9:L

ess
onOv
erv
iew
Pr
int

L
ear
nin
gObj
ect
ive
s

Byt
hee
ndo
fth
isl
ess
on,y
ous
hou
ldbeabl
eto
:

 des
cribeanddisc
u s
sthef i
vemaj o
rs y
stemsofadr i
ll
in
gr i
g:
o thePowerSy st
em,
o theHoist
ingSystem,
o theCircul
ati
onSy st
em,
o theRotarySystem,and
o theWe l
lCo n
trolSyste
m( Blo
wo u
tPr e
venti
onSystem);
 di
scussthero
leoft h
esesystemsinthedril
li
ngofoil
an dgaswel
ls
;
 l
i
stt h
es u
b-systemsthatcomp r
isethesefi
vemajorsystems;
 des
cribethei
mp ort
ants u
b-systemsont h
edr i
l
li
ngrig;
 di
scussthedri
l
li
ngp roc
e s
san dhowr i
gactiv
iti
esandsystemsi
nte
rac
tdu
rin
gth
is
p
roc
ess

9.
1:I
ntr
odu
cti
on
I
nt h
el astless
on,welearnedabo utRi
gCo ntract
s,theRigCrew,andDiff
erentDri
ll
ingRig
s.
I
nt h
islesson,wewill
conti
n ueourdisc
ussi
o nsofthedri
ll
ingri
gan dstar
tadi s
cussi
onon
thedril
li
ngp roce
ss.I
nL e
ss o
n8 ,wesawt hattherearediffe
rentonshor
ean doff
shore
dri
ll
ingrigs.Whil
etheserigshavediffer
en tappl
icat
ionsandthereareprosandconsfor
each,thereareman ysi
milarit
ies.Wewillconti
nueourdiscu
ssi
ono ndri
ll
i
ngr i
gswit
ht h
ese
si
mil
ar i
ti
e s
.

9.
2:Maj
orSy
stemso
naDr
il
li
ngRi
g

Whil
ether
earediffe
rentt
ypesofdr
il
li
ngrigs,thes
eri
gsobvi
ousl
ysharemanysi
mil
ari
ti
es
s
inceth
etasksthatthe
yperf
ormareiden
tical.I
npart
icu
lar
,all
mo der
nhydr
o c
arbon
ro
taryri
gscont
ainfi
vemainsys
tems
.Theses yst
emsare:

 t
hePo
we rSystem
 t
heHoi
sti
n gSyst
em
 t
heRot
ar ySyst
em
 t
heCi
rculati
onSyst
em
 t
heWellContro
lSyste
m(Bl
owo
utPr
eve
nti
onSy
ste
m)

Thes
esy
stemsares
howni
nFi
gure9.
01.I
naddi
ti
on,Fi
gur
e9.
02s
howsamo
rede
tai
l
ed
sc
hemat
icdi
agramofaro
tar
ytabl
e,l
andri
g.
F
igu
re9.
01:
Maj
orSy
ste
msi
naMo
der
nRo
tar
yRi
g

So
urc
e:Se
rin
tel
:Oi
lan
dGasPo
rtal
Dri
l
li
ngTe
chn
olo
gie
s[1
]

F
igu
re9.
02:
Sub-Sy
ste
msi
naMo
der
nRo
tar
yRi
g
 27
.de
gas
ser
1
.cr
ownbl
ock 1
4.we
igh
tin
dic
ato
r
28
.re
ser
vep
it
2.mas
t 1
5.dr
il
le
r'sc
ons
ole
29.
mudp
its
3.mo
nke
ybo
ard 1
6.do
gho
use
30.
des
ande
r
4.t
rav
eli
ngbl
ock 1
7.r
otar
yho
se
31
.de
sil
ter
5.h
ook 1
8.ac
cumu
lat
oru
nit
32.
mudp
ump
s
6.s
wiv
el 1
9.c
atwal
k
33.
muddi
sch
arge
 l
in
es
7
.el
evat
ors 20.
pip
eramp
34.
bul
kmudco
mpo
nen
ts
8
.ke
ll
y 21
.pi
per
ack
sto
rage
9.ke
ll
ybu
shi
ng 22.
subs
tru
ctu
re
35.
mudh
ous
e
1
0.mas
terbu
shi
ng 23.
mudr
etu
rnl
i
ne
36.
wat
ert
ank
1
1.mo
use
hol
e 24.
shal
esh
ake
r
37
.fu
els
tor
age
 1
2.r
ath
ole 25.
cho
keman
ifo
ld 38
.en
gin
esan
dge
ner
ato
rs

13.drawworks 26.mudgassep
erat
or 39.
dri
l
li
ngl
i
ne
So
urce:Ser
int
el:Oi
lan
dGasPo
rtal- 
Dri
ll
in
gTechno
logi
es[
1]

9.
2.1
:Th
ePo
werSy
stem

Thepowers ystemonadr i
ll
ingrigpr o
videsthep owerfo
rt heothermai
n
syst
emso nther i
gan dothe
ran cil
larysystems,suchaselectr
icalsy
stems,
pumps,et
c .Thesystemtypical
lyco n
sistsofapr i
memo ver(thecomponen
to f
thepowers ys
temt hatgenerat
e stherawpo wer )andame anstotrans
mitthe
rawpowert othee n
d-u s
ec omponentso ntherig.

I
nth
edet
ail
edr
igs
che
mat
ic(
Figu
re9.
02a)
,th
epo
wers
yst
emi
sco
mpr
isedo
f:

 t
heFu
e l
Storage(
Item37)
 t
heEngi
nesandGenerat
ors(
Item38
)
Fi
gur
e9.
02a:
Powe
rSu
b-Sy
ste
msi
naMo
der
nRo
tar
yRi
g

So
urc
e:Ser
int
el:Oi
lan
dGasPo
rtal
Dri
l
li
ngTec
hno
logi
es[
1]

Hi
st o
rically,coalwasu sedt ogene ratethepo werf ordril
li
ngr i
gs ; howeve
r,
mode rndr i
ll
ingrigsuseo t
h ers ou
rceso ffuel.Ty pic
all
y,mo dernr igsar enow
runusingani nternalcombu st i
onenginewithdi eselorleasefue l.Dieseloi
lisa
petrol
e um-bas edfu el
thati sapr oductofthedi s t
il
lat
ionpr oc
es s.Ifth
er i
gis
runni
ngi nade v e
lopedf i
eld,thent hefiel
dmayh av easmal lon-s i
t erefi
nery
th
ati suse dtodistil
lthedie s
e lfuel
.Iftherigisdr il
li
ngane xplo ration,
appraisal,orde l
ineati
onwe l
l,thent h
efuelwi l
l n
e edtobedel i
v ere dfroman
externals o
u r
c eands tor
edo n-si
te.

Leasefuelistypical
lyproducedn aturalgas.Asweh avele
arned,naturalgasi
s
alwaysproducedal o
n gwithcrudeo i
l.Again
,ifther i
gisdri
ll
in
gwel l
sina
develo
pedf i
e l
d,thenthef i
eldmayu set henaturalgasorNaturalGasLiqui
ds
(NGL)tof uelthepri
memo ver.Thisnaturalgasmaybepr ocessedtoremo v
e
NGLsifagasp l
an ti
sav ail
ableons i
te;mayn eedtobu rnt
hesehydrocarbon
l
iqui
ds( p
o s
sibl
es ale
spr oduct)ifagasp lantisunavai
labl
e;ormaybu rnthe
processedNGL s(butane).
Th
etr
ans
mis
sio
noft
hepo
werc
anbe:

 mechani
cal
 di
rectcurrent(DC)el
ec t
ricalgener
ator
 al
ternati
ngcu r
rent(AC)electri
calgen
erat
orwi
ths
il
ic
on-c
ont
rol
l
ed
rec
tifi
er(SCR)todir
ec tcurrent(DC)

Intheme chani
cal t
rans mi
ssion,p o
we risge neratedwi t
ht hep ri
memo verandis
transmitt
edt otheend-u sec omp onentsbyt heap pli
c ati
o nofc hainsand
sprockets(si
milartoabi cyc l
e),driv
ebel ts,drives hafts,etc.Inadi rect
current(DC)e l
ectri
cal sy
s tem,ani nt
e rnalcombu stionen gineop eratesan
electri
calgenerator(inthiscas eaDCge nerato r
)an dth eelectric
al energyi
s
transmitt
edt othemo tors,electri
cal actuators,et c
.Fi nall
y,inanal ternati
ng
current(AC)e l
ectri
cal sy
s t
e m,ani nt
e rnalcombu stione ngineop eratesan
electri
calgenerator(inthiscas eanACgen erat o
r )wh ichisconv erte
dt oDC
withas i
li
con-control
ledr ectif
ier(SCR) .AC-SCRpo wers yst
e msar et h
emo st
widelyusedpowe rsys
t emso nmo derndr il
li
ngr igs.

9.
2.2:Th
eHo
ist
ingSy
ste
m

Thehois
tin
gsystemonadril
l
ingri
gdoestheh
eavyl
i
f t
ingo
ntherig.I
tisu
sed
torai
se,lo
wer,andsus
pendthedri
ll
str
ingandl
i
ftcasi
ngandtu
bingfor
i
nstal
lati
onin
tot h
ewell
.

I
nth
edet
ail
edr
igs
che
mat
ic(
Figu
re9.
02b)t
heh
ois
tin
gsy
stemi
sco
mpr
isedo
f:

 t
heCrownBlock( I
tem1 )
 t
heMast /
Derrick(It
e m2)
 t
heMonkeyBo ard(Item3)
 t
heTraveli
ngBlock(Item4)
 t
heHook( I
tem5)
 t
heSwivel(I
tem6)
  t
heDr
awwo rks(It
em1 3)
 t
heWeightI
ndicator(
Item1
4)
 t
heDr
il
lingL
ine( I
tem39)

Fi
gur
e9.
02b:Ho
ist
ingSu
b-Sy
stemsi
naMo
der
nRo
tar
yRi
g

So
urc
e:Ser
int
el:Oi
lan
dGasPo
rtal
Dri
l
li
ngTec
hno
logi
es[
1]

Aschemati
co fthehois
tin
gs y
stemisshowninF
igure9.
03fo rakel
lydriveri
g.
I
nt h
isfi
gure,th
ede rri
ck(ormast)provi
desthest
ructur
al su
pportforthe
ho
istsyst
em.Itmu stbecapableofsup
p o
rti
ngtheenti
reloadonthesystem
i
ncludi
ngtheweightofthedril
lst
rin
g( acco
unt
ingforbuoyancyef
f ec
ts)and
anyfri
cti
onalforces.

Thecrownblo
ckan dthetravel
ingblockformaBlockandTackleSyst
emo n
th
er i
g.Thedri
lll
i
nec anbest r
u ngaspai
rso f2t
hrough12l
ines(si
xpairs
).
Thegreatert
henumbe rofli
nes( andpul
ley
s)int
heblockandtacklesys
tem,
th
egr eat
erit
sli
ftingpowerbu tattheexpenseo
fs l
owerupwardand
downwardmovementofthesy s
t em.
Fi
gur
e9.
03:Sc
hemat
ico
faHo
ist
ingSy
stemo
naMo
der
nRo
tar
yRi
g

So
urc
e:Gr
egKi
ng©Pe
nnSt
ate,l
i
cen
sedCCBY-NC-SA4.
0[2]

Thedrawwo r
kso fthehoist
ingsys
temisawi n
c hth
atr eel
sthedr i
ll
i
n gl
inei
no r
ou
tc ausi
ngthetraveli
ngblocktomo veupordo wn
.Th edrawwo r
ksisthe
co
mp onentofthehoist
ingsystemthatcons
umesen ergyfromt h
ep owersystem.
Thedrumo nthedrawwo rksisgro
ovedtoaccommo dateas p
ec i
fi
cs i
zedril
l
ing
l
in
e .Fi
gure9.04showsaph otoofanac t
ualdrawworksu s
edo nadr i
ll
in
gr i
g.

