An advanced Driller's Method simulator for deepwater well control

•A simulator of deepwater Driller's Method for horizontal well control is developed.•Circulation temperature during the well killing is considered in the model.•The bottom hole pressure is “dynamic” due to the effect of annulus pressure loss.•Choke pressure increased dramatically when the gas column migrates in choke line.

Deepwater hydrocarbon reserves play an important role in the global energy industry. The safety issue which is associated with deepwater well control is one of the most crucial aspects during the well design and construction in a drilling scenario. Limited by the narrow drilling window and the long but small choke line, accurate prediction of the wellbore pressure is required to ensure a successful well control operation in deepwater. This paper focuses on the deepwater Driller's Method, developing an advanced simulator to predict the standpipe and choke pressures in deepwater horizontal well killing on the basis of “dynamic” bottom hole pressure. In order to improve the precision of the simulator, circulation temperature, gas expansion and choke line friction loss have been considered in the model. According to the data of a planned horizontal well X-2, the simulation and analysis of the behaviors of the standpipe and choke pressures during the deepwater Driller's Method well killing operation were performed with the proposed simulator. For further understanding the characteristics of the deepwater Driller's Method, it investigated the influence of some engineering parameters on the surface pressures, including seawater depth, horizontal section length, gas kick volume and killing rate. The results demonstrate that the standpipe pressure increases with seawater depth and killing rate; the peak choke pressure increases with seawater depth and gas kick volume; and the horizontal section length has a little impact on the standpipe and choke pressures. In addition, the application of the well killing case in BY-3 well, which is located in the South China Sea, has proved the validity of the simulator.