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That sounds like the opposite of an over engineered well to me.
Let's just set one string of pipe at 1,400 ft and then see if we can drill to 16,000 ft TVD...
I'm not using OBM because it costs a lot if we have any losses...
Far from it. I have no idea where some people learn how to drill a well. But the ones that only learn it in a classroom and spend limited time in the field can be a real burden for people in the field trying to execute their plan. Horizon Mud company sold him on a potassium based water based mud. And this mud when ran correctly can be very effective. The springer shale is a very water sensitive shale. The sycamore is unconsolidated. If you don't get something in there to hold it together, it's going to fall in on you even if your waterloss is a two. Gilsonite is the best chemical for the job. Doesn't mix well with potassium based mud.
His solution to hole problems was wiper trips every 2500'. That's something that went away with tricone bits. And in a time sensitive hole makes less sense. Especially when you have a few hundred feet of bromide to drill @ 2' an hour. The whole experience was awesome. They fired everyone. We did an open hole displacement to obm that calculated to be 623 bbls but took 2500 bbls to get it back to surface.
We sidetracked and redrilled the well in less than 20 days. Never lost a bbl of mud. I was out there for 47 days straight soaking up all the knowledge I could like a sponge. It's not very often you get to attempt to team to btm, get stuck, leave a fish in the hole, attempt to get back to your fish, twist off, leave a second fish in the hole, then do an open hole displacement to obm and figure out your hole is a cavern. Then go around everything and drill the hole without a problem.
All because one engineer had lost some obm once, and was going to save a ton of money on casing strings, obm haul off, obm losses, potential environmental impact, and whatever else he was thinking. Way too many boogie men that simply didn't exist.