Notsh owno nthes che

mat ico rtheph o
toisthebrakingsystemo nthe
drawwo rks.Mo dernrigsu sebothame chani
calbrakean dane l
ec t
romagnetic
brake.Th ebraki n
gs yst
emi sanint
egr alparto
ft hedril
lin
gpr o
c essbecauseit
i
su sedtoc ontroltheWei ght-on-Bit(WOB)dur i
ngdr i
ll
i
n g.Thetwomo st
i
mpo rtantdr i
l
li
n gparamet er swi
thintheDr i
l
ler
‘sco n
troltomax i
mi zetheRate
ofPenet rati
on( ROP)aret hewe i
ght -on-bi
tandth erotati
onalspeedo fthe
rotarysys t
emi nRe v
oluti
o nsperMi nute(RPM).

Thewei
ght
-on
-biti
sac
hievedwit
htheweigh
tofth
edr
il
lpi
peandDri
ll
Col
lar
s,
ho
weverth
eopti
mumweigh
t-on-bi
tiso
ftenles
sth
ant
hetot
alwei
ghtoft
he
dri
l
ls t
rin
g.Thebrakeisus
edtot
akeupsomeo
fth
eweightofthedr
il
lst
rin
g,
sothatthewei
ght
-o n
-biti
son
lyafr
acti
onoft
hetot
alwei
ght.

Fi
gur
e9.
04:
Drawwo
rkso
naMo
der
nRo
tar
yRi
g

So
urce:Tr
evi
Gro
up-Dr
il
lme
cDr
il
li
ngTe
chn
olo
gies-Dr
awwo
rks-GDS&GDM
Se
ries[
3]

Al
soshowninFi
gur
e9.03ist
heSwi
vel
.Theswi
vel
isthel
inkthatco
nnectst
he
hoi
sti
ngsyst
emtotherot
arysy
ste
man dtoth
ecirc
ulat
ions
ys t
em.The
fu
nctiono
ftheswi
veli
sto:

 hol
dt hewe i
ghto fthedri
llst
ringonth ehoist
ingsys
tem( th
eh o
ist
ing
sy
st emdoe snotr o
tate)
;
 al
lowr ot
at i
ono fthedri
llstri
ngbelowi t(th
edr i
l
lstri
ng,Bott
om-Ho l
e
Assembly(BHA) ,anddri
llbi
tallrotate);
 al
lowpas sageo fthedri
ll
ingflui
dfromt h
ec i
rcul
ati
onsystem(non-
rot
at i
ng)tot hedril
lstr
ing,Botto
m-Ho l
eAs s
embly(BHA),anddri
llbi
tof
th
er otarys y
ste m.
9.
2.3:Th
eCi
rcu
lat
ionSy
ste
m

Thec i
rcu l
ationsys
temo nt herigi
st h
es ystemt hatal l
owsf orcircul
at i
ono f
theDr i
ll
ingFluidorMu ddo wnthrought h
eh oll
owdr i
ll
s t
ringandu pt hroughthe
annulars pacebetweenth edril
lstr
ingan dwel l
bor e.I
tisac ontinuouss y
s t
em
ofpumps ,distri
buti
onlin
es ,sto
raget anks,storagepi ts
,an dcleansi
n gun i
ts
thatallowst hedri
ll
i
ngf l
u i
dt oful
fi
lli
t sprimaryo bjectiv
es( th
e sewillbe
di
s c
us s
edl aterinthi
slesson).Themu dp umpsoft h ecir
culati
ons ysteman dthe
drawwo rkso fthehoi
stings y
stemsaret het wolarges tdrawso nt h
epo we r
fromt hepo wersyst
em

I
nth
edetai
ledr
igs
che
mat
ic(
Figu
re9.
02c
),t
hec
irc
ulat
ions
yst
emi
s
c
ompri
sedo
f:

 t
heSwi
vel(
Item6)
  t
heRotaryHose(It em1 7)
 t
heMudRet urnLine( I
tem23)
 t
heSh
al eShaker( Item24)
 t
heCh
o keMani f
old( I
tem25)
 t
heMudGasSepar at or(It
em26)
 t
heDegasser(It
em27 )
 t
heReservePit(I
t em28 )
 t
heMudPi t
s( I
tem29)
 t
heDesander(Item30)
 t
heDesil
ter(I
tem31 )
 t
heMudPumps( I
te m32)
 t
heMudDi sch
argeL ine(It
em33)
 t
heBul
kMudCo mpo nentsSto
rage(
Item34)
 t
heMudHo use(Item35)
 t
heWat erTank( Item36)

Fi
gur
e9.
02c
:Ci
rcu
lat
ionSy
ste
minaMo
der
nRo
tar
yRi
g

So
urc
e:Ser
int
el:Oi
lan
dGasPo
rtal
Dri
l
li
ngTec
hno
logi
es[
1]
Dril
li
ngf l
uidismixedinthemudp it
san dp umpedbyt hemu dpu mpsthroughthe
swivel
,throughtheblowo utpre
ve nter(notpartoft hec i
rculati
onsyst
e m)
downt h
eh oll
owdr i
llpi
pe,thr
oughh ol
e s(JetNozzles)inthebi t
,upthean n
ular
spacebe tweendril
lpipeandwe l
lbore(wh erei
tli
ft stherockc utti
ngs)
,tothe
surface,throughtheSoli
dsControlEquipment(ShaleSh aker,Desander,and
Desil
ter),andbackt othemudpit s
.As chemati
co ft hec i
rcu
lationsyst
emi s
showninF i
gure9.05.

I
nt h
isfigure,f
reshwat er
-baseddrill
ingfl
u i
d(mud)ismixedwit
hwat erfrom
teWat
h erTank( n
ots h
owninFigure9.05)an dcomponentsf
romt heBulkMud
ComponentsStorage(notsho
wni nFigure9.05)i
nt heMudPit.TheMu dPumps
th
enpu mpt hemudt h
r o
ughtheswivel,kel
ly
,ke l
lybush
ing,androtarytabl
e
downtot hedri
llst
ring.

Themudp u
mp sonat ypicaldri
lli
ngri
gar eei
thersi
ngle-act
ionordouble-
acti
onRe ci
procating(Posit
iveDispl
acement)Pumpswh i
chmayc ont
aintwo
pi
stons
-c yli
nders(duplexpump)o rthre
ep i
stons
-cyli
nders(tr
ipl
expu mp)
.
Fi
gure9.06s howss c
hemat i
cso fasi
nglepis
ton-cyl
i
nde rin(
A)as i
ngle-acti
on
and(B)ado uble-actio
nr ecipr
o c
ati
ngpu mp.

I
nt hesepumps,thep os
iti
vepr es
sureandn egat
ivepr e
ssure(s u
ctio
n)inthe
cyl
indercausethev alv
estoo penandc l
ose(note:thevalv
esi ntheschemati
c
ares i
mplerepres
e n
t ati
onsoft h
eac t
ualvalves
).Du etotheh i
ghv i
sco
sityof
th
edr il
li
ngflui
d,theinletsi
deo fth
epu mpmayr eq
uireaCh argePumpt okeep
fl
uidsmov i
ngint
ot hecyli
ndersathighpressuresandt opreventCavit
ationi
n
th
epu mp.
Fi
gur
e9.
05:Sc
hemat
ico
fth
eCi
rcu
lat
ionSy
stemo
naMo
der
nRo
tar
yRi
g

So
urc
e:Gr
egKi
ng©Pe
nnSt
ate,l
i
cen
sedCCBY-NC-SA4.
0[2]
Fi
gure9.06:
Schemati
co faPi
sto
n-Cyl
i
nderi
na(
A)Si
ngl
e-Ac
tio
nan
d(B)
Doubl
e-Acti
onReci
procati
ngMudPump

So
urc
e:Gr
egKi
ng©Pe
nnSt
ate,l
i
cen
sedCCBY-NC-SA4.
0[2]

Fromt h
emu dpump s
,thedri
lli
ngflu
idgo e
st otheswivel
,th
roughtheblowo u
t
preventer
,anddownt hehol
lowdril
lstri
ngan dbottom-hol
eassembly.The
dri
ll
ingflui
dthengoesthro
ughj e
tn oz
zlesinthedril
lbit
;atwhichpoi
n t
,it
beginsi
tsretu
rnt othesur
face.Thedr i
ll
ingflu
idtravel
supthean n
ularspace
betweenthedril
lpipeandthewell
bore,picki
ngu pandcarryi
ngthedr i
ll
cutti
ngsupthehole.

Oncet hedrill
ingf l
uidreachesthesurface,itgoesthroughthemudr etur
nline
toth egas-mu dseparatorandthes o
lidscontrolequ
ipmen t
.Thesh aleshakeris
wher ethelar gecuttin
gsf romtheretu r
ningdril
li
ngfluidareremov ed.The
shal
es hake risas etofv i
brati
ngme shs cr
eensthatal l
owthemu dt opass
throughwh i
lef il
teri
ngo utcutt
ingsofdifferentsi
zeats creenscree nmesh
si
zes .AMu dloggero raWel l
-SiteGeo l
ogis
tmaybes tati
onedatth es h
ale
shakert oan alyzethec u
ttin
gstode terminetheli
thol
o gyoftheroc kandt h
e
depthwi t
hint heStratigraphi
cCo l
umnatwh i
chthewel li
scurrent
lybe ing
dril
led.
Thedril
li
ngflu
idt h
e npassesthroughtheDes
anderandDes i
lt
er.Thes
ear e
hydroc
yclon
eswh ichus
ec e ntr
ifu
gal f
orcest
os ep
ar at
ethesmall
ersol
idsfrom
thedri
ll
ingfl
uid.Thedesan dertypi
call
yremovessoli
dswit
hadiameterinthe
rangeof45–7 4μm,wh i
l
et h
edes i
lt
erremovessol
idswit
hadiameterinthe
rangeof15–44μm.

Thedr i
l
lingfl
uidi
sthensentthroughadegass
ert oremo vean ygasbubbl
es
thathavebe enpi
ckedupduringtheci
rcul
atio
n.Th esegas sesmayincl
ude
naturalgasfromthesubsurf
aceo rai
racquir
eddu ri
n gt hesol
idscont
rol
.
Typic
ally,th
edegasserisapieceofequi
pmentthatsu bjectsthedri
ll
ingf
lui
d
tosli
ghtv ac
uumtoc aus
ethegast oexpandforextrac t
ion.Thedril
li
ngfl
uidi
s
thenreturnedtothemudpittostartth
ec i
rcul
ationpr ocessoveragai
n.

Weh avediscus
sedthemec h
an i
csofhowt hedril
li
ngflu
idi
sc i
rcu
latedduring
th
edr il
li
ngprocess
,butweh avenotdiscu
ssedt herol
eofthedri
ll
in
gf l
uid.The
ter
m“ mud”i
so f
tenusedinoilandgaswelldril
li
ngbecaus
eh i
sto
rical
lythe
mostc ommonwater-baseddril
li
ngflui
dswe r
emi xtu
resofwaterandf i
nely
ground,bent
onit
ec l
ayswhich,i
nfact,aremu ds.

