Air drilling

Air drillingalso known as pneumatic percussion drilling[1]is an underbalanced

drilling (UBD) technique in which gases, usually compressed air or nitrogen, are used to
cool the drill bit and lift the cuttings of a wellbore in place of conventionally used
liquids. Known for being more efficient and inexpensive than conventional drilling, air
drilling still has drawbacks and skeptics, despite its 60-year history of use in the
industry.

Contents

1 History
2 Types
o 2.1 Dust Drilling
o 2.2 Mist Drilling
o 2.3 Foam Drilling
o 2.4 Aerated Drilling
o 2.5 Nitrogen Membrane
3 Functions
4 Advantages
5 Disadvantages
6 References
7 Noteworthy papers in OnePetro
8 External links
9 See also

History
The first recorded use of air drilling was in the early 1860s. A piston-type compressed
air mechanical drill bit bored an 8.5-mile-long Mont Cenis Tunnel in the Alps. Air
drilling became a popular alternative to rotary drilling in the late 1940s and early
1950s.[2] Because of limited air compression equipment to properly clean the annulus as
the well was drilled, air-drilled holes were normally limited to shallow wells (<6000
ft.). But by the late 1970s, air-drilled holes became deeper when larger volume air
compressors and high-pressure boosters were developed. The use of high-pressure air
compression equipment rose after the downturn of the oil and gas industry in the 1980s
because of the development of a high-energy air hammer and diamond-enhanced
hammer bits. The hammers and bits greatly increased the rate of penetration and footage
in such air drilling areas as the Appalachian and Arkoma Basins, thus reducing drilling
costs in these areas. These new developments also opened the door for deeper air
drilling applications by decreasing both the number of bit trips and the need to downsize
the hole's diameter from gauge wear.[3]

Types

The type of air drilling required depends on drill site conditions, including presence of
wellbore fluid influxes or oil-based mud. Air drilling methods include dust drilling, mist
drilling, foam drilling, aerated drilling, and nitrogen membrane.

Fig. 1 Air Drilling Techniques[4]

Dust Drilling
Dust drilling is another term for air drilling; compressed air is the sole circulating
medium. Because no fluid is injected, the annular returns are dust. Dust drilling
provides an ideal environment for use with air hammers, is the least expensive type of
air drilling, requires no fluid system for cleanup, provides maximum penetration rates,
and extends drill bit life. However, dust drilling cannot effectively handle wellbore fluid
influxes, those influxes will wet cuttings and result in mud rings in the annulus, and
there is a risk of a down-hole fire if mud rings are not eliminated. Switching to mist or
foam drilling would allow continued air drilling in the presence of water.[4]

Mist Drilling
Mist drilling is air drilling with liquids, generally water, soap, and chemical inhibitors.
The water and soap mixture is added to the air stream at the drilling surface at a
controlled rate to improve annular hole cleaning. Many different mediums can be used
for mist drilling (water, surfactants, etc.) The annular pressure increases in mist drilling,
so the rate of penetration will usually be lower than in dust drilling. In mist drilling, the
rate of penetration is higher than in conventional mud drilling, drilling can proceed
while producing fluids, hold cleaning capacity improves, risk of downhole fires
decreases, and no nitrogen is needed. But the penetration rate is still slower than in dust

drilling and water influx makes misting uneconomical. If large liquid influxes are
encountered, foam or aerated mud drilling are more viable options.[4]

Foam Drilling
In foam drilling, water, surfactants, and air are combined to create a stiff foam. The
foam is then circulated as a drilling fluid. The cuttings carrying capacity is 6-7 times
greater than dust drilling, and the required annular velocity for optimum hole cleaning is
significantly lower. The lower air volume equals less air equipment is required than in
dust or mist drilling. Holding back pressure on the annulus can reduce water influx
and/or maintain hole wall stability. But foam drilling has its drawbacks: surface
requirements, or pits, for foam can become a problem; large pits must be built to contain
foam and allow time for the foam to settle; the cost of chemicals to break down foam
can be high; a large influx of fluids can break down the foam, reducing hole cleaning.[4]

Aerated Drilling
Air or Nitrogen is added to the liquid phase of the drilling fluid, lowering the effective
mud weight, in aerated drilling. The air or nitrogen is injected directly into the
standpipe, using parasite string, or using concentric casing strings. Corrosion inhibitors
are highly recommended in this method. Nitrogen must be used with oil based mud or
when working with a closed loop system (closed separator), and it is highly
recommended when oil or condensate influx is expected. Aerated drilling can be used
with most types of drilling fluids, allows for the adjustment of bottomhole pressures by
changing the gas injection rates, and increases penetration rates by lowering the annular
pressure on the formation.[4]

Nitrogen Membrane
Like mist drilling, Nitrogen membrane drilling minimizes chance of downhole fire.
Membrane units usually reduce operating costs when compared to cryogenic (liquid)
nitrogen drilling and transportation problems related to liquid nitrogen are eliminated.[4]
The US patent for nitrogen membrane drilling is held by Weatherford, which owns the
largest fleet of on-site generated membrane Nitrogen Production Units in the world.[5]

Functions
The most common air drilling applications include: hard rock drilling where rate of
penetration is less than 15 ft./hr. using mud, areas that have deviation problems with
conventional BHA's and use light WOB, lost circulation issues, and pay zones that are
sensitive to formation damage.[4]

