Higher Pressure Formation Than Expected Likely Encountered.
Which could be a very good sign as pressure drives oil to the wellbore.
Update on 11/2 said they drilled through "material amount of shale", which is likely the cap rock, whichs hold the hydrocarbons in place.
Then drilled just a few feet into "fractured carbonates" (i.e. where the hydrocarbons are) and stopped due to "continued increasing hydrocarbon indicators" i.e. gas pressure. They might have had a "kick" event which is a near blowout, or may have just read gauges and saw pressure climbing.
The next step was to assess what was needed, locate and order "well control" equipment, which is basically blowout protection from high gas or oil pressure at the surface. Drilling would not have started without well control equipment on site and ready to be deployed when necessary. After seeing the high wellbore pressure on the surface, I suspect they were concerned that the on site blowout protection equipment was not rated high enough, so they needed to procure higher rated equipment. And there is no better place to get high pressure well control than from Scotland as they deal with the harsh conditions of the North Sea. ZN mentioned getting equipment from Scotland, so I would guess that is where the higher pressure blowout protection is coming from. The smaller drill bit and smaller O.D. casing is easier to locate than high pressure well control, so they likely came from UAE and Italy, which ZN also mentioned as sources for needed equipment.
If the above theory is true, then we have a monster well and I will gladly wait to get the right equipment in place before drilling is resumed!
This is my first post so a disclaimer is warranted. I'm involved in the oil industry in KY and am long on ZN.
