Kicks Prevention and Innovative Saving Proposals for an Operator in Oman

In the last ten years, several kicks and blowouts have occurred in the Sultanate of Oman. None of these blowouts escalated. They were controlled within 1–2 days and did not require capping or relief well drilling. The purpose of this study is to identify best practices to prevent further kicks and blowouts from occurring in Oman. The study starts with a brief overview and analysis of kicks and blowouts, which have happened around the world. Based on these examples, some useful recommendations are provided to improve the awareness of well engineering staff. The paper then analyzes kicks in the Sultanate of Oman that happened with one of its operators in the last five years. It divides the wells within this operator into low-risk standard wells (LRSWs) and high-risk complex wells (HRCWs). The article finishes by providing innovative proposals to improve production and performance in LRSWs. These proposals will save approximately USD$13,000,000 annually. This paper has been extracted from the Master Thesis of the first author.