QA

Quick Answer: How Does Directional Drilling Work

How accurate is directional drilling?

The accuracy of the tool is 0.01° in pitch and 0.04° in azimuth. At the same time the tool is not affected by magnetic fields from for example railways and cables.

How far can directional drilling go?

With directional drilling, one rig alone may be able to work up to five or ten square miles (compared to having a dozen or more vertical rigs).

Can you directional bore through rock?

In the past, the presence of rock formations prevented the use of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) for most underground utility construction. As technology has advanced, midsize drilling equipment now has the capability of effectively drilling and steering in rock.

How does a drill change direction?

In order to be able to change the direction of drilling, the drill pipe cannot rotate as it does in traditional drilling. Instead, only the drill bit at the front end of the drill pipe is rotated. The drilling mud, which is constantly pumped down the pipe, is used as a source of power to turn the bit.

What is the difference between directional drilling and horizontal drilling?

A more complex way of directional drilling utilizes a bend near the bit, as well as a downhole steerable mud motor. Horizontal drilling is any wellbore that exceeds 80 degrees, and it can even include more than a 90-degree angle (drilling upward).

How long does horizontal directional drilling take?

How long will HDD construction take? Completion of each siphon will take approximately 4-6 weeks. This includes about 3-4 weeks of drilling and 1-2 weeks to pull the pipe back.

How far can a Ditch Witch drill?

It holds up to 600 feet of drill pipe onboard — more than its primary competitors — allowing for longer bores and increased ROI. And, the optimized carriage speed gives contractors class-leading cycle times for faster installations.

How long can you directional bore?

Maximum lengths and hole diameters are determined by project specific geotechnical conditions however effective outside range for heavy rig horizontal directional drilling is 3,000 m (9,843′). Light rigs are typically used for crossings between 50 m and 1,000 m (164′ – 3,281′).

When did directional boring start?

Directional drilling has come a long way since its origins. Through most of the 1800s, wells ostensibly went in only one direction—straight down. It was in the 1920s that the industry first became aware of wellbore deviation of appar- ently vertical holes.

What is the cost of directional boring?

3.1 Construction Cost Service/Product Price-Low Unit Directional Boring – Rural $6.00 Foot Directional Boring – Urban $8.00 Foot Directional Boring – Rock $42.50 Foot Conduit (2” HDPE) $0.75 Foot.

Where is directional drilling used?

Directional drilling is used to install conduits under obstacles such as roads, buildings, and wetlands. As demonstrated in this video, conduits such as water, sewer, fiber, electric, and gas can be installed under very busy intersections without disruption of traffic.

What is HDD technique?

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is a method of installing underground pipelines, cables and service conduit through trenchless methods. It involves the use of a directional drilling machine, and associated attachments, to accurately drill along the chosen bore path and back ream the required pipe.

What is HDD method?

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is a construction technique whereby a tunnel is drilled under a waterway or other designated area, and a pipeline or other utility is pulled through the drilled underground tunnel. The drilling mud also helps coat the walls of the tunnel and remove drill cuttings.

How do I know if my drill is reversed?

Meaning, if the drill is rotating clockwise, or to the right, then the drill is moving forward. If it is turning counter-clockwise, or to the left, then the drill is moving backwards.

How do you turn a drill into a clockwise?

Most modern cordless drills have a forward/reverse function. By pressing a switch or a button you can turn the drill or the screwdriver to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise.

How do you make a drill clockwise?

Keep it forward and going clockwise to tighten screws or drill a hole. Toggle to reverse when removing a screw. The rotation goes counter-clockwise in reverse. Put the drill in reverse to extract the drill bit from the hole you just drilled.

What are directional drilling tools?

The most common deviation tools for directional drilling are steerable motor assemblies (or so-called positive-displacement motors [PDMs]) and rotary steerable systems (RSSs).

Why might a directional well be necessary?

A directional drilling program might be necessary if the target horizon is not accessible from a location directly above it. Moreover, directional drilling allows having multiple wells originating at the same surface location and deflecting into different directions (angles) as they go deeper.

Why is horizontal drilling better?

Drilling horizontally, parallel to the geologic layers in tight formations, allows producers to access more of the oil- and natural gas-bearing rock than drilling vertically. The lateral length of horizontal wells has also increased, allowing for more exposure to oil- and natural gas-producing rock from a single well.

How far can you horizontal bore?

Current technology limits a single bore length to around 8,000 linear feet and pipe diameters to 48-inches or less. The HDD process, in general terms, follows three basic stages that are described below.

How is horizontal drilling done?

Horizontal drilling is the process of drilling a well from the surface to a subsurface location just above the target oil or gas reservoir called the “kickoff point”, then deviating the well bore from the vertical plane around a curve to intersect the reservoir at the “entry point” with a near-horizontal inclination,.