A broad term that is used to describe boring that doesn’t go in a vertical straight line, the directional drilling process is used in the oil and gas industry. Even a vertical well, deviation might be needed to get around a geological formation or a pipe before returning to the planned path.

The driller might use sidetracking techniques, which is a kind of directional drilling. When it comes to conventional drilling for gas and oil, the drill string, drill bit, casing, and pipe all go down in a straight line. If the drill operator aims the equipment away from the 180-degree down angle, that would technically be directional drilling.

In this modern age with technological advances, there will most likely be a series of pre-planned directional changes throughout the drilling process. Directional drilling has been used for more than a century.

Technological Advances

Technological improvements during the last few decades have helped improve turns, angles, and underground distances that are covered more efficiently and effectively. Techniques such as extended reach drilling (ERD), horizontal drilling, and multilateral drilling are enhanced approaches that are used for oil recovery that increase the downhole yield significantly.

ERD specialists can drill at depths or distances that exceed 6.2 miles. When the drilling rig is imagined as the tree trunk, the directional possibilities of the roots or paths are endless. When you look at the branches of the roots as multilateral drilling, the options are countless.

What Makes Directional Drilling Valuable?

Multiple downholes can be drilled using the same rig, which can reduce the disturbance on the surface and limit the impact on the environment. This approach allows boreholes to reach as far as a mile down and as far as five miles at angles where they are shallow. If you are in an oilfield that has dispersed deposits, drillers can tap a large radius. In turn, this maximizes the rig asset.

Directional drill operators need specialized training, which can be attained at special training schools. Call Associated Training Schools today to learn about the directional drill training program. ATS offers heavy equipment training in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

An integral part of the oil and gas industry since the 1920s, directional drilling is the practice of controlling a wellbore’s deviation and direction toward a predetermined underground location or target. Directional drilling is needed for several different applications, here are some drilling jobs:

• Multiple wells from a single location
• Inaccessible surface locations
• Multiple target zones
• Sidetrack
• Fault drilling
• Relief-well drilling
• Salt-dome exploration
• River-crossing applications

To operate a directional drill, you will need to undergo the proper training from a training school. Directional drillers are among the best-compensated positions. They are one of the highest-paid positions in the oilfield. To be a directional driller, you will need to have experience in the oilfields, be mathematically inclined, and be willing to travel frequently. Some directional drillers are gone for as long as 50 weeks a year when they are first starting out in these drilling jobs.

The Work Environment

Directional drillers either work on an offshore rig or on a land rig. There isn’t a typical workday in this role. One of the more critical times while on the job is when you are diverting the well from vertical to horizontal. A bad calculation when deciding when and how you are building an angle can mean the difference in proceeding or having to abandon days of work. A directional driller must be very focused on the job at hand. There are three main types of directional drills:

• Multilateral wells
• Extended reach wells
• Horizontal wells

Because of advanced technology, the computer is where most directional well-planning is done. Thanks to 3D visualization and 3D earth models, geoscientists and engineers have integrated and interactive tools that allow them to optimize, visualize and create wells using reservoir targets.

Drilling Jobs – Salary

According to CNNMoney, oil rig workers make slightly under$100,000 per year, but the annual salary can vary depending on the skills and experience of the worker. Oil drillers made an average salary of $99,175 per year as of 2011, but of course, salaries have increased during the last 7 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects more than average growth in the field, so there is expected to be a 16% increase in the number of directional drillers needed from 2016 to 2026. That is 2,500 more jobs for trained directional drillers.

ATS offers specialized training in directional drilling. The program includes classroom and field training to teach the operational skills you need to operate a directional drill safely and efficiently. To learn more about ATS specialized training and drilling jobs, call (800) 678-8149 today. One of our admissions specialists will help you determine if directional drilling is the right career path for your goals.

All over the country, there is an increased demand for horizontal drilling construction involving buried pipes, cables, and fiber optics, largely driven by the importance of internet connections to everyday life, be that for work or at home. Once, that involved digging big trenches right along roads and paths, laying the cables, and then filling them back in, but today you will rarely see that kind of construction. So, how do they install all these underground pipes and cables without any trenches? The answer to that is horizontal directional drilling or HDD.

It is a simple idea but took technology a while to catch up and be able to accomplish it, but the basic operation involves digging an entrance pit, a single hole that is there to catch drill water, and then simply drilling horizontally along the required path at the correct depth from there. The drilling machines involved are complex and can drill as much as 1000 feet underground, requiring skillful control and situational awareness from the operator.

As you can imagine, the ability to lay cables and other communication equipment below ground without disturbing the surface is incredibly useful, especially in cities and towns, where using this approach means no more roadworks, traffic disruption, and so on. It is not just there, any location near rivers and other obstructions where excavation simply is not practical also benefits, saving time and money for the contractor and often making otherwise impossible projects viable. With an almost limitless demand for new communication options as well, the two together make this the fastest-growing method for utilities, the communications industry, and municipalities in the country.

Why is this important to know? Because it really is the fastest-growing equipment used in the industry today, and that means skilled horizontal drill operators are in high demand. As you know, high-demand jobs pay well, and with an ever-changing work environment and on-site teamwork required, it is also an interesting and enjoyable career too. Here at ATS, we offer a Directional Drill Training Program that provides the knowledge, experienced staff, and curricula needed to deliver highly skilled drill operators for any organization.

Using a combination of hands-on experience with real equipment and classroom theory work, our comprehensive course and dedicated instructors help trainees not only learn the skills and knowledge needed to operate horizontal drilling equipment effectively but to operate safely and efficiently on-site. The intention is to ensure that every attendee leaves the course completely capable of operating the equipment skillfully and safely at all times, with a good understanding of both overground and underground operations and maintenance.

The course covers all aspects of horizontal drill operation, including safety, general maintenance, pre-planning, field operation, drilling fluids, downhole tools, and electronics, providing a complete understanding of HDD operations. With such demand all over the country, this is a valuable opportunity for those looking to expand their skill set or to enhance existing knowledge. With HDD only increasing in use, the skills this course provides offer real opportunities in the construction industry today.

It is no surprise the growth in construction and telecommunications throughout America has led to an increased need for directional drills to bury fiber optics, electrical lines, water pipes, sewer lines, etc. Further, the use of backhoes or excavators isn’t always practical, feasible, or economical, due to existing hazards or terrain. That leaves Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) as the most efficient option and the fastest-growing type of equipment for utilities, municipalities, contractors, and the communications industry. Associated Training Services has the knowledge, curricula, and instructional staff to deliver your organization the highest quality training for your directional drill operators.

Primary Objective:

Through a combination of classroom and field training sessions, participants will acquire the knowledge and skills required for operating a directional drill efficiently and safely.

Training Subjects:

Standard training subjects are as follows:

• HDD Safety
• General Maintenance of Equipment
• Pre-Planning
• Field Operation
• Tracking Electronics
• Drilling Fluids
• Maintenance
• Locator Equipment / Operations
• Downhole Tools