Interpretation of connection and pump off gases on the ‘R’ template of the Kristin field.

R.Tyndall
Geoservices 3rd Engineer

(Revision 2)

Background

For the purposes of this report a ‘connection gas’ is a lagged gas peak associated with the reduction or complete
halting of pump rate (and consequent reduction in flow rate) either at a connection or for some other reason such as
setting of down hole tools or carrying out surveys. Strictly it would be more accurate to talk about ‘pumps off’ events
but connection gases are the more familiar term and so both terms are used in this report.

Most of the information contained in this report is already known to the geologists and drilling supervisors working on
the Kristin project. However, the purpose of this exercise is to collate all the information available from one particular
set of wells and provide some definitive data to back up the hands-on knowledge of those involved in the drilling
program.

Some concern has been raised about the reporting of connection gases during the drilling of the 8½” sections of wells
on the Kristin field. The Geoservices Engineers and the Statoil Geologists have been looking at these gas peaks to try
and understand the mechanisms involved in their generation and have conducted a study based on the Geoservices gas
data collected from a number of wells drilled by the Scarabeo 5 on the ‘R’ template.

‘Classic’ connection gas peaks

The initial thought when gas peaks are seen in association with connections or pumps off events is that they are the
result of an increase in formation pressure and the resultant loss of overbalance in the well. As the formation pressure
approaches the hydrostatic pressure the extra pressure provided by circulating (the ECD) becomes critical in preventing
an influx. When the pumps are switched off and the extra pressure from circulating is lost, it is possible for gas to enter
the well and travel to the surface as a ‘connection gas’.

Since a number of connection gases in the well at any given moment can further reduce the hydrostatic pressure, there
is understandable concern amongst operators to spot and counter possible connection gases, usually by increasing the
mud weight. This in itself can cause problems if the margin between the formation pressure and the fracture gradient is
low meaning that any small increase in mud weight and resultant increase in ECD might be sufficient to induce losses.
This is particularly the case if the origins of the connection gas peaks have been misdiagnosed and such a mistaken
interpretation is actually more likely in wells such as those in the Kristin field where there is relatively little margin
between the formation pressure and the fracture pressure.

Data

This report is based on data collected from the 8½” sections of wells drilled for Statoil on the R Template of the Kristin
field in 2004 using the Scarabeo 5 semi-submersible rig. In all cases the 9 5/8” casing shoes had been set in the shales
above the Garn reservoir. The main formations then encountered consisted of the Spekke/Melke shales, the Garn
reservoir, the Not shales and the Ile reservoir. Only the R1HT2 well penetrated this lower reservoir.
The relevant data from each well is detailed below with the important formation tops followed by the gas peak data as
collected by Geoservices. As a visual aid the reservoir sections have been highlighted in yellow on the gas peak tables.
Formation tops and pressure data has been collected from the DBRs for the relevant wells.

Formation and fracture pressures

The formation pressures for the individual wells are discussed below. It is worth pointing out that although the fracture
gradient in the 8½” sections of the wells studied remains comfortably above the maximum permitted ECDs (at around
2.18sg EMW in the shales and 2.14sg EMW in the sandstones), it is still possible at lower pressures for mud to seep
into the formation whilst pumping and return when pumps are switched off. This effect – known as charging or
ballooning - is central to the discussions below and is studied in more detail in the conclusions of this report.
Well 6406-2-R1H & R1HT2

Formation tops in R1H

8½” section started at 5424m

Top Lyr 5660m MD (4618.8m TVD)
Top Spekke 5674m MD (4626.0m TVD)
Top Melke 5676m MD (4627.0m TVD)
Top Garn 4 5744m MD (4651.3m TVD)
Top Garn 3 5802m MD (4668.5m TVD)
Top Garn 2 5903m MD (4693.2m TVD)
Top Garn 1 5978m MD (4711.1m TVD)
Top Not 2 6013m MD (4718.9m TVD)
Top Not 1 6070m MD (4732.7m TVD)

Formation pressures R1H

According to the prognosis the formation pressures in the 8½” section of the R1H well increased steadily
from 1.84sg in the Lyr formation to 1.97sg at the top of the Garn. The formation pressure then stabilises and
drops slightly through the Garn to around 1.93sg at section TD in the top of the Not.

