Page 86 - Drilling Technology in Nontechnical Language
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Chapter 3 – DRILLING A LAND EXPLORATION WELL 77
Fig. 3–22. Wellhead after cementing and adding the casing spool
The next blowout preventer will be nippled up on top of this spool. It
will be smaller than the first one and will have a higher pressure rating.
The side outlets that are exposed to the well have two valves attached, so
that if one leaks under pressure, there is a backup valve.
Drilling the production hole section
Imagine now that another hole section was drilled and another
intermediate casing cemented in place. Things will not be too different
from the intermediate section described above. This new casing is set
about 500 ft (150 m) above where the top of the reservoir is expected. The
plan now is to drill through the reservoir and about 200 ft (61 m) below it,
log the hole, and then run a liner.
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