Drilling Surface

The IADC WellSharp Supervisor level course provides students with the tools for developing practical problem-solving tactics and strategies when confronted with a well control incident; focuses on kick detection, shut-in procedures, calculations, standard well control methods, and completing killsheets.

Surface Well Control Course Outline IADC

Interactive Study Tools

• Provide students with over 600 pages of pre-course study
• materials at wildwell.com
• Provide students with a study guide that covers up to 150
• interactive well control questions and answers
• Provide students with a 50 question test to determine their
• well control knowledge gaps.

Preliminary Items

• Safety: escape routes, muster points, etc
• Discussion of special needs
• Introductions
• Class paperwork

Serious Well COntrol Problem from the Wild Well Library

• Students form teams
• Team discussion of the potential well control problem
• Simulator exercise demonstrating the well control challenge
• Return to class to discuss the challenge

Well Control Course Objectives

• Formations, pore pressure, fracture gradients
• Killsheet kick detection, flow checks, well shut-in, and gas behavior
• Well control methods
• Well control equipment (barriers, BOPs, manifolds, accumulator, etc)
• Completing the well and post-completion activity
• Final well control simulation: from a kick to kill, with a complication
• Assessment: skills and written

Formations, PorePressure, Fracture Gradient

• Formation structure
  − Porosity
  − Permeability
• Fracture gradients, kick tolerance, pore pressures
  − Related formulas/math (hydrostatic pressure, the U tube, force
  MAASP, etc)
  − Equivalent mud weight
  − Kick tolerance
  − Pore pressure vs. fracture gradient (drilling margin/window)
• Simulator exercise demonstrating a FIT; discussion of LOT (if needed, depending upon class knowledge level)
• Discuss casing and cementing program
• Discuss drilling fluids program

BARRIERS

• Philosophy and operation of barrier systems
• Number of barriers for safe operation
• Testing barriers

Shallow Gas, Water Flows, and Top-Hole Drilling

• Definitions and causes of pressure in top-hole formations
• Causes of underbalanced top-hole
• Diverting practices
• Top-hole drilling practices and causes of kicks

Abnormal Pressure Warning Signs

• Abnormal pressure
• Shaker evidence
• Changes in mud properties
• Changes in drilling data/parameters

Killsheet, Kick Detection, Flow Checks, Well Shut-In, and Gas Behavior

• Related formulas/math (capacities/volumes, strokes,
  circulation times, etc.)
• Causes of kicks
• Kick signs
  − Overt kick signs
  − Pre-kick signs

• Flow-check procedures
• Shut-in procedures
  − Hard shut-in
  − Soft shut-in
  − Shut-in challenges
• Paper killsheet with preliminary well data
  − Well data, volume calculations
  − Discuss the importance of a killsheet
• Simulator exercises demonstrating hard and soft shut-in
  − Kick detection and shut-in
  − Students complete killsheet with simulator well data
  (or instructor-given data)
  − Discussion of killsheet calculations: what do they mean?
  − (if needed) Discussion of IADC WellSharp rounding rules
• Gas behavior
  − While drilling
  − In horizontal wells
  − While shut-in

Well Control Methods

• Review of related formulas/math (capacities/volumes, strokes,
• circulation times, kill mud, MAASP, ICP, FCP, etc.)
• Wait and weight method
  − Discussion of wait and weight
  − Techniques
  − Skills (pump startup, step-down chart, gauge use, lag time, etc.)
  − Simulator exercises
• Driller’s Method
• Discussion of Driller’s Method
  − Techniques
  − Skills (pump startup, capturing pressure after the first circulation,
  lag time, etc.)
  − Simulator exercise
• Volumetric and Lube and Bleed
  − Discussion of Volumetric Method
  − Formulas
  − Understanding the process and technique
  − Skills (use of electronic killsheet or paper graph,
  managing gas migration)
• Simulator exercise
• Discussion of Lube and Bleed

Stripping Pipe Under Pressure

• Discussion of technique
• Skills (annular pressure, speed of strip, managing wellbore pressures via volumetric method)
• Simulator exercise

Bullhead Method - Discussion and simulator exercises if

time allows

Discussion of study guide questions

Well Control Drills

• Pit Drills
• Trip drills
• Tripping drills
• Choke drills
• Early response and empowerment to act

Completing the Well and Post-Completion Activity

Short discussion

• Completions
• Differences between drilling and workover

Final Simulator Exercise (if time allows)

• Abnormal lateral well and kick detection
• Kill the well with Wait and Weights Method

Discussion

• Ballooning wells vs. kicking wells
• Fingerprinting

Discussion of Study Guide Questions
Skills Assessment
Computer-Based WellSharp Exam