Long laterals (>6,000 ft) are generating industry challenges that do not exist with shorter lateral wells (2,000–5,000 ft). These longer lateral wells require connections to be exposed to extreme torques, bending, and rotational loads that may render some commercially available connections ineffective in getting the string to location and could compromise sealability. This paper demonstrates how the latest generation of those connections has been tested and validated to extreme loads before being installed in the wellbore.
Introduction
Extended-reach drilling (ERD) has existed since the 1970s, and continuous development has pushed the lengths of the laterals. One of the main challenges in ERD is the drag friction force, mainly because of the string weight during its deployment in deviated sections and long horizontal laterals. As a consequence, conventional standard running practices are not effective for running the casing and liner.
To cope with this and reduce drag, one technical alternative used by operators is string rotation for casing and production liners and even for lower completions.
