well control and blowout prevention

1. Introduction
2. Objective
3. Theory
4. Kick
5. Types of kick
6. Causes of kick
7. Warning signs of kick
8. Recognition of kick
9. Well control method
10. Importance of well control
11. Conclusion
12. References
WELLCONTROL

INTRODUCTION

The demand for energy constantly increasing forcing the petroleum industry to come up with
Innovative solutions to find and produce the remaining resources the industry is forced to work
in remote location where high pressure and temperature reservoirs deep water narrow pressure
Margins and harsh weather are factors that hamper the operations
The awareness regarding well control in the drilling industry has always been formation fluid
enter the well it cm lead to disastrous blowouts where people on rigs can be injured or in a
worst-case scenario killed the environment can also be harmed due to oil spills.

Moving drilling locations to remote areas around the world demands the wells to be drilling in
the safest possible way.
Well control is the technique used in oil and gas operations such as drilling, well work over, md
well completions to maintaining the fluid column hydrostatic pressure and formation pressure to
prevent influx of formation fluids into wellbore. This technique involves the estimation of
formation fluid pressures, the strength of the subsurface formations and the use of casing and
mud density to offset those pressures in a predictable fashion. Understanding of pressure and
pressure relationships are very important in well control.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this assignment is to understand the well control techniques used in oil and gas
operations such as drilling, well work over and well completions. What is
causing a kick to occur and how the can IR interpreted and understand The two most common
circulation method Driller's- and Wait & Weight Method have been disc
WELL CONTROL THEORY

Primary Well Control

Primary well control is defined as the prevention of formation fluid flow

by maintaining a hydrostatic pressure equal to greater than the pressure of
the fluids in the formation, but less than formation fracture pressure. It is
very important to make sure that primary well control is preserved at all
times. This includes: figure;1

Figure;1

Drilling fluids with adequate density are used.

Active system volumes are continuously monitored.

Changes are detected immediately and correct actions are being

performed.
 Secondary Well Control

If the pressure of our drilling fluid fails to prevent formation fluid to enter
the wellbore, the well will flow. By the Of a blowout preventer, (BOP),
we can prevent fluids from escaping the well. Figure;2

Figure;2
 Hydrostatic Pressure

The hydrostatic pressure depends on the density and vertical height of the
fluid

Circulation Pressure
Circulation pressure is given by the rig pump and represents the total
pressure required to transfer mud from the pump, through the surface
lines, the drill string, the bottom hole assembly, (BHA), thee bit nozzles
and up through the annulus back to the
The annular pressure, or friction loss, helps in preserving the pressure on
the exposed formation causes a slight increase in the total pressure as long
as the pump is circulating mud. This in turn leads to an increase in the
bottom hole pressure, (BHP), above the static BHP. We can call this
increase annular pressure loss, ( APL).

Bottom hole Pressure

BHP is the sum of all pressures being exerted on a well by drilling

personnel operations. This means the sum of hydrostatic pressures, APL
plus any surface applied back pressures.

f. Equivalent Circulating Density

The Equivalent Circulating Density, (ECDI can explained as an increase

in pressure that occurs only when the mud is being circulated in the well.
Due to the friction in the annulus, the BHP will be higher than when is
not being circulated.

KICK

Kick is defined an undesirable influx of formation fluid in to the

wellbore. If left unchecked, a kick can develop into blowout (an
uncontrolled influx of formation fluid in to the wellbore). (figure;3) The
result of failing to control a kick leads to loss operation time, loss of
well and quite possibly, the loss of the rig and lives of personnel.
Figure;3

Most occur during trips.

Legal requirement to monitor all trips.

Most critical time is first 10 stands.

