FUNCTIONS AND PROPERTIES

OF DRILLING FLUIDS
Intro to Drilling Fluids

 What is Drilling Fluid or Mud?

“It is a mixture of liquids and chemicals

that allow the drilling and completion of
a well”.

 Drilling Fluid has to provide many functions in

order that these objectives be achieved.
Primary Functions
 Lift and Carry Drilled Cuttings to Surface
 Control Formation Pressures
 Maintain a Stable “In Gauge” Hole
 Cool and Lubricate the Bit
 Lubricate the Drill String
 Secure Hole Information
 Power / Transmit signals from Downhole Tools
 Prevent fluid from entering the formation
 Permit separation of solids at surface
 Form a thin low permeability filter cake
Negative Functions
 Not injure people or be damaging to the environment.
 Not require unusual or expensive methods of completion
 Non damaging to the fluid bearing formation
 Not corrode or cause excessive wear of drilling equipment
 Ridiculously expensive
Intro to Drilling Fluids
 The Drilling Fluid Company must be able to:
 Provide cost effective solutions to the operators drilling
problems
 Maintain the mud properties
 Provide an adequate supply of products on site and at the
base
 Provide adequate reporting
 Engineer the fluid in widely differing conditions and locations
 Provide back up testing facilities
 Avoid damaging the reservoir
Balancing Sub-Surface Pressures
 The pore pressure depends on:
 The density of the overlying rock
 The density of the interstitial fluid
 Whether the rock is self supporting or is supported by the
fluid.
 Tectonic activity
 Surface terrain

If the fluid hydrostatic pressure does not balance the pore
pressure the following may occur:
 Influxes of formation fluid into the wellbore
 Lost circulation
 Hole Instability
 Stuck pipe
1) Balancing Sub-Surface Pressures
 The pressure balancing the Hydrostatic Pressure (psi)
formation pressure is composed = Height (ft) x Density(ppg) x 0.052
from the hydrostatic pressure under
static conditions:
 P = Depth (ft) x Density (ppg) x 0.052

 Under circulating conditions the

effective pressure is increased by the
pumping pressure. This forms the
Equivalent Circulating density (ECD):
 ECD = Density (ppg) + Ann Press Loss Pore
Depth x 0.052 Pressure
(Not normally
known)
 2) Remove Cuttings From the Well Bore
 The most important parameter is the
Annular Velocity (A.V.)
 Where possible the annular velocity
should be 100 ft/min, higher in deviated
holes.
 In large hole sections the A.V. can be as A.V.(ft/min)
low as 20 ft/min. = Pump rate (bbls/min)
Annular vol (bbls/ft)
 If the A.V. is insufficient to clean the
hole the viscosity must be increased
 For top hole high viscosities must be
used Slip Velocity (ft/min)
=Cuttings velocity - A.V.
 Cuttings removal is harder in deviated
and horizontal holes as the vertical
component of the mud is reduced.
3) Suspension of Solids
 Whenever the pumps are switched off solids will start to settle.
This can result in:
 Bridging off of the wellbore
 Stuck pipe
 Hole fill
 Loss of Hydrostatic
 A gel structure is required to suspend the cuttings under zero
shear conditions:
 The gel structure is caused by time dependant attractive forces
which develop in the fluid.
 The longer the fluid is static the stronger these forces become
 The gel structure should be easily broken
 The gel properties are especially important for deviated and
horizontal wells as the distance solids have to settle is very small
4) Minimise Formation Damage
 Damage to the formation while drilling to the
resevoir:
 Formation swelling (Normally clay and Salt formations)
 Washouts (Clay and Salt formations or any
unconsolidated formation)
This can result in:
– Difficult directional control
– Poor zonal isolation
– Excess mud and cement costs
– Poor Hole Cleaning
– Stuck Pipe
– Difficult fishing jobs
4) Minimise Formation Damage

 Damage to the reservoir will result in loss of production or

the need for remedial treatment. This can result from:

 Solids blocking reservoir pores

 Emulsion droplets blocking reservoir pores
 Swelling clays
 Ions from the formation and drilling fluid forming
insoluble salts
5) Isolate the Fluid From the Formation
 The differential pressure forces fluid into the wellbore,
resulting in whole mud or filtrate entering the formation.
Either, or both, of these is undesirable because:

