Other

Dresser Industries, Inc.

Becfield Horizontal Drilling Services Company

Maurer Engineering Gmbh

Bechtel Investments, Inc.

Technical Systems Co.

William A Rehm

William J McDonald

William C Maurer

Curtis E Leitko, Jr

Martin J Sharki

Woodrow E Renfro

Edward T Wood

Donald W Dareing

Phil H Griffin, Iii

Michael S Lyon

Ralph D Nickel

Thomas D Trunk

Grady A Hickman

Timothy D Baseflug

Martin L Talley

Steve L Cromwell

A method and apparatus for drilling highly deviated wells is disclosed. A drilling assembly is attached to a drill string. The drilling assembly includes a bent sub, a pony collar attached to the bent sub, a motor with a bent housing, and a bit. Improved survey collars and bits are also disclosed.

Horizontal drilling method and apparatus

A system of apparatus for the controlled directional drilling of a deviated well bore into the earth has a fluid operated drilling motor and drill bit secured on the bottom end of a drill string. The drill bit is supported for angular drilling relative to a substantially vertical well bore by either using a bent sub for supporting the drilling motor or by using a drilling motor with a bent housing or a combination of the two. A bypass tool is connected to the bent sub or motor housing, an orienting sub and mule shoe keying sub are connected to the bypass tool, and a surveying tool is connected in the drill string above the orienting sub and mule shoe sub. The bypass tool is in fluid connection with the motor and has a telescopic housing and a valve for circulating fluid into the bore hole to flush cuttings and debris therefrom. The surveying tool determines and controls the direction of drilling. The orienting sub and mule shoe keying sub orients the position of the motor and drill bit in relation to the surveying tool.

Controlled directional drilling system and method

A method and apparatus for prediction of the turn rate of a deviated well is disclosed. The turn rate is determined by collecting data for interference, bend length, and rate of turn from a variety of drilled wells. Using regression technique, turning rate is then expressed as a linear function of the ratio of interference to bend length.

Directional well control

An orienting and circulating sub is disclosed for connection in an apparatus for angular drilling in the earth. The drilling apparatus comprises a drill string extending into a substantially vertical well bore in the earth supporting a fluid operated motor and drill bit at its lower end. The drill bit is supported for angular drilling by either using a bent sub for supporting the drilling motor or be using a drilling motor with a bent housing. A surveying tool is connected above the motor for determining and controlling the direction of drilling. A mule shoe keying sub is connected to the surveying tool for orienting the position of the motor in relation to said surveying tool. The orienting sub comprises a tubular housing formed in two sections threaded together with one end connected to the surveying tool by the mule shoe keying sub and the other end connected to the bent sub or to the bent motor housing. The orienting sub has a sleeve mounted in the end of the lower housing section with a key for receiving the mule shoe for locating the sub in relation to the surveying tool. The sleeve is oriented in the housing by a system of fine grooves and splines on the sub section and on the sleeve which permit fine angular adjustment. A modified Baker float valve is positioned in the lower end of the tool with a flapper check valve. A piston valve with shear pin is provided to open a bypass valve for draining the drill string during lifting.

Orienting and circulating sub

A method, and apparatus to practice the method, to complete multiple (triple) branch wells using separate drill and casing templates. Principally this invention finds its greatest utility in the in situ leach mining of deep lying ore bodies. Initially, a generally vertical main hole is drilled in the earth and cased. The particular casing used has an internal indexing dog and specific areas which act as windows from which some of the branch wells are to be drilled. To form the individual branch wells, each window is sequentially drilled out by a drilling assembly which is oriented by a movable drilling template. The template is fixed with respect to the casing for each branch drilling by engaging the indexing dog. After each window and branch well is drilled, the drilling assembly and drilling template are retrieved to the surface and repositioned with respect to each other to provide for the next branch drilling. A whipstock assembly is used in connection with the drilling template and indexing dog to positively locate each branch well. After all branch wells are drilled, the whipstock assembly is retrieved. Next a triple tubing guide or template, which can engage the same indexing dog, is used to simultaneously position branch casings in each of the previously drilled branch holes. A tubing hanger is used to position and hold these casings within the main casing. Cement baskets are attached to the shoe (end) of each branch casing and all casings are cemented in place. Lastly, the branch wells may be perforated, unless this has been done in the casing production process, and the well is then ready for production.

Triple branch completion with separate drilling and completion templates

A drilling mud degasser apparatus and system consists of a vacuum degasser tank, system of blowers or compressors for evacuation, and various control features associated therewith. The tank has an upward spiraling helical shelf which becomes progressively wider from bottom to top so that mud is discharged in a thin film into the evacuated interior of the tank. Mud level in the tank is controlled by a pair of float operated valves, one controlling a bottom discharge and the other controlling an overflow valve. A plurality of compressors are connected in parallel for evacuating the tank. One compressor runs continually and the others are turned on in response to tank pressure and off in response to compressor outlet temperature. A safety conduit is positioned in parallel to the compressors and includes a swing check valve which opens in response to a pressure surge in the tank to permit the increased pressure to bypass the compressors. The overflow-controlling valve is protected against mud contamination by an inverted U-tube. Mud is normally removed from the bottom discharge under suction provided by mud flowing through an aspirator nozzle.

Drilling mud degasser apparatus and system

A gas bubble is circulated from a well by a system that maintains the well and bottom hole pressure substantially constant by progressively increasing the casing pressure as needed to maintain the drill pipe pressure substantially constant. An incrementally increasing casing pressure reference signal is produced by detecting each occurrence of the drill pipe pressure falling a predetermined amount below a drill pipe pressure reference signal. The casing pressure reference signal is compared with the actual casing pressure. A throttling valve is closed a corresponding amount if the acutal casing pressure is less than the casing pressure reference signal. The throttling valve is opened a corresponding amount if the actual casing pressure is greater than the casing pressure reference signal.

Method and system for circulating a gas bubble from a well

An improved desilter for drilling muds consists of one or more hydrocyclones with certain features providing for better separation of large particles from the mud. Drilling muds used in drilling oil wells and the like give substantially improved performance when the larger particles are removed therefrom and the mud consists of fine particles having a narrow range of particle size. An improved hydrocyclone for removing coarser particles from the drilling mud has overflow and underflow outlets which discharge openly rather than into a collection manifold. The overflow outlet is in the form of a controllable syphon which may be adjusted in syphon length or which may include means to adjust the effective length of the syphon leg. The adjustment of the syphon leg controls the overflow of the thin, more uniform mud and effects a superior separation of the larger particles from the mud. A preferred desilter apparatus comprises a plurality of hydrocyclones, as described, interconnected by an inlet manifold and having underflow and overflow outlets, respectively, for discharge of large particles and of a thin mud of uniform small particle size to separate open collection systems.

Desilter

A system is disclosed for removing gas from drilling mud without allowing the gas to escape to the atmosphere before the gas is treated to prevent contamination. The system includes a mud-gas separator vessel with a drilling mud inlet, means for maintaining a minimum mud level in said mud-gas separator vessel, a separator vessel gas outlet, and a separator vessel drilling mud outlet. A degassing means includes a drilling mud inlet located in a position higher than said minimum mud level. Enclosed conduit means connects the separator vessel drilling mud outlet to said degassing means drilling mud inlet.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

William A Rehm