TYPES OF KICK

Two types kick exist:

1. Underbalance Kick — The formation pressure increases to higher

than the hydrostatic

1. Induced Kick — Hydrostatic decreases to below formation pressure.

CAUSES OF KICK

Once the hydrostatic pressure is less than the formation m-»re pressure,
formation fluid can into the well. This can happen one a
combination Of following occurs. Figure;4

Figure;4

1. Failure to keep the hole full

2. Low density fluid

3. Swabbing/surge

4. Lost circulation

5. Human error

6. Abnormal pressure

Not Keeping The Hole Fun

When tripping out of the hole, the volume of the steel pipe being removed
results in a corresponding decrease in wellbore fluid. Whenever the fluid
level in the hole decreases, the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the fluid
also decreases if the decrease in hydrostatic pressure falls below the
formation pore pressure, the well may flow. Therefore the hole must be
filled to maintain sufficient hydrostatic pressure to control formation
pressure. During tripping. pipe could be dry or wet depending on the
conditions. The AP17G illustrates the methodology for calculating
accurate pipe displacement gives correct charts and tables. To calculate the
volume to fill the well when tripping dry' pipe out is given {B:

Barrel to fill=pipe displacement (bbl/ft) x length pulled (ft)

Example;
Whats volume required to fill hole fill hole if we pull 5 stand drill pipe
dry?
If metal displacement of drill pipe = 0.008 (bbl/ft); drill
Pipe capacity = 0.01776 (bbl/ft); stand = 90 ft.
Answer
Volume required = 0.008 * 5 * 90 = 3.6 bbl
To calculate the volume to fill the well when tripping wet pipe out is given

Barrel to fill*pipe displacement (bbls/ft) + pipe capacity (bbls/ft) )×length

pulled(ft)

Example

Whats volume required to fill hole fill hole if we pull 5 stand drill pipe
wet?
If metal displacement of drill pipe = 0.008 (bbl/ft); drill
Pipe capacity = 0.01776 (bbl/ft); stand = 90 ft

Answer

Volume required = (0.008 + 0.01776) * 5* 90 = 11.6 bbl

In some Wells, monitoring fill —up volumes on trips can be complicated

by loss through perforations. The wells may stand full of fluid initially, but
over a period of a period of time the seeps in to the reservoir. In such
wells, the fill up volume Will always exceed the calculated or theoretical
volume of the steel from the well. In some fields, Wells have low reservoir
pressures and Will not support a full column of fluid. In these wells filling
the bole with fluid is essentially impossible unless Son Of bridging agent
is used to temporarily bridge Off the sub normally pressured zone. The
practice to pump the theoretical fill up volume While pulling out of the
well.

Insufficient Mud (Fluid) Density

The mud in the wellbore must exert enough hydrostatic pressure to equal
the formation pore pressure. If the fluid's hydrostatic pressure is less than
formation pressure the well can flow. The most common reason for
insufficient fluid density is drilling into unexpected abnormally pressured
formation. This situation usually arises when unpredicted geological
conditions arc encountered. Such as drilling across a fault abruptly
changes the formation being drilled. Mishandling mud at the surface
accounts for many instances Of insufficient fluid weight. Stich as opening
wrong valve on the pump suction manifold and allowing a tank Of light
might fluid to be bumping the water valve so more is added than intended:
w:wshing Off shale shakers; or cleanup operation of these can affect mud
weight.

Swabbing / Surging

Swabbing is as a result of the upward movement of pipe in a well and

results in a decrease in bottom hole pressure, In some cases. bottom bole
pressure reduction can be large enough to cause the well to go
underbalanced and allow formation fluids to enter the wellbore, The initial
swabbing action compounded by the reduction in hydrostatic pressure
(from formation fluids entering the well) can lead to a significant
reduction in bottom hole pressure and a larger influx of formation fluids,
Therefore, early detection of swabbing on trips is critical to minimizing
size of a kick. Many wellbore conditions increase the likelihood of
swabbing on a trip. Swabbing (piston) action enhanced when pipe pulled
too poor fluid properties, such as high viscosity and gel strengths, also
increase the chances of swabbing a well in, Additionally, large outside
diameter (OD) tools (packers, scrapers, fishing tools, etc.) enhance the
piston effect, These conditions need to be recognized in order to decrease
the likelihood of swabbing a well in during completion/work over
operations. As mentioned earlier, there are several computer and calculator
programs that can estimate surge and swab pressures, Swabbing is
detected by closely monitoring hole fill-up volumes during trips. For
example, if three barrels of steel (tubing) are removed from the well and it
takes only barrels of fluid to fill the hole, then a one-barrel kick has
probably been swabbed into the wellbore Special attention should be paid
to hole fill-up volumes since statistics indicate that most kicks occur on
trips.
 Lost Circulation

Al-other cause of kick during completion/work over operations is lost circulation

Loss of circulation leads to a drop of both the fluid level and hydrostatic pressure
in a well. If the hydrostatic pressure falls below the reservoir pressure, well
kicks.

