Advanced HPHT Well Engineering Online Training

This course is delivered as a scenario-based course to provide knowledge of High-Pressure and High Temperature (HPHT) well design, drilling, and completion operations to drilling and completion engineers. The course is specifically designed to provide an understanding of the challenges associated with the design and construction of HPHT wells. The course starts with an HPHT pressure profile and geology. Participants work through the various well design aspects. Working on a real case allows the participants to learn not only the theory, technicalities, and practicalities of drilling and completing HPHT wells but it also ensures that participants gain real experience in understanding the HPHT issues. If this course is provided to participants from a single client the course scenario can be provided by the client. This allows participants a real insight into the HPHT challenges from their own well.

The objectives of this course are to provide the participants with an understanding of the complexities associated with HPHT well design and associated drilling operations. All the topics in this course relate to high pressures and high temperatures. It is assumed that participants understand conventional well design and drilling operations. At the end of the course, the participants will understand and be competent in:

Narrow Drilling Margins and effects on Kick Tolerance

Predictions of Pore pressures and the challenges

The impact of both high pressures and temperatures and significant changes in temperatures on the observed behavior of the well

Understand the impact of temperatures and pressures on primary and secondary well barriers

Well-design requirements for HPHT

Understand Operational Planning and Operational Challenges associated with HPHT

Rig equipment requirements 

Understand Well Delivery, fingerprinting, well bore breathing, and high-reliability drilling practices  

Well Control – practical well control for on-bottom, off-the-bottom, and out-of-whole well control, kicks, and losses

This course is intended for drilling engineers, completion engineers, and service providers that are about to be exposed to HPHT drilling operations and are trying to better understand the complexities.

DAY 1

Introduction

• Welcome and Introductions
• Defining the HPHT Environment
• History of HPHT Drilling Operations
• Geological & Geophysical Aspects of Abnormal Pressures
• Challenges in HPHT Wells
• The behavior of Gasses with elevated pressures and temperatures
• The behavior of Liquids with elevated pressures and temperatures
• The behavior of Metals with elevated pressures and temperatures
• The behavior of Elastomers with elevated pressures and temperatures

Exercises: Gas calculations, Density Calculations

DAY 2

Well Design

• Applicable well design, drilling standards, procedures, and guidelines
• Well Design Basis of Design
• Pore and Fracture Pressures and pressure ramps
• Well trajectories
• Casing Design and their connections
• Well-control aspects associated with casing design
• Wellheads and wellhead growth
• Primary Cementing / Remedial Cementing
• Drilling Fluids (Oil Based / Water Based / Formate Brines)
• HPHT Drill string Design
• HPHT Data Collection (LWD / MWD Tools / Drilling Data)
• Contingency Planning

Exercises: Tubular expansion, Drill string design, Fluid challenges.

DAY 3

Rig Equipment

• Rig and equipment requirements for HPHT Operations
• BOP specifications and test requirements
• HPHT Choke Manifolds
• Mud Gas Separator Sizing
• Temperature safety aspects
• Mud Coolers
• Mud Testing Requirements
• Hydraulics and ECD
• Barite mixing requirements
• Solids Control and Barite Sag
• Pit Discipline
• Finger Printing the well
• Fluid compressibility & density

Exercises: Temperatures, Barite requirements, barite sag, Gas solubility.

DAY 4

Well Operations

• Well control for HPHT and differences with conventional wells
• Well Control Operations and challenges, Barriers
• Ballooning, wellbore breathing, and supercharging
• Temperature Monitoring
• Drilling and Tripping Operations
• Data Collection and MWD/LWD
• Casing and Cementing Operations
• Well Integrity
  • Well integrity standards.
  • Integrity specifications for HPHT
  • Barriers and Barrier Elements
  • Leaks
  • Corrosion
  • Annular Pressure
  • Integrity Failures
  • Failure analysis and FMECA
  • Managed Pressure Drilling

Exercises: Well control, Dual Gradient Calculations

DAY 5

Testing and Completions

The last day of the course covers well testing and completion operations on HPHT wells.

• HPHT Well Evaluation Logging and coring operations
  • Mud Logging
  • Wireline logging
  • MWD – LWD Tools
  • HPHT coring operations
• Well Testing Practices
• Material selection and metallurgy for tubing and wellheads
• Wellhead Seals
• Well testing well control aspects
• HPHT completions
• Tubing Movement
• Corrosion
• Flow Control Equipment
• Sand Production
• Reservoir Depletion
• Workovers

Exercises: Material Selection, Reservoir Depletion, Workovers.