SPE-WVS-829

Evolving Technologies in the New Age of Horizontal Drilling in Ecuador

Jose Luis Sanchez, Hector Carrizo, Janine Salgado, Carlos Avila, Mario Ordoñez, Nidal Hazboun, Roberto Villalva,
Schlumberger; Fabricio Sierra, Nayda Teran, Marisol Bastidas, Gustavo Camacho, Alejandro Bastidas, Armando
Chancay, David Barona, Petroamazonas E.P.

Section: Directional Drilling

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2015 SPE WVS 3er South American Oil and Gas Congress held in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela, 27–30 October 2015.

This paper was selected for presentation by the SPE Western Venezuelan Petroleum Section Program Committee, following review of information contained in an abstract
submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been reviewed by the SPE Western Venezuelan Petroleum Section Program Committee and are subject to
correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of SPE Western Venezuelan Petroleum Section, its officers, or members. Electronic
reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without written consent of the SPE Western Venezuelan Petroleum Section is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 350 words; illustrations may not be copied.

Abstract

The latest technologies in advanced drilling systems and measurement- and logging-while-drilling tools, in combination
with specialized technical support, are being applied to horizontal drilling in Ecuador to help the operators achieve their oil
production objectives.

The horizontal wells in Ecuador are producing from sandstone oil reservoirs designated as the M1, U, T, and Main Hollin
formations. Each reservoir presents a particular set of challenges to horizontal drilling, and the technical support team plays
a fundamental role in matching the designed well trajectory with the most suitable advanced technologies available for
drilling the horizontal wells in the least amount of time and minimizing the risks and cost.
Three phases of drilling can be identified in the development of a horizontal well: building inclination, landing the well, and
navigating the wellbore horizontally. Evolving technologies to optimize the drilling process have been implemented in each of
those phases.
Push- and point-the-bit rotary steerable systems (RSS) are used to build inclination through the complex formations, and
resistivity, density, and porosity tools are used to identify formation marker tops in real time, which helps the adjustment of
the geological prognosis. Landing technologies include a point-the-bit RSS to ensure dogleg severity (DLS) generation;
advanced azimuthal resistivity measurements to obtain proper landing inside the main reservoir, avoiding geological
uncertainty, and to identify top and bottom boundaries; laterolog tools for accurate resistivity measurements; and density-
porosity tools without a radioactive source, to avoid the risk of abandoning a radioactive source in a lost-in-hole situation. For
horizontal navigation, a hybrid RSS ensures 100% directional control, an azimuthal resistivity tool aids in determining the
exact trajectory to follow while drilling to be always inside of the pay zone, and density- porosity tool measurements provide
data to characterize the reservoir.
The combination of these latest technologies gives operators the confidence to develop horizontal drilling campaigns. The
wide range of features incorporated into advanced drilling systems and measurement- and logging-while-drilling tools help
to simplify the design of horizontal well trajectories in problematic formations.

Introduction
2 SPE-WVS-829

Since the first producing oil well was drilled in Ecuador in November 1911, the history of directional drilling has been
constantly changing. Optimizing oil production and economic resources are the main objectives in developing a horizontal
drilling campaign.
As the level of demand for oil production has increased, the number of wells drilled per oil field has increased too, and
consequently, the level of complexity of the directional profiles for the new wells to be drilled has increased as well. The oil
reservoirs have been depleted due to the production adding new risks for the drilling process such as differential sticking. In
short, horizontal drilling is more complex today than ever before, and must overcome numerous challenges. The purose of
this paper is to identify the challenges and describe the engineering study that had to be developed to match the possible
solution with the technology to be implemented, so that the most suitable technical solution could be found for the operator’s
horizontal drilling project.

Challenges for Horizontal Drilling in Ecuador

Seventeen horizontal wells have been drilled for Petroamazonas E.P since February, 2012, in the following oil fields: Ten in
OSO “pad A”, three in OSO “pad H”, two in OSO “pad G”, one in COCA “pad A” and one in COCA “pad K”. All of these
horizontal wells are represented by green lines in the plan views in Figs. 1-5. Every single horizontal well drilled had several
drilling challenges; these can be summarized as follows:
 A directional trajectory had to be developed that would keep the values of tortuosity and dog leg severity
(DLS) as low as possible to reduce the side forces and torques, which can cause drilling problems such as
difficulty to transmit weight to the bit (WOB), generation of stick/slip, difficult trips, problems running casing,
problems running completions to produce the wells, etc.
 The directional trajectory had to be adapted to the operator’s requirements, for example avoiding directional
work while drilling conglomerates, complying with drilling a tangent at certain vertical depth to locate the
electric submersible pump for the completion phase, and generating DLS according to the logging-while-
drilling (LWD) tools to be used to identify the reservoir in the landing phase and to navigate through the
reservoir in the horizontal section.
 Considering the great density of wells drilled in each platform or pad, collision risk at surface or deeper down
had to be managed.
 The first 800 to 1000 ft vertical depth (TVD) of the oil fields have conglomerates composed by big rocks that
must be drilled with tricone bits and conventional bottom hole assemblies (BHAs), and using controlled
drilling parameters to keep the verticality of the wells; however, even superficially, due to the conglomerates,
high deviations from the verticality had been detected, deviations that must be corrected to avoid any
collision incident.
 Due to the proximity of the oil fields to some rivers, several problems of water influx were detected. The
water influx had to be managed with special drilling practices and techniques to continue with the drilling
process; however, in one case, one of the cellars was completely destroyed by water influx at the beginning
of the drilling.
 The 16-in. hole section had to be drilled as quickly as possible with the proper BHA design to minimize the
percentage of slide, and taking into account the natural tendency of the formations to be drilled.
 The 12.25-in. hole section had to be drilled with the lowest number of BHAs, building inclination up to 65 to
75and locating the 9.625-in. casing to isolate the large number of problematic formations contained in this
hole section. Because of this variety of formations, each one with a particular behavior and set of drilling
problems, the 12.25-in. hole section is by far the more complex section to be drilled. The directional work to
be developed in this section is very important in terms of well positioning; any deviation from plan in this
section will transfer DLS to the landing section where directional control and precision are required.
SPE-WVS-829 3

Fig. 1 - Horizontal wells drilled in OSO oil field pad A

4 SPE-WVS-829

Fig. 2 - Horizontal wells drilled in OSO oil field pad G

SPE-WVS-829 5

Fig. 3 - Horizontal wells drilled in OSO oil field pad H

6 SPE-WVS-829

Fig. 4 - Horizontal well drilled in COCA oil field pad A

SPE-WVS-829 7

Fig. 5 - Horizontal well drilled in COCA oil field pad K

 The challenge for the 8.5-in. hole section is the precision required to land the well, eliminating the geological
uncertainty and locating the well just inside the main reservoir. For that purpose, the measurement-whil-
drilling (MWD) and logging-while-drilling (LWD) tools must provide precise information in real time to allow
the directional tools to react generating adequate DLS to reach the 7-in. liner point, at which the well is
landed with an inclination between 85 and 88.
 For the navigation process in the 6.125-in. hole section, the challenge is to have 100% directional control to
react directionally to any change in formation dip detected by the LWD tools, following the trajectory of the
main reservoir, just in the zone with the better sand properties, closest to the top of the reservoir and far
from the oil-water contact.
8 SPE-WVS-829

 Table 1 shows the formational sequence along the trajectory of the horizontal wells, the type of formation,
the BHA tendency caused by the formations, and a short description of the drilling risks associated with
those formations.

