University of Dar es Salaam
OG 321 : Drilling I
TOPIC 2 :Introduction to Drilling Fluid
College of Engineering and Technology
School of Mines and Geosciences
Department of Chemical and Mining Engineering
Department of Petroleum Science and
Engineering
University of Dar es Salaam
Contents
• Introduction
• Mud circulation
• Mud functions
• Mud composition
• Mud classification
• Testing and chemical analysis
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Introduction
• The simplest drilling fluid:
Is a dirty mixture of water and clay; often referred to as mud.
• Mud is basically a fluid ( water or oil) circulated to bring cuttings out of the
wellbore.
• Two important qualities of the fluid are need for mud to achieve all its
tasks
a) Viscosity- ( viscosifyers are clay and polymer)
b) Density-( Barite, soluble salts (brines))
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Introduction
• The drilling engineer is concerned with the selection and maintenance
of the best drilling fluid in drilling operations.
• The drilling fluid is related either directly of indirectly to the most
drilling problems
• If the drilling fluid does not perform adequately its functions, it could
be necessary to abandon the well.
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Introduction
• The additive required to maintain the drilling fluid in good condition
can be very expensive.
• Drilling fluid cost often exceeds $1 million in a single deep well in
some areas.
• A drilling fluid specialist called mud engineer frequently is kept on
duty at all times to maintain the drilling fluid in good condition at the
lowest possible cost.
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2. Mud circulation
Mud circulation system on a floater
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Mud Circulation
• Mud is mixed and prepared in the mud pits consisting of several large
tanks.
• One or two of the tanks are in active use during drilling.
• The others tanks are for transfer and storing of fluid.
• Mud pump is used to pump the drilling fluid during the entire drilling
process
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Mud Circulation
• On its return to the surface, the mud is directed through a wide settling
tank, where the largest particles are allowed to settle out.
• On other rigs this tank is called the sand trap, positioned in front of the
shale shakers as an over-flow tank.
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Mud Circulation
• Drilled out solids are separated from the drilling fluid and discarded in
the mud-cleaning system.
• In a complete mud cleaning system, the following cleaning methods may be
included:
a) Settling
b) Dilution
c) Mechanical separation
d) Chemical treatment
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Mud cleaning units
Mechanical Cleaning Equipment
• Shale shaker:
Can remove solids > 68 μ (200 mesh)
• Desander:
Dependent on size of the cone, can remove solids > 30 μ
• Desilter:
Dependent on size of the cone, can remove solids> 15 μ
• Centrifuge:
Can remove colloidal solids > 5 μ
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Mud pump
• Used to pump drilling fluid during drilling process.
• Pumping drilling fluid through kilometer long pipe system will result
in large hydraulic friction, and correspondingly powerful mud pumps
are required.
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Functions of drilling fluid
The four main tasks of a drilling fluid:
a) Remove the cuttings away from under the bit.
b) Transport cuttings from the bottom to the surface
c) Controlling the pump pressure loss in the annulus
d) Maintaining a stable wellbore.
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Functions of drilling fluid
The drilling fluid must be designed to take care of other tasks also,
such as:
a) Cool and lubricate the bit and the drill string
b) Avoid losing mud into natural or induced cracks
c) Bring information back to the surface
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Compositions of Drilling Fluid
Drilling fluid comprises various materials to modify the characteristics of the
mud:
[Link] agents (usually barite):
Increase the density of the mud, to control subsurface pressures and build the wall cake.
[Link] agents (clays, polymers, and emulsified liquids):
Thicken the mud and increase its hole-cleaning ability.
[Link] or deflocculants (thinners):
reduces the tendency of a mud to flocculate.
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Compositions of Drilling Fluid
[Link], polymers, starches, dispersants, and asphaltic materials :
Reduce filtration of the mud through the borehole wall. This reduces formation damage,
differential sticking, and problems in log interpretation.
[Link]:
to increase density.
[Link] mud additives:
include lubricants, corrosion inhibitors, chemicals that tie up calcium ions, and flocculants to aid in
the removal of cuttings at the surface.
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Compositions of Drilling Fluid
7. Caustic soda
Increases the pH of the mud, which improves the performance of dispersants and reduces
corrosion.
8. Preservatives, bactericides, emulsifiers, and temperature
extenders
May all be added to make other additives work better
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Classification of Drilling Fluids
1. LIQUIDS
• water base muds (WBM)-most commonly used mud
• oil base muds(OBM)
2. GASES :
Used in formations that are competent and impermeable.
