Introduction
This course is delivered as a scenario-based course to provide knowledge of High-Pressure and High-Temperature (HPHT) well design, drilling and completion operations to drilling and completion engineers. The course is specifically designed to provide an understanding of the challenges associated with the design and construction of HPHT wells. The course starts with an HPHT pressure profile and geology. Participants work through the various well design aspects. Working on a real case allows the participants to learn not only theory, technicalities and practicalities of drilling and completing HPHT wells but it also ensures that participants gain real experience in understanding the HPHT issues.
If this course is provided to participants from a single client the course scenario can be provided by the client. This allows participants a real insight into the HPHT challenges from their own well.
Objective
Objective of this course are to provide the participants with an understanding of the complexities associated with HPHT well design and associated drilling operations. All the topics in this course relate to high pressures and high temperatures. It is assumed that participants understand conventional well design and drilling operations.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, the delegate will understand:
- Narrow Drilling Margins and effects on Kick tolerance
- Predictions of Pore pressures and the challenges
- The impact of both high pressures and temperatures and significant changes in temperatures on the observed behaviour of the well.
- Understand the impact of temperatures and pressures on primary and secondary well barriers
- Well design requirements for HPHT
- Understand Operational Planning and Operational Challenges associated with HPHT
- Rig equipment requirements
- Understand Well Delivery, fingerprinting, well bore breathing, high-reliability drilling practices
- Well Control – practical well control for on bottom, off bottom and out of hole well control, kicks and losses
Who Should Attend?
This course is intended for drilling engineers, completion engineers, service providers that are about to be exposed to HPHT drilling operations and are trying to better understand the complexities.
Module 1 Introduction
- Welcome and Introductions
- Defining the HPHT Environment
- History of HPHT Drilling Operations
- Geological & Geophysical Aspects of Abnormal Pressures
- Challenges in HPHT Wells
- Behavior of Gasses with elevated pressures and temperatures
- Behavior of Liquids with elevated pressures and temperatures
- Behavior of Metals with elevated pressures and temperatures
- Behavior of Elastomers with elevated pressures and temperatures
- Exercise: Gas calculations, Density Calculations
Module 2 Well Design
- Welcome and Introductions
- Defining the HPHT Environment
- History of HPHT Drilling Operations
- Geological & Geophysical Aspects of Abnormal Pressures
- Challenges in HPHT Wells
- Behavior of Gasses with elevated pressures and temperatures
- Behavior of Liquids with elevated pressures and temperatures
- Behavior of Metals with elevated pressures and temperatures
- Behavior of Elastomers with elevated pressures and temperatures
- Exercise: Gas calculations, Density Calculations
Module 3 Rig Equipment
- Rig and equipment requirements for HPHT Operations
- BOP specifications and test requirements
- HPHT Choke Manifolds
- Mud Gas Separator Sizing
- Temperature safety aspects
- Mud Coolers
- Mud Testing Requirements
- Hydraulics and ECD
- Barite mixing requirements
- Solids Control and Barite Sag
- Pit Discipline
- Finger Printing the well
- Fluid compressibility & density
- Gas Solubility
- Exercise: Temperatures, Barite requirements, barite sag, Gas solubility.
Module 4 Well Operations
- Well control for HPHT and differences with conventional wells
- Well Control Operations and challenges, Barriers
- Ballooning, wellbore breathing and supercharging
- Temperature Monitoring
- Drilling and Tripping Operations
- Data Collection and MWD/LWD
- Casing and Cementing Operations
- Managed Pressure Drilling
- Exercise: Well control, Dual Gradient Calculations
Module 5 Testing and Completions
- Well Testing Practices
- Material selection and metallurgy for tubing and wellheads
- Wellhead Seals
- Well testing well control aspects
- HPHT completions
- Tubing Movement
- Corrosion
- Flow Control Equipment
- Sand Production
- Reservoir Depletion
- Workovers
- Exercise: Material Selection, Reservoir Depletion, Workovers.