Drilling and Reservoir EngineeringDrilling Well Control and Kick Management
A kick taken during a trip gives the crew a few minutes in which a correct shut in and an accurate pit gain reading make the difference between a routine kill and a blowout. Delegates study how kicks originate, from swabbing, insufficient mud weight, lost returns and gas cut mud, and how to detect them through flow checks, trip sheets and pit monitoring. Hard and soft shut in methods, reading stabilised pressures and calculating kill mud weight and the pump schedule come next. The Driller's Method and the Wait and Weight Method are worked step by step on kill sheets, together with gas migration, volumetric control and stripping. BOP stack arrangements, accumulator sizing and pressure testing complete the course. Delegates leave able to detect, shut in and plan the kill of a kick taken while drilling or tripping.
Course objectives
- Explain how swabbing, losses and underbalance lead to a kick
- Identify primary and secondary kick indicators while drilling and tripping
- Apply hard and soft shut in procedures
- Calculate kill mud weight and initial and final circulating pressures
- Complete a kill sheet for the Driller's Method and the Wait and Weight Method
- Manage gas migration using volumetric control and stripping
- Describe BOP stack, choke manifold and accumulator functions
- Plan BOP pressure and function testing
Who should attend
- Drillers and assistant drillers
- Toolpushers and rig managers
- Drilling supervisors and wellsite engineers
- Drilling engineers preparing well control plans
- Mud loggers responsible for kick detection
Course outline
- 01Pressure fundamentals and causes of kicks
- 02Kick detection while drilling and tripping
- 03Shut in procedures and stabilised pressures
- 04Kill sheet calculations
- 05The Driller's Method
- 06The Wait and Weight Method
- 07Gas behaviour, migration and volumetric control
- 08Stripping and well control complications
- 09BOP equipment, accumulators and testing
Scheduled sessions
| Dates | Venue | Format | Price | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 to 23 October 2026 | Durban, South Africa | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate | |
| 2 to 6 November 2026 | Kampala, Uganda | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | |
| 21 to 25 December 2026 | Online | Online | R8,500 per delegate | |
| 15 to 19 February 2027 | Cape Town, South Africa | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate | |
| 22 to 26 March 2027 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate |
Drilling Well Control and Kick Management
From R8,500