7/11/2019 Constant Bhp Kill Methods - Well Control - Netwas Group Oil

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Constant Bhp Kill Methods

Last Updated on Fri, 05 Jul 2019 | Well Control

There are three 'constant bottom-hole pressure' kill methods

in common use today which are:
Driller's Method
Wait & Weight Method (also known as the 'Engineer's Method')
Concurrent Method.

These three techniques are very similar in principle, and differ only in respect of
when kill mud is pumped down.
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In the Driller's method, the kill is split into two circulations. During the first, the
kick fluid is circulated without changing the mud weight; once the kick is out, Reviews
the mud is weighted up and pumped around the well on the second circulation.
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The Wait and Weight method achieves both of these operations simultaneously.
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Kill mud is prepared before starting the kill, and the kick fluid is circulated out
while this mud is circulated into the well.
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In the Concurrent method, a compromise is adopted between these two The Llnkbelt Vibrating Screen
methods. The kick fluid is circulated out while the mud being circulated in, is Annular volume Formulas
Water Requirements Specific
weighted up in stages, towards the kill weight.
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Of the three methods, the Wait & Weight method is the most popular, and the
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one recommended for use in most instances. It produces lower well pressures Riser Coupling Design Drilling
than either of the other methods, with an evident benefit to safety. Each of the Plug Flow Cementation Oil Well
three methods is now described in detail. Screen Blinding Drilling Fluid
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1.3.1 The Driller's Method Maximum Flex Or Ball Joint Angle
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In the Driller's method, the kick is circulated out of the hole using the existing Formations In Which Diamond
mud weight. The mud weight is then raised to the required level and circulated Square Drill Collars Oil Well
Tapered Drillpipe Strings Oil Well
around the well.

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Two complete circulation's are thus required, as a minimum, for this method. Categories
Since it deals separately with the removal of the kick and the addition of kill Oil Well Drilling
weight mud, it is generally considered to be the simplest of well control Drilling Fluids
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methods, and it requires least arithmetic. However, this results, in the well being
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circulated under pressure for a relatively long time, possibly the longest of the Drilling Engineering
three methods, with an increased possibility of choke problems. Also, the Drilling Fluids
annular pressures produced during the first circulation are higher than produced Drilling Guide
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with any other method.
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CAUTION: BECAUSE VERY HIGH ANNULAR PRESSURE MAY ARISE WHEN
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KILLING A GAS KICK WITH THIS METHOD, CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN. ANNULAR
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PRESSURE WILL BE AT A MAXIMUM IMMEDIATELY BEFORE GAS ARRIVES AT Drilling Fluid Systems
SURFACE, AND CASING BURST PRESSURE LIMITATIONS MAY BE CRITICAL. FOR Horizontal Directional Drilling
Formulas and Calculations
THIS REASON, THE DRILLER'S METHOD IS NOT GENERALLY RECOMMENDED.
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In general, this method is most used on small land rigs where the Driller may
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have little help and limited equipment. A variant of this method is also used in
Air and Gas Drilling
some workover operations. Drilling Equipment
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In addition the simplicity of the Driller's method makes it useful when only Milling Grinding Drilling
limited information is available about the well conditions. Drilling Engineering
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To summarise: Directional Drilling
FIRST CIRCULATION: Pump the kick out of the well, using Drilling Machine
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existing mud weight.
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SECOND CIRCULATION: Pump kill weight mud around the well. Drilling Engineering
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a) Advantages of driller's method Drilling Riser Couplings
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MINIMUM ARITHMETIC Drilling Fluids
MINIMUM WAITING AROUND TIME - CAN START KILL AT ONCE Extreme Environments
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MINIMUM INFORMATION REQUIRED.
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b) Disadvantages of driller's method Drilling of Plastics
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HIGHEST ANNULAR PRESSURE PRODUCED
Corrosion on Well Equipment
MAXIMUM WELL UNDER PRESSURE TIME Petroleum Engineering

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LONGEST 'ON-CHOKE' TIME. Drilling Methods

Well Drilling Operations
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a. Procedure for driller's method; See Figure 2 (a) - (f)
b. The well is closed in and the information recorded. Iadc Drilling
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FIRST CIRCULATION
2) If a slow circulating rate pressure, P SCR, has been taken, then calculate the
pressure required on the drillpipe for the first circulation of the well.

