Roles of Managed Pressure Drilling Technique in Kick Detection and Wellcontrol—The Beginning of the New Conventional Drilling Way

Abstract In times when the oil industry is looking for drilling technologies to optimize the development of their field, Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) has become in a very attractive technology, offering a considerable amount of tangible benefits. MPD is an optimized drilling process used to more precisely control the annular pressure profile throughout the well bore. The objectives are to ascertain the downhole pressure environment limits and to manage the annular hydraulic pressure profile accordingly. It means that the annular pressure profile is controlled from surface in such a way that the Bottom Hole Circulating Pressure (BHCP) is balanced with the pore pressure at all times. MPD is intended to avoid continuous influx of formation fluids to the surface. Any flow incidental to the operation will be safely contained using an appropriate process. MPD process employs a collection of tools and techniques that may mitigate the risks and costs associated with drilling wells that have narrow limits between pore and fracure pressures, meaning that the extra equipment used should be able to enhance the conventional kick detection capabilities and also to manage the formation influxes without increasing the NPT associate with this type of events compared to conventional operations in which the MPD equipment is not available. MPD includes control of back pressure, fluid density, fluid rheology annular fluid level, circulating friction and hole geometry, or combinations thereof. MPD may allow faster corrective action to deal with observed pressure variations. The ability to dynamically control annular pressures facilitates drilling of what might otherwise be economically unattainable prospects. This paper discuss about the benefits of the Managed Pressure Drilling Technique equipment in kick detection and wellcontrol and its direct impact in the reduction of NPT (Costs) and drilling safety in times where the access to new oil reserves are implying a concentration of efforts in these two areas.