Th
erear
eman
yobj
ect
ive
sfo
rus
ingadr
il
li
ngf
lui
d.Th
esei
ncl
ude
:

 l
iftdr il
l cu
t ti
ngsf romt hebo ttomo ft hewe llboret ot hes urf
ace ;
 suspen dc utti
ngst op reventt hemf romf alli
n gdown h oleifcircul
atio
nis
temp orar i
lyc eased;
 releaset hec uttingswh ent heyar ebr o ugh tt othes u rface;
 stabil
izet hebo re hol
edu ringdr i
lli
n go per ations( exer th y
drostaticor
hydrody nami cpr essureont hebo r eholet opr eventr oc kcav i
ngintothe
we l
lbore );
 contro lformat io
np or
epr es sur
e st oas su redes iredwel lcontro
l (
apply
hydros tati
can dh y drodynami cpre ssur esi ne xcesso ft hef or
mat i
onp o
r e
pressu restopr ev entflui
dsf romen ter ingt hewel lbor e);
 depo s
itani mpe r
meabl ef il
terc akeo n tot h ewellbo rewal lstofurther
preven tfluidsf r
o mpe rmeabl ef ormat i
on sf rome nteringt h
ewe ll
bore;
 minimizer eserv oi
rdamage( assur elows kinv alues)wh endr i
ll
ingthrough
ther ese r
vo i
rs ectionoft hewel l
;
 cool t
h edr i
llbitdu ri
ngdr il
lingop erat i
o ns;
 l
u bricatet hedr i
llbitdu ri
ngdr il
lingo p erat i
o ns
;
 allo
wf orpr essures i
gn al
sf romL o ggingWh il
eDr ill
ing( LWD)o r
Meas ur ementWh ileDr i
ll
ing( MWD)t o o l
st obet ran smittedtot he
surfac e(LWDan dMWDdat aar et ran smi ttedt oth es urfaceusing
pressu repu l
sesi nt h
edr il
li
n gflui
d) ;
 allo
wf orpr essures i
gn al
st obes e ntt ot hebo t
to mo ft h
ewe llto
pressu reac tuatec ertaindo wnh oleeq u i
pme nt;
 minimizee nv i
ronme ntal i
mp acto ns ubs urfac en at ural aqui
fers.
AsIst
atedearl
ier,h
isto
rical
lydri
ll
in
gflui
dswe r
emi xtu
r esofbento
niteclay,
water
,andcertai
nadditi
vestoman i
pul
atetheproperti
eso fthemud( den
s i
ty,
vi
scos
ity
,fl
uidl
o s
sproperti
es,gel
li
ngqual
it
ies,et
c.).Today,ther
ear eseveral
di
ffer
entopti
onsavail
ablefordri
ll
ingf
lui
ds.Theseincl
ude :

 water-bas
edmuds(WBM)
 oi
l-basedmu OBM)
ds(
 fo
ams
 ai
r

Ofthelis
teddr i
ll
ingflu
ids,thewat er-basedmu dsan dt heoil
-basedmu dsare
themo s
tc o
mmo n;foamdr il
li
ngan dairdr i
ll
ingcano nlybeu sedunder
speci
ali
zedc on
diti
o n
s.Oft h
et woliquidbasedmu ds ystems( water
-bas edmuds
andoil
-basedmu ds )
,water-bas edmu dsar ethemo stc o
mmo nmuds y
stem.
Theyaremo ree n
vironmentall
yf ri
endlyandar eu s
e dalmo stexcl
usivel
ytodril
l
theshall
owp or
tionsofthewe llwheref r
e s
hwat eraq uifersexis
ttomi ni
mize
anycontaminati
ont othos
eaq u i
fers.Asthisimpli
es,drill
ingflui
dscanbe–an d
ofte
nar e–s wi
tcheddu ri
ngt hecourseo fdril
li
ngop erationsinsi
nglewe l
l.

I
naddi
ti
on,water-basedmudsarec heapert h
ano i
l
-basedmu ds
,sotheyare
u
sedtoreducedri
ll
ingcost
sandc ommo nl
yr epre
sentth
e“ defau
lt”sel
ect
ion
f
oradril
li
ngflui
d.I
no th
erwords,wat er
-bas edmudsareo f
tenusedunl
ess
t
herei
sas peci
fi
creasontoswit
cht oano i
l-basedmud.

Oi
l-base dmu dsarefor
mu l
atedwithdieselo
il
,mi ner
al oi
l
,o rsynt
heti
coi
lsasa
cont
inuou sphaseandwaterasadis pers
edph aseinanemu lsi
on.I
naddit
ion
,
addi
tivess u
c hasemuls
ifi
ersandgelli
ngagent sarealsoused.Theywere
speci
fi
c all
yde vel
opedtoaddressc
e rtai
ndril
lingprobl
emse n
counter
edwith
water-bas edmu ds
.Thereasonsforusingano i
l-basedmu dincl
ude:

 dr i
ll
ingt hr oughs halest hatar es usceptibl
et os we ll
ing(inp art i
cul
ar,
highlys me ctite-richsh ales).Sh alesc ontainal argeamo un tofc l
ay
mat er i
al an dwh ent hesec laysc omei nc ontac twit hthewat erinawat er
-bas e dmu dsy st
em,t h ec l
ay smays wellcau singth es h
alest oc oll
apse
i
n toth eh ole.Sme c t
ite-r i
chs h alef ormat i
o nsar eo ftenr eferredt oas
“Gumbo ”o r“ GumboCl ay s”int h edr i
ll
ingindu stry;
 redu cingt orqu ean ddr agp roblemsi ndev iatedwel ls
.Sin ceo i
l,a
l
u brican t,isth eco nti
n uousp has ei nthemu ds ystem,t het orquean ddrag
be twe ent hedr il
lpipean dt hewe l
lborei sredu c e
dwi tho il
-bas edmu ds;
 ac hi
ev inggr eat erther mal stabi li
tyatgr eaterde pths.Oil-bas edmuds
hav ebe enf oundt oret aint heirs tabil
ity(re tainth ei
rde s i
redp ropert
ies
)
atgr eat e rdo wnh olet emp erat ures ;
 ac hi
ev inggr eat erre s
istan cet oc h emicalco ntami nation.Man y
subs tanc esf ounddo wn -h ole(s alt,CO2,H2S,et c.
)ar es olubleinwat er
.
Th eintro duc ti
ono ft heses ubs tanc esintot hewat er-bas edmu dsyst
em
 mayh aveadeleteri
ousimpactondiff
er e
n tmudpro
pertie
s(dens
ity
,
vi
scosit
y,flui
dlo
ssp ro
pe r
ties
,gell
i
ngp ropert
ies
,etc.
).Thes
e
subs
tan cesarenotsol
ubleinoil
and,therefor
e,havewil
lnoti
mpactoi
l
-
basedmu dpropert
ies.

Thefirstthreebul
letpoin
tsint h
isli
starebec omingmorec ommonprobl
emsin
theoilandgasindustr
y.Thes hal
ebo omintheU. S.hasmadelonghori
zont
al
secti
onsinshalereserv
oirstargetsfordri
l
li
n g.Inadditi
on,devi
atedwel
lsan
d
deeperwe l
lsarealsobecomingmo recommon.F orthesereasons
,theuseofoi
l
-basedmu dsisals
obe comin
gmo recommon.

Th
erear
eal
sos
ever
aldi
sadv
ant
ageswi
tho
il
-bas
edmu
ds.Th
esei
ncl
ude:

 hi
ghin it
ial cost s.Of teninanac tivedr il
li
ngc amp aign ,ifc ert ai
ndep th
i
nterv al
sr eq uireano il-bas e dmu d,t hemu di ss tore dan dr eu s
e din
di
ffer entwe lls;
 sl
owr at eso fp en etration .His tori
c al
ly,ther at eo fp en etrat ionh asbe en
st
at i
st i
callys lowe rf oro i
l-bas edmu dsthani ti sforwat er-bas edmu ds.
Ther ateo fp en et rati
o nist hes p
ee datwh i
c ht hedr i
lli
ngp roc ess
progre s
se s(de pthv ersust ime )an di saf unctio nofman yf ac torso ther
th
anmu dt yp e,in cluding:we i
gh tonbi t
,RPM,l i
t hol
o giesbei n gdr il
led
th
ro ugh,bitt y pe ,bitwear ,e tc.;
 envir
o nme ntal co nc erns:
o o ilcont ami nat i
ono fs u bsurfac ef reshwat eraq ui
f ers,
o c leaningan ddisp o
s al ofo i
lc ontaminat edr o ckc uttings ;
 ki
ckde tection .Ifgase nter st hewe l
lbore(aKi ck),itmaygoi n
t osoluti
on
i
nth eo i
linde epe r,h i
gh erp re ssures ectionso ft hewel lan dc omeo utof
sol
utionc losert ot hesu rfac e;
 for
mat i
one v aluat ion.So mer eadin gsfro mwel l l
ogso rc orean alysismay
bes ensi
tivet oo i
l enter i
ngt h ef ormat ionofin tere st( forex ampl e,ifoi
l
fr
omt heo il
-bas e dmu de n ter sther eser vo
irint hen e ar-we llvici
nity,
th
ent ool
su se dt ode t
e cto ilsat urationmayr eadar tifi
c i
allyh igh).

Otherdr i
ll
ingf lui
dscu r
r ent
lyinu sethatwe reli
stedear l
ierarefoamsandair.
Inthec ontexto fdril
li
ngf l
uids,foamsh avethec ons
istencyofshavin
gc r
eam.
Bothfo aman dairdril
li
n gareu sedinh ardrockregions,suchasintheRocky
Mo u
n tains
,wh eredri
llbitsrende rthedril
lcutti
ngstodu st.Thus
,thefoamor
aironlyn eedst oli
ftthisdustt othes u
r f
ace.Airdril
li
ngi sal
waysan
envi
r o
n ment all
yf r
iendl
yo ptio
ni fitisappli
cablebecau seenvi
ronmental
contami n
atio nbyairisn everani ssu
e .

9.
2.4:Th
eRo
tar
ySy
ste
m
Therotar
ys ys
temo nadr il
li
ngri
gisthesys
temt h
atcausest
h edri
l
lbi
trotate
atthebott
omo fwe l
lbore.Wehavediscu
ssedsomecomponen
t soft
herot
ar y
sys
temwh enwediscussedrotar
yt abl
eandtop-dri
veri
gs,butwehavenotyet
di
scuss
edt h
ee nt
ires y
stem.

I
nth
edet
ail
edr
igs
che
mat
ic(
Figu
re9.
02d)
,th
ero
tar
ysy
stemi
sco
mpr
isedo
f:

 theSwiv el(Item6)
 theKe l
ly( It
em8 )–t h ef u
n cti
onalityonat op-dri
v eri
gish an
dledbyth
e
top-drive
 theKe l
lyBus hing( I
tem9)–t hef u n
c t
ionali
tyonat op-dri
ver i
gis
handledbyt het op-dr ive
 theMas t erBus hing( It
e m1 0)–t hef unc
t i
onal
ityonat op-dri
verigi
s
handledbyt het op-dr ive
 theRo t
ar yTabl e(no tsh owninFi gure9.02d)–t h
ef unct
ionali
tyonatop
-driver i
gi shan dledbyt het o
p -drive
 theMo us ehole(Item1 1)–u sedt oc onnectsi
nglejoin
tsonat op-dri
veor
rotaryt abler i
g
 theRatHo l
e( I
tem1 2)
 theRo t
ar yHo se( I
tem1 7)
 theDr i
llSt ri
ng( nots h
owni nFigu re9.02d)
 theBo t
t om-Ho l
eAs s embly( notsh owninF i
gure9.02d)
 theDr i
llBit(n ots howni nF i
gure9. 02d)
Fi
gur
e9.
02d:
Rot
arySy
stemi
naMo
der
nRo
tar
yRi
g

So
urc
e:Ser
int
el:Oi
lan
dGasPo
rtal
Dri
l
li
ngTec
hno
logi
es[
1]

Aschemat i
cofther ot
arysystemisshowninFi
gure9.
07.Aswecans eei
n
Fi
gure9.07,therotarysyste
ms haresmanycomponent
switht
hec i
rcul
ati
on
sy
s t
em.Th i
sisbecauseintherotarysyst
em,thes
ec o
mponent
sr o
tatein
su
pp or
to fcausi
ngt h
ebittor ot
ate,whi
leinthec
ircu
lati
onsy
stem,thes
e
componentsactasc ondu
itsforthedri
ll
ingfl
ui
d.
Fi
gure9.
07:
Sch
emat
ico
fth
eRo
tar
ySy
ste
monaMo
der
n,Co
nven
tio
nal
Rot
ary
Tabl
eRig

So
urc
e:Gr
egKi
ng©Pe
nnSt
ate,l
i
cen
sedCCBY-NC-SA4.
0[2]

I
nL esson8,wes awthattherotarytablei mpartedthetor
queforthedri
ll
st
ringinac onventi
onalrot
arytablerig,wh i
lethetop-dri
veimpart
edthis
to
rq u
eo nat op-dri
verig.Wealsosawt h atdril
lpip
ewasaddedt othedri
ll
st
ringo nejo
intatat i
meo naro t
atoryt ablerig,whi
leatop-dri
vecoul
dadd
multi
plejoi
ntso fdr
il
lpipedur
ingo n
ec on necti
onoperati
on.

