Before commencing operations on a well, a planning meeting should be held to discuss the drilling programme. Company, Contractor, and appropriate Service Company personnel should attend the meeting. The discussion should at least include the following points: previous field experience regarding lost circulation zones, depth and magnitude of abnormally pressured formations, possible shallow gas sands, … Communicating information

It is the Company drilling supervisors’ responsibility to ensure that all drilling and workover operations are conducted in a manner which provides safe and complete well control. In this capacity he may delegate technical and supervisory tasks (but not responsibility) to others. The responsibilities of the Company drilling representative in no way reduce those of … Well Control Safety

Retainers, bridge plugs and packers should be set as deep as possible. With a shallow packer or plug, a higher fluid gradient will be necessary to control abnormal pressures which may build up below the tool. In such cases it could become impossible to control the pressure encountered when drilling or retrieving such tools without … Setting of retainers, bridge plugs and packers

Main features of a blowout contingency plan shall include: single phone call approach from the wellsite, to activate the plan. This will allow field personnel to concentrate their efforts on personnel/equipment protection and well control; emergency control centre for coordination of rescue and fire fighting operations; emergency response teams; emergency response facilities; emergency well control … Blowout contingency planning

Primary well control shall be maintained at all times. In the event secondary control becomes necessary, the well shall be brought back under control as safely as possible. For each well control operation all personnel shall have a pre-assigned task appropriate to their function. All personnel shall also ensure familiarity with Company well control procedures. … Responsibilities for Well Control

All BOP equipment and drillstring equipment shall be in a serviceable and fully tested condition. BOP is to be tested as per API every 2 weeks as a minimum. All Stripping drill requirements must be understood by rig personnel and shall be implemented at suitable convenient points during drilling operations. (The procedure shall be written … Well Control Equipment and Procedures – Standards

In order to train the drill crew in the procedures that apply in connection with well control, or reinstatement of lost well control barriers, drills shall be conducted. The drills shall be conducted regularly, and initially very frequent to ensure that the drilling unit equipment and procedures are known to the crew, and that the … Well Control Drills

On both Company and Contractor-owned drilling and workover rigs (regardless of the type of contract) it is the responsibility of the Company representative to ensure that drilling operations are conducted in a manner to provide for complete well control. The responsibilities of the Company representative in no way reduce those of the Contractor with regard … Well Control Responsibilities

Kick control when drilling high pressure wells (philosophy, drilling procedure and well control equipment) 1 Well control philosophy The BOP and surface system, including the drillstring, should be pressure rated (and tested, except for the drillstring) to safely withstand pressure conditions created by a full gas column originating from the highest pressure zone exposed in … Well Control – High Pressure Wells

For exploratory well, the prediction of abnormally pressured formations can be difficult. Correlation with nearby wells will provide the most reliable information. Before drilling a wildcat, seismic data will generally be the only source of information regarding abnormal pore pressures. Different indications of abnormal pore pressures will be observed in clastic and impermeable formations: Indications … Well Control – Abnormal pore pressures