Houston, Texas

Conventional drilling wisdom is primarily focused upon the decades-old process of "hydraulic pressure generated by a pre-selected fluid inside the wellbore" to control the pressures of the formation being drilled. Most wells are still drilled with overbalanced mudweights.

However, >50% of all known resources, gas hydrates excluded, are economically un-drillable with conventional wisdom, tools and technology. Factors such as zonal depletion, need to drill in deeper water, and excessive drilling costs indicate that the amount of resources that are economically undrillable will continue to increase.

Managed Pressure Drilling is becoming known within the Oil and Gas Drilling Industry as "MPD," or "Walking the Line." The technique is not a new concept but is gaining popularity as a way to mitigate the risks and costs associated with drilling wells within narrow, downhole environmental limits by proactively managing the annular hydraulic pressure profile.

Anyone looking for assistance in drilling wells with Managed Pressure techniques or Underbalanced Operations (UBO) should attend the "Walking the Line - Managed Pressure Drilling" class being held at Signa Engineering headquarters in Houston, Texas. The class, being held from September 20-24, 2004, is designed to educate students in applied MPD techniques so they leave with a full understanding of how to implement the process in the field. The class is set in an open-discussion format to give attendants a chance to interact with other operators who are looking for practical answers and the latest MPD technology. 

MPD could be considered when obstacles threaten to cause projects to exceed the AFE:

n Loss Circulation (mud cost)

n Differentially stuck pipe (necessitating side tracks)

n Slow ROP

n Drilling flat time associated with circulating out kicks and pausing to Mud Up

n Kick-loss cycles with well control consequences due to narrow frac-pore pressure margins

Comprehensive Instruction: MPD may be accomplished by many means including combinations of backpressure, variable fluid density, fluid rheology, circulating friction, and hole geometry and drillstring diameter. MPD is not focused strictly on the Bottom Hole Pressure, but rather the entire pressure profile within an open section of the hole, which is not static but changes as drilling progresses. MPD is intended to minimize departures outside the "pressure environment window." Signa's MPD course includes full instruction on these topics, along with associated technique instruction on Casing Drilling, MudCap Drilling, Hydraulic Design, and much more.

Benefits of MPD can include:

n Elimination of one or more casing strings
n Reduction of lost circulation and ballooning
n Reduction in the risk of stuck pipe
n Ability to drill longer ERD wells with constant BHP
n Higher Rate of Penetration (ROP)
n Control shallow gas and water flows (Deepwater)
n Safer drilling environment
n Overall decrease in time to reach TD

Cost: The price for the class is $2,800 per student.  Students who register prior to August 31, 2004 receive a 10% discount ($280) for early registration, which brings the net total price to $2,520 per student. Multiple students receive a discount of 15% ($420 per student) for registrations of five (5) or more from the same company.   All discounts require pre-payment with VISA, American Express or Mastercard. International students should plan to register early to guarantee enrollment in the class.

Patrick Reynolds
Signa Engineering Corp.
2 Northpoint Dr., Suite 700
Houston, Texas 77060
281-774-3110
281-774-1098 (Fax)
training@signa.net
www.signaengineering.com

"Design and Drilling Done Right"