TheBottom-HoleAs semblyiscompri
sedo fanybo tt
omh o
lee qui
pmentrequi
red
todril
lthecur
re ntse c
t i
onofthewe l
l.Abottom-h o
leass
embl ymaybeas
si
mpleasaDr i
ll
ingCo l
lar.Dri
ll
coll
arsares ecti
onsofheavy,thi
ckwalledpi
pe
usedtoaddwe i
ght -on-bittothedri
llstr
ing.Mo recompl
icatedbotto
m-h ol
e
assembli
esmayinc ldeJar
u s
,downhol
edirec t
ionalst
eeri
ngan dposi
ti
oning
equi
pme n
t,l
ogging-wh ile
-dril
li
ng,andmeas ure-whil
e-dr
il
lin
ge qui
pment.

Jarsar eme c
hani
c aldevi
cesthatdeli
veratr ansferofki
neti
ce ner
gyt o
anotherpieceofdo wnho
leequipmen
tast heres ul
tofanimpact.Theyar e
typi
callyusedtol
o osenapieceofdownholeeq u
ipmentwit
hani mpact(jarrin
g
acti
on )
.Yo ucanthinkofajarasc omparabletoah ammeru s
edt oloos
e ntwo
boardst h
atar enaile
dtogetherbyhitt
ingoneo ftheboardsi
nt hedir
ect i
on
opposi
teo ftheheado fthenai
l.
Attheendofthedr i
l
ls tr
ingandbot t
om-h o
leassembl yi
sthedril
lbit
.There
aremanytypesofdr i
llbi
ts,butwewi l
lfocusontwot ypesofdril
li
ngbit
s,th
e
Tri
-Cone(rRo
o l
lerCo ne)BitandFixed-Cutt
erBit.Inadditi
on,wewil
lbe
di
scussi
ngt
wov ariantsofth etr
i-conebit:t
hemill
e d-toot
hbitandtheins
ert
bi
t.All
ofthes
ebi t
sc anbec lass
ifi
edasi nthefo
llowingbull
etli
st:

 t
ri-con
ebi ts
o milled-to
othbi
ts
o insertbits
 f
ixed-cutt
e rbi
ts

Tri
-conebi
tsaret
hemo s
tcommondril
li
ngbit
san d,hi
sto
ric
ally
,havebeenthe
workh
orseofth
edril
l
ingi
ndu
stry.Ast
hen ameimpli
es,tr
i-con
ebitscont
ain
th
reecones
,eachofwhi
chcont
aincut
tingtee
th.

Thet wo-co nebi t(ane arl

yv ersi
o noft het ri
-conebit)wasi nventedby
Howar dHu ghesJr .’sf ather(Ho war dSr.).Th etri
-c o
nebi tandt hef or
mat io
n
ofth eHugh esTo olCo .(n o
wpar to fBake r-Hughes,as ubsi
diaryoft heGen eral
Electri
cCo rpor ati
on )wast hesou rceoft heHu ghesfami l
ywealth.Inc asey ou
don otknowwh oHo war dHu ghesJr .was ,hewasanawar dwinningp i
lotinthe
1920san d1 930s( holde rofs everalae r
ial speedrecordsan dsubje ctofthe
movie“ TheAv iator”),af i
lmmake r( hadc o nt
roll
inginterestofRKOSt udi
osan d
acti
v el
yp roduc eds eve ralnotables i
lentan dear l
y“ t
alkie”fil
ms )
,ai r
plane
desi
gn er(own ero fHu ghesAircraf t–c ontrac t
orf o
rt hewo rl
d’slargest
woode nairp l
ane ,“
Th eSpr uceGo ose,”withHo war dasi t
so nl
ypilotin1947),
andabi ll
ionairebyt he1 970san d1 980s( backwh enabi ll
iondoll
ar shads o
me
value).

Inamill
ed-to
othbit,theteet
ho fth
ebitaremac hi
ne-mill
edalongwi
ththe
restofthecone.Theconesofthetri
-con
ebit,in
cludi
ngt hetee
th,aref
ormed
fromas i
ngl
e,soli
dp i
eceofsteel
.Anexampl
eo fami l
led-too
thbiti
ssho
wni n
Figur
e9.08.
Fi
gur
e9.
08:
Mil
led-To
othTr
i-Co
ne(
orRo
ll
er)Dr
il
li
ngBi
t

So
urc
e:bes
tdr
il
li
ngbi
ts.
com-6″NewTr
ico
neBi
t[3]

Inthi
sf igure,wecans eethatth eteethofthebi tareintr
ins
icp artsofthe
cones;th eyaremill
edfromt hes amep i
eceo fsteel.Thes
ebits,asdoal ltri
-
conebits ,dri
llt
hroughther oc
kbye xerti
ngt hefullwei
ght-on-bitono nl
ya
fewc ontac tpoi
nts(th
es harpenedt eeth
)bet weent hebi
tandt her ock.Thi
s
exertsex tremelyhi
ghlevelsofs tr
essatt heco n
tac tpoi
ntscausingther oc
kto
fai
l c
at as t
rophi
call
y(almostex plos
ivel
y).Wewi llseethi
sinaYo uTubevideo
l
ateri nt heles
son.

Onedes i
gnfeatureo fthetri-con ebiti
stheinter
ac t
ionoft h
et eethont h
e
dif
ferentc o
neshelpingtor emov eanysmallcutti
ngsors t
ickyshales/cl
ays
(GumboSh al
es)thatmayge tlodge dbetweentheteethan dreducet he
effi
ci
e ncyofthebit.Thisphenome n
onofc ut
tin
gsan dclaysgettin
gl odged
betweenbitteethisr e
fer r
edt oasBi tBall
i
ngandr esul
tsins l
owerRat es-of-
Penetrati
on(ROP)o fthedr i
lli
ngpr ocess
.Theself-cl
ean i
ngac t
iono ftheteet
h
i
nat ri-conebi
tisde si
gn edtor educethebitball
ing.
Mil
led-to
othtr i
-con
ebitsaremain
lyusedfordri
ll
ingthro
ughsoftr
ock
for
mat i
ons.Thisi
sbecause
,nomatterhowstron
gt hesteelu
sedi
nthe
cons
t r
ucti
ono fthecon
e,hardro
ckc ancau
seex ce
ssiv
ewe aranddegr
adat
ion
oftheteeth.

I
nsertdri
llbi
ts,o
ntheo t
herhand,arebit
sinwhi
chthet
eet
haremadefrom
materi
alsstr
ongerthanthes
teelusedinthec
oneandarei
nser
tedi
ntoc
one.
Exampl
eo fin
serttr
i-conebi
tsareshowninFi
gure9.
09.

Fi
gur
e9.
09:I
nser
tTr
i-Co
ne(
orRo
ll
er)Dr
il
li
ngBi
t

So
urc
e:I
nves
torOpi
ni
on-Dr
il
lBi
tsi
nOi
lan
dGasMar
ket201
9–2025

Wh i
letheinsertbitshowni nFigure9.09mays uperfi
ciall
ylookli
kethemi l
led-
toothbit
; c
are fu
linspectio
nr evealsthatth eteethinthei ns
ertbitarenot
mill
edbutar einsert
edi ntot h
ec one.Typicall
y,thetee thinanins
ertbitar e
madef romt u
n gst
en-c arbidesteel(TungstenCar bi
deI nsertbi
to rTCIbit
)
whichisamu chstronge rallo
yo fsteelthant heal
loysu sedforthecones.Other
desi
gnf eaturesincl
ude doninsertbitsincl
u dethelengthan dtheshapeoft he
teeth(short
,r ou
nd-sh apedt eethforhardr ockfo r
mat ionsorlo
ng,chisel
-
s
hapedteet
hsoftf
ormati
ons
).Th
esedesi
gnsall
owforarangeofli
tho
logi
es
f
orthesebi
tst
obeu s
ed:i
nhardroc
kformati
onsth
atwo ul
dbeinappr
opri
ate
f
ormill
ed-t
oot
hbitsori
nsof
trockfor
mation
sforexten
dedbit
-lif
e.

Wh i
l
et hei
nsertbithel
pstoallev
iatetheissu
e swithtoot
h-wear,thereisan
addi
tional
so u
rceofwe art
h atcanshortenthelifeofadril
li
ngbit.Duetothe
movingpartsass
o ci
atedwi
that ri-con
e( orroll
er)bit
,thebitrequi
resa
beari
n gwherethemo v
ingpartsmeetan dmov epastoneanothe
r .Thus
,the
wearo nth
ebe ari
ngsmayal soshort
enthelifeoft h
ebit.

Fi
xedc ut
terbi
tsarebi t
st hatdonotc o
ntai
nanymo vi
ngparts.Thes ebitsare
desi
gnedtodri
llbyshearingands cr
apingtherockfo
rmationsaso ppo s
edto
thegougi
ngacti
onu s
edbyat ri-c
on ebi
t.Thes
ebitstypi
call
yusein dustri
all
y
madediamondsfortheteethan darealsoknownasPolycry
stall
ineDi amond
Compact(PDC)bit
s.Figure9.10showsane x
amp l
eofaPDCbi t.

Fi
gur
e9.
10:Po
lyc
rys
tal
l
ineDi
amo
ndCo
mpac
t(PDC)
,Fi
xedCu
tterDr
il
li
ngBi
t

So
urc
e:Dr
il
li
ngCo
ntr
act
or-Bi
tofbes
tfi
t[4]
ThePDCbi tsar eu s
e dtodr i
l
l t
h r
oughv eryhar drockformat ion
so rfor
extendedbit-lifedril
li
ng.Thesebi t
sh aveal argeini
ti
al costbutbe c
auseo f
thehardt eethan dlacko fanymo vin
gpar t
sh avealongerbi t-l
ife.Oner ece
nt
i
n nov
ationforPDCbi tsingeologi
cbas inswithman yshall
ow( short-footage)
dril
lsi
tesisth eabili
tytor entthedril
l bitfr
o mthedrill
ingco mpan yrather
thantop ur
ch aseitf romat oolcompan y.Thi
si nn
ovati
o nall
o wsfo ran
operati
ngc omp anyt orentthebitan dt ouseitforthef o
o t
aget h atthey
requi
rebe forer el
inqui
shingittoan o
th eroperatingcompan y.

Weh avediscu
ssedthatthetri-conebi tsan dthefi
xedcut
terbit
shave
di
fferentdri
ll
ingacti
ons.HereisaYo uTu bevi
deo,"Dri
l
lBit
s-OilandGas
Dri
ll
i
n g:FromPlann
ingtoProdu c
t i
on "(3:26),t
hatdemonst
ratesthe
di
fferencesoftheexpl
osive
,go ugi
n g,andc rushi
ngacti
onofthetri
-co
nebit
andthescrapingacti
onofthef i
x edc utt
erbi t
s:
9.
2.5:Th
eWe
llCo
ntr
olSy
ste
m(Bl
owo
utPr
even
tio
nSy
stem)

TheWe llControlSy s
t emo rtheBl owo utPr ev ent i
onSy st
emo nadr ill
i
ngr igis
thesystemt hatpr even tsth eun c
o ntrolled,c at ast
ro phi
cr eleas eofh i
gh -
press
u r
ef l
u i
ds(o i
l,gas ,ors altwat er )f roms ubsurfacef ormat i
ons.Th ese
uncontrol
ledr el
eas eso ff ormat i
onf luidsar er efer
r edtoasBl o wouts.Du eto
theexplosi
ven atureo foilan dgas ,an ys parko nthes urfacec anr esultinthe
i
gniti
ono fthef l
uidsan danex plosi
ono nt her ig.Ane xpl
os i
vebl o woutan dt he
fai
lureoft heWe llCo ntrolSy stemwer et hec au s
eso ftheMo co ndoWel l
dis
astert h
atki l
lede leve no fther igc rewo nt heDe epWat erHo ri
zonRi go n
Apri
l20,201 0an dr esu l
tedi n35,000t o60, 000bbl /
dayo fc ru deo i
l t
os pilli
nto
theGulfofMex i
co.Wewi lldiscusst h
isl ateri nt helesson.