TVDSS
Formation Description BHA Tendency Drilling Risks
(ft)
Boulders superficiales -901.50 Surface conglomerates Deviation from verticality Collision with offset wells
Chalcana -101.50 Claystone Neutral Low ROP, dificult slides
Orteguaza 4101.00 Claystone Neutral Low ROP, dificult slides
Casing 13 3/8" 4373.17
Claystone, 3 layers of
Tiyuyacu 4906.00 Drop inclination Wear on BHA elements, tight hole
conglomerates
Tena 5971.00 Claystone Neutral Bit balling
Claystone - Sandstone
Basal Tena (OS) 6965.00 Drop inclination Low ROP, vibrations, Stick &Slip
trancision
Sanstone-Claystone-
Napo 6975.00 Drop inclination Stick &Slip (S&S)
Limestone
In gauge hole, geometrical stick ing,
Caliza M1 7020.00 Limestone Tangent-Build inclination
tight hole, (S&S)
In gauge hole, geometrical stick ing,
Caliza M2 7268.00 Limestone Tangent-Build inclination
tight hole, (S&S)
In gauge hole, geometrical stick ing,
Caliza A 7430.00 Limestone Tangent-Build inclination
tight hole, (S&S)
Arena U Superior 7591.00 Sandstone Drop inclination Differential Stick ing
Arena U Principal (OS) 7626.00 Sandstone Drop inclination Differential Stick ing
Lutita Napo Media 7656.00 Unstable Shale Severe Drop inclination Pack off
In gauge hole, geometrical stick ing,
Caliza B 7773.00 Limestone Tangent-Build inclination
tight hole, (S&S)
Arena T Superior 7782.00 Sandstone Drop inclination Differential Stick ing
Arena T Principal (OS) 7842.00 Sandstone Drop inclination Differential Stick ing
Lutita Napo Inferior 7911.00 Unstable Shale Severe Drop inclination Pack off
Casing 9 5/8" 7938.26
Hollin Superior 8008.00 Sandstone Drop inclination Differential Stick ing
Hollin Principal (OP) 8042.00 Sandstone Drop inclination Differential Stick ing
Liner 7" Entry point 8049.00
Navigation Level 8053.00 Sandstone Drop inclination Differential Stick ing
Liner 5" _ Exit Point 8053.00

Table 1 - Geological prognosis for horizontal drilling, including BHA tendency and risks associated with each formation.

Based on Table 1, the drilling challenges in each formation can be detailed as follows:

 Surface formations
o Surface formations are composed of claystone, sand, large rocks and conglomerates that can be found
from surface to 800 to 1000 ft true vertical depth (TVD). These formations can cause deviations from
verticality that generate collision risks with offset wells. These formations must be drilled with controlled
drilling parameters and tricone bits to try to avoid deviations from verticality and the excessive axial
vibrations that are usually detected in surface.
 Chalcana formation
o The Chalcana is a claystone formation relatively easy to drill, which means the directional work in terms of
deviation through sliding process is done without problems, and with high rate of penetration (ROP).
However, sometimes drilling problems such as gumbo attack and bit balling occur.
SPE-WVS-829 9

 Orteguaza formation
o The Orteguaza is a formation with some traces of anhydrite and kaolin. The ROP decreases considerably
from the Chalcana to the Orteguaza, both in rotary and sliding mode. In fact, the sliding difficulty increases
and the effectiveness of the directional work decreases in the Orteguaza, and BHA hanging problems and
motor stalling incidents are common.
 Tiyuyacu formation
o The Tiyuyacu is a claystone formation with three well-defined conglomerates layers. The third conglomerate
is the largest and most aggressive. It has caused severe wear on the BHA elements (bit, down hole motor,
and string stabilizers). As a consequence, the ROP usually decreases and the BHA tendency in rotary
mode is modified. These changes in the BHA behavior can force a premature trip to surface to check and
change the elements of the BHA affected by the wear.
 Tena formation
o The Tena formation is a very plastic claystone that could cause bit balling. It must be drilled with a high
2
hydraulic impact (HSI) greater than 3 HP/in . If bit-balling is detected and cannot be solved by pumping
dedicated mud pills and applying operational procedures, the BHA must be pulled out of the hole to clean
the bit.
 Basal Tena formation
o The Basal Tena formation is a sandstone formation composed of quartz, with a composition of very fine to
medium grains, friable, loose in part, with slight amounts of calcareous cement, no visible porosity, and with
a reservoir pressure of approximately 400 psi. The formation properties could cause differential sticking, and
sometimes gas can be present.
 Napo formation
o The Napo formation is composed of intercalations of different lithologies. Limestones “-M1-”, “-M2-”, “-A-”,
and “-B-” are formations with high unconfined compressive strength (UCS) that are very hard to drill.
Controlled drilling parameters must be applied to avoid premature wear on the bit. In those limestones, the
stick/slip reaches its maximum values. The diameter of the hole through the limestones is in gauge, and it is
the place where geometrical or pack-off sticking could happen while tripping when the BHA comes from a
formation with washouts and enters in a zone with in-gauge diameter.
 “-U-”, “-T-”, Upper Hollin, and Main Hollin sandstones
o The “U” sandstone is quartzose, with a texture from friable to consolidated, with very fine to medium grains,
argillaceous matrix, no visible porosity, and a reservoir pressure of approximately 1,550 to 3,000 psi.
o The “T” sandstone is quartzose as well, moderately consolidated, fine grained, well sorted, with argillaceous
matrix. Its reservoir pressure is approximately 1190 to 3050 psi. “U” and “T” sandstones together with the
Basal Tena sandstone are secondary targets and could be prospective.
o The Upper Hollin is a sandstone with poor resistivity, and density- porosity properties. It is used as a marker
to identify the top of the main reservoir for the landing process.
o The Main Hollin is the main sandstone reservoir. It is a quartzose sandstone, moderately consolidated,
loose, medium to coarse grained, moderately sorted, with kaolinitic matrix, and fair visible porosity. It has a
reservoir pressure of 4,000 approximately psi.
o For all the sandstones described above, the risk of differential sticking is always present, other risks are the
possibility of losing the directional control and to have washouts if the correct mud properties and correct
hydraulic power are not used to drill through them.
 Middle and Lower Napo shales
o The Middle and Lower Napo shales are laminar unconsolidated shales susceptible to collapse when they
are affected by any mechanical or hydraulic effect. Due to their configuration and lithological properties,
10 SPE-WVS-829

these shales can cause an excessive drop of inclination for any BHA used to drill through them. If these
shales start to collapse, it is very difficult to stop the collapse, even by increasing the mud weight or adding
mechanical stabilizers to the mud system. There are several drilling risks associated with the shales,
including washouts, hole cleaning, geometrical sticking, pack offs, and loss of directional control.

