1. adj. [Drilling]

Pertaining to wells that are hotter or higher pressure than most. The term came into use upon the release of the Cullen report on the Piper Alpha platform disaster in the UK sector of the North Sea, along with the contemporaneous loss of the Ocean Odyssey semisubmersible drilling vessel in Scottish jurisdictional waters. In the UK, HPHT is formally defined as a well having an undisturbed bottomhole temperature of greater than 300 degF [149 degC] and a pore pressure of at least 0.8 psi/ft (~15.3 lbm/galUS) or requiring a BOP with a rating in excess of 10,000 psi [68.95 MPa]. Although the term was coined relatively recently, wells meeting the definition have been safely drilled and completed around the world for decades.

See related terms: HPHT,  pore pressure