Slimhole -Microhole - Small Hole

Oil & Gas Well Drilling & Boring

 

   

 

A term  that describes a borehole that is significantly smaller than the standard oil drilling approach, commonly a wellbore less than 6 in. in diameter. The slim hole concept has its roots in the observed correlation between well costs and volume of rock extracted. If one can extract less rock, then well costs should fall. One form of slim hole work involves using more or less conventional equipment and procedures, but simply reducing the hole and casing sizes for each hole interval. A second form involves technology used for exploration boreholes in the hard rock mining industry. In the mining rig operations, the drillstem serves a dual purpose. After the hole is drilled, the drillstem remains in the hole and is cemented in place. Then a new drill stem is used for the new hole section, and also cemented in place. The drillstring for mining rig operations is rotated like that for conventional oilfield rotary rig operations, but typically at a much higher speed.

 

Slimhole (Small Hole) drilling technology recently has been established as a proven alternative to conventional drilling operations.... also known as EOR or Enhanced Oil Recovery. Now that the drilling community has shown that slim hole can reach the objective and is both technically and economically feasible, completion and production aspects of small well bores receive the focus of increased attention.