Technical Solution

The technical solution has two parts – directional trajectory design and implementation of new technology.

Directional Trajectory Design

The design of the directional trajectory for the horizontal drilling is the first and most important step to ensure the success of
the drilling process, to guarantee a completion phase without problems, and to ensure production optimization.
Once the surface coordinates and the coordinates of the entry point and exit point to the navigation section of the horizontal
well have been provided, the design of a flexible well trajectory begins. The concept of flexible trajectory involves having a
specific plan that considers both the geologist’s concerns and the drilling requirements, and that takes into account safety
ranges to manage formational uncertainties and react in real time to possible variations in the geological model, or variations
in the well trajectory in the execution phase.
A horizontal well is really successful only when the oil production from it matches with the production simulation values. With
this fact in mind, the design of the horizontal flexible trajectory must start with the study of the type of completion to be
implemented; all the special requirements for that completion must be known as well as the limitations in terms of DLS
generation while drilling.
Other important information to know is the capacity of the electric submersible pump to be used at the production stage. The
pump capacity determines the vertical depth at which the pump will be placed, which fixes the generation of a tangent of at
least 300 ft in measured depth (MD) in the well trajectory to be designed.
It is well known that there is always geological uncertainty regarding the real vertical depth at which the reservoir will be
found; for that reason, a new tangent must be included in the flexible well trajectory. The purpose of this tangent is to
develop a smoother landing of the well, providing a safety margin to react directionally to any change in the vertical depth
once the reservoir is detected by the LWD tools. The possible well trajectory changes must be matched to the real capacity
of the directional driver selected to deviate the well.
Once all the considerations described above have been included in the well trajectory design, the remaining directional work
must be distributed to surface with some additional considerations related to the natural tendency of the formations involved
and the directional tools planned to counteract those formational tendencies. Once again, tangents are considered to drill
through problematic formations such as the Tiyuyacu conglomerates to avoid wear on the BHA components and to drill
inside the Middle or Lower Napo shales with DLS as low as possible because of the shales natural tendency to cause
aggressive drop of inclination. Much of the directional work will be done in the claystone formations. The Tena claystone is
relatively easy to drill and presents few drilling problems; the same advantages can be found in the first hole section where
Chalcana and Orteguaza claystone formations allow to perform directional work.
The design of the depth to set different casings or liners is extremely important. First, a competent formation must be
selected as a casing or liner set point; after that, every casing or liner must have the objective to isolate problematic
formations, to mitigate problems related to geological instability. The mechanical design or casing and liner distribution along
the well trajectory is directly related to the geological model and this determines the correct mud weight to drill each hole
section to avoid drilling problems; the model also enables drilling engineers to distribute the directional work along the well
trajectory and to plan what kind of directional, MWD, and LWD tools could be used.
The flexible horizontal well trajectory designs reflected in the real trajectories developed for some of horizontal wells shown
in Figs. 6-8, depend on the location of the entry point coordinates for the main reservoir to be navigated. The location of the
casing and liner points are also shown.
SPE-WVS-829 11

Fig. 6 - Horizontal well profile with turn to align the trajectory with the navigation direction
12 SPE-WVS-829

Fig. 7 - Horizontal well profile with negative vertical section

SPE-WVS-829 13

Fig. 8 - Horizontal well profile with turn to align the trajectory with the navigation direction.

The examples of horizontal well trajectories represent most of the 17 horizontal wells drilled in the horizontal drilling
campaign; these wells were drilled successfully due to the implementation of new directional and LWD technologies. One of
the most significant improvements to the horizontal drilling in Ecuador was the change of the 9.625-in. casing location.
Originally it was located at the A limestone, which meant that the 8.5-in. hole section had to be drilled through the
intercalations of the U sandstone, the unstable Middle Napo shale, the B limestone, the T sandstone, and the unstable
Lower Napo shale. There numerous drilling problems encountered while drilling those formations, such as lack of directional
control, packing off, differential sticking, hole cleaning, and problematic trips. Additionally the 7-in. liner run was problematic
and in some cases the liner had to be pulled out to perform a new calibration trip before another attempt was made. There
were too many problems for a hole section where precision is required for the landing process. With the adequate new
drilling tools for the 12.25- in. hole section, it was possible to locate the 9.625-in. liner point deeper, at the level of the Lower
Napo shale. In this way, the problematic formations were isolated and the 8.5-in. hole section was developed with precision,
avoiding drilling problems and even optimizing the drilling execution times.
The contribution of the implementation of the new drilling and LWD technologies to the optimization of the horizontal drilling
will be described next.
14 SPE-WVS-829

Implementation of New Technologies

The implementation of new technologies will be described for each hole section in the horizontal wells; the superficial 16-
in. section, the 12.25-in. intermediate section, the 8.5-in. landing section and the 6.125-in. navigation section. The
progress made, and the way in which drilling problems were solved for both directional control and MWD/LWD aspects
will be described.

16-in. hole section.

It is in the 16-in. section where the risk of collision with

offset wells is more evident due to the high density of wells;
additionally, there are risks of water influx and risk of
inducing surface fractures due to the proximity of the oil
field to the rivers.
To avoid the collision risk, vertical trajectories are planned
to certain depths where the kickoff point (KOP) is fixed to
initiate the first deviation of the well. This depth varies
between 250 and 800 ft MD approximately, and the section
is drilled generally with a conventional bottom hole
assembly (BHA), with two stabilizers. The flow rate used is
managed with the rule to increase 100 gal/minute every
100 ft MD drilled; the drilling parameters such as weight on
bit (WOB) and revolutions per minute transmitted to the
BHA (CRPM) are controlled to try to keep the verticality of
the well. That verticality must be confirmed through the
measurements of the position of the well in terms of depth,
inclination, and azimuth (survey) with a gyro tool. However,
some aggressive deviations with DLS of approximately
2°/100 ft drilled were noticed, as can be observed in Fig. 9.
Such deviation caused a major collision risk situation, which
required immediate well trajectory correction through the
use of a down-hole motor, tricone bit, and an element to
receive the mule shoe of the gyro tool to set the tool face at
which the bend housing of the motor has to be oriented to
perform the trajectory correction. This correction BHA is
used until the confirmation that the large rocks or surface
conglomerates no longer present, usually between 600 and
900 ft MD. At that depth a new BHA change is performed.
The new BHA has a PDC bit, dow-hole motor and an MWD
tool to obtain the tool face data in real time. This MWD
cannot be used in the first BHA described, because it
needs at least 600 gal/min to work and provide information;
that flow rate cannot be used at the beginning of the drilling
process because it can cause surface fractures.
The strict applicatrion of an collision standard based on two
rules is practiced along the entire well trajectory. The
surface rule and the rule of the oriented separation factor
have allowed the development of the horizontal drilling
campaign without collision incidents.
The well trajectory is designed searching for the drilling
scenario with the lowest collision risk. However there are
situations in which even the optimized well trajectory has
involved a collision risk, and this is managed with several
prevention and mitigation measurements that are described
in an anti collision exemption document, that document is
analyzed by anti-collision experts and is agreed with the
operator before to proceeding with the drilling process.

