Directional Drilling & Well Path Design Training
Most valuable reservoir targets aren’t conveniently located directly beneath the rig — they’re offset, layered, or best accessed horizontally to maximize reservoir contact. Directional drilling is what makes reaching them possible, and well path design is the engineering discipline that plans exactly how to get there safely. Burraq Consulting’s course builds working competency in both.
What Is Directional Drilling & Well Path Design?
Directional drilling is the practice of intentionally deviating a wellbore from vertical to reach subsurface targets not directly below the surface location, using tools such as measurement-while-drilling (MWD), logging-while-drilling (LWD), mud motors, and rotary steerable systems. Well path design is the planning discipline behind it — calculating a trajectory that intersects the target safely, avoids collisions with nearby wellbores, and stays within the well’s mechanical and hydraulic limits.
Who Should Attend
- Drilling engineers responsible for well path planning and directional program design
- Directional drillers executing the plan at the rig site
- MWD/LWD engineers providing real-time steering data and analysis
Prerequisites
A foundation in drilling engineering fundamentals is expected — Burraq Consulting’s Fundamentals of Drilling Engineering course is a strong prerequisite for participants without that background.
What the Course Covers
- Directional drilling fundamentals and common well profile types — build-and-hold, S-shape, and horizontal
- Well path design and trajectory planning to reach subsurface targets while respecting mechanical constraints
- MWD/LWD tools and how they're used to steer the well in real time
- Mud motors and rotary steerable systems — operating principles and selection criteria for different applications
- Anti-collision analysis and torque/drag considerations in complex, multi-well pad environments
- Survey calculations and wellbore position uncertainty, and why they matter for anti-collision and target intersection
- Common directional drilling problems and troubleshooting approaches
Course at a Glance
Why Train with Burraq Consulting
Burraq Consulting’s instructors bring direct directional drilling field experience from complex well programs across the region, and this course is grounded in the well path challenges participants will actually face — anti-collision constraints on a crowded pad, a trajectory that looks clean on paper but fights the formation in practice.
Certification and Next Steps
This course builds practical directional drilling and well path design competency. It pairs naturally with Burraq Consulting’s Fundamentals of Drilling Engineering and Cementing & Casing Design courses for a complete well construction skill set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Horizontal drilling is a specific type of directional drilling where the wellbore is deviated to a fully horizontal orientation, typically to maximize reservoir contact. Directional drilling is the broader discipline covering any intentional deviation from vertical, including horizontal wells as one profile type.
No prior MWD/LWD experience is required. The course introduces these tools and their application as part of the core curriculum.
The course covers rotary steerable systems at the level of operating principles and selection criteria, giving participants the working knowledge to plan and manage their use rather than a vendor-specific equipment certification.
Directional drilling and well control are separate disciplines, but complex well paths can introduce well control considerations — such as managing pressure in extended-reach or horizontal sections — that this course touches on where relevant.
Plan well paths that reach the target — safely and predictably.
or contact us to arrange an in-house program for your drilling engineering team.