I
nth
edetai
ledr
igs
che
mat
ic(
Figu
re9.
02e)
,th
ewe
llc
ont
rol
sys
temi
s
c
ompri
sedo
f:

 t
heAccumulat
o r(It
e m1
8)
 t
heBl
owo utPreventer(
nots
howni
nFi
gur
e9.
02e)

Fi
gur
e9.
02e
:Wel
lCo
ntr
olSy
stemi
naMo
der
nRo
tar
yRi
g
So
urc
e:Ser
int
el:Oi
lan
dGasPo
rtal
Dri
l
li
ngTec
hno
logi
es[
1]

Apic
tur faBl
eo o
wo utPr
event
er(
BOP)
,pr
ono
unc
ed“
B-O-P”n
ot“
bop
”,i
s
sh
owninFi
gur
e9.11
.

Fi
gur
e9.
11:Bl
owo
utPr
even
ter

So
urc
e:Gu
lfo
fMex
icoOi
lSpi
l
lBl
og-Bl
owo
utPr
even
terEv
iden
ce[
2]

Theblowou tpre ventersarethepr i

nci
palpieceofequipmen tinthewell
co nt
rol
syst
e mandar eo p
e ratedhydrauli
call
y;pr
essurize
df l
u i
dsar eusedtoope r
ate
pi
stonsan dcylinderst oopenorc l
osethevalvesontheBOP.Th eAccumulator
s
(I
tem1 8inF i
gur e9.02)areu s
e dtostorepressuri
zed,n on
-ex pl
osi
vegasan d
pressur
izedh ydraulicflui
dtor unthehydraul
icssystemso ntherig.The
accumulatorss toree nou
ghc o
mp ressedenergytooper atetheblowout
preventerseve nifth ePowerSystemo ftherigisnotop er
at i
ng.

Theblowoutpr
e v
e n
terisalargesys
temofval
veseachofwh i
chiscapabl
eof
i
solati
ngthesubsurf
aceo fth
ewe l
lfro
mtherigtopr
ovidecontr
o l
overthe
well
.Theseval
vesar etyp
ical
lyst
ackedassho
wnintheF i
gure9.
11ands i
t
belowtheri
gflooronlandwell
sorsomeoff
shorewel
ls
;o rth
eymays i
to nth
e
seabedonotheroffsho
rewe l
ls
.
As
chemat
icdi
agr
amo
fabl
owo
utpr
even
teri
ssh
owni
nFi
gur
e9.
12.

Fi
gur
e9.
12:Sc
hemat
icDi
agr
amo
faBl
owo
utPr
even
ter

So
urce:
OGES-Kn
owl
edgeMar
ketf
orOi
l&GasBOPPr
ess
ureTe
sti
ng
Pr
ocedur
e[3]

Fi
gure9.1
2s h
owst hreetypeofv al
ves( thereareo t
hers)–anAn nul
ar
Preven
ter,Bl
indRams,andSh earRams .TheAnn u
larp r
eventeri
sthering-
sh
apedpieceofeq u
ipmentonth etopo ftheBOPi nFigure9.11
.Asthename
i
mp l
i
es,theannul
arp rev
enterisu sedtop reventfl
owt hroughth
ean nu
lar
spacebet
we e
nt hedri
llst
ringorc asin
gan dt heannularprevent
er.The
annularpreventercanalsobeusedfornon-cyli
ndri
calpi
pe,suc
hast hekel
ly
,
oropenh ol
e.Theann u
larprevent
ercon s
ist
so fadough
n u
ts h
apedbladder
thatwh eni
nt h
eo penposi
tio
nallo
wst hedri
llpip
etorotatebutinth
ec l
osed
posi
tionseal
st h
ean nul
us.Fi
gure9.1
3p rovi
desas c
hematicoftheannul
ar
preventer.

Fi
gur
e9.
13:Sc
hemat
icDi
agr
amo
fanAn
nul
arPr
eve
nter

Sourc
e:Wi
kip
edi
a-Bl
owo
utpr
even
ter[
4],Egmas
on[
5]l
i
cen
sedCCBY-SA3.
0
[6]

I
nFigure9.13,thebluearear epres
entsthedo ughnut-shapedbladder.As
menti
onedear l
ier,i
nt heopenp o
sit
ion,(
A),thedr i
llpip
ec anber otatedorcan
berunupo rdown ;whil
einthec l
osedposi
tion,(
B),th ebladderpushesout,
cl
osi
ngo f
ft hedrill
pipe,kel
l
y ,oropenhole.Thebladde rbasedsealingel
ement
i
snotasef fecti
veast heramt ypeseali
nge l
eme n
ts; however,al
mo stall
bl
owoutprev en
ters tacksi
ncludeatleasto n
ean nul
arpr eventer.

Schemati
cso
ftheram-ty
peprev
enter
s:th
ebli
ndr
ams ,t
heshearr
ams ,and
th
epi per
ams(p
iperamsaren
otsho
wni nFi
gur
e9.
12)aresh
owninFigu
r e9.
14.
Fi
gur
e9.
14:Sc
hemat
icDi
agr
amso
fRam-Ty
pePr
even
ter
s

So
urc
e:Gr
egKi
ng©Pe
nnSt
ate,l
i
cen
sedCCBY-NC-SA4.
0[7]

Th
isf
igu
res
howst
hat
:

 bl
indr amsisolatebo ththepipeandt heannu
larspacebyc ru
shi
ngthe
pi
pean ditpi
nc hin
g-o ffwhenclos
ed;
 sh
earr amsisolatebo ththepi
pean dtheannularspacebysheari
ng-o
ff
th
ep i
pewh enc l
o s
ed;
 bl
inds hearramsi solateboththepipeandthean nu
larspacebyshear
ing
-offan dc r
ushingt h
epi pewhenclosed;
 pi
per amsi sol
at ethean nul
arspacebywr appi
n garou
n dth
ep i
pewhen
cl
osed.

Ablowoutbegi
n sasaKick( e
ntryofs
ubsurfac
eformat
ionfl
ui
dsintot h
e
well
bor
e).Wh atdist
inguis
hesakickfr
omabl owo
utist
hatakickc anbe
cont
rol
ledwh i
leablowoutisuncon
tro
ll
able.Wehaveal
readydi
s c
us s
edt woof
thedef
en s
esagainstkickswhenwedisc
usseddri
l
li
ngfl
uidswhenwel i
stedth
e
obje
cti
veso fthedri
ll
ingflui
d:

 cont
rolfor
matio
np o
repr essur
e stoassuredesi
redwellcontr
ol(appl
y
hydr
ostati
candhydrodynamicpressur
esine xc
es softhefor
mationpore
pres
surestopr
eventflui
dsfromen teri
ngt h
ewel l
bore)
;
 depos
itanimpe
rmeablefilt
erc akeontothewellborewall
stofurther
prev
entflui
dsfr
ompe rmeablef or
mationsfrome nt
erin
gt h
ewe l
lbore.

I
nthef i
rstobject i
ver e-quotedabo ve,ifwec anke epthepressureexertedby
th
edr i
ll
ingmu dgr eatert hanthepor ep res
sure,thenwekn owt hatflui
dswill
fl
owint hedirec
t i
ono ft h
emu dtothef ormation.Thi
sc annotalwaysbe
achi
eved.Fore xamp l
e,ifwedr i
llt
hro ughan aturalfractu
reo rifourmu d
dens
ityistoogre atan dwei nadvertentlyfractureonef or
mat i
on,thenwemay
l
oselargeq uant
itiesoft hedrill
i
ngf l
u i
di nt
ot h
ef racture(Los
tCi r
culati
on).I
n
th
issit
uat i
on,i
ns teadofh avingthef ul
l wei
ghto fthemu dcolu
mne xert
ing
pres
sureonasec
ond(po
rousandpermeabl
e)f
ormati
on,wemayon
lyhav
ea
fr
actio
no ft
heoi
lco
lumnhe
ightex
e r
tin
galowerpres
sureont
hatsec
ond
fo
rmation
.

I
nt heseco ndo bjecti
ver e-quotedabo ve,i
fwedep osi
tani mper eDr
meabl il
l
Cake( f
iltercake )ac r
o ssano t
h erwiseporousandperme abl
efo r
mati
on,then
foras l
ightlyUn derbalancedPr essure(dril
li
ngflui
dpr ess
urelowerth
anthe
formationp ressure)weh avecreat e
das ealbe t
weent hewell
boreandthe
formation.Agai n,thi
sisn otaFai l
safeSy s
tembecaus eatgreater
underbalanc edp res
sur es,thehigherformationpress
uresmaybeabl eto
di
splacet hedr il
lcake.

Thetwoprevi
ous
lydi
scussedmetho
dsareu
sedtohel
pprev
e ntaki
ckfrom
oc
c u
rri
ng,butasmenti
onedtheyaren
otal
wayssu
c c
ess
ful,andki
cksmayst
il
l
oc
c u
r.Thecause
sofakicki n
clu
de:

 i
n suff
ici
en tmu dweight( de ns
ity):t heh y
dr ost
at i
cp ress
u r
ee xertedby
themu dc olumnisn otgreat ert h
ant hef or mat i
onpo r
epr essur e;
 i
mp ropermu dreplaceme ntdu ringt ri
p pi
n g:wh il
et r
ippingou toftheh ol
e
mu dvolume smu stbepu mp edi nt
ot hewel lboreath ighen o
u ghr atesto
replacedr i
llpi
pebe ingr emo vedf romt h
ewe l
lbore;
 swabbing: removingdril
l pipef romt hewel lborec ancreatean egative
pressure(s uct
ion)ifthedr i
llpipeisr emo v edt o
oq uic
kly;
 cutmu d:ifgasi senteri
n gt hewe llbore,t he ni
tmaye ffectivelyreduce
thewe l
lborep ressuregr adient;
 l
o stcir
culation:asdiscus s
ede arlieriflar gev olu
meso fdr il
lin
gf lui
d
enterthes ubsurfac ei
n( 1)h i
ghp erme abilityformat i
ons,nat ural
fractures,ordr il
li
ng-induc edf rac t
u r
es ,t hentheef fectisas hortened
heightandwe i
ghto fthemu dc ol
u mn .

