Adoption of the applied surface-backpressure types of managed pressure drilling (MPD) technologies in deepwater have mainly involved the use of a rotating control device (RCD). The RCD creates a closed drilling system in which the flow out of the well is diverted towards an automated MPD choke manifold (with a high-resolution mass flow meter) that aside from regulating backpressure also increases sensitivity and reduces reaction time to kicks, losses, and other unwanted drilling events. This integration of MPD equipment into floating drilling rigs to provide them with MPD capabilities, including the capacity to perform pressurized mud cap drilling (PMCD) and riser gas mitigation (RGM), has produced improvements not only in drillability and efficiency, but most importantly in process safety. Case histories on how MPD has performed will be presented on the following: • allowed drilling to reach target depth in rank wildcat deepwater wells that have formations prone to severe circulation losses and narrow mud weight windows; • increased drilling efficiency by minimizing non-productive time associated with downhole pressure-related problems and by allowing for the setting of deeper casing seats; • enhanced operational and process safety by allowing for immediate detection of kicks, losses and other critical downhole events. • provided riser gas mitigation capabilities that can detect a gas influx once it enters the drilling fluid stream, and not after it has already broken out above the rig blow-out preventers (BOPs).

1. Primary funding is provided by
The SPE Foundation through member donations
and a contribution from Offshore Europe
The Society is grateful to those companies that allow their
professionals to serve as lecturers
Additional support provided by AIME
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Distinguished Lecturer Program
www.spe.org/dl

2. Society of Petroleum Engineers
Distinguished Lecturer Program
www.spe.org/dl
Julmar Shaun Sadicon Toralde
Deepwater Managed Pressure Drilling:
Drillability, Efficiency and
Process Safety
2

3. Outline
• Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD)
• Deepwater MPD System
• Deepwater MPD Applications
– Constant Bottomhole Pressure (CBHP)
– Pressurized Mud Cap Drilling (PMCD)
– Advanced Flow Detection (AFD)
– Riser Gas Mitigation (RGM)
• Deepwater MPD Case Histories
• Conclusions
3

4. Managed Pressure Drilling
• MPD is “an adaptive drilling process used
to more precisely control the annular
pressure profile throughout the wellbore.”
• The objectives of MPD are :
– to ascertain the downhole pressure
environment limits,
– to manage the annular hydraulic
pressure profile accordingly. SOURCE:
4

5. MPD with Backpressure
CONVENTIONAL DRILLING:
Open to the Atmosphere System
Bottomhole Pressure (BHP)
= Mud Weight (MW) + Friction
MANAGED PRESSURE DRILLING (MPD):
Closed System = Quick BHP Adjustments
Bottomhole Pressure (BHP)
= MW + Friction + Backpressure
5

6. Deepwater MPD System
6

7. Rotating Control Device
• The RCD allows the
well to be closed in,
while providing
rotational capabilities,
allowing drilling with
pressure in the
annulus.
• Industry standard for
RCDs is API 16RCD.
7

8. Rotating Control Device
• The RCD allows the
well to be closed in,
while providing
rotational capabilities,
allowing drilling with
pressure in the
annulus.
• Industry standard for
RCDs is API 16RCD.
8

9. Automated MPD Manifold
9

10. Constant Bottomhole Pressure
Constant Bottomhole
Pressure (CBHP)
• Constant Bottomhole Pressure
(CBHP) variant of MPD allows for
navigation of narrow mud weight
windows.
BottomHolePressure
Time
Fracture Pressure
Reservoir Pressure
Graphics courtesy of Weatherford.
10

11. Constant Bottomhole Pressure
Constant Bottomhole
Pressure (CBHP)
BottomHolePressure
Time
Fracture Pressure
Graphics courtesy of Weatherford.
11
• Surface backpressure (SBP) is
added via the MPD choke when the
mud pumps are turned off to keep
bottomhole pressure constant.
SBP SBP SBP
Reservoir Pressure

