FLASHPOINT
News from the World of Well Control • Fall, 2006
Subsea Hot Tap
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc on
the U.S. offshore oil industry in 2005. Over 100
wellhead structures were lost during these two
storms. Operators in the Gulf of Mexico are in
the process of gaining access to the downed
wells. Cudd Well Control has partnered with Tetra
Technologies in the intervention of these wells
for its customers to provide hot tapping and/or
gate valve drilling services.
Inside:
2 iCAPP
2 Trivia
2 New CWC
Staff Additions
CWC has joined with Tetra
Applied Technologies to
provide subsea hot tapping
capabilities to their well
and platform abandonment
projects. Cudd Well Control
has designed and developed a
unique hydraulic sub sea hot tap unit which is
gaining popularity in the industry. The salient
features of this design are:
• Hydraulically operated
• Working pressure of 10000 psi
3 Bubble Trouble –
Gas-Cut Mud
• The installation of the tap is
“diver friendly”
4 Contact
Information
• Can be used for drilling a hole for various
pipe sizes ranging from 2-3/8" thru 36"
• Can be used to drill at various speeds
4 Special Projects
• Can be used in water depths up to 300 feet
Hot Tapping is drilling a hole in a pipe or tube
when no means of measuring or relieving the
pressure contained within them are present. It
is often used to gain access to a wellbore when
wellhead valves are rendered inoperable.
• Environmentally clean as it uses
biodegradable oil
• The tap can be used on pipe or quickly
converted to rigging onto a flange
A Case History –
Surface and Underground Blowout
While logging a shallow development well, the operator experienced a kick. In order to secure the
well, a stand of drill collars was run in the well and the annular was closed.
While the well was shut in, other producing and
abandoned wells in the immediate area began
flowing gas to the surface. One area experienced an
underground gas accumulation and ignition, causing
a fire and crater that covered several acres.
CWC was mobilized and recommended
removing the rig and diverting the well
in order to stop the underground flow.
After removing the rig, the annular
BOP was opened and the drill collar
string was snubbed out of the well.
The annular BOP was removed and
the well was capped with a blind ram
and diverting spool. The well was diverted to a burn pit and a snubbing BOP stack
and unit was rigged up. A sales line was also rigged up and a small portion of the
flow was put into the local sales infrastructure.
With the well diverted to a pit, the flow at the abandoned wells, producing wells and
at the crater began to subside as the charged up zone depleted. While snubbing a
production casing string in the well, CWC engineers performed dynamic kill calculations
for the kill. After pumping the dynamic kill, the casing was cemented and the wellhead
was installed. The well was subsequently completed and put on production.
Houston HQ telephone:
1.713.849.2769
Toll free in USA:
1.800.990.2833
www.cuddwellcontrol.com
I N
T H E
W O R L D
O F
W E L L
C O N T R O L ,
W E
C O V E R
T H E
W O R L D .
iCAPP
®
International - Contingency - Audit - Prevention Program
BACEI SpA (www.bacei.com) is a leading HSE & Loss Prevention International Company.
CUDD Well Control (www.cuddwellcontrol.com ) is a leading International Well Control Company.
BACEI SpA and Cudd Well Control have formed a strategic alliance to provide combined services
under a single source. The unique ICAPP program takes advantage of the combination of the
specific experience in E&P Loss Prevention and in Well Control. The added value is in the ICAPP
solutions to reduce the risks (people, assets, environment and reputation) in the E&P projects.
CUDD WELL CONTROL
Well Control
Well Control Engineering
Blowout Control
Firefighting Operations
Well Control
Site Management
Project Management
Relief Well Implementation
and more
BACEI SPA
iCAPP®
Well Design & Construction
Blowout
Contingency Plans
Loss Prevention (HAZID,
HAZOP, SIL etc.)
Well Risk Management
Emergency
Response Plans
Hydraulics & Kill Simulations
Toxic Gas
Dispersion Modelling
Relief Well Design
Blowout Ignition Plans
Explosion Blast Modelling
Rigsite Safety
Supervision
Well Construction
HSE Supervision
Incident Investigation
Environmental Impact
Assessment Studies
Rig Audits
Training
Occupational Health
HSE training
and more
WELL CONTROL TRIVIA
NEW CWC STAFF ADDITIONS
Myron Kinley is considered the “father”
of modern oil well fire fighting. Myron
was raised in California and fought in
World War I. When he established his
career as a world renowned firefighter,
the job was only a part time job and
the only task he did at first was put out
the fire. Roughnecks working on the
well performed the capping operation.
It was only later that Myron and his
employees (including Red Adair, Boots
Hansen and Coots Matthews) performed
the capping operation.