R1H Gas peaks

Depth (m)
MD TG % Background % C1 ppm C2 ppm C3 ppm iC4 ppm nC4 ppm iC5 ppm nC5 ppm
5421 2.15 0.5 17977 458 39 6 2 8 tr Conn. gas
5451 1.50 0.4 12343 286 28 6 2 9 tr Conn. gas
5462 1.70 0.5 15106 429 51 6 5 8 tr Gas after flow check
5479 1.44 0.6 12035 279 30 7 4 1 tr Conn. gas
5483 0.60 0.3 4591 157 26 7 4 9 tr B/U
5483 1.26 0.1 10342 240 25 6 2 8 tr Gas after flow check
5483 1.45 0.8 14004 333 29 3 3 8 tr Trip gas
5497 1.45 0.6 11630 348 33 6 3 12 tr Conn. gas
5525 1.66 0.3 13655 408 43 6 4 8 tr Conn. gas
Circ gas from Drl
5538 5.40 0.6 49511 1765 309 30 41 13 2 break
5539 15.00 0.1 126052 4494 807 77 102 23 9 Form gas
5554 11.70 0.8 95475 3766 693 54 85 21 9 Conn. gas
5557 10.20 0.8 87008 3491 643 42 85 19 8 Pumps off gas
5612 6.50 0.8 52076 2160 512 50 99 22 10 Wet trip gas
5644 15.11 0.8 117440 4757 853 65 114 25 13 Conn. gas
5671 1.10 0.15 9349 191 26 12 5 9 0 Conn. gas
5671 0.80 0.15 6372 182 33 13 6 9 0 Pumps off gas
5675 2.40 0.15 19944 676 99 14 16 9 0 Pumps off gas
5701 1.40 0.15 11735 342 54 12 11 8 2 Conn. gas
5701 0.96 0.15 7834 246 42 11 9 8 0 Pumps off gas
5729 2.47 0.15 20749 551 73 14 11 7 1 Conn. gas
5750 7.00 0.15 50175 2925 627 57 90 14 6 Form gas
5756 7.70 0.15 67039 2852 525 66 75 16 3 Form gas
5758 1.97 0.15 15672 857 199 30 35 13 3 Pumps off gas
5758 3.15 0.15 25233 1169 266 35 47 14 3 Short Trip Gas
5762 9.16 0.42 76121 3626 771 70 116 25 5 Form gas
5793 4.50 0.42 33682 2668 713 37 143 19 4 Form gas
5799 6.96 0.42 54844 3068 742 55 130 20 9 Form gas
5816 10.70 0.42 88115 4881 950 80 159 26 7 Form gas
5818 9.80 0.42 81531 3730 875 75 150 24 8 Form gas
5829 13.00 0.42 106533 5032 1128 96 186 32 13 Form gas
5842 14.60 0.42 119842 5795 1271 94 217 34 16 Form gas
5851 15.80 0.42 126052 5933 1337 113 223 41 19 Form gas
5873 8.51 0.4 66653 3677 842 51 170 42 27 Form gas
5877 9.02 0.40 71502 3781 884 64 156 35 15 Form gas
5880 10.65 0.40 86043 4928 1131 71 205 30 10 Form gas
5889 11.55 0.40 96885 5261 1155 72 209 28 12 Form gas
5899 15.08 0.40 124266 5612 1164 99 177 34 12 Form gas
5909 11.15 0.40 90442 4568 952 63 157 22 9 Form gas
5925 16.91 0.40 139263 6907 1416 110 216 37 17 Form gas
5954 18.00 0.40 171650 7685 1590 130 240 50 40 Form gas
5959 19.90 0.40 158372 7756 1693 138 272 47 16 Form gas
5965 19.74 0.40 158533 7235 1547 116 248 41 18 Form gas
5972 16.38 0.40 128112 6784 1507 110 251 41 17 Form gas
6017 6.07 0.40 47057 2504 708 55 167 62 22 Form gas
6041 6.20 0.40 48359 2972 742 50 157 58 20 Form gas
6047 2.40 0.40 19802 738 219 27 78 20 15 Conn. gas
6053 2.70 0.40 19799 1397 355 28 94 42 16 Form gas
6056 2.65 0.40 19732 1319 331 27 85 40 33 Form gas
6075 1.90 0.40 16060 576 142 17 53 14 8 Conn. gas
6081 2.10 0.40 16672 759 194 14 59 13 3 Pumps off gas
6102 0.84 0.15 5878 445 126 11 32 19 9 Form gas
6103 1.90 0.15 16173 456 93 13 25 23 5 Conn. gas
6105 1.90 0.15 16099 514 145 14 35 24 11 Form gas
 Connection & pumps off gas peaks R1H

