Systems and Methods for Vertical Depth Control During Extended-Reach Drilling Operations

摘要

Systems and methods for vertical depth control during extended-reach drilling operations include extending a length of a wellbore to locate a directional drilling assembly at a selected location within an intermediate portion of a subsurface region and detecting a detected pressure at the selected location. The methods further include determining an expected pressure at the selected location, comparing the detected pressure to the expected pressure, and adjusting an orientation of the directional drilling assembly based, at least in part, on the comparison. The expected pressure may be determined based, at least in part, on a reference pressure that was detected previously within the intermediate portion of the subsurface region. The systems include extended-reach drilling operations and/or directional drilling assemblies that include and/or are associated with controllers that are programmed to perform the methods.

主权项

1. A method of controlling a directional drilling assembly that is configured to drill a wellbore within an intermediate portion of a subsurface region, wherein the intermediate portion of the subsurface region extends between a surface region and a reservoir that is present within the subsurface region, the method comprising:
extending a length of the wellbore to locate the directional drilling assembly at a selected location within the intermediate portion of the subsurface region; detecting a detected pressure at the selected location; determining an expected pressure at the selected location, wherein the determining is based, at least in part, on a reference pressure that was previously detected within the intermediate portion of the subsurface region; comparing the detected pressure to the expected pressure; andadjusting an orientation of the directional drilling assembly based, at least in part, on the comparing.