TPG4220 Drilling Fluid

Spring semester 2014

Course content
Drilling fluid systems and how they are selected; mechanical properties of drilling fluids; rheology, density, and filter
behaviour; the importance of clay and polymers; fluid mechanics in general and specifically as applied to pressure losses,
ECD and to hydraulic optimization of the drilling process.

Teacher / student assistant

Associate professor Pål Skalle pal.skalle@ntnu.no
Stud. ass. Thomas Alexander Sinclair Sahl thomas.a.sahl@gmail.com

Textbooks
Lecture notes covering most of the topics are collected in a compendium, published on BookBoon for free. It can be
downloaded here: http://bookboon.com/no/ Go then to student/petroleum-gass-olie/drilling-fluids

Recommended supplementary text: Bourgoyne, Young, Milheim and Chenevert: Applied Drilling Engineering, SPE,
Richardson, 1986, sold at NTNU Bookstore. From Applied Drilling Engineering we recommend the following chapters:
Chapter 2 The whole chapter minus: 2.1.4 and page 46 left column
2.1.6, 7, 8, 9
2.3.6, 8, 9, 10
2.3.13.1 and 3 + page 77
2.5.11 and 12
Chapter 3 The whole chapter
Chapter 4 The whole chapter minus: 4.1.2+ 117 right colume + page 118
4.4.5 and 9
4.11.3 + page 151 + 152
4.12 and 13
4.15.1 and 3 + page 172 and 175-183

Exercises
The exercises were updated last year by the students and should now be easier to understand than before. Exercises are
taken from the book Exercises in Drilling Fluids, found on BookBoon at http://bookboon.com/no/ Go then to; Engineering
Courses/Petroleum/exercises in drilling fluid. Also the solutions are available here. Your task is therefore to solve 15-20
exercises from that book and do the:

1. Solve the exercise and compare to existing solution

2. Write a report, and for each of the exercises make these statements:
a. Was the exercise text clear enough? If not make an improved suggestion.
b. Was existing solution correct? If not make a clear text of how to solve it correctly
3. Make a sketch of two completely new exercises, including motivation for this suggestion.

We do not want you to deliver the solution of the exercises, only the report as specified above. When you have handed in
15 exercise-reports you have obtained a score of 100 % (A).

Schedule

January 14 L Tuesdays: 08:15 – 10:00 in P11

17 L Fridays: 12:15 – 14:00 in P11
14 Exercise Tuesdays: 10:15 - 11:00 in P11
etc

After drilling fluid rheology is covered in the lectures we have two exercises in the mud laboratory. The stud ass will
inform you later on when they will be held.

Exam will be held on the 24.05.2014, and lasting for 4 hours. Exercises will count for 10 % and exam will count for 90 %
of the final grade.