BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM AND GAS | v. 14 n. 2 | p.

045-054 | 2020 | ISSN 1982-0593

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PENETRATION RATES USING DOWNHOLE

MOTOR AND ROTARY STEERABLE SYSTEM IN AN ONSHORE
DIRECTIONAL HOLE

a
Sousa, A. P. O. 1; a Amorim, L. V.; b Oliveira, R. C.

a
Federal University Campina Grande, Academic Unit of Petroleum Engineering, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil
b
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., Petrobras, Natal, RN, Brazil

Received: 08.10.2019 / Revised: 03.04.2020 / Accepted: 27.04.2020 / Published on line: 21.07.2020

ABSTRACT
Directional drilling is a costly method used in drilling operations, as it requires investments in special tools
such as downhole motor and rotary steerable system (RSS). This paper performs a comparative study
between the penetration rates achieved when using downhole motor and RSS tools. To make the study
feasible, the drilling of the 8 ¾ in diameter phase of an onshore directional hole, comprised between 197
m and 957 m, was analyzed using the equipment referenced. The average penetration rates and the costs
generated by each one of them were calculated as a function of the total operating time. Considering
these parameters, we found that the use of downhole motor was more advantageous than using the
rotary steerable system because, despite its longer operating time, it presented much lower costs.

KEYWORDS
directional drilling; operation; equipment; costs; economic viability

1
To whom all correspondence should be addressed.
Address: Federal University of Campina Grande / Academic Unit of Petroleum Engineering, Rua Aprígio Veloso, 882, Bloco CA2,
Campus Universitário, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
Phone number: +55 (83) 99820-6290 | e-mail: [Link]@[Link]
doi:10.5419/bjpg2020-0005

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1. INTRODUCTION However, the utilization of RSS is more expensive

than the use of downhole motor, because it has a
The drilling of oil wells, since its inception, is a more complex system, both mechanically and
complex activity that involves great risks and high electronically (Chen, 2006).
financial costs. Directional drilling allows
maximizing the recovery of reservoirs, exploring oil Thus, complementary studies are necessary to
fields in locations that are difficult to access while evaluate the influence of this equipment on the
providing an increase well productivity (Almeida, penetration rate of a well, ensuring the best
2002). In addition, this method covers one of the practices in the operation. This work performs a
most expanded branches of the oil industry over comparative study between penetration rates
the years, since the need to drill increasingly using downhole motor and rotary steerable system
complex wells has stimulated the improvement of tools.
drilling technologies. However, according to Paes
et al. (2005), directional drilling elevates the costs
of drilling operations, as it requires investments in
special equipment, such as downhole motor and 2. DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
rotary steerable system (RSS).
Directional drilling is a technique used in the oil
In directional wells, the kick-off point (KOP) is industry to reach targets located in different
achieved by using downhole motor, in shallow coordinates than those of the wellhead (Rocha,
depth, usually in the upper regions of the well, 2008). This method was developed based on the
where the diameter is larger. However, in these need to execute deviations in the well path, due to
regions, motors offer low rates of penetration obstructions (Machado, 2010), as shown in Figure
(ROP) and can form irregular wells. In response to 1.
this problem, the KOP should remain located at
According to Thomas (2001), directional wells
shallow depths, followed by the use of an RSS. As a
are drilled for various purposes such as:
result, drilling engineers observed that the use of
this tool reduced the drilling time by 63%  Drilling several wells from the same point, as in
compared to the use of downhole motors used in offshore productions;
sections of nearby wells (Willson et al., 2004).  Reaching formations that are below
Drilling costs are time-dependent (Amorim Jr, inaccessible locations;
2008). Any method that helps increase ROP and  Controlling a well in blowout through the
preserve the bit will lead to time reduction (Küng, drilling of relief wells;
2016).
 Deviating the trajectory of the well from
geological accidents; and
The latest versions of RSS tools are capable of  Diverting wells which have lost their final
producing wells with uniform diameters, which are
section due to operational problems.
more stable and less subject to deformation than
those produced by using a downhole motor.

Figure 1. Wells with secondary branches (sidetrack) (Inteq / Baker Hughes, 1995).

