A technical review of radial jet drilling

Abstract

Radial jet drilling (RJD) is an unconventional drilling technique that uses the jet energy of high velocity fluids to drill laterals with different geometries in both conventional and unconventional reservoirs. Many case studies available worldwide have proven RJD as a viable alternative to traditional stimulation techniques, especially in marginal fields. RJD has a lot of application in the oil and gas industry. It is a cost effective completion technique to reach the untapped sweet spots, by-pass damaged zones near wellbore, re-complete old wells, and many other applications. The present paper outlines the basics of newly developed radial jet drilling technology. Advances in technologies, developments, forces imposed, jet fluid hydraulics, procedures, applications, and challenges of RJD are reviewed in this paper. Simulation studies and several worldwide case studies are discussed to evaluate the RJD technology. Key words: Radial jet, drilling, completion, laterals.