4 - Drilling Fluids Updates
4 - Drilling Fluids Updates
4 - Drilling Fluids Updates
Drilling Fluids
EE047-3.5-2
Drilling Engineering
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides 45
Formula to a Safe and Healthy Drilling?
• The clay solids of the colloidal fraction are the active portion of
the mud.
• The clays used in drilling mud are earthy materials that absorb
water, or hydrate, and expand.
• Most basic WBM systems begin with water, then clays and other chemicals
are incorporated into the water to create homogeneous blend. WBM is
used to cool the drill bit which is required rather than lubrication.
• Advantages:
– Reduced impact on environment.
– Viscosity easily controlled.
– Density easily controlled for low pressure formation well drilling.
– Drill chips easier removed from fluid at shakers.
• Disadvantages:
– Not as an efficient lubricant as OBM
– Can promote corrosion at drill bit
– Not efficient at high temperature
– Does not carry drill chips to the surface as efficiently as OBM
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides 45
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides 45
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides 45
Oil-Based Mud (OBM)
• Areas of use:
– Drilling and coring pay zones
– Workover operations
– Where waterbase mud cause problems (swelling shale, stuck pipe)
• OBM are expensive, but are worth the cost when drilling
through:
– Troublesome shale that would otherwise swell and disperse in
WBM.
– To drill deep, high temperature holes that dehydrate WBM.
– To drill water-soluble zones.
• Advantages:
– Less fire hazard
– Less expensive
– Easier to treat at the surface
• Advantages:
– Increased Rate of Penetration (ROP)
– Reduced formation damage
– Improved bit performance
– Lost circulation control
– Continuous Drill Stem Test (DST)
• Benefits:
– The rate of penetration is higher than in conventional mud
drilling, drilling can proceed while producing fluids.
– Hole cleaning capacity improves.
– Risk of downhole fires decreases.
– No nitrogen is needed.
• Benefits:
– Faster penetration rates
– Low air requirements
– Low fluid requirements
– No damage to the formation
– Continuous Drill Stem Test (DST)
– Best for large holes
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides 45
Aerated Drilling
• Air or Nitrogen is added to the liquid phase of the drilling fluid, lowering
the effective mud weight.
Temperature Rate of
stability penetration
Corrosion Environment
inhibitor protection
Resistance to
contamination
• Hole Cleaning
– Removing cuttings from below the drill bit is still a crucial
function of a drilling fluid. The circulatory fluid rising from the
bottom of the well bore carries the cuttings toward the surface.
• Once the cuttings are out of the hole, they must be removed from
the system to keep from being recirculated.
• Offshore:
– Refer to national/local regulations*.
– The ratio of total base fluid discharged with cuttings to the sea for one
completed well is not exceeding 8% (approx)* by weight (weight of
base fluid by weight of dry retorted cuttings).
– The daily average retention of base fluid of disposed drilled cuttings
to the sea for any drilling phase is not exceeding 14% (approx)*.
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Disposal of OBM
• Toxicity testing:
– The environmental and toxicity standards of the region in
which the fluid is being used will require testing either of
the whole drilling fluid or of its individual components.
– Toxicity tests generally are used for offshore applications.
An approved laboratory can perform the proper testing to
ensure compliance of the fluid or its components.
– Tests on a population of organisms for determining if mud
and cuttings can be discharged in offshore waters.
– The quantity of base fluid in cuttings is obtained by
distillation in a distiller (retort and condenser) with a
weighting procedure.
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides
Measured Properties of Drilling Fluids
• pH
• Temperature
• Viscosity
• Mud weight (density of fluid)
• Hardness/ chlorides determination
• Mudcake thickness
• Calibration :
– Fill the funnel to the bottom of the screen (1,500 ml) with
freshwater at 70±5°F. Time of outflow of 1 qt (946 ml) should
be 26 sec ±0.5 sec.
Module Code and Module Title Title of Slides
μ = ρ (t - 25)
Where,
μ = effective viscosity in
centipoise
ρ = density in g/cm³
t = quart funnel time in
seconds
2. Yield point
– A measurement, under flowing conditions, the attractive or
electrochemical forces in the mud.
3. Gel strength
– A measurements relate to the attractive forces of mud while it is at rest.
4. Apparent viscosity
– The measure of viscosity as a time rate of flow.
or