Percussion–Hydraulic Technologies for Multilateral Drilling and Productivity Enhancement of Low-Rate Wells in Low-Permeability Reservoirs: A Systematic Critical Review and Cross-Scale Design Methodology

Low-permeability reservoirs are constrained by low matrix transmissibility, heterogeneous pore/fracture connectivity, near-wellbore damage, and limited well-to-reservoir contact area. Multilateral and radial drilling can enlarge reservoir contact, but the resulting benefit depends on transmitted momentum, channel geometry and conductivity, cuttings removal, and path stability. This review separates three layers explicitly: systematic review findings, an author-proposed cross-scale coupling framework, and a design/verification methodology. The conceptual framework links generator and transmitted-pulse variables to connected rock damage, stress-dependent channel conductivity, skin factor, and productivity through four proposed validation interfaces with measurable inputs and outputs; these interfaces define future tests and are not claimed to have been validated as an integrated chain. The framework is not a monolithic solved multiphysics model. A multi-criteria methodology is proposed for selecting operating modes under lithological, stress, energy, cuttings-transport, wear, and productivity constraints. The review was conducted and reported in accordance with PRISMA 2020 and PRISMA-S. Of 2373 records identified, 243 full-text reports were assessed for eligibility, and 91 studies were included in the qualitative evidence synthesis. Owing to substantial methodological and physical heterogeneity, no pooled meta-analysis was justified. Accordingly, the integrated percussion–hydraulic system is explicitly classified as a conceptual TRL 1–2 synthesis; component-level field evidence must not be interpreted as validation of the complete integrated system.