This is:

Initial Circulation = Slow Circulation Rate + Shut In Drillpipe Pressure Pressure

Pressure or:

ICP = PSCR + SIDPP

1. Open the choke about one quarter, start the pump and break circulation;
then bring the pump up to the Kill Rate.
2. While the Driller is bringing the pump up to the Kill Rate, the choke
operator should operate the choke so as to keep the casing pressure at or
near the closed in casing pressure reading.
3. Once the pump is up to the Kill Rate, the choke operator should transfer
his attention to the drillpipe pressure gauge and adjust the choke to
maintain the INITIAL CIRCULATING PRESSURE on the drillpipe pressure
gauge.
4. The INITIAL CIRCULATING PRESSURE is held constant on the drillpipe
pressure gauge by adjusting the choke throughout the whole of the first
circulation, until all of the kick fluid has been circulated out of the well.
The pump rate must also be held constant at the KILL RATE throughout
this period.
5. Once the kick is out of the hole, shut the well in and mix up the kill mud
weight required.

KlllW(pigg)tMud = Old Mud Weight + [SIDPP (psi)* TVD(ft) * 0.052]

NOTE 1: This is a kill weight mud to balance formation pressure. It is the lowest
possible mud weight which will 'kill' the well. Once the well is dead, it will be
necessary to increase the mud weight further to provide a trip margin.

NOTE2: Some operators prefer to continue circulating the well while kill weight
mud is being mixed. There is no theoretical reason why this should not be done,
though it does result in further wear and tear on equipment under pressure - in
particular the choke.

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Figure 2

SECOND CIRCULATION
1. Once the kill mud is ready, open the choke about one quarter, start the
pump and break circulation. Then bring the pump up to the kill rate.
2. While the Driller is bringing the pump up to the kill rate, the choke
operator should operate the choke so as to keep the casing pressure
steady at the same pressure as when closed in.
3. While the drillpipe is being filled with heavy mud, hold the casing
pressure constant. The drillpipe pressure will go down as the drillpipe is
being slugged with the heavier mud. In practice, if all the kick was
properly removed in the first circulation, the choke should not need to be
touched once the pumps are steady at the Kill Rate, until kill mud reaches
the bit.

Once the kill mud reaches the bit, the pressure held on the drillpipe is just that
required to circulate the mud around the well. This is the slow circulating rate
pressure, increased slightly for the extra mud weight.

Final Circulating _ SlowCirculatirg Kill Mud Weight

Pressure RatePressure OriginalMud Weight

The drillpipe pressure starts dropping below the initial circulating pressure, as
the kill mud starts down the drillpipe, reaching the final circulating pressure
when the kill mud reaches the bit. Thereafter the drillpipe pressure is held at the
final circulating pressure by controlled opening of the choke, as the kill mud
moves up the annulus.

A graph showing how drillpipe pressure drop from the initial to the final
circulating pressure is shown in Figure 3 and this can be used as a guide to the
drillpipe pressure required. The drillpipe pressure should drop according to the
graph, as kill mud goes to the bit, without the choke being moved.

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Figure 3 - Graph of Drillpipe Pressure as Kill Mud is Pumped

Pump Stroke

Figure 3 - Graph of Drillpipe Pressure as Kill Mud is Pumped

Because of the possibility that the annulus may not be circulated to completely
clean during the first circulation, it may be preferable to work out how the
drillpipe pressure should vary, as kill mud is pumped in and around the well.
This will allow the drillpipe pressure to be used throughout, so eliminating the
possibility of small gas bubbles in the annulus producing misleading information.

The following graphs depict the variations in pressure during the well circulation.

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Graph 1 - First Circulation

SECOND CIRCULATION

Start Finish

Start Finish

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CIRCULATING PRESSURE

Graph 2 - Second Circulation

d) Determination of initial circulating pressure

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If no slow circulating rate pressure has been taken, then the initial circulating
pressure can be determined using the start-up procedures described in the
circulations of the Driller's method.

Where the casing pressure has been held constant while the pumps are brought
up to a kill rate, the drillpipe pressure reading will be the initial circulating
pressure.

The procedure consists of:

1. Noting casing pressure reading.
2. Adjusting pumps to new kill rate. Adjusting choke to hold casing pressure
constant at the value noted.
3. As soon as the driller has the pumps settled on the new rate, return to
the drillpipe pressure gauge. Note this new reading as the circulating
pressure for the new pump rate and maintain this.

