Advanced Mud School

Part XII Pressure Control

Presented By:
Jeff Imrie

August 2006
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Pressure Control
• Despite efforts to understand and control
formation pressures, blowouts still occur.
• A blowout is an uncontrolled flow of
formation fluids as the result of failure to
control subsurface pressures.
• Blowouts can occur at the surface or into
an underground formation.
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Pressure Control
• Nearly every well drilled has the
potential to blow out.
• Experience has shown that blowouts
occur as the result of human error and/or
mechanical failures.
• However, a carefully planned,
continuously supervised pressure-control
program will lessen the possibility of a
blowout considerably.
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Pressure Control
• It is important to identify high formation
pressures before drilling, to detect
pressure changes while drilling, and to
control them safely during drilling and
completion operations.
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Pressure Control
• Pressure control can be divided into three
categories:
• Primary control.
– The proper use of hydrostatic pressure to
overbalance the formation and prevent
unwanted formation fluids from entering
the wellbore.
– The advantages of control at this level are
self-evident.
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Pressure Control
• Secondary control.
– The use of equipment to control the well in
the event primary control is lost.
– Formation fluids that have entered the
annulus can cause a blowout quickly if not
properly controlled.
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Pressure Control
• Tertiary control.
– The use of equipment and hydrostatic
pressure to regain control once a blowout
has occurred.
– This could involve the drilling of a relief well.
– Although tertiary control is normally handled
by experts, many things can be done during
the planning and drilling of a relief well to
simplify the final kill procedure and regain
control of the well.
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Pressure Control

A kick is an influx of formation

fluid into the well.
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Pressure Control

A blowout is an uncontrolled
kick.
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Pressure Control
• Failure of primary control.
– Any event or chain of events that create a
negative differential pressure between the
hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid
and the formation pressure can cause a
“kick.”
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Pressure Control
• The most common causes of a kick are:
– Failure to keep the hole full of mud during
trips.
– Insufficient mud weight.
– Lost circulation causing the hydrostatic
pressure to be reduced.
– Swabbing in when pulling out of the hole.
– Improper casing design and pore pressure
prediction.
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Pressure Control
• Failure of secondary control.
– It has been estimated that 95% of the
wells in which secondary control is lost
arrive at that condition as the result of
either poor maintenance and inadequate
testing programs, which result in leaks
that erode pressure-control equipment, or
inadequate crew training, which results in
miss-use or no use at all of pressure
control equipment.
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Pressure Control –
Subsurface Pressures
• Many different pressures are involved in
drilling and controlling oil and gas wells.
• It is important to understand these
pressures and how they are used to detect
and control formation pressures.
• Pressure is defined as force per unit area:
Pressure (psi) = force (lb) /area (in.2)
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Pressure Control –
Subsurface Pressures
• Hydrostatic pressure (PHYD) is the
pressure caused by the density or Mud
Weight (MW) and True Vertical Depth
(TVD) of a column of fluid.
– The hole size and shape of the fluid
column have no effect on hydrostatic
pressure since, at a given depth, pressure
is equal in all directions.
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Pressure Control
• PHYD is calculated by:
– PHYD (psi) =0.052 x MW (lb/gal) x TVD (ft)

– 0.052 = The units conversion factor equal to:

