PMRE 6004: Gas and Oil Well Drilling
and Completion
Drilling Fluids
Content
• Functions of Drilling Fluid
• Types of Drilling Fluids
• Pros and Cons
• Fluid Additives
• Functions
Functions of Drilling Fluids
Already discussed in previous classes
•
Types
• Water based (WBM)
• Oil based (OBM)
• Synthetic Mud (i.e. SBM/SOBM)
• Aerated Mud
• Foams
Water Based Mud
• Composition of Typical WBM
WBM Additives
Bentonite (Mineral name: Montmorillinite)
[(1/2Ca,Na)0.7(Al,Mg,Fe)4(Si,Al)8O20(OH)47nH20]
• One kind of Clay mineral
• Naturally available as ores
• Reactive particle
• Swells in contact with water/aqueous phase
• Used to increase viscosity of Mud
• Also builds filter cake along the borehole wall to decrease
fluid loss
Other materials apart from Bentonite used to increase
viscosity are Polymers like Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) and
Starches
Barite
• BaSO4
• Low cost high specific gravity (s.g. 4.2)
• Found in powder form
• Other weighing agents also used are:
Salts (Sodium/Potassium), Calcium Carbonate
etc.
Dispersants
• Used to decrease viscosity where cuttings may
make the mud viscous (while drilling shaley
zones)
• Adding water may decrease mud weight
while decreasing viscosity
• Whereas dispersant doesn’t change density
e.g. Lignosulfonates, Lignites
Inhibition Agents
• Severe fluid loss might occur while drilling water
sensitive formation
• Swelling shales and shales can hamper drilling by
enlarging hole and increasing viscosity of mud
while damaging the production zone
• Lime and Gypsum were used before
• Now a days KCL and polymer (PHPA –
polyacrylamide potassium clhoride) is used as
encapsulating agent
• They encapsulate drilled solids and thus stops
swelling
Lubricating Agent
• Oil-emulsion mud is used for better
lubrication property of mud
• Especially important to reduce high torque
and enhance drilling rate
• An emulsifier is added to the Oil so that oil
doesn’t separate from water
• Lignites, Lignosulfonates or soap-type
additives are good emulsifier
pH control
• Mud pH lower than 7 means acidic
environment
• Chances of corroding Drill pipes and other
equipment are higher
• Hence pH is kept higher than 7 i.e. Alkaline
environment
• Sodium hydroxide is used
• Can cause severe burn, hence used with
wearing proper hand gloves
Pros and Cons of WBM
Pros
• Cheap
• Easily available
• Mostly environmental friendly
• Gas kick detection is comparatively easier
Cons
• Problematic when drilling shale formation
• Drilling rate is slower when comparing with OBM
• Sometimes create thick mud cake leading to Stuck pipe
scenario
Oil Based Mud
• Composition of Typical OBM
OBM Additives
Wetting agents
• Barite, clays and lime are all hydrophilic (water
loving). Hence water particle gather around
these particles which causes the additives to
clump and settle down rather than being
dispersed solids
• Wetting agent or surfactants adheres to the
surface of the agents and thus prevents from
attracting water
Organophilic Clays
• Bentonite is hydrophilic
• Hence Amine salt is added
• Amine salt convert hydrophilics clays to
organophilic clay which attracts only oil rather
than water
• So no chance of clumping and settling of
organophilic bentonite
OBM
Pros
• The oil base mud is good for high temperature environment
because the base fluid is oil.
• It is good for drilling into shale formation because it does not react
with formation clay causing shale instability.
• It typically creates thin mud cake. This is really good because you
can reduce risk for pipe stuck situation.
• It can be treated and reused. Using this mud for long run can
reduce overall drilling mud cost.
• Oil base as external phase is good lubricant so it greatly reduce
drilling torque.
• It is good to use in some areas where you face with hydrate
problem such as deep water drilling.
• Typically, when drilling with oil base mud, gauge hole can be easily
achieved
OBM
Cons
• Environmental concern – Oil base mud is considered as toxic waste therefore it cannot
be disposed directly into land, river, or ocean. You really need to take special care when
use it. Many governments do not allow oil companies which don’t have good waste
management while drilling with oil base mud.
• People Heath – This mud has hazardous vapors which will cause health problem to
personnel who working with it in both short and long term. Moreover, personnel need
to use proper PPE’s and protective crew in order to handle it because the oil base mud
can irritate worker’s skin.
• Cost – Mud cost of this system is higher than water base mud in terms of cost per barrel.
• Gas kick detection – Gas kick is very difficult to identify because gas is soluble in oil. You
may take kick but you will be able to see pit gain or flow increase at the first time. When
the gas kick is moved upwards due to circulation, you will suddenly see pit gain, and flow
increase because of gas expansion.
• Equipment – Rubber parts is easily deteriorated by oil base. Therefore, personnel must
be frequently check rubber parts exposed to this mud as rubber hoses, expansion joints,
etc.
Synthetic Mud
• Non-aqueous, water-internal (invert) emulsion muds
in which the external phase is a synthetic fluid rather
than an oil.
• Synthetic-based fluids were developed out of an
increasing desire to reduce the environmental
impact of offshore drilling operations, but without
sacrificing the cost-effectiveness of oil-based
systems
• Mostly used in offshore operations to make it cost
effective
Mud Properties
Mud Weight
• Measured in pounds per gallon
• Mud Weight X Depth X .052 = Hydrostatic
Pressure
• Water weighs 8.33 pounds per gallon
Mud Balance
Funnel Viscosity
• Viscosity is resistance to flow
• It is measured in how many seconds it takes for
one quart (946 ml) of mud to flow through a
Marsh funnel. The tube in the bottom of the
funnel must be clean for a reading to be accurate
• The viscosity of fresh water is 27 seconds per
quart
• A typical Marsh Funnel shown below
YP, PV, gel strength
• Discussed in previous class
Filtration
• The filter cake building properties of mud can
be measured by means of a filter press
• Following things are measured
The rate at which fluid from a mud sample is
forced through a filter under specified
temperature and pressure.
The thickness of the solid residue deposited
on the filter paper caused by the loss of fluids.
Filtration Unit
Sand Content
• A high proportion of sand in
the mud can damage the mud
pumps and is therefore
undesirable
• The percentage of sand in the
mud is therefore measured
regularly using a 200 mesh
sieve and a graduated tube
pH
• pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a
liquid
• It ranges from 1 to 14
• 1 is completely acidic
• 14 is completely alkaline
• It is measured with a Ph strip
• Fresh tap water has a Ph of 7
Solids Control Equipment
• Already discussed in previous class
