Drilling practicesThere seems to be a lot of confusion about the timing and drilling practices associated with drilling wells. So here's what happens on nearly every well drilled in western Canada.
1. Spud the well
2. Drill the surface section of the well. This is generally between 90-135m deep. They are forced to drill to this depth and cement surface casing in place to protect the groundwater. This usually takes anywhere from 12-24 hrs. So they drill, pull out, run casing to the bottom, cement in place, wait 6-8hrs to have the cement set.
2. Drill an intermediate or main hole. Intermediates happen if they want to go horizontal or are drilling very deep. The same things happen here as the surface in the terms of running casing, cementing etc. This can take 2-3 days depending on the depth and if we're waiting on services like cement, pipe etc.
3. They will drill the main hole, pull out and do either an open hole (no casing in place yet) or cased hole log. This will tell you a variety of things including changes in rock density, oil in place, caliper log of the hole etc. This takes around 6-8 hrs, but can take longer if they get stuck on a ridge downhole or their tools fail in the well etc.
4. The entire time they are drilling they will have a geologist onsite taking samples of the cuttings and comparing them to what they think the lithology or geologic zone of the depth that is being currently drilled. So when the salt/anhydrant is found, they'll be able to assess depth of cap etc.
5. Run casing and cement
6. Call in completions rig to put in production tubulars and pump. Stimulate well to produce
7. Shareholders buy Porsches, implants for the wives etc.
The problem is that we don't always get to 4-7 because after the well is logged, they could assess that the zones are too shallow to produce, downholes pressures are inadequate, no oil found in the cuttings samples from the geo etc. Hopefully #7 comes to light and we can make some cash...
Hope this helps,
Caslan888