
Discover an oil and gas drilling guide written by how expert press Miguel Firaz and narrated by Tom Jaromil.
Learn to predict pore pressure and fracture gradient at depth using limited data, formation tests, and analog wells, then set a mud window to safely drill and design casing.
Define and optimize the well trajectory, casing design, and cement program to reach targets safely, including cementing practices, centralizers, mud displacement, and cement bond logs for integrity.
Master drill string design from bit selection to drill pipe and collars, balancing weight on bit and bending stresses with formation information, MWD, and directional drilling for bottom hole assembly.
Master rig selection and well control by linking budgeting, market analysis, and technical inputs like depth rating, operating parameters, mud programs, and bop considerations for safer drilling.
Logistics coordinates mobilization and demobilization, transportation of people and heavy equipment, port operations, and the operations support base to ensure safe, continuous offshore drilling.
Explain plug and abandonment for oil and gas wells, including cement plugs, barriers, and surface equipment removal. Highlight UK and North Sea guidelines on barriers and abandonment options.
Explore the environmental impact assessment framework for oil and gas projects, including significance matrices, risk assessment, mitigation measures, emergency response plans, and hsc bridging documents.
If you want to learn about oil drilling as a beginner, then check out this book!
How to drill an oil and gas well from A to Z, or in a shorter form from 1 to 7.
The first step, is to determine what type of rock we will be drilling. The second step is to refine this preliminary well configuration by determining the exact dimensions required of casing strings. Afterwards, the third stage is to select the appropriate bits, bottom hole assembly (BHA) and drillstring for each hole section.
The fourth step is a big one, selecting a rig, which goes hand in hand with the abovementioned characteristics of drilling a well. Eventually, we get a shortlist and go to the market to close the best fit for purpose rig contract. The fifth step is the huge logistics framework that surrounds a drilling operation to ensure it goes smoothly and most important of all, for safety to prevail. The sixth step, is to plug and abandon the well, gladly, strict regulations have been put in place to ensure industry best practices are always followed.
Last but not least, the seventh step encompasses all of the previous six, which is to assess and mitigate the environmental impact of all the operations. Safety is, from the beginning until the end of oil and gas drilling, the n.1 priority.
About the Expert
I am a Mechanical & Petroleum Engineer (dual masters) with five years of work experience, always representing the same O&G company and doing so in four different countries: Portugal, Namibia, Morocco and Brazil. I am fluent in four languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish and French.
The international experience during my childhood where I lived in Italy, Brazil and Argentina (other than Portugal) aided me in thinking out of the box. The two exchange programs I participated in Sweden and Argentina reinforced this situation and helped me understand that an international environment incorporated with strong teamwork is definitely the key to success.
Travelling is one of my big passions, I have travelled a lot during my childhood and I have travelled a lot for my job. Luckily, I also have a competition with my wife, which is to visit all the countries in the world, we are passed the sixty countries and we want to reach the seventy countries mark ASAP!