Causes of Kicks
Causes of Kicks
Causes of Kicks
Learning Objectives
You will learn the causes of kicks • What happens if you don’t
including: respond to a kick.
• Characteristics and behavior • Surface and underground
of kicks. blowouts.
• Human life
• Natural resources
• Rig equipment
A kick that is not recognized and controlled will eventually “blow out” fluid from the well, resulting
in a blowout.
Shutting in a well will not stop gas from migrating and increasing wellbore pressure. This can
lead to downhole formation or casing failure
An underground blowout occurs when a well blows out fluid from one zone into another
formation.
Blowouts frequency is about equal between tripping and all other activities
A kick occurs when the formation pore pressure is greater than the
pressure exerted by the column of fluid in the well. The most common
causes of kicks are:
• Lost circulation • Insufficient fluid density
• Abnormal pressure • Poor tripping practices
• Obstructions in the wellbore • Improper hole fill while tripping
• Cementing operations • Swabbing/surging
The fluid in the wellbore must exert hydrostatic pressure equal to the formation pore pressure.
If the hydrostatic pressure is less than the formation pressure the well can flow and cause a kick.
• The most common cause of inadequate fluid density is drilling into an unpredicted abnormally pressured
formation.
• Insufficient fluid density can also be the result of misinterpreting drilling parameters and not acting
properly.
As pipe is removed from the well, the fluid level in the well drops.
If the fluid level in the hole falls, then the Hydrostatic Pressure (HP) exerted by the fluid will also
fall, and when the hydrostatic falls under the formation pressure, the well may flow.
We can calculate the drop in fluid level as pipe is pulled.
Calculations for this are based on fluid density and the displacement of the pipe and tripping
practices
Depending on conditions, pipe may be pulled dry or wet.
• If pipe is pulled dry, it is because of a heavy slug that was pumped in the string prior to the trip, pushing
out a length of the less heavier fluid in the pipe.
• To calculate the drop in HP per foot of pipe pulled dry:
If pipe is pulled wet, it is probably due to not pumping a slug or not allowing a slug time to drop.
However, if a slug was pumped and the pipe begins to pull wet, a kick may be in the well.
To calculate the drop in HP per foot of pipe pulled wet:
Kicks occurs during a trip out when there is insufficient fluid weight to hold the formations back,
due to the reduction of hydrostatic pressure by not pumping this pressure is called ECD
(equivalent circulating density).
Once the pumps are shut down, circulating pressure is lost and bottomhole pressure is reduced
to the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid in the annulus.
This reduction in bottomhole pressure may cause a kick.
Before tripping, carefully monitor the hole to see if the well is still flowing after the pumps are shut
down. No flow indicates that the trip out may begin.
Safety Margins are used to compensate for the loss pump pressure friction in the annulus.
Trip margins are estimated increases in fluid density prior to a trip to compensate for loss of circulation
pressure.
There is one major difference between a trip margin and a slug.
• A slug only increases the bottomhole pressure when it falls out of the pipe, never before the trip.
The size of the trip margin requires good judgment and is dependent on the:
Swab and surge forces are present whenever pipe is moved through a fluid.
Swabbing – a lowering of hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore due to the upward movement of
pipe and downhole tools.
• When fluid in the well does not drop as quickly as the string is being pulled, it creates a suction force
and reduces the pressure below the string.
Surging – a rapid increase in pressure downhole that occurs when the string is lowered too
quickly or when the mud pump is brought up to speed after starting.
• When the string is lowered too fast, fluid does not have a chance to move out of the way, resulting in a
process called surging.
• This may cause pressure to increase throughout the well and cause a leak-off or fracture.
REMEMBER: Slowing down tripping speed will minimize surge and swab
pressures.
Trip Speed
Clearances
• Pulling into Shoe – The reduction of clearance as the bottomhole assembly is pulled up into the casing.
• Salt and Swelling Formations – Salts close in around the string, permitting barely enough clearance for
circulation. Clays swell to wellbore clearance and increase the chance for the well to be swabbed in.
• Hole angle and Doglegs – BHA scraping against wellbore and can pick up debris and diminish clearance
when pulling up through deviated wells and dogleg areas.
• Number of Stabilizers – The more stabilizers, the greater the chance of balling and swabbing.
Fluid Properties
• Swabbing and surging are dependent on the rising/lowering and flowing of fluid from where it was
before pipe was moved, so the properties of the fluid are important. The following properties are
important:
- Viscosity – the readiness for fluid to flow and is probably the most crucial of all factors in swabbing.
If fluid viscosity is high, it is more difficult for a fluid to flow downward, so the pipe must be pulled
slower.
- Gel Strength – the attraction of solids in a fluid to each other. Fluids with high gel strengths
increase the likelihood of swabbing while tripping. Typically, the longer the duration without
circulating, the thicker the fluid may become partly due to this property.
- Filter Cake (Filter Loss) – When filtrate is excessive creating an immense build up of cuttings and
other mud additives on the formation wall. The filter cake is reducing the diameter of the well bore
once again causing swab/surge effects.
To maintain the HP on the well during a trip out, the well must be filled. This fill should equal the
displacement of pipe removed.
• Trip and re-circulating tanks are the most accurate means for measuring the amount of fluid that a hole
is taking. This should be recorded on a trip sheet.
• Short trips or clean out trips are used to determine wellbore conditions and include a safety factor.
• Pump strokes also measure fluid that a hole is taking, but they do not measure as precisely as trip
tanks.
If hydrostatic pressure of fluid falls below formation pressure the well may flow.
Circulating adds pressure to the bottom of the hole and annulus this combined pressure is your
ECD.
If friction and hydrostatic pressure exceed formation pressure to the extent of formation
breakdown loss of hydrostatic pressure will result as a loss of fluid.
If pressure forces fluid from well, hydrostatic is reduced and a kick may occur.
• Improper maintenance
• Excessive wear
• Excessive pressure
• Corrosion
Chemical changes occur during the hardening of cement. This may lead to several well control
problems such as:
• Gas channeling through the cement.
• Reduction in HP resulting in a kick.
• Poor cement bond between casing and formation.
Pit volume increase and cement displaced should be monitored to ensure the displaced fluid
volume is equal to the amount of cement volume pumped.
Drilling into an Adjacent Well – many times, a kick has penetrated from one well to another.
Testing BOPs – too many times there is too much attention focused on the actual testing of the
well instead of making observations for safety.
Drill Stem Tests (DST) – a drillstem test may be considered a temporary completion of a
production zone.
Platform Leg – jacking up a rig or other support mechanisms have caused blowouts.
Learning Objectives