Kick Influx Geometry
Converts a kick volume into the influx's length along the hole and its true vertical height, then uses that height to check shut-in casing pressure.
The Formulas Used
Where This Fits
These three formulas chain together in a live kick: kick volume in bbl is a pit-gain reading, but neither well control action nor a pressure check can use bbl directly — it first has to become a length of hole, then a true vertical height, before it means anything on a pressure gauge. Once influx vertical height is known, feed it into the second box along with the influx's own pressure gradient (an estimated gas gradient if it's a gas kick) to check the resulting shut-in casing pressure against what's actually being read at surface — a real mismatch there is worth investigating before assuming either number is right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does length of influx along hole matter separately from its vertical height?
They answer different questions. Length along hole is a volume-to-space conversion — how much wellbore the kick volume actually fills, along the direction the hole is drilled. Vertical height converts that same length into true vertical feet, which is what actually matters for pressure, since hydrostatic pressure depends on true vertical depth, not measured depth along an inclined or horizontal hole.
What happens to influx vertical height in a horizontal well?
It approaches zero as inclination approaches 90 degrees, since a purely horizontal length of hole gains almost no true vertical height at all. That is exactly why kicks taken in a horizontal or high-angle section are so much harder to detect and manage on pressure alone — a large influx volume can occupy a long length of hole while barely registering as a pressure change at surface.