Kick Tolerance By Kanad Kulkarni

29/10/2013

Gas Behavior in Well

Gas is a highly compressible fluid. Its volume depends on both pressure and temperature. To understand the behaviour of gas as it is circulated out of the hole during a well kill operation, we need to use the ideal gas law: PV/ T = constant

Consider two cases Same well size & same amount of Gas injected. 1.! Well is open at the top 2.! Well is closed at the top Where do you think you can calculate the gas Volume & what effect will that have on your Well Pressure?

! ! ! !

The Well is open There is a scope for the gas to expand The pressure is known at the surface Reduction in Pressure will produce increase in the gas volume ! Due to Known pressure it will be detectable ! Effect on the Pore Preesure & fracture gradient???

! ! ! ! !

The Well is closed Effect on the same amount of gas injected? Effect on Pressure? Effect on volume on the gas Effect on the Pore Pressure Fracture gradient & Well Integrity???

How to overcome Kick???

! Take it in the well ! Control the pressure using surface choke & valves ! Allow gas expansion in the well to allow well bore pressure reduction ! Keep expanded volume at the surface within the manageable levels

Definition of Kick Tolerance

For practical purposes, kick tolerance may be defined as the maximum kick size which can be tolerated without fracturing the previous casing shoe. Kick tolerance may also be defined in the terms of the maximum allowable pore pressure at next TD or maximum allowable mud weight which can be tolerated without fracturing the previous casing shoe

! Maximum Kick Tolerance hence depends on the company and its policy. ! Exploration wells have larger tolerance as compared to the production wells. ! Kick tolerance depends on
! maximum kick size, ! maximum formation pressure at next TD ! maximum mud weight which can be tolerated without fracturing the weakest point in the open hole, ! previous casing shoe. ! density of the invading fluid ! circulating temperatures.

Typical Kick Volume Table

Kick Tolerance Elements

1. Pore pressure from next TD 2. Maximum mud weight to be used 3. Fracture Gradient at current casing shoe 4. Design influx volume that can be safely circulated out 5. Type of well: exploration or development

When Should we calculate the tick tolerance

! After a leak-off test and prior to drilling ahead, ! At intervals through the hole section to be drilled at the expected mud weight. ! If a factor such as mud weight or drillstring geometry is changed, then the kick tolerance must be recalculated. ! When drilling into areas of overpressure with rapid pore pressure increase, ! Increasing mud weight to compensate, the kick tolerance (limited by formation strength at the previous casing shoe) will be rapidly reduced.

How to Calculate the Kick

! 1. kick volume which can be circulated out without fracturing the previous casing shoe. ! 2. Additional mud weight over current mud weight. ! 3. Drilling Kick Tolerance: This is the maximum pore pressure which can be tolerated without the need to exceed the maximum allowable mud weight.

Pressure at the shoe after drillers rotation can be calculated by Px = Pf - Pg - (TD - H - CSD) xpm Where
Pf= Formation Pressure next to TD Pg= Pressure in gas Bubble= HXG H = height of gas bubble at casing shoe, ft G = gradient of gas = 0.05 to 0.15 psi/ft TD = next hole total depth, ft CSD = casing setting depth, ft pm = maximum mud weight for next hole section, ppg

Rearranging in terms of H & replacing Px with FG (fracture Gradient)

In vertical and near-vertical holes the FBG is invariably greater than the FG. In highly inclined holes the FBG is usually smaller than the FG. For kick tolerance calculations, it is recommended to reduce the value recorded during leak-off tests in vertical wells by 100 psi and to use the resulting value as an approximate value of FG.

The volume of influx at the casing shoe is V1= H x Ca bbl where Ca = capacity between pipe and hole, bbl/ft At bottom hole conditions the volume of influx (V2) is given by: P2 V2 = P1 V1 (The effects of T and Z are ignored for the moment) V2=P1V1/P2 where P1 =fracture pressure at shoe, psi P2 =Pf, psi The value of V2 is the circulation kick tolerance in bbls.

The maximum allowable drillpipe shut-in pressure (DPSIP) is given by: DPSIP = (FG - m) x CSD x 0.052 And in terms of additional mud weight, Kick Tolerance= (FG- pm)

Calculate the kick tolerance for the following well: 9 5/8" casing =14,500 ft Next TD = 17000 ft FG at 9 5/8" shoe = 16 ppg Temperature gradient = 0.02 F/ft Max. mud weight for next hole =14.5 ppg Max formation pressure at next hole= 14 ppg Assume next hole 8 " and there is 5" drillpipe from surface to TD

The previous examples clearly show the influence of fracture gradient on kick tolerance. If a well is planned for a given kick tolerance say 50 bbls based on an estimated fracture gradient of say 15 ppg, and if while drilling the well the actual fracture gradient was found to be different from the design value, then two scenarios may be considered: 1. If the actual FG is greater than the design value, then the open hole section below the casing shoe can be drilled further than planned if desired. In other words, the well is actually stronger than planned.

2. If the actual FG is less than the planned, then the reverse of the above is true. The open hole section can not be drilled to it planned depth. The section may then be drilled to a shallower depth with less pore pressure or a cement plug is placed at the shoe to artificially strengthen the shoe

In case of Exploration well where the fracture gradient is calculated constantly it is advisable to change the mud weight accordingly and also the Kick Tolerance should be calculated repeatedly. Revised calculateions for the above problem

Kick Tolerance graph

In this figure, the kick volume is plotted on the Xaxis (point 2), and the SIDP Shut in Pressure is plotted on the Y-axis. Point 1 is the maximum SIDP as calculated by Equation. Point 2 is the maximum kick volume as obtained from the same equation for zero initial drill pipe shut-in pressure. The straight line joining points 1 and 2 is called the: Kick Tolerance graph. If the effects of temperature and gas compressibility are included then a curve is obtained

! All points to the top and right of the line represent internal blowout and lost circulation conditions. Points below the line represent safe conditions and give kick tolerance for any combination of kick size and drillpipe shut-in pressure. ! Note that Kick Tolerance is dependent on values of mud weight and pore pressure and the curve must therefore be updated each time these values change.

Learning Outcomes 1. List variable affecting kick tolerance 2. List situations when it is required to calculate kick tolerance. 3. Calculate kick tolerance for any well with and without temperature corrections 4. List situations when to increase kick tolerance