Directional Drilling Services
Directional Drilling
While a variety of techniques are used, the general concept is simple: point the bit in the direction you want to drill. The most common way is through the use of a bend near the bit in a down-hole steerable mud motor. The bend points the bit in a direction different from the axis of the wellbore when the entire drill string is not rotating. The drilling fluid (mud) is pumped through a rotor and stator inside the housing of the motor and turns the mud motor’s drive shaft with the drill pipe itself remaining still, thus powering and turning the drill bit. The Rotor/Stator lobe configuration determines the output power.
It is the ‘toolface’ positioning of the bend that determines the direction the bit travels. This direction can be measured and monitored by our Measurement-While-Drilling system. This system tells the driller on the surface which way the bend is pointing, so the driller can orient the bend of the motor in the direction he wants the hole to go. When a particular wellbore direction is achieved, that direction may be maintained by rotating the entire drill string (including the bent section) so that the bit does not drill in a direction off the wellbore axis, but instead drills in a direction that coincides with the existing wellbore.
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