 The loss of whole mud into the wellbore is expensive

and damaging

 The loss of filtrate into the wellbore may cause

formation damage
5) Isolate the Fluid From the Formation
 The flow of fluid is affected by the formation of a filter cake

 The filter cake reduces the flow of fluid into the formation.
Special additives are added to improve the cake quality:
– Bridging material
– Plate like material
– Plugging material


The filter cake should be thin with a low permeability
 This avoids reducing the effective hole diameter
 It also reduces the chance of differential sticking
6) Cooling and Lubrication

The drilling fluid removes heat from the bit which is then
dispersed at the surface
 Fluid formulations are not changed to improve this function
 Very occasionally the temperature of the fluid exceeds the
flash point. In this case it is necessary to improve surface
cooling

Extra lubrication may be required between the drill string and
the casing or wellbore, especially in directional wells
 Liquid additives are used (IDLUBE), or Oil based mud
 Solid additives are sometimes used such as glass beads or
nut plug
 Drill pipe rubbers are sometimes added to reduce wear
between the casing and drill pipe
7) Support Part of the Tubular Weight

 Aids in supporting part of the weight of the drill string and

casing
 The degree of buoyancy is directly proportional to the
density of the fluid.

 The fluid density is never changed to

increase the buoyancy
8) Maximise Penetration Rates
 The fluid properties greatly influence penetration rates by:
 Removing cuttings from below the bit and wellbore
 Reducing the cushioning effect of solids between the bit
teeth and the formation
 Reducing the hydrostatic differential
 Increasing the jet velocity

Bits
Rig days,
Bits,
Rig days
Ft/Bit.

Ft/Bit

5 10
Solids Content (%volume)
9) Control Corrosion
 The fluid should be non corrosive to the:

 Drill string
 Casing
 Surface equipment Corrosion leads to loss of

 Corrosion can lead to:

 Wash outs
 Twist offs &
 Pump failure
 Surface Leaks
10) Secure Maximum Hole Information
 The operator will always require the following
information:

 Rock type being drilled

 The cuttings should not dissolve or disintegrate
 Analyses of gases
 The gases should separate easily from the mud
 The fluid should have a defined resistivity
 Formation resistivity measurements need to be made
11) Other Functions

 Power Downhole motors

 Turbines to turn the bit or power MWD / LWD equipment

 Transfer information from measurement equipment to

the surface

 This is done with a pressure pulse

Basic Properties and Measurements
 The main properties of a drilling fluid are:
 Density
 Rheology
 Fluid loss
 Inhibition
 Solids Content


These must all be achieved in an environmentally friendly, safe

and cost effective way.

Density


By convention the density is called the mud weight
 The units are ppg or g/cc
 Occasionally lbs/ft3 or psi/1000ft are used

 Correct and frequent measurement is essential. This is

normally done using a mud balance.

 Checks are carried out every 15 or 30 minutes.

 Density
CALIBRATE
 There are two types of balance KEEP HOLE BY ADDING/
 Pressurised FREE TO REMOVING
 Non Pressurised EXPEL MUD LEAD SHOT
SIGHT GLASS
 Non - Pressurised:
 4 scale balance SCALE BAR

 Pressurised Balance:
 The density is measured
under pressure so the SLIDING WEIGHT
effects of gas entrapment
are minimised
 Density - Balancing Formation Pressures
• Zones of differing pressures will be drilled between
casing points
The mud weight must be :
 Below the frac point of the weakest formation
 Above the highest pore pressure observed

POR
• The ECD must be taken into account to avoid

EC

FRA
EP
fracturing the formation

D
RES
 Should have at least 0.5 ppg EMW between

C
TUR
depth
ECD and Fracture Pressure (kick tolerance)

S
URE

E PR
• The differential pressure should be kept low to Safe drilling

ESS
improve ROP’s

URE
 A differential pressure equivalent to 0.2-0.5 Unsafe drilling
ppg should be kept as a safety margin (Mud weight
will fracture
 A negative differential (mud, air or foam) is formation)
sometimes used to drill :
– Hard formations EQUIVALENT MUD WEIGHT

– Lost circulation zones

Signs of Excessive Density
 Excessive density can
contribute to a number of hole
problems:

