VI B.

Tech PE Lecture 9 / 2015-16

SLIM HOLE TECHNOLOGY

BY

Prof. A. K. Pathak
Department of Petroleum Engineering
Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand – 826004
e-mail : [email protected]

INTRODUCTION:

Slim hole is a drilling, evaluation and completion technology which allows fully engineered 6 ¼”
and smaller holes at target depth. The well drilled using this technology is called a slim line well,
which is a well with a cost effective design around an optimal production. All logging tools
smaller than 4 ¾” or minimum 2 7/8” size can be used while using this technology.
Each slim hole is drilled with a small, truck-mounted rotary drill rig or coring rig similar to those
used for water well drilling. The rigs are equipped with diesel engines, storage tanks, mud
pumps, and other typical auxiliary equipment. During drilling, the top of the drill rig derrick is
approximately 30 to 40 feet above the ground surface. Drilling is typically conducted 24-hours
per day, 7-days per week.
The drilling program involves a sequence of drilling or “coring” a hole to a selected depth,
cementing a steel casing of smaller diameter into the drilled hole, then repeating the process
with progressively smaller holes and cemented casings.  This is done at progressively greater
depths until the design depth (or the depth selected by the project geologist) is reached.  The
initial casing is approximately 8-5/8 inches in diameter.   
The hole is drilled or “cored” using special, non-toxic drilling mud composed of a bentonite clay-
water or polymer-water mix. The drilling mud helps to circulate the rock cuttings to the surface
where they are removed by the surface equipment. The drilling mud or other drilling fluids would
then be re-circulated. Compressed air may be used to reduce the weight of the drilling mud in
the hole and assist in carrying the cuttings to the surface in some circumstances. The air, drilling
mud, cuttings, and any reservoir fluids brought to the surface are then diverted through a
separator/muffler to separate and discharge the air and water vapor to the air and the drilling
mud and cuttings to a plastic-lined reserve pit.
Once drilled to the final depth, the drilling mud in the hole is circulated out using water. Steel
tubing, typically 2-3/8 inches in diameter and perforated at the bottom, is hung in the hole. The
water in the hole is  “bailed” by either lifting with a mechanical bailer (basically a small diameter

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 bucket) or by lifting the water out with air pumped into the hole so that a sample of the
geothermal fluid in the reservoir can be obtained for chemical analysis.
Slim Hole Monitoring: Following completion of drilling and bailing, all drilling equipment is
removed from the site. The surface facilities remaining on the site consist only of several valves
on top of the surface casing, covered by a locked steel canister approximately three feet in
diameter and up to six feet high which provides protection for the valves
The drilling of each small observation hole is expected to take 25 days, while larger exploration
wells generally take 35 days.   Once drilling begins, it is possible that difficulties encountered
during drilling may extend the time needed to complete the drilling.   Work is typically performed
at the drilling site 24-hours per day, 7-days per week.
By the use of Slim Hole technology, operators can reduce well costs 40 to 70%, plus reduce
environmental costs and concerns. Tools and equipment exist and operations can be performed
safely. Experience indicates that slim holes do not usually restrict production. Slim holes were
used as early as 1960 in the U.S. Over 1,300 wells were drilled in the 1,000 to 3,000 ft range in
Kansas, Texas and Canada using slim-hole 2 ½- to 2 7/8-in casing and 1-in EUE hollow sucker
rod tubing. Operators realized a 40 to 50% reduction in tubular costs and 17% cost savings
overall.
There are several documented examples from later slim-hole drilling programs. Conoco used
slim-hole drilling in Indonesia in the 1983 to 1986 time frame, realizing cost reductions of 65 to
73%. In the early 1990s, Oryx realized 50% cost savings in an eight-well, slim-hole re-entry
program. In Thailand, Unocal used slim-holes in its Gulf of Thailand operations in 1999,
realizing over 40% savings. Productivity of Unocal's slim-hole wells has exceeded that
experienced with conventional wells. Pemex realized 30% cost savings in a late 1990s slim-hole
drilling program. But success is not guaranteed. In a three-well slim-hole drilling program in
Wyoming's Powder River basin, Domain Energy successfully completed slim-hole wells, but
twist-off due to stabilizer torque problems eliminated any cost savings.
There have been sufficient slim-hole drilling programs to establish the following. Areas that are
not concerns include logging, perforating, tubing buckling and sticking, wellhead design, and
BHA design. Concerns, which experience indicates can be solved, still include:
1. casing program,
2. drill string torsional strength,
3. fishing and milling,
4. lost circulation,
5. bit design and reliability,
6. down hole motors,
7. cementing,

