Directional drilling is the practice of using a well to reach underground reservoirs. The video “How Do You Steer a Drill Below the Earth” explains the meaning of directional drilling in more detail. Read about it here!
In the past decades, directional drilling has continued to evolve and improve. This drilling system allows oil companies to reach deeper deposits that would be impossible with a conventional drill site.
It also allows them to get sediments under bodies of water, highways, and buildings. The direction of which these wells is their angle rather than the path they take into the earth. Directional drills often follow a complex path through many different points on land before finally reaching the well site.
You can use directional drilling in both vertical and horizontal wells. Horizontal directional drilling drills longer laterals with a single drill site while creating multiple production zones. There are two main types of directional drills; those used for offshore oil rigs and those used for onshore drilling sites.
The rotational forces align on the infrastructure to provide steady support for the bit, optimized for directional drilling. The rotational forces can be powerful and cause the drill pipe to be pushed upwards and away from the bit, meaning that this process is unsuitable for rock formation with significant amounts of clay. You can use sealed systems to minimize vibrations and other movement caused by these rotations.
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