 Lost Circulation
 Differential Sticking
 Slow ROP’s
 Ballooning
PUMPS OFF PUMPS ON
 Signs of Insufficient Density
 Hole not filling correctly on trips Background gas
 Formation fluid being swabbed into
the hole
 Increased drag experienced on Trip gas seen
on bottoms
connections and trips up after a trip

 Salt or plastic formations squeezing Connection gas

Time
into the well bore
Connection gas
 Gain in fluid
 Formation fluid entering the well
Increase in background gas,
bore. (Well flowing or kicking) could be due to increased pore
space in cuttings or increased
formation pressure.
 Unexplained increase in gas recording Circulate bottoms up to tell the
difference
 Some gas may be released from
ground cuttings Gas level % or units
 Viscosity
 Viscosity is the resistance of Fill mud to mark
fluids to flow
 How is viscosity measured?

Marsh Funnel Measure time required
 Results are very temperature to fill one quart in
dependent second
 Used to give trends
Torsion Spring
 Derrickman records results every 1/2
hour Dial Plate
 Fann Viscometer
 Can measure different shear stresses
for different shear rates Bob
 Should be used with a heated cup to Variable speed
give readings at a set temperature rotation sleeve
 Also used to measure gel strengths
Fann Rotational Viscometer

Torsional
Spring

Inner
Cylinder
Shaft
Bearing
Rotor

Bob
Cup
 Viscosity
 Viscosity is the resistance of the fluid to flow
 Viscosity is required in addition to flow rate to clean the hole
 Several models have been developed to help understand the behaviour
of different fluids in laminar flow
 Newtonian model - e.g. Water, glycerine, oil
 Bingham Plastic Model - Cement, Flocculated fluids : high solids muds
 Power Law Model - Low solids polymer muds, Oil based muds

shear stress (flow pressure)

 Viscosity = shear rate (flow rate)

The units can be, Centipoise or lbs/100ft2 or Pascals and Dynes/cm2

 Newtonian Fluids


The viscosity of a Newtonian
fluid can be represented by a

Shear stress 

straight line passing through the
origin when plotted on a graph of
shear stress versus shear rate.
 Increases in shear rate are directly
proprtional to increases in shear
stress. 0
Shear rate (
 Bingham Plastic Model
 PV = 600 - 300  (cps)
 The plastic viscosity is due to the physical size
and presence of any solids or emulsified droplets
in the fluid. yPV
 The PV should be as low as possible
 To reduce the PV reduce the solids

Shear stress 

 Yield Point = 300  - PV (lbs/100ft2) 
 The yield point is the viscosity due to the chemical
attraction between the particles.  PV
 To increase the YP add products with attractive
forces. y
 To reduce add products which reduce attractive
forces
 The PV for cements = (300  - 100 )*1.5 Shear rate (
 The high g forces generated by the 600 forces
solids to the outside of the sleeve and distorts the
reading
 Power Law Model
 n = 3.32 log 600  (no dimensions)
300 

Shear stress 

 n is the power law index and indicates the
degree of non Newtonian behaviour
 n should be as low as possible, the effective = kn
viscosity decreases with shear rate
 low n values give flat flow profiles
Shear rate (
 Additives with attractive forces reduce n

K = 600 (lbs/100ft2)

Shear stress 



1022n
 k is the consistency index and indicates the n
viscosity of the liquid phase and solids K

content
Log Shear rate (
 anything which increases the low shear
viscosity will increase k.
 Shear Rates in the Circulating System
Shear rate (sec-1) 120V
Dh - Dp

SHEAR
D is in mm, and V = velocity in cm/sec. RATE (S-1)
EQUIVALENT
SECTION FANN RPM

Drill String 170-10k

 Monitor the shear stress of the fluid at 100+
the shear rates in the annulus Bit 10k-100k
None

Annulus 5-17-=0
3-100
 Pump Hi Vis pills regularly, if hole is
Pits 0-3
not being cleaned increase shear stress 0-3

for corresponding shear rate SCE* 170-1000

100-600

* Solids Control Equipment

 Many operators request 3 and 6 RPM
readings
Gel Strengths

The Gel strengths refers to the increase in viscosity at zero
shear rate

 It is the measure of the attractive forces under static conditions

Maximum shear stress at 3 RPM

 It is measured after :
s
ss iv e g el strength
Progre
 10 seconds

Flat gel strengths

 10 minutes

 30 minutes Time at zero shear rate

Effects of Excessive Viscosity
 Increased pump pressure

 Increased risk of swabbing / surging the hole

 Loss of mud at the shakers

 Poor efficiency of the solids control equipment

 Increased risk of fracturing the formation, especially with

high gel strengths

 Poor mud removal for cementing operations

Effects of Low Viscosities
 Poor hole cleaning
 Cuttings bed
 Hole fill
 Stuck pipe
 Cuttings degradation