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In this context, although the principles of this  Bit type;

modality are basically the same nowadays, the
development of equipment and control  Formation characteristics, such as porosity and
instruments led to the creation of a true science, permeability;
called Directional Drilling (Machado, 2010).
 Drilling fluid properties, such as density and
2.1 Directional path: Planning of a well viscosity;

The path run by the bit, starting from the  Drilling parameters applied, such as rotation
wellhead until reaching the target, or the end of and weight on the bit.
the well, is called a directional path (Lourenço Jr,
In addition, parameters adopted throughout the
2012). To achieve a successful drilling a directional
operation that go beyond the manufacturer's
well, it is necessary to plan its path. With the
recommendations, such as weight and rotation
advancement of technology and the consequent
values applied, and generation of bit shock with
evolution of directional drilling, it became possible
the formation due to a high-speed trip can
to perform increasingly complex trajectories
negatively impact the bit life, and, therefore, affect
effectively. During drilling, some adjustments may
the registered ROP (Küng, 2016).
be required to maintain the planned path.
Depending on the level of difficulty that may arise, 2.3 Directional drilling equipment and
a more significant modification to the plan may be
necessary.
tools

According to Mims (1999), the design of a Before the appearance of modern directional
equipment, it was possible to drill directional wells
directional well must consider that the systems
that make up the drilling are interrelated in regards by positioning drill collar and stabilizers in the drill
to good wellbore cleanup. This way, it is not string. Different string compositions allowed to
possible to modify the bit, the composition of the gain, maintain, or lose angle. In some cases, the
bottom-hole assembly (BHA), the drilling fluid, or experience gained in a certain area allowed the
natural tendency of the formations to guide the
even the drilling parameters without considering
well in a certain direction. Directional drilling done
the impact of these elements on the performance
of each other. Therefore, the planning of this way allows for a certain control of the well's
directional wells should be promoted based on inclination but provides little or no control of its
previous studies and detailed data, to avoid direction (Lourenço Jr, 2012). For this reason,
currently, some instruments can be used to drive
possible design flaws that may lead to economic
the bit to make the designed path (Azar & Samuel,
and environmental losses.
2007). Thus, tools for various functions, capable of
2.2 Rate of penetration (ROP) generating directional wells of different types are
applied in directional drilling nowadays.
The rate of penetration (ROP) is the value that
expresses the speed with which the bit penetrates 2.3.1 Downhole motor
the rock formation while drilling an oil well
According to Rocha (2008), one of the basic
(Férnandez et al., 2009). Thus, ROP is the most
important reading resulting from the application of tools in directional drilling is the downhole motor.
drilling parameters that can be altered by the Its main function is to convert the pressure energy
operation managers. It is one of the indicators that of the drilling fluid into rotation and torque, which
are transmitted to the bit regardless of the drill
help in deciding whether or not to continue the
string rotation. The main components in their
operation (Küng, 2016).
typical composition are: by-pass valve, power
Factors affecting the penetration rate must be section, transmission unit, and bearing section. This
understood before conducting any analysis to composition is presented in Figure 2.
understand the effectiveness of drilling a well
Chen (2006) stated that a steerable system is a
based on the use of a given bit. According to
Ebrahimi and Noveiri (2010), there are several system in which a tool set is used. The main one is
factors that influence ROP, among them are: the downhole motor equipped with bent sub or

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rotary table is locked and drilling follows. The

direction is kept constant and the bit is rotated by
the downhole motor. When the direction and the
desired final inclination are reached, the rotating
mode is activated, Figure 3(b). In this mode, the
rotary table is unlocked so that the drill string
rotates in the same way as with common drilling.

Some advantages found in the use of a

steerable system are:

 Large distance intervals, with variations in rock

formation, can be drilled without the need to
withdraw the string to tool replacement;
Figure 2. Downhole motor with its main
components, stabilizer, and bit (Halliburton, 2001).  Improvement in drilling performance, due to
the torque over the bit;
 Reduction of risk of differential sticking.
However, the use of a steerable system
presents some problems related to each drive
mode, such as:
 It reduces the penetration rate due to the
greater friction with the wellbore;
 It can cause slight break-in from the well, due
to the bent sub/bent housing;
 The transition between rotating and sliding
modes can create dog legs, that is, variations in
the trajectory;
 Regarding the sliding drilling mode, it creates a
Figure 3. Steerable drilling through the modes: (a) risk of drill string sticking and leads to wellbore
Sliding and (b) Rotating (Inteq/Baker Hughes, 2002). cleanup inefficiency due to the fact that the
drill string stays supported on the bottom of
bent housing, and this set is associated with the the cross section of the well the entire time;
use of a continuous measurement equipment. This  When it comes to the rotating mode, vibrations
system is considered an important advance in well can cause motor failures, high bit and string
trajectory control, as it allows changes in the wear, and can lead to an irregular well
directional characteristics of the well without the diameter.
removal of the drill string for modification of the
bottom-hole assembly. According to Lourenço Jr 2.3.2 Rotary Steerable System (RSS)
(2012), the steerable system can be triggered in
two different ways: by sliding or rotating mode, The rotary steerable system (RSS) presents an
shown in Figure 3. operation similar to the steerable system and is
considered the evolution of it. However, RSS allows
In the sliding mode, Figure 3(a), the downhole the string to rotate throughout the drilling process,
motor is directed from the rotation of the drill even in the sections of gain or loss of angle, and
string through the rotary table. The spin of the changes in direction. Their main components are:
string is not meant to drill; it has the purpose of non-rotating steerable stabilizer, control stabilize,
positioning the tool face. The string is rotated until and measurement while drilling tool; as shown in
the desired direction is obtained (Lourenço Jr, Figure 4.
2012). With the tool face positioned correctly, the

