Course overview

This Formation Pressure and Wellbore Pressure Control course is designed to provide participants with a basic competency in wellbore pressures, formation pressures and associated well control aspects. The course is presented as a scenario based course. Participants are presented with an offshore well and work through all the pressure and well control aspects using the provided well data.

Course objectives and outcomes

The objectives of this course are to provide participants with a basic competency in wellbore and formation pressures and the associated well control aspects. Participants will gain a basic competency in understanding and calculating all the wellbore pressures. This includes not only hydrostatic pressures, but participants will calculate overburden, pore pressure and fracture pressure predictions using the different methods. The participants gain basic competency in barrier aspects through using the scenario to define and review the barriers for each of the hole sections. In the latter part of the course the participants gain competency in dealing with kick circulations and well control challenges including underground and surface blowouts.

The outcomes of the course are that participants will understand;

• Pressure Concepts and Pressure gradients
• Hydrostatic, Overburden, Pore and Fracture pressures
• Causes and detection of abnormal pressures
• Pressure detection methods
• Casing Design Concepts and Kick Tolerance
• Pressures in drilling operations
• Barriers
• Primary and Secondary Well Control Calculations
• Well control Challenges

The course is designed for

Drilling related personnel directly involved in drilling operations, drilling engineers, service engineers and supervisors.

Course method

The course method will be a combination of the following;

• Lectures (presentations)
• Discussions and exercises
• Real/field case and Demonstration

Broken down as follows;

• 30% Lectures and videos
• 10% Discussions
• 60% Case Studies & Practical Exercises

Note: Participants will be required to have a laptop computer with a spreadsheet and word processor and a calculator for the course.

A course booklet will be provided together with the well scenario for the course.

Course outline

Day 1: Pressure concepts

The first day introduces the participants to pressure and pressure gradient concepts. Calculations for hydrostatic and overburden pressures will be performed. Participants will then predict pore and fracture pressures.

• Welcome and Introductions
• Pressure Concepts
• Pressure Gradients
• Hydrostatic Pressures
• Overburden Pressures
• Pore Pressures
• Fracture Pressures

Day 1 Exercises: Pressure calculations for hydrostatic and formation pressures.

Day 2: Abnormal Pressures

In the second day of the course participants are introduced to abnormal pressures. The scenario provides participants with an abnormally pressured well that will be used to look at causes and detection methods of abnormal pressures.

• Abnormal Pressures
• Causes of Abnormal Pressures
• Detection of Abnormal pressures
  • Prior to drilling
  • After drilling
• Measuring Formation Pressures

Day 2 Exercises: Hydrostatic pressures, pore and fracture pressures, buoyancy, design of surface casing.

Day 3: Well Design and Pressures

On the third day of the course participants are presented with the abnormally pressured well and will design the casing for the well using kick tolerance and select mud densities for each of the hole sections. Once the well has been design participants will calculate drilling pressures both ECD and Surge and Swap pressures.

• Casing Seat Selection
• Kick Tolerance
• Drilling Fluids and Densities
• Drilling Pressures
  • Hydrostatics
  • ECD
  • Surge and Swab
  • Gas Pressures
  • Oil Pressures

Day 3 Exercises: ECD, Kick Tolerance, Surge and Swab, gas hydrostatics.

Day 4: Primary and Secondary Well Control

The fourth day of the course introduces participants to barriers and primary well control. Managed pressure drilling is introduced with its pressure issues. Participants will then look at kick detection and calculate kick circulation methods.

• Barriers
• Primary well Control
• Managed Pressure Drilling
• Kick Detection
• Kick Circulation

Day 4 Exercises: Identification of Barriers, MPD, Kick Circulation methods.

Day 5: Tertiary Well Control

The last day of the course the participants are presented will well control challenges using the scenario well. Bullheading and lubricate and bleed calculations are presented and conducted. Underground blowouts and surface blowouts are presented at the end of the course.

• Well Control challenges
• Bullheading
• Lubricate and Bleed
• Underground blowouts
• Surface Blowouts

Day 5 Exercises: Bullheading, Lubricate and Bleed, Sandwich kill.

"Excellent instructor – very wide-ranging experience." - NCOC, Kazakhstan

Course terms and conditions