12 in./ft or 0.052 gal/(in.2 x ft)
231 in.3/gal
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Pressure Control
• What is the hydrostatic pressure of a fluid
column for the following conditions?
– MW = 12.8 lb/gal
– MD (Measured Depth) = 14,300 ft
– TVD = 13,200 ft
• The hydrostatic pressure is always calculated
using the TVD.
PHYD = 0.052 x 12.8 x 13,200
= 8,786 psi at TVD
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Pressure Control
• Hydrostatic pressure gradient is the
pressure increase per unit of vertical
depth.
– PHYDG (psi/ft) = 0.052 x MW (lb/gal)
• What is the pressure gradient of a 12.0
lb/gal mud?
PHYDG (psi) = 0.052 x 12.0
= 0.624 psi/ft
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Pressure Control
• Typical pressure gradients are:
– Freshwater 0.433 psi/ft
– Seawater 0.444 psi/ft
– Marine formation water
– (100,000 mg/l salt) 0.465 psi/ft
– Saturated saltwater
– (10 lb/gal) 0.520 psi/ft
– 16-lb/gal mud 0.832 psi/ft
– 19.2-lb/gal mud 1.0 psi/ft
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Pressure Control
• Formation pressure (Pform) is the fluid
pressure exerted within the pore spaces of
any oil, water or gas formation, and is
commonly called pore pressure.
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Pressure Control
• Normal pressure is the hydrostatic pressure
exerted by a column of fluid equal to the density
of the native fluid that existed in the geological
environment when the solids were deposited.
– Since more wells are drilled in sediments
characterized by marine formation water with
about 100,000 mg/l salt, a gradient of 0.465 psi/ft
will be used as the normal gradient for purposes
of this discussion.
– Deviations from normal hydrostatic pressures are
referred to as being abnormal — sur-pressures
(high) and sub-pressures (low).
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Pressure Control –
Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Pressure indicators are divided into two
groups:
– I. Engineering.
– II. Geological.
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Pressure Control –
Engineering Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Changes in Rate of Penetration (ROP)
– ROP increases while drilling the transition zone.
– While drilling normally pressured shale sections,
the ROP will decrease with depth if drilling
parameters such as weight-on-bit, RPM, bit types,
hydraulics and mud weight remain fairly constant.
– There will be a marked reduction in ROP as the
pressure seal is penetrated.
– After penetrating the seal in sur-normally
pressured formations, there will be an increase in
ROP.
– This is due to the higher porosity of the sur-
normal pressured zone.
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Pressure Control –
Engineering Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Decreases in dcs exponent trend
– Calculations for “d exponent” and “dcs
exponent” can be made to normalize ROP
data and predict the magnitude of
increasing formation pressure.
– Trends can be graphically established
using complicated formula
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Pressure Control –
Engineering Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Changes in rotary torque
– Rotary torque may increase rapidly in the
transition zone.
– Torque increases gradually with depth because
the contact friction between the drillstring and the
wellbore increases with depth.
– Torque will increase in the transition zone
because a larger volume of shale cuttings will
enter the wellbore. Shale tends to close in the
hole, causing additional contact with the drillstring
and impeding bit rotation.
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Pressure Control –
Engineering Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Changes in drag
– An increase in drag may be experienced
while making connections in the transition
zone.
– After the kelly is drilled down, the
recommended practice is to pick up 5 to
10 ft (to allow for working the drill pipe if it
sticks), turn the pumps off and pull the
kelly from the hole.
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Pressure Control –
Engineering Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Changes in rotary torque
– Extra cuttings may enter the wellbore
when the transition zone is penetrated.
– The hole may also tend to close-in around
the drill collars and bit.
– Some transition zone shales tend to flow
under differential pressure.
– There have been instances where it was
necessary to backream and circulate to
trip out of the hole.
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Pressure Control –
Engineering Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Kicks
– An actual kick is the most obvious
indication of an increase in pressure.
– Any pit gain, if not accounted for, is an
indication of an influx of formation fluid
(kick).
– When this happens, the amount of fluid
returning increases, and the flow sensor
records the increase.
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Pressure Control –
Engineering Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Kicks Cont.
– When approaching a transition zone if an
increase in pit volume or flow is detected,
drilling should be stopped and the well
checked for flow.
– If the well continues to flow, it should be
shut in.
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Pressure Control –
Engineering Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Filling the hole on trips
– When pulling the drillstring out of the hole,
the amount of pipe in the hole is reduced,
and the mud level drops.
– The volume can be calculated from the
size and weight of the pipe and the length
of the pipe removed, so that an
appropriate amount of mud can be
pumped into the hole to fill it up.
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Pressure Control –
Engineering Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Filling the hole on trips
– If the drillstring volume is not replaced and the
mud column drops, then the hydrostatic pressure
is reduced and may result in a kick.
– If the hydrostatic pressure is reduced to less than
formation pressure, formation fluids will flow into
the well.
– If the hole takes less mud than the calculated
displacement volume for the number of stands
pulled, fluid is entering the wellbore.
– This signals an impending kick.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Size and shape of cuttings
– A rapid increase in the size and a change
in the shape (angular) of the drill cuttings
may indicate an increase in formation
pressure.
– Cuttings from normally pressured shales
are generally flat with rounded edges.
– Cuttings from a transition zone are larger
and have sharp, angular edges.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Size and shape of cuttings cont
