26-09-2024

WELL CONTROL
M.Sc in Applied Geology

Dr Himangshu Kakati
IIPE Visakhapatnam

Well Control Principles

• Well control is implemented by basically two principles: i) primary control, and ii) secondary control.
Well Control

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Primary Control

• Primary control is defined as the control by confirming that the borehole pressure is greater than the formation pressure.

• It maintains a positive differential pressure or overbalance on the formation pressure.

• This control may be mislaid (i.e. Pw< Pf) in two ways:

• the first reason is if the formation pressure is not correctly predicted which is higher than that of prediction.

• second reason is if the pressure due to the column of mud decreases for some reason, and the bottomhole pressure
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drops below the formation pressure.

• There are different reasons for the reduction of mud weight and/or the hydrostatic pressure of the mud column under normal

drilling operations.

• Low Mud Weight: It may be too low due to –

• i) an overpressured zone which may have been penetrated, requiring a heavier than normal mud weight,

• ii) gas cutting of the mud: seepage of gas from the formation into the circulating mud produces a dramatic reduction in the

mud weight at surface. Gas will expand as it rises up the annulus and reduce the overall hydrostatic pressure on the

formation.

Primary Control (Contd..)

• iii) excessive dilution of the mud (water contamination):

• (iv) Solids removal: cuttings must be removed from the formation to allow efficient drilling when the mud returns to the

surface. If a very fine screen is used on the shale shaker, a large amount of the weighting solids (barite) may also be removed.

and
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• iv) inaccurate measurement of fluid density. The normal industry practice is to keep the overbalance pressure at around 200 –

300 psi.

• Reduced Height of Mud Column: Under normal drilling operations, the volume of mud pumped into the borehole should

be equal to the mud returned. In such case, when mud pump operations are stopped, there should not be any fluid flow from

the well and thus the level of the mud should not fall below the mud pit level. However, this is not always the case.

Reduction of pit level or mud column height may occur due to the following reasons:

• (i) Tripping: When the drill pipe is pulled from the borehole during the tripping operation, the top of the mud column will fall

down.

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Primary Control (Contd..)

• (ii) Swabbing: During the upward motion of drill pipe, it creates a region of low pressure into which formation fluids may

flow.

• (iii) Lost Circulation: mud is lost to the cavities in the rock, which reduces the height of mud in the borehole.
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Kick

A well kick is an unwanted flow of formation fluids into the well bore.

Surface indications of a well kick

Primary Indicators: these indicators that are more obvious than others.

i) Flow rate increase: If this flow rate increases without changing the pump speed, this is a sign that formation fluids are
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entering into the wellbore.

ii) Pit volume increase: A rise in the level of mud in the active pits is a sign that some mud has been displaced from the annulus

by an influx of formation fluids.

iii) Flowing well with pump shut off : If the pumps are in shut down condition and the well continues to flow, then the fluid is

being pushed out of the annulus by some other forces.

iv) Improper hole fill-up during trips: The hole should be required to be filled up with mud when the pipe is tripped out. If the

hole is not being filled and does not take the calculated volume the drill pipe volume, formation fluids will replace the empty

space.

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Kick (Contd..)

Secondary Indicators: These indicators are not conclusive and may be due to some other reasons.

i) Changes in pump pressure: As the fluid in the annulus becomes lighter the mud in the drill pipe will tend to fall and the pump

speed (stokes/min) will increase. Notice, however, that these effects can be caused by other drilling problems (i.e. washout in drill

string)

ii) Drilling break: A drilling break is an abrupt increase in the rate of penetration. Drilling break may indicate that a higher-pressure
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formation has been entered and therefore the chip hold down effect has been reduced and/or that a higher porosity formation (i.e.

due to under-compaction and therefore indicative of high pressure) has been entered. However it may be due to change from shale

to sand.

iii) Gas, oil, or water cut mud: Gas cut mud may be considered an early warning sign. It may occur due to: a) drilling in a gas bearing

formation with the correct mud weight, b) swabbing when making a connection or during trips, and c) influx due to negative

pressure differential.

iv) Chloride increase good indicator for monitoring well kicks. Most formation fluids contain high levels of salinity compared with

those of the drilling mud.

Kick (Contd..)
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Kick (Contd..)

Killing a well

• Once a kick is adjudged to have taken place, the well is shut in at the

preventers and at the drill pipe.

• Prior to shutting the well, it is necessary to raise the kelly above the
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rotary table and to position the drillpipe tool joint above the pipe rams.

• pipe rams are designed to close around the drill pipe body and not

around the tool joint (or coupling), or the kelly.

• The annular preventer is closed first, then the pipe rams and, finally,

the drillpipe at the surface.

Kick (Contd..)

Killing a well

• In summary, when a kick is detected, the well is shut in to record the DPSIP and

CSIP.

• A remotely operated valve on the choke line is normally opened first prior to
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closing the preventers, to allow the annular mud to flow through the choke line

via the choke manifold and finally to the mud pit.

