Page 337 - Practical Well Planning and Drilling Manual
P. 337
Section 3 revised 11/00/bc 1/17/01 12:00 PM Page 313
[ ]
3.1
Well Control
Some of the practical aspects of well control are discussed in this
section. A certain amount of knowledge is assumed here—equivalent
to at least a driller level well control certificate; this is not meant as a
“start from scratch” course in well control.
Refer to the following topics covered earlier in this book: predic-
tion of pore pressures and fracture gradients and other casing design
topics in Section 1.4, “Casing Design,” well control from a drilling pro-
gram writing perspective in Section 2.2, “Well Control,” kick tolerance
calculations in Appendix 1, “Calculating Tick Tolerances,” and forma-
tion integrity test procedure in Appendix 2, “Formation Integrity Test-
Recommended Procedure.”
3.1.1. Kick Prevention
A kick is an uncontrolled entry of formation fluids into the well-
bore due to formation pore pressure exceeding the hydrostatic head of
the fluids in the wellbore. If this situation is left to develop, a blowout
