report was for the second well spud.  It can get confusing when the rig is alternating drilling each wellbore.  Operators have highlighted some wells drilled (and I think, cased) in ~ 36 days.  I think the average time to TD for the bulk of TMS horizontal wells is closer to ~45 currently.  One of the details that is often unknown is whether a rig drills a Pilot Hole. 

A Pilot Hole is drilled when the vertical portion of the wellbore is drilled completely through the target formation for the purpose of generating some science.  For example a Pilot Hole will provide the data needed to identify the landing depth for the lateral in areas where there is little well control (other prior wells that can be used as reference).  It also enables coring and open hole logging of the target horizon.  All this is of valuable but can extend the rig days depending how many of those operations are included.  After operations in the Pilot Hole the rig will plug back to the kick off depth and begin to build the curve for the lateral. 

When you see more detailed drilling reports, such as those in the LA O&G database, you will often see reports the rig is "sliding in the hole".  When the driller begins to build the curve and drill the lateral the rig transitions from turning a drill string with a standard type bit to drilling with a mud motor that runs on the mud circulating through the drill string.  When the drill string is not turning and the mud motor is drilling, the driller is "sliding".  The Rate Of Penetration (ROP) is generally less sliding than it is drilling.

Operators that tout short drill times, as GDP and HK have done, can cause the public to be concerned when "their" well is not drilled within that short time frame.  They tend to think that something is wrong.  Problems do occur however I think it is obvious that a well with a Pilot Hole and operations that require multiple pipe trips is going to take a significantly longer time even when everything goes perfectly.

Permalink Reply by William Thornton on September 4, 2014 at 18:13

Thanks for the information.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on September 6, 2014 at 5:23

Trinidad Drilling Rig #125 reported 63 days Drilling Ahead, 9/5.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on September 12, 2014 at 15:32

Trinidad Drilling Rig #125 reported 8 days Drilling Ahead on the Sabine 12H #2, 9/12.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on September 19, 2014 at 16:14

Trinidad Drilling Rig #125 reported 15 days Drilling Ahead on the Sabine 12H #2, 9/19.

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