AADE Houston FMG Meeting

Presenting – “Clear Fluid Journey – Case Histories and Lessons Learned”

 

Clear-fluid systems can provide meaningful operational and environmental benefits in horizontal wells; however, successful deployment requires disciplined management of friction, hydraulics, hole cleaning, and wellbore stability. This presentation follows the evolution of a clear-fluid program as well complexity increased, emphasizing the operational decisions and field learnings that shaped the current design. Case studies compare oil-based and water-based fluid performance in three-mile laterals and evaluate the effect of sweeps and lubricating pills on torque, drag, and drilling efficiency. The discussion also quantifies the mechanical tradeoffs of 5-inch versus 5.5-inch drill pipe, including effects on hydraulics, friction factor, and casing-design limits. By integrating fluid selection, treatment strategy, casing accessories and well design, the presentation offers practical guidance for applying clear-fluid systems in extended-reach wells and recognizing when design changes are necessary.

 

Roy Alan De Napoli graduated as an Industrial Engineer from the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina. He has more than 20 years of drilling experience across multiple basins in the U.S. and South America, with a focus on safe and efficient well delivery, drilling performance, and field execution. Most of his career has been with Apache Corporation, where he has contributed in technical, operational, and leadership roles supporting offshore and onshore drilling programs. He currently supports Apache’s U.S. Onshore team as a Senior Drilling Engineering Advisor based in Houston, where he advises on well planning, operational performance, and drilling engineering best practices. 

 

Presenting – “AI Evaluation – Measuring the effectiveness of mechanical lubricants with high density data”

 

Clear-fluid water-based mud (WBM) systems can reduce total fluid cost of ownership when drilling horizontal wells in formations with relatively low reactivity and modest wellbore-stability requirements. In these systems, lubricants used to control drilling torque and drillpipe wear often represent the largest consumable cost. Although liquid and mechanical lubricants have been widely applied, published case studies generally emphasize target treatment concentrations rather than the operator’s selection of mechanical-lubricant concentrations or the management of additions over time. This study applies AI-enabled analytics to historical Delaware Basin well data and development of an operator dashboard for forecasting mechanical-lubricant treatment requirements on future WBM wells. The analysis demonstrates that effective mechanical-lubricant management should consider not only torque reduction but also proactive monitoring of bead condition, consumption, and renewal trends. Drillpipe wear is also evaluated as a key factor influencing mechanical-lubricant selection and application. This approach provides a data-driven framework for improving lubricant-treatment decisions while balancing drilling performance, equipment protection, and fluid-system cost.

 

Dallas Milligan graduated from The University of Oklahoma with a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and is a senior staff drilling engineer at Devon Energy with over 8 years of experience. He is a Professional Engineer with a background in Offshore Deepwater and ERD drilling in a variety of Basins including GoM, Campos/Santos offshore Brazil, Sakhalin Far East Russia, and presently the Permian Basin. 

Presenting – “When is the need for lubricants truly necessary?”

 

Water-based muds (WBM) offer environmental and formation-damage benefits over oil-based muds but present higher friction in complex, high-angle wells. Lubricants are frequently used to mitigate torque and drag (T&D), yet advertised reductions in coefficient of friction rarely translate directly to downhole friction factor reductions. Analyzing field case studies reveals that while 3% lubricant concentrations reduced friction factors by up to 50% and facilitated critical completion runs, performance degraded over time. Additionally, modern high-torque surface equipment and optimized drill string design often make lubricant addition redundant. The presentation will emphasize utilization of rigorous, baseline T&D modeling during planning to evaluate whether lubricants are genuinely required or if high friction factors are operationally acceptable, ensuring cost-effective well execution without compromising integrity.

 

Roberto Cruz-Nemer is a Senior Drilling Engineer at K&M Technology Group with over 15 fifteen years of drilling challenging ERD wells across the globe. Specializing in designing and executing Ultra-Long Laterals, Multi-Laterals, Deep Water with MPD and HPHT wells, Roberto has successfully led multiple drilling campaigns for operators by producing Mechanical Feasibility Analyses built from the ground up. Such analyses mainly focus on foreseeing potential problems and needs before they occur and engineering uncomplicated ways to solve each challenge presented through the project.

 

Prior to joining K&M Technology Group, he worked in Weatherford as a Drilling Optimization Engineer, Directional Driller and Logging While Drilling Engineer. Roberto holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Wichita State University & Tecnológico de Monterrey.