Drilling Fluids 1

DRILLING FLUIDS
Ms Faiza M Nasir
LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
List the main functions of the drilling fluid
Describe the components in a drilling fluid
State different types of drilling fluid
List types of additives used in drilling fluid and
their functions
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of
OBM vs WBM
CONTENTS
Functions of a Drilling Fluid
Types of Drilling Fluid
Composition of Mud
Drilling Fluid Properties
Solids Control
Drilling Fluid Calculations
DRILLING FLUIDS
A drilling fluid, or mud, is any fluid that is used in a drilling

operation in which that fluid is circulated or pumped from the
surface, down the drill string, through the bit, and back to the
surface via the annulus.
Primary functions are:
Remove cuttings from wellbore
Cool and lubricate the bit
Protect the wall of the wellbore
Prevent formation fluids from entering the
wellbore
Maintain wellbore stability
Remove cuttings from wellbore
Cuttings from drill bit must
be transported to the
surface
If not, drilling efficiency will
decrease
Mud must be designed such
that it can
Carry cuttings to
surface while circulating
Suspend the cuttings
while not circulating
Cool and lubricate the bit
The rock cutting process will
generate a great deal of heat
at the bit
It will overheat and quickly
wear out, unless the bit is
cooled
The circulation of mud will cool
the bit down and help lubricate
the cutting process
F u n c tio n s o f a D r illin g F lu id
Protect the wall of the wellbore

The mud has to seal off the permeable
formations to avoid damages
It will form a thin impermeable mud cake (or
filter cake) at the borehole wall
The cake should not be too thick, otherwise,
it may cause stuck pipe
The mud cake also protects the

borehole from caving-in.
Prevent formation fluid flowing into the wellbore
The mud is designed to create an
overbalanced drilling condition
Hydrostatic pressure exerted by
the mud column should be
slightly higher than the formation
pressure
If not, an influx of formation fluids
into the wellbore will occur
P = 0.052 × MW × TVD
P = hydrostatic pressure (psi)

An influx of formation fluids into the wellbore will occur if the mud
MW = Mud weight / density (ppg) hydrostatic pressure is less than the formation pressure
TVD = True vertical depth of mud column (ft)
Prevent formation fluid flowing into the wellbore
(cont’d)
However, if the hydrostatic
pressure is too high, it will
fracture the formation and
causes lost of circulation
The mud can sometimes seep
through the filter cake and into
the formation (this is called
filtrate)
The lost mud and the filtrate
can cause solid deposition and
clay hydration in the pore
space – reduce permeability
Drilling mud design
Fresh water has a density of 62.3 lbm/ft3 which gives
a pressure gradient of 0.433 psi/ft.
For 10 000 ft well, the bottom hole pressure due to a

full Column of water is ……….. psi.
At this depth normally pressured formation have a

pressure gradient of 0.465 psi/ft. Giving a formation
pressure at 10 000ft of ……… psi.
If we used water as a drilling fluid at this depth,

formation fluid will …… the wall, causing a ….
Maintain wellbore stability
Borehole stability problems can occur in troublesome formation
The most common problem is shale instability, due to:
Pressure differential between borehole and shale pore pressure
Hydration of the clay within the shale by mud filtrate containing
water
Pressure differential can be overcome by controlling the mud weight
The hydration of the clays can be overcome by using non-water
based mud or inhibited muds
Other functions of a drilling fluid
Obtaining downhole information
Transmit hydraulic horsepower to
the bit and allow maximum
penetration rate
Minimize torque and drag of the
drillstring to decrease wear and
possible failure as well as stuck
pipe
TYPES OF DRILLING FLUIDS
Drilling fluid
Air Liquids Gas / Liquid

Mixture
Water based Mud Oil based Mud
Freshwater Mud Inhibited Mud
Salt saturated mud

Composition of Mud
Mud contains:
Fluid Phase (Water or Oil)
Solids (to give desired mud properties)
Inactive Solids – do not react within mud (e.g barite, drill
cuttings) to give required mud weight
Active solids – clays that react with chemicals (e.g bentonite,
attapulgite clays) cause further viscosity and yield point
Additives – aid to control viscosity, yield point, gel strength, fluid

loss, pH value, filtration behavior
Composition of Mud (cont’d)
Clays (5%) Typical composition of a

