BEng (Hons) Petroleum Engineering
Course: Introduction To Petroleum Engineering Instructor Dr. Tarek Darwich
Introduction to Petroleum Engineering
Course Outlines:
What is Petroleum Engineering? The Life Cycle of Oil and Gas projects, Origin, formation and accumulation of Petroleum, Oil & Gas Exploration, Appraisal of Oil & Gas Discoveries, Development of Oil & Gas Discoveries, Producing Oil & Gas Fields, Transportation of Oil & Gas, The Petroleum Industry & the Environment, Petroleum Economics.
Year 2012 - 2013
Introduction to Petroleum Engineering
Main Components of Drilling Rigs
Power System Hoisting System Rotary System Circulating System Well Control and Monitoring System
Year 2012 - 2013
Introduction to Petroleum Engineering
Well Control & Monitoring System
During drilling it is necessary to carefully monitor the execution of any operation to avoid blowouts.
Blowouts are uncontrolled discharges of underground fluids (oil, water, gas) from the wellhead, after such fluids have entered the hole through one of the drilled formations. Blowouts are fairly uncommon occurrences, but when they do happen they are both spectacular, and harmful to personnel, the surrounding environment, the drill rig and have negative effects on public opinion
The key to well control is understanding the mechanisms that regulate the downhole pressures.
The hydrostatic pressure of the mud along the depth of the hole depends directly on its density: light muds exerting less pressure along the walls and at the bottom of the hole than a heavy mud.
Year 2012 - 2013
Introduction to Petroleum Engineering
Well Control & Monitoring System
(continued)
The well is under hydraulic control when the mud pressure is greater than the pore pressure. There is said to be a drilling kick, or that the well is discharging, when formation fluids start entering the well.
Sometimes, however, in spite of all the measures taken, the well might start kicking for natural or operational reasons.
The causes that can initiate a kick are: a) insufficient density of the mud; b) drilling a formation in overpressure not promptly recognized; c) swabbing, namely the underpressure due to the piston effect during a rapid trip-out operation; d) not filling the well when tripping out; and e) circulation losses, which can lead to a sudden lowering of the mud level in the well and therefore of the hydrostatic pressure on bottom.
Year 2012 - 2013
Introduction to Petroleum Engineering
Well Control & Monitoring System
(continued)
The formations that can cause circulation losses are fractured formations or those with less pressure than foreseen. A rapid trip-in can cause an increase in the bottomhole pressure (surging), with the possibility of fracturing the formation, which causes circulation losses, lowering of the head of mud, and therefore the triggering of a kick. A kick can be recognized in various ways. The commonest kick indicators are: an increase in the mud flow rate, an increase in level of the mud pit, an increase in the rate of penetration, mud outflow from the well when the pumps are switched off, the anomalous presence of gas in the mud outflow, etc. All drilling rigs are provided with systems of detection and cross control, which help in recognizing the build-up of a kick.
Year 2012 - 2013
Introduction to Petroleum Engineering
Blowout Preventers
Blow Out Preventers (BOPs), are large valves located on the wellhead during drilling operations, able to fully shut-in the well in just a few tens of seconds, whatever the working conditions. BOPs on onshore rigs and fixed offshore rigs (platforms, jack-ups) are installed on the surface wellhead, while for floating rigs they are located on the seabed, on the subsea wellhead; this means that the floating rig can always be removed from the wellhead, under safe conditions. The BOP stack is the assembly of equipment for shutting-in the well in an emergency situation, and then reopening it under safe conditions. It could be necessary to shut-in the well in any drilling situation, even when the drill string, a casing, a cable, etc., is present. For this reason it is necessary to have a valve available that can shut the well at any time.
Year 2012 - 2013
Introduction to Petroleum Engineering
Blowout Preventers
(Continued)
A standard BOP stack consists, starting from the bottom, of: one or more spools for connection to the wellhead; a dual function ram preventer; a single-function ram preventer; an annular blowout preventer; a lateral tube, which conveys the outgoing mud from the well to the shaker. a number of lateral connections (kill line and choke line), necessary for operations to restore hydraulic balance after well control problems.
Year 2012 - 2013
Introduction to Petroleum Engineering
Blowout Preventers
(Continued)
The BOP stack has the following functions:
to shut-in the well around any type of equipment; to permit pumping of the mud, with the well closed by means of the kill line; to discharge through the choke line any fluids that might have accidentally entered the well; and to allow the vertical movement of the string, upwards or downwards, when the well is closed.
The composition of the BOP stack, or the choice of the single elements, depends on the maximum estimated pressure at the wellhead. The single BOPs are characterised by the maximum working pressure, the inside diameter, the type of section on which they form a seal, and the presence of acid gases. There are two main types, annular and ram.
Year 2012 - 2013
Introduction to Petroleum Engineering
The Diverter
The use of a traditional BOP, which completely closes the well, is not recommended during the drilling of the surface phase, as the back pressure transmitted to the bottom, in case of well shut-in, could lead to the fracturing of the surface formations, which have a low fracture gradient and could cause an uncontrolled flow of gas behind the well.
The diverter is another safety device used when it is not possible to install the BOP unit. This occurs only in the surface drilling phase, when the surface casing has not yet been cemented.
The diverter guarantees a system of control of the gas from shallow formations, normally characterized by low pressure and high discharge rate. The diverter does not stop the gas flow but safety directs it away from the rig floor, until it becomes exhausted naturally, which usually takes place quite quickly in view of the small volume of these formations.
Year 2012 - 2013