• Air
• natural gas
3. GAS-LIQUID MIXTURES:
Used when only few formations capable of producing water at a significant rates are
encountered
• Foam (mostly gas)
• aerated water (mostly water)
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Classification of Drilling Fluids
Classification of Drilling Fluids by System
• Water-based Mud (WBM)
• Emulsion
a) Oil-Based Mud (OBM)
b) Synthetic Mud
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Classification of Drilling Fluids
Water-Based Mud (WBM)
• Base fluid is fresh water or sea water
• Bentonite clay to provide viscosity
• Barite to provide density (weight)
• Chemicals, such as potassium chloride, to control interactions
between the mud and reactive formations such as shales
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Classification of Drilling Fluids
Oil Based Mud (OBM)
• Base fluid is a petroleum product – commonly diesel
fuel
• Typically doesn’t react with unstable formations
• Increases wellbore lubricity
• Generally holds up better for high-temp applications
• Expensive and environmentally unfriendly
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Classification of Drilling Fluids
Synthetic Mud
• Similar to an oil-based mud except the base fluid is a synthetic oil
• Lower toxicity than oil-based systems
• Environmentally friendly
Biodegradable base fluid
• Good for high-temp applications
• Expensive
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Drilling Fluid Selection Criteria
• Customer preference
• Type of formation
• Formation fluid expected
• Environmental requirements
• Bottom- hole temperature
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Diagnostic Tests
1. A mud balance
Mud weight in ppg or ( specific gravity)
2. Marsh funnel
Viscosity exhibited when a specific quantity of fluid is poured through a Marsh
funnel (typically recorded in second per quart)
3. Rotational viscometer
gel strength and apparent viscosity: suspension characteristics developed over a
specified time interval
4. Filter press
mud filtration rate and mud cake characteristics: surface indication of filtrate
invasion into near the wellbore
5. HP, HT filter press
as filter press but at elevated temp and pressure
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Diagnostic Tests
6. pH meter
H+ concentration: indication of acidity or alkalinity
7. Sand screen
determining sand content: percentage of sand in the active system
8. A mud still
for determining solids, oil and water contents
9. Titration apparatus
for chemical analysis
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Drilling Fluid Density/Weight Tests
• The equipment used is the mud balance
• It uses water as the calibration fluid
• The drilling fluid is degassed for accurate measurement
• A cup filled with mud sample is balanced by determining the rider
position
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Marsh Funnel
Marsh Funnel Procedure
• Filling the funnel with a mud sample
• Measuring the time required for 1 quart
(1.13 liter) of the sample to flow from
the initially full funnel into the mud
cup.
• The funnel viscosity is reported in units
of seconds per quart.
• Fresh water at 75°F has a funnel
viscosity of 26 s/qt.
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Rotational Viscometer
• Viscosity –resistance to flow
Viscosity is defined as the ratio of shear stress to shear rate
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Rotational Viscometer
Provides better rheological characteristics than marsh funnel.
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Rotational Viscometer
Measuring rheological behaviour of drilling fluids
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Rotational Viscometer
• The dimensions of the bob and rotor are chosen so that the dial reading is
equal to the apparent Newtonian viscosity in centipoise at a rotor speed of
300 rpm
• At other rotor speeds, the apparent viscosity, μa, is given by
• Where θ is the dial reading in degrees and N is the rotor speed in
N ,
revolutions per minute
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Rotational Viscometer
Rheology models
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Rotational Viscometer
Flow Models Describing Pseudoplastic Drilling Fluid Rheology
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Rotational Viscometer
• Subtract the 300-rpm dial reading from the 600-rpm dial reading. Record this
difference as the PV in centipoise (cP.) at X° F (or °C);
• Subtract the PV from the 300 rpm dial reading.
• Record this difference as the YP in pounds per 100 square feet
(lb per 100 sq ft);
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Rotational Viscometer
Gel Strength
provide an indication of:
• the pressure required to initiate flow after the mud has been static for
some time.
• the suspension properties of the mud and hence its ability to suspend
cuttings when the mud is stationary.
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Rotational Viscometer
Procedure for Gel Strength Determination
• Shut motor off and wait 10 seconds.
• Flip switch to the low-speed (3 rpm) position and record maximum
deflection units in lbf/100 ft2 as initial gel. This is reported as the initial or
10 second gel.
• Repeat 1 and 2, but allow 10 minutes, then place switch in the low-speed
position and read maximum deflection units as the 10-minute gel. Report
measured temperature.
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pH Determination
• The control of many drilling fluid system properties is dependent on pH.
• The detection and treatment of contaminants such as cement and soluble
carbonates.
• pH also affects the solubility of many thinners and divalent metal ions such
as calcium and magnesium, and influences the dispersion or flocculation of
clays.
