subject: What are Horizontal Wells and What are they used for? [print this page] What are Horizontal Wells and What are they used for?
Horizontal wells are designed to work with a variety of different types of technologies. Their purpose is to work with those technologies to deliver or remove liquids and gases from a sub-surface. Horizontal wells are usually preferred over vertical wells because they have the ability to reach surface areas without damaging any structures resting on that surface. These wells can be positioned horizontally or at a specific angle, and can be double or single ended. The difference between a double ended and a single ended horizontal well is that a double ended well goes surface to surface while a single ended well is "blind-sided".
Horizontal wells are a type of directional well. Compared to a vertical well, horizontal wells may have an increased potential of collapsing. A factor that would contribute to the event of a horizontal well collapse would involve the condition of the land. For example, if the land is damp or wet the well will be harder to stabilize. Other obstacles that could limit the performance of a horizontal well include how the wells are positioned. It is difficult to position a well into a precise location, but the biggest concern limiting horizontal well technology is how deep they can go. Most horizontal wells cannot rest any lower than 50 vertical feet below surface. However there have been wells that have worked at 230 ft. below surface.
Originally created by the industry to be used for oil recovery, mining, and dewatering, there are over 1,000 horizontal wells today. Directional drilling designs were changed in the early 1990's to be used in the environmental remediation industry. The environmental remediation industry works to remove harmful contaminates from natural resources such as soil, and ground water.