20
18
16
14
12
TG % 10
8
6
4
2
0
5400 5500 5600 5700 5800 5900 6000 6100
Depth (mMD)
Formation tops in R1HT2

Top Lyr 5660m MD (4618.8m TVD)

Top Spekke 5672m MD (-)
Top Melke 5674m MD (-)
Top Garn 4 5742m MD (4652.7m TVD)
Top Garn 3 5798m MD (4672.9m TVD)
Top Garn 2 - (-)
Top Garn 1 - (-)
Top Not 2 5939m MD (4726.1m TVD)
Top Not 1 - (-)
Top Ile 6105m MD (4171.0m TVD)

Formation pressures R1HT2

According to the prognosis the formation pressures in the 8½” section of the R1HT2 well increased steadily
from 1.88sg at the kick off point to 1.96sg at the top of the Garn. The formation pressure then stabilises and
drops slightly through the Garn to around 1.93sg the bottom of the Not. It rises slightly to 1.94 at the top of
the Ile before dropping back to around 1.92sg at TD.

R1HT2 Gas peaks

Depth (m)
MD TG % Background % C1 ppm C2 ppm C3 ppm iC4 ppm nC4 ppm iC5 ppm nC5 ppm
5661 2.3 0.15 19502 297 12 7 5 8 0 Pumps off gas
5669 4.9 0.15 37280 576 27 9 5 9 0 Conn. gas
5678 1.2 0.15 9803 223 29 10 10 10 0 Pumps off gas
5696 1.5 0.15 12557 249 17 10 7 8 0 b/u
5696 1 0.15 7764 162 12 10 5 7 0 Pumps off gas
5696 2.2 0.15 18312 326 17 9 6 7 0 flow check
5696 2.7 0.4 22590 510 40 8 6 5 0 Trip gas
5698 0.4 0.13 3369 103 10 7 3 5 0 Pumps off gas
5698 0.5 0.18 3629 90 7 8 4 7 0 Pumps off gas
5704 2.4 0.18 20830 423 22 8 4 5 1 Conn. gas
5708 0.5 0.2 4230 143 19 7 5 6 0 Pumps off gas
5720 0.9 0.2 7720 224 24 8 7 0 5 Pumps off gas
5733 2.5 0.3 22472 480 30 10 4 4 0 Conn. gas
5739 4.8 0.2 37722 1725 311 7 45 5 2 Form gas
5740 0.7 0.26 5593 260 44 7 8 4 2 Pumps off gas
5744 7.3 0.3 59156 2745 516 28 66 8 2 b/u
5748 3.6 0.3 32227 1636 294 21 34 7 0 Form gas
5762 3.84 0.4 34498 1118 174 17 23 5 0 Conn. gas
5767 4.95 0.4 41834 2141 411 32 54 10 1 Form gas
5773 6.11 0.4 51979 2820 573 40 78 12 2 Form gas
5790 7.87 0.4 69127 3751 804 58 120 18 6 Form gas
5794 6.13 0.4 50725 2813 599 43 87 13 4 Form gas
5800 8.25 0.4 69269 3552 728 53 104 16 5 Form gas
5807 10.33 0.4 86409 4385 888 65 126 19 6 Form gas
5824 13.3 0.4 103644 5711 1180 82 174 24 7 Form gas
5871 8.6 0.2 74488 3175 586 61 82 19 2 Form gas