– These cuttings should not be confused
with even larger, block shaped cuttings,
which are rectangular.
– These block-shaped cuttings do not
originate from the bottom of the well.
– They are formed by improper drillstring
and bottom-hole assembly mechanics or
existing fracturing.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Sloughing shale and abnormal hole fill-
up
– Sloughing shale and abnormal hole fill-up
are indications of increasing formation
pressure.
– As the transition zone is penetrated, the
pore pressure within the shale will
increase.
– Shales have relatively low permeability,
but in a transition zone, shale porosity will
increase.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Sloughing shale and abnormal hole fill-
up Cont.
– If this overpressure in the shale is not
offset by increasing the hydrostatic
pressure of the mud, the shale will
collapse or slough into the annulus.
– This can cause enlarged holes through
transition zones and fill on bottom during
connections and trips.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Bulk Density
– During normal shale compaction, water is
squeezed out of the shale as the
overburden pressure increases.
– Shale porosity decreases and density
increases with depth.
– If normal compaction is interrupted by the
formation of a seal, the formation water
cannot be squeezed out of the shale.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Bulk Density Cont.
– When this occurs, the fluid supports part
of the overburden load and will have
higher-than-normal pressure.
– Since fluids remain in the shale, the
shales have a higher-than-normal porosity
and lower-than-normal density.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Bulk Density Cont.
– If shale densities are checked and plotted
at regular intervals during drilling, a
normal compaction trend is established for
the predominant formation being drilled.
– When a seal is penetrated, the formation
density will increase rapidly, followed by
decreased density as the over compacted
pressure seal and transition zone are
drilled.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Gas
– Gas is an indication of underbalanced formation
pressure.
– When drilling is underway, most well-logging
companies measure and record the gases
entrained in the circulating fluid. It is helpful to
classify this gas into one of three different
categories:
• Background Gas
• Connection Gas
• Trip Gas
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Background gas
– This is the total gas entrained in the mud.
– The background gas which comes from the
cuttings as the hole is being drilled is not an
indication of increasing pressure and should
not be compensated for with higher mud
weight.
– Background gas from cuttings should always
be circulated bottoms-up.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Background gas cont
– A continued increase in background gas
indicates a higher formation porosity
and/or a higher hydrocarbon saturation in
the available pore space.
– If lithology and ROP are given due
consideration, an increase in background
gas would indicate drilling into a transition
zone.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Connection gas
– the amount of gas in excess of the background
gas.
– This is the increase in gas readings caused by the
swabbing action of drillstring movement while a
pipe connection is made.
– Pulling of the drillstring causes the effective
bottom-hole pressure to be less than the
hydrostatic pressure of the mud column.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Connection gas Cont
– Such a reduction in hydrostatic pressure could
lead to formation fluids feeding into the hole.
– A small but constant amount of connection gas is
an indicator that the formation pressure is slightly
less than the hydrostatic pressure, whereas a
continuous increase of gas at each connection
would indicate an increase in formation pressure.
– This is an excellent tool for detection of abnormal
pressures when used in conjunction with
background gas.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Trip gas.
– This is the increase in gas associated with
pulling the drillstring out of the hole.
– Trip gas is recorded when bottoms-up is being
circulated out after a trip.
– The time period during which trip gas is being
recorded gives some idea about the amount
and the migration of gases in the
– annulus.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Trip gas cont.
– This parameter is used in the same
manner as connection gas, but is not as
useful due to the long interval between
trips.
– In some instances, a short trip will be
made (10 to 20 stands) for the purpose of
determining changes in pore pressure and
changes in bottom-hole conditions.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Gas-cut mud
– Gas-cut mud is the reduction in mud
weight due to gas entrainment.
– Gas-cut mud is checked at the flow line,
where the fluid will contain the maximum
amount of gas.
– The use of gas-removal equipment, as
well as surface retention time, will
normally remove most or all of the gas
from the mud.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Gas-cut mud cont.
– A continued reduction in mud weight due
to gas is an indication of increasing gas
content in the formations and the potential
of increasing pore pressures
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Chloride ion
– Dissolved solids in the formation water are
often correlated to total chloride
concentration — or salinity, as it is
commonly called.
– The salinity of water found in shale is
known to increase with depth in a normally
compacted sedimentary basin, but shows
a decrease in a transition zone.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Chloride ion cont.
– In normally compacted formations, the salinity of
water found in sandstone is known to follow the
same trend, but at much higher concentrations
than those found in shale.
– In a transition zone, the salinity of water in sands
approaches that of water in the shales.
– The change in the salinity of the mud filtrate is not
used for detecting abnormal pressures because it
is affected by numerous variables and could give
an erroneous indication of a transition zone.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Flow-line temperature
– Increasing flow-line temperature is an
excellent indicator of a transition zone.
– Since certain other variables affect
flowline temperature, it is necessary to
use an end-to-end plot.
• An end-to-end plot is constructed by identifying
changes in flow-line temperature caused by a
change in the variables, rather than a change
in formation pressure
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure

