Petroleum department

3rd stage
Group (A)

Drilling Lab

3rd Experiment:
Dilution

Date of experiment: November 26th 2015

Supervised by:
Mr. Pshtiwan Jaf

Prepared by:
Muhammad Faisal

Aim of experiment:

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 The aim of dilution is to reduce the muds density,
which reduces the Hydrostatic pressure.

Theory:

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 Misreported mud weights may erroneously call for mud
weight adjustments, which can lead to well kicks, the
fracturing of a formation, and higher mud drilling costs.
The most common causes of such errors are:
Lack of calibration of the mud balance.
Air/gas cut mud.
Improper procedures followed in measuring mud weight.
Mud weight control is Controlling of mud weight within
a specified range in the field is one of the major concerns
in the implementation of an optimum drilling-mud
program. Drilled solids, particularly those of micron and
submicron size, are the most detrimental to the rate of
penetration (drilling rate). If these solids are not removed
from the mud system, they will adversely affect the weight
and other important properties of the mud. The control of
mud weight in the field is accomplished by:
Utilization of effective solids removal equipment.
Addition of chemical flocculants at the flow line.
Dilution with water.
Mud weight control is dilution by water is less effective
supplementary technique. A continuous but small
regulated stream of water should be added at the flow line,
as excessive dilution will result in excessive treatment
costs. In oil-based muds, dilution for the purpose of
reducing the mud weight is costly and detrimental to the
drilling rate and therefore must be avoided. (Azar & Samuel, 2007)

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Introduction:
In this experiment we reduce the mud weight by
adding more water to the mud. The same apparatus and
materials used in the previous test (Mud Balance) are
going to be used in this experiment again. Especially the
mud balance which is the essential instrument in any
density relevant experiment.

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Apparatus & materials:

Mud balance Electronic balance Beaker

Syringe Electric mixer & steel vessels

Water Bentonite

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Calibration:
1.Remove the lid from the cup.
2.Fill the cup with fresh water around 70 F (21 C).
3.Put the lid back on the cup, (water should come out
from the lids hole).
4.Set the rider on 8.3 ppg or 1 specific gravity.
5.Add or remove steel shot from the Shotwell until the
instrument is in balance and the bubble in the level
rests in the center of the level glass.

Procedures:
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 1.Weigh 25.05 gm of bentonite on the electric balance.
2.Pour 489.97 cc of water into a 500 ml beaker.
3.Pour the water into two vessels and stir the water with
the mixer.
4.Slowly add the bentonite to the stirring water.
5.Leave the mixer running for few minutes till we have a
good mixed mud.
6.Mix the mud in one of the vessels with the mud in the
other.
7.Place the mud balance base (preferably in carrying
case) on a flat level surface.
8.Fill the clean, dry cup to the top with the freshly
obtained mud sample to be weighted.
9.Place the lid on the cup and set it with a gentle twisting
motion. Be sure that some mud is expelled through the
hole in the cap as this will ensure the cup is full and
also will free any trapped air or gas.
10. Cover the hole in the lid with a finger and wash all
mud from outside of the cup and arm. Then thoroughly
dry the entire balance.
11. Place the balance on the knife edge and move the
rider along the outside of the arm and leave it on 8.58
ppg (the expected mud density) and wait till the cup
and arm are balanced as indicated by the bubble.
12. Obtain 325 cc of water by the beaker and syringe.
13. Mix the water with 300 cc of the mud that we
prepared previously, by using the electric mixer again.
14. Pour the diluted mud into the mud balance cup,
then place the lid on the top (some mud should
expelled from the lids hole.
15. Put the rider on 8.45 ppg and observe the level
bubble till it settles in the center.
16. Clean and dry the mud balance when finished.

Discussion:
The pressure exerted by the drilling fluid should be
kept in a certain range so that we avoid any undesirable
events such as kicks, blow outs or formation damage. We
used barite to weight the mud and the water to dilute it,
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but water is only effective to dilute clean bentonite water
based muds. It is not very efficient in the field drilling fluid
dilution. In formations where we have shale layers mud
dilution with fresh water is not acceptable because it
causes big damages. Some times in the field we have a
diluted mud which has low density about 8.42 ppg (too
light), and we have to increase the density as quick as
possible to about 15 ppg, to prevent a sudden kick by the
formation fluid. We are not able to directly add barite to
the mud, and we cannot add bentonite to reach the density
of 15 ppg. In this situation other actions must be taken.
Q1) when does a kick or a blowout occur?
A1) kicks and blow outs occur when the formation fluids (oil
and gas) pressure is bigger than the drilling fluids pressure.
Q2) when does formation damage (fracture) occur?
A2) it occurs when the drilling fluids pressure is bigger than
the fracture pressure of the formation rocks.
Q3) in what range the muds hydrostatic pressure should be
kept?
A3) the hydrostatic pressure must be larger than the
formation fluids pressure and smaller than the fracture
pressure and the hydrostatic pressure is controlled by mud
weighting and dilution.
Q4) why water is not very efficient in the field drilling fluid
dilution?
A5) because in well drilling operation the mud beside
containing bentonite, it carries out sand, rock cuttings and
other solid particles from the bottom hole to the surface.
These materials are in soluble in water so they have to be
segregated from the mud by mechanical means. These
equipment utilize high-speed screen shakers with 50 mesh
size or finer, followed by desanders, desilters, and mud
cleaners for unweighted muds. Centrifuges, which can
discriminate among solids on the basis of their specific
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gravities, are used for weighted muds; centrifuges are also
used in unweighted muds if a true low-solids mud system
is to be maintained. Flow-line flocculation through the
addition of chemicals is also used to enable the solids
removal equipment to extract submicron-size drilled solids
and is an essential means of controlling the mud weight.
Q6) why mud dilution with fresh water is not acceptable
while drilling shale formations?
A6) because shale contains clay which reacts with fresh
water and swells which sticks the drill pipe. Thats why we
have to use salt water to dilute mud because salt doesnt
react with shale.
Q7) what actions must be taken when we need to do mud
weighting for a low density mud?
A7) when we need to do mud weighting for a low density
mud, we cannot directly add barite. Because barite is inert
and insoluble in water and it precipitates after a while if the
percentage of bentonite to suspend barite particles in the
mud is too small. And we cant increase the density by
adding bentonite, because bentonite increases density till
a certain point (about 8.6 ppg) after that viscosity
increases as well. In this situation the density is increased
by bentonite till a limit then barite is added for mud
weighting.

References:

Azar, J. J. & Samuel, R., 2007. Drilling Engineering. Tulsa,

Oklaoma: PennWell Corporation.

Committee, A. S. S., 2011. Drilling Fluids Processing

Handbook. s.l.:Elsevier.

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Mian, M. A., 1992. Petroleum Engineering Handbook for the
Practicing Engineer. Tulsa(Oklahoma): PennWell Books.

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