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Figure 4. Main components of a rotary steerable system (Halliburton, 2019).

According to Clyde et al. (2008), some compared the use of a downhole motor or rotary
advantages of the system are: steerable system, maintaining all other parameters.

 Allowing better penetration rate; For the downhole motor, there is a variation
between rotating and sliding mode during
 Promoting a more efficient wellbore cleanup, operation, generating different penetration rate
since the rotation of the string contributes a lot values at each drilled depth. ROP is obtained by
to the suspension of the cuttings; Equation (1):
 Creating lower torque and drag, which creates
(1)
better weight transfer to the bit;

 Allowing the change in the trajectory of the Where ∆L represents the depth drilled, in
well in any direction and inclination with meters, and ∆t the time it was drilled, in hours.
controlled rate, without having to stop the
string rotation; and The average penetration rate in meters per
hour (m/h) for each mode, rotating and sliding, was
 Reducing time on the operation. calculated using Equations (2) and (3), respectively:

(2)
3. MATERIALS AND METHODS
For the development of this work, we (3)
considered the drilling of the 8 ¾ in diameter phase
of an onshore directional hole, comprised between
Being:
197 m and 957 m. For drilling the phase, we used a
bottom-hole assembly composed with the  : average penetration rate for rotating
following equipment: mode;
 Tricone bit;  : average penetration rate for sliding
mode;
 Downhole motor with bent housing;
 : penetration rate values obtained when
 Sub; using rotating mode during the operation;
 Drill collar;  : penetration rate values obtained when
 MWD; using the sliding mode during the operation;

 Stabilizer;  : number of intervals presented for

penetration rate in rotating mode;
 Heavy-weights drill pipes (HWDP);
 : number of intervals presented for the
 Jar; and penetration rate in sliding mode.

 Drill pipes. By applying the general definition of ROP given

in Equation (1) for the average penetration rates of
Considering the drilling of this phase, we each mode, the drilled depth (L), in meters (m),

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Figure 5. Depth (L) vs. time (∆t) plot for drilling with downhole motor and RSS.

was obtained as a function of the average ROP, in

(9)
meters per hour (m/h), for each method, and as a
function of the time consumed (∆t), in hours (h), as
shown in Equations (4) and (5): (10)
(4)
Being,
(5)
(11)
With that:
Where is the time used in rotating mode,
(6) the total operating time with the downhole
motor, and the operating time in sliding
Substituting Equations (4) and (5) in Equation mode.
(6), we obtained, for a drilling operation using a
downhole motor: Parallel to this scenario, in the analysis
performed in this study, the cost of the deviation
(7) tool used and the daily cost of the drilling rig were
considered as operating costs. The daily cost of a
The analysis referring to the drilling operation downhole motor is US$ 2,024.33/24 circulated
using the rotary steerable system considers the hours, not considering the trip performed during
same data employed as in the operation with the operation. The price of using RSS tool is 5 times
downhole motor, without the use of sliding mode, the value of the downhole motor, that is, US$
that is, a drilling 100% in rotating mode. Thus: 10,121.66/24 circulated hours. These values were
(8) based on the quotation of one US dollar,
equivalent to R$ 3.83 as of June 22, 2019. For the
Where represents the total drilled depth, rigs, daily prices are shown in Table 1.
in meters (m), is the average rotating mode
penetration rate, the same as the one found in
downhole motor operation, in meters per hour Table 1. Daily costs of drilling rigs.
(m/h), and is the time required for the Rig Type Value (US$/day)
drilling with the RSS. Thus, Depth ( ) versus Time Small Rigs
( ) graph was generated to compare both 30,000.00
(for wells up to 2000m)
equipment, as shown in Figure (5). Large Rigs 55,000.00
By means of Figure (5), and isolating the
variable in Equations (7) and (8), we have:

