Improved Reservoir Productivity Through Use of Horizontal Drilling

Roger E. Rinaldi

The current cut in exploration budgets and the concurrent need to produce existing oil fields at less cost per barrel have led to an increase in the use of lateral (drainhole) and horizontal drilling techniques. Major production companies such as Elf, Amoco, ARCO, and Texaco have drilled several of these types of wells in various areas around the world. Where the wells have been properly placed and the drilling conditions adequately controlled, reservoir production has increased and the production cost per barrel has decreased.

Use of these techniques can (1) increase production from thin formations because of increased reservoir exposure, (2) increase production from low permeability (tight) formations because of increased reservoir exposure, (3) increase production from fractured formations by crossing multiple, natural fractures, (4) allow production of heavy-oil reservoirs by better application of steam drives, and (5) improve production of low-energy formations by lowering reservoir energy requirements per barrel of production. Considering the increased use of these drilling techniques, the geoscientist must now evaluate the use of conventional (vertical and deviated) drilling, lateral drilling, and horizontal drilling when planning how to produce a field.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91039©1987 AAPG Mid-Continent Section Meeting, Tulsa, Oklahoma, September 27-29, 1987.