5879 9.1 0.2 81066 3406 625 67 88 20 4 Form gas
5907 2.9 0.2 26331 987 201 31 41 14 2 Conn. gas
5907 8.5 0.2 76682 3523 733 80 111 27 6 Swab gas
5929 13.76 0.2 120561 5595 1130 120 169 36 7 Form gas
5995 2.87 0.2 23887 1336 343 49 78 24 2 Conn. gas
5996 5.19 0.2 42556 2460 582 66 106 28 7 Form gas
6022 1.18 0.2 9952 331 91 21 31 14 2 Conn. gas
6051 1.60 0.2 991 36 9 3 4 2 1 Conn. gas
6065 1.40 0.2 11942 245 24 6 5 6 1 Conn. gas
6065 2.10 0.2 18680 348 25 6 5 5 1 max b/u fmg
6065 0.80 0.2 6613 119 11 4 3 4 1 Trip gas
6081 1.50 0.2 14278 302 29 5 4 4 1 Conn. gas
6093 2.30 0.2 20345 764 132 14 16 7 2 Form gas
6110 4.70 0.2 41713 1597 293 27 34 9 2 Form gas
6116 11.7 0.2 97047 3438 588 49 70 15 4 Form gas
6145 11.8 0.2 103331 4747 954 61 136 21 6 Form gas
6138 8.00 0.2 69997 3545 707 42 100 15 3 Form gas
6166 7.70 0.2 69089 3847 861 55 141 19 2 Form gas
6176 9.70 0.2 82602 4096 886 61 140 21 6 Form gas
6188 5.90 0.2 45968 2845 710 51 131 21 13 Form gas
6196 2.40 0.2 20309 904 236 22 60 11 3 Pumps off gas
6201 9.34 0.3 74410 3280 607 56 79 17 4 Form gas
6206 8.83 0.3 70792 3431 675 51 89 17 4 Form gas
6221 10.07 0.3 82636 4014 804 62 106 19 6 Form gas
6229 13.31 0.3 110867 5164 1011 82 133 26 8 Form gas
6236 8.11 0.3 67124 3562 742 60 103 20 6 Form gas
6268 6.25 0.3 51518 2642 572 53 88 16 7 Form gas
6279 6.29 0.3 51084 2527 547 50 83 17 6 Form gas
6297 6.08 0.3 46120 2160 450 42 68 13 3 Form gas
6302 9.74 0.3 81219 3873 789 68 110 20 7 Form gas
6316 9.21 0.3 73752 4058 896 69 133 21 10 Form gas
6322 6.36 0.3 49523 2837 627 55 101 19 9 Form gas
 Connection & pumps off gas peaks R1HT2

10

6
TG %
4

0
5600 5700 5800 5900 6000 6100 6200 6300
Depth (mMD)
 Well 6406-2-R3H

Formation tops in R3H

Top Lyr 5410m MD (4568.9m TVD)

Top Spekke 5422m MD (4573.4m TVD)
Top Garn 4 5536m MD (4612.8m TVD)
Top Not 2 5933m MD (4712.6m TVD)

Formation pressures R3H

According to the prognosis the formation pressures in the 8½” section of the R3H well increased steadily
from 1.85sg in the Lyr formation to 1.98sg at the top of the Garn. The formation pressure then stabilises and
drops slightly through the Garn to around 1.94sg at section TD.

