Drilling Engineering and Well Completions

Drilling Engineering and Well Completions is a specialized field focused on the design, execution, and preparation of wells to access subsurface resources such as oil, gas, water, or geothermal energy. Drilling engineering encompasses the entire process of creating a borehole, from planning the well trajectory and selecting drilling equipment to managing downhole pressures and ensuring wellbore stability. Once the target depth is reached, well completions takes over, involving the installation of casing and tubing, cementing operations to isolate geological zones, and perforating the well to establish a flow path from the reservoir to the surface, ultimately making the well ready for safe and efficient production or injection.

  1. Introduction to Drilling and Well Completions
    1. Overview of the Oil and Gas Lifecycle
      1. Exploration Phase
        1. Appraisal Phase
          1. Development Phase
            1. Production Phase
              1. Abandonment Phase
              2. Role of Drilling and Completions Engineering
                1. Responsibilities of Drilling Engineers
                  1. Responsibilities of Completions Engineers
                    1. Interface with Other Disciplines
                    2. Types of Wells
                      1. Exploration Wells
                        1. Objectives and Characteristics
                          1. Risk Considerations
                          2. Appraisal Wells
                            1. Purpose and Data Collection
                            2. Development Wells
                              1. Production Optimization
                                1. Well Placement Strategies
                                2. Injection Wells
                                  1. Water Injection
                                    1. Gas Injection
                                      1. Enhanced Oil Recovery Applications
                                      2. Disposal Wells
                                        1. Produced Water Disposal
                                          1. Waste Management
                                        2. Units and Conversions in Drilling Operations
                                          1. Common Units
                                            1. Length Units
                                              1. Volume Units
                                                1. Pressure Units
                                                2. Conversion Factors
                                                  1. Field vs. SI Units
                                                    1. Calculations in Drilling Context