AUGUST 04TH 2015

I continued working with the mud engineers; I learnt how to carry out the electrical stability
test, retort test and sand content test.
It is essential to monitor the stability of Water in Oil Emulsion as this can be an indication of
the presence of chemical contaminants, especially Surfactants. A freshly prepared mud would
have a low ES value but with continual usage it should climb up >500 THE HIGHER THE ES THE
BETTER THE MUD.
A mud retort with oven heating capability is used to determine the quantity of liquids and
solids in a drilling fluid. It also helps to determine the oil water ratio in the mud.
The sand content test is important because presence of sand in the mud could lead to
increased mud weight which could lead to fracturing of the formation and eventually lost
circulation, corrosion of downhole tools (especially MWD tools), it could also reduce the
performance of the mud pump. It is important to keep the sand content below 5%.