Sand, Limestone, etc (5%)
water-based mud
Barite ( 5 - 10%)
Water (80%)
Clays, sand etc (3%)
Salt (4%)
Typical composition of an Barite ( 9%)
oil-based mud Water (30%)
Oil (50 - 80%)

WATER BASED MUD
WBM is a drilling fluid where the continuous
phase is water
Main disadvantage is that water in the mud can
cause instability in shale – hydration of clays
Types of WBM
Non-inhibitive (do not significantly suppress clay swelling, e.g.
freshwater & native mud)
Inhibitive (retard clay swelling by using inhibitive cations, e.g
calcium mud)
Polymer (can be inhibitive or non-inhibitive)
OIL BASED MUD
OBM is a drilling fluid where the continuous phase is oil
(crude or diesel)
Advantages Disadvantages
Do not react with clays in Much more expensive that

shales WBM
Do not cause wettability More careful handling due to
changes of the formation pollution control (extra costs)
Excellent wellbore and Toxic, causing lasting
temperature stability environmental impacts
Good lubrication Detection of kick is more
Reduced risk of differential difficult
sticking Reduced effectiveness of some
Low formation damage logging tools (resistivity logs)
potential
OIL BASED MUD (cont’d)
Types of OBM
Full Oil (water content < 5%)
Invert Oil Emulsion (water content 5 – 50%)
Synthetic (esthers or ethers)
Palm oil (low toxicity, less pollution and cost effective)
CLAYS IN MUD
These are solids that will react with water and can be
controlled by chemical treatment
The clay in WBM is responsible to:
Increase in mud viscosity which improves lifting capacity
Build a filter cake in permeable zones
One example is Bentonite

CLAYS IN MUD (cont’d)
Bentonite :
is complex absorbent clay
mineral with unique swelling
properties, soft, highly plastic,
waxy appearance and soapy
texture, ability to exchange
cations.
In drilling mud, it acts as:
Viscosifier
Gelling agent
Fluid Loss Control Agent
M U D A D D IT IV E S
Viscosity Control Additives Fluid Loss Control Agents

To control viscosity of mud To control fluid loss to permeable
zones
Graded according to their yield
To create an ideal filter cake
Viscosifiers (e.g bentonite,
polymers) Bentonite is an effective fluid loss
control agent
Thinners (e.g phosphates, lignites)
Others: Starch, Polyacrylates.
Lignite
Weighting Agents
To control mud density pH control
Barite is the primary weighting To keep pH of mud high (between
material used 9.5 – 10.5) to prevent corrosion
Others: Hematite, calcium and hydrogen embrittlement
carbonate Caustic Soda is the major additive
used
OTHER ADDITIVES
Corrosion Inhibitors
Emulsifiers
Flocculants
Shale control inhibitors
Surfactants
MUD ADDITIVES (cont’d)
Common Mud Additives

Drilling Fluids 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Drilling Fluids 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Drilling Fluids 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What are the main functions of drilling fluid?

What are the main functions of drilling fluid?

What are the different types of drilling fluid?

What are the different types of drilling fluid?

DRILLING FLUIDS

A drilling fluid, or mud, is any fluid that is used in a drilling

Protect the wall of the wellbore

The mud cake also protects the

P = hydrostatic pressure (psi)

For 10 000 ft well, the bottom hole pressure due to a

At this depth normally pressured formation have a

If we used water as a drilling fluid at this depth,

Air Liquids Gas / Liquid

Water based Mud Oil based Mud

Freshwater Mud Inhibited Mud

Salt saturated mud

Additives – aid to control viscosity, yield point, gel strength, fluid

Clays (5%) Typical composition of a

Clays, sand etc (3%)

Oil (50 - 80%)

Do not react with clays in Much more expensive that

One example is Bentonite

Viscosity Control Additives Fluid Loss Control Agents

Common Mud Additives

You might also like