• Flow-line temperature
cont.
– A normal trend can be
established and
departures from the
normal trend can be
readily recognized.
– An end-to-end plot will
produce a curve as
shown in the Figure
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Flow-line temperature cont
– At about 150 to 300 ft above the seal, a
marked decrease in flow-line temperature
will be noted (Point A in the Figure).
– Usually, this decrease is 18 to 20°.
– After the seal is drilled, a very rapid
increase in temperature will occur — to
perhaps as much as 30 to 35° from the
time the seal is drilled until a porous zone
is encountered.
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Pressure Control –
Geological Indicators of Increasing Pressure
• Flow-line temperature cont
– Changes in flow-line temperature cannot
be used to estimate formation pressures
directly, due to flow-line temperature
variables and because each geographic
area has a different temperature gradient.
– Changes in flow-line temperature are a
qualitative indication that a change in
pressure may be occurring.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Kick Detection
– Early detection of a kick is important.
– It can reduce the size of the kick, lower
the quantity of pressure exerted on the
casing shoe and simplify regaining control
of the well.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Indications that a kick has entered the

well are:
– Increases in flow at the flow line.
– Increases in pit volume.
– Flow with the pump off.
– Hole taking insufficient mud volume on
trip.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Shut in the well
– When the warning signs of a kick are recognized,
steps should be taken immediately to determine if
the well is flowing and to shut the well in as
quickly and safely as possible, to prevent any
further influx into the wellbore.
– Reducing the size of the influx is a high-priority
objective.
– A kick can occur while drilling or while tripping.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Well Control Methods
– Once the well has been shut in, steps
should be taken to circulate the intruding
fluid out of the well.
– Also, the density of the drilling fluid should
be increased to provide sufficient
hydrostatic pressure to control the
formation pressure.
– Over the years, several methods have
been developed to circulate the kick out
and weight up the drilling fluid.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Well Control Methods Cont.

– All recognized well-control methods use a
constant, but slow, pump rate when
circulating a kick out of the hole and
replacing the light mud with kill mud.
– Additional formation fluids must be kept
from entering the wellbore while the kick is
being circulated out of the well and the
weighted kill mud is being circulated.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Well Control Methods Cont.