Fig. 9 - Slot distribution on OSO pad A

SPE-WVS-829 15

When the collision exemption is approved internally and by the operator, it is distributed, analyzed and explained to the
personnel involved in the operation. Any deviation from the plan contained in the exemption means stopping of the drilling
process until a new and complete evaluation of the situation is done, and again, the prevention and mitigation
measurements are established, approved and completely understood before drilling can continue.
To prevent the risk of water influx, the 16 in. hole section is drilled with a high mud weight (12.8 ppg), and with controlled
ROP to avoid gumbo attack and bit-balling situations.
The BHAs used to drill the 16-in. hole section are shown in Fig. 10.

The first BHA (Fig. 10. Left) s used to drill vertically, to perform
the KOP of the well and to perform any well trajectory correction
if the well is deviated from the vertical for any reason. It has a
tricone milled tooth bit, a down hole motor with a 15.75-in.
sleeve stabilizer, a 15.75-in. string stabilizer behind the motor,
and a universal bottomhole orienting (UBHO) sub to receive the
gyro mule shoe to have the tool face to orient the down hole
motor for any directional work required.
Once the formation is free from surface conglomerates, the
BHA is changed, to the BHA shown on the right in Fig. 10. A
PDC bit is included in the new BHA, the down-hole motor is
kept, and either a 15.75-in. or a 14.625-in. string stabilizer is
placed behind the motor, depending on the BHA tendency
required to follow the directional trajectory. The main idea is
decrease to a minimum the percentage of slide required. To
adjust the BHA tendency to the natural formation tendency and
minimize sliding, two or three BHAs have been used to drill the
16-in. hole section.
If the sliding process is too complicated and the time balance
between the time used to perform sliding process and the time
to perform a trip to surface to change the BHA configuration is
negative, the BHA must be reconfigured. The trip to surface can
be considered as a calibration trip. At the surface, the status of
BHA components is verified, components are changed if it is
necessary, and the total flow area (TFA) of the bit can be
adjusted to optimize the hydraulic drilling impact force (HSI)
without exceeding the total pressure capacity of the rig
equipment.
Due to the proximity of offset wells, there is a lot of magnetic
interference affecting the measurements of the MWD tool;
inclination, azimuth and tool face at inclinations lower than 3
and azimuth at inclinations greater than 3, because the MWD
tool uses computations from three magnetometers and three
accelerometers to get its measurements. For that reason it is
necessary to perform surveys run with a measurement tool
independent of the external magnetic interference; this is the
case with the gyro tool, which is run with cable through the drill
pipe. When the magnetic interference is going deeper than
2000 ft MD, a technical-economic analysis is performed to
determine if it is advisable to use of the gyro while-drilling
system that provides trustworthy surveys and tool face in real
time. Having the measurements sent to the surface by the
MWD tool eliminates the runs of the gyro with cable that require
that the drill string be static and without circulation, which
presents a very serious risk of a stuck pipe incident.
Fig .11 shows the 16-in drilling distance for the horizontal wells
drilled in chronological order and the number of BHAs used to
finish the drilling process on the 16-in. hole sections. At the start
of the drilling campaign, four BHAs were used. By the end of
the campaign this was reduced to two or even one in one case,
which is an indicator of the success of the technology.
Fig. 10 - BHAs to drill the 16-in. hole section
16 SPE-WVS-829

Sum of Drilling Distance (ft) Sum of Footage per day on bottom (ft/dia) Sum of # Real BHAs

Performance - 16-in Hole Sections for Horizontal Wells

7000 6
Footage drilled per day (ft/day)

6176
5816 5710 5863 5715
6000 5574 5661 5480 5
5 5432 5373
5150 5116 5184 5262 5228
Drilling Distance (ft)

5033 4860
5000
4 4 4 4 4 4 4
4000 3,484
3
3 3 3 3 3
2,868 2,866 3,002 3
3000 2,665 2,722

# BHAs
2,259 2,221
2,054 2,196 2 1,959 2 2 2
1,693 1,826 1,863
2000
1,169 1,223 1,222
1000 1 1

0 0
16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- Oso G- OSO A- OSO H- OSO H- OSO H- OSO G- COCA K- COCA
49H 55H 59H 57H 71M 75H 92H 93H 94H 89H 95H 114H 117H 118H 96H 25H A-57H

Values

Sum of Drilling Distance (ft) Sum of Footage per day on bottom (ft/dia) Sum of # Real BHAs
Fig. 11 - Drilling distance, footage per day on bottom and BHAs used to drill the 16-in. hole sections
POZO SECCION

The trend observed for the footage drilled per day on bottom or net footage drilled per day, showed a continuous
improvement as the drilling campaign was developed. The 16-in. hole section is, in some ways, the easiest one to drill
and the one to take advantage of to reduce the execution times. That objective was accomplished, as can be observed in
Fig. 11.

12.25-in. Hole Sections

To drill the 12.25-in. hole sections some strategies were developed, to take into account the formations to be drilled: The
first strategy started with using one BHA with a down-hole motor and MWD tool to drill Orteguaza and Tiyuyacu with their
conglomerates. Generally, a decrease in the ROP and changes in the BHA tendency are observed at the moment drilling
of the Tena claystones starts. At this depth, the BHA was pulled out of the hole (POOH) to verify the status of the PDC bit,
and to check possible wear in the BHA stabilizers. For the second BHA used, the junk slot area of the PDC bit was
increased, and the TFA was reduced to have available the maximum hydraulic jet impact force (HSI) to drill the Tena at
the best ROP possible. The directional driver used was varied between down-hole motor, if the directional work to be
developed was not excessive, and a push-the-bit rotary steerable system (RSS) to perform directional work without
sliding. To drill the Napo and its intercalations until reaching Lower Napo Shale, a third BHA was used; this BHA had a
PDC bit with reinforced cutting structure to avoid wear while drilling limestones and abrasive sandstones and to stabilize
the BHA to minimize stick/slip, which generally is magnified while drilling through limestones and unstable shales. The
TFA of the bit was increased to reduce the HSI to avoid destabilizing of the shales by hydraulic impact. Through the
campaign the driver used evolved from a push-the-bit to a point-the-bit RSS because of the latter’s its specific feature of
being independent of contact with the borehole to deliver the appropriate DLS and to have a stable tool face to deviate the
well in the right direction even inside of severe stick/slip environments. Another reason to perform a BHA change at the
level of the Napo formation was the requirement to include in the BHA the LWD tools to provide real-time, gamma ray,
resistivity, density and porosity measurements. These measurements enabled verification of the the vertical depth at
which some of the seismic markers are located, and based on that information, make adjustments to the geological
prognosis to make projections and have a more precise true vertical depth (TVD) location of the main reservoir to land the
well in the upcoming hole section.

