Deepwater Well Control: New Training Reflects Critical Challenges and Human Errors

Abstract

This paper presents how important IOGP recommendations for well-control training were implemented in the courses provided by a Brazilian well control school using its proprietary drilling simulator. The courses now shed more light upon the crew member/designer’s needs to be successful in maintaining the integrity of the safety barriers including non-technical skills. The simulator incorporates features that improve the understanding of specific issues related to deepwater and ultradeepwater well control, such as the importance of early kick detection due to narrow drilling window, the advantages of performing dynamic leakoff tests and dynamic volumetric well control methods that reduce the maximum peak pressure and maximum gas flow rate at the choke, the importance of avoiding gas in the riser by properly removing the trapped gas below the BOP, among others.