– If the kick has not been allowed to flow
back through the drill pipe and the bit is on
bottom, the shut-in drill pipe pressure plus
the hydrostatic pressure (PHYD) of the mud
in the drill pipe is equal to the formation
pressure.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Well Control Methods Cont.
– The information that should be recorded after taking a kick are:
• Measured depth.
• Total vertical depth.
• Mud weight.
• Shut-In Drill Pipe Pressure (SIDPP).
• Shut-In Casing Pressure (SICP).
• Kick volume.
• Fractured gradient.
• Casing TVD.
• Reduced Circulating Pressure (RCP).
• Reduced Circulating Rate (RCR).
• Reduced Pump Output (RPO).
– If off-bottom:
• Measured depth of bit.
• TVD of bit
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Well Control Methods Cont.
– The first 6 items are taken at the time the
kick is taken and the well is shut in.
– The next five items should be known or
measured prior to taking a kick.
– They must be used to make the necessary
calculations to circulate the kick out of the
hole and to kill the well.
– The last 2 items apply if the kick occurs
while tripping.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Driller’s Method
– The simplest of the approved well-control
methods.
– It was developed to circulate the kick out of the
well and circulate the kill mud into the well (in two
circulations) with a minimum number of
calculations.
– The method’s original purpose was to control
wells with minimal supervision, poor mixing
capabilities or insufficient weighting material on
location.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Driller’s Method Procedure

– Shut the well in and record the pertinent
kick information.
– Calculate the Initial Circulation Pressure
(ICP):
ICP = RCP + SIDPP
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Driller’s Method Procedure

– Open the adjustable choke and start
pumping at the pre-selected slow pump
rate.
– Adjust the choke to obtain a pump
pressure equal to the ICP.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Driller’s Method Procedure

– Circulate the kick out by maintaining the
ICP using the adjustable choke.
– Maintain a constant pump rate throughout
the circulating process.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Driller’s Method Procedure

– Once the kick has been circulated out of
the well, the well can be shut in.
– The SIDPP and the SICP should be equal,
since the intruding fluid has been
circulated out of the well.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Driller’s Method Procedure

– Calculate the kill-mud weight and weight
up the fluid in the surface system.
– Open the adjustable choke and start
pumping at the pre-selected slow pump
rate.
– Adjust the choke to maintain the casing
pressure at the SICP.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Driller’s Method Procedure

– Maintain the mud weight in the surface
system at the kill-mud weight.
– Once the kill mud reaches the bit, record
the pump pressure.
– Maintain this pump pressure by adjusting
the choke until the kill mud is observed at
the surface.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Driller’s Method Procedure
– Stop pumping and shut the well in to check for
pressures.
– If shut in pressure exists, additional mud weight
and circulation will be required.
– If no shut-in pressures exists, the well is under
control.
– At this time, one or two circulations may be made
to condition the mud and increase the mud weight
to provide a trip margin.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method

– After the well is shut in, the rig crew
“waits” while the drilling fluid in the pits is
“weighted” up to the kill-mud weight.
– In order to use this method successfully,
sufficient weight material must be on
location and the mixing capacity must be
sufficient to maintain the kill-mud weight
while circulating at the slow pump rate.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method

– This procedure is more complicated than
the Driller’s Method.
– In the Driller’s Method, weighted mud is
not pumped into the well until the kick has
been circulated out of the well.
– The gas expansion is compensated for by
maintaining a constant drill pipe pressure
while circulating the kick out.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method

– When weighted mud is pumped into the
well, the casing pressure is held constant
until the weighted mud reaches the bit.
– This compensates for the changing
hydrostatic pressure in the drill pipe.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method
– In the Wait-and-Weight Method, gas is expanding
in the annulus while the hydrostatic pressure is
increasing in the drill pipe.
– This requires that the pump pressure needed for
maintaining a constant bottom-hole pressure must
change as the fluid is circulated.
– A chart of the scheduled pump or drill pipe
pressure changes simplifies the kill procedure and
reduces the chance of error.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method