Th
efo
ll
owi
ngar
eIn
dic
ato
rs/
War
nin
gSi
gnso
faki
ck:

 i
n c
r easeinth erateoff l
owo fthedr ill
i
n gfluidretu rn
satc onstantpu mp
rates( pr
imar yindi
catorofaki ck) :Thein creasedr ateisc ausedby
format i
onf l
uidsenterin
gt hewe l
lbor ean disas trongindicat i
ono fa
kick.Inaddition,i
fitisagaski ck,du etot hec omp ressi
blen atureo fgas,
ast hegasbu bbletravelsup-holean dh ydros t
aticpr ess
u r
e sdec reas e
,
thev ol
umeo ft hebubblewilli
ncre asedu et oexpan si
on.
 vol
u meo fmu dint h
emu dp i
tincreas eswh enn oaddi ti
onaldr i
ll
ingf l
u i
ds
areadde dt ot h
emu ds ys
tem( primar yindicatoro faki ck):Fort hes ame
reasonsasmen tion
edabo ve,ifthev olumeo fmu di nthemu dpits
i
n c
r easeswh enn oaddit
ionalflu
idsh avei ntenti
onallyadded,t hent he
i
n c
r easedv ol
umei scausedbyf ormat ionf l
uidsenter i
ngt hewel l
bo rean d
i
sas trongindicati
onofaki ck.
 dri
lli
ngf l
u i
dsr etur
nsc ont
inuetof lowwh e nthemu dpumpsar et u
r ned
 off( pr imar yin dic at oro faki ck) :Dr ill
ingf l
u idr etu rnswh ent hemu d
pump sar es hut-o f fin dic at et hatf or mat ionf l
u idsar een te ri
n gt he
wellbo rean ddi s plac i
n gt hemu d.
 i
mp ro p erwe ll
bo r ef il
l-u p /v olume -bal an ceo nt r ips(p rimar yi ndicat oro f
akic k) : I
ft hedr illpipei sr emo vedf r omt h ewe llbo re,t hent hec han gein
vol
u mei nt hemu dp i
tss ho ulde q ual thev o l
umeo ft h edr illpiper emo ved
fromt h eh ole.Ani mpr op e rv olumebal an c eisas tro ngi ndicat oro faki ck.
 pumpp res surede c reas ean dpu mps tro kei n cr eas e( sec ondar yi ndicat or
ofaki c k): I
flo wde nsityf l
u idsar edi splac ingh eav ierdr il
lingf luidint he
annu lus ,thent hiswi ll cau s et hep umppr ess ur et ode cr ease( th ean n ul
ar
si
deo ft heu -tu bei sligh te rt hant hedr il
l pip es ideo ft heu -tu bewh ich
contai n sth emu dp umpp re ss uregau ge ).Th ei mbal an cei nt heu -t ube,
justde sc ri
be d,wi l
l cau s et h eh eav i
e rdr il
lingf l
u idint hedr illpipet of all
duet ogr av ity,c au singt h emu dpu mpt oi nc re as et hen umbero fstr okes
toke epu pwi tht h epr ess ur eimbal an ce.
 chan gei nt heap par en twe i
gh t-o n-bi t( se co ndar yin dicat oro faki ck):If
thewe igh t-on -bi ti ndic at ori nt her ig’sDo gHo us es ho wsac han gei nt he
weigh t-o n -bitt h ati sn o te x plainabl ebyt hec ur ren tdr ill
ingo pe rat i
o n
s,
thent h ismaybeani ndi cat iono faki c k.Th eap par en twe igh t-o n-bitis
affec te dbyt hebu oy an cec au se dbyt h ewe llbo ref luid,wh i
c hint ur n,is
affec te dbyt heden sit yo ft hewe l
lbo ref lui
d.I fal igh terf o rmat ionf lui
d
begin st or ep l
ac et heh eav i
e r,mo reden s edr i
lli
n gf luid,t henanapp arent
i
n creas eint hewe ight -o n-bi twi l
lo cc ur.
 occu rr enc eo faDr illBr eako rBi tDr o p( s eco ndar yin dicat oro faki ck):
ADr illBr eak( su dde nc han gei nt her at e -o f-p en etrat io
n )o rBi tDr op
(sudde nin creas ei nt h edr illbitde pth )ty pic allyo c curatac han gei nthe
l
itholo gyo fthef o rmat i
o nbe ingdr i
lled.I np ar tic u
lar ,al ar gebi tdr o p
maybeani ndicat i
o no fdr illi
ngt hrou ghan at ur al fac tures ystem.Bo th
dri
ll br eaksan dbi tdr opsar en ormal lyr e co rde di nt hedr i
lli
n gr eco rds.
Wh enwo rkingo nn atu ral lyf rac turer es erv oirs ,th esedr i
lli
n gr ec o
r ds
maybeu se fulfo rmap pi ngn atu ral frac t ure s.Ip erso nallywo rkedi na
fi
eldwh er eweh ada1 2met er( ~36f t)bi tdr opi no n ewe l
l i
nt he
reser vo ir–t hin kabo u ti t,y o uar edr il
lingawayatac ertainr at e-o f-
pene tr ationan d,al lofas u dde n,th ebi tdr ops36f ee tfo rn oap paren t
reas on .Th iswasc au s edbydr i
llingt hr ou ghas olutione nhan cedf rac ture
whicho v ergeo lo gict imef or me dac av er ni nt her es er voir( thiso ccurred
sever al y earsp r iort omyar rival,bu ti twasi nt hedr i
lli
n gr eco rds).
 redu ct i
o nint hemu dwe igh t( se condar yin dic ato ro faki ck) :Th eMu d
Manmayo bs erv ear e du c tiono rCu ti nt hemu dde n si
t yatt her ig-s i
te
mudl abo rat ory .Th i
sagai nmaybeani n dicat iono faki ck.

Wh enakickoccurs,t
heOperatingCompanyandDril
li
ngCompanyalway shave
well-s
pec
ificpl
ansin-pl
acef o
ral l
well
stoe ns
urethatanycontr
oll
ablekick
doesnotturnin
toanu nc
o nt
roll
ablebl
owout.Icanno
tgointothedetai
lsofa
well-s
pec
ificproc
edures,buttheywil
li
ncl
u desomeofthefol
lo
wingf eatu
resif
aki
cko
ccu
rsdu
rin
gdr
il
li
ngo
per
ati
ons
:

1.Stopdr illp iper otat ion.

2.Pickt hedr illbitof f-bo ttoman dSp aceOut( Spac ingo utreferst o
pulli
ngt hedr i
llpipeo u ttheh oles ot hatt het opc on nection–thet hic
kes t
par toft hedr i
l
l stringc ontain ingthet hreadsan dj oin
ts–i ssev e
ralf eet
abo veth er i
gf loor .Spac ingo ute nsu resth att hes mallerdiame ter
sect i
ono ft hedr il
l stringisin sidet h
eBOP,s ot hatp i
per amscanc l
ose
an dseatpr oper l
yo rblindr amso rsh earr amsar eo pposit
et h
es mallest
diame ters ec ti
ono fs te el
.Se eF i
gure9. 1
5B)
3.Stopt hemu dp umpsan dc hec kf orco n ti
nue dMu dRet urns(flowo fmu d
fromt hewel l).
4.Ifmu dr etu r nsc ont i
nue :
1.Sh ut -int hewe llwitht hean n ul
arp reve ntero rp i
per ams:
1.Har ds hu t
-i n(ch okeinFi gure9. 12isc losed)
2.So f tsh ut-in(c hokei nF igure9. 12iso pe ned)
2.I fah ards hu t-inwasu sed,o pent hec hoke
3.We igh tUp( addt hemu dwe ight i
ngaddi tives )tot hedesired
de ns ity–t h
isi st heKillFluidus e dtoKi l
lt heWel l
4.Ci rc u l
at et heki l
l fl
uidt h rought heki lll
ine,do wnt hewellbore,an d
ou to ft hec h oke( s
eeF i
gu re9. 12)u si
n gani n dustrystandard
me t ho d:
1.Th eDr ill
er ’
sMe tho d
2.Th eWe ightan dWai tMe t hod

Otherprocedureswi l
lbeu sedifthekickoc curswhil
et r
ippi
ngint
oo routofthe
well
.Thedet ai
lso fsomeas pectsofthi
sp rocedures u
chash ardorsoftsh
u t
-
i
nsan dthec i
rculati
onme thods,TheDr i
ll
er ’
sMet hodandTh eWeightandWai t
Method,wil
lbedi scussedindetaili
ny o
u rlaterdril
li
ngc l
asses
.Mo re
i
mp ort
antly
,f ore ver
ywe llthatyouarei n
v ol
vedwi t
h,therewil
lalwaysbe
Dail
ySafetyMeet i
ngst h
atdi sc
u s
sthec urrentstatusofthewellandthe
i
mp ort
antsaf etyaspec t
so falldri
ll
i
ngac tivi
tiesrel
atedt oth
atday ’
s
operati
ons.

So,weh avediscuss
edt h
er o
leofdril
li
ngfl
uidtoexertpres
sureonporo
usand
permeableformat i
onsandtocoatthemwithanimpermeablefi
lt
ercaketo
hel
pp reventkic
ksf romoccurri
ng.Weh av
ealsodis
cu s
sedtherol
eofthe
blowo
utp reventerandc o
mp an
yp ro
cedurestoco
ntrolakickonceon
eo cc
urs
.
So,howdobl owoutshappen?

Perh
apsy ouremembert heMacondoBlowo ut(
De epWat erHori
z onRig)
di
saster.ThenameMac ondowast heProspectname( remember ,wediscuss
ed
pr
ospec t
san dwel
lproposal
sinap rev
iouslesson)whil
etheDee pWat er
Hori
zonwast henameo ftheri
g.Thiswast helarges
to i
lspi
ll
int heGu l
fof
Mexico.Whenthedis
as te
ro c
curred,el
eve nme mbersoftherigc rewwe r
e
ki
l
ledbyt
hee
xpl
osi
onwh
ent
hen
atu
ral
gasi
gni
ted.

Fi
gur
e9.
15:Dr
il
lPi
peSp
ace
dOu
ttoCl
oseBl
owOu
tPr
even
ter
s

So
urc
e:Gr
egKi
ng©Pe
nnSt
ate,l
i
cen
sedCCBY-NC-SA4.
0[7]

