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Lecture-12 Blow Out

A blowout is the uncontrolled release of drilling fluid, gas, or oil from a well during drilling operations. It can occur if the pressure exerted by the drilling fluid is not high enough to overcome pressure from the underground formations being drilled. Some key causes of blowouts include failure to maintain proper mud circulation and weight, encountering shallow gas or overpressured formations, and tripping operations where the drill pipe is removed from the well. Proper well design, drilling procedures, and blowout preventers are needed to safely drill wells and control formations pressures to prevent blowouts.

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22 views29 pages

Lecture-12 Blow Out

A blowout is the uncontrolled release of drilling fluid, gas, or oil from a well during drilling operations. It can occur if the pressure exerted by the drilling fluid is not high enough to overcome pressure from the underground formations being drilled. Some key causes of blowouts include failure to maintain proper mud circulation and weight, encountering shallow gas or overpressured formations, and tripping operations where the drill pipe is removed from the well. Proper well design, drilling procedures, and blowout preventers are needed to safely drill wells and control formations pressures to prevent blowouts.

Uploaded by

Md Al-Amin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Blow out in

Petroleum drilling
What is a Blow out?

• A blow out is simply the blowing up and or destruction of the


drilling rig and associated installation due to sudden, violent
and uncontrolled flow of fluids, i.e. Water, gas or oil from
underneath the surface.

• Oil, gas or an overpressured water bearing layer in the


subsurface , if penetrated by a drilling pipe, may force the fluid
into the drilling pipe and come up to the surface with very
strong force causing a blow out.
Tengratila (Chattak gasfield) well blow out in 2005
Why/how does a Blow out happen?
• The pressure of the mud column at the bottom of the hole is a
function of the mud density and column height.
P = 0.0519 x W x D, where
P = hydrostatic pressure (psi)
W = mud density ( pound per gallon)
D = vertical depth
• The pressure must be adequate at all time to prevent the flow
of formation fluids into the mud column.
•Should the density (and therefore P) falls below that which is
necessary to hold back formation pressure, then formation fluid
can enter the well. This termed a “Kick”.
•If this condition is allowed to continue unchecked for even a
short time, mud weight (density) may be reduced severely and
an uncontrlloed flow of formation fluid will result. This may lead
to a blow out.
• It is therefore customary to maintain a
proper mud circulation through the drill pipe
during drilling in order to counter the
underground fluid flow into the drill hole.
•This is done by increasing the mud weight
whenever a force is encountered in the
subsurface.
•Any delay or failure to maintain such
circulation may cause a blow out.
What are the indication of fluid flow from the
formation ?
•An increase in the rate at which the drilling fluid is returning
to the well when pumping rate has not been increased.

•An increase in the level of mud pit (volume increase).


•A decrease in the density/ sp.gr. of the returning mud.

•If the fluid continues to flow after the mud pumps have
been stopped.
•Gas cut mud (i.e. Gas show in the drilling mud).

•An abrupt change in penetration rate. It can indicate that


the bit has drilled into a formation that is likely to contain
fluid under pressure.
When is blow out most likely?
1) Tripping:
•Danger of blow out is greatest during tripping.
•During trips, control of formation can be lost if the hole is not
kept full of drilling mud as the pipe is withdrawn.
•Mud level falls an amount equal to the volume of the steel pipe
withdrawn. If this is not replaced by adding mud, then the
pressure at the bottom hole is decreased and this may result in
formation fluid entering the hole.
•If the pipe is pulled out too fast, swabbing may result.
Swabbing decreases the pressure exerted by the fluid column
below the bit and the formation fluid may flow into the well.
2)Shallow gas :
Control of a well can be lost while drilling through gas sand at
shallow depth. Shallow gas sand has higher pressure than the
normal formation pressure.
3) Overpressured zone:
•Overpressure zone in the subsurface is commonly related to blow out.
•Normal formation pressure is equal to the hydrostatic pressure exerted
by the fluid column above the depth of interest.
•Formation pressure greater than the normal hydrostatic pressure is
called Overpressure.
• Overpressure may be caused by various reasons:
•Rapid burial of low permeability sediment (clay) under which
water can not be squeezed out.
•If the formation is extended to the surface at higher elevation.
•Shale/Clay diagenesis.
•Compaction (Main)
•Shallow prospects

