In 2018, the directional drilling market size was at $7.37 billion in the United States. By 2025, it’s expected to grow by 13%.
If you’re interested in joining this industry, you might be wondering, “How does directional drilling work?”
Thankfully, we have all of the answers for you here, so keep reading to find out everything you need to know.
What Is Directional Drilling?
Directional drilling is a very broad term that covers any drilling that doesn’t go straight down. However, even if you are drilling vertically, you may need to stray from the straight line to avoid some obstacles.
Directional drilling has used the same techniques for over one hundred years. However, technology has been advancing to give you the best turns, angles, and underground distances.
You can use techniques like horizontal or multilateral drilling. These are great for enhanced oil recovery, for example.
Some people also use DigiTrak transmitters on their equipment to ensure it’s working properly.
How Does Directional Drilling Equipment Work?
So how does directional drilling work?
There are three main steps that you can take to ensure that you do directional drilling effectively.
Drill the Pilot Hole
Before you can start drilling, you’ll have to pump down drilling fluid down through the pipe. This will create high pressure and it will grind the soil that goes in front of the drill.
You can then use a transmitter to help you signal where the drill is. This will help engineers correct any issues and keep track of the progress of where the drill is.
This way they’ll be able to adjust it if they run into an obstacle.
Pre-Ream the Hole
Once you’ve created the hole, you can expand it to fit the utility lines that you’re going to be running down into the hole.
You can use a rotating reamer to help pump more of the fluid in to expand the tunnel.
The speed will depend on what type of soil you’re drilling through. But once you’ve made the cut to pre-ream the hole, you can also add additives to make sure it’s stable.
Pull Back the Pipe
The final step is to make sure that you pull back the pipe.
You’ll pull it through the pre-reamed tunnel using the reamer and the drill rod. This will help to ensure that the hole stays the same even when you take the drill out.
When you’re pulling through the pipe, you may need to add more fluid as well to make sure the pipe is lubricated.
Learn More About: How Does Directional Drilling Work
These are only a few things to know about: “How does directional drilling work?”, but there are many more things to keep in mind.
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