9.
4:KeyL
ear
nin
gs

 Th
erearef
ivemajorsys
temso
namo
der
nro
tar
ydr
il
li
ngr
ig:
o th
ePowerSystem
o th
eHoist
ingSys
tem
 o theCi rculat i
onSy stem
o t heRo t
ar ySy s
te m
o t heWe llCo ntrol Syst em( Blo wou tPr even ti
onSy s tem)
 Thep owe rs ystemi st hes y stemi st hes yst emt hatpr ov i
desal l po we rto
ther i
g.Onamo der nro taryr i
g,t hispo weri sge nerat edwi tht hePr ime
Mo verwh ichisane l
ec trical gen erat ort hatisf ueledwi t heit
h erdi e sel
fuel o
rl easef uel.Th ee l
ec tricalp owe rist ran smittedt ot heo th er
systemsan ds ub-s ystemso nth er i
gbymec hanical mean s(ol
derr i
gs )
,
directc urrent( DC) ,oral te rnat i
n gc urren t(AC) .
 Theh oisti
n gsys temi st hes y st
emt h atdo est heh eav yliftingo nt her ig.I
t
i
sr esp o
n si
blef orl i
f t
ingdr il
l pi
pedu ringt rippingo perat ions;an dl i
f ti
ng
ands uspe ndingt hedr illpipedu ri
n gdr il
lingo peratio ns,an dli
f tingan d
i
nstallingt hecas ing,t ubings t
r i
ngs ,an dc ompl eti
one quipmen ti ntot he
well.Inaddi ti
on,t hebr akings y stemo nt heh oi
s ti
ngs ys temc on tro l
st he
weight-o n-bitbyt akin gu ps omeo ft hel oado ft hedr illpipe.
 Thec irculations ystemo ft hedr i
lli
ngr igi srespo nsiblef orc i
rc ulating
thedr il
li
ngf lui
df romt hemu dpi ttot h edr i
llbitan dbac k.Itisa
continuouss ystemo fp u mps ,distribu ti
o nlines,stor aget an ks,s torage
pi
ts,an dc leansin gu ni
t sth atal l
o wst hedr i
lli
ngf lui
dt of ul
fil
litsp ri
mar y
objectives( thesewi l
lbedi scuss edl ateri nth i
sless on).Th emai ns ub-
systemso ft hec ir c
u l
at ions ystemar e:
o t hemu dp i
t
o t hemu dp ump
o t hes wivel
o t hedr il
ls tring
o t hes oli
dsc ontrol syst em:
 t hes hales hake r
 t hedes an der
 t hedes il
ter
o t hedegas e r
 Thedr il
lingf l
uidi tselfismo sto ftenc al l
e dmu d.Th edr i
llin
gf luids
discussedi nthes ele ssonn o tesar e :
o wa ter-bas edmu ds( WBM) : mi x
t ureso fwat er ,ben t
onitec l
ay ,and
addi ti
ves;
o o il
-bas edmu ds( OBM) :mix tureso fwi thdi eselo i
l,mi neral oil
,o r
synth eti
co i
lsasac on ti
nu ousph as ean dwat erasadi s
pe r sed
phas einane mulsion.I naddi tion,addi tivessu chase mu lsifiersan d
gelli
n gage n tsar eal sou sed;
o f oams :c omp arabl et os hav ingc ream; and
o a ir.
 Dril
lingfluidsar ec ri
tical i
nmo de rndr i
lli
ngo per ations.Th erear eman y
objectivesf oru singadr ill
ingf luid.Th es einclude :
o l i
ftdr il
lc ut t
ingsf ro mt hebo ttomo ft hewe l
lbo ret ot hes u rface;
o s uspen dc ut ti
ngst op reven tt hemf romf alli
ngdo wn hol
ei f
circulationi stemp orar i
lyc eas ed;
 o releas et hec u ttingswh e nt heyar ebr o ugh tt ot hes urfac e;
o s tabi li
z et hebo r eho l
edu ringdr il
lingo per atio ns( ex erth ydr ostati
c
orh y dro dy nami cp re ssu reo nt hebo reholet op rev en tro ckc av i
ng
intot h ewe l
lbo re );
o c on tr olfo rmat i
o npo repr es surest oas sur ede siredwe llc ontrol
(ap plyh y dro stat ican dh y dro dy nami cpr e ssur esi nex c
e sso fth e
for mat ionp or ep re ss urest opr ev en tfluidsf r ome n teringt he
we ll
bo r e);
o d e pos i
tani mpe r meabl ef i
lterc akeo ntot hewe ll
bo r ewal lsto
fur the rp rev e ntf luidsf rompe rme ablef ormat ionsf romen tering
thewe l
lbo re ;
o mi n i
mi zer eser v oirdamage( as su relows kinv alues )wh e ndr i
lli
ng
thr ought her eser vo i
rs ec tiono ft h ewel l;
o c oo lt hedr i
llbi tdu r i
n gdr il
lingo perat i
o ns;
o l ubr i
c atet hedr il
l bitdu ringdr illi
ngo pe rat i
o n s;
o a llowf orpr es sures ignal sf ro mL oggingWh i
leDr ill
in g(L WD)o r
Me as u reme n tWh i
leDr illi
n g( MWD)t oolst obet ran smit tedt ot h
e
sur fac e( LWDan dMWDdat aar et ran smi ttedt ot hes ur face
usingpr e ssur epu l
s esi nt h edr illi
n gf l
uid);
o a llowf orpr es sures ignal st obes entt ot hebo ttomo ft hewe llto
pre ss ureac tu atec er taindo wn h oleeq uipme n t ;
o mi n i
mi zee nv i
r on me nt al i
mp ac to ns ubs urfac en atu ral aqu if
er s.
 Th er otar ys ys temo ft hedr il
lingr igpr ov i
dest h et or quef ort hedr il
ling
pro c
e s s
.Th ist orqu ei spr o v i
de dbyt her otaryt abl eo nac o n
v ent i
onal
rotat oryr i
go rt het op-dr i
v eu nito nat op-dr i
ver ot aryr ig.Th ist orque
i
sc on ve yedt hro ught hedr illpip ean dt hebo t tom-h o l
eas sembl yt ot he
drillbit.
 Th eles sonn ote sdi scu sse dt hr eet y pe so fdr il
lbi tsu s edo nt hedr i
ll
ing
i
n dust ry:
o mi lled-t o otht ri-c onebi t
o i nser tt ri-co n ebi t
o f ixed-c ut terbi t
 Th edr il
lingac tiono ft het ri-c on ebi tsi sdu et oanex pl
o sivego u gi
ng,
cru s
h ingac tion ;wh ilet hedr il
lin gac t i
o no fth ef ixed-c utt erbi tsar edu e
toas crap in gac ti
o n.
 Inami ll
e d-t oo tht ri-c on ebi t,t h et eet ho fth ebi tar emi lledf ro mt he
sames t
e el ast h ec o ne.Du et ot hegr adeo ft hes te el usedi nt hec on es,
themi l
led-t oothbi tsar et y pi
c allyu s edt odr i
llthr ou ghs o ftro ck
format i
o ns.
 Inani n ser tt ri
-c o nebi t,t het e ethi ns ertsar emadef roms tro nger
grade so fs tee lthant h ec o ne .Ty pic ally,tu ngste n-c ar bides t eel i
su sed
toc re atet h et e ethi nani n ser tbi t.Th einser tbi tsar eu se dt odr i
ll
throu ghmo der atel yh ar df o rmat ionso rt oex ten dt h ebit -lif
et hrough
softf o rmat i
on s.
 Fixed-c u tterbi tsar ebi tst hatc ont ainn omo vingpar ts.Th ec u tterso n
 fi
xed-c u tte rbi tsar et ypic allyp oly crystal line( sy nthe tic)di amo nds
whichar eu s edt of or mpo lyc ry stal li
nedi amo n dsc ompac t( PDC)bi ts.
PDCbi tsar eu s edt odr il
l thr ou ghh ardr o ckf or mat i
o ns .
 TheWe llCo nt ro lSys temo rt heBl o woutPr ev ent i
o nSy st emi st hes ystem
onadr i
llingr igt hatpr ev en tst heu nco nt rolle d,c atas tr oph icr eleaseo f
hi
gh-p re ss ur ef l
uids( oil,gas ,o rs altwat e r)f ro ms ubs ur fac e
format ions .Th ewe llc on trol sy ste mi sc o mp rise do f :
o t h eAc c umu l
at or: sto re sc o mpr e ssedgasan dc o mp res s
ed
hy dr au licf lui
dsf o rt her ig’sh ydr au lics ys tems ;
o t h eBl o wo utPr ev en te r:lar ges tac ke ds y ste mo fh igh -pr ess u
re
val ve st h atc anbec los edar oundo rt hro u ghdr i
ll pip etoi so l
ate
th es u bs u rfacef or mat i
o nsf romt her ig.
 Thewe l
l co nt ro lsy s
t emp r ov i
de swel lco ntr o lby :
o mu ds y st em:h elp spr ev en tki cksbyex er tingh ighh y dros tatican d
hy dr ody nami cp re ss ureso nt hef ormat i
o n san dde po si
tingan
imp e rme abl emu dc akeac ro ssp erme abl ef o rmat ions ;
o b lo wo u tp reven ter( BOP) :h elpst oc o nt ro laki c ki fo n eo cc urs.
 Akic kisanu nwan tedbu tc on tr ollableen t ryo fs ubsu rf ac ef l
u i
dsi nto
thewe llbo re ;wh il
eabl o wo u ti sac atas tro ph ic( usually )an d
uncont rollabl ee ntryo fs ubs u rfac ef l
u idsi n tot hewe llbo r e.Blowo u
tsc an
bec atas tr op hicbe cau seo ft h ec ombu stiblen at ureo fh y dro carbo ns.
 Thec au se so faki cki nc lude :
o i nsu ffic ie ntmu dwe igh t( de n sit
y ):t heh y dr ostat ico rh ydro dynamic
pr ess ur eex ert edbyt h emu dc olu mni sl es st hant h ef ormat i
on
po rep r es sure( th epr es su rei su nde r bal an ced) ;
o i mp r op e rmu dr ep lac emen tdu rin gt ripp in g:wh i
let rippingo uto f
th eh o lemu dv olume smu s tbep ump edi ntot hewe l
lbo reath i
gh
en ou ghr at est or e plac edr i
ll pi
p ebei n gr emo vedf ro mt hewel lbore;
o s wabbi n g: remo vin gdr illp i
pef ro mt hewel lbo rec anc reat ea
ne gat iv ep ressu re( s uc tion )ift hedr i
ll pip ei sre mo ve dt ooq ui
c kl
y;
o c u tmu d: ifgasi se n ter ingt hewel lbo re ,t he nitmaye ffect i
vely
re du cet h ewe llbo rep res s ur egr adi en t ;
o l ostc irc u l
at i
on :asdi sc us sede ar li
eri fl ar gev o lumeso fdr i
ll
ing
fluide n te rt h
es ubs u rfac ei n( 1)h ighpe rme abilityf ormat ions
,
nat u ral frac tur es,o rdr illi
n g-in du cedf rac tu res ,t he nthee ffect
isas h or te nedh e igh tan dwei gh to ft h emu dc olumn .
 Thein dicat o rs /war n i
n gs ign so faki cki n clu de :
o i nc reas ei nt her at eo ff lo wo fth edr illi
n gf luidr e tu rnsat
co ns tan tpu mpr at es( pr i
mar yindi cat o ro faki ck) ;
o v o lumeo fmu di nt h emu dp i
ti ncr eas e swh enn oaddi tional dril
ling
fluidsar eadde dt ot hemu ds yste m( pr i
mar yin dic at oro faki c k)
;
o d r il
lingf lu i
dsr et ur nsc on tinu etof lowwh ent hemu dp umpsar e
tu rne do f f(pr i
mar yi n dicat o ro faki ck) ;
o i mp r op e rwel lbo ref ill-u p/ vo lume-bal an c eo nt r ips( pr i
mar y
indic at o ro faki ck) ;
 o pu mppr es
s u
redecreaseandpumps trokeincrease(secondary
indicatorofakick)
;
o chan geintheapparentweigh
t-on-bit(secondaryindic
atoro fa
kick);
o occ urrenc
eo faDri
llBreakorBitDr o
p( s
e condaryindi
catoro fa
kick);
o redu cti
oninthemudwe igh
t(secondaryindic
at orofakick).
 Th
edr i
ll
ingc o
mp anyandoperati
ngcompan ywil
l al
way shaveadet ail
ed,
wel
l-s
pec i
ficprocedur
einp l
aceintheadventofaki ck.
 Al
lwel
lsar edril
ledwit
has etsequen
ceo foperations.

9.
5:Su
mmar
yan
dFi
nal
Tas
ks

Su
mmar
y

Webeganthi
sless
onbydi
scu
ssi
ngt
hef
ivemaj
ors
yst
emso
namo
der
nro
tar
y
dr
il
li
ngri
g.Theseare:
  t
hePo
werSy stem
 t
heHoi
stingSyst
em
 t
heCi
rculati
onSyst
em
 t
heRot
ar ySyste
m
 t
heWellContro
lSyste
m(Bl
owo
utPr
even
tio
nSy
stem)

Wedis
cus
sedeac
hofth
esesy
stemsalo
ngwi
tht
hemo
rei
mpo
rtan
tsu
b-
s
yst
emsthatc
ompri
set
heses
yst
e ms
.