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8. stimulation, and
9. Workovers. 
Slim hole drilling decreases drilling waste volumes and requires smaller operational footprints.
DOE cites the example of a slim hole drilled to 14,760 ft ending with a 4 1/8-in. hole. The
volume of cuttings produced in such a well is one third less than that of a standard well at the
same depth. Since equipment used for slim hole drilling can be smaller than conventional rigs,
the area cleared for a location can be as small as 9,000 sq ft, including mud pits. That’s about
one-fourth the size of a conventional location.
Slimhole drilling costs are typically only a fraction of large-diameter rotary drilled wells (Finger,
1998; Goranson, 1998). The relative portability of the small rigs used to drill slim holes should
prove economically advantageous in remote locations. Furthermore, the environmental impact
and land-use requirements of the minerals style slim hole drilling operations are much less than
for conventional rotary drilling. To-date, wire line-cored and rotary drilled slim holes have been
used primarily for geothermal exploration and reservoir assessment in many parts of the world.
Types of slimhole drilling
1. Shallow rotary
2. Continuous coring
3. Downsized conventional
4. Combination
5. Small horizontal side tracks
6. Coiled tubing drilling
Slim hole: Need and Applications
Advances in slim hole technology promise to open new opportunities for marginal field
development while addressing important subjects like cost reduction and environmental
protection. Some of the major applications of slim hole technology finds in the fields like
1. Exploration in immature areas
2. Exploration in mature areas
3. Production applications
4. High temperature and pressure wells
5. Safety and environmental
6. Economics
Advanced technology makes drilling operations steadily more efficient in recovering oil and gas
resources, cleaner, and safer. Environmental benefits: reduced waste and smaller footprints.
And because the joint connection operations of a conventional drill string are not required, noise
levels are reduced as well. Of course, like any technology that permits drilling highly deviated
wells, slimhole drilling can be used to avoid environmentally sensitive areas by using directional
drilling techniques. Saving weight and space is a never-ending challenge for designers and
operators of all types of rigs. The latest advance in this quest is lighter modular rigs that make
use of lighter, stronger materials. They can be especially useful in remote locations.

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Both Saudi Armco and Total Indonesia found benefits in electing 4 in. drill pipe with streamlined
double shoulder connections for the drilling of wells, for which the 3 ½ in. drill pipe was
unsuitable. Although dealing with different environments and applications, these benefits can be
summarized in “successfully drilling longer slim holes with a drill string having enhanced
torsional, tensile and hydraulic Characteristics at a lower overall cost”.
Comparison between the conventional and slim hole technology:

The above figure depicts the difference in completion technology for a conventional and a
typical 3 ½” monobore (slim line well). The additional tools required for the slim hole completion
are PBR tieback and liner hanger, retrievable straddle and retrievable or permanent bridge plug
and standard thrusters ( to reduce the variations in hook load).
The sequence of placement (surface to TD) of
Equipments: standard flow control equipment side pocket mandrels liner hanger with tubing
tieback straddlebridge plug.

Tubular: drill pipe drill collarsthrusters mud motors bit.

The following figure shows the impact on environment

.
An exploratory boring or "slim hole" technique that uses a down hole test tool provides
hydrological data in significantly less time and cost than the conventional pilot well alternative.

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 The conventional method of drilling a large-diameter pilot well can prove expensive when poor
water quality or inadequate production rates force drillers to abandon a drilling site. The cost
difference between the two methods is substantial: US$30,000 for a 1,200-ft exploratory
borehole analysis compared to US$ 150,000 for the pilot hole analysis at the same depth.
Rather than a 17.5-inch diameter hole, the exploratory borehole, using standard mud-rotary
drilling techniques (no air line), measures approximately 6.5 inches in diameter. This offers
significant cost and time savings and provides accurate logging results.
Advantages of slim hole drilling over conventional technique:
1. A 3 ½” monobore can produce 4000 barrel per day or 50 million metric standard cubic
feet per day
2. Downsizing the completion from 7” to 3 ½” can reduce the well cost by 15- 40 %.
3. Hole diameters can be reduced by 50 %
4. Mud consumption and cuttings can be reduced by 75%
5. Site area can be reduced by 75 %
6. Lower day rate and material cost
7. Lower mobilization and demobilization cost
8. Less waste disposal
9. Lower locations preparations cost
10. Smaller crew required for operation and maintenance
11. Reduced tonnage, location, construction work
12. Reduced driving hazards
13. Antivibrational technology
14. Easier well kick detection
15. Good quality logs.