NOTE: This procedure is satisfactory at any time during a kill providing the mud
weight in the drill string is not changing during the process. It is however
preferable to maintain pump rate constant as much as possible. Any decision to
change pump rate should be taken early.

1.3.2 Wait and Weight Method

The 'Wait and Weight' is sometimes referred to as the 'Engineers Method' or the
'One Circulation Method'. It does, at least in theory, kill the well in one
circulation.

This is the preferred method used by most operators and recommended by

many well killing experts. Its principal advantage is that it provides the lowest
annular pressures during the circulation of the kill, making it the safest of the
commonly used kill methods.

Once the well is shut in and pressures stabilised, the shut in drillpipe pressure is
used to calculate the kill mud weight. Mud of the required weight is made up in
the mud pits. When ready, kill mud is pumped down the drillpipe. At
commencement enough drillpipe pressure must be held to circulate the mud,
plus a reserve equivalent to the original shut in drillpipe pressure. This total
steadily decreases as the mud goes down to the bit, until with kill mud at the

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bit, the required pressure is simply that needed to pump kill mud around the
well.

The choke is adjusted to reduce drillpipe pressure while kill mud is pumped
down the string.

With kill mud at the bit, the static head of mud in the drill pipe balances
formation pressure. For the remainder of the circulation, as the influx is pumped
to the surface, followed by drill pipe contents and the kill mud, the drillpipe
pressure is held at the final circulating value by choke adjustment.

a) Advantages of the wait and weight method

LOWEST WELL BORE PRESSURES, AND LOWEST SURFACE
PRESSURES -this means less EQUIPMENT STRESS.
MINIMUM 'ON-CHOKE' CIRCULATING TIME.

b) Disadvantages of the wait and weight method

CONSIDERABLE WAITING TIME (while weighting up) - GAS
MIGRATION?
IF LARGE INCREASES IN MUD WEIGHT REQUIRED, THIS IS
DIFFICULT TO DO UNIFORMLY IN ONE STAGE.

c) Procedure for the wait and weight method

The Wait and Weight method uses the same calculations already described for a
drillpipe pressure schedule. The calculations are:

Kill Mud Weight = OngmalMud Wdght + [ ^ ^ ^ ^ (PPg) (PPg)

At the start of the circulation, with kill mud:

Initial Circulating SlowCirculatirg Rate Shut In Drillpipe Pressure _ Pressure +

Pressure

Once the capacity of the drill string is calculated, it is possible to draw a graph
showing how drillpipe pressure varies as kill mud is pumped down to the bit.

Once kill mud is ready, the start-up procedure is as previously described.

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The choke is cracked open, the pump started to break circulation, and then
brought up slowly to the Kill Rate.

While the Driller brings the pump up to the Kill Rate, the choke operator works
the choke so as to keep the casing pressure at or as near as possible to the
closed in casing pressure reading.

When the pump is up to the Kill Rate, the choke operator transfers to the
drillpipe pressure gauge, adjusting the choke if necessary to achieve the INITIAL
CIRCULATING PRESSURE on the drillpipe pressure gauge.

As the kill mud proceeds down the drillpipe, the drillpipe pressure is allowed to
drop steadily from the Initial Circulating Pressure to the Final Circulating
Pressure, by choke adjustment.

Where the kick is a small one, at or near the bottom of the hole, the drillpipe
pressure tends to drop of its own accord as the kill mud moves down. Little or
no choke adjustment is required.

Only in cases of diffused gas kicks with gas far up the annulus will significant
choke adjustments be needed during this period.

After kill mud has reached the bit, the drillpipe pressures is maintained at the
Final Circulating Pressure, until the kill mud returns to surface.

As with the Driller's method, this Final Circulating pressure is held constant as
long as pump rate is held constant at the selected value. If, for any reason, the
pump rate is felt to be wrong, it can be changed using the same procedure
described previously. However, pump rate changes should be avoided, where
possible.

While the pump rate is adjusted, the casing pressure is held steady by adjusting
the choke. Once the pump is stabilised at its new speed, the revised circulating
pressure is read from the drillpipe gauge. If a gas influx is very near to the
surface, adjusting pump rate by holding a steady casing pressure may
significantly increase the bottom hole pressure. This is due to the rapid
expansion of gas near the surface. Alterations in pump rate are to be made
early on!

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