Monday, July 13, 2009

Manage Pressure Drilling (MPD)

Managed pressure drilling (MPD) systems connect to and enhance the capability of existing conventional rig elements.


On the other hand, underbalanced systems may completely replace many conventional elements of a rig's drilling system.


Two basic elements that MPD enhances are the drilling fluid and the circulation system which every drilling method uses to control bottomhole pressure (BHP).
As a field ages with production, pore pressure, wellbore stability, and fracture gradient can change to the point where more dynamic control is required.

Of the many different technologies and processes required to drill a well none are more central to a successful drilling operation than those that control BHP.A drilling system’s primary tasks are:

Transport the cuttings
Prevent influx and losses
Keep the drill pipe free, the hole open, and the well on target and budget
These tasks do not change as a field ages, they just get harder to do.
The collection of pressure control methods referred to as MPD complements the basic elements of drilling by adding more control to the BHP. MPD extends control over the BHP to operational phases when the rig pumps are off, improving wellbore stability, well control, and safety, and bringing into reach productive prospects too expensive to drill otherwise.

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