IPTC 15348

Technology of Dynamic Kill Drilling for Drilling in the Superficial Layer of

Deepwater
Jiaojiao Geng
China University of Petroleum, Beijing
Changsuo Zhou
CNOOC Research Institute
Qin Zhao
Technology Research Institute, Onshore Fields, Petrochina Jidong Oilfield Company

Copyright 2011, International Petroleum Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Petroleum Technology Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, 7–9 February 2012.

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Abstract
With the development of deepwater oil exploitation, more and more complicated problems happened and some common
drilling technologies can not meet the demands of deepwater drilling. Some new technologies had been developed for
deepwater drilling.
Since the well control system has not been installed, many complicated drilling problems will happen if the shallow gas
(water) were encountered while drilling in the superficial layer of deepwater. Well kick is one of the drilling problems. If
kick happened, drilling, running casing and cementing will be difficult. The well-bore may collapse or abandoned if the kick
were not controlled well. All of those above will threaten the safety of crew and drilling equipments seriously.
Dynamic kill drilling (DKD) is one of the critical technologies for the deepwater drilling, which can solve the safe
problem of the superficial layer drilling in deepwater effectively. The theory, key technology parameters and main
equipments of DKD have been introduced in this paper. Based on the actual project data and DKD technology parameter
design method, the parameters of kill mud density and pump rate had been optimized by numerical simulation method. The
variation regulation of killing parameters had been concluded which under a certain condition of formation pressure and
casing programs. The effect of hole diameter on well control procedure had been suggested too. Series analysis results can be
the foundation of DKD operating diagram board and can supply an optimized design method of DKD parameters.

Introduction
There is often shallow gas or flow with relative high pressure buried in the shallow formations of deepwater. Due to the short
time of sediment and the low compaction, the formations with shallow gas or flow are generally characteristic of high
permeability. During the deep-water drilling, there are any risers or intermediate casings for the interval of shallow
formation. Therefore, since the column pressure of drilling fluid can not balance the formation pressure, once encountering
the shallow gas or flow, the fluid with high pressure will expend to the low pressure area in a high speed, and then form into
the shallow kick, which occurs quickly with big expansion of gases, resulting in a series of problems, such as difficulty in
drilling, running the case, cementing and so on.
Hence the well control is very critical before running the intermediate casing and installing the blowout preventer. The
DKD is a new method to realize effective well control, which has widely been paid attention to since it was introduced. The
DKD is to mix the seawater into the weighted drilling fluid to form a series of drilling fluid with different density based on a
certain percentage, and then to pump the weighted drilling fluid into the wellbore with high speed. Its operating principle is:
According to the actual operation requirements, the pre-weighted mud will be mixed with the drilling mud( or the sea water),
and then the kill mud can be mixed by an equipment which can control the mud density automatically. Then the killed mud
will be pumped into the wellbore with a proper density.
With the technology of DKD, the kill mud can be pumped into the wellbore as soon as possible without waiting and
circulation. When a kick was detected by the APWD or a ROV, an automatic mixing device can pump the kill mud into the
wellbore at a high rate by the manual command. So the dynamic killing and drilling can be conducted in actual operation.
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All data in this paper are based on a deepwater exploratory well. The depth of the case well is 4172m, and the
environment temperature is 25 celsius. The subsea temperature is 7 celsius and the geothermal gradient is 4.25℃/100m. The
formation pressure is 1.01~1.20 g/cm3, and the fracture pressure is between 1.06~1.69 g/cm3. The water depth here is 1069m.
There is a shallow gas zone predicted 300m under the mudline.

