T ABLE OF C ONTENTS

1 PRESSURE BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

2 KICK FUNDAMENTALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
3 DETECTION OF KICKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
4 KICK THEORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
5 PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
6 WELL CONTROL BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
7 WELL CONTROL METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
8 COMPLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
9 FLUIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
10 SURFACE EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1
11 SUBSEA WELL CONTROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
12 SPECIAL TOPICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
13 REMEDIAL OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1
14 SUBSURFACE EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
15 COILED TUBING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-1
16 SNUBBING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-1
17 WIRELINE UNITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-1
18 MMS REGULATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-1
19 SIMULATOR EXERCISES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-1
GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G-1
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-1
ILLUSTRATION/PHOTO CREDITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-7

WCS – Well Control School expresses thanks to all companies and individuals contributing to this text.
Material contained here, by general consensus of those involved in the course development, is based on the
best sources of knowledge available to the authors. WCS does not warrant or guarantee any procedures or
information presented in this text. By the very nature of the oil industry, procedures, equipment, standards
and practices vary widely. It is not the intent of WCS to endorse policies and procedures, but rather to
communicate to readers generally accepted practices.

© NOVEMBER
2002
WCS – WELL CONTROL SCHOOL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

PHONE:
5O4•361•8282 FAX: 5O4•361•5551
EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.wellcontrol.com
WELL CONTROL SCHOOL • 2600 MOSS LANE • HARVEY, LOUISIANA 7OO58
I NTRODUCTION

his manual was compiled for use as the primary text for blowout prevention

T courses conducted around the world by WCS – Well Control School. Its scope
is broad, and recommendations or suggestions of good practices are designed to
meet or exceed the training requirements established by the U.S. Minerals Management
Service (MMS) and the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), as well as
to address the knowledge base necessary to competently perform many of the skills required
by the International Well Control Forum (IWCF). Additionally, WCS hopes that field
personnel will find the book a useful and practical onsite reference, covering a wide range
of accepted well control practices.
Every effort has been made to use standard or universal terminology. Still, common
usage varies among different segments of the industry. The drilling hand’s drillpipe becomes
the workover hand’s tubing. Terms remain consistent throughout chapters and meanings
should be apparent within the context of the topic discussions.
The chapters of this book are arranged in the order of presentation for our MMS
certified Drilling Well Control course, however each section of the manual stands alone.
Candidates enrolled in courses other than drilling, for instance Workover/Well Servicing,
may find themselves directed to sections of the text that appear to be out of sequence. This
is unavoidable due to the comprehensive nature of the manual.
Numerical values and units of measure appear in the English system. Metric equivalents
are enclosed in parentheses following the English value. Tables used for metric conversions
in the text appear in Chapter Eighteen.
The mathematical formulas in Chapter Eighteen are presented lineally, that is, in the
order in which values and operatives are entered into a hand-held calculator. In some cases
this form of presentation may differ from accepted written mathematical formats. Our goal
is for the learner to arrive at the correct answer in the simplest and most direct way regardless
of his or her educational background.
A glossary, portions of the MMS publication CFR 30 which apply to well control and
training regulations and special topics are also included. These chapters are intended to
provide technical reference and useful information for industry workers across disciplines.
Although the manual is not intended to be a work of science, WCS is indebted to
many engineers and scientists throughout the industry for technical advice and assistance. It
is impossible to acknowledge on an individual basis all the companies and personnel who
contributed materials to this compilation. It is our sincere hope that their thanks will come
by way of the knowledge that in some way we have all helped to avert that greatest of all
oilfield tragedies, the blowout. ö