Three main causes of lost circulation are:

Excessive pressure overbalance

Excessive surge pressure

Poor formation integrity

i. Excessive pressure Overbalance

It occurs when wellbore (bottom bole pressure) pressures exceed the facture
pressure of an exposed formation. If the fluid density Of a completion/work over
fluid is too high, the hydrostatic pressure in the well may exceed the fracture
pressure result in lost circulation. In these cases, loss of hydrostatic pressure is
minimized by immediately pumping measured volumes of lighter fluid into the
well at the sin-face.

Another area of concern, when using fluid weights that are close to the fracture
gradient, is equivalent circulating (ECO). ECD is the increase in bottom hole
pressure caused by friction. ECD can be quite large, particularly when reverse
circulating, and can lead to lust circulation. In these cases; the pump rate should
be maintained as low as possible to minimize wellbore pressures and the
possibility of lost circulation
ii. Excessive Surge Pressure

Surge pressure is the in bottom pressure caused by the downward movement of

the work string. If the combination of this surge pressure and hydrostatic
pressure exceeds the fracture pressure of an exposed zone, loss of circulation
occurs. Therefore, surge should be minimized by monitoring trip speed and
return fluid volumes while running in the well (especially with large Outside
Diameter (OD)) tools like packers and scrapers). are several computer and
calculator packages that can estimate surge pressures.

iii. Poor Formation Integrity;

If a well is completed in multiple zones or has shallow holes in the casing. a

weak uphole zone can cause loss of circulation. In these instances, maintenance
of hydrostatic pressure in a well difficult and sometimes requires the use of a
bridging agent to plug off the troublesome formation.

e. Poor Well manning

The fourth cause kick is poor well planning. TIE muni and casing programs have
a great bearing on well control. These programs must be flexible enough to allow
progressively deeper casing strings to be set; otherwise a situation may arise
where it
is not possible to control kicks or lost circulation. Well control is important part
of well pluming.

WARNING SIGNS OF KICKS

Drilling Break. Always flow check.

Increase in flow returns

Pit gain
Incorrect trip volumes. Pressure may prevent mud draining from string.

Decrease in SPP or rise in SPM

Increasing gas values. CG , BG

Well flows with the pump off, Ballooning , Loss of ECD, Charged
fractures.
Change in mud properties. > Salinity may > viscosity of mud > ECD

Increasing mud temperance

Cavings

Cutback in DxC or shale density•

PWD

Gas cut mud expanding. 1200m bubble point.

Pinched bit under gauge hole

Hookload/WOB variation buoyancy

 Figure;5

However,
There is never a lack of
indications that a kick or blowout
is occurring.
In the majority Of situations the
borehole and mud pits are a
closed circulating system, the
addition of any fluid from the
formation will result in a change
in return flow and a change in the
active pit volume. Several types
Of flow meters can be used in
the operations, such as Ultrasonic flow sensors and Coriolis flow sensors. However, Coriolis type flow
meters are used by most for return-flow monitoring. It is installed downstream of the choke manifold.
wellhead and the rig.
Figure;5
level of background Because of its high accuracy and immunity from external
forces and the ease of installation, the Coriolis-type meter is a reliable tool to
take the flow measurements. The Coriolis measuring principle operates
independently of the fluid physical properties, such as viscosity and density. A
kick can be detected quickly by continuously monitoring and comparing when
flow out deviates from flow in. Trends are monitored through a data-acquisition
system. Alarms can be set, and, depending on the system being used the kick can
controlled automatically. Downhole annular and bore pressures acquired along
the string through networked or wired pipe (e.g. IntelliServ network) provide
downhole information to networked surface data and improve early kick
recognition and analysis during regaining control.

