Avoid Pilot Holes, Land Wells, and Optimize Well Placement and Production With Deep Directional Resistivity Logging While Drilling

Summary Landing horizontal wells in a reservoir is a critical task, and the accuracy of the result drives the economics of a well. Except when the geological environment is largely predictable, relying on well-to-well correlation techniques or on pilot holes fails to mitigate important risks in landing most wells. This paper details how a different solution more effectively manages the risks of a landing operation. The deep directional resistivity (DDR) logging-while-drilling (LWD) tool has been in use in dozens of fields around the world. The key features of the technology that play a role in derisking the landing of wells range from the tool hardware (which enables a deep depth of investigation, sensitivity to direction, and a wide frequency range) to the surface interpretation software, which provides real-time automatic multilayer inversion. Applied to a landing in a North Sea field, the DDR LWD service was part of the solution for meeting ambitious field-development targets.