1. Petroleum Engineering 406
Lesson 2
Well Control

2. Read
Well Control Manual
Chapter 4-6
Homework 1 Due Jan. 1/28/04

3. Causes of Kicks - Tripping
Failure to keep the hole full

4. Causes of Kicks - Tripping
Swabbing

5. Causes of Kicks
Lost circulation

6. Causes of Kicks - Drilling
Insufficient density of drilling fluid
Drilling into Abnormal pressure

7. 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

8. Kick Warnings - Drilling
Drilling break
Increase in flow rate

9. Kick Warnings - Drilling
Pit gain

10. Kick Warnings - Drilling
Decrease in circulating pressure
Increase in pump rate
Well flows with pumps off

13. 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?

14. Shut In Procedures - Drilling
Soft Shut In
Pick up the kelly until the tool joint clears the floor.
Shut down the pumps.
Check for flow.
If flowing, open the HCR valve.
Close BOP.
Close choke.
Hard Shut In
Pick up the kelly until the tool joint clears the floor.
Shut down the pumps.
Check for flow.
If flowing, Close BOP.
Open HCR valve.
Close choke.

15. Shut In Procedures - Drilling
Soft Shut In
Notify supervisors
Read & record SIDPP, SICP, Pit Gain, Time, Date
Prepare to implement kill.
Hard Shut In
Notify supervisors
Read & record SIDPP, SICP, Pit Gain, Time, Date
Prepare to implement kill.

16. 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

17. 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.

18. Shut In Procedures - Diverters
With diverters in use (prior to setting surface casing)
DO NOT SHUT IN WELL - DIVERT.

19. 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

20. Well Kill Methods Wait & Weight method Driller’s method
Circulate & weight
Concurrent method

21. Well Kill Methods Reverse circulation Dynamic kill Bullheading
Lubricate and bleed
Volumetric

22. Constant BHP Well Control

23. 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

24. Wait & Weight Method
7000

25. 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

26. Wait & Weight - Advantages
Kill well in one circulation
Least amount of maximum casing pressures

27. 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

28. 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.

29. Driller’s Method

30. Driller’s Method - Advantages
Short shut in times
Easy

31. 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

32. Circulate & Weight - Advantages
Best of W&W and Driller’s

33. Concurrent method Weight up and circulate in increments
Takes one complete circulation for each increment

34. Reverse Circulation
Circulate down annulus and up the drillpipe or tubing.
Used extensively in workovers and completions

35. Dynamic Kill For blowout control For shallow gas
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

36. 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

37. Lubricate & Bleed Only applicable with gas at the surface
Pump in KWM into wellbore
Let KWM fall for some time
Bleed off gas
Repeat

38. 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

39. Use of Kill Sheet Pre-recorded information SPP Pump output
Drillstring capacity
Annular capacity
Pressure limitations
Circulation times
Number of strokes

40. Use of Kill Sheet
Post kick information
SIDPP
SICP
Pit gain
Time
Date

41. Use of Kill Sheet Calculate: Plot Pressure Decline Schedule
KWM = SIDPP/0.052/TVD + OWM
ICP = SPP + SIDPP
FCP = SPP*KWM/OWM
Plot Pressure Decline Schedule

42. Kill Sheet

43. Kill Sheet
Plot ICP
Plot FCP