A Study To Determine Necessity of Pilot Holes When Drilling Shallow Gas Zones Using Top Hole Dual Gradient Drilling Technology

When drilling offshore, shallow gas hazards are a major concern because of their
potential to cause a major blowout. This is a special concern when drilling in shallower
water, where the gas influx reaches the rig sooner. A common practice used to avoid the
potential dangers of shallow gas is to drill a pilot hole through the shallow gas zone with
the hope that the smaller diameter hole will prevent such a large influx. The use of dual-gradient
top hole drilling technology would allow for a larger hole to be drilled and the
possible gas influx to be killed dynamically, which I have simulated with the use of a
top hole dual-gradient simulator.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-05-591
Date16 January 2010
CreatorsKing, Lauren
ContributorsSchubert, Jerome
Source SetsTexas A and M University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeBook, Thesis, Electronic Thesis
Formatapplication/pdf

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