Technology of DKD and its main equipments

a) Technology characteristics
The DKD technique is a dual-gradient drilling technology in essence, the continuity is the difference with common
drilling. The DKD can mix the weighted mud and sea water to a required density according to the design requirement, and
pump the kill mud into the well with a high rate. The advantages of the technology is: (1) It can solve the shallow well kick
problems which induced by shallow gas excellently. (2) The ECD can be controlled quick and accurately by DKD. So it is
very important for drilling in the shallow formation which had a narrow mud density window. (3) The technology can lead to
a good regularity and stability of upper hole section. So the cement quality can be improved either.
The operation procedures of DKD are listed below:
(1) Killing parameters(such as mud density, pump rate etc.) must be calculated according to the well site survey data and
the capacity of platform. If the fracture pressure of formation is low, the sea water should be used with high pump rate.
(2) Drilling should be stopped as soon as possible when a shallow gas is detected and observation should be taken with
circulation.
(3) If a killing operation should be conducted according to the observation, the killing should be conducted with the pre-
calculated pump rate and the killing mud which mixed by the DKD equipment. Note: the pump rate should not be too high to
fracture the formation.
(4) The pump rate should be adjusted according to the simulation result. At the beginning of the killing operation, a high
pump rate is needed to equilibrate the formation pressure, and then the pump rate should be decreased as the bottom hole
pressure grows. A low pump rate is benefit for preventing a serious wash out of the hole too. The next working plan should
be confirmed after all the gas in the well circulated out.
(5) The pressure of the shallow gas should be estimated on the basis of killing mud density. Then a mud with proper
density should be selected to drill through the gas zone.
b) Key parameters
The most important parameters of the DKD is the kill mud density, the kill rate and the whole volume of the weighted
base mud. The principle of calculating kill mud density and pump rate is: the friction pressure of circulation plus the
hydrostatic pressure is greater than the formation pressure and less than fracture pressure of formation. With the principle
above:
PK + Pf + Psw ≥ Pr
Where, PK: Hydrostatic pressure of killing mud, Pa;
Pf: Friction pressure between the well wall and killing mud, Pa;
Psw: Hydrostatic pressure induced by sea water, Pa;
Pr: Formation pressure of the gas zone.
Calculating pump rate is a complex procedure. A proper killing rate can generate a great friction pressure between the
well wall and killing mud, which is benefit for keeping the bottom hole pressure. And at the same time, the kill rate can meet
the requirements of hole cleaning and well wall stability.
As soon as the shallow gas gets into the hole, the flow pattern changed into two-phase flow. So a numerical simulation
method should be used for describing the flow regulation in the wellbore. Some specialty software can simulation a series of
killing procedures accurately, so the killing parameters can be optimized by a lot of calculation and simulation.
Once the length of the section which should be drilled by DKD technology, the density of killing mud, the density of
weighted base mud, ROP and the killing rate have been determined, volume of weighted base mud can be calculated by the
equation below:
V = Qt + Vpipe
V2/V1 = (ρ0 –ρ1)/( ρ1 –ρsw)
Where, V: Whole volume of killing mud, V = V1 + V2, m3;
V1: Volume of weighted base mud, m3 V2,Volume of sea water, m3;
Q: Killing rate, m3/min;
t:Time to penetrate the gas zone, min;
Vpipe: Volume of inner drilling pipe, m3.
ρ0:Density of weighted base mud, kg/m3
ρ1:Density of killing mud, kg/m3
ρsw:Density of sea water, kg/m3.
c) Main equipments
The procedure of calculating killing parameters is complex, especially for drilling in site. The uncertainty of formation
IPTC 15348 3

parameter and the complexity of calculation equation make the calculation procedure difficult together. If a calculation
procedure conducted in advance with most formation& operating conditions considered, an operating diagram board will be
generated. So once the formation parameter and operating condition is determined, the reference killing parameter can be
readed from the diagram board directly.
The designed killing mud with proper density can be obtained by an automatic mixing device which can control mud
density automatically. Then the killing mud will be pumped into the bore at a high rate through circulation pit. The mixing
device is similar to the mixing device of cementing pump, and the quick and accurate transformation of mud density is its
main function. This device is consist of two inflow pipes and one outflow pipe. One of the inflow pipes is connected to sea
water, and the other one is connected to the weighted base mud pit. The outflow pipe is connected to the circulation pit. The
schematic of this device is shown in figure 1.

