The kill sheet

Your class instructor will already have covered completing the kill sheet with you in class and you will have a completed and correct kill sheet for the day one homework exercise in your possession. What is important between now and exam day is that you put the hard yards in by practicing kill sheets.

Complete the day one again from scratch before attempting the questions. If you have any questions on completing the kill sheet second time round – ASK, ASK, ASK. Your instructor can only help you with any issues you have if you ASK.

You will get another kill sheet exercise every day until exam day – don’t skip on completing them – like the Rolling Stones you’ll only get really good by practicing. So, practice. Do kill sheets. Practice more.

Grab a 3t Training Services kill sheet and let’s just summarise some of the key sections. Firstly, at the top of each page there’s a little information gathering. At the top of page one we record some depths and circulating pressures and at the top of page two we record the shut-in data. There are a few differences between our surface kill sheet and our surface one so make sure you have the correct one for the stack you are sitting.

After the information gathering, page one is all about the volume calculations so make sure you are using measured depth for all the lengths on this page. Page one gets busy quickly but the calculations themselves are straightforward if you take care. Transfer the information from the data page onto the kill sheet carefully. Put the correct data into the correct box. Use the calculations on the kill sheet to ensure you are putting the correct lengths in the correct places. Populate all the capacities and all the lengths before starting to work out the volumes, strokes and circulating times.

Page two contains the pressure related calculations and as such you will be using true vertical depth on this page. To start with you will do some formation strength calculations. Shoe TVD should be used and remember maximum mud weight is one decimal as calculated – no more thought - one decimal as calculated for maximum mud weight.

There then follows the three standard kill calculations (well TVD this time) and remember kill mud weight is one decimal rounded up – no further thought – one decimal rounded up for kill mud weight. You also have to work out the pressure step down schedule in psi per 100 strokes – just follow the kill sheet because it tells you what numbers to use. Surface to bit strokes can be found on page one of the kill sheet – it is your drill string strokes.

Depending on whether you are doing surface or subsea there are between 1 and 3 final calculations to complete but once again the kill sheet tells you exactly what data to use for these final calculations – take care to use the correct values as per the kill sheet.

So, in summary, be careful and practice then practice some more while being careful. Attention to detail is important – rubbish in rubbish out as they say. Be careful, pay attention to the detail and practice completing kill sheets… before exam day.