Thepowers ystemo nadr il

li
ngrigprovi
desthefortheo t
hermainsy s
temso n
th
er i
gan do t
he rancill
arysyste
ms ,su
chaselectri
calsystems,pu
mp s,etc
.The
sy
s t
emt y
p ic
allyconsistsofap r
imemo ver(
thec ompon
e ntofthepowe rsy
stem
th
atge neratest h
er awp ower)andame anstotransmittherawpo wertothe
end-us
ec omp onentso ntheri
g.Thes u
b-syst
e msofthep owersys
temt hat
weredis
cu ssedinde tail
orli
stedan dsho
wninF i
gure9.02incl
ude:

 th
eFuel
Storage
 th
eEngi
nesandGen erators
 mean
sofpowert r
an s
mi s
sion
o mechani
cal
o di
rectcurrent
o al
ternati
ngcu r
r e
nt

Thehoist
ingsys
t emo nadr i
l
li
ngrigdoestheheavyli
fti
ngontherig.I
tisu
sed
torai
se,lower
,an ds us
pendt h
edril
lstri
ngandlif
tcasingandtu
bingfor
i
nstal
lati
onint
ot h
ewel l
.Thesub-sys
temso fthehoi
sti
ngsys
temt hatwer
e
di
scus
s edindetailorli
stedandshowninFigur
e9.02incl
ude:

 t
heCrownBlo ck
 t
heMast /
Der rick
 t
heMonkeyBo ard
 t
heTraveli
ngBl ock
 t
heHook
 t
heSwivel
 t
heDrawwo rks
 t
heWe i
ghtIndicator
 t
heDri
ll
ingLine

Th ecirculati
onsyst
emo nadr il
li
ngr i
gall
owsf orc i
rculati
ono ftheDri
lli
ng
Fluido rMu ddownthroughtheho l
lo
wdr i
llstr
ingan dupt hrought h
eann ul
ar
spac ebe tweenthedri
llstr
ingan dwell
bore.Iti
sac on
t in
uouss yst
emo fpumps,
distri
bu ti
onlines
,stor
aget anks,stor
agep i
ts,andc l
ean si
ngu nit
sthatall
ows
thedr ill
i
ngf l
uidtoful
fil
li
tsp ri
mar yobj
ectives.Thesu b-sys
t emsofthe
circulationsys
temt h
atwe rediscussedi
nde tai
l orl
istedands h
owninF i
gure
9.02in cl
ude:
  t
heSwivel
 t
heRotaryHose
 t
heMu dReturnLine
 t
heShaleShaker
 t
heChokeMani f
old
 t
heMu dGasSepar ator
 t
heDegasser
 t
heReservePit
 t
heMu dPit
s
 t
heDesander
 t
heDesil
ter
 t
heMu dPumps
 t
heMu dDisch
argeL ine
 t
heBulkMudCo mpo nent
sSt
orage
 t
heMu dHouse
 t
heWat erTank

Thedri
ll
i
ngflui
d(mud)isacri
ti
calpartofthedr
ill
i
ngproc
ess.Mudscanbe
water
-basedfl
uids
,oi
l-bas
edflui
ds,f
o am,o
rair.Theo
bject
ives
/fun
c t
ion
sof
th
emu dare:

 l
iftdr il
l cu
t ti
ngsf romt hebo ttomo ft hewe llboret ot hes urf
ace ;
 suspen dc utti
ngst op reventt hemf romf alli
n gdown h oleifcircul
atio
nis
temp orar i
lyc eased;
 releaset hec uttingswh ent heyar ebr o ugh tt othes u rface;
 stabil
izet hebo re hol
edu ringdr i
lli
n go per ations( exer th y
drostaticor
hydrody nami cpr essureont hebo r eholet opr eventr oc kcav i
ngintothe
we l
lbore );
 contro lformat io
np or
epr es sur
e st oas su redes iredwel lcontro
l (
apply
hydros tati
can dh y drodynami cpre ssur esi ne xcesso ft hef or
mat i
onp o
r e
pressu restopr ev entflui
dsf romen ter ingt hewel lbor e);
 depo s
itani mpe r
meabl ef il
terc akeo n tot h ewellbo rewal lstofurther
preven tfluidsf r
o mpe rmeabl ef ormat i
on sf rome nteringt h
ewe ll
bore;
 minimizer eserv oi
rdamage( assur elows kinv alues)wh endr i
ll
ingthrough
ther ese r
vo i
rs ectionoft hewel l
;
 cool t
h edr i
llbitdu ri
ngdr il
lingop erat i
o ns;
 l
u bricatet hedr i
llbitdu ri
ngdr il
lingo p erat i
o ns
;
 allo
wf orpr essures i
gn al
sf romL o ggingWh il
eDr ill
ing( LWD)o r
Meas ur ementWh ileDr i
ll
ing( MWD)t o o l
st obet ran smittedtot he
surfac e(LWDan dMWDdat aar et ran smi ttedt oth es urfaceusing
pressu repu l
sesi nt h
edr il
li
n gflui
d) ;
 allo
wf orpr essures i
gn al
st obes e ntt ot hebo t
to mo ft h
ewe llto
pressu reac tuatec ertaindo wnh oleeq u i
pme nt;
 minimizee nv i
ronme ntal i
mp acto ns ubs urfac en at ural aqui
fers.
Therotar
ys ys
temo nadr il
li
ngr i
gisthesystemt hatcausest
h edri
l
lbitrotate
atthebott
omo fwe l
lbore.Weh avediscu
ss edsomec omponen
t soft
her o
tar y
sys
temwh enwediscussedrotaryt abl
eandt op-driveri
gs,butwehaven otyet
di
scuss
edt h
ee nti
res y
stem.Th esub-sys
temso fth erot
arysys t
emthatwer e
di
scuss
edinde t
ailorli
stedan dshowninFigure9.02incl
ude:

 t
heSwi
v el
 t
heKel
lyo r(To p-Dri
veUnitonat o
p -dr
iverig)
 t
heKel
lyBus hingor(Top-Dri
veUn i
to natop-driverig)
 t
heMas terBus hi
ngor(Top-Driv
eUn itonato p
-dr i
verig)
 t
heRotar yTableo r(To
p-DriveUnitonat o
p-dr i
verig)
 t
heMous ehole
 t
heRatHo l
e
 t
heRotar yHos e
 t
heDri
llSt ri
ng
 t
heBot
t om-Ho l
eAssembly
 t
heDri
llBit

Dril
lbit
scomeindif
fer
ents
hap
esandsizes
.Thech
oic
eo fth
eappropri
atebi
t
dependsonth
ef o
rmati
onst
obedr
il
led.Thedr
il
lbi
tsthatwedi
scu
ss e
dinthi
s
l
essonincl
ude
:

 mil
led-t
oothtr
i-co
nebit(fo
rdr i
l
li
ngt h
roughso
ftrockformati
ons
)
 i
nserttri
-con
ebit(fo
rdril
li
ngthroughmediumtohar
dr oc
kf o
rmatio
ns)
 fi
xed-cutt
erbit(
fordri
ll
i
ngt h
roughhardrockfor
mat i
ons)

Thewell c
ontro
lsystemo rtheblowoutprev
enti
o ns y
stemo nadril
li
ngrig
preventstheunco
n t
roll
ed,catastro
phicrel
easeo fhigh-pr
e s
surefl
u i
ds(oi
l,
gas,orsaltwater)fro
ms ubsurfaceformati
ons.Th esub-syst
emso fthewell
control
s ys
temthatwe redi
sc u
ssedindetai
lorlistedan ds
h o
wninF i
gure9.02
i
nclude:

 t
heAccumulat
o r
 t
heBl
owo utPrevent
er

Aki
c ki
sanu nwantedbutcon
trol
labl
ee ntryofsubsurf
acefl
uidsi
ntothe
wel
lbore;wh
il
eabl owouti
sacatastrophi
c(usual
ly)anduncon
trol
labl
eentr
y
ofs
u bs
u r
facefl
uidsin
tothewel
lbore.Bl
owo ut
scanbec atas
troph
icbecaus
e
oft
h evol
ati
le,c
ombu st
ibl
enatu
reo fhydrocarbo
n s.

Th
ecau
seso
faki
cki
ncl
ude
:

 i
nsu
ffi
cie
ntmudweight(
densi
ty)
:theh ydr
ostat
icorh
ydrodynami
c
p
ressu
ree x
ert
edbythemudcolumnislessth
ant h
eformati
onpore
p
ressu
re(thepre
ssur
eisun
derbalanced);
  i
mp ropermu dr eplaceme ntdu ringt rippi
n g:wh il
et r
ippingou toftheh ol
e
mu dvolumesmu stbepu mp edi nt
ot h
ewel lboreath ighen o
u ghrate sto
replacedr i
l
l pi
pebe ingr emo vedf romt h
ewe l
lbore;
 swabbing: r
emo vingdril
l pipef romt h ewel lborec ancreatean egative
pressure(suction)ifthedr i
llpipeisr emo v edt o
oq uic
kly;
 cutmu d:ifgasi senteri
n gt hewe llbore,t he ni
tmaye ffectivel
yr educe
thewe l
lborep ressuregr adient;
 l
o stcir
culatio
n :asdiscus s
ede arlier,ifl
ar gev ol
umeso fdr i
lli
ngfluid
enterthes ubsurfac ei
n( 1)h i
ghp erme abilityformat i
ons,nat ural
fractures,ordr il
li
ng-induc edf rac t
u res,t hentheef fectisas hortened
heightandwe ighto fthemu dc ol
u mn .

Th
ein
dic
ato
rs/
war
nin
gsi
gnso
faki
cki
ncl
ude:

 i
n cr
easeint herat eofflowo fthedr i
ll
ingfluidretur
n satc onst
an tpump
rates(pri
mar yindicatoro fakick);
 vol
umeo fmu dint hemu dp iti
ncreaseswh enn oadditi
onal dri
l
lin
gf lui
ds
areadde dtot hemu ds y
s t
e m(pri
mar yindicatorofaki ck);
 dril
li
ngflui
dsr eturnsc o
n t
inuetof l
owwh e nthemu dp umpsar eturned
off(pri
mar yindicatorofaki ck);
 i
mp roperwell
bo ref i
ll
-up /
v ol
ume-balan ceont r
ips(primar yi
ndicatorof
akick);
 pumpp ressur
ede c reasean dpumps trokeincrease(sec ondaryindi
cator
ofakick);
 changeintheap par entwe i
ght-on-bit(secondaryindicatorofaki ck);
 occurre
n ceofaDr il
lBreako rBitDr o
p( secondaryindicatorofaki ck)
;
 reducti
oninth emu dwe ight(sec
o ndaryindicatorofaki ck).

Safetyisoftheutmo sti
mportanceintheoi
landgasi ndust
ry,anddetail
edwel
l
proceduresaredeve l
opedforeachwe l
l
.Inadditi
on,dail
ysafetymeetin
gs
di
scussi
n gthest
at usofthewell
,theday’soperat
ions,andthesafet
yc once
rns
forthatday’soperation
saret y
pical
lyperf
o r
medbyal l
respons
ibl
edril
li
ng
companiesandop erati
ngcompanies.

Fi
n al
ly,wediscu
ssedth
es t
epsinthedri
ll
ingpro
cedure(Maki
ngHole).Anoi
lor
gaswe lli
sdri
ll
edinaveryorderedsequ
ence.Thestepsi
nthi
ssequen
c ear
e
almostuniver
sall
yappl
iedtoth
edr i
ll
i
ngo fal
lwell
s.Thes
eincl
ude:

1.pl
ant heWe l
l
2.perf
o rmSh all
owGasSu rv
ey
3.prepar eth
eWe l
ls
ite
4.Setth eConducto
rCas i
ng
5.Move -InandRigUp
6.Spudt heWe l
l
7.Dri
llDo wntotheSu r
faceCasi
ngDept
h
8.Runan dCeme nttheSu rfaceCasing
9.Conti
nuet h
isPr ocesstoDrillt
otheNe xtCasin
gPo i
nt
10.
Conti
nuet h
isPr ocesstoDrillt
oeac hCasi
ngPo i
nt
11.
Conti
nuet h
isPr ocesstoDrillt
oTo t
alDe pt
h(TD)
12.
LogtheWe llwithOp en-Hol
eL ogs
13.
Runan dCeme ntthePr oducti
onCasingStri
ngo rLi
ner(i
fpar
toft
he
completi
onde s
ign )
14.
Comp e
tet h
eWe l
l–instal
lthewellcomplet
ion:
1.Tubing
2.Gravelpac ks
3.Packers
4.Sli
dingsleeves
5.Sti
mu l
atio n
1.Ac idi
zet h
ewe ll
2.Hy drauli
callyfractu
ret hewell
6.Artif
ici
al li
ft
15.
RigDownan dMo veOut