– The pressure schedule or graph
determines the pump pressure while the
kill mud is being pumped down the drill
pipe.
– As the hydrostatic pressure in the drill pipe
increases, the pump pressure necessary
to maintain the correct bottom-hole
pressure is reduced.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method
– Well-control worksheets for the Wait-and-Weight Method
contain a pressure schedule graph.
– The schedule is drawn on standard rectangular
coordinates.
– The vertical axis is for the pump pressure and the
horizontal axis is for the pump strokes.
– At zero (0) pump strokes, plot the ICP on the pressure
scale.
– Plot the surface-to-bit strokes and plot the FCP on the
graph.
– Draw a straight line between the two points.
– It is not practical to try to maintain too fine a control on
the drill pipe pressure while killing the well.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method
– Instead, make a chart that shows the pump
pressure from the schedule at a selected stroke
interval (i.e. 100, 150, 200 etc.).
– The pump pressure is maintained according to
this pressure until the selected number of
strokes is pumped.
– The pump pressure is then reduced to the next
pressure until the stroke interval is pumped.
– This stair step fashion is continued until the kill
mud reaches the bit.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method
– At that time, the pump pressure is held constant
until the kill mud is observed at the surface.
• NOTE: The pump pressure will decrease on its own
as the kill-mud weight is pumped down the drill
pipe.
• This is due to the increase in hydrostatic pressure
in the drill pipe.
• As a result, few, if any, choke adjustments are
required while pumping kill mud down the drill pipe.
• Some adjustments will be required to account for
the changing hydrostatic pressure in the annulus
due to the intruding fluid moving up the annulus.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method

– Once the kill-weight mud reaches the bit,
the pump pressure is held constant at the
Final Circulating Pressure (FCP) until the
kill mud reaches the surface.
– This FCP is calculated with the following
equation.
FCP = RCP x kill-mud weight
original mud weight
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method
– This equation calculates the reduced circulating
pressure using the kill-mud weight as the
circulating fluid.
– The calculations for pressures through these two
sections of the circulating system are based on
turbulent pressure losses and energy changes.
– Since the only significant change to the drilling
fluid properties used to calculate these pressure
losses is the mud density, the circulating pressure
is increased by the ratio of the kill-mud weight to
the original mud weight.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Method

– The Initial Circulating Pressure (ICP) is
calculated the same way as in the Driller’s
Method:
ICP = RCP + SIDPP
– The pressure schedule is drawn using the
ICP, FCP and the surface to- bit strokes.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Procedure
– Shut the well in and record the pertinent kick
information.
– Calculate the kill-weight mud.
– Begin increasing the mud weight in the surface
pits to the kill-weight mud.
– Calculate the ICP.
– Calculate the FCP.
– Calculate the surface-to-bit strokes.
– Construct a pressure schedule.
– Open the adjustable choke and start pumping at
the pre-selected slow pump rate.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Procedure
– Adjust the choke to obtain a pump pressure equal
to the ICP.
– Circulate out the kick following the pressure
schedule using the adjustable choke.
– Maintain a constant pump rate throughout the
– circulating process.
– Maintain the mud weight in the surface system at
the kill-mud weight.
– Once the kill mud reaches the bit, maintain the
FCP until the kill mud is observed at the surface.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Wait-and-Weight Procedure
– Stop pumping and shut the well in to
check for pressures.
– If shut-in pressures exist, additional mud
weight and circulation will be required.
– If no shut-in pressures exist, the well is
under control.
– At this time, one or two circulations can be
made to condition the mud and increase
the mud weight to provide a trip margin.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Circulate-and-Weight Method
– The Circulate-and-Weight (Concurrent) Method is
used to circulate the kick out of the hole while
increasing the density of the drilling fluid gradually
to the kill-mud weight.
– The well is shut in only long enough to obtain the
pertinent information about the kick situation.
– The calculations and techniques used in the Wait-
and-Weight Method are used in the Circulate-and-
Weight (Concurrent) Method.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Circulate-and-Weight Method