Features of slim hole technology

 Production rate vs. tubing size

 Slim hole rigs

Because of their portability, low cost, and limited environmental impact, it is desirable to use
diamond-bit coring (or small hybrid) rigs for drilling boreholes. If a slim hole, drilled by a minerals
style diamond-bit coring or a small hybrid rig, could be used instead, substantial savings in
drilling costs and hence a lower electricity price would be realized. With proper casing design,
the discharge capacity of slim holes can be increased by as much as 200%.
 well productivity vs. diameter

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 Slim-Hole Logging Tools.
Logging tools with diameters in the 3.62- to 5-in range are considered slim hole, while smaller
tools are considered ultra slim hole. In addition to expected tools (gamma ray, porosity logs,
caliper, etc.), Baker Atlas offers special slim-hole tools, including acoustic borehole imaging
logs, reservoir performance monitor (RPM), and measurement while drilling (MWD) and logging
while drilling (LWD) tools. The acoustic borehole-imaging tool, which provides 360-degree
coverage and is useful for identifying fractures, can be used in oil-based muds. Baker's RPM
tool is a multi-detector pulsed neutron instrument that can operate in multiple modes, including:
(1) carbon/oxygen, (2) pulsed neutron decay, (3) holdup imaging, (4) activation water flow, and
(5) radioisotope monitoring. In different ways, these modes assist in defining reservoir
conditions that control reservoir performance. Slim-hole LWD tools include multiple propagation
resistivity, density/neutron, and Navi185 directional/gamma ray. Slim-hole multiple propagation
resistivity tools, which measure eight resistivities with separate depths of investigation, are quite
useful for geosteering, as they can provide real-time data enabling horizontal wells to stay "in
zone." Operators are encouraged to contact logging service companies about the latest
advances applicable to their situation.

 slim hole fluid pressure drops

The conventional technology limits oil recovery to 40 % of the total oil originally in place for
existing reservoirs on a world wide basis. Next 20 % will be bypassed and further 20 % will be
residual oil saturation.But with the application of slim hole technology recovery of half of the
remaining 20% oil can increase recoverable reserves by 50%.

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 Problems encountered in slim hole technology and there solutions:
Some of the problems that can occur while using slim hole technology are as follows:-
 Problems during cementing- Due to the small space between the drill string and the well
bore cementing problems are likely.
 Smaller clearances and hole problems- Shear thinning fluids (formats) and use of
thruster in place of drill collar are advisable.
 Drill string failures- The vibrations have a more detrimental effect on the smaller sized
tubulars used thus resulting in drillstrings failures. This problem can be minimized by the use of
vibration mitigation, high torque drill string and use of thruster.
 Reduced bit life and poor penetration rate- The problem can be taken care of by using
PDC bits and anti-whirl bits
 Other problems related to fishing, well control, and well evaluation may also be
encountered which can be solved by using proper fishing tools, accurate flow in and flow out
measurements and slim hole logging and testing tools respectively.

Case history 1:-Exploration ( BP- West Africa)

Highlights:
This project was undertaken by BP during its exploratory work
in West Africa. Initially the exploratory wells were drilled using
the conventional technique. Introduction of the new technology
in this field gave better results. The overall operating cost was
reduced considerably. Moreover less of waste material was
generated during drilling, smaller number of crew members
was required and there was very less environmental impacts.

However some negative aspects of this technique were

surfaced like:
 Poor hydraulics
 Unable to get desired mud weight
 Hole erosion due to higher annular velocity
 Limited choice of bits
 Requirement of non-standard tools
 The usual 3 ½” logging tool was found unsuitable for 4 ¼” hole.

Case history 2: Exploration (Madagascar)

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Highlights:
There was a significant decline in the cost of
the wells drilled by the application of the slim
hole drilling technique as is depicted by the
adjacent figure.

Apart from the usual benefits observed, this

particular project also showed that if proper
precautions are taken then excellent well logs and early kick detection and control can be
obtained even while using slim hole technology. However some of the drawbacks that came into
picture were too high bit TFA and poor bit selection, requirement of assorted rig packages and
special mud pumps for cementing.
Case history 3: Production ( Germany )

Field experience retrofit slim hole drilling.

Highlights:
In this project at Germany, a comparison was studied between three wells of different well bore
sizes. It was found that for same target depth of 5000 m , well cost decreased from 100% to
60% and cuttings volume decreased from 100% to 30% when the completion was reduced from
7” to 3 ½” .
Slim Hole in Industry
Slim hole technology has been found effective and reliable. More and more operators and
service companies are embracing this new technology due to its added advantages. Future of
this technology is very much bright and further supported by its application in new areas like
coiled tubing drilling and dedicated slim hole rigs. In coiled tubing drilling this new technology is
finding applications in “ ultra short radius jetting “, “under balanced drilling “, and “coiled tubing
completions”. The idea can be started with a retrofit system before committing to a dedicated
rig.

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In nutshell it can be said that “slim hole” is an emerging technology in petroleum sector.
Application of this technology with good planning and integration of slim hole campaign can lead
the petroleum sector to a bright future. The results can always be found to be better information
for less cost, reduced findings, increased reserves, better safety and safe drilling.

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