Electromagnetic
Globe Valve Flowmeter
Mixing Cabin
Pump
Sea Water

Kill Mud
Weighted
Base Mud

Quick Connecting Pipeline

Fig. 1 DKD Main Devices

Another important technique of DKD is detection real-time. The pressure parameters can be measured by
APWD(Annular Pressure While Drilling), and any abnormal conditions in subsea can be detected by ROV. With the APWD
and ROV or other detection methods, once a shallow gas happened, the killing mud can be pumped into the bore immediately
with a proper density after the manual command.

Shallow Hazard Modeling and Numerical Simulation

According to the documentary research and analysis, a pilot hole is always selected to drill into the predicted gas zone. So
what is the advantage of a pilot hole will be analysed in this section. And the effect of hole diameter on killing operation had
been calculated too. The penetration depth into gas zone can lead to a significant effect on killing operation too. The deeper it
drills into the gas zone, the more difficult to take control of the well. According to the limitation of this paper, a penetration
depth of 2m was simulated.
Formation pressure is the key parameter in killing operation. The objective of a killing operation is to equilibrate an
abnormal high pressure, so it is very important to estimate the formation pressure gradient accurately. In deepwater drilling,
the shallow formation pressure is always difficult to determine, so a sensitivity analysis of pressure is a good way to solve
this problem.
As another important factor, formation permeability determines the velocity of gas diffusion. In another word, the
permeability determines the gas volume influx into the wellbore per minute. Different formation pressure, hole diameter and
permeability had been calculated in the simulation calculating procedure of DKD. Details are shown in table 1.

Table 1 Calculation Parameters & Conditions

Reservoir Pressure/ sg 1.05 1.10 1.15
Permeability / Darcy 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.5

Hole Diameter/ In 9-5/8 26 9-5/8 26 9-5/8 26

With data of case well, many simulation calculations according to the conditions in tab.1 had been done. Results are
shown in figures below.
4 IPTC 15348

20
18
Density=1.4sg
16

Pump Rate/ m³/min 14

Density=1.5sg
12
10
Density=1.2sg
8
Density=1.3sg Mud Density=1.2sg
6
Mud Density=1.3sg
4
Mud Density=1.4sg
2 Mud Density=1.5sg
0
1.05 1.1 1.15
Reservoir Pressure/sg
Fig.2 Kill Mud Density & Pump Rate vs. Reservoir Pressure 26in Open Hole
(With Reservoir Pressure Range from 1.05sg to 1.15sg, Permeability = 0.5D, Penetration = 2m)

With the calculation conditions of 2m penetration, 500mD's permeability, 26in hole diameter, the pump rate is different
under the same formation pressure. A 4m3/min pump rate is required for 1.5sg density’s kill mud, while a 8 m3/min pump
rate is required for the 1.2sg mud. When the pressure increased to 1.1sg, the 1.2sg, 1.3sg kill mud can not meet the killing
requirements, and at the same time the killing rate of 1.4sg, 1.5sg killing mud had increased to 18 m3/min and 14 m3/min.
When the pressure increased to 1.15sg, the 1.4sg, 1.5sg killing mud can not meet the killing requirements.

20
18
16
Mud Density=1.2sg Density=1.2sg
14
Pump Rate/ m³/min

Mud Density=1.3sg
12 Mud Density=1.4sg Density=1.3sg
10 Mud Density=1.5sg
Density=1.4sg
8
6
Density=1.5sg
4
2
0
1.05 1.1 1.15
Reservoir Pressure/sg
Fig.3 Kill Mud Density & Pump Rate vs. Reservoir Pressure, 26in Open Hole
(With Reservoir Pressure Range from 1.05sg to 1.15sg, Permeability = 0.1D, Penetration = 2m)

