COURSE OVERVIEW:

Accurate prediction of subsurface pressures is one of the most critical aspects of safe and efficient drilling operations. Incorrect estimation of pore pressure and fracture gradient can lead to serious well control incidents, kicks, blowouts, lost circulation, stuck pipe, non-productive time, and severe damage to personnel, equipment, and the environment. This course provides a comprehensive and practical treatment of subsurface pressure prediction for drilling engineers and related professionals.

The course begins with the fundamentals of overburden stress, pore pressure, effective stress, and fracture gradient, and then moves into the geological and geomechanical origins of abnormal pressures. Participants will learn how to use offset well data, seismic information, and drilling parameters to build pre-drill pore pressure and fracture gradient profiles. The course covers classical empirical methods, log-based techniques, and modern integrated approaches combining seismic, wireline, and while drilling data.

Special emphasis is placed on real-time pore pressure monitoring while drilling, using parameters such as rate of penetration, d exponent, mud logging indicators, and logging while drilling responses. Participants will learn how to recognize early warning signs for kicks and losses, adjust mud weight and casing setting depths, and manage narrow drilling margins in challenging environments, including deep water, high-pressure high-temperature wells, and depleted reservoirs.

The course also addresses uncertainty handling, data quality control, and communication of pressure-related risks to operations teams. Practical examples and case-style discussions will help participants translate the theory into robust workflows for planning, executing, and optimizing drilling operations while maintaining well integrity and safety.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

After completion of the course, the participants will be able to:

• Explain the concepts of overburden stress, pore pressure, effective stress, and fracture gradient in drilling engineering.
• Describe the geological and geomechanical mechanisms that generate overpressure and pressure anomalies.
• Distinguish between normal, subnormal, and abnormally high pore pressure regimes and their impact on drilling operations.
• Use offset well data and pressure-related events to construct initial pore pressure and fracture gradient profiles.
• Apply empirical and semi-analytical methods for pore pressure prediction, including the d exponent and related drilling parameter techniques.
• Interpret wireline and logging while drilling data for pressure prediction using sonic, resistivity, density, and shale-related indicators.
• Integrate seismic velocities and seismic inversion results into regional and local pore pressure models.
• Estimate fracture gradient and safe mud weight windows using leak-off tests, formation integrity tests, and rock mechanical relationships.
• Recognize real time indicators of changing pore pressure while drilling and respond with appropriate operational measures.
• Identify early warning signs of kicks and losses and relate them to pressure prediction and mud window management.
• Define casing setting depth strategies based on predicted pore pressure and fracture gradient trends.
• Address specific challenges of pressure prediction in deep water, high-pressure high high-temperature wells, and depleted or layered reservoirs.
• Perform quality control on pressure prediction workflows and quantify uncertainty ranges for operational decision making.
• Communicate pressure-related risks and recommendations effectively to drilling, well control, and management teams.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

• Drilling engineers and drilling supervisors
• Well engineers and well planners
• Reservoir and petroleum engineers are involved in well planning
• Geologists and geophysicists supporting pressure prediction studies
• Mud engineers and drilling fluids specialists
• Wellsite geologists and mud logging personnel
• Well integrity and well control engineers
• Health, safety, and environment professionals involved in drilling operations
• Technical managers and asset leaders overseeing drilling projects

TRAINING COURSE METHODOLOGY:

A highly interactive combination of lectures, discussion sessions, and case studies will be employed to maximise the transfer of information, knowledge, and experience. The course will be intensive, practical, and highly interactive. The sessions will start by raising the most relevant questions and motivating everybody to find the right answers. The attendants will also be encouraged to raise more of their questions and to share in developing the right answers using their analysis and experience. There will also be some indoor experiential activities to enhance the learning experience. Course material will be provided in PowerPoint, with necessary animations, learning videos, and general discussions.

The course participants shall be evaluated before, during, and after the course.

COURSE CERTIFICATE:

National Consultant Centre for Training LLC (NCC) will issue an Attendance Certificate to all participants who complete at least 80% of the total attendance time requirement.