 Overloading of the annulus increasing the hydrostatic

 Increased erosion if the fluid is in turbulent flow

 Barite sag or settlement

Filtration
 The passage of filtrate into the formation due to the
differential pressure

 If the solids cannot block the pores and/or fractures then mud
will flow into the formation (lost circulation)

 The solids in the mud usually forms as a filter cake which

prevents excessive fluid loss, the filter cake should :

 Be thin
 Have a low permeability - correct solids distribution
 Have a low friction coefficient
Filtration
 Dynamic Filtration
 cake builds until rate of erosion equals rate of deposition
 when filter cake reaches equilibrium thickness fluid loss is
constant
 Static Filtration
 cake growth with time
 rate of filtration continues to decrease
 static cake is thicker than dynamic cake
 static rate of filtration is less
 Static Filtration
 Occurs during no flow situations
 The cake thickness increases with time
 The rate of filtration decreases with time

A simplified equation is:
q = k  t  e

Fluid loss (cc)

q = volume of filtrate (c.c.)
k = constant
t = time (sec)
} spurt loss
e = spurt loss t (mins)

 The spurt loss is the volume of fluid that gets through the filter paper
before the filter cake forms
 Dynamic Filtration
 Occurs while circulating
 The rate of erosion = rate of build up of the cake
 The cake stays the same thickness

 Darcy’s equation governs the filtration rate

dq K x P x A
=
dt txµ

q = volume of filtrate (c.c.)

k = permeability of cake (darcies)
A = area (cm2)
µ = liquid phase viscosity (cps)
t = thickness of cake (cm)
P = differential pressure (atm)
 Temperature and Pressure Effects
 For static filtration:

q = volume of filtrate (c.c.)

q  k P
P = differential pressure
This approximation assumes P has no effect on the permeability or filtrate
viscosity, usually increasing P will decrease the permeability.
 Increasing the temperature will increase the filtration rate
 It reduces the viscosity of the filtrate
 It changes the flocculation and aggregation equilibria
 Polymeric fluid loss additives may degrade
 Lignite/Gilsonite type derivatives will become more malleable
 Incorrect Filter Rates
 Rate too low will result in :
WHAT
 Excessive cost HAPPENS IF I
GET THE
 Slight reduction in ROP
FLUID LOSS
WRONG ?
 Rate too high will result in :
 Formation damage, clays and
reservoir
 Thick filter cakes which cause :
– Differential sticking
– Excess drag
 The filtration rate must be adjusted to
deal with all the formation encountered in
the interval
Inhibition
 Reducing the hydration or dispersion of clays and
shales by chemical means

 60% of the worlds sedimentary rocks are Shales - most

require some degree of inhibition

 Generally the type of drilling fluid used is based on the

level of inhibition required
Inhibition
 Insufficient levels of inhibition in the drilling fluid
will lead to a reaction from the formation. This can
take several forms:

 Clay swelling
 Increases torque and drag
 Increased tripping time
 Mud rings - Gumbo attacks
 Stuck pipe or casing
Inhibition

 Clay disintegration
 Washouts - poor hole cleaning
 Increased viscosity
 Difficult mud removal
 Poor solids removal efficiency
 Increased mud costs
 Directional control difficulties

Clay disintegration usually follows clay swelling

 Mechanisms of Inhibition
 Oil wetting the surface rocks
 Adding glycols/glycerols
 Adding inhibiting cations
 Reducing the pH
 Adding inhibiting polymers
Don’t let those
 Reducing the fluid loss shale problems
get on top of you
 Increasing the Chloride content
 Property Guidelines
Property Top Hole 17 1/2” - 16” 12 1/4” 8 1/2”
Flow rate A.F.A.P. 900+ 500 - 700 300 - 400
YP (lb/100ft2) 30+ 25 - 35 20 - 25 18 - 25
3 RPM Fann 25 15 10 5
Fluid Loss (cc) n/c 10 - 15 5 - 10 3-5
10 min gel 35 max 35 max 35 max 35 max

Mud Weight: as required

LGS: Less than 6% for WBM
PV: ALAP
Mf: Less than 1 cc (Pf/Mf ratio: below 2 cc unless Pf is < 1cc)
Pf: > 1 cc for WBM
K+/Cl- ratio: > 0.6 for KCl muds
AV: > 80 feet/minute
Solids
 Why are solids so important to the DF engineer?

