well drilling question

froggirl · #1 05/23/05, 12:22 PM

Howdy,
We are in the process of having our well drilled. They are at 300ft and have about 20ft left at best estimation. Thing is, the casing has become "stuck" by suction due to the large amounts of clay we have here. The well drillers are waiting for financing to get a different rig that they THINK will get it loose. Has anyone encountered getting stuck and if so how was the problem solved?
Thanks,
Jenn

sisterpine · #2 05/23/05, 03:59 PM

Jenn: So very sorry to hear you are having this well problem. I personally have never heard of a well rig getting the casing stuck? Our well is 380 feet through granite/quartz and they used a rotary drill so maybe it is a totally diffrent deal up here. Hope they get it fixed soon, or just tell them that they are paying for another driller to come clean up their mess!

Alice In TX/MO · #3 05/23/05, 05:57 PM

Hubby is in the oilfield, and casing (and drill pipe) getting stuck is not unusual.
Clay is a problem for water well drillers. Getting a bigger rig is a safe option. There are also chemicals they can put down the hole to try to loosen the pipe. Can they circulate drilling fluids at all?

froggirl · #4 05/23/05, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sisterpine

Jenn: So very sorry to hear you are having this well problem. I personally have never heard of a well rig getting the casing stuck? Our well is 380 feet through granite/quartz and they used a rotary drill so maybe it is a totally diffrent deal up here. Hope they get it fixed soon, or just tell them that they are paying for another driller to come clean up their mess!

Thanks for the good thoughts, Sis!
THey have so many clauses in their contract they basically aren't responsible for anything that happens.... :no:

froggirl · #5 05/23/05, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rose

Hubby is in the oilfield, and casing (and drill pipe) getting stuck is not unusual.
Clay is a problem for water well drillers. Getting a bigger rig is a safe option. There are also chemicals they can put down the hole to try to loosen the pipe. Can they circulate drilling fluids at all?

Thanks, Rose...that makes me feel better knowing it's somewhat common. They threw water down there like crazy to no avail. Maybe I'll ask them about the chemicals...
--Jenn

shadowwalker · #6 05/23/05, 08:02 PM

They may need a bigger pump to push more fluids out at a faster amount. Also you mught try Barite or drilling mud. You need to make a "Cake Wall" around your casing, this allows the formation to NOT cave in around your casing. This is done with the mud. you make drilling with.
I hope you can still rotate your casing, if not it is stuck. If this happens you can possibly apply pump pressure then pick up until your casing weight is held a the same weight as the casing, then rotate slowly if it will. The pump will be applying a bouancy action, and the rotation will be easier. If this works they then will pull the casing up and down "washing" the particals out of the hole. There is more than this to it. But the drillers will know what to do, I hope. shadowwalker

froggirl · #7 05/23/05, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowwalker

They may need a bigger pump to push more fluids out at a faster amount. Also you mught try Barite or drilling mud. You need to make a "Cake Wall" around your casing, this allows the formation to NOT cave in around your casing. This is done with the mud. you make drilling with.
I hope you can still rotate your casing, if not it is stuck. If this happens you can possibly apply pump pressure then pick up until your casing weight is held a the same weight as the casing, then rotate slowly if it will. The pump will be applying a bouancy action, and the rotation will be easier. If this works they then will pull the casing up and down "washing" the particals out of the hole. There is more than this to it. But the drillers will know what to do, I hope. shadowwalker

wow...good info! Thank you very much!
I'm printing this for back up in case they can't figure out what to do!
The rig they are trying to purchase makes the hole bigger for the casing to slide into. Seems like they could be doing something more while they wait...don't understand how drilling a bigger hole will help the stickiness further up the casing. I can just see us paying $17,000 for nuthin'!

copperhead51 · #8 05/23/05, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by froggirl

wow...good info! Thank you very much!
I'm printing this for back up in case they can't figure out what to do!
The rig they are trying to purchase makes the hole bigger for the casing to slide into. Seems like they could be doing something more while they wait...don't understand how drilling a bigger hole will help the stickiness further up the casing. I can just see us paying $17,000 for nuthin'!

Are you paying 17K for you well???

froggirl · #9 05/23/05, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by copperhead51

Are you paying 17K for you well???

that's what it's looking like it will be...the guys we're using do a flat rate package deal and we're at the 300ft package.

Windy in Kansas · #10 05/24/05, 06:00 AM

Even the professionals have bad events. I used to have property that had over 1,000' of drillstem stuck in an oil well drilling attempt. Rotaty cable tools were attempting to work over an old attempt when the sides of the hole collapsed. Larger rig after larger rig was brought in during attempts to free the drillstem to no avail. They best they could do was use charges to blow off sections of drillstem in attempts to recover at least some of it.

In my opinion you have professionals hired that are having a really bad event/day/week/etc. I would just stand back and let them do their job rather than aggravating them by giving unsolicited advice. You can bet that they have heard or experienced all of the advice given here and wouldn't be thrilled with the reminder that they are indeed having problems.

Just my opinion, but your pocketbook may be on the line should they decided to make you pay for offering advice.

Alice In TX/MO · #11 05/24/05, 09:04 AM

If you are paying X dollars for the well, this event shouldn't affect your bill.

rambler · #12 05/24/05, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

In my opinion you have professionals hired that are having a really bad event/day/week/etc. I would just stand back and let them do their job rather than aggravating them by giving unsolicited advice. You can bet that they have heard or experienced all of the advice given here and wouldn't be thrilled with the reminder that they are indeed having problems.

Agreed! Very much agreed!

--->Paul

froggirl · #13 05/24/05, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rambler

Agreed! Very much agreed!

--->Paul

I agree too....I plan on standing back and letting whatever is going to happen, happen. Bad thing is they get paid the same if they get water or not so I'm trying to prepare for the worst, yet hope for the best. :waa:

copperhead51 · #14 05/24/05, 07:08 PM

[QUOTE=froggirl]that's what it's looking like it will be...the guys we're using do a flat rate package deal and we're at the 300ft package.[/QUOTE

No offense, but if this is a six inch well, you are paying about 3X too much!

froggirl · #15 05/24/05, 07:16 PM

[QUOTE=copperhead51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by froggirl

that's what it's looking like it will be...the guys we're using do a flat rate package deal and we're at the 300ft package.[/QUOTE

No offense, but if this is a six inch well, you are paying about 3X too much!

none taken

Around here that's about normal from what I've found out. Welcome to island life!

sisterpine · #16 05/24/05, 11:14 PM

I wonder froggirl- does that include pumps and pressure tanks and running the water lines to your house? Around here we would be paying for the well and casing only at 26 bucks a foot which is just under 8 grand for 300 feet and i thought that was really high!