WELL CONTROL

Agenda
• Primary Control
• Warning signs of kicks
• Secondary Control
• Well Killing procedures
• BOP Equipment
Introduction
• Well control is the method for controlling the formation
pressures
• Primary well control method is achieved by mud P pore<Phydrostatic
• Secondary well control mechanism is BOP
• When control of formation pressure is lost consequences may
be severe
• Loss of human life
• Loss of rig and equipment
• Loss of reservoir fluids
• Damage to the environment
• Huge cost of bringing the well under control again.
• Signs for formation flow must be inferred from the surface
• Severity of the kick depends on formation type, pressure,
nature of influx
Deepwater Horizon incident
Well control principles
• Primary well control – mud pressure
• Secondary control is required if primary control has
failed
• Close the BOP
• Replace original mud with heavy density fluid
Primary well control

• Loss of primary well

control
• Entering overpressured
zone
• Reduction of mud
hydrostatic
Reduction in mud weight
• MW is generally designed to create 200-300 psi
overbalance
• MW on the rig is regularly monitored (in/out)
• MW may fall due to
• Solids removal – barite should be kept in the circulating system
• Excessive dilution – during controlling of some properties
• Gas-cutting of mud – gas seepage from formation
• Gas in mud can decrease the MW
• It is not as alarming because of gas expansion happening on surface
• On bottom hole pressure still is high
• Gas should be circulated out of system
Reduction in height of mud column
• During normal circulating operations volume of fluid
pumped in/out is equal
• After pumps are stopped fluid level should stabilize in
annulus
• If fluid level drops then bottom hole pressure is
decreasing
• Tripping out operation (drill pipe volume replacement)
• Swabbing (fluid is sucked from formation)
• Lost Circulation (formation breakdown pressure is increased)
• Monitoring of height of mud column is essential
• Action should be taken if mud level drop happens
Swabbing
• Fluid is sucked from formation when drill string is pulled
out of hole
• Drill string acts as a giant piston when moving upwards
• Low pressure region below the bit is created
• Opposite effect is called surging
• The amount of swabbing depends on
• Adhesion of mud to drill pipe
• Speed of pipe pulling out of hole
• Use of higher gel and viscosity muds
• Small clearance between drill string and the wellbore
• Thick mud cake
• Insufficient cleaning of the bit to remove cuttings
Lost circulation
• Lost circulation events
• Natural (Fractured, high permeability
formation is drilled)
• Induced (Surging formation, packed-
off drill string, high ECD)
• Losses can be minimized by
• Low ECDs (low MW, low circulation
rates)
• Calculating tripping speeds to avoid
formation surging
• Avoid small annual clearance
between drill string and hole
• Difficult to diagnose during
tripping operations
• Trip Tank is used for
monitoring/recording the fluid
levels while tripping in/out
Tripping operation
Warning Indicators of a kick
Primary Indicators
1. Flow rate increase Qin < Qout
• Normally Qin = Qout
• Differential flow meter is used to monitor the flow
in/out
2. Pit volume increase
• Volume should stay constant while drilling
• If it is increased – kick, volume should be
recorded
3. Flowing well with pumps shut off
• Kick
• Expansion of mud under temperature
• Heavy mud has been pumped into drill string by
accident
4. Improper hole fill-up during trips
Tripping out
• Volume necessary to fill up the annulus is less than
calculated
Tripping in
• Volume taken out from the well is more than calculated
Warning indicators of a kick
Secondary indicators
• Drilling Break
• Abrupt increase in penetration rate (ROP)
due to overpressure or formation change
• Experience shows that mostly it is due to
overpressured formations.
• Flow check should be performed
• Gascut mud (when gas enters from
formation to mud)
• Occurs due to drilling in gas bearing
formation with correct MW, Swabbing
during connection, Negative pressure
differential
• Changes in pump pressure (gradual
drop)
• Low density/low viscosity fluid is in the well
• Strokes per minute will increase (flow in
will increase)
Precautions
• While drilling – flow check
• While tripping – monitoring
the trip tank and calculating
the pipe displacement
volumes correctly
Secondary Control
Shutting in the well
• 1st step is to Shut in the well
(close the BOP)
• While drilling
• While tripping
• Annulus is isolated by annular
preventer or pipe rams
• No need to isolate inside the
drill string – monitor drill pipe
pressure
Secondary Control
Interpretation of Shut-in pressures
Shut in pressures can be used to determine
• Formation pore pressure
• The Mud weight required to kill the well
• The Type of influx
 Formation pore pressure
• Pressure distribution in the well should be clearly
understood
• After well is shut in inside drill pipe there is MUD, inside
annulus there is MUD+FORMATION FLUID

When well is shut in

Pdp+Phydr=Ppore
Pann+Phydr=Ppore
Pdp = Pann ? – No

Pdp+Phydr=Ppore
Pann+Phydr mud+Phydr influx=Ppore
Formation pore pressure
• Pressure inside drill pipe can give information on pore pressure
• During killing operation no influx should be allowed into the well
• Bottom hole pressure should be equal or > formation pressure
• Technique for well killing is called “constant bottom hole pressure method”

