Theory and application of gas drilling technology

Abstract Gas drilling began in the 1950s. The drilling process is implemented by injecting a mixture of air and water into the well with an air compressor. Field experiments have gradually proved that air drilling in hard rock can improve the ROP by 2 ∼ 3 times, especially in reservoir protection. In this paper, the gas drilling technology is analyzed and discussed. The test results of gas drilling technology show that the drilling time is reduced and the mechanical ROP is greatly improved. Compared with mud drilling, the mechanical ROP of gas drilling in the same structure and well section is generally increased by 2 ∼ 10 times, the production of oil and gas wells is relatively high and the economic benefit is remarkable.