Brendyn Emerson has joined Blowout Engineers team. He has experience working for major oil companies and well control service providers on various well control engineering projects and responding to blowouts on land and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Brendyn graduated from Colorado School of Mines and can be reached by email or cell phone. The newsletter provides technical well control information and details Blowout Engineers' new office, recent projects, and contact information for representatives.

1. NEW EMPLOYEE
Brendyn Emerson has joined the Blowout
Engineers team. He has experience working for
a major oil company and well control service
provider. This includes work on various well
control engineering projects and response to
blowout on land and offshore GOM.
Brendyn is a graduate of the Colorado School of
Mines.
He can be reached at
bemerson@blowoutengineers.com
or
cell number 1.386.283.3291
THE HOT ZONE
Fall 2015
THE HOT ZONE is a semi-annual newsletter from Blowout Engineers. Blowout Engineers is the well control division of Sierra Hamilton
and provides the full scope of well control engineering, capping and well kill services to clients worldwide.
The newsletter is a compilation of technical well control information for Sierra Hamilton's clients and consultants. The focus of THE
HOT ZONE is non-conventional well control topics.
This edition contains information on the following:
• Mud gas separators
• Blowout response for the man at the rig
What's New?
Here's what's happening at Blowout Engineers.
• BE opened a new office location in The Woodlands,
TX.
• Recent projects include the following.
o Horizontal well drill out well control audit.
o Emergency Response Planning for H2S injection
well.
o Advanced Well Control Seminar in conjunction with
Rig QA.
o Rig audits in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
o Dynamic kick tolerance modeling for sub-salt well in
GOM
o Presentation at the IADC Well Control Conference
of the Americas regarding blowout operations in the
modern era.
o Presentation at the Offshore Well Control
Conference regarding contingency planning.
o Blowout and spill drills for two GOM operators.
o Well control modeling for Utica Shale well in
Pennsylvania.
Please contact Dan Eby at 832.702.6945
or
Jace Larrison at 713.715.8218
for more details.
Toll Free Emergency Number
1.888.505.6346

2. MUD GAS SEPARATORS
General Theory and Sizing Considerations
The Mud Gas Separator (MGS) can be one of the most misunderstood pieces of equipment on a drilling rig. There have been
multiple technical papers over the years that discuss this subject. Many field personnel understand what the vessel is designed to
do, but do not understand the working principles behind it.
The principle of the MGS is simple – separate the large free gas components from the drilling fluids and vent it away from the rig.
This can generally be efficiently accomplished if the MGS is sized and used properly. The two primary facets of MGS sizing are:
• Vent line friction pressure vs. mud leg hydrostatic pressure
• Retention time in the vessel
Vent Line Friction Pressure
Hydrostatic pressure is a topic in which most people in the drilling sector are very familiar. The MGS has a hydrostatic pressure
component that is associated with the mud leg. The height and mud density within the mud leg will dictate the amount of frictional
pressure that can be generated within the vent line system. The pressure generated within the MGS will be a function of frictional
pressure that is generated by the venting gas in the vent line. If this pressure is more than the mud leg hydrostatic pressure, the
MGS will be evacuated and gas will flow to the shaker pits. This is a condition commonly referred to as "blow-through". Large ID
(>8") vent lines with minimum amount of turns and a sufficiently tall mud leg prevent this situation. A reduced circulating rate can
alleviate this during the kick circulation. If a blow through occurs the well should be shut in and the mud leg should be filled with
mud before continuing the kill.
Retention Time
Retention time is how long the fluid is contained within the MGS. As the drilling fluids move through the MGS, free gas will
percolate through the fluid column in the MGS and vent through the vent line. The key components of the retention time sizing
are:
• The rate of gas migration through the fluid column
• The circulation rate (or inflow rate into the MGS)
• The internal diameter (ID) of the MGS
The movement of the fluid through the MGS must be slower than the gas migration rate, or an occurrence identified as “insufficient
separator cut” can exist. This essentially means that there may be free gas in the mud returns leaving the MGS. The easiest
parameter to adjust if this condition has occurred is to slow down the circulation rate. This provides a slower movement of mud
within the MGS and may alleviate the poor separation of gas from the drilling fluid. The internal diameter of the MGS is also
critical. An increase in the ID of the vessel increases the volume of mud in the MGS which also allows slower movement of mud
and therefore more time for separation at a given inflow rate.
Many of the technical sizing documents that have been presented over the years make various simplifying assumptions. These
assumptions are generally acceptable for planning purposes and for use by rig personnel. The simplified assumptions are
associated with the use of Water Based Mud (WBM). The increased use of Synthetic and Oil Based Mud (OBM) throughout the
industry limits the accuracy of simplified assumptions based on the interactions between gas and mud. The accuracy with an OBM
system may be improved by use of advanced well control software. This software can model the interactions between the base oil
of the drilling mud and gas and improve the accuracy for critical projects. The software is also well adapted to performing a post
event analysis to identify where deficiencies within the MGS may have occurred.