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Thus, we defined that: Thereby, the graph of operation costs using

each equipment is presented, as a function of the
(12) time of use of each one, shown in Figure 6.
(13) As shown in Figure 6, for both curves, at a time
= 1h, there will already be an operating cost,
Where:
since equipment and rig values are given daily. The
 : Cost of operation using the rotary RSS curve, represented by the black color, follows
steerable system; the parameters of Equation (14), and becomes
constant when reaching the end of the well,
 : Cost of operation using downhole completing the drilling. The downhole motor curve,
motor; represented by red and blue colors, and by
 : Daily cost of the downhole motor; Equation (15), has an operating cost 5 times lower
when compared to the RSS. It also presents a
 : Daily cost of the drilling rig; smaller slope. The red part represents the use of
 : RSS usage time, in hours (h); downhole motor with a sliding mode. It
corresponds to up to 30% of the total time. As this
 : Downhole motor running time in percentage increases, the blue curve begins and,
hours (h); with that, there is also an increase in total
 : Total drilling operation time, in operating time. Thus, at a given time ( ), the cost
days. curve of the operation using the downhole motor
will intercept the cost curve of the operation using
Replacing Equations (9) and (10) in Equations RSS. This means that, from this moment, the use of
(12) and (13), gives Equations (14) and (15), which a rotary steerable system will become more
represent the cost of the operation as a function of economically advantageous if compared to the use
drilled depth and ROP, for RSS and downhole of the downhole motor.
motor, respectively:
To make the process of obtaining more practical
results, the calculations covered in all equations
(14)
presented previously were executed through
programming codes and graphs developed in the
MatLab software.
(15)

Figure 6. Operation cost graph using downhole motor and RSS, as a function of the time of use of each equipment.

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4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Table 2. Average penetration rate, drilled depth, and
time consumed for rotating and sliding modes when
From the data analyzed and using Equations (2) using downhole motor for drilling operations.
and (3), the average penetration rates were
Mode ∆L (m) ∆t (h) ROP (m/h)
calculated for each drilling mode, when the
downhole motor was used in the operation. The Rotating 600 33.1 18.13
drilled depth ( ) in meters (m) was acquired using Sliding 160 16.8 9.52
each method, and the time consumed ( ) in hours Total 760 49.9
(h) was obtained through equations (4) and (5). All
values achieved are shown in Table 2.

For the drilling operation using the rotary Table 3. Average penetration rate, drilled depth, and
time consumed when using RSS for drilling
steerable system, the results found through the
operations.
use of Equation (8) for average penetration rate,
Mode ∆L (m) ∆t (h) ROP (m/h)
drilled depth ( ) in meters (m), and time consumed
( ) in hours (h), are presented in Table 3. Rotating 760 41.92 18.13

The graph in Figure (5) and Tables 2 and 3

demonstrate that the operation performed with
the rotary steerable is achieved in a shorter time,
when compared to the same operation performed
with the downhole motor. This result is due to the
fact that RSS works in a 100% rotating mode, and,
thus, it generates better penetration rates,
increasing the drilled depth at a given time.

Based on the ROP values shown in Tables 2 and

3, and in Equations (14) and (15) for the total cost
of the operation performed with each of the
equipment, it was possible to obtain a graph of the
total costs of each operation as a function of the
usage time (Figure 7).
Figure 7. Operation cost graph using downhole
The graph displayed in Figure 7 shows that for
motor and RSS, as a function of the usage time of
the analyzed data, the use of a downhole motor for each equipment, for a value of = 9.52 m/h.
directional drilling will be more advantageous than
using a rotary steerable system. Since the total
operation cost curves using each of the equipment
do not intersect, the costs of using the downhole
motor will always be lower.

The curves assumed a step aspect due to the

fact that the equipment and the drilling rig are
charged daily. Thus, costs only increase after
completing 24 hours of use of each one.

Under this assumption, we found a

value for which the use of RSS becomes
economically viable. The result is shown in Figure
8.

Based on Equations (14) and (15) for the total

Figure 8. Operation cost graph using downhole
operation cost reached with each equipment, a motor and RSS, as a function of the usage time of
value of = 3.26 m/h was found for the each equipment, for a value of = 3.26 m/h.

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 The average penetration rate obtained in the

sliding mode with the use of downhole motor
should be less than 3.26 m/h to make the use
of RSS more advantageous; and

 The lower the value achieved when

using a downhole motor is, the more cost
effective replacing this equipment with a
rotary steerable system will, even though the
RSS has a higher cost.

6. REFERENCES
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