12. Pressurized Mud Cap
Drilling (PMCD)
• Sacrificial fluid with
cuttings is accepted by
loss circulation zone.
• Useful for cases of
severe loss circulation
that preclude use of
conventional
drilling
techniques.Photo of karst limestone from www.speleogenesis.info
SOURCE:
12

13. 13Photo of karst limestone from www.speleogenesis.info
Conventional
Drilling
13
Light Mud
Water
Heavy Mud

14. 14
Encountering
Total Losses
14
Annular
Pressure
Standpipe
Pressure
RCD
Light Mud
Water
Heavy Mud

15. 15
Pumping Light Mud
In Annulus
15
Annular
Pressure
RCD
Annular
Pressure
Standpipe
Pressure
200 psi
Light Mud
Water
Heavy Mud

16. 16
Pumping
Sacrificial Fluid
16
RCD
Annular
Pressure
Standpipe
Pressure
Light Mud
Water
Heavy Mud

17. 17
Drilling Ahead
in PMCD Mode
17
RCD
Annular
Pressure
Standpipe
Pressure
Light Mud
Water
Heavy Mud

18. 18
Well Monitoring and
Gas Migration
18
Annular
Pressure
Standpipe
Pressure
RCD 100 psi
100 psi
Light Mud
Water
Heavy Mud

19. Advanced Flow Detection
• MPD System also provides advanced flow
detection (AFD) and consequently riser
gas mitigation (RGM).
• High-resolution mass flow meter increases
sensitivity and reaction time to kicks,
losses and other events.
• Mitigates riser gas risk by increasing gas
influx detection capabilities at depth.
Sources: SPE/IADC 163498. SPE/IADC 143099. OTC-24997. Multiple Trade publication articles on riser gas risk mitigation.
19

20. 20
Min Max
Flow
Min Max
Flow
Min Max
Flow OPEN-TO-ATMOSPHERE
SYSTEM
Coriolis Is Always Right?
20

21. 21
Min Max
Flow
Min Max
Flow
Min Max
Flow
Path of Least Resistance
21

22. 22
Min Max
Flow
Min Max
Flow
Min Max
Flow CLOSED SYSTEM
(RCD INSTALLED)
Accelerating Kick Detection
22

23. DW MPD Case Histories
• INDONESIA / MALAYSIA
• Adoption driven by necessity to
drill through fractured / vugular
carbonate formations prone to
severe circulation losses in
deepwater environments.
• Recent MPD deployments on
clastic formations for narrow mud
weight windows and for optimizing
casing setting depths.
Country icons from Apple website, Photo courtesy of Weatherford. Data presented on deployments are from multiple trade publication articles and technical papers / presentations on deepwater MPD.
23

24. DW MPD Case Histories
• INDONESIA / MALAYSIA
• Advanced flow (kick / loss)
monitoring and detection
capabilities of MPD system was
used on all wells for process safety
and drilling risk mitigation.
• Done before and even when the
CBHP and PMCD modes of the
system were activated.
Country icons from Apple website, Photo courtesy of Weatherford. Data presented on deployments are from multiple trade publication articles and technical papers / presentations on deepwater MPD.
24

25. DW MPD Case Histories
• INDONESIA / MALAYSIA
• Deepwater drilling consortium allowed multiple
operating companies to utilize one drillship for
multi-year campaign.
• Once MPD equipment
is installed on rig, other
operators immediately
utilize MPD equipment
for their wells to
optimize operations.
Country icons from Apple website, Photo courtesy of Weatherford. Data presented on deployments are from multiple trade publication articles and technical papers / presentations on deepwater MPD.
25

26. DW MPD Case Histories
• BRAZIL
• Mass demand for DW MPD
created when major
operating company made it
a requirement for drilling rigs
involved in exploration work
in deepwater.
• Used particularly for pre-salt
formations due to high
uncertainty.
Country icons from Apple website, Photo courtesy of Weatherford. Data presented on deployments are from multiple trade publication articles and technical papers / presentations on deepwater MPD.
26

