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Well Control Methods PDF

The document describes four well control methods: 1) Driller's Method - Uses two circulations to circulate out a kick and restore well control while maintaining bottom hole pressure constant. 2) Wait and Weight Method - Uses one circulation while following a pumping schedule to circulate kill mud from surface to bit. 3) Volumetric Method - Allows a gas kick to expand in a controlled manner to reduce pressures while maintaining bottom hole pressure above formation pressure. 4) Lubricate and Bleed Method - Pumps mud to displace gas that was brought to surface using the Volumetric Method, while bleeding off gas in stages to remove it from the wellbore.

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484 views10 pages

Well Control Methods PDF

The document describes four well control methods: 1) Driller's Method - Uses two circulations to circulate out a kick and restore well control while maintaining bottom hole pressure constant. 2) Wait and Weight Method - Uses one circulation while following a pumping schedule to circulate kill mud from surface to bit. 3) Volumetric Method - Allows a gas kick to expand in a controlled manner to reduce pressures while maintaining bottom hole pressure above formation pressure. 4) Lubricate and Bleed Method - Pumps mud to displace gas that was brought to surface using the Volumetric Method, while bleeding off gas in stages to remove it from the wellbore.

Uploaded by

robert5castillo-5
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Well Control Methods

n Driller’s Method.
n Wait and Weight Method.
n Volumetric Methods.
n Lubricate and Bleed Method.
Well Control Methods

At the end of this section you should be able to:

n Describe the different well control methods and its


applications.
n Describe the importance of bottom hole pressure constant
while controlling a well.
Well Control Methods
Once the well has been shut in and pressures have been observed to stabilize, three
conventional well control methods are available to circulate out a kick and restore well
control:
n The Driller's.
n The Wait and Weight.
n The Volumetric followed by the Lubricate and Bleed (required in special situations).

All these methods are intended to keep the bottom hole pressure slightly higher than
the formation pressure, by the adequate use of the surface choke to impose additional
back pressure on the wellbore.

The drillstring on or near bottom is the most desirable position for well control operations
because the well can then be most effectively killed using either the Driller’s or the Wait
and Weight methods. Therefore, when the drill string is partially (i.e. the bit is off bottom
any significant distance) or completely out of the hole and a kick is experienced, every
effort should be made to safely return the drill string to bottom or as close to bottom as
possible while at the same time maintaining well control.
Driller’s Method

The Driller’s method involves two full circulations to kill the well.

n During the first circulation, the drill pipe pressure is maintained at a


constant value until the influx is circulated from the wellbore using
original mud weight.
n During the second circulation, kill mud is pumped to the bit while
following the drill pipe pressure schedule established in the kill sheet.
If all the kick fluid was successfully circulated from the well in the first
circulation, the casing pressure should remain constant until the kill
mud reaches the bit. When the kill mud enters the annulus, the drill
pipe circulating pressure is maintained constant until the kill mud
reaches surface.
Driller’s Method
First circulation: circulate gas out of the hole, holding bottom hole pressure constant
using Original Mud Weight (OMW).

1. Bring the pump to kill rate speed, holding the casing pressure constant at SICP (shut
in casing pressure) value.
2. Kill rate speed established, hold drill pipe gauge pressure constant until the influx is
removed from the wellbore.
3. Turn the pump off maintaining the casing pressure constant.
4. At this stage the well is not killed, and the SIDPP (shut in drill pipe pressure) and
SICP should be the same and equal to the original SIDPP if the influx has been fully
circulated out of the annulus.
5. During the first circulation, mud is weighted up from the OMW to the Kill Mud Weight
(KMW):

KMW (ppg) = SIDPP (psi) ÷ 0.052 ÷ TVD (ft) + OMW (ppg)


Driller’s Method
Second circulation: circulate kill mud in the hole holding bottom hole pressure constant.
1. Prepare a pumping schedule as a function of slow circulating rate pressure (SCRP):
n Initial circ. pressure: ICP = SCRP + SIDPP
n Final circ. pressure:
FCP = SCRP x (KMW ÷ OMW)
n Surface–to–bit strokes:
Strokes = drill string volume ÷ pump output
n Time to pump surface – bit: Time =
total strokes ÷ Strokes per minute
n Pressure drop per increment =
(ICP – FCP) ÷ Nsteps
Example of Driller’s method – Second Circ. Plot

Nsteps = number of steps selected to bring the drill pipe pressure from ICP to FCP.
Driller’s Method
Continue Second circulation:
2. Open the choke manifold valve upstream of the choke.
3. Bring the pump to kill rate while holding casing pressure constant.
4. Record the actual circulating drill pipe pressure. If equal to calculated ICP, continue
pumping and adjust the stand pipe pressure according to the pumping schedule.
5. If the actual circulating drill pipe pressure is significantly different from the calculated
ICP, shut the well in and investigate the reason.
6. Once the kill mud enters the annulus, hold drill pipe pressure constant until the kill
mud returns to surface.
7. Once kill circulation is complete, the well will be shut in to observe the DP and
casing pressures.
8. If no pressure is measured, the well will be flow checked through the choke before
opening the BOPs.
(Note: To help in identifying the cause of potential problems, it is important to maintain a good systematic
record of time, pressures, volumes, etc.)
Wait and Weight Method
The Wait and Weight method involves one circulation to kill the well. Once an influx is
identified, the well is shut in, the entire surface system is weighted up to the required kill
weight mud. Kill weight mud is then pumped from surface to bit while following a
pumping schedule. Once the kill mud enters the annulus, a constant drill pipe pressure
is maintained until the kill mud returns to surface.

The procedure for the Wait and Weight method is as follows:


n Prepare kill mud.
n Bring the pumps to kill rate pumping kill mud while holding the casing pressure
constant (less choke line friction for floating units).
n When the kill rate is established, switch to the drill pipe gauge and follow the
pumping schedule until kill mud reaches the bit. At this point hold the drill pipe
pressure constant until the kill mud reaches surface.
Volumetric Method
If a gas kick cannot be circulated from the wellbore, the gas bubble will migrate
up the hole without expansion (well shut in), thereby causing an increase of all
pressures in the wellbore. This may result in excessive surface, casing shoe and
bottom hole pressures, increasing the risk of an underground blowout.

To avoid this, it is necessary to allow the influx to expand with time in a


controlled fashion in order to reduce the pressures in the wellbore.

With the volumetric method, the bottom hole pressure is maintained slightly in
excess of the formation pressure following predetermined steps while the gas is
allowed to expand as it migrates to surface.

The volumetric method only brings the gas to surface. To remove this gas, the
Lubricate and bleed method must be implemented.
Lubricate and Bleed Method
With gas at surface after the use of the volumetric method, mud needs to be
lubricated in the annulus as follows:

n Allow time for the mud to fall through the gas by gravity. The casing pressure
may increase slightly due to the gas being compressed by the mud being
pumped in.
n Reduce casing pressure by 100 psi (as an example), by bleeding gas from
the annulus. If mud starts coming back, shut the choke and wait for the gas
to work up to the surface before continuing to bleed. If mud has been bled off
together with the gas, this volume of mud must be additionally re-lubricated
together with the selected volume of mud per each lubrication.
n Repeat until all the gas has been bled off from the wellbore.

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