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Onshore Drilling
> Overview of Natural Gas Drilling into the Earth in the hopes of uncovering valuable
> Natural Gas - From Wellhead resources is nothing new. In fact, the digging of water and irrigation
to Burner Tip wells dates back to the beginning of recorded history. At first, these
> Exploration wells were primarily dug by hand, then by crude stone or wood
> Extraction tools. Metallurgy brought about the use of iron and bronze tools to
> Production delve beneath the Earth's surface, and innovations led to more
> Transport efficient ways of removing debris from the newly dug hole. The first
> Storage
recorded instance of the practice of 'drilling' holes in the ground
came about around 600 B.C., when the Chinese developed a
> Distribution
technique of repeatedly pounding bamboo shoots capped with
> Marketing metal bits into the ground. This crude technology was the first
> Business Overview appearance of what is now known as 'percussion drilling'; a
> Natural Gas Regulations method of drilling that is still in use today. Much advancement has
> Environment & Technology been made since these first bamboo drilling implements, with the
> Focus on LNG realization of the value and increased demand for subsurface
> Natural Gas Quiz hydrocarbons. This section will cover the basics of modern
onshore natural gas drilling practices.

There are two main types of onshore drilling. Percussion, or 'cable Source: ChevronTexaco Corporation
tool' drilling, consists of raising and dropping a heavy metal bit into the ground, effectively
punching a hole down through the Earth. Cable tool drilling is usually used for shallow, low
pressure formations. The second drilling method is known as rotary drilling, and consists of a
sharp, rotating metal bit used to drill through the Earth's crust. This type of drilling is used primarily
for deeper wells that may be under high downhole pressure.

Cable Tool Drilling

Cable tool, or percussion drilling is recognized by many as the first drilling method employed to dig
wells into the Earth for the purpose of reaching petroleum deposits and water. This method is still
in use in some of the shallow wells in the Appalachian Basin, although rotary drilling has taken
over the bulk of modern drilling activities.

The basic concept for cable tool drilling consists of repeatedly dropping a heavy metal bit into the
ground, eventually breaking through rock and punching a hole through to the desired depth. The
bit, usually a blunt, chisel shaped instrument, can vary with the type of rock that is being drilled.
Water is used in the well hole to combine with all of the drill cuttings, and is periodically bailed out
of the well when this 'mud' interferes with the effectiveness of the drill bit.

Cable tool drilling has historically

taken many forms. In the early
days of percussion drilling,
equipment was very crude
compared to today's technology.
The 'springpole' technique, used
in the early 1800's, consisted of
a flexible pole (usually a tree
trunk) anchored at one end, and
laying across a fulcrum, much
like a diving board. The flexible
pole, or springpole, would have
a heavy bit attached at the loose
end. In order to get the bit to
strike the ground, workers would
use their own body weight to
bend the pole towards the
ground, allowing the bit to strike
rock. The tension in the pole

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would spring the bit free, should Early Percussion Rigs in Pennsylvania - Late 1800's
it become stuck in the ground. Source: Office of Fossil Energy, DOE

Much advancement has been made since these early percussion rigs. In fact, it was from cable
tool drilling that one of the most important drilling advancements was made. In 1806, David and
Joseph Ruffner were using the springpole technique to drill a well in West Virginia. In order to
prevent their well from collapsing, they used hollow tree trunks to reinforce the sides of the well,
and to keep water and mud from entering the well as they dug. They are credited as the first
drillers to use a casing in their well - an advancement that made drilling much more efficient and
easily accomplished. It is believed by many that 'Colonel' Drake's 1856 well achieved success due
to the use of steel casing to reinforce the well. Drake's well was drilled using steam powered cable
tool drilling methods. For more information on well casings, and well completion, click here.

Innovations, such as the use of steam power

in cable tool drilling, greatly increased the
efficiency and range of percussion drilling.
Conventional man-powered cable tool rigs
were generally used to drill wells 200ft or
less, while steam powered cable tool rigs,
consisting of the familiar derrick design, had
an average drilling depth of 400 to 500 feet.
The deepest known well dug with cable tool
drilling was completed in 1953, when the
New York Natural Gas Corporation drilled a
well to a depth of 11,145 ft.

Despite the historical significance of cable

tool drilling, modern drilling activity has
shifted mainly towards rotary drilling
methods. However, the foundation of
knowledge laid by years of cable tool drilling
is, in many cases, directly transferable to the
practice of rotary drilling.
A Modern, Mobile Cable Tool Drilling Rig
Source: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

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http://www.naturalgas.org/naturalgas/extraction_onshore.asp 10/12/2009