WorldOil

Coiled tubing drilling reaches new depths

Coiled Tubing Drilling (CTD) has revolutionized the shallow-gas drilling market in Western Canada. Increasing costs have driven operators to test the traditional limitations of CTD. Using technology innovations coupled with changes in drilling techniques, ConocoPhillips has been successful in improving CTD efficiency. The company has recently tackled the challenge of expanding CTD capabilities in two important areas: directional drilling and deep vertical drilling. INTRODUCTION Recognizing that there are some aspects of well construction that are best accomplished with a rotary drilling unit, and that there are other tasks best served by using Coiled Tubing (CT), ConocoPhillips proved that hybrid drilling units have a major effect on controlling drilling costs. These rigs perform well when drilling large-diameter surface holes and when assembling casing strings. In addition, they mobilize quickly and have short rig-up/rig-down times.