UNDERBALANCE

Do you have primary well control below?

Mud Weight = 10 ppg

TVD = 10,000 ft
Formation Pressure Gradient = 0.57 psi/ft

Formation pressure works out at:

Formation Pressure (psi) = 0.57 x 10,000 = 5,700 psi
Hydrostatic pressure works out at:
Hydrostatic Pressure (psi) = 10 x 0.052 x 10,000 = 5,200 psi
Hydrostatic pressure of 5,700 psi is less than (under) the balance value of
5,200 psi, by 500 psi. The well is in a state of underbalance.
If the formation is permeable, then the well will flow and you will get a kick.
We will assume the kick comes into the annulus and moves upwards. This will
displace mud out at surface. The driller should recognise this excess flow as a
kick, and close the well in using the BOPs.

Once the BOPs have been closed, there will be no further flow of mud out of the
well. Pressure will build up. This build up can be monitored on two gauges at
surface - the drill pipe pressure gauge and the casing pressure gauge.
The drill pipe pressure gauge measures the pressure acting up the inside of the
drill string and the casing pressure gauge measures the pressure acting up the
inside of the annulus.
At some point the pressures will stabilise. These stabilised, shut in pressures
are given a number of different names. In this book they will be called Shut In
Drill Pipe Pressure (SIDPP) and Shut In Casing Pressure (SICP) respectively.
Drill Pipe
Pressure Gauge

Casing
Pressure Gauge

BOP in
closed position

Remote Choke in
closed position
Choke line from BOP
stack to choke manifold
Mud Weight = 10 ppg

Kick in
annulus
TVD = 10,000 ft
Formation Pressure = 5,700 psi

The picture above shows the well in a shut in position. This well and kick will be
used as you work through many of the remaining subjects in this book.
Assume that there is no float installed in the drill string. This means the drill pipe
pressure gauge will be open to pressure through the bit. Assume the bit is on
bottom, the kick is all in the annulus and also on bottom.
3

FORMATION PRESSURE - AGAIN

The well has been shut in on a kick and the pressures have stabilised. What will
SIDPP be equal to?
Drill Pipe
Pressure Gauge

BOP in
closed position

Casing
Pressure Gauge

Remote Choke in
closed position

Mud Weight = 10 ppg

Kick in
annulus
TVD = 10,000 ft
Formation Pressure = 5,700 psi

Formation pressure is pushing up the drill string with 5,700 psi of pressure.
What is acting down the drill string? A clean column of 10 ppg mud. This gives
a hydrostatic pressure of:
Hydrostatic Pressure (psi) = 10 x 0.052 x 10,000 = 5,200 psi
If there is 5,700 psi pushing up the drill string, and 5,200 psi pushing back
down the drill string, then the pressure on the gauge at surface will read the
difference. In this case 500 psi.
For this kick, SIDPP is 500 psi. You will be able to read this on the drill pipe
pressure gauge, once the pressures have stabilised.
4

In most kick situations, you will not know formation pressure ahead of time. If
you did, you should not have taken the kick!
Once you have taken a kick, however, you will be able to read SIDPP on the drill
pipe pressure gauge. You will know the well TVD, and the mud weight you
have in the hole. From those you will be able to work out the hydrostatic
pressure acting down the drill string.
Formation pressure is the sum of SIDPP and string hydrostatic pressure - just
add them together to get formation pressure. Check that on the well opposite:
Formation Pressure (psi) = Hydrostatic Pressure in Drill String (psi) + SIDPP (psi)

= 5,200 + 500 = 5,700 psi

In a kick situation SIDPP is used to calculate formation pressure.
Answer the following, to the nearest psi:
1)

What is formation pressure? TVD = 13,560 ft;

SIDPP = 385 psi;
Mud Weight = 11.5 ppg

2)

What is formation pressure? Mud Weight = 9.9 ppg;

SIDPP = 610 psi

3)

What is formation pressure? Mud Gradient = 0.6968 psi/ft;

SIDPP = 460 psi;
TVD = 14,820 ft

4)

What is SIDPP?

TVD = 9,455 ft;

Mud Weight = 10.3 ppg;
Formation Pressure Gradient = 0.5564 psi/ft

5)

What is SIDPP?

TVD = 15,670 ft;

Mud Weight = 14.8 ppg;
Formation Pressure Gradient = 0.811 psi/ft

TVD = 8,125 ft;