Boots & Coots' Engineering Division provides engineering and consulting support to the oil and gas industry worldwide. Boots & Coots Engineering offers engineering services for the drilling, completion, production and workover phases of oilfield projects, including well-site consultants and specialists.

Boots & Coots Engineering draws from a resource base of the most qualified and skilled personnel available to meet the needs of the client. Our team of Engineers have experience with deep, high pressure, high temperature wells; on land and offshore is the strength of the division.

Whether the project is in the Gulf of Mexico, Europe, South America or the Southeast Asia, Boots & Coots Engineering can provide the professionals for the Project.

  Critical Well Control Services

For clients who find themselves in an operational risk or pressure control situation, Boots & Coots offers critical well control assistance. The Engineer will act as an advisor to the operator doing the work to control the problem and to prevent an escalation into a blowout situation. The Boots & Coots engineering division has the expertise to provide assistance in the following areas:

     • Drilling transition zones and managing pressure control situations,
     • Dealing with loss of circulation; LCM & Gunk Squeezing,
     • Stripping drill pipe under pressure,
     • Freezing and Hot Tapping,
     • Running or pulling pipe with minimal trip margin,
     • Setting barite plugs or weighted pills to control pressured gas or water zones.

  Well Plan Review

This is an engineering analysis of the mechanical design and operational drilling plan for critical and non-critical wells requested by the operator. The primary purpose of the Well Plan Review is to:

     • Provide reasonable suggestions and recommendations to the company’s        Engineering Operations group involving meaningful well control issues and        secondly,
     • Provide a record to certify the drilling plan confirms to industry accepted practices        and support the operator during any well control difficulty.

This work and any comment from Boots & Coots will focus on mechanical and operational aspects of well control related matters such as casing design, mud densities, well control equipment ratings and other operational procedures related to well control issues.

  Well Control Rig Audit

The Well Control Rig Audit is an analysis and evaluation of the drilling contractor’s equipment that will execute the drilling work for the operator. The Rig Audit includes a visual inspection of the primary and secondary well control components including the mechanical configuration and hook-up. It involves well control-related equipment such as the blowout preventers, hydraulic accumulator, choke manifold and certain well control equipment located on the drilling rig floor. The evaluation is a fit-for-purpose assessment for the geologic and mechanical conditions anticipated in drilling the well and will confirm the processes and equipment will follow industry-accepted practices. The Audit follows the Boots & Coots’ 108 Point Well Control Inspection Checklist. Following each Rig Audit, the Boots & Coots Specialist will conduct an exit interview with the drilling contractor’s tool pusher and operator representative to review findings and prepares a final report.

  Engineering Capabilities

• Well Plan reviews
• Drilling procedures review for blowout insurance purposes
• Rig audits and inspections
• Risk assessment surveys and analyses for drilling wells and for production fields or wells
• Incident Command System training
• Emergency response drills
• Rig crew training
• Advanced well control seminars
• Relief well planning and coordination
• Underground blowouts including data acquisition techniques and interpretation
• Reactive materials for lost circulation and underground blowouts
• Lost circulation consultation on location or from office
• Emergency response plans
• Blowout contingency plans
• Technical assistance in legal matters
• Well response calculations for blowout control
• Pumping plant design and selection including on-site supervision for blowout control
• Design of well control operations and procedures
• Supervision of operations and procedures for blowout control
• Coordination assistance between well operator’s engineering and on site tactical personnel
• Analysis and reporting after well control operations
• Liaison assistance with regulatory groups such as MMS and state organizations