Managed Pressure Drilling Techniques, Equipments, and Applications

Abstract

In most of the drilling operations it is obvious that a considerable amount of money is spent for drilling related problems, including stuck pipe, lost circulation, and excessive mud cost. In order to decrease the percentage of non-productive time caused by these kind of problems, the aim is to control annular frictional pressure losses especially in the fields where pore pressure and fracture pressure gradient is too close, which is called narrow drilling window. If we can solve these problems, the budget spent for drilling the wells will fall, therefore, enabling the industry to be able to drill wells that were previously uneconomical. Managed pressure drilling is a new technology that allows us to overcome these kinds of drilling problems by controlling the annular frictional pressure losses. As the industry remains relatively unaware of the full spectrum of benefits, this thesis involves the techniques used in managed pressure drilling with an emphasis upon revealing several of its lesser known and, therefore, less appreciated applications.

Keywords:

• constant bottom-hole pressure
• dual gradient
• managed pressure drilling
• pressurized mud cap drilling
• return flow control

Notes

^aAssumed SDS induced backpressure = 1,000 psi.