Page 6 - Well Control for Completions and Interventions

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction and Well Control
Fundamentals

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Well control is the primary objective of any workover operation. 1

The primary goal of every completion and workover is to complete the task in
a safe and efficient manner. 2

Well pressure control is the most critical consideration in the planning and per-
forming any well servicing operation. 3
Three statements from three different manuals, each one dealing with
the management of well control during completion and workover opera-
tions. Most instructional documents covering intervention well control
have similar opinions. Clearly, our industry recognizes the importance of
well control during well servicing work. And yet, despite these concerns,
accidents and incidents still occur. Well control incidents attributable to
completion, workover, and intervention activities account for a significant
proportion of the total.
As the Table 1.1 shows, exploration drilling carries the highest risk;
this is to be expected. However, completion, workover, and intervention
activities account for more well control incidents than development dril-
ling, at more than one third of the total.
Whilst these statistics are the result of a study of one area (Texas and
the Gulf Coast), they are symptomatic of a worldwide problem. There
are several compelling explanations for why well control problems occur
so frequently during completion, workover, and intervention activities.
• Many workover operations are carried out to repair or replace failing
equipment. Working on a well where integrity is already compro-
mised increases the risk.

Well Control for Completions and Interventions. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100196-7.00001-4 All rights reserved. 1