With the calculation conditions of 2m penetration, 100mD's permeability, 26in hole diameter, the pump rate is different
under the same formation pressure. A 2m3/min pump rate is required for 1.5sg density’s kill mud, while a 3 m3/min pump
rate is required for the 1.2sg mud. When the pressure increased to 1.1sg, the required pump rate of all kill mud increased at
exponential form. All of those above indicated that with the increase of formation pressure, a high pump rate can bring a
great friction pressure loss to equilibrate the formation pressure.
IPTC 15348 5

7
Density=1.2sg
6.5 Mud Density=1.2sg
Mud Density=1.3sg
6 Mud Density=1.4sg
Pump Rate/ m³/min
Mud Density=1.5sg
5.5
Density=1.3sg
5
Density=1.4sg
4.5

4
Density=1.5sg
3.5

3
1.05 1.1 1.15
Reservoir Pressure/sg
Fig.4 Kill Mud Density & Pump Rate vs. Reservoir Pressure 9-5/8 in Open Hole
(With Reservoir Pressure Range from 1.05sg to 1.15sg, Permeability = 0.5D, Penetration = 2m)

With the calculation conditions of 2m penetration, 500mD's permeability, 9-5/8in hole diameter, the simulation result is
different from the 26in hole condition. With similar formation condition and killing mud, The 9-5/8in hole’s requirement
for killing rate is much less than the 26in’s requirement. Take the 1.4sg kill mud for example, the required killing rate for
26in hole is 18m3/min, and 4.3m3/min is required for 9-5/8in hole. So that is the pilot hole’s advantage in shallow gas
drilling.

6
Mud Density=1.2sg
5.5
Mud Density=1.3sg
Density=1.2sg
5 Mud Density=1.4sg
Pump Rate/ m³/min

Mud Density=1.5sg
4.5
Density=1.3sg
4

3.5
Density=1.4sg
3
Density=1.5sg
2.5
1.05 1.1 1.15
Reservoir Pressure/sg
Fig.5 Kill Mud Density & Pump Rate vs. Reservoir Pressure 9-5/8 in Open Hole
(With Reservoir Pressure Range from 1.05sg to 1.15sg, Permeability = 0.1D, Penetration = 2m)

But for the conditions of 2m penetration, 100mD's permeability, 9-5/8in hole diameter, the required killing rate had no
obvious decrease than the condition of 500mD. According to the analysis, the 9-5/8in hole had a much smaller volume than
the 26in hole, so the volume of influxed gas decreased obviously and the bottom hole pressure can be contained quickly.

Considerations about DKD

According to the analysis results of DKD, a simulation of shallow kick in deepwater drilling can be conducted with the
formation parameter. With the calculation of killing procedure which under different mud density, pump rate and hole
diameters, a series of operation parameters can be concluded. But in the deepwater drilling, shallow layer is always lack of
survey data, such as formation pressure, fracture pressure and permeability. Once a shallow gas is encountered in drilling, it
will be difficult to control if it is not treated immediately. So an operating diagram board will be important to solve this
6 IPTC 15348

problem.

Conclusions:
The DKD technology had been summarized and analysed in this paper, and a sensitivity analysis had also been conducted by
the numerical simulation method with an actual case well.
a) The DKD technology can control the ECD accurately and quickly, so it is a technique which is quite fit for drilling in the
deepwater. With this technique, the kill mud with proper density can be pumped into the well quickly.
b) The formation pressure, fracture pressure and permeability are the main parameters which effect killing operation
seriously. And from the aspect of operation, the mud density, pump rate and penetration depth are the most important
parameters.
c) According to the simulation result, a pilot hole turns out to be a very good method to drill into a shallow gas zone. The
kill mud density and killing rate the pilot hole required are all quite less than a big hole when a shallow gas is
encountered. So it is a good way for drilling in areas without sufficient survey data.
d) A series of killing parameters can be calculated by the use of specialty software, The calculation could include many
different kinds of actual conditions, so the result can be used in actual operation after adjusted by real operation
parameters.

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