 Solids and drilled solids in particular are the single most

important contaminant in the mud system.

 We usually have both desirable and undesirable solids in

the fluid.

 Removing the undesirable solids is the first priority but

this can sometimes result in desirable solids being lost
from the system.
 Importance of Solids Control
 The nature and content of suspended solids directly affects key
properties of the drilling fluid
 Density, rheology, filter cake properties,...
 These impact drilling economics and the environment
 ROP
 Hole cleaning
 Differential sticking
 Dilution volume
 Formation damage
 Effective solids control requires an effective monitoring tool,
allowing frequent and accurate determination of the solids
content in the circulating system
 API Mud Retort
Retort distillation suffers several
limitations
 Time consuming (> 45 min) API Checks Distillation Other
- Mud Density - Water volume - Brine type
 Operator dependent - Cl- in brine - Oil volume - SG of HGS
 Reproducibility may be poor - Oil density - Solids volume - SG of LGS
(worse than 5 %)

Results may be affected by

 Sample volume RETORT CALCULATIONS
 Duration of distillation
 Incomplete vapour condensation
 Foam and emulsion
 Interpretation of visual reading
HGS LGS Salt
API Retort

API Retort Connection Condenser

Mud Sample

Heating Jacket
Graduate Cylinder
 Retort Accuracy
12.0 lb/gal drilling fluid (1.44 SG) with 6% v/v LGS
 Ideal
 41.7 ml water in 50 ml retort 10.6 % v/v HGS
 83.4 % v/v water and 16.6 % v/v solids
6.0 % v/v LGS
 Field accuracy 1ml 2 % v/v)

 If 42.7 ml measured
12.7 % v/v HGS
 85.4 % v/v water and 14.6 % v/v solids
1.9 % v/v LGS

 If 40.7 ml measured 8.5 % v/v HGS

 81.4 % v/v water and 18.6 % v/v solids
10.1 % v/v LGS
 MSM* Package
MSM* technique offers several advantages over mud retort
 Sample turnaround time of about 10 minutes
 No sample preparation required
 Operator independent
 Reproducibility better than 5%
 Direct determination of HGS and liquid phase

Making possible frequent and accurate determinations of

solids contents in drilling fluids and solids control streams
 MSM* Mud Solids Monitor
• Rapid and precise analysis of
barite, LGS, K+ and Cl-
• Operator independent
• Sample preparation and
analysis time of ~ 10 mins
• More accurate than mud retort
• Used for solids control
equipment discharges
• Available for WBM, OBM and
ULTIDRILL* System
 Measurement Method
Elemental analysis based on interaction of electro-magnetic
radiation with matter
Main interaction results in X-Ray fluorescence
 Excitation of atom by incident photon and inner shell electron removed
 Replacement by outer shell electron with emission of X-ray photon
 Energy of emitted photon is characteristic of the atom
 Number photons collected related to concentration of element in sample

Incident Characteristic
X photon XRF photon

Ejected
electron
Accuracy of MSM Prediction
12.0 lb/gal drilling fluid with 6.0 % v/v LGS and 10.6 % v/v HGS
 For retort assume ‘typical’ 1ml error on 50ml measurement
 MSM errors known from modelling:
14.0 g/l (5.0 lb/bbl) HGS and 27.0 g/l (9.4 lb/bbl) LGS

HGS Legend
MSM
Retort
LGS

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
% v/v of drilling fluid
Advantages of the MSM Package
 The MSM package provides a fast, accurate analysis
of the nature and content of the suspended solids in
the drilling fluid
 As well as providing output on the HGS, LGS and liquid
phases in drilling fluids, information is also reported
regarding some ion contents of the aqueous phase
 The MSM technique is more accurate, quicker, less
operator dependent, more reliable and reproducible
than the mud retort
 Solids control equipment efficiencies can now be
monitored for optimal performance