Magnum Hunter's Farley Well Blowout

Are there any experts out there who can talk about this event? 

Wickipedia describes a blowout as;

  A blowout is the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well after pressure control systems have failed

Gary Evans in public statements said it took four days to bring the well under control, and said:

"We’re seeing a geo-pressured regime here like we’ve never seen before. So our first well, the Farley well actually blew out on us in a natural fracture, we didn’t frac the well. So we’re pretty excited about what we’re seeing. We had totally changed our drilling techniques in this region using South Louisiana Gulf Coast technology with high pressure, well heads, 10,000 pounds well heads, double BOPs."

It sounds like a serious, rare event. 

#1 question:  What does this indicate about the prospects for the well? 

(Does this event indicate a terrific amount of pressure and a massive amount of gas to be uncorked?  Or, does it indicate a screwup on MH's part?   Or, did the "challenging geology" contribute to the blowout as he alluded to in an earlier statement)?

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Permalink Reply by Brian Powers on October 30, 2013 at 2:15pm

Blu-

Thanks for your post .Drilling mud serves many purposes, such as cooling, lubricating, holding rock cuttings as they are circulated up the borehole and releasing them at surface. The mud chemistry and properties are also designed to stabilize the borehole to prevent collapse of the hole and probably most importantly, controlling pore pressure to prevent blowouts. The mud also contains materials designed to bridge an prevent whole mud losses, which can get expensive quickly depending on the mud type

Teams who prepare drilling procedures study offset company drilled wells and query other operators for well records, if those other folks are cooperative.

If the offset review shows holes that experienced problems with unexpected pressure or hole stability events, then the mud program would be tailored to mitigate against experiencing a similar event in the well to be drilled. The mud provider and mud loggers would be charged with adhering to the mud program and performing real-time monitoring to predict/prevent surprises.

 

Brian   

Permalink Reply by Bluflame on October 31, 2013 at 8:28am

Thanks Brian,

  Specifically in the southern play of the Utica where pore pressures are reported to be very high, what changes to mud content might be considered to offset the high pressures?

  For that matter, can you provide a general explanation of the componentry of drilling mud and the quantities that are necessary for Utica wells with bore lengths totalling >16k ft? Also, I assume the mud is always strained and recycled as it emerges back at the surface???

 

BluFlame

 

Permalink Reply by Brian Powers on October 31, 2013 at 9:11am

Blu-

Mud weight only controls pore pressure in the vertical direction, not the horizontal. So if your 16,000 ft. example well consisted of a 9,000 ft. vertical and 7,000 ft. lateral without much deviation in inclination (say 90° ± 1°), the mud weight over the 9,000 ft. column would be the controlling factor.

If the mud were weighted up as the well was drilled beginning with a  mud weight of 8 pounds per gallon (ppg) at surface, which is slightly less than fresh water, to 10 ppg at 9,000 ft TVD (true vertical depth), then the pressure exerted at depth would be:

P= MW*TVD*0.052 psi/ft/ppg) = 4680psi at the lateral entry point.

 

If the lateral had no significant deviation change and a pressure ramp or pocket were encountered 1000 ft. away from the entry point, the mud column weight in the vertical would still be the controlling factor.

 

Mud weight is created by a variety of methods, liquid or with particulate additives. In water based muds (arguably the most common because of cost), the base fluid can range from fresh water to salted brines (chlorides, bromides or formats), base fluid weight here would range from 8.3 to > 15 ppg, but at a cost.

The most common particulate additive is barium sulfate or barite. Weight can also be gained by adding sieved calcium carbonate, which also is used as a bridging agent to prevent losses. Mud weight also naturally increases as rock cuttings become entrained during the drilling process. You are correct that the mud is "strained" at surface by running it over a vibrating table that contains steel sieve screens (shale shaker).The key here is to remove the rock cutting without removing too much of the weighting agent.

Other additives include gelling agents to improve viscosity, liquids to control bacteria formation, chemicals to prevent the drilled shales from falling apart, pH control chemicals,lubricants etc.

 

I hope that this helps,

 

Brian

Permalink Reply by Bluflame on October 31, 2013 at 4:27pm

Thanks Brian,

 

  That's terrific information and I am an info sponge. As a Utica landowner, I've devoted the past two+ years absorbing as much knowledge as possible. It's a bit unusual to find someone with your depth of technical knowledge on this site!

  On a somewhat different topic, what is your impression of GPOR's shale drilling expertise? I'm very impressed by  their ability to stretch the Type Curves of their recent wells. Somewhat surprisingly, I've not noticed others following in their foorsteps.

 What is your opinion?

 

BluFlame

Permalink Reply by Mike Fulper on October 31, 2013 at 6:05pm

clear as mud  :)  

 

  sorry couldn't help it...:)

 

thanks for this info..

Mike

Permalink Reply by ShaleRocks on October 28, 2013 at 9:35am

Hi Hiker,

I spoke to a Triad rep a few months ago who told me that they were bringing a gulf coast expert in for the drilling of the first Stalder Utica well.  I later followed up to ask about the Farley well, and they indicated that the risk of another blowout was mitigated but would not provide any details.

 

Permalink Reply by jerry lee nichols on October 29, 2013 at 11:07am

Thanks for the info,my families farms are very close to the Stalders.this is something to be on the lookout for.

Permalink Reply by James L. Mitchell on October 29, 2013 at 11:21am

Pressure at that depth is extremely high and was not the fault of MHR Company.

Permalink Reply by The Hiker on October 29, 2013 at 1:24pm

I don't see drilling to those depths and pressures as a casual cake-walk in the park.    "Gee, Joe, check out that pressure dial...it just went off the chart...whuddya think happened?"  No, these companies are supposed to be experienced professionals trained to understand, prepare for, and react to all situations they may encounter.  Like high pressure.   Duh..... Brian Powers said it best; these guys should be trained....and they probably are.  So what happened?

Permalink Reply by Craig Cooper on October 29, 2013 at 2:17pm

I suspect that regional over pressure wasn't expected in this area.

Even though they may have detected increasing pressure while drilling and mudded up to control the well (speculation on my part) they wouldn't have 'seen' the natural fracture system until they were in it and by then they would have experienced a surge of pressure (open fractures act as fluid super highways) and may have had difficulty controlling the zone.

Permalink Reply by Brian Powers on October 29, 2013 at 2:34pm

James -

God had a hand in the pressure regime seen in the well. I'm thinking that you have already concluded that MHR was not culpable in this well control event. Many on this forum, including myself, would be grateful to see a summary from the well control incident investigation team's findings/recommendations if they can be shared on this forum.

 

Accidents certainly do still occur in our business. In today's O&G environment, equipment, fluids, predictors and mitigation techniques exist that should greatly reduce the likelihood of well control issues if they were understood, employed and followed by all involved.

 

Thanks,

 

Brian 

Permalink Reply by Graham on October 31, 2013 at 6:26pm

Great discussion here. Brian and Steven, thanks for your input.

I have spent 28 years drilling and blasting side-hill rock cuts above highways. Ninety nine of one hundred blasts are textbook. That "one" changes our world. If no one is injured, we thank God, and move on. It's called life.

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