When more resistant materials (tungsten carbide) were available to cover the three pads of the push-the-bit RSS, the
drilling strategy to drill the 12.25-in. hole section was changed. The first BHA included a PDC bit with a cutting structure
adequate to drill through the Tiyuyacu conglomerates, and the reinforced push-the-bit RSS. With this BHA, the Orteguaza,
Tiyuyacu and Tena formations were drilled with good ROP, and directional control. The second BHA used to finish the
hole section was the point-the-bit RSS and LWD tools, just as in the first drilling strategy described above.
SPE-WVS-829 17

Fig. 12 shows the BHAs used to drill

the 12.25-in. hole section with its
variations according to the
formations to be drilled.

The combination of the BHAs

described enabled distributing the
directional work between tangent
generation, build inclination, and
turns to follow the planned directional
trajectory. The objective of the 12.25-
in. hole section is develop the
trajectory wtih precision, becasuse
the 9.625-in. casing point must be
set once the Lower Napo shale is
reached with an inclination between
68 and 72. Any inclination lower or
greater than those values could
radically modify the directional work
to be developed for upcoming hole
section where the well must be
landed inside the main reservoir with
a precise inclination.

To acomplish the required level of

precision drilling the 12.25-in. hole
section for some of the horizontal
wells developed, it was necessary to
use more BHAs than the described
above. Sometimes it was necessary
to combine BHAs with different
drivers: downhole motors and RSS
alternately. The LWD were retreived
form the final BHA which could be a
simpler BHA with less stiffness, to
improve the drilling process; the
LWD measurements were recovered
when the LWD tools were included in
a conventional BHA used to calibrate
the hole before running the 9.625-in.
casing.

To make adjustments in the BHA

configuration according to the drilling
behavior, technical support was
always available and it was the key
for the success in drilling the 12-25-
in. hole section which was by far the
most complicated hole section in the
horizontal drilling campaign
Down hole motor BHA to drill Push-the-bit RSS BHA to drill Point-the-bit RSS BHA to drill
Drilling Strategy #1 Orteguaza and Tiyuyacu Tena Napo
Point-the-bit RSS BHA to drill
Push-the-bit RSS to drill Orteguaza, Tiyuyacu and Tena
Drilling Strategy #2 Napo
Fig. 12 - BHAs used to drill 12.25-in. hole sections

Fig. 13 shows the number of BHAs used to drill the 12.25-in. hole sections for the horizontal drilling campaign; the
variations in this number is evidence of how complex the drilling of this hole section could be. However, when the footage
drilled per day is compared, a constant value for this drilling parameter is observed, which means that when more BHAs
were required to drill the hole section, the drilling process was optimized to avoid increasing execution time.
18 SPE-WVS-829

Sum of Drilling Distance (ft) Sum of Footage per day on bottom (ft/dia) Sum of # Real BHAs

Performance - 12.25-in Hole Sections for Horizontal Wells

5000 8
4551 4601
4438 4391
Footage drilled per day (ft/day)

4500 4300 4273

4135
4288
4015 4025 7 4036 7
3864 3939
4000 3700 3716
3617
Drilling Distance (ft)

6
3500 3333
5 5
3000

2500 4 4 4 4 4 2267 4 4 4
3

# BHAs
2000
3 3 3 3 3 3
1500 1,353 1,176 1,192 1,226
1,170
957 939 930 1,029 1,052 1,121 1,142 2 961 2 944
1,138
2
1000 867
686 634
1 1
500

0 0
12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25 12.25
OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- OSO A- Oso G- OSO A- OSO A- OSO H- OSO H- OSO H- OSO G- COCA COCA
49H 55H 59H 57H 71M 75H 92H 93H 94H 89H 95H 95H-ST 114H 117H 118H 96H K-25H A-57H

Values

Sum of Drilling Distance (ft) Sum of Footage per day on bottom (ft/dia) Sum of # Real BHAs
Fig. 13 - Drilling distance, footage per day on bottom and BHAs used to drill 12.25-in. hole sections
POZO SECCION

It has to be mentioned that all the 12.25-in. hole sections were finished according to the directional well profile planned,
enabling normal development of the landing process in the upcoming 8.5-in. hole section.

8.5-in. Hole Section

The 8.5-in. section is the hole section where the well must be landed or positioned just inside the main reservoir with an
inclination between 85 and 88. The precision at the moment of landing the well is the key to successfully navigating the
upcoming hole section. To reach this objective the geological uncertainties related to the vertical depth at which the main
reservoir is located must be eliminated, the dip variations of the formations, both locally and regionally, must be
considered; and geological structural changes not observed by seismic must be avoided. The changes in the true vertical
depth of the main reservoir varies by generally 10 to 15 ft TVD above or below the geological prognosis; this variation
demands 100% directional control to react directionally to any possible change as described above. Additionally, the hole
section must be drilled as quickly as possible to avoid several drilling problems associated with the formations to be
drilled. The section including the Lower Napo shale and Upper Hollin and Main Hollin sandstones is prone to drilling
problems such as washouts, hole cleaning, geometrical and differential sticking, packoff, and loss of directional control.

The directional tool selected to work in combination with any LWD tool for the landing process was a point-the-bit RSS,
which again, is not dependent on borehole contact to deliver the correct DLS and which has the directional capacity to
react directionally in real time to follow the well profile defined by the LWD tool measurements, to land the well properly.
With the point-the-bit RSS, a smoother well profile with low tortuosity is guaranteed. The continuous rotation of the entire
BHA contributes to the hole cleaning improvement and acts as a preventive measure to avoid the risk of differential
sticking.

Fig. 14 shows the evolution of the BHAs used to drill the 8.5-in. landing hole section as a function of the LWD tool used to
identify the main reservoir while the well is landed. The LWD tools implemented improved the landing precision, which is
discussed later in this section.
SPE-WVS-829 19

The common practice to perform the landing

of the horizontal wells is the correlation of the
logs from offset wells with the log that is being
obtained in real time while drilling the 8.5-in.
hole section, and using if it is available the
information from seismic data. With these
data, the geological model can be updated
and adjustments to the TVD to land well are
done; however those TVD projections have
uncertainties involved.

The information from offset wells is not

available, it is necessary to drill a pilot hole
first. That pilot hole is used to get all the
information necessary to characterize the
reservoir, and after that, a side track from this
hole must be performed to land the well at the
proper TVD already identified. However, even
with this pilot hole very close to the landing
point, the geological uncertainties can cause
variations in the TVD to land the well properly.

