Scribd
Upload
65 views20 pages

WO Procedures Well Control

The document discusses procedures for workovers, including reasons for workovers such as replacing completion equipment or changing the producing horizon. It outlines typical workover steps like inspecting the wellhead, killing the well, installing blowout preventers, working inside the casing/tubing, and rigging down. It also covers topics like predicting fluid losses, optimizing fluid selection based on depth and pressure, and using blowout preventers as a secondary barrier when losses cannot be controlled.

Uploaded by

Eric Ovoune
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
65 views20 pages

WO Procedures Well Control

The document discusses procedures for workovers, including reasons for workovers such as replacing completion equipment or changing the producing horizon. It outlines typical workover steps like inspecting the wellhead, killing the well, installing blowout preventers, working inside the casing/tubing, and rigging down. It also covers topics like predicting fluid losses, optimizing fluid selection based on depth and pressure, and using blowout preventers as a secondary barrier when losses cannot be controlled.

Uploaded by

Eric Ovoune
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 20

Workover Procedures

Pressure Control

Peter Malpas
Oct 2019
Reasons for a Workover
• Mechanical • Reservoir
• Replace completion equipment • Change producing horizon
• Gravel Pack
• Failure/corrosion
• Convert to an injector
• Plugged • Water
• Integrity issue • CO2
• Fishing • Mitigate sand production
• Equipment lost in hole • Stimulate
• Replace/install artificial lift • Acidising
• Frac
• Gas Lift • Abandonment
• ESP • Cement Plugs/Squeeze
• ESPCP
• PCP
• Bean Pump
Workover Operations
Workover Steps
1. Inspect wellhead and tree/hot bolt 7. Working inside casing
2. Kill well • Recover/mill packer
3. ND Xmas Tree/NU BOPs • Set cement plugs
4. Install HWOU • Perform intervention
5. Working inside tubing 8. Run in new completion
• 1.9” Macaroni 9. Rig down HWOU
6. Pull Tubing/Packer 10. ND BOP/NU Tree & Flowline
11. Hand well over to production
Platform/Unit Dependent
Well/Workscope Dependent
Inspect Site/Wellhead
• Wellhead/Xmas Tree
• Inspect platform & well
• Ideally with production
• Access
• Will any lifting operations interfere with other wells
• Check equipment condition
• Note orientation
• Pressure in annulus
• B & C as well as A
• Hot bolt connections/Check LDS can be removed
• To ensure they can be easily removed later
• Disconnect gas lift lines
• Remove energy source
Well Kill
Remove hydrocarbons from tubing/Make well safe
• Bullhead
• Push hydrocarbons back into reservoir
• Lubricate and bleed off residual gas
• Need sufficient flow rate to prevent gas migration
• Circulate
• Normal if hydrocarbons in annulus
• Reverse – if flowline is still connected can send all effluent to process
• Combination
• Bullhead then circulate
• Monitor well
• SITHP/SICP
• Losses
Pressure Behaviour

Is it important to know formation pressure before a workover


With production will formation pressure generally increase or reduce
With injection will formation pressure generally increase or reduce
If the pressure does not decrease significantly with production what might that imply
What does the fracture gradient change with production
Drive Mechanisms

Water Drive–Associated w/large unbounded reservoirs where drive


energy comes from lower water movement, pressure stays high.
Gas Cap Expansion

Gas Drive–Associated with large unbounded reservoirs where drive


energy comes from gas movement from above, pressure stays high.
Combination Drive

Combination Drive–Partial water drive, partial gas drive.


Limited Drive

Pressure Depletion–Limited and bounded, drive energy comes from the


expanding gas, no water. Drive pressure declines as gas is produced
Water Injection

Pressures can start increasing – Wytch Farm


Fluid Density Required
• Fluid Density
• Based on reservoir pressure + overbalance >100psi
• Reservoir Pressure
• TVD Depth
• Density ppg
• Pressure (psi)/(Depth ftTVD * 0.052)
• Density sg
• Pressure (psi)/(Depth mTVD * 1.42)
• Add overbalance
• BHT – Brine correction
Can the Well Flow?
Oil Well
• TVD 2000m
• Reservoir Pressure 2000psi
• Oil Density 0.68sg
• What KMW 5.86ppg/0.71sg
• Can it flow?
Optimise Fluid Selection
• What fluid density is required:
• Depth 1500mTVD
• Reservoir Pressure 2000psi
• Overbalance 100psi
• BHT 80°C
• Density 8.21ppg/0.99sg
• What does this mean/What is the density of water?
• Is same zone to be produced?
• Yes – protect reservoir use filtered/inhibited fluid
• No – whatever is available seawater/freshwater
Predicting Losses
Will we have losses
• PI 1bbl/psi/day
• Depth 1500mTVD

Assume seawater at 8.6ppg/1.04sg is being used


• Hydrostatic 2200 psi
• Reservoir Pressure 2000psi
• What is our overbalance 200 psi
• Loss Rate/Day 200 bbls/day
• Loss Rate/hour 9 bbls/hr
• Can we manage?
Losses
Perenco Rules
• 2 Mechanical barriers
• 1 mechanical barrier can be replaced by a hydrostatic liquid column
• Hydrostatic Pressure > Formation Pressure
• Full to surface so you can monitor the level
In previous example we could probably keep the well full by pumping seawater.
In some cases to mitigate losses we could use pills:
• Polymer/HEC
• Sized particulate matter

• If losses are so high you can’t keep the well full what options do you have?
Excessive Losses
We are unable to keep some wells full because losses are excessive.
• Solution - fill at a rate which does not allow hydrocarbons/gas to flow to
surface
• In Vietnam 8.5” hole is filled at +/-125bph in 8.5" hole based on the
equation – only had problems when we stopped top filling.
Vg = 12*e -0.37*MW
• Where:
• Vg is gas migration rate in ft/sec (May be H2S present)
• Current mud weight in ppg
• e is the base of the nature logarithm (2.7183).
• For bullheading gas wells 0.7ft/sec is recommended (221bph in 8.5” hole).
However typically for gas wells we kill at 0.9ft/sec – 4bpm.
• Max migration rate of gas recorded is 1.37ft/sec – gas kick in small annulus.

With only BOPs as a barrier you will still need a dispensation


Excessive Losses
Other methods include:
• LCM
• Sand/Proppant
• Cement
• Mechanical Plug
BOPs – Secondary Barrier
• Needs to be fit for service
• Through Bore needs to allow all equipment to pass
• Pipe Rams need to be designed for pipe to be run
• Fixed
• Variable
• Blind Shear needs to be able to cut pipe being used
• Annular can have a “memory” – so check on pipe being used.
• Stack arrangement
• Pipe Ram on bottom
• Mud cross above
• Blind Shear above
• Annular on Top
• Tested regularly
• Pressure tested on first installation on well
• Function tested every 7 days
• Pressure tested every 21 days or less if there is a change repair
Questions

06/11/2023

You might also like