Petroleum Engineering 406

Lesson 2
Well Control
 Read
• Well Control Manual
– Chapter 4-6
• Homework 1 Due Jan. 1/28/04
 Causes of Kicks - Tripping
• Failure to keep the
hole full
 Causes of Kicks - Tripping
• Swabbing
 Causes of Kicks
• Lost circulation
 Causes of Kicks - Drilling
• Insufficient density of drilling fluid
• Drilling into Abnormal pressure
 Causes of Kicks - Other
• Annular flow after cement job
• Lost control during DST
• Drilling into adjacent wells
• Drilling through (shallow) gas zones at
excessive rates
 Kick Warnings - Drilling
• Drilling break
• Increase in flow rate
 Kick Warnings - Drilling
• Pit gain
 Kick Warnings - Drilling
• Decrease in circulating pressure
• Increase in pump rate
• Well flows with pumps off
 Kick Warnings - Tripping
• Improper hole fill
• DO NOT WAIT FOR PIT GAIN OR
FOR THE WELL TO FLOW
• What should you do if the well is not taking
the proper fill on a trip?
 Shut In Procedures - Drilling
• Soft Shut In
1 Pick up the kelly until the
tool joint clears the floor.
2 Shut down the pumps.
3 Check for flow.
4 If flowing, open the HCR
valve.
5 Close BOP.
6 Close choke.
• Hard Shut In
1 Pick up the kelly until
the tool joint clears the
floor.
2 Shut down the pumps.
3 Check for flow.
4 If flowing, Close BOP.
5 Open HCR valve.
6 Close choke.
 Shut In Procedures - Drilling
• Soft Shut In • Hard Shut In
7 Notify supervisors 7 Notify supervisors
8 Read & record SIDPP, 8 Read & record SIDPP,
SICP, Pit Gain, Time, SICP, Pit Gain, Time,
Date Date
9 Prepare to implement 9 Prepare to implement
kill. kill.
 Shut In Procedures - Tripping
1. Set slips below top tool joint
2. Stab a full opening safety valve and close
it.
3. Open the HCR and close the BOP, and
choke
4. Pick up and stab the kelly or a pump-in
line
 Shut In Procedures - Tripping
5. Open the safety valve.
6. Notify the supervisors.
7. Read and record SIDPP, SICP, Pit gain,
TVD of Well, TVD of bit, time, and date.
8. Prepare to implement kill.
 Shut In Procedures - Diverters
• With diverters in use (prior to setting
surface casing)

• DO NOT SHUT IN WELL - DIVERT.

 Shut In Procedures - Casing
1. Lower casing until a swage and valve can be
stabbed.
2. Close the casing rams or annular preventer.
3. Stab the swage and valve.
4. Notify supervisor
5. Read and record pressures
6. Prepare to kill well
 Well Kill Methods
• Wait & Weight method
• Driller’s method
• Circulate & weight
• Concurrent method
 Well Kill Methods
• Reverse circulation
• Dynamic kill
• Bullheading
• Lubricate and bleed
• Volumetric
Constant BHP Well Control
 Wait & Weight Method
• Weight up mud to KWM and complete kill
sheet
• Circulate KWM to bit following decline
schedule
• Circulate KWM back to surface
maintaining FCP on drillpipe pressure
Wait & Weight Method

7000
 Wait & Weight Method
• When well is full of KWM, Shut in well
• Check for remaining pressures
• If surface pressures are zero, check for flow
by cracking choke
• If no flow, carefully open BOP’s
• Circulate around again
 Wait & Weight - Advantages
• Kill well in one circulation
• Least amount of maximum casing pressures
 Driller’s Method
• Shut in well long enough to measured
stabilized SI pressures
• Circulate kick fluids from wellbore with
original weight mud maintaining ICP on
drillpipe
• When kick fluids are circulated out, shut in
well
 Driller’s Method
• Weight up mud to KWM
• Circulate KWM to bit following pressure
decline schedule
• Continue circulating KWM around
maintaining FCP until KWM reaches
surface
• Shut well in, check for pressures, flow etc.
Driller’s Method
 Driller’s Method - Advantages
• Short shut in times
• Easy
 Circulate & Weight
• Shut in long enough to measure stabilized SI
pressures
• Begin circulating kick from wellbore with
OWM at ICP
• While circulating, isolate one pit and begin to
weight up to KWM
• When mud is weighted up, switch pump
suction to weighted pit, and follow W&W
Circulate & Weight - Advantages
• Best of W&W and Driller’s
 Concurrent method
• Weight up and circulate in increments
• Takes one complete circulation for each
increment
 Reverse Circulation
• Circulate down annulus and up the drillpipe
or tubing.
• Used extensively in workovers and
completions
 Dynamic Kill
• For blowout control
– Use high pump speeds and viscosities to
generate high annular friction pressures
– Annular friction used instead of surface choke
• For shallow gas
– Circulate as fast as rig pumps will allow
through diverters
– DO NOT HOLD ANY BACK PRESSURE
 Bullheading
• Pump kill fluid down wellbore, usually at
relatively high speeds to force formation
fluids back into formation
• Used predominantly in:
– Workover and completion operations
– Austin Chalk flow drilling
– When danger of H2S
 Lubricate & Bleed
• Only applicable with gas at the surface
• Pump in KWM into wellbore
• Let KWM fall for some time
• Bleed off gas
• Repeat
 Volumetric Method
• Used when circulation is not possible or
when gas is migrating in closed in well
• As surface pressures increase due to gas
migration, bleed off excessive pressure and
allow bubble to expand.
• Continue until circulation can be resumed
or until gas reaches surface
 Use of Kill Sheet
• Pre-recorded information
– SPP
– Pump output
– Drillstring capacity
– Annular capacity
– Pressure limitations
– Circulation times
– Number of strokes
 Use of Kill Sheet
• Post kick information
– SIDPP
– SICP
– Pit gain
– Time
– Date
 Use of Kill Sheet
• Calculate:
– KWM = SIDPP/0.052/TVD + OWM
– ICP = SPP + SIDPP
– FCP = SPP*KWM/OWM
• Plot Pressure Decline Schedule
Kill Sheet
Kill Sheet

Plot ICP
Plot FCP