Electromagnetic propagation tools have

facilitated the identification and quantification
of the reservoirs formation boundary limits;
the boundaries can be identified earlier using
resistivity images. This technology has
enabled improving the quality and precision of
the landing process. The horizontal wells are
now being landed precisely just inside the
sandstone zone inside the main reservoir that
has the best properties.

In chronological order the evolution of the

LWD tools and how they have improved the
landing process are described below:

Landing Process with Gamma Ray-

Resistivity, Density-Porosity LWD tools.

The landing strategy through the use of

gamma ray-resistivity, density-porosity LWD
tools, with or without radioactive source is
known as the conventional method.
Essentially, in this method, the basic logs
gamma ray-resistivity, and density-neutron
are correlated to predict geological changes
while drilling, using the TVD calculations to
some regional geological markers; these
calculations are verified through the
Gamma ray-resistivity,
density-porosity LWD tool, Azimutal resistivity LWD
Deeper resistivity LWD tool
with or without radioactive tool
source
LWD tools used to identify the main reservoir while the well is landed
Figure. 14 - BHA evolution to land the well in 8.5-in hole sections
20 SPE-WVS-829

geological samples in surface. However, this method required drilling with controlled drilling parameters until the samples
were at the surface. The adjustment of the well profile based on the TVD calculations is difficult and there is always
uncertainty being inside the main reservoir.

Landing Process with Azimuthal Resistivity LWD tool. (GR/RES/Resistivity Images)

This LWD tool was introduced in Ecuador for the first time in 2006. The resistivity measurements with azimuthal sensitivity
are being adopted for geosteering because of the added value of a real interpretation of the proximity of the formation
bou. Distance-to-boundary measurements are used in the navigation phase in horizontal drilling and previously had been
obtained by modeling. However, since 2013 this LWD tool has been used to anticipate the position in TVD of the deepest
geological marker closest to the main reservoir before landing the well. The great benefit of this new landing strategy is
ensure the correct position of the well inside the main reservoir, identifying qualitatively the reservoir dip tendency, and,
based on this information, taking the correct directional decision to steer the well searching for an inclination at the landing
point, between 85 and 88.

Landing with a Deeper Azimuthal Resistivity LWD tool – (GR/RES/Deeper Resistivity Images)

To comply with the industry demand to have measurements or logs with greater depth of investigation to improve
reservoirs understanding, a new LWD technology was developed, tested and introduced worldwide in 2014. Ecuador has
been one of the pioneer countries for the implementation of this technology. Basically the new LWD tool has the capacity
to delineate the sandstone formational boundaries, even the oil/water contact up to 25 ft TVD from the position of the tool
in the BHA, which means approximately 100 ft MD of anticipation before reaching the landing point. This gives enough
time to perform any directional correction before landing the well in the best position. The scaled graphics generated from
the LWD measurements through a complex inversion model allows the optimization of the landing process and ensures
the maximization of the reservoir exposure while navigating horizontally for the upcoming 6.125-in hole section.

Fig. 15 shows the drilling performance in terms of ROP for the bottom hole assemblies (BHAs) used to land several
horizontal wells in 8.5-in. hole sections. In chronological order, the point-the-bit RSS was combined with the density-neutron-
resistivity tool, with an azimuthal resistivity tool, and with a deep directional resistivity tool to land the wells. Summarizing the
numbers shown in Fig. 15 we can conclude the following:
:
 The average ROP to land the wells with density-neutron-resistivity tool was 35.4 ft/hr. The LWD tool had to be
inside the main reservoir to identify it through the measurements; for that reason, the maximum inclination
recommended to land the well it was 85 to avoid to extending the drilling distance to reach the reservoir with
greater inclinations. Generally the ROP applied to reach the reservoir was conservative, to allow mud logging to
confirm with surface samples that the hole was inside the reservoir. For the navigation of the 6.125-in. hole
section, two runs were required: a first run with down-hole motor to build inclination from 85 to 90 in a short
distance, with DLS between 3° and 5°/100 ft, and a second run, with an RSS to navigate the well following the
trajectory determined by the measurements done by an azimuthal resistivity tool.

 The average ROP to land the wells with an azimuthal-resistivity tool was 47.4 ft./hr, a 25.4% of increment in ROP
over landing with a density-neutron-resistivity tool. This improvement was accomplished because the azimuthal
resistivity tool can identify the top of the reservoir with a certain depth of investigation, allowing drilling faster to
land the well, with the extra benefit to build inclination up to 88° at the landing depth. With this scenario, the
navigation process was developed in just one run with an RSS to build inclination to 90° and to follow the
navigation trajectory determined by the azimuthal resistivity tool.

 The average ROP to land the wells with the deep-directional-resistivity tool was 53.1 ft/hr, which is a 10.8%
increment in ROP over that with the azimuthal-resistivity tool. The top of the reservoir was identified even earlier
because the depth of investigation increased, too, and the drilling process could be developed faster. Those wells
were landed at high inclinations up to 88° and the further navigation drilling was done in just one run.
SPE-WVS-829 21
Sum of Drilling Distance (ft) Sum of Net ROP (ft/hr)

Drilling Distance and Net ROP per Technology Used to Land the Well
2000 120

1800 1717
1604 100.6
100
1600 1531
1357
1400 84.2
80
Drilling Distance (ft)

1175
1200 1071
1015 1033 66.6

Net ROP (ft/hr)

983
1000 926 60.6 914 932 60
775 817 785
800 47.5 50.9 49.3
655 45.6 689
42.3 595 625 617 40
600 35.7 38.5
33.3 32.8 35.3 34.2
29.7 26.9 28.0 27.6
400
20
17.5
200

0 0

OSO H-114H-ST
OSO A-71MS1
OSO A-49H

OSO A-55H

OSO A-57H

OSO A-59H

OSO A-71M

OSO A-75H

OSO A-92H

OSO A-93H

OSO A-94H

OSO A-95H-ST
OSO A-57H-ST2

OSO G-89H

OSO H-114H

OSO H-117H

COCA A-57H

COCA K-25H

OSO G-96H

OSO H-118H
Density-Neutron- Resistivity Azimuthal Resistivity Deep Directional Resistivity

Average ROP = 35.4 ft/hr Average ROP = 47.4 ft/hr Average ROP = 53.1 ft/hr
Values

Sum of Drilling Distance (ft) Sum of Net ROP (ft/hr)

LWD Fig. 15 - Drilling distance and net ROP for each LWD technology used to land the horizontal wells in 8.5-in. hole sections.
WELL

Fig. 16 shows one landing example where through the use of the deeper-azimuthal-resistivity LWD tool the drilling of a
pilot hole was avoided. In addition, the original sandstone to land the well was changed in real time to a secondary
sandstone because the real-time update of the inversion model showed that the first sand was not completely developed
along the reservoir. Once that particular situation was detected, the decision to continue drilling generating a tangent was
taken, and, finally, the second sandstone inside the reservoir, with good resistivity properties was identified. The well was
landed once that sandstone was reached with 88 of inclination and the further 6.125-in. navigation section was drilled
without any problem.

