• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.63-75
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• 2016

The ratio of fractured reservoir is very high in oil & gas fields around the world. The demand of drilling technology for fractured reservoir is expected to increase continuously if oil and gas prices are economical. The purpose of the review study is to help operator or driller in selecting of proper drilling technology for preventing a lost circulation in the fractured formation. In order to achieve this goal, fractured reservoir(formation) they are classified into partial lost circulation formation and total lost circulation formation. In case of partial lost circulation formation, the drilling problem can be solved by using LCM(lost circulation material) mud additive and squeezing cement. For shallow depth, total lost circulation formation can be drilled safely and economically with casing drilling method. Also, for deeper depth, problems of total lost circulation in formation can be solved by applying mud cap, which is one of the drilling methods. This was confirmed through field application such as Italy's Medusa-1 field and Qatar's North field.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.217-228
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• 2024

During deep drilling, confined aquifers can present various challenges such as the inability to remove cuttings, rapid groundwater influx, and mud loss. Particularly in flowing well conditions, it is essential to apply the suitable mud density since the aquifer can generates an overpressurized condition. This paper proposes a method for determining the suitable mud density while drilling (SMD) through confined aquifers using mud window analysis and applies it to a case study. The minimum mud density at each depth, which represents the lower limit of the mud window, is determined by the equivalent mud density pore pressure gradient (or by adding a trip margin) at that depth. The pore pressure gradient of a confined aquifer can be calculated using the piezometric level or well head pressure of the aquifer. As the borehole reaches the confined aquifer, there is a significant increase in pore pressure gradient, which gradually decreases with increasing depth. The SMD to prevent a kick can be determined as the maximum value among the minimum mud densities in the open hole section. After entering the confined aquifer, SMD is maintained as the minimum mud density at the top of the aquifer during the drilling of the open hole section. Additionally, appropriate casing installation can reduce the SMD, minimizing the risk of mud loss or invasion into the highly permeable aquifer.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.51-60
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• 2023

Unlike the vertical drilling in the directional drilling should be minimized torque and drag in the well trajectory that avoided problems such as drillstring transformation, casing wear and key-seating. These torque and drag magnitude is determined by variations such as the well trajectory geometry, drilling mud, drillstring type and kick-off point. Therefore, it is essential to consider these variations for designing directional well trajectory. In this study, it was selected well trajectory by the most common build-hold type well and calculated torque and drag on each section by Analytical friction model. Analysis indicates that torque and drag could be minimized by using high lubricity drilling mud, kick-off point appropriate according to the well geometry and possible minimize dogleg severity. The results of this study is useful to minimize torque and drag from directional well trajectory design.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.204-213
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• 2008

This paper presents the analysis about the stability of the Pohang deep geothermal borehole drilled in 2006. Severe wellhole instability problems such as collapse and tight hole occurred in weak rocks while drilling. Optimal mud pressure (mud window) required to prevent instability problems during drilling is obtained from analysis on in-situ stress and rock strength. The window is bounded by vertical stress in its upper limit and by either collapse pressure or pore pressure in its lower limit. Mud window varies with different types of rocks. In the top-most semi-consolidated mudstone formation, no mud window can secure borehole stability. In some weak rock types (basic dyke and crystal tuff), the borehole pressure needs to be higher by $50{\sim}60%$ than hydrostatic pressure. That means a mud density of 1.5 g/$cm^3$ or higher should be applied during drilling in order to prevent excessive collapse around the borehole.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.1 s.51
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• pp.21-33
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• 2007

The dispersion/flocculation behavior of bentonite is a major concern in performance of drilling fluid. We studied the dispersion/flocculation characteristics of three commercial bentonites [two CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) treated and one untreated] in waters of different pHs and salt concentrations. We also examined changes in the viscosity of bentonite suspensions in such waters as a major rheological property of drilling fluid. The dispersion/flocculation behaviors of bentonites were measured by two methods: colorimetric and light scattering method. Light scattering method allows estimating the floc diameter and flocculation rate. The dispersion and flocculation behaviors were diverse with the different bentonites and water qualities. In distilled water, all the bentonites were well dispersed up to first 10 minutes. After that, the CMC-bearing bentonites were flocculated. In salt waters, all the samples were flocculated and the flocculation rate is varied with salt concentration and polymer content. The volume of settled flocs decreased with increasing salt concentration. The flocculation rate and floc diameter increased with decreasing pH of solutions, whereas the volume of settled flocs increased with increasing pH of solutions. The bentonites of fast flocculation behavior had low viscosity. The results of the present study will be helpful in applying bentonites to drilling fluids in diverse environments.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2021.05a
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• pp.204-206
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• 2021

Real-time drilling parameters prediction is a considerably important study from the viewpoint of maximizing drilling efficiency. Among the methods of maximizing drilling, the method of improving the drilling speed is common, which is related to the rate of penetration, drillstring rotational speed, weight on bit, and drilling mud flow rate. This study proposes a method of predicting the drilling rate, one of the real-time drilling parameters, using a recurrent neural network-based deep learning model, and compares the existing physical-based drilling rate prediction model with a prediction model using deep learning.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1032-1038
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• 2021

Rate of penetration(ROP) is one of the important variables for maximizing the drilling performance. In order to maximize drilling efficiency, it is necessary to increase the drilling speed, and real-time ROP prediction is important so that the driller can identify problems during drilling. The ROP has a high correlation with the drillstring rotational speed, weight on bit, and flow rate. In this paper, the ROP was predicted using a data-driven supervised learning model trained from the drilling efficiency parameters. As a result of comparison through the performance evaluation metrics of the regression model, the root mean square error(RMSE) of the RF model was 4.20 and the mean absolute percentage error(MAPE) was 9.08%, confirming the best predictive performance. The proposed method can be used as a base model for ROP prediction when constructing a real-time drilling operation guide system.

• Proceedings of the KSEG Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.17-23
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• 2002

• Proceedings of the KSEG Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.185-188
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• 2005

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.75-88
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• 2019

With Kori nuclear power plant unit 1 as a beginning in April 1978, 24 nuclear power plants have been operated in Korea and two more plants are under construction. As the nuclear power plants being operated, radioactive wastes from the plants have been accumulated so that various methods for disposing them have been proposed. In Korea, researches have been conducted, being focused on DGD (Deep Geological Disposal), however, DBD (Deep Borehole Disposal) method needs considering as an alternative. In this technical note, element technologies for DBD were analyzed by compiling previous researches and their applicability on domestic cases were investigated. Conceptual studies regarding relevant designs were conducted and finally, technical challenges for actual disposal were described.