Active vocabulary. 1. point of entry into место начала бурения 2. slant/ directional drilling направленное бурение; наклонно-направленное

1.	point of entry into	место начала бурения
2.	slant/ directional drilling	направленное бурение; наклонно-направленное бурение
3.	curved well	искривлённая скважина (в одной плоскости)
4.	targeted deposit	заданное месторождение
5.	horizontal drilling	горизонтальное бурение
6.	proliferation of sth	распространение
7.	impact on sth	влияние на что-либо
8.	advance in	новая разработка в к.-л. области
9.	measurement-while-drilling technology	скважинные исследования в процессе бурения, каротаж во время бурения
10.	logging practice	каротаж
11.	steerable drilling motor	управляемый забойный двигатель
12.	downhole motor	забойный двигатель
13.	short/ medium/ long-radius well	скважина малого/ среднего/ большого радиуса
14.	curvature radius	радиус закругления
15.	developed (well)	разработанная скважина
16.	non-conventional (formation)	нестандартное месторождение
17.	coalbed methane	угольный газ
18.	multiple completion	заканчивание скважины с целью одновременной разработки нескольких продуктивных пластов
19.	sharp turning	крутой поворот
20.	economically feasible	экономически оправданный/ обоснованный
21.	tightly curved (well hole)	сильно изогнутая (скважина)
22.	inaccessible (area/ deposit)	недосягаемое (месторождение)
23.	invaluable/ crucial (technology/ advances)	значимое/ ключевое (достижение)
24.	given (formation)	данное (месторождение)
25.	marginal/ mature (field)	месторождение c ограниченными запасами
26.	countless (applications)	бесчисленные (применения)
27.	to employ the use of	применять/ использовать что-л.
28.	to be spaced apart	быть расположенным на расстоянии
29.	to gain access to	получить доступ куда-л.
30.	to control the well path	контролировать траекторию ствола буровой скважины
31.	to take a … degree turn	сделать поворот на … градусов
32.	to issue a patent to sb	выдать патент кому-либо
33.	to meet rising demand	удовлетворять растущие потребности
34.	to harm the environment	наносить ущерб окружающей среде
35.	to deviate/ bend from	отклоняться от
36.	to steer the equipment	направлять оборудование
37.	to reach a point/ a target	дойти до цели
38.	to drill at an angle	бурить под углом
39.	in many instances/ cases/ circumstances	во многих случаях
40.	directly underneath/ beneath	прямо под чем-л.

For many decades the only way we could extract natural gas was to drill a well straight down into the ground. However, in many instances, this is not possible, not economically feasible, or simply not efficient. Technological advances now allow us to efficiently deviate from 'straight line' drilling, and steer the drilling equipment to reach a point that is not directly underneath the point of entry. While what is known as 'slant drilling', where the well is drilled at an angle instead of directly vertical, has been around for years, new technology is allowing for the drilling of tightly curved well holes, and even wells that can take a 90 degree turn underground!

Directional drilling is the process of drilling a curved well, in order to reach a target that is not directly beneath the drill site. This is useful in many circumstances where the area above the targeted deposit is inaccessible. For example, to reach reservoirs that exist under shallow lakes, protected areas, railroads, or any other area on which the rig cannot be set up, directional drilling is employed. It is also useful for long, thin reservoirs. These types of reservoirs are not efficiently mined with a vertical completion. However, horizontal entry into the reservoir allows it to be drained more efficiently.

The difference between traditional directional or slant drilling and modern day horizontal drilling, is that with directional drilling it can take up to 2,000 feet for the well to bend from drilling at a vertical to drilling horizontally. Modern horizontal drilling, however, can make a 90 degree turn in only a few feet! The concept of horizontal drilling is not new. In fact, the first patent for horizontal drilling was issued in 1891 to Robert E. Lee, for drilling a horizontal drainhole for a vertical well. The advances in technology and the increasing focus on accessing less accessible reservoirs to meet rising demand have allowed for a proliferation of horizontal drilling.

The ability of horizontal drilling to reach and extract petroleum from formations that are not accessible with vertical drilling has made it an invaluable technology.

Horizontal drilling allows for an increase in the recoverable petroleum in a given formation, and even increases the production in fields previously thought of as marginal or mature. Horizontal drilling also allows for more economical drilling, and less impact on environmentally sensitive areas. In fact, in some areas in which drilling is not allowed for environmental reasons, it is possible to drill horizontal wells to the targeted deposit without harming the environment above. In addition, with this technology, fewer wells are needed to produce the same amount of hydrocarbons.

A number of advances were crucial to the progression of horizontal drilling. Measurement-while-drilling technology (or 'borehole telemetry') has allowed engineers and geologists to gain up-to-the-minute subsurface information, even while the well is being drilled. This avoids some of the complications of normal logging practices, and greatly increases the drilling engineer's knowledge of the well characteristics. Steerable downhole motor assemblies have also allowed for advances in horizontal drilling. While conventional drilling occasionally employs the use of downhole motors just above the drill bit to penetrate hard formations, steerable drilling motors allow the actual path of the well to be controlled while drilling.

There are three main types of horizontal wells; short-radius, medium-radius, and long-radius. Short-radius wells typically have a curvature radius of 20 to 45 feet, being the 'sharpest turning' of the three types. These wells, which can be easily dug outwards from a previously drilled vertical well, are ideal for increasing the recovery of natural gas or oil from an already developed well. They can also be used to drill non-conventional formations, including coalbed methane and tight sand reservoirs.

Medium-radius wells typically have a curvature radius of 300 to 700 feet, with the horizontal portion of the well measuring up to 3,500 feet. These wells are useful when the drilling target is a long distance away from the drillsite, or where reservoirs are spaced apart underground. Multiple completions may be used to gain access to numerous deposits at the same time.

Long-radius wells typically have a curvature radius of 1,000 to 4,500 feet, and can extend a great distance horizontally. These wells are typically used to reach deposits offshore, where it is economical to drill outwards from a single platform to reach reservoirs inaccessible with vertical drilling.

Horizontal drilling is an important innovation that will likely find countless new applications as the technology is developed. With increasing demand for natural gas, innovations like these will be invaluable to securing and bringing to surface these much needed hydrocarbons.

A. Comprehension

Answer the questions:

1) Why can’t vertical wells be used in all situations?

2) What types of well are now drilled apart from directly vertical?

3) What does directional drilling mean?

4) What reservoirs require directional or horizontal entries?

5) How long have horizontal drilling techniques been applied? Who was the first to introduce this method?

6) What are the benefits of horizontal drilling?

7) How many technological achievements made horizontal drilling possible? Name some of them.

8) How do horizontal wells differ?

9) What is the purpose of each type of a horizontal well?

10) Will there be many applications of horizontal drilling techniques in the future? Give reasons.