Fig. 16 - Example of a successful landing proces using the deeper azimuthal resistivity LWD tool
22 SPE-WVS-829

6.125-in. Hole Sections

To minimize the geological uncertainties while navigating the horizontal wells, the LWD tool with azimuthal resistivities,
based in the principle of electromagnetic propagation, was introduced in Ecuador in 2006. This technology has allowed a
better understanding of reservoir geometry, thus preventing the well from crossing the boundaries of the reservoir, which
can cause severe completion problems.

The first generation of this azimuthal resistivity tool was capable detecting reservoir boundaries up to 15 ft TVD from the
tool position in the BHA; however, a high definition version of the tool, introduced in 2014, improves the depth of
investigation up to 25 ft TVD in drilling environments with high resistivity contrast.

The detection capacity of the LWD tools

described above, used to anticipate the
location of the top or bottom of the reservoir in
real time, determines the path to follow
directionally to be always inside the zone with
the best sandstone properties inside of the
main reservoir. The driver selected to provide
directional control was an RSS, which
improved the ROP having 100% rotation all
the time while steering and reducing the risk
of differential sticking incidents, which is high
in this sandstone section. The use of RSS
improves the hole cleaning and reduces the
navigation section tortuosity, which
contributes to successful completion and
production phases.
The BHAs used to drill horizontally the 6.125-
in. hole section are shown in the Fig. 17. For
the cases with landing inclinations of
approximately 84 to 85 degrees, two BHAs
must be used. The first BHA has a down-hole
motor to build inclination to 89 to 90 in a
short drilling distance of approximately 100 to
120 ft MD; the second BHA has a push-the-bit
RSS or a more advanced hybrid RSS which
combines the best features of both, push and
point-the-bit RSS, in combination with the
LWD tools to identify sandstone boundaries.
For the cases with landing inclinations of
approximately 88 to 89, the BHA with down-
hole motor is eliminated and only the BHA
with RSS and LWD tools is used to navigate
the well.
With the push-the-bit RSS some navigation
sections were drilled successfully, following
the trajectory of the reservoir without any
problem, these trajectories did not have
significant changes in formation dip angle,
and the changes detected by the LWD tools
were directionally controlled by the generation
of the proper DLS.

BHA with down hole motor BHA with push-the-bit RSS BHA with a hybrid RSS
For landing inclinations around 84-85 degrees For landing inclinations
approximately 87 to 89
Fig. 17 - BHAs used to drill the 6.125-in. navigation hole section
SPE-WVS-829 23

During the horizontal drilling campaign, more aggressive changes in the formation dip angles were detected; these
changes required a quick directional response to modify the inclination and keep the well trajectory inside the main
reservoir. The push-the-bit RSS reaction was not fast enough, and there was a risk of the well moving out of the reservoir.
Because of this, the navigation was finished using a down-hole motor instead of the push-the-bit RSS and developing a
program of directional sliding work at intervals to try to reduce the risk of differential sticking. In these cases, directional
control becomes the major challenge to drilling the horizontal navigation hole sections.

To solve this problem by having 100% directional control at the same time drilling the horizontal sections with the well-known
benefits of 100% rotation, the hybrid RSS was introduced and implemented in Ecuador in 2013. The main features of this
new RSS are: DLS generation up to 17°/100 ft drilled and DLS assurance. For the navigation sections the DLS assurance
was used to keep the well trajectory inside the main reservoir, following the exact path of the formation dip changes that
presented increasingly severe variations with distance drilled.
The benefit of landing the horizontal wells using an azimuthal resistivity tool or a deep directional resistivity tool in terms of
ROP and landing precision was reflected in the execution times for the navigation 6.125-in. hole section as shown in Fig. 18.
Additionally, as explained previously, the landing inclination of approximately 88 to 89 facilitates the navigation process by
the use of just one BHA, with a hybrid RSS, which optimizes the drilling execution times. The average on bottom hours to
drill the navigation section was reduced by 31.3% and the average below rotary table (BRT) hours was reduced by 28.5%

Sum of On Bottom time (hours) Sum of Bellow Rotary Table Time (hours)Sum of Drilling Distance (ft)

Drilling Time: 6.125-in Horizontal Hole Section.

1600 140
136
1400 120
116
109 109
Drilling Distance (ft)

1200
101 100
96 94

Time (hours)
1000
79 81 79 80
800 69 72
66.5
60
56 57
600 52 49
40
400 32 35
24 27
22 20 20 21 20
200 16 16 16
14 11 14 12 11 12
0 0
OSO H-114H-ST
OSO A-71MS1
OSO A-49H

OSO A-55H

OSO A-59H

OSO A-75H

COCA K-25H
COCA A-57H

OSO A-92H

OSO A-93H

OSO A-94H

OSO A-95H-ST

OSO G-89H

OSO G-96H

OSO H-117H

OSO H-118H
OSO A-57H-ST2

Downhole Motor + Push the bit RSS (2 runs) Hybrid RSS (1 run)
Average On Bottom Hours = 23.73 Average On Bottom Hours = 16.3
Average BRT Hours = 102.5 Average BRT Hours = 73.31

Values

Sum of Drilling Distance (ft) Sum of On Bottom time (hours) Sum of Bellow Rotary Table Time (hours)
Drivers WELL

Fig. 18 - Execution times for 6.125-in. navigation hole sections

Fig. 19 shows one navigation example using the azimuthal resistivity LWD tool, where the navigation process was
developed close to the top of the reservoir (upper part of the figure), and its comparison with the quality of the reservoir
boundaries interpretation, based on the high-definition azimuthal resistivity LWD tool. It is clear that the top and bottom of
the reservoir can be identified.
24 SPE-WVS-829

Fig. 19 - Example of a successful navigating proces using the azimuthal resistivity LWD tool

The real impact of the LWD tools evolution on the horizontal drilling campaign, the following summary is discussed below.

The greatest differentiators impacting horizontal drilling are the dedicated horizontal drilling tools capable of mapping the
boundaries while drilling or landing. Associated with those are other LWD tools exclusively for petrophyisical
measurements. Today the available tools are very sophisticated and can provide detailed reliable logs not requiring any
additional information for petrophyisical evaluation.

The standard tools are gamma ray-resistivity and density-porosity LWD tools, with the first being the gamma ray resistivity
and the second the density neutron log. This is seen in Fig. 20 on tracks 1, 2 and 3. Note the saturation on the resistivity
from the resistivity LWD tool. This is acceptable as the reservoir is very resistive going above the tool limitation; however,
because the objective is to make sure the well is placed in the oil zone, the tool was still used, with the assumption that
saturated zones represented oil zones. In the case of density-porosity LWD tool there are no limitations because the well
is horizontal, the tool weight helps to guarantee a good contact with the formation allowing for a precise measurement.