R3H Gas peaks

TG % Background % C1 ppm C2 ppm C3 ppm i-C4 ppm n-C4 ppm i-C5 ppm n-C5 ppm
Depth (m) MD
5305 0,80 0,07 8450 282 21 4 2 7 Pumps off gas
5363 2,10 0,5 17578 451 35 7 12 Conn. Gas
5391 1,50 0,4 12982 325 30 4 2 7 Conn. Gas
5401 2,65 0,35 22064 539 43 5 3 8 Pumps off gas
5421 2,15 0,5 17977 458 39 6 2 8 Conn. Gas
5451 1,50 0,4 12343 286 28 6 2 9 Conn. Gas
5462 1,70 0,5 15106 429 51 6 6 8 Pumps off gas
5479 1,44 0,6 12035 279 30 7 4 1 Conn. Gas
5483 1,45 0,8 14004 333 29 3 3 8 Trip gas
5483 1,26 0,1 10342 240 25 6 2 8 Pumps off gas
5483 0,60 0,3 4591 157 26 7 4 9 Form gas
5497 1,45 0,6 11630 348 33 6 3 12 Conn. Gas
5525 1,66 0,34 13655 408 43 6 4 8 Conn. Gas
5538 5,40 0,6 49511 1765 309 30 41 13 2 Form gas
5539 15,00 0,6 126052 4494 807 77 102 23 9 Form gas
5612 6,50 0,8 52076 2160 512 50 99 22 10 Short trip gas
5620 11,80 0,2 95000 3960 840 65 135 27 13 Form gas
5644 15,11 2 117440 4757 853 65 114 25 13 Form gas
5714 18,86 2 156517 5663 1143 104 181 55 18 Form gas
5738 14,40 0,4 118685 4281 923 80 149 32 14 Form gas
5873 5,10 0,2 44419 1346 278 23 45 9 4 Form gas
5908 5,00 0,2 41164 1261 236 16 36 7 5 Form gas
5996 0,30 0,1 1850 41 8 2 2 2 1 Form gas
5996 0,50 0,14 3589 128 35 5 10 5 1 Form gas
 Connection & pumps off gas peaks R3H

3
TG %
2

0
5300 5400 5500 5600 5700 5800 5900 6000
Depth (mMD)
 Well 6406-2-R4H

Formation tops in R4H

Top Lyr 4950m MD (4600.0m TVD)

Top Spekke 4958m MD (4605.0m TVD)
Top Garn 4 5072m MD (4676.7m TVD)
Top Not 2 5225m MD (4778.5m TVD)

Formation pressures R4H

According to the prognosis the formation pressures in the 8½” section of the R4H well increased steadily
from 1.82sg in the Lyr formation to 1.96sg at the top of the Garn. The formation pressure then stabilises and
drops slightly through the Garn to around 1.93sg at section TD in the top of the Not.

