No single indicator is reliable on its own. Rate of penetration rises in overpressure but also in softer rock; background gas rises with pressure but also with bit and hydraulics changes; connection gas is a good indicator but depends on swab and circulation practice. Monitoring works by combining indicators and asking whether they tell a consistent story.

Connection gas is the most useful early signal in many wells. When the well is swabbed slightly during a connection and gas enters, it means the overbalance is small. A trend of rising connection gas over several connections is a clear statement that the margin is shrinking, usually before anything else shows.

The hard part is communication and decision. A monitoring specialist who reports a rising pressure estimate without a clear recommendation leaves the supervisor to interpret it; one who reports certainty that later proves wrong loses credibility. Good practice is to state the evidence, the updated estimate, the confidence and the recommended action, and to do so early enough for the action to be practical.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Define real-time pressure monitoring objectives, roles and data requirements.
• Interpret drilling parameter indicators including rate of penetration and d-exponent.
• Interpret mud logging evidence, including gas levels and cuttings character.
• Analyse connection gas and background gas trends.
• Interpret logging while drilling data for pressure indication.
• Apply pressure updating methods to real-time data.
• Use cavings and hole condition as pressure and stability evidence.
• Integrate multiple indicators into a single updated pressure estimate.
• Communicate pressure changes and confidence to the drilling team.
• Recommend operational actions, including mud weight and casing point changes.

The course is instructor-led and data-driven. Participants work through real-time data sets from wells as they drilled, updating pressure estimates and making recommendations at each stage, then comparing with what the well did. Cases include wells where the pre-drill prediction was wrong in both directions. Participants are encouraged to bring their own well data for discussion.

Organisations sending participants to this training will:

• Detect pressure changes early enough to act.
• Reduce kicks, losses and unplanned casing strings.
• Improve the use of mud logging and logging while drilling data.
• Improve communication between pressure specialists and the drilling team.
• Build a pressure updating process that feeds back into future predictions.

Participants will:

• Be able to monitor pore pressure in real time from rig data.
• Be able to interpret gas, drilling parameter and log indicators.
• Be able to update a pressure estimate while drilling.
• Be able to communicate pressure changes with appropriate confidence.
• Be able to recommend practical operational actions.

• Wellsite and operations geologists
• Pore pressure specialists
• Mud loggers and logging while drilling engineers
• Drilling engineers and supervisors
• Petrophysicists supporting drilling
• Real-time operations centre staff

Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.

Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.