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pH Determination
• pH is defined as the negative logarithm (to the base 10) of the hydrogen-ion
concentration, pH units decrease with increasing acidity by a factor of 10.
pH = - log[H+]
• where [H+] is the hydrogen ion concentration in moles per liter. At room temperature, the
ion product constant of water, Kw, has a value of 1x10-14 mol/L.
Kw = [H+] [OH-] = 1.0 x 10-14
• For pure water, [H+] = [OH-] = 1.0 x 10-7 and hence, pH = 7.
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pH Determination
• Using either a special pH paper or pH meter
• pH meter determines the pH of an aqueous solution by measuring the
electro potential generated between a special glass electrode and a
reference electrode
• pH paper is impregnated with dyes that exhibit different colors when
exposed to solutions of varying pH
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Alkalinity Test (Titration)
• Alkalinity determines the amount of lime in mud.
• The mud is titrated to determine the total amount of lime, soluble and insoluble,
in the system.
• The phenolphthalein alkalinity refers to the amount of acid required to reduce the
pH to 8.3, the phenolphthalein endpoint.
• The phenolphthalein alkalinity of the mud and mud filtrate is called the Pm and Pf.
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Alkalinity Test (Titration)
• Methyl orange alkalinity refers to the amount of acid required to reduce the pH to
4.3, the methyl orange endpoint.
• The methyl orange alkalinity of the mud and mud filtrate is called the Mm and Mf.
• The API diagnostic tests include the determination of Pm, Pf, and Mf. all value are
reported in cubic centimeters of 0.02N sulfuric acid per cubic centimeter of
sample
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Alkalinity Test (Titration)
• At pH = 8.3, the conversion of hydroxides to water and carbonates to bicarbonates
is essentially complete.
• H+ + OH- = H2O
• H+ + CO32- = HCO3-
• As the pH is further reduced to 4.3, the acid then reacts with the bicarbonate ions to
from carbon dioxide and water.
• HCO3- + H+ = CO2 + H2O
• The free lime is given by: 0.26(Pm - fwPf). where fw is the volume fraction of water
in the mud and 0.26 is in lbm/bbl obtained by converting 0.02 N.
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API Filter Press
• The filtration rate through a standard filter paper
• The rate at which the mud cake thickness increases on the standard
filter paper under standard test conditions
• It indicates the rate at which permeable formations are sealed by the
deposition of a mud cake after being penetrated by the bit
• Flow of mud filtrate through a mud cake follows Darcy's law.
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API Filter Press
Standard API Filter press
Schematic of API filter Press Example of press data
The standard API filter press has A = 45 cm2; operated at a DP = 100 psig (6.8 atm).
The filtrate volume collected in a 30-min time period is reported as the standard water loss.
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API Filter Press
• The flow of mud filtrate through a mudcake is described by
Darcy’s law. Thus, the rate of filtration is given by
• Combining with the continuity equation gives
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API Filter Press
• Vf : The volume of the filtrate, cm3 ;
• t: Time, s ;
• k: Permeability of the mudcake, Darcy
• A: The area of the filter paper, cm2 ;
• Dp : The pressure drop across the mud cake, atm. m – the viscosity of the mud filtrate, cp ;
• hmc: The thickness of the filter cake
• fsm, fsc : The volume fraction of solids in the mud and the volume fraction of solids in the cake
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Sand Content Analysis
• By definition, solid particles larger than 74 microns (200 mesh) are
classified as API sand [one micron (m) = 10-6m].
• These particles can be highly abrasive, and can cause excessive wear on
pump parts, drill bits, and pipe connections.
• Excessive sand may also result in the deposition of a thick filter cake on
the borehole wall, or it may settle in the hole around the tools when
circulation is stopped.
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Sand Content Analysis
• The sand content set consists of:
• a 200-mesh sieve,
• a funnel, and
• a glass measuring tube calibrated from 0 to 20% to directly read the
percentage of sand by volume.
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Chloride Concentration
• Salt can enter and contaminate the mud system when salt formations
are drilled and when saline formation water enters the wellbore.
• The chloride concentration is determined by titration with silver nitrate
solution. This causes the chloride to be removed from the solution as
AgCl, a white precipitate.
Ag+ + Cl- = AgCl
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Chloride Concentration
• The endpoint of the titration is detected using a potassium chromate
indicator.
• The excess Ag+ present after all Cl- has been removed from solution
reacts with the chromate to from Ag2CrO4, an orange-red precipitate.
• A 0.0282 N AgNO3 concentration usually is used for the titration
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