and the impact of the fluid on the

production from the pay zone the primary

function of mud is to remove drilled

cuttings from the borehole a clean hole

allows the bit to drill into uncut

formation rock here is an example of

what can happen when cuttings are not

removed off the bottom mud Jets out of

the bit and moves cuttings away from the

bottom of the hole

the mud then carries the cuttings up the

annulus and to the surface for disposal

but also prevents formation fluids from

flowing into the wellbore the column of

mud in the well exerts a hydrostatic

pressure against the formations the

hydrostatic pressure of the mud column

prevents the formation fluids from

flowing into the well mud is the first

line of defense and well control as long

as the hole is full of mud with the

correct density the well cannot kick or

blow out a kick is the entry of

formation fluids into the wellbore the

kick forces the drilling mud out of the

hole if crew members fail to control a

kick a blowout can occur a blowout is

the uncontrolled flow of drilling mud

and formation fluids out of the hole

deep formations can be very hot and

friction from rotating drilling

components generates a lot of heat

high temperatures increased drill string

and bit where drilling fluid helps to

reduce the temperature in the drill

string down hole while drilling finally

finally the flow of the drilling fluid

through the drill bit greatly affects

the efficiency of the drilling process

for the greatest efficiency the engineer

designs the mud circulation system so

that 65% of the total pressure loss

throughout the system occurs at the bit

drilling muds can be made up from water

or oiled the most common mod is

water-based mud water makes up the

liquid part or phase of a water-based

mud crew members put clay and special

additives in the water to make a mud

with the properties needed to do its job

well for example clays give it thickness

or viscosity the water in the mud may be

freshwater seawater or concentrated

brine saltwater the one used depends on

its availability and whether it gives

the mud the needed properties to drill

the hole efficiently the major

disadvantage of water-based muds is that

they can cause instability in shales

shales are the most common rock types

encountered while drilling for oil and

gas

although additives can help maintain

formation stability with water-based mud

drilling with these additives is costly

and difficult in some cases crew members

use oil instead of water as the base of

the mud this is called oil-based mud

oil-based mud has many advantages it can

stabilize the formation and reduce down

hole drilling problems oil-based muds do

not react with shale like water-based

muds do however it is harder for the

crews to work with oil-based mud because

it can create slippery conditions and

environmental precautions must be used

from an environmental standpoint mud

with oil is more difficult to handle

because the oil clings to the drill

cuttings the oil must be cleaned off the

cuttings before they are disposed of

sometimes drilling fluid is dry air or

natural gas here dry air is coming out

of a rigs bluey carrying very fine

drilled cuttings air drilling uses large

air compressors instead of mud pumps

drilling with air or gas can prevent

formation damage and can prohibit loss

of expensive mud in the formations and

it allows the bit to drill very fast

down hole conditions have to be just

right for air or gas to be usable for

example the bit cannot drill through

formations containing large amounts of

water the water mixes with the cuttings

in the air or gas and clogs up the hole

if small amounts of water are present in

the formation being drilled special

equipment can inject a foaming agent

into the air stream

the foam helps remove the cuttings in

some cases the rake operator may use

aerated mud which like foam drilling

helps prevent clogging of the wellbore

from the earliest days of drilling it

has been known that vertical wells are

not truly vertical some deviation will

always occur due to formation effects

and bending of the drill string however

in the 1930s wells began to be

deliberately drilled along a deviated

course since then many special

techniques and tools have been developed

in order to drill directionally with a

high degree of accuracy directional

drilling operations are performed for a

variety of reasons there are two

particular types of directional wells

which are very common horizontal

drilling

and extended reach Wells horizontal

wells allow the wellbore to penetrate a

far greater portion of the reservoir the

well can be drilled into the producing

formation parallel to the formations

bedding this significantly increases the

section of well bore that is contacting

the reservoir extended reach wells are

used to access reservoirs that are

remote from the platform this allows

multiple wells to be drilled from one

platform sometimes environmental reasons

prevent a rig from being constructed

directly over a reservoir in these cases

extended reach wells can be used to

access the reservoir there are three

primary parameters that are used to

describe deviated wells the kickoff

point or Kop the build-up and drop-off

rate or bu r and dor and the tangent

angle of the well the kickoff point is

the measured depth at which a change in

hole direction should be initiated the

build-up rate and drop-off rate are the

rates at which the weld deviates from

the vertical these rates are usually

measured in degrees for 100 feet of hole

drilled the build up rate is typically

between 1 and 3 degrees per 100 feet

build up rates in excess of 3 degrees

for 100 feet are termed doglegs and

conventional deviated wells the build up

rate is often termed the dogleg severity

the tangent angle or drift angle is the

inclination from vertical of the long

straight section of the well after the

build up section this section of the

well is usually limited to 60 degrees

inclination or less to avoid hole

cleaning problems it is called the

tangent section because it forms a

tangent to the arc formed by the build

up section of the well there are three

main types of deviated well profiles the

build and hold profile is the most

common one and the simplest drill

the s-shaped well is more complex but it

is often required to ensure that the

well penetrates the target formation

vertically the deep kickoff profile may

be required if it is necessary to drill

beneath an obstacle such as the flank of

a salt diapir this well profile is the

most difficult trajectory to drill

since the kickoff point is in deeper

well compacted formations when planning

a directional well a number of

constraints will be imposed on the well

path including the target location

target size and shape rig location and

subsurface obstacles