Table Of Content

Robert erac, I). With Contributions Bob Cudd, Richar Advanced Blowout &Well Control Advanced Blowout &well Control Robert D, Grace With Contributions By Bob Cudd, Richard S, Carden, and Jerald L. Shursen Gulf Publishing Company Houston, Texas Advanced Blowout and Well Control Copyright 0 1994 by Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission of the publishers. Gulf Publishing Company Book Division P.O. Box 2608 Houston, Texas 77252-2608 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationD ata Grace, Robert D. Advanced blowout and well control / Robert D. Grace. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-88415-260-X 1. Oil wells-Blowouts. 2. Gas wells-Blowouts. I. Title. TN871.2.G688 1994 622'.3382-d~20 94-19 597 CIP iv CONTENTS ....................................................... Acknowledgments x ......................................................................... Preface xi CHAPTER ONE ........................................... Equipment in Well Control 3 The Stack, 4 The Choke Line, 6 The Choke Manifold, 16 The Valve Arrangement. The Panic Line. The Drilling Choke. The Header. The Separator, 24 The Stabbing Valve, 25 CHAPTER TWO Classic Pressure Control Procedures While ............................................................................. Drilling 28 Causes of Well Kicks and Blowouts, 29 Mud Weight Less Than Formation Pore Pressure. Failure to Keep the Hole Full and Swabbing While Tripping. Lost Circulation. Mud Cut. Indications of a Well Kick, 31 Sudden Increase in Drilling Rate. Increase in Pit Level or Flow Rate. Change in Pump Pressure. Reduction in Drillpipe Weight. Gas, Oil, or Water-cut Mud. V Shut-in Procedure, 32 Circulating Out the Influx, 38 Theoretical Considerations. Driller’s Method. Wait and Weight Method. Summary, 83 CHAPTER THREE ....... Pressure Control Procedures While Tripping 84 Causes of Kicks While Tripping, 85 Trip Sheets and Filling Procedures. Periodic Filling Procedure. Continuous Filling Procedure. Tripping into the Hole. Shut-in Procedure, 97 Well Kicks While Tripping. Stripping in the Hole. CHAPTER FOUR Special Conditions.,. .P..r ..o...b...l.e..m....s..,.. .a..n...d... .P...r...o..c..e dur.e.s.. ..... in Well Control 113 Significance of Surface Pressures, 114 A Kick is Taken While Drilling. Influx Migration. Safety Factors in Classical Pressure Control Procedures, 137 Circulating a Kick Off Bottom, 142 Classical Procedures-Plugged Nozzle Effect, 144 Classical Procedures-Drill String Washout Effect, 144 Determination of Shut-in Drillpipe Pressures, 145 Determination of the Type of Fluid Which Entered the Wellbore, 147 Frictional Pressure Losses, 150 Annulus Pressure Profiles With Classical Procedures, 154 vi Constant Casing Pressure, 177 Constant Drillpipe Pressure, 177 Modification of the Wait and Weight Method, 177 The Low Choke Pressure Method, 178 Reverse the Bubble Out Through the Drillpipe, 180 Overkill Wait and Weight Method, 186 Slim Hole Drilling-Continuous Coring Considerations, 191 Stripping with Influx Migration, 195 Oil-Base Mud in Pressure and Well Control Operations, 200 Fire. Solubility of Natural Gas in Oil-Base Mud. Floating Drilling and Subsea Operation Considerations, 207 Subsea Stack. Spacing Out. Shut-in Procedures. Floating Drilling Well Control Problems. Shallow Gas Kicks. CHAPTER FIVE ..... ....... ................ Fluid Dynamics in Well Control 218 Kill-Fluid Bullheading, 219 Kill-Fluid Lubrication-Volumetric Kill Procedure, 228 Dynamic Kill Operations, 256 The Momentum Kill, 267 CHAPTER SIX ..... ..... .................. Special Services in Well Control 278 Snubbing, 278 Equipment and Procedures. Equipment Specifications. Fire Fighting and Capping, 310 Equipment. Extinguishing the Fire. Capping the Well. vii