Contents

Preface ..................................................................... vii

1. Basic Formulas ................................................ 1

Pressure Gradient ..................................................... 1
Hydrostatic Pressure (HP) ......................................... 3
Converting Pressure into Mud Weight ....................... 4
Specific Gravity (SG) ................................................. 5
Equivalent Circulating Density (ECD) ........................ 6
Maximum Allowable Mud Weight from Leak-off
Test Data ......................................................... 7
Pump Output (PO) ..................................................... 7
Annular Velocity (AV) ................................................ 9
Capacity Formulas .................................................... 12
Control Drilling ........................................................... 19
Buoyancy Factor (BF) ............................................... 20
Hydrostatic Pressure (HP) Decrease When Pulling
Pipe Out of the Hole ........................................ 20
Loss of Overbalance Due to Falling Mud Level ......... 22
Formation Temperature (FT) ..................................... 24
Hydraulic Horsepower (HHP) .................................... 25
Drill Pipe/Drill Collar Calculations .............................. 25

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vi Contents

Pump Pressure/Pump Stroke Relationship (Also

Called the Roughneck's Formula) ................... 27
Cost per Foot ............................................................. 28
Temperature Conversion Formulas ........................... 29

2. Basic Calculations ........................................... 31

Volumes and Strokes ................................................ 31
Slug Calculations ....................................................... 33
Accumulator Capacity – Useable Volume per
Bottle ............................................................... 37
Bulk Density of Cuttings (Using Mud Balance) .......... 41
Drill String Design (Limitations) ................................. 42
Ton-mile (TM) Calculations ....................................... 44
Cementing Calculations ............................................ 47
Weighted Cement Calculations ................................. 53
Calculations for the Number of Sacks of Cement
Required .......................................................... 54
Calculations for the Number of Feet to Be
Cemented ........................................................ 57
Setting a Balanced Cement Plug .............................. 61
Differential Hydrostatic Pressure between Cement
in the Annulus and Mud Inside the Casing ...... 65
Hydraulicing Casing .................................................. 66
Depth of a Washout ................................................... 70
Lost Returns – Loss of Overbalance ......................... 71
Stuck Pipe Calculations ............................................. 72
Calculations Required for Spotting Pills .................... 75
Pressure Required to Break Circulation .................... 79

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 Contents vii

3. Drilling Fluids ................................................... 81

Increase Mud Density ................................................ 81
Dilution ...................................................................... 85
Mixing Fluids of Different Densities ........................... 86
Oil-based Mud Calculations ....................................... 87
Solids Analysis .......................................................... 91
Solids Fractions ......................................................... 95
Dilution of Mud System ............................................. 96
Displacement – Barrels of Water/Slurry Required ..... 97
Evaluation of Hydrocyclone ....................................... 97
Evaluation of Centrifuge ............................................ 99

4. Pressure Control .............................................. 103

Kill Sheets and Related Calculations ........................ 103
Prerecorded Information ............................................ 115
Kick Analysis ............................................................. 124
Pressure Analysis ...................................................... 137
Stripping/Snubbing Calculations ............................... 139
Subsea Considerations ............................................. 144
Workover Operations ................................................ 153
Controlling Gas Migration .......................................... 157
Gas Lubrication ......................................................... 159
Annular Stripping Procedures .................................... 161

5. Engineering Calculations ................................ 165

Bit Nozzle Selection – Optimized Hydraulics ............. 165
Hydraulics Analysis ................................................... 169

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Critical Annular Velocity and Critical Flow Rate ........ 173

“d” Exponent .............................................................. 174
Cuttings Slip Velocity ................................................. 175
Surge and Swab Pressures ....................................... 179
Equivalent Circulation Density (ECD) ........................ 187
Fracture Gradient Determination – Surface
Application ....................................................... 190
Fracture Gradient Determination – Subsea
Applications ..................................................... 194
Directional Drilling Calculations ................................. 197
Miscellaneous Equations and Calculations ............... 203

Appendices
Appendix A. ............................................................... 209
Appendix B. ............................................................... 217

Index ........................................................................ 221

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