Slant Drilling OSE Wells

This project explored using slant rigs to drill multiple OSE wells off of one multi-well pad rather than multiple vertical single well pads, or to drill from outside an environmentally sensitive area or constraints such as water bodies or water courses. This could translate to smaller land footprints and associated cost and time savings as well as numerous environmental benefits including: (1) reduced access requirements due to multiple wells on a surface location; (2) reduced surface impact by having more wells on a single, slightly larger lease; and (3) reduced environmental impact by locating leases and access roads away from environmentally sensitive sites.

The outcome of this initiative was being able to drill up to 6 locations (5 slant and one vertical) from a single surface disturbance. The largest pad surface to date is 0.86 ha. Minimum land area saved was 2.1 ha (not including all the access road area saved). This important finding can significantly reduce our overall footprint and authors recommend sharing with other companies. In terms of environmental performance, it reduced access roads added to the landscape and reduced GHG because of less clearing and less trucking (rig move) as well as less reclamation work and risk of reclamation challenges. Most cost effective to drill 3+ locations from one surface; individual slants an option to accommodate setbacks or protect sensitive areas. COSIA members could design appraisal projects to accommodate slant drilling by working with Geology to identify surface options that would allow for at least 3 wells to be drilled from one location. Note that rig availability is one of the limitations.