Petroleum Engineering & Technology

The Goal of Drilling

The end goal of drilling operations is simple: to create a safe, stable hole in the ground. The mechanics of accomplishing this goal, which will be covered in this section, are more complex.

Drilling operations should result in:

• A wellbore that intersects the producing formation.
• A wellbore that is isolated from groundwater and non-producing formations.
• A wellbore that is capable of containing formation pressures.
• A drill site that is safe and environmentally compliant.
• A profit for the company drilling the well.

This course introduces the technologies that make drilling and completions possible, typical operational methods for drilling and completing wells, and methods for solving problems that come up during the drilling process.