When any of the positive indications of a kick are observed and a check
shows that the well flowing, it should be shut-in immediately. However, if
the surface casing alone has been set the flow should be diverted rather
than attempting a shut-in which might endanger the rig. Once the well is
shut-in on a kick and control of the well is established preparations should
to remove the influx from the wellbore. When preparing to remove the
kick from the well, there some important considerations that should be
taken into account. These considerations are valuable in determining the
proper well control to use in removing the kick from the wellbore and can
be crucial to maintaining control of the well during the kill procedure.
Some of the important kick handling concepts includes:

Determining reservoir pressure

identifying the type of kick

Calculating and preparing kill weight fluid

 Circulating method considerations

Killing a producing well

WELL CONTROL METHODS

During drilling operations, kicks are usually killed using the drillers, Engineer's
or a combination of both called Concurrent method while forward circulating.
The selection Of which to use will depend the amount and type Of kick fluids
that have entered the well. the rigs equipment capabilities, the minimum fracture
pressure in the open hole, and the drilling and operating companies well control
Policies. For work over or completion operations, other methods are often . Bull
is a common way to kill a well during work overs completions operations but is
not often used for drilling operations. Reverse circulation is mother kill method
used for work overs that is not used for drilling.

a. Driller's Method

The drillers method obtains well control with two separate circulations. The kick
is circulated out of the bole using the existing mud weight, before circulating the
well with the heavier kill mud. It is to be the simplest killing method, since it
deals separately with the removal of the kick and the addition of kill mud. It also
requires less arithmetic.
The following steps describe the Driller's method in detail:

1.when the kick is

detected the well
is shut in.

2. TIE Shut-in Drill pipe

Pressure, (SIDPP),

Shut-in Casing Pressure,

(SICP), are both
recorded before
the pumps

Started As the decreasing

well pressure can lead
cause more influx from the
formation, this operation can
be difficult. The choke needs
to be opened slowly so the
now rate steadily reaches the
Slow Circulation Rate,
(SCR).

3. The gas is being circulated out of the well, and the choke pressure
should be equal to SICP at the start. As the gas expands towards the
 surface, the SICP value will reach its top value just before the kick
reaches the surface, before decreasing to a value equal to SIDPP.

4. By using Equation the kill weight mud is calculated

5. As drill is filled with kill weight mud, SIDPP is reduced to zero. As the
heavier mud will increase the friction pressure, the Initial Circulation
Pressure, (ICP), will decrease to Final Circulation Pressure (FCP).
 When the well has filled with the heavy mud, the well is closed and SIDPP
and SICP are controlled. If the well is killed, these values should be zero
If not, then:

a) There may be trapped pressure in the well

b) There may be an additional influx remaining in the well

c) There may be dense enough kill weight fluid in the well

b. Wait & Weight Method

The Wait & Weight Method, (W&W Method), is also known as the Engineers
Method.

Compared to the Driller's the method, in theory, only needs one circulation to
kill the well. As the well has been shut-in and the pressure is stabilized the
SIDPP used to calculate the kill weight mud

As the is being pumped down the string, the choke is to reduce the drill pipe
pressure. The static head of mud is balancing the formation pressure when the
mud reaches the bit. When finalizing the circulation, the influx, drill pipe content
and kill mud is being circulated to the surface, the drill pipe pressure is kept
constant at the
Circulation pressure by choke adjustment.
 Figure;5

The following steps &scribe the W&W Method in detail

l. is detected and well is shut ill

2. After determining the SIDPP SICP, the kill mud weight should be
calculated using Equation 6. As the calculations are being made, gas
might migrate up the annulus causing increase in the SICP, so attention
to be paid to the monitors.

3. When the kill mud is ready to be circulated, the are brought up to speed
reaching SCR, while the choke is being opened so that the casing
pressure is maintained constant.

4. When the kill weight reaches bit, the drill pipe pressure equal to the
FCP.

5.The kill weight mud is circulated to the surface while keeping a constant
FCP.22
After the kill mud has performed a circulation, the pumps are stopped and
the well is shut in. Now, both the casing and drill pipe pressure should be
zero. In not, the mud density too low and mother circulation and
circulation has to be done.

Prevention Of Blowout

Alert and well trained crews

Knowledge on causes of
kicks

Knowledge of warning
signs

Shut-in responsibilities

Equipment

Trained crews to properly operate equipment

IMPORTANCE OF WELL CONTROL

Provides a direct threat to the safety of the drilling rig and its personnel.

Well control problems are costly in terms of time and money.

Environmental Damage

Increased risk when drilling in unexplored areas with unknown pressure

regimes.
 Prevention is always better than a cure.

Time is of the essence