R4H Gas peaks

TG % Background % C1 ppm C2 ppm C3 ppm i-C4 ppm n-C4 ppm i-C5 ppm n-C5 ppm
Depth (m) MD
4849 0,15 0,1 1230 120 47 12 6 1 1 Form gas
4858 0,26 0,1 2247 52 7 Trip gas
4960 1,76 0,5 15078 503 43 5 6 12 1 Form gas
5050 0,65 0,23 520 23 6 1 0 0 0 Form gas
5051 0,67 0,4 5405 197 32 5 8 9 1 Pumps off gas
5073 1,50 0,15 13194 350 35 8 7 5 Short trip gas
5073 4,00 0,5 34280 1566 300 26 44 14 0 Form gas
5080 19,00 0,4 153000 7300 1400 84 198 27 12 Form gas
5094 20,87 15 167361 7215 1345 96 177 29 12 Form gas
5101 1,70 0,3 13548 702 179 16 30 2 10 Trip gas
5110 11,40 0,3 102990 4609 870 46 118 15 5 Form gas
5132 13,10 7 108327 5500 1092 63 160 25 7 Form gas
5144 1,60 0,1 12343 643 212 21 50 12 6 Trip gas
5151 13,40 0,3 108327 4727 939 57 131 22 12 Trip gas
5180 0,80 0,2 6241 342 118 12 34 13 4 Trip gas
5192 0,67 0,2 5230 228 68 8 17 6 3 Trip gas
5194 0,93 0,24 8292 185 24 6 4 9 0 Trip gas
5209 1,00 0,2 7890 377 86 7 17 10 0 Trip gas
5209 1,00 0,2 7890 377 86 7 17 10 0 Trip gas
5209 3,20 2,1 24298 2113 385 8 56 10 1 Form gas
5223 1,77 0,9 12477 1741 382 9 63 14 1 Form gas
5255 1,22 0,8 8209 1170 246 9 37 11 2 Form gas
5262 0,80 0,8 9124 278 32 5 9 2 1 Form gas

`
 Observations

A close study of the evidence provided from the four wells shows that there is a clear correlation between
‘connection gases’ and the formation. It is apparent that the gas peaks associated with pumps off events such
as connections are usually only seen when drilling shales or for a short while after entering the reservoir. This
is a pattern that is repeated in all four wells where connection and pumps off gases are commonly seen in the
Melke and Not formations but are almost entirely absent in the Garn and Ile formations.

Melke

In all wells connection or pumps off gases are seen in the Melke formation above the Garn reservoir. Whilst
not all connections and pumps off events produce connection gases they are seen in the majority of cases.

Garn

As a rule connection and pumps off gases are not seen in the Garn reservoir section. In the case of the R3H
and R4H wells, no induced gas peaks at all were observed except trip gases. In the case of the R1H well a
single pumps off gas was seen at 5758m at the top of the Garn just after entering the reservoir at 5744m. On
the R1HT2 well a connection gas was seen on the first connection inside the reservoir at 5762m and another
seen at 5907m.

Not

The R3H well did not penetrate the Not formation and the R4H only entered it by some 40m but in both the
R1H and R1HT2 wells connection and pump off gases were seen on many of the pump off events in the
formation.

Ile

Only the R1HT2 well penetrated the Ile formation and, as with the Garn, there is a notable drop in the
occurance of connection or pumps off gas peaks. Only one is seen in the Ile, a pumps off peak at 6196m.

Discussion

As mentioned in the introduction, the classic idea of connection gases is that they are a result of an imbalance
between the formation pressure and the hydrostatic well pressure which allows gas to enter the well when the
additional pressure margin generated by circulating (the ECD) is lost during pumps off events. However, as
can be seen from the pressure data, on the ‘R’ template wells, which were generally drilled with a mud
weight around 2.03 – 2.05sg and formation pressures did not exceed 1.98sg, it is unlikely that this is the
mechanism which resulted in the connection gases observed.

It is of course possible that poor drilling practices on connections allowed some swabbing which resulted in
the influxes. This could include rapid reciprocation of the pipe while pumps were off. However, the
monitoring of connections on the trip tank and the fingerprinting of all these events showed no sign of an
influx due to poor drilling practices and, had there been such a mechanical cause, it is unlikely that this
would only have occurred whilst drilling certain formations.
It appears more likely that the connection and pump off gas peaks are the result of some form of interaction
between the drilling fluids and certain formations - notably the claystones of the Melke and Not. The
mechanism proposed for this interaction is that of ballooning or charging the formation. This is a well-known
effect when drilling shales and is caused by seepage of mud into the formation during circulation as a result
of the increased pressure from the ECD. In the case of the wells on the Kristin field the ECD in the 8½”
sections is generally around 6 or 8 points higher than the mud weight and can on occasion creep up to 12 or
13 points higher. After trips the ECD can be even higher and circulation at a lower pump rate is required
whilst conditioning mud prior to drilling ahead. Since the pressures required for charging the formation can
be well below that of the fracture gradient, under these circumstances it is entirely possible that some seepage
may be occurring during circulation.

