CPA Well Control & Blowout Prevention 3

Question 1

What is the 'Driller's Method' for killing a well?

Accepted Answer

Circulating the kick fluid out with original mud weight, then circulating kill-weight mud

Answer

Immediately pumping kill-weight mud down the drill string in one continuous operation

Answer

Bullheading all fluids back into the formation under high pressure

Answer

Volumetrically displacing the kick by bleeding casing pressure incrementally

Question 2

What is the 'Wait and Weight Method' (also called the Engineer's Method) for killing a well?

Accepted Answer

Weighting up the mud to kill weight before starting circulation, then circulating in one step

Answer

Waiting for formation pressure to naturally decrease before circulating

Answer

Pumping water into the annulus to dilute the kick fluid before circulating

Answer

Waiting 24 hours after shut-in before beginning kill operations

Question 3

How is 'kill mud weight' calculated?

Accepted Answer

Current mud weight plus the mud weight equivalent of the SIDPP

Answer

Current mud weight plus a safety factor of 0.5 ppg

Answer

The formation pressure in psi divided by the true vertical depth in feet

Answer

The SICP in psi multiplied by 0.052 divided by the well's TVD

Question 4

What is a 'volumetric method' of well control typically used for?

Accepted Answer

Controlling a well when the drill string is off bottom or out of the hole

Answer

Calculating the volume of kill mud needed for the Driller's Method

Answer

Measuring the volume of kick fluid that has entered the wellbore

Answer

Determining the annular capacity between drill collars and casing

Question 5

What is a 'bullhead kill' in well control?

Accepted Answer

Forcibly pumping kill fluids back into the formation without circulating to surface

Answer

Pumping kill mud down the drill string and up the annulus in normal circulation

Answer

Using the blind shear rams to seal the well during an emergency

Answer

Killing a well by injecting kill mud through the kill line only

Question 6

What is the maximum allowable annular surface pressure (MAASP) used to determine?

Accepted Answer

The maximum casing pressure allowed before the weakest exposed formation fractures

Answer

The highest pump rate that can be used during normal drilling

Answer

The upper limit of mud weight before differential sticking will occur

Answer

The maximum pressure rating of the BOP stack at the wellhead

Question 7

What is the significance of a 'hard shut-in' versus a 'soft shut-in' procedure?

Accepted Answer

Hard shut-in closes the BOP immediately, while soft shut-in opens the choke before closing the BOP

Answer

Hard shut-in uses the annular preventer while soft shut-in uses pipe rams

Answer

Hard shut-in is used offshore and soft shut-in is used for land rigs only

Answer

Hard shut-in uses higher BOP closing pressure than a soft shut-in