[en] This patent describes a method of variably and selectively positioning coil tubing in a horizontally drilled well having a generally vertical section, a curve section and a generally horizontal section. It comprises securing a generally hollow tubing guide shoe to one end of a tubing string; inserting the tubing guide shoe and a portion of the tubing string through the generally vertical section and the curve section and into a portion of the generally horizontal section; and inserting coil tubing through the tubing string

[en] The development of the Arctic region will entail the construction of new infrastructure, in particular, subsea pipelines. Considering the lack of actual field practice, ecosystem vulnerability and lack of common Arctic international standards, their development will be a big challenge, in particular, in the shore crossing zone. The design and construction of pipelines in the shore crossing area require a special approach that takes into account environmental and technological aspects of development. This work is aimed at analysing and determining environmental and technological factors influencing the design of offshore pipelines in the Arctic coastline. The paper presents theoretical and analytical work and the research is applied to a specific case study (pipelines from the Leningraskoye field to shore), through engineering calculations. Currently, there are five Arctic projects with shore transition areas for which trenching has been implemented. In order to determine the best shore crossing approach, it is important to consider the following environmental conditions: ice encroachment; ice ridges; shoreline erosion; permafrost thawing. Environmental characteristics should predetermine the choice of approach. Among three existing methods: trenching, tunnelling and horizontal directional drilling (HDD), the micro-tunnelling method is recommended for the Leningradskoye field in combination with a cofferdam corridor to protect the buried pipe from waves and ice in the nearshore area. In order to protect the surrounded permafrost from melting seasonal cooling-device is recommended to be used. The burial depth is determined to be more than 3.52 m in accordance with Force model calculations of ice ridges scouring depth. On the basis of research, the general choice-making diagram was proposed for Arctic shore crossing areas. (paper)

[en] The methodology used to determine the application of underbalanced drilling technology in the Elkton formation in Central Alberta was described. The Harmattan Elkton Pool has been in production since 1967 with a relatively constant production decline. In November 1996, the first effective underbalanced horizontal well in the Elkton was drilled by Apache Canada Ltd. Application of this technology has allowed more efficient exploitation of gas reservoirs without stimulation. Reservoirs which were originally developed with overbalanced vertical wells, and were redeveloped with overbalanced horizontal wells are now being reevaluated as candidates for horizontal underbalanced drilling. In the Elkton, production rates during underbalanced drilling reached 196 10³m³/d while maintaining an underbalanced drawdown of 9000 kPa. This paper demonstrated that production can be significantly improved when using the technology of underbalanced horizontal wells compared to overbalanced vertical wells and overbalanced horizontal wells. 2 refs., 1 tab., 7 figs

[en] Field in OML 114 has been producing 25,000 BOPD via 11 horizontal wells for over 3 years. Water injection for reservoir pressure maintenance was available from first oil.During the field development planning phase, technical discussion centred on the defining the optimal length of the horizontal production wells. In the absence of conclusive industry practise in the Niger Delta environment we elected to be driven by the conclusions of our reservoir simulation model. This indicated that the only constraint to the P1 of the well was the amount of reservoir section interested. As a result the development wells were landed early into the Abana structure and drilled until the wellbore exited the reservoir. This resulted in horizontal sections of between 1600' and 3950' being drilled.In August 2001 PLT data was acquired in 3 wells on the field. The data indicated that flow was being measured from approximately the first third or so of the drilled length of the measured laterals.A first glance the PLT results suggested that our initial predrill conclusions were incorrect. However, subsequent analysis of the PLT tool performance, mass balance calculations, fluid flow characteristics and the type of completion used downhole suggest that the wells must have been producing from the entire length at least until water production commenced

[en] This quarterly report is based on the last activity above. It gives a brief account of the work and the complete study will be included in the next Annual Report of the project

[en] Aiming at the new progress and new trends of coal mine tunnel rigs in China, this paper introduces the development of conventional coal mine tunnel rigs, discusses the application of new technologies such as directional drilling and remote automatic control in the development of coal mine tunnel rigs, and points out the development trend of coal mine tunnel rigs in China. According to the development of domestic coal mine tunnel drilling rigs and related technologies, it is of great significance to construct intelligent drilling face and comprehensively improve the adaptability and reliability of mine tunnel drilling machine to ensure the safety and efficient production of coal mine. (paper)

[en] Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is the conversion of coal in the seam into a combustible gas. UCG is conceptually very simple but controlling the reaction and producing a consistent gas quality under a variety of geological and coal conditions is difficult to achieve. The basic concept has two boreholes, one for the injection of oxidants and the other for the removal of the product gas. (authors)

[en] The use of horizontal directional drilling technology in environmental remediation projects was discussed. Three case histories are described to show the growth in the use of the technology in remediation applications. Further growth in the use of the technology is predicted as the cost of installation and risks borne by the contractor decline. Both of these impediments can be minimized by utilizing numerical tools such as modeling and simulation, which can contribute to reducing uncertainty and to increasing productivity. Details of one such application, named SEDDO (Simulation Environment of Horizontal Directional Drilling Operations), are provided. 10 refs., 3 figs

[en] This paper describes a directional gamma ray spectrometer. It comprises: an elongate scintillation device responsive to impinging gamma rays, the device having spaced ends and having an elongate outer surface shaped as a cylinder; end located scintillation responsive means for forming output indicative of scintillation events of the device; a surrounding sleeve about the device along the length thereof in the form of a single turn helix; formed of a material attenuating gamma rays to a specified degree; and having a window formed therein wherein the window encircles to defined a directional radiation bias and wherein the directional bias is a specified range of azimuth

[en] Thorough analysis of the many circulation parameters and force conditions experienced with coiled tubing has helped to improve job efficiency and eliminated many of the operating difficulties experienced in the past. The arrival of horizontal well technology has produced the need for more diversity and grater reliability from coiled tubing. Many standard completion and workover operations now require the use of coiled tubing in order to gain access to the horizontal sections. Using recognized correlations for all of the circulation parameters involved, and incorporating them into a set of force balance equations, a completely interactive model has been constructed to analyze flow conditions and tubing force effects and predict the outcome of coiled tubing operations. This paper describes some of the concepts used to develop a coiled tubing simulator, its operating features and a few horizontal well examples to demonstrate its capability