Once circulation ceases, either at a connection or for some other reason, the extra pressure exerted by the
ECD is removed and a portion of the mud which has seeped into the formation returns to the well bore. When
it does so it brings with it a small amount of gas which has been dissolved in the mud and which now travels
to the surface as an apparent connection gas.

What is notable about the wells on the ‘R’ template is that this effect is only seen in the claystone formation
and not in the sandstone reservoirs. It is supposed that this results from the different mechanical properties of
the claystones and the sandstones. In the clays there is a more plastic response and micro fissures may be
opened into which the mud can travel. Although they have a lower fracture gradient, the sandstones in
contrast are generally well cemented and less responsive to the increased pressure from the well bore in the
form of ballooning. In this case the mud is usually unable to seep from the well bore into the formation and
so connection gases are generally absent.

Whilst of course the claystone formations remain exposed after the bit has passed into the reservoirs and
there is some possibility of continued seepage and resultant gas peaks, two factors mitigate against this.
Firstly there is the development of a wall cake which might be sufficient to prevent seepage losses of the type
described. Secondly, once the BHA has passed through the claystone sections, the friction losses alongside
the larger diameter sections of the drill string which contribute the majority of the back pressure resulting in
the ECD, will have been overcome and the pressure on the formation will be much closer to that exerted by
the mud weight. As a result of both of these factors the possibility of seepage losses to the formation are
much reduced once drilling has continued into a new formation.

To confirm this effect it would be useful to be able to identify specific examples of seepage losses during
drilling and flow back during connections. Unfortunately the volumes concerned are relatively small and any
such losses will normally be discounted, as due to oil on cuttings, residual loss at the shakers or evaporation,
all of which are difficult to quantify and eliminate from the calculations. In the same way, slight gains on the
connections in amounts of perhaps 10s of litres will often be dismissed as due to temperature effects.

This identification of the origins of supposed connection gases in high pressure wells is important as it affects
the way in which the operator views the pressure regime and responds to it. If the connection gases were
interpreted in the classic manner - as a sign of an approaching under-balance in the well - then the normal
response would be to consider raising the mud weight. If the true origins of the gas peaks are ballooning or
charging of the formation then this is only likely to increase the problems. If, however, the gas peaks are
identified as resulting from charging, then the response is more likely to be one of monitoring for losses and
paying more attention to the maintenance of a manageable ECD which does not risk fracture and more severe
losses. In this way, the connection gases trend in the shales may be used to provide warning of an increased
likelihood of lost circulation.

Exceptions

There were four instances in the wells studied where connection or pump off gases did occur in the
reservoirs. In the R1H and R1HT2 wells the connections immediately following entry into the reservoir both
showed connection gases. It is probable that this resulted from continued seepage losses in the Melke shales
due to insufficiently developed wall cake or the higher ECD around the BHA, most of which would still be in
the shales.

The other two events both occurred in the R1HT2 well, one at the base of the Garn formation and the other in
the middle of the Ile formation. There is no apparent reason for these peaks although the one at the base of
the Garn is associated with a separate swab gas event at the same depth and it is possible that there was a
mechanical reason for both of these anomalous gas peaks.

Future work.

It would be useful to review the drilling on other templates in the Kristin field with an eye to the effects
discussed here. There is considerable variation between templates in the recording and reporting of
connection gases and it may be necessary to return to the time data to ascertain if there are peaks which are
coincidental with connections and which should be considered as connection or pumps off gases.

In addition it would be most useful to gain some real quantifiable data for small scale losses due to
evaporation and oil on cuttings so that these can be eliminated from calculations and a proper study of
seepage losses conducted during the drilling of future wells.