– Start circulating with the initial circulating
pressure and begin adding barite to the
system until you reach the kill-weight mud.
– This method uses a gradual increase in
mud weight as the kick is circulated out.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Circulate-and-Weight Method
– The Circulate-and-Weight (Concurrent) Method is
more complex than either the Driller’s Method or
the Wait-and- Weight Method due to the various
densities of drilling fluid in the drill pipe.
– The number of different densities and the volumes
of each depends upon the mixing capability and
circulating rate of the drilling rig used.
– A complicated pressure schedule is necessary, as
is a precise knowledge of when a mud density
was achieved and pumped down the drill pipe.
– Excellent communications between the choke
operator and the mud pits is required.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Circulate-and-Weight Method
– A pressure schedule similar to that of the Wait-
and-Weight Method must be developed.
– The difference between the schedules is that the
circulating pressure will be plotted vs. the mud
weight.
– Use the Y-axis for the pressure and the X-axis for
the mud weight.
– Three calculations will be required to complete the
schedule:
• Kill-mud weight, ICP and FCP.
– The equations for these are the same as for the
Wait-and-Weight Method.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Circulate-and-Weight Method
– To construct the schedule, plot the ICP at the
original mud weight.
– Then, plot the FCP at the kill-mud weight.
– Use a straight edge to connect the two points.
– Start circulating at the reduced circulating rate.
– Adjust the choke to reach the ICP.
– While circulating, begin increasing the density of
the mud in the pits.
– When an increase of 0.1 lb/gal is achieved in the
pits, determine the time it will take to reach the bit.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The Circulate-and-Weight Method
– When this density reaches the bit, decrease the
circulating pressure to the value associated with
the density on the pressure schedule.
– Maintain this pressure until a new density reaches
the bit.
– At this time, reduce the pressure according to the
pressure schedule.
– Continue this process until the mud weight at the
bit has been increased to the kill-mud weight.
– Maintain the FCP until the kill-mud weight has
been observed at the surface.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• The three methods outlined in this chapter have
advantages and disadvantages.
• Knowing the specifics about the well will
determine the appropriate method to be
successful in circulating the intruding fluid out
of the well and circulating the kill-mud into it.
• A brief list of advantages and disadvantages for
each method is listed below.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Driller’s Method
– Advantages
• Involves a minimal number of calculations (3).
• A simple procedure that can be understood by most
rig crews.
• Removes the intruding fluid from the well in a
minimum amount of time.
– Disadvantages
• Requires two circulations to kill the well.
• Subjects the casing shoe to the maximum amount
of pressure due to no additional hydrostatic
pressure from additional mud weight.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Wait-and-Weight Method
– Advantages
• Kills the well in one circulation.
• Subjects the casing shoe to the minimum
amount of pressure due to additional
hydrostatic pressure from the mud weight
increase.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Wait-and-Weight Method cont
– Disadvantages
• The well is shut in for a long period of time with no
circulation.
– A gas kick will migrate up the hole, increasing the pressure, unless
pressures are monitored constantly.
– Fluids such as saltwater will contaminate the fluid, causing increases
in fluid loss. This, in turn, increases the possibility of sticking the
drillstring.
– A gas kick in oil- or synthetic-base fluid can strip the barite from the
fluid due to the solubility of gas in the base fluid.
– Gas changes phases and acts as a liquid when it solubilizes in the oil-
base mud.
– This dilutes the fluid and may reduce the viscosity enough to allow
weight material to settle and plug the annulus.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Wait-and-Weight Method cont

– Disadvantages
• Requires more calculations than the Driller’s
Method.
• Requires sufficient supplies of weight material
and a good mixing system to maintain the
density as the fluid is circulated.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Concurrent Method
– Advantages
• Removes the intruding fluid in a minimum
amount of time.
• Subjects the casing shoe to a reduced
pressure due to increasing hydrostatic
pressure.
• Weight-up can be adjusted as weight material
supplies allow.
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Pressure Control – Well Control Procedures

• Concurrent Method
– Disadvantages
• Requires a complex pressure schedule.
• The location of the incrementally increased
mud densities must be known on a continuous
basis to determine the pressure schedule.
• Requires more than one circulation to kill the
well.
• Due to the drawn out method for weighting up,
the time required could take two or more
circulations.