• The annular preventer is closed first, as this can close around any shape and

size and can be used immediately a kick is observed.

• The ram preventer can be closed once the position of the pipe tool joint is determined. If the tool joint happens to be in the ram

preventer, the kelly is raised to position the drillpipe body inside the ram preventer.

• Once the preventers are closed, the choke is closed slowly

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Kick (Contd..)

Kill Mud

or in field unit

• Thus, the well can now be killed by replacing the original mud by a heavy mud of density 𝜌2. After the well is killed, a safety
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factor of 100-200 psi is added to the drilling mud before normal operations resume.

• The casing shut-in pressure plays a major role in the process of well killing. It is used as a monitor to prevent bursting of the

casing and fracturing of the formation below the casing shoe.

• The CSIP must not be allowed to exceed the burst resistance of the casing, to prevent rupturing of the casing. In practice, the

• maximum allowable CSIP is taken equal to 70% of the burst resistance of casing.

Kick (Contd..)

Kill Method

Wait-and-weight method

• A given time (waiting time) must be allowed for the kill mud (or weighted mud) to be prepared.

• The method uses one circulation to remove the influx fluids and kill the well at the same time.

Driller's method
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• The driller's method uses two circulations to kill the well employing a slow pumping speed (kill speed).

• In the first circulation the original mud is circulated, the drillpipe pressure being kept constant by continuously adjusting the

choke setting.

• During the first circulation, the aim is to remove all the fluid influxes.

• At the end of the first circulation, the CSIP should be equal to the DPSIP.

• In the second circulation the required heavy mud is circulated, the casing pressure being kept constant by adjusting the choke

setting at the choke manifold until the drill pipe is filled with the kill mud. Thereafter, the standpipe pressure is maintained

constant by varying the choke size until the kill mud arrives at the surface.

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Typical BOP stack arrangement

BOP

Blowout preventers (BOPs) are devices placed on top of the well to provide a line of defence against possible well kicks which

may produce dangerously high pressures within the annulus of the well.

In general, there are two types of BOP: Annular and Ram types.

Annular preventers
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• Annular BOPs are designed to shut off around any size and shape of equipment run through the hole.

• Thus, annular preventers can close around drill pipe, drill collars and casing, and can also pack off an open hole.

• An annular preventer is, therefore, the well's master valve and is normally closed first in the event of a well kick, owing to

flexibility of the closing rubbers.

• Annular preventers can only be closed hydraulically by directing fluid under pressure to the operating cylinder through the

closing chamber

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BOP

Annular preventers
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BOP

Ram preventers

Ram preventers can be fitted with four types of ram: (1) pipe rams; (2) variable-bore rams (VBRs); (3) blind rams; and (4) shear

rams.

Pipe Ram

• Pipe rams are designed to close around a particular size of drill pipe, tubing or casing. The packoff is provided by two steel
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ram blocks containing semi-circular openings with each ram being fitted with a two-piece rubber seal.

• Pipe rams can be closed manually or hydraulically to seal off the annular space below them.

• Under hydraulic pressure the piston rod pushes the two rams towards the centre of the hole, where the pipe is gripped and

centred. The increased pressure energises the packer rubbers, allowing them to flow around the pipe and provide a complete

pack-Qff.

• When the drill string contains two different pipe sizes, it is the practice to employ two pipe rams – one for the smaller pipe and

the other for the large pipe.

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BOP

Pipe Ram
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BOP

Variable-bore rams (VBRs)

• In normal drilling operations a BOP ram has to be changed every time a new drillpipe or casing size is run. In offshore

operations changing a BOP is both time-consuming and expensive.

• Variable-bore rams have been developed to close and seal on a range of pipe sizes.
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• Their use eliminates the need to disconnect a BOP stack to accommodate a new pipe size

Blind rams

Blind rams are similar to pipe rams, except that packers are replaced by ones that have no cutouts in the rubber. They are

designed to seal off the bore when no drill string or casing is present.

Shear rams

Shear rams are a type' of blind ram that can cut the pipe and seal off the open hole. Most shear rams require 3000 psi to cut pipe.

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Choke manifold

• When a well kick is detected, the fluid influxes are circulated out through a pipe connected to the ram preventer, known as a

'choke line.

• The choke line is connected to a choke manifold comprising adjustable choke valves, fittings and lines to direct the fluids

either to the mud pit or to a flare line.

The kill line

• In the event that heavy mud cannot be circulated down the drill pipe (or kelly), an auxiliary line must be used to allow

pumping of heavy mud down the annulus.

• This line is known as a 'kill line'.

• One end of the kill line is connected to a side outlet below the ram preventer that is likely to be closed, while the other end is

connected to the rig mud pumps.

Typical BOP stack arrangement

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Typical BOP stack arrangement

• the rated pressure is 3000 psi (1M = 1000

preventer (A)is used

Typical BOP stack arrangement

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