Project Title: Ultra-short Radius Horizontal Well Project for Substantial Enhancement of Oilfield Recovery Factor

Participating Enterprises: Daqing Chenping Energy Technology Co., Ltd.

Award Received: Technological Invention Award

Project Number: ECF-2026-SYE-1031

Main Participants: Li Fuguo, Li Yuchen, Xu Xianjun, Dou Shuping

Expert Review Comments:

The principal contribution is real-time measurement and trajectory control in ultra-short-radius horizontal drilling, enabling existing vertical wells to reach dispersed pockets of bypassed oil more precisely. Compact MWD, gyroscopic and gamma-ray measurements work with high-build-rate multi-bend motors and supporting drilling and completion methods to address small-bore, high-curvature conditions. Deployment in more than 200 wells across over ten oilfields in China and abroad demonstrates the translation of specialized tools into an operational service. For low-producing or shut-in wells with suitable wellbore integrity, and for thin or marginal pay, the technology offers a distinctive route to increasing production while reusing existing infrastructure.

Main Innovations:

Turning vertical wells into horizontal wells and reviving “dead wells”: an independent intellectual property system built on 87 patents makes remaining oil in mature fields visible, drillable and recoverable.

1. Fast kickoff: multi-bend mud motors achieve build rates of 228°/30 m, 30 times those of conventional horizontal wells, with a target lead of only 20 m, enabling direct sidetracking into horizontal wells within existing casing.

2. Accurate trajectories: full-angle gyroscopic, MWD and gamma-ray measurements turn conventional blind drilling into visible, controllable drilling capable of crossing layers.

3. Complete processes: supporting methods include screens, partial/full cementing, bridge-plug perforation and staged fracturing, abrasive-jet perforation, undulating horizontal wells and dual-horizontal U-shaped geothermal wells.

4. Leading performance: the team led development of the group standard for ultra-short-radius horizontal drilling. The internationally leading technology has been validated in over 200 wells, with average daily incremental oil per well of 10 times and a maximum of 183 times.

Main Uses and Technical Principles:

Main uses: targeting scattered remaining oil in mature fields, including high-water-cut, long-shut-in and casing-damaged wells, thin or marginal pay zones, marginal reservoirs and tight oil, the technology converts existing vertical wells into short-radius horizontal wells. Directional drilling reaches remaining-oil accumulations beyond conventional well patterns, revives old wells, precisely recovers bypassed oil, enables combined oil and geothermal production, and substantially improves recovery.

Technical principles: window sidetracking inside existing casing builds angle over a small curvature radius, turning a vertical well into a horizontal section. Measurement-while-drilling guides the bit along the planned azimuth into oil-rich zones. Local radial flow near the original vertical well is transformed into composite linear and radial flow extending along the horizontal section. The drainage radius expands more than tenfold, effectively mobilizing previously inaccessible remaining reserves.