October 2002
Special Focus
An effective approach to keeping the hole clean in high-angle wells
Drilling a high-angle well is almost always accompanied by hole-cleaning issues. Traditional approaches such as high-viscosity sweeps, high rotary speeds, fast pump rates, frequent short trips and lubricants may buy time if the well reaches total depth (TD) quickly enough. However, in long, openhole intervals, hole cleaning should be effective, or the operator may face sidetracking the well.