3. IMMEDIATE RESPONSE to a BLOWOUT
There are basic steps that can be viewed as actions personnel at the site should follow in case of a blowout. These immediate
response steps can be applied to drilling, workover, completion and production operations.
• Site evacuation
• Call for help
• Gather data
Safety is the key for any situation in which hydrocarbons are not confined to the wellbore or surface pressure control equipment.
This is the base on which all decisions should be made.
Evacuation
Evacuation is vital in ensuring the safety of personnel. This applies to personnel at the site and nearby residents. It is important to
remember that law enforcement officials are the only ones who have the authority to force evacuation of nearby residents and to
close public roads. This should not keep site personnel from notifying people in the area of potential danger from the blowout.
Securing the site is critical to ensure safety. The early stages of a blowout are generally the most dangerous. This is because the
situation is often rapidly changing. Failed equipment can deteriorate and ignition is always a concern. Muster points and search and
rescue protocols should be pre-determined. The operator and drilling or service contractor should make these procedures part of the
orientation for personnel working at the site.
Call for Help
Calling for help is critical and should be done as soon as possible. For land operations, calling 911 is important. This action will
dispatch any needed emergency medical services and mobilize law enforcement that can make decisions to ensure public safety.
Field personnel should use the chain of command indicated in the operator's emergency response plans to inform the response team
personnel about the event. Responding to a well blowout usually requires a team to plan and execute the proper fix. Well control
specialists and other personnel required for the intervention are usually dispatched by the operator's management team.
Additionally, important officials that aren't required for the immediate response, such as regulatory personnel, are usually informed
by management.
Data Gathering
Data gathering is important so that the proper solution to the problem can be devised. Details regarding the downhole situation at
the time of the event are usually known. The nature of the flow at the surface may be harder to determine. Safety should not be
compromised to gather this data. It is virtually always possible to devise a plan to safely determine the needed information after
installing the proper safety system during the response phase of the event.
Monitoring the situation for change is critical. Changes in the nature of the well such as ignition or pollution impacts need to be
communicated to the operator's management as soon as possible so that the appropriate actions can be taken. Gas monitoring in
the area should begin as soon as possible. Site personnel should arrange for a responsible party to monitor the site and ensure that
the location is secure 24 hours/day.
A well planned and rehearsed immediate response to a blowout is beneficial in many ways. Personnel safety, legal obligations and
company reputation are important reasons that the proper actions are taken as soon as possible.

4. CONTACTS
1.888.505.6346
These contacts act as First Responders to
a well control event and can be reached
24 hr/day for any type of well control
emergency.
Houston, TX.
Dan Eby
DEby@BlowoutEngineers.com
832.702.6945
Jace Larrison
JLarrison@BlowoutEngineers.com
713.715.8218
Brendyn Emerson
BEmerson@BlowoutEngineers.com
386.283.3291
Blake Patton
BPatton@Sierra-Hamilton.com
713.956.0956
Rick Daab
RDaab@Sierra-Hamilton.com
713.956.0956
Lafayette. LA.
Al Bellaire
ABellaire@peiinc.com
337.984.2603
Midland, TX.
Russ Ginanni
RGinanni@Sierra-Hamilton.com
432.425.7450
Oklahoma City, OK.
Josh Bradley
JBradley@Sierra-Hamilton.com
405.843.5566
Denver, CO.
Steve Biggs
SBiggs@Sierra-Hamilton.com
303.709.4035
Morgantown, W.V.
Mike Reel
MReel@Sierra-Hamilton.com
304.629.8053
BLOWOUT ENGINEERS
Blowout Engineers provides operators the full
complement of well control engineering and
services.
• Blowout Control
• Well Control Project Management
• Relief Well Design and Execution
• Underground Blowouts
• Pressure Control
• Special Services
• Well Integrity Assessments
• Dynamic Kill Modeling and Execution
• Kick and Kill Modeling
• Emergency Response Plans
• Rig Well Control System Audits
• Expert Witness
Blowout Engineers personnel have worked in over
40 countries and have a wide range of experience in
addition to blowout control operations.
www.blowoutengineers.com
SIERRA HAMILTON
Sierra Hamilton is one of the largest providers of
outsourced engineering, technology solutions and
on-site supervision services to the oil and gas
industry. But Sierra Hamilton is about more than
size. We're about the extraordinary talent of our
people. We have a highly experienced and well-
established base of independent consultants.
In the last five years, we have provided consultants
for more than 15,000 drilling and completion jobs
and more than 3,000 hydraulic fracturing jobs. We
work with most of the large multinational oil & gas
corporations and independent E&P firms and
specialize in helping them reduce their fixed
operating costs. We do this by leveraging more than
750 of the most highly skilled and experienced
independent consultants in the industry.
www.sierra-hamilton.com