Drilling Dynamics – Reasons, Types, Consequences, and Mitigation

Abstract:
One of the major and common hazards when drilling oil and gas wells is excessive downhole vibration. It can lead to tool failures, wellbore integrity issues, and reduced rate-of-penetration. This lecture reviews basic concepts of vibration such as energy flow, forced vibration, and resonance. The risks related to excessive vibration depend on the individual drilling application, as is being shown. The talk identifies common dysfunctions experienced downhole such as stick-slip, bit-bounce, high-frequency torsional oscillations, and different types of whirl, and discusses their consequences and related failure modes. While often destructive dysfunctions are overlooked until damage has occurred, various ways to identify occurring dysfunctions via real-time and recorded measurements, indirect observations, as well as tool failure analysis are available. Related stability maps are being introduced. Depending on the individual dysfunction, different mitigation techniques are available in terms of string, tool, and bit design, as well as operational parameters, and operational procedures. Some of the most relevant techniques are being presented.

Biography:
Ingo Forstner is the Strategic Applications Engineering Manager for Russia and Caspian for Baker Hughes, based in Tyumen. Previously he held various positions in technical support, drilling engineering, and curriculum management. He has a mechanical engineering degree from Leibniz Universität Hannover and is OASIS-certified in Performance Drilling. With 17 years of experience in drilling and drilling engineering, he has developed and taught various training courses on Drilling Optimization, Drilling Engineering, and Drilling Vibrations.  He is author of several SPE papers on drilling vibration and drilling engineering topics. Until recently he served as Chair for the German Section of SPE and is member of a few SPE committees.