A review of axial vibration tool development and application for friction-reduction in extended reach wells

Horizontal well drilling encounters more technical challenges, including high friction force, poor weight transfer, and complex downhole conditions, etc. These problems often lead to low drilling efficiency, diminishing extended-reach capacity, poor tool face control, and significantly increased costs. Axial vibration tools are proved to be a cost-effective solution to these problems. These tools are designed to improve the rate of penetration through better transfer of the weight to the bit, and increase the reach capability while drilling horizontal and directional wells. In this article, various conventional axial vibration tools were introduced and categorized and their physical mechanism was discussed. Furthermore, a broad survey regarding extensive indoor experiments, field cases and predicting models were presented. This review study dedicated two representative types of axial vibration tools, focusing on their development and application. By summarizing and analyzing these information, it is shown that the rotary valve pulse (RVP) tools are mature and have been widely used even though their performance seems to be limited by the simple mechanism. Fluidic flow modulating (FFM) tools were found to have better performance in engineering practices due to the obvious merit of the fluidic elements depending on which the pressure pulses were built. However, the application of FFM tools seem not to match their advantages. Further field practices are required to prove their reliability and predictable performance to a convinced level. It is hoped that this review will promote further research and development on axial vibration tools for friction-reduction in extended reach wells. •Focuses on axial vibration tools used for friction-reduction in extended reach wells.•Describes various axial vibration tools and discusses their physical mechanism.•Broad survey of indoor experiments, field cases and predicting models are presented.•Elaborates the development and application of two representative axial vibration tools.