27. DW MPD Case Histories
• BRAZIL
• Deepwater drilling rigs required to have an MPD
system installed so they are able to immediately
deploy MPD when required.
• Drilling contractors have purchased DW MPD
equipment and have integrated it into their rigs.
• Multiple rigs have drilled with MPD successfully.
Country icons from Apple website, Photo courtesy of Weatherford. Data presented on deployments are from multiple trade publication articles and technical papers / presentations on deepwater MPD.
27

28. DW MPD Case Histories
• ANGOLA / SPAIN
• Formation similarities (pre-salt /
carbonate formations) prompted
adoption of DW MPD by
operators in Angola.
• An operator made MPD an add-
on to riser gas handling system
already on rig, to optimize
drilling safety and efficiency.
Country icons from Apple website, Photo courtesy of Weatherford. Data presented on deployments are from multiple trade publication articles and technical papers / presentations on deepwater MPD.
28

29. DW MPD Case Histories
• ANGOLA / SPAIN
• Another decided to do a full-on MPD retrofit of
the rig to accommodate MPD equipment.
• MPD system allowed operator to drastically
reduce time involved with drilling a deepwater
well and also provided a means of spillage
mitigation in an environmentally sensitive area.
Country icons from Apple website, Photo courtesy of Weatherford. Data presented on deployments are from multiple trade publication articles and technical papers / presentations on deepwater MPD.
29

30. MPD Adoption
Country icons from Apple website, Base graphics courtesy of Weatherford. Data presented on deployments are from multiple trade publication articles and technical papers on deepwater MPD.
30

31. Drillability with MPD
• DW MPD enabled operator to drill to target
depth (repeatedly and consistently) on
previously abandoned wells, allowing access to
prolific reservoir production.
• PMCD allowed drilling to proceed efficiently
through karstified carbonate formations prone to
severe circulation losses.
• DW MPD enabled rank wildcat wells to reach
and evaluate target formations and for
development wells to access the reservoir.
31

32. Efficiency with MPD
• By promptly detecting losses and adjusting the
bottomhole pressure, DW MPD helped to avoid
nonproductive time (NPT) and keep drilling fluid
losses to a minimum.
• Conventional drilling approach resulted in losses
of 60 barrels per hour (9.5 m3/hr) upon
encountering high-pressure and loss zones.
• DW MPD operations have incurred minimal if
not zero NPT related to well-control incidents.
32

33. Efficiency with MPD
• DW MPD technologies enabled the operator to
drill multiple hole sections of different sizes,
avoid total losses, and manage nuisance gas in
a challenging deepwater environment.
• Using the CBHP variant of MPD resulted in safer
and faster drilling performance that saved the
operator significant time and costs.
• DW MPD systems allowed quick and efficient
transitions from one MPD mode to another (e.g.,
CBHP to PMCD, etc.) to be performed.
33

34. Process Safety with MPD
• With the ability to perform a dynamic pore-
pressure test and dynamic formation-integrity
test using MPD equipment, the drilling window
was verified in situ repeatedly (with minimum
time involved).
• Kicks were detected early and the automated
MPD system immediately increased
backpressure to control the influx and keep the
kick size to the bare minimum.
34

35. Process Safety with MPD
• Losses were detected early and MPD was used
to actively adjust the wellbore pressure profile to
eliminate or minimize losses.
• Active pressure management allows better risk
management when dealing with drilling
uncertainties associated with pre-salt formations.
• Globally, with the MPD system and advanced
flow detection in place, no events involving large
volumes of gas reaching the riser undetected
have so far been recorded.
35

36. Conclusions
• Adoption of managed pressure drilling (MPD)
technologies in deepwater environments and
floating rigs is gaining acceptance.
• Dozens of drilling rigs are now MPD friendly,
having already undergone MPD integration.
• Integration of MPD technologies into deepwater
drilling rigs and environments has not only
produced improvements and solutions in terms
of drillability and efficiency, but most importantly
and most recently, in terms of process safety.
36

37. Society of Petroleum Engineers
Distinguished Lecturer Program
www.spe.org/dl 37
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