Little known concepts provide consistent basis for evaluating gas-in-riser incidents
Last year, the IADC Underbalanced Operations and Managed Pressure Drilling (UBO &MPD) Committee published the Riser Gas Handling Guidelines to address challenges associated with gas in the riser during deepwater drilling while utilizing surface back pressure MPD or installed riser gas handling systems. During the 2024 IADC/SPE MPD & UBO Conference in Rio de Janeiro, members of IADC’s Gas in the Riser Subcommittee presented a series of papers discussing the underlying concepts behind the guidelines and the practical applications of the guidelines in the field. Speaking to DC from the conference on 18 September, Mario Teixeira, Senior Engineer – Drilling and Wells at Equinor and a member of the subcommittee, spoke about these concepts. Some of these, he noted, are little known in industry or inconsistently applied in field operations. In particular, he discussed the uncontrolled riser unloading that can result from unaddressed gas-in-riser events and why it is important for industry to better understand the risks involved.
Click here to purchase the IADC Riser Gas Handling Guidelines.