Advantages
Because air is the ideal low density drilling medium, air drilling provides many
advantages. To achieve the best results and greatest economy, several factors must be
considered for air drilling. The best conditions for air drilling involve hard, dry
formations that produce relatively few formation liquids. Once the formation is
completely dry, or the influx of liquids is small enough to be absorbed in the air stream,

the drill cuttings return to the surface as dust. The process allows for the immediate and
sustained evaluation of hydrocarbons.[6]
Other advantages of air drilling are low cost, increased rate of penetration, extended bit
life, superior control in cavernous and lost circulation areas, and minimal damage to
liquid-sensitive pay zones.[6]
The drill string always remains on the bottom when gas is encountered, which is a
tremendous advantage in well control. If no gas is in the hole when a trip is made, no
gas will be in the hole when the new bit is returned to the bottom. Sometimes holes
filled with mud will allow gas to enter the well bore because of reduced hydrostatic
pressure, creating well control issues. With air drilling, gas that has already been
penetrated will enter the well bore on trips, but the amount of gas is a known quantity
that can easily be jetted away from the rig and operating personnel.[6]
Increased rate of penetration occurs because the low density of air or gas used
minimizes hydrostatic pressure and aids with fracturing.[1] The rate of penetration in air
drilling has been recorded at up to 200 ft/hr compared to 30 ft/hr in conventional
drilling.[6]

Disadvantages
Large water-bearing formations are the biggest enemies of air drilling, and the rate of
formation water influx that can be handled is not defined. However, when water is
encountered, mist, foam, aerated, or slug drilling can be used. Other disadvantages to air
drilling include: possible downhole fires and explosions, sloughing of formations (when
dry or wet), and soft formations. Such disadvantages reduce air drilling's efficiency, but
modern air equipment can handle the challenges. Another detriment of air drilling is bits
going out of gauge, which is prevalent when hard, abrasive quartzite sands are drilled.[6]

References
1. 1.0 1.1 White, Jeff. 2014. Air Drilling Improves Efficiencies, Cost. The
American Oil & Gas Reporter 57 5: 47-49.
2. Malloy, Kenneth P. 2007. Taking another look at the risk profile for air
drilling in presence of hydrocarbons. Drilling Contractor March/April: 66-73.
http://drillingcontractor.org/dcpi/dc-marapr07/DC_Mar07_malloy.pdf.
3. Patin, Michael, Orr, Alan, and Meyers, John. 2007. Optimizing Operational
Parameters can Save You Money as well as Improve Bit Life and ROP.
Presented at the AADE National Technical Conference & Exhibition, Houston,
10-12 April.
4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Diamond Air Drilling Service. Introduction to Air Drilling.
Slideshow presentation. http://www.b2i.cc/Document/1233/95327.pdf.
5. Weatherford. Membrane Nitrogen. Web page.
http://www.weatherford.com/Products/Production/PipelineSpecialtyServices/Me
mbraneNitrogen/.
6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Cooper, L. W., Hook, R. A., & Payne, B. R. 1977. Air Drilling
Techniques. Presented at the SPE Deep Drilling and Production Symposium,

Amarillo, Texas, USA, 17-19 April. SPE-6435-MS.

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/6435-MS.

Noteworthy papers in OnePetro

Adewumi, M. A., & Tian, S. 1989. Hydrodynamic Modeling of Wellbore Hydraulics in
Air Drilling. Society of Petroleum Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/19333-MS
Adewumi, M. A., & Tian, S. 1990. Analysis of Air Drilling Hydraulics. Society of
Petroleum Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/21277-MS
Cooper, L. W., Hook, R. A., & Payne, B. R. 1977. Air Drilling Techniques. Society of
Petroleum Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/6435-MS
Hartley, R. C., Weisbeck, D. H., Robert, S., & Smith, M. A. 2011. The Successful
Evolution Of An LWD Rotary Steerable System For Air Drilling. Society of Petroleum
Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/140260-MS
Malloy, K. P., Medley, G. H., & Stone, R. 2007. Air Drilling in the Presence of
Hydrocarbons: A Time for Pause. Society of Petroleum Engineers.
http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/108357-MS
Nas, S. W., Gala, D. M., & Cox, P. 2010. Deep Air Drilling Application to Enhance
Rate of Penetration in Extremely Hard, Abrasive and High Temperature Environment.
Society of Petroleum Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/132048-MS
Pletcher, J. P., Scarr, A., Smith, J., Swadi, S. N., & Rogers, C. 2010. Application of Air
Percussion Drilling Improves Drilling Efficiency in Horizontal Sandstone Wells.
Society of Petroleum Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/135308-MS
Ramalho, J. 2007. Changing the Look and Feel of Underbalanced Drilling. Society of
Petroleum Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/108358-MS
Vieira, P., Lagrandeur, C., & Sheets, K. 2011. Hammer Drilling Technology - The
Proved Solution to Drill Hard Rock Formations in the Middle East. Society of
Petroleum Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/140312-MS
Wilhide, S., Smith, J., Doebereiner, D., Raymond, B., Weisbeck, D. H., & Ziemke, B.
2010. First Rotary Steerable System Drilling with Dry Air is Used to Further Improve
Low Cost Development of an Unconventional Gas Reservoir. Society of Petroleum
Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/135471-MS
Zhao, Z., Gao, D., & Zheng, D. 2010. Mechanism of Well Deviation in Air Drilling and
Its Control. Society of Petroleum Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/130201-MS
Zhu, H., Lin, Y., Meng, Y., Zhao, S., Liu, D., & Luo, F. 2010. Influence of Relevant
Parameters on Hole Cleaning and Pipe String Erosion in Air Drilling. Society of
Petroleum Engineers. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2118/126515-MS

External links
Introduction to Air Drilling
Membrane Nitrogen
Taking another look at the risk profile for air drilling in presence of hydrocarbons
Optimizing Operational Parameters can Save You Money as well as Improve Bit Life
and ROP

See also
Use this section for links to related pages within PetroWiki, including a link to the
original PEH text where appropriate