Drill String Volume in Barrels

Let’s find drill string volume in barrels (bbls) for drill pipe, drill collars, and total drill string volume.

The general formula to find drill string volume is as follows -

Drill string volume in Barrels = ID^2 / 1029.4 x Pipe Length

Now let’s do some examples for drill pipe, drill collar, and drill string total volume given the following data:

- Drill Pipe specs – 6 in OD, 4.356 ID, 9650 feet in lenght

- Drill Collars specs – 8 in OD, 3.5 in ID, 900 feet in lenght

Now given that we already know the formula to solve for DSV is ID^2 / 1029.4 x Pipe Length, let’s figure this out!

1. Drill Pipe Volume in bbls = (4.356^2 / 1029.4) x 9650 = 177.88 bbls

2. Drill Collar Volume in bbls = (3.5^2 / 1029.4) x 900 = 10.71 bbls

3. To find the total drill string volume we need to add the drill pipe volume in bbls + drill collar in bbls.

Total Drill String Volume = 177.88 bbls + 10.71 = 188.59 bbls