An Interactive 5-Day Training Course
Unconventional & Shale Drilling
Drilling Shale and Tight Plays
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Duration
5 Days
Price
$ 3,500
Starting From
20 Sep 2027
Unconventional & Shale Drilling
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Unconventional & Shale Drilling - DC-USD-PEA27
| Code | Date | Time | Duration | Location | Currency | Early Bird Fee Per Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC-USD-PEA27 | 20 - 24 Sep 2027 | 10 AM CST | 4 Hours / Day |
Online |
USD |
3500 |
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Unconventional & Shale Drilling
This course covers drilling in unconventional and shale plays. Participants study play characteristics and well design, landing and lateral drilling, geosteering requirements, drilling fluids and hole cleaning in long laterals, bit and bottomhole assembly selection, performance drilling, casing and cementing for fractured completions, pad operations and cost reduction.
Description
Unconventional drilling is factory drilling: many similar wells, drilled repeatedly, where small improvements compound across hundreds of wells and where cost per lateral foot is the governing measure. The technical problems are long laterals, hole cleaning, directional control in soft and interbedded rock, and delivering a wellbore that can be fractured in many stages.
This course covers that work. It starts with unconventional play characteristics and well design, including lateral length, landing point selection and well spacing, then covers drilling the curve and landing accurately, and drilling long laterals with directional control and geosteering requirements. It covers drilling fluids and hole cleaning in horizontal sections, bit and bottomhole assembly selection, and performance drilling practice including parameter optimisation and flat time reduction. The course then covers casing design and cementing for multi-stage fracturing, pad operations and batch drilling, and the cost reduction practices that define competitive unconventional drilling.
The lateral is where the value is, and the landing is where it is won or lost. Landing too high or too low in a thin target costs reservoir contact for the whole lateral, and correcting it afterwards wastes footage. Accurate landing requires good pre-drill models, close geosteering and directional tools that respond predictably in soft rock.
Hole cleaning limits lateral length as much as torque and drag. Cuttings beds form on the low side of a long lateral and are removed only by rotation combined with adequate flow, and the consequences of neglecting them appear as pack-offs, stuck pipe and failed casing runs at the end of the section rather than during drilling.
Cementing matters more than it appears to. A multi-stage fractured lateral needs isolation between stages, and poor cement means stages communicate, fractures grow where they should not and the completion design is defeated. Centralisation, displacement and slurry design in a long horizontal are not routine work.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Describe unconventional play characteristics and their effect on well design.
- Design wells for unconventional targets, including lateral length and landing point.
- Drill the curve and land accurately within the target window.
- Maintain directional control and work with geosteering in long laterals.
- Design drilling fluids and hole cleaning for long horizontal sections.
- Select bits and bottomhole assemblies for unconventional sections.
- Apply performance drilling practice to reduce days per well.
- Design casing and cementing to support multi-stage fracturing.
- Plan pad and batch drilling operations.
- Apply cost reduction practices across a multi-well programme.
The course is instructor-led. Well design and drilling practice are taught through data from unconventional campaigns, with participants designing wells and analysing drilling performance across multiple wells to identify improvement. Cases cover landing accuracy, hole cleaning failures and cementing problems. Participants are encouraged to bring their own well data for discussion.
Organisations sending participants to this training will:
- Reduce days and cost per well in unconventional campaigns.
- Improve landing accuracy and lateral placement.
- Reduce hole cleaning and stuck pipe incidents in long laterals.
- Deliver wellbores that support the completion design.
- Build repeatable factory drilling practice.
Participants will:
- Understand unconventional well design and drilling practice.
- Be able to plan and drill accurate landings and long laterals.
- Be able to design hole cleaning for horizontal sections.
- Understand cementing requirements for fractured completions.
- Be able to drive performance improvement across a campaign.
- Drilling engineers in unconventional assets
- Rig site supervisors and company representatives
- Directional drilling and geosteering staff
- Drilling fluids engineers
- Completion engineers working with drilling teams
- Drilling performance engineers
Module 1: Unconventional Plays and Well Design
- Shale and tight reservoir characteristics
- Lateral length and landing window
- Well spacing and stacked laterals
- Surface location and pad layout
- Design standardisation across a programme
Module 2: Drilling the Curve and Landing
- Kick-off and build section design
- Build rate selection
- Landing accuracy requirements
- Tools and practice for consistent landings
- Correcting a poor landing
Module 3: Drilling the Lateral
- Directional control in long laterals
- Rotary steerable and motor selection
- Tortuosity and hole quality
- Maintaining trajectory within the window
- Lateral length limits
Module 4: Geosteering in Unconventional Wells
- Steering requirements and data
- Working with the geosteering team
- Decision cycles at high rate of penetration
- Percentage in zone measurement
Module 5: Fluids and Hole Cleaning
- Fluid selection for unconventional sections
- Hole cleaning in long laterals
- Rotation and flow rate requirements
- Sweeps and wiper trips
- Solids control and fluid cost
Module 6: Bits and BHAs
- Bit selection for curve and lateral
- Cutter technology and durability
- BHA design for long laterals
- Vibration management
- Run length and trip reduction
Module 7: Performance Drilling
- Parameter optimisation
- Flat time and connection practice
- Tripping efficiency
- Benchmarking across wells
- Learning curve management
Module 8: Casing and Cementing
- Casing design for fractured laterals
- Running casing in long horizontals
- Centralisation and standoff
- Cementing for stage isolation
- Verifying isolation before fracturing
Module 9: Pad Operations and Cost
- Batch drilling sequences
- Rig walking and pad layout
- Simultaneous operations on pads
- Logistics and materials planning
- Cost per lateral foot and its drivers
Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.
Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
All course bookings made through PEA are strictly non-refundable. By registering for a course, you acknowledge and accept that all fees are payable in full and are not subject to refund under any circumstances, including changes in personal or professional commitments or partial attendance.
PEA reserves the right to make reasonable adjustments to course content, trainers, or schedules where necessary, without entitling delegates to a refund. Comprehensive details of each course — including objectives, target audience, and content — are clearly outlined before enrolment, and it is the responsibility of the delegate to ensure the course's suitability prior to booking.
For any inquiries related to cancellations or bookings, please contact our support team, who will be happy to assist you.
