Case Study: Texas Operating Company drills a successful horizontal well with SLB geomechanics and drilling engineering

New Geomechanics Approach Solves Wellbore Instability Issues in Unconventional Play

SLB worked with Texas Operating Company, an operator in Texas facing major wellbore instability challenges in an unconventional formation. After two previous horizontal drilling attempts failed because of weak rock and insufficient mud weight, the company needed a safer way to drill a viable well while avoiding collapse and other geohazards.

SLB developed a mechanical earth model (MEM) using a depth-of-damage approach and combined geomechanics with drilling engineering to define a safer mud-weight window, minimum acceptable mud weight, and equivalent circulating density limits. The analysis also guided lateral landing target selection and drilling practices, and Texas Operating Company successfully drilled its third well where the first two had failed, avoiding borehole collapse and severe losses while supporting long-term production and field-development goals.