Paperclip Wells: new well design in the Permian Basin (2024)

Starting with Shell in 2019, a few Permian basin drillers adopted this striking well design. It looks like an unraveled paperclip, and has been called "horseshoe well' or "U-Turn well".

Shell adopted the "horseshoe" well design at well NEELIE 1-85 LOV-4H to address technical issues, as well as lease rights (source).

These wells usually target the Wolfcamp Formation, about 10,000 ft below the surface of West-Central Texas. Typically, lateral section of wells in the Permian basin are 1 mile long, many times constrained by mineral rights, confined to 1 mile wide parcels of land. Technological advances in drilling, directional drilling and geosteering over the past few years make it possible to drill longer wells, with 2 mile lateral becoming common.

Longer laterals lead to increased efficiency, lower surface footprint and ultimately to lower cost per flowing barrel. Many contributing factors lead to increased efficiency: less lease construction, a single build section, a single intermediate casing, more frack stages placed in a row and so on.

With many fractured, postage stamp size mineral rights, drillers are often constrained by 1 mile wide parcels. To take advantage of long reach laterals, operators adopted the trajectory that doubles up on space. Welcome, paperclip well design.

Matador Resources replicated the paperclip trajectory on land immediately adjacent to the original Neelie 1-85 4H location.

One of the wells was sidetracked by Matador after a failed attempt and redrilled for the full 2 mile lateral length. Reported IPs from the two completed U-turn wells was over 2,000 boepd (source). Matador estimates it saved 10 million by drilling and completing the two turned wells instead of four one-mile wells.

PDS drilled several stacked wells, targeting different Wolfcamp benches, all in the confines of a 1 square mile block.

The approach is not limited to the Permian Basin.

Chesapeake drilled a paperclip well in the lower Eagle Ford shale in La Salle County in late 2020, to fit a 10,000 ft horizontal, with 9,200 of completed lateral length (source) into a 1 square mile lease, with sections on either side of an existing one-mile lateral targeting the same formation.

It is clear that U-Turn wells are technically sound to drill and complete, and savings can be achieved from drilling long-reach laterals.

2023 saw several of these wells being drilled and completed. Civitas drilled such a well in Reagan County, Midland Basin.

See Also

Selecting the Right Technology is Vital in Horizontal WellsDrilling A Well: A Step-By-Step Guide For Diy EnthusiastsChesapeake drills U-turn lateral to optimize tight lease space - Drilling ContractorThe Comprehensive Guide to Water Well Drilling - ProfitDig

One question I have is related to tripping in the turn. Will there be keyhole issues when moving pipe and completions strings in the open hole?

More paperclips on Chinook Consulting blog post: