New Progress and Development Proposals of Sinopec’s Drilling Technologies for Ultra-Long Horizontal Shale Gas Wells

In order to achieve the efficient development of ultra-long horizontal shale gas wells, Sinopec made breakthroughs in technologies such as evaluation of geological area selection, supporting equipment, friction reduction, low-cost and efficient geo-steering, layered optimization of drilling parameters, long-life and efficient rock breaking tools, and efficient cementing, etc. As a result, 15 horizontal wells with a horizontal section of more than 2 700 m and 5 wells with a horizontal section exceeding 3 000 m have been drilled. The technical system for the drilling of horizontal shale gas wells with an ultra-long horizontal section of 4 000 m was formed preliminarily. The above have provided strong support for efficient shale gas development in the Dongsheng Block and the Jiaoshiba Block. However, there is still a big gap between Sinopec’s shale gas ultra-long horizontal well drilling technologies and those of foreign countries. Hence, it was suggested that breakthroughs should be mainly made in tools and technologies including the selection and evaluation of geological areas, key speed-up tools, efficient drilling fluid systems, friction reduction techniques, and casing running and long-term cementing technologies, etc. In this way, it would provide technical support for realizing safe and efficient ultra-long horizontal well drilling.