The success of a company depends on the people
working for it. In our endeavor to be the best in the
industry, CWC is pleased to announce the addition of
the following personnel to our team:
• Bhavesh Ranka - Well Control Engineer, Houston
• Giovanni Pelliccioni - Well Control Engineer
from BACEI, Houston
• Jason Leath - Well Control Specialist, Houston
• Albert Munsinger - Well Control Specialist, Houston
• Jason Sasarak - Well Control Specialist, Houston
• Jimmy Rhoden - Well Control Specialist, Lafayette, LA
• John Mouton - Well Control Specialist, Lafayette, LA
• Peter Osborne - Well Control Engineer, Houston
• Tommy Van - Executive Sales, Houston
Bubble Trouble
Problems and Causes Relating to Gas-Cut Mud
Gas-cut mud is a problem occurring commonly in
drilling operations. There are several causes of
gas-cut mud and some key points to consider when
dealing with this phenomenon.
There are two key causes to gas cutting in drilling
fluids. Gas cutting occurs in drilling fluids when the bit
penetrates the reservoir containing gas. Gas reservoirs
form when gas migrates through rock until it reaches a
trap. When the drill bit penetrates the trap, the migration
of the gas resumes into the wellbore. Gas influx into the
wellbore can also occur when under-balanced conditions
exist, or the formation pressure is greater than that
pressure which is exerted by the drilling fluids.
By applying this principle to a wellbore situation, the calculations yield
that the hydrostatic reduction of the fluid occurs at the top of the well
where the total wellbore pressure allows for expansion of the gas.
The Bottom Hole Pressure (BHP) present in most wells will allow only
minute expansion of gas bubbles and the total volume of gas present
remains insignificantly low. The total hydrostatic reduction in the well
is very low with the reduced fluid density (gas-cut mud) occurring in
the top portion of the well.
There are some key concepts to remember when
discussing gas cutting. The amount of gas traveling
into the well is dependent on several factors. These
properties are:
• Permeability of the formation relative to gas
• Mud viscosity
• Mud density
Hydrostatic Reduction
When gas cutting is present in drilling fluids, many people
are under the impression that hydrostatic reduction is
a concern. The truth is that there is very little reduction
in bottom hole pressure due to gas cut mud. When
evaluating the severity of hydrostatic reduction, Boyle’s
Law can be used to determine how much hydrostatic
pressure is lost and where the loss occurs in the wellbore.
Boyle’s Law states that the pressure-volume relationship
remains constant. It is better known by the simplified
equation: P1V1=P2V2
HP Decrease= 100(MWuncut – MWcut)
MWcut
100
PRESSURE REDUCTION
psi
Under-balanced conditions will produce different
results in relation to formation permeability. In a
highly permeable zone, the result will probably be
a kick. In a low permeability zone, the results will
likely be gas-cut mud.
120
80
18 ppg
17 ppg
16 ppg
15 ppg
14 ppg
13 ppg
12 ppg
11 ppg
60
40
20
0
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
CUT MUD WEIGHT
ppg
The graph above illustrates the small impact that gas cutting inflicts
on the actual mud weight due to gas cutting for an example well.
The total hydrostatic pressure is reduced a minimal amount from
gas-cut mud at the surface. This is a common misconception in
field operations that only requires a simple explanation to educate
the uninformed.
18
PRESORTED
STANDARD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
HOUSTON, TX
PERMIT NO. 8185
Cudd Well Control, Inc.
16770 Imperial Valley Drive
Suite 100
Houston, Texas 77060
CWC MANAGEMENT TEAM
Dan Eby
VP Operations
Engineering Manager
Cell: 1.713.817.9899
deby@cudd.com
David Thompson
Division Manager
Cell: 1.713.252.2200
dthompson@cudd.com
Trampas Poldrack
Business Development Manager
Cell: 1.281.703.8046
tpoldrack@cudd.com
Houston HQ telephone: 1.713.849.2769
Toll free in USA: 1.800.990.2833
www.cuddwellcontrol.com
NEW CWC HEADQUARTERS
CWC is expanding to meet our growth in worldwide operations
and has moved from RPC Corporate headquarters to its new
CWC headquarters. This location is strategically located near
our Houston equipment supply point near the Houston Bush
Intercontinental Airport.
The new address is:
Cudd Well Control
16770 Imperial Valley Drive
Suite 100
Houston, Texas 77060
The phone numbers remain the same.
Houston HQ: 1.713.849.2769
Toll free in USA: 1.800.990.2833
Fax: 1.713.849.3861
SELECTED PROJECTS IN PROGRESS
Selected Events and Projects in Progress at CWC:
• Presentation at the IADC Well Control Conference in Abu Dhabi
• Well Control Operations Seminar for London insurance brokers
and underwriters
• Sponsorship at the Bali Classic Golf Tournament in Bali, Indonesia
• SPE/IADC Asia Pacific Drilling Conference in Bangkok, Thailand
• CWC Open House at CWC Headquarters in Houston, Texas
• CWC Open House and Equipment Demonstration at Adyard in
Musaffah, Abu Dhabi
• iCAPP Presentations to operators in Europe
• Editorial in World Expro Magazine
• Relief well consulting project in South Texas