Where
= shut in drill pipe pressure (psi)
= mud pressure gradient (psi/ft)
d = vertical height of mud column (ft)
Pbh= bottom hole pressure (psi)
Pann= shut-in annulus pressure (psi)
hi = height of influx (ft)
= pressure gradient of influx (psi/ft)
V = pit gain (bbls)
A = cross section area (bbls/ft)

(1) (2) 𝑉 (3)

h 𝑖=
𝐴
Kill mud weight & Type of influx
• After well is shut in primary control (mud hydrostatic) should be
regained
• Mud weight which is required to kill the well can be calculated
• New MW should be sufficient to balance bottom hole pressure + 200 psi
• Type of influx can be found combining equations (1) and (2)

𝑃 𝑎𝑛𝑛− 𝑃 𝑑𝑝
𝑃 𝑑𝑝+𝜌 𝑚 𝑑= 𝑃𝑏h 𝜌 𝑖=𝜌 𝑚−
h𝑖
(5)

𝜌 𝑘𝑑=𝑃 𝑏h +𝑃 𝑜𝑏
- Gas 0.075 - 0.150 psi/ft
𝜌 𝑘𝑑=𝑃 𝑑𝑝+𝜌 𝑚 𝑑+𝑃 𝑜𝑏 -
-
Oil 0.3 - 0.4 psi/ft
Seawater 0.470 - 0.520 psi/ft
𝑃 𝑑𝑝+𝑃 𝑜𝑏
𝜌 𝑘=𝜌 𝑚+ (4)
𝑑
where,
= kill mud weight (psi/ft)
Pob = overbalance (psi)
Killing operation calculations
Factors affecting the annulus pressure
1. Size of Influx
• Pressures along the wellbore will increase with the size of influx
I. Formation break down pressure might be exceeded leading to
underground blowout
• Not possible to weight up the mud for controlling well pressure
• At shallow depth cratering might happen, rig may collapse
II. Burst capacity of casing might be exceeded

Effect of increasing
influx before well
shut in

Underground blowout
during gas migration
Factors affecting annulus pressure
2. Gas Buoyancy Effect
• – large buoyancy force is developed
• Gas bubble will rise in the annulus
• As gas bubble rises it will expand if the well is open and displace mud from annulus
• If well is closed mud cannot be displaced, gas cannot expand
• Gas bubble will raise (due to buoyancy) and will maintain its original pressure since it
cannot expand
• As a result Pann will increase, Pbh will increase and Pdp will increase
• If after well shut in pressures are increasing, pressures must be bled of from annulus
• Then gas will expand and pressures will gradually fall, P dp will return to its original value
MAASP
• Maximum Allowable Annulus Surface Pressure before
formation is fractured
• Normally the weakest point is highest point in open hole
section (previous casing shoe)
• Formation fracture pressure can be defined from LOT or
calculated if no LOT is available
Well killing procedures
1. Drill string out of the well – volumetric method
2. Drill string in the well
• One circulation Method (wait and weight method).
Circulating kick out and pumping heavier mud
simultaneously.
• Less chances to fracture the formation
• Less pressure exertion time on wellhead
• Easier to maintain constant BHP by adjusting the choke
• Potential for gas bubble to migrate
• Drillers Method
• Influx is circulated out of the well
• Heavier mud is pumped to kill the high pressure
Surface BOP control system
BOP
Annular type BOP
• The main component is high
tensile strength, circular
rubber packing unit
• Packing unit can be
compressed inwards against
drill pipe by piston, operated
by hydraulic power
• Advantages
• Closes at any size or shape of
pipe
• Allows stripping in the pipe
(moving it in/out whilst containing
annulus pressures)
• Rated to contain up to 5000 psi
Annular preventer

Packing unit
Ram type preventer
Ram type preventer
Stacked on top of each other
Ram type preventers
• Blind rams – completely close
the well when there is no pipe
in the hole
• Pipe rams – seal off around
specific size of pipes
• Shear rams – same as blind
rams except they can cut
through drill pipe. They should
be used as a last resort
• Rubber elements are
designed from high tensile
strength rubber
• Rated up to 15000 psi
Drilling Spool
• Connector which allows choke and kill lines to be
connected to BOP stack
• Less frequently used today (saving space and reducing
number of connections)
Diverter
• Large, low
pressure annular
preventer
• Used for drilling
at shallow depth
(when no BOP is
present)
• Purpose of
diverter is to
divert flow
through pipeline
away from the rig
Choke and Kill lines / Choke manifold
• Lines which used during
well killing operation
• Heavy mud is pumped in
and taken to surface
through choke lines
• Kill line allows pumping the
fluid in the well when
normal method of
circulating down the drill
string is not possible
• Choke manifold is an
arrangement of valves,
pipelines and chokes
designed to control the flow
from annulus during well
killing operation
Choke device
• Choke is a device which
applies resistance to flow
– creates back-pressure
• It is used for controlling
the bottom-hole pressure
during killing operation
• Can be operated
manually or hydraulically
Hydraulic power package (Accumulators)
• Accumulator
package supplies
energy required to
operate all the
elements of BOP
stack
• Consists of
cylinders which
store hydraulic
fluid under high
pressure