•An overpressure would obviously force the formation fluid into the hole if
the mud pressure is not increased to counter the overpressure.
How to handle a Kick?
The occurrence of a kick does not necessarily mean that a blowout is inevitable.
Indeed, kicks are handled routinely by experienced crews using the proper
equipments and procedures. Relatively few kicks result in total loss of well
control and blowout. But if kicks are not handled properly, blowout can
result.
A number of techniques have been used when a kick occurs. In general the
procedures to follow when a kick is indicated include these steps.
1) As soon as one of the warning signs of a kick is observed, the well should be
shut in. This is done by stopping the mud pump and closing the Blowout
preventer around the drill string.
2) Notify key company personnel at this stage that a kick is suspected and that
the action in step 1 has been taken
3) After the system has reached equilibrium- may be a few minutes- the pressure
on the drill pipe, the pressure on the casing and the increase in the volume of
mud pit are recorded.
4) At this point the calculation can be made to determine the type of fluid
entering the well bore, the weight of the mud needed to stop the flow and
other data necessary to implement the kill procedure.
5) “Kill weight” is the mud weight that will provide a hydrostatic pressure
at the formation exactly balancing the pressure in the formation.
Increasing the density of the drilling fluid to the “kill weight” is
necessary in order to stop the flow of formation fluid into the borehole.
6) After the well has been shut in and the weight of the mud that will be
needed to kill the kick has been determined, the remainder of the
procedures involve various ways to circulate out the kick.
7) HOWEVER, SHOULD THERE BE ANY FAILURE IN THE ABOVE
PROCEDURES FOR ANY REASON AND THE WELL IS HEADING FOR AN
IMMEDIATE BLOW OUT, THE ACTION TO TAKE IS

JUMP OUT OF THE RIG PLATFORM


AND SAVE YOUR LIFE.
Types of blowouts
Well blowouts can occur during the drilling phase, during well testing,
during well completion, during production, or during workover activities.

1. Surface blowouts
2. Subsea blowouts
The two main causes of a subsea blowout are equipment failures and
imbalances with encountered subsurface reservoir pressure

3. Underground blowouts
An underground blowout is a special situation where fluids from high pressure
zones flow uncontrolled to lower pressure zones within the wellbore
Blowout events in Bangladesh
1956: Haripur (Sylhet gas field) blow out

June 1997: Magurchara (Moulvibazar gasfield)


blowout

January 2005: Tengratila (Chattak gasfield)


blow out

June 2005: Tengratila (Chattak gasfield) relief


well blow out
GAS
FIELDS
OF
BANGLADESH
Haripur (Sylhet gasfield) blow out of 1956, photographed
in 2003.
Tengratila (Chattak gasfield) well blow out in January 2005
Relief well blow out in June 2005
Tengratila (Chattak gasfield) well blow out in 2005
Tengratila Relief well blow out in June 2005
Tengratila (Chattak gasfield) well blow out in 2005
Photograpahed in September 2005, Tengratila
Photograpahed in September 2005, Tengratila
Photograpahed in September 2005, Tengratila
Photograpahed in September 2005, Tengratila
CASING JOB IS
FUNDAMENTAL
TO ALL
PETROLEUM
DRILLING

NIKO’S
NEGLIGENCE
TO SET PROPER
CASING
IS PRIME CAUSE
OF
UNDERGROUND
DAMAGE
TO THE GAS
FIELD
Tengratila relief
well Blow out
June 2003

A CONSEQUENCE
OF EARLIER
BLOWOUT AND
POOR HANDLING
THERE AFTER

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