Detection of fluid losses or gains in managed pressure drilling operations

Abstract

Disclosed embodiments relate to MPD well drilling methods, for example detecting fluid gains or losses even in transient conditions. For example, data relating to one or more parameter of the drilling system may be corrected/filtered using one or more technique. The corrected data can be used to calculate flowrate difference (DeltaFR), and possible fluid losses or gains in the system can be detected by calculating a virtual trip tank (VTT) using DeltaFR. In some embodiments, the technique can compensate for drillstring movement. In some embodiments, an adaptive moving average may be applied to the data to reduce noise. In some embodiments, bilateral filtering may be applied to the data, for example to address issues arising from movement of a choke in the drilling system. In some embodiments, updated baselines may be applied to remove any offset. Systems related to such methods are also disclosed.