The application of the new laterolog technology in OSO field has generated important contributions for the horizontal
section. This technology applies the laterolog principle and its main feature is the ability to measure values in the higher
resistivity range required for that formation. Fig. 20 shows on tracks 4, 5 and 6 the logs captured by the mentioned LWD
tool. Track 4 displays the resistivity field curves: from the shallower (blue) to the deepest (black). The deep resistivity
reaches levels of nearly 5,000 ohmm in the best petrophysical characteristics portion where the gamma ray presents the
lowest values. We see that all curves are within range not maxing out as it happened with the propagation resistivity. The
large separation between the shallow curve with respect to the deep curve is an indication of the large volume of mud
invasion. The accuracy of the tool and its sensitivity to the invasion process allows a clear perspective of the severe
invasion observed. That new information gave the possible explanation for the different well production being related to
formation damage by the excess of filtrate invasion. This allowed for some action to improve the characteristics and
composition of drilling mud to reduce the invasion process avoiding production reductions due to formation damage. By
doing a computation based on the resistivity curves we find that in the average 3h time it takes to make the measurement
the invasion has reached almost 20 in. in diameter (see track 5). This tool is the recommended technology for horizontal
wells in the Hollin formation.
SPE-WVS-829 25

Fig. 20 - Composite resisitivity LWD tool and laterolog LWD tool

The laterolog tool also provides images by the rotation of the sensors as we see in Fig. 21 track 3. The sinusoids of very
light colors represent very resistive formations disposed as thin resistive carbonized phytodetritus. This can be seen on
the core by the dark lines indicated by the arrows in Fig. 21. They result from the Hollin sand cross stratifications. This
information is important to indicate at which level inside the Hollin sand we are navigating. The image support and
navigation by the computation of dips (last track of Fig. 21) provide control when drilling up or down structure. This
technology is being applied for deviated wells when they reach the Hollin formation.

Fig. 21 - Image from laterolog tool compared to core features

Another state of the-art technology was used in OSO for the first time. This is the MWD high-speed telemetry tool, which
provides enough power for all the new generation LWD tools included in the BHA and which enables the transmission of
the large volume of information in real time from these tools.
26 SPE-WVS-829

The target for most of the horizontal wells is a specific formation normally reached with very high angles from the previous
section. This results in loss of information because the previous section is hard to log with conventional tools. In the case
of OSO, there are several sands drilled before reaching the Hollin sandstone formation, and these are considered as
secondary objectives. Since 2005 an integrated LWD platform (Weller et al. 2005) capable of delivering a complete set of
petrophysical logs with a short compact LWD tool has been available. This tool has been used in OSO field for a very
large number of deviated wells; however, for logging the landing sections, the use of radioactive sources was a risk
component that had to be mitigated. Weller et al. (2005) noted plans for future source-less capabilities, and a sourceless
tool became available in 2012 (Evans et al. 2012). As an example, Evans et al. showed the log in Fig. 22, which was
taken from Ecuador, these log data were included in the worldwide data set used to construct the algorithm for the new
sourceless LWD tool.

Fig. 22 - Example of log from sourceless tool used in Ecuador *Evans et al. 2012)

After the launch of the sourceless LWD tool and its recognition by radioactive regulatory agency of Ecuador the tool was
used for characterizing the formations previously left behind the landing section. Fig. 23 displays a log acquired with this
tool in a well with an average inclination of 80.

Today, this tool yields a large set of measurements, allowing for a complete set of logs that provide the necessary
measurements for characterization.
SPE-WVS-829 27

Fig. 23 - Sourceless landing example from OSO field

The log composite in Fig. 23 comes from a single tool of 25 ft and includes the following: Track 1 is gamma-ray and sigma
for clay content identification using two different principles of measurement. Track 2 is a propagation set of resistivities
with a larger depth ofinvestigation than conventional tools. Track 3 contains the sourceless density and two neutron logs
for porosity calculations and lithology identification. In addition to the normal neutron porosity (TNPH), the tool provides a
new measurement for best porosity (BPHI), which is less affected by shale and gas than the measurement from traditional
tools. Therefore, a simple comparison with conventional porosity generates another independent clay indicator. Track 4
contains gamma-ray images using 16 sectors or bins for dip interpretation (shown in track 5) to support landing the well.
This is the highest number of bins for the gamma-ray measurement from any tool and is made possible by hardware
focusing of the measurement. Track 6 and 7 displays the borehole shape using two orthogonal ultrasonic calipers while
acquiring the data. This is used to verify the well condition and to make the proper environmental corrections. Track 8 is
drilling dynamics which can impact the azimuthal measurement, which needs rotation of the BHA for quality control. There
are several other drilling mechanics measurements provided by the tool but not presented here because they do not have
a petrophysical impact. Track 9 is the lithology display generated from the elemental capture cross section measured by
the tool. This is the fourth independent clay indicator. The raw elements are recorded and allow for advanced
geochemical interpretation processing to compare with the formation elements from coring, if available.

With this set of logs, the geology team can handle completion and characterization in a comprehensive and efficient
manner.
With the LWD support the asset team in OSO field is creating new ways of challenging the limits to drilling horizontal wells
and achieve good results in Ecuador.
28 SPE-WVS-829

Conclusions

 The horizontal drilling campaign developed in Ecuador for Petroamazonas E.P shows that, on average
the oil production from a horizontal well can easily triple the oil production from a directional well.
 The implementation of the new, evolved, drilling and LWD technologies, enables continuing drilling
horizontal wells, even considering the complexity.
 The horizontal wells drilled using evolving technologies are finished an average of 4 days earlier than
wells in previous horizontal drilling campaigns.
 Evolving drilling technologies guarantee 100% directional control.
 Advanced LWD tools guarantee precision in the landing phase, and while navigating the horizontal
section.
 The precision in landing wells made possible by new technologies eliminates geological uncertainties and
the need to drill pilot holes for oil fields without offset wells.
 Drilling through the reservoir, just inside the zone with the best sandstone properties, following the exact
path of the reservoir, closer to the top, and far from the oil/water contact, is possible. The improved
features of the advanced drilling and LWD tools make this objective attainable.

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank Petroamazonas E.P. for the permission granted to publish this paper.

References

Evans, M., Allioli, F., Cretoiu, V. 2012. Sourceless Neutron-Gamma Density (SNGD): A Radioisotope-Free Bulk Density
Measurement: Physics Principles, Environmental Effects, and Applications. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 8–10 October. SPE-159334-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/159334-MS.

Weller, G., Galvin, S.D., and El-Halawani, T. 2005. A New Integrated LWD Platform Delivers Improved Drilling Efficiency,
Well Placement, and Formation Evaluation Services. Presented at Offshore Europe, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, 6–9
September. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/96652-MS.