Classifications of Upda ted June 2008

fluid systems Basic System Classifica tions

Functio n of Additives
De scriptions of fluid-syste m cla ssificatio ns,
Nom encla ture
pro duct functions and source com panies are
listed o n the se pages. System descriptions Co m pa ny Nam e Abbrevia tions
and pro duct definitions ha ve been k ept as Fluids 2008 Ta bles
sim ple as po ssible and, where ver practical,
the y reflect gene ral industry practice and
term ino logy consistent with de scriptions ado pted by the Am erican P etroleum
Institute (AP I) a nd the Interna tiona l Associa tion of Drilling Contractors
(IADC).

Basic System Classifications

WA TER-BA SED SYSTEMS

Non-dispersed. T hese system s include spud m uds, na tura l m uds a nd other

lightly treate d system s tha t are generally used fo r shallow wells or top-hole
drilling. Thinners and dispersa nts a re no t added to disperse drill so lids a nd
cla y particles.

Dispersed. At gre ater depths, where higher densities are required, or where
ho le co nditio ns m ay be proble m atic, m uds a re often dispe rsed, typically with
lignosulfona tes, lignites o r tannins. The se a nd sim ila r pro ducts are effe ctive
de flocculants and filtrate reducers. Pota ssium -containing chem icals are
fre quently used to provide gre ater shale inhibitio n. Specia lized chem icals are
also added to adjust or m ainta in specific m ud pro perties.

Calcium treated. Diva lent catio ns, such as ca lcium and m a gnesium , whe n
added to a freshwate r drilling m ud, inhibit fo rm ation clay a nd shale swe lling.
High levels o f so luble calcium are used to co ntrol sloughing shale a nd hole
enlarge m ent, and to prevent form a tion dam age. Hydrated lim e (ca lcium
hydrox ide), gypsum (calcium sulfate) a nd ca lcium chloride are principal
ingredie nts of ca lcium system s.

Ca lcium -trea ted m uds resist sa lt and anhydrite contam ina tion but a re
susceptible to ge latio n and solidification at high tem peratures.

High-performance water-based muds (HPWBM). The se are usually

reform ulated polym e r system s containing system -spe cific products to de liver
sha le stability, clay a nd cuttings inhibitio n, lubricity and high RO P, while
m inim izing bit ba lling/accretion and downhole torque problem s. Som e
HP W BM use bore hole stabilizing products to reduce pore pressure
tra nsm ission sim ilar to oil-base d m uds. The refore, HP W BM are suitable to
use whe neve r environm ental liabilities a nd a ssociated waste m anagem e nt
costs lim it the applica tion of O BM/SBM.

Low solids. Listings include system s in which the am o unt (volum e) and type
of solids are controlle d. To tal solids sho uld not ra nge higher than a bout 6%
to 10% by volum e. C lay solids sho uld be so m e 3% o r less and ex hibit a
ratio of drille d so lids to be ntonite o f less tha n 2:1. Lo w-so lids syste m s
typically use polym er additive as a visco sifie r or bento nite ex te nder and are
no n-dispersed. O ne prim a ry advantage of lo w-so lids syste m s is tha t the y
significa ntly im prove drilling pe netration rate .

Polymer/PA /PHPA . Muds inco rporating generally long-chain, high-

m o lecular-we ight polym ers are used to eithe r encapsulate drill solids to
pre vent dispersio n and co at shales for inhibition, or fo r increasing viscosity
and reducing fluid loss. Va rious polym e rs are ava ilable for these purposes,
including cellulose, na tura l gum -ba sed products, and acrylam ide. Freque ntly,
inhibiting sa lts, such as KC l or NaC l, are use d to provide greate r shale
sta bility in a ll of these fluids. T hese system s usually conta in a m inim um
am ount of bento nite and m ay be sensitive to divalent cations, such as
calcium and m agnesium . Most polym ers have tem perature lim its be low 300°
F but, under certain conditions, m a y be used in hotte r wells. A special class
of wate r-based m uds use partially-hydro lyze d po lyacrylam ide (PHPA) as an
additive , either to encapsulate drill solids or to ex tend bentonite cla y in a
low-solids m ud.

Saltwater systems. Several m ud system s are include d in this classification.

Sa turated sa lt system s are use d to drill salt form ations. Lo wer levels are
usually referred to as brack ish or seawa ter system s. Saltwater m uds are
usually prepared from bra ck ish, se awate r or produced-wate r so urces and dry
sodium chlo ride (or o ther salts, such as pota ssium chloride use d fo r sha le
inhibitio n), a re a dded to a chie ve de sire d salinity. Various specialty products,
such as atta pulgite, C MC, starch and others, are used to increa se viscosity
for hole -clea ning propertie s and to reduce fluid lo ss.

OIL-BA SED MUDS (OBM)

O il-base d system s are use d in various a pplicatio ns, where fluid stability and
inhibitio n are ne cessa ry, such as high-te m pe rature we lls, deep hole s, and
where stick ing and ho le stabilizatio n are pro blem s. They consist of two types
of syste m s:

1. Invert emulsion muds are water-in-oil e m ulsions, typically with calcium

chloride brine as the em ulsified phase and oil as the co ntinuous
phase. They m ay conta in as m uch as 50% brine in the liquid pha se.
Rela x ed, inve rt em ulsio n m uds a re a “rela x ed” em ulsio n, and ha ve
lower electrica l stabilitie s and higher fluid-loss value s. C once ntration
of additives and brine conte nt/sa linity are varied to control
rheo logica l, filtratio n and em ulsion stability.
2. Oil-based muds are form ulate d with only oil as the liquid phase and
are o ften used as coring fluids. Altho ugh these system s pick up water
from the form ation, no additiona l water o r brine is adde d. All oil
syste m s require higher additiona l gelling agents fo r viscosity.
Specialize d oil-based m ud a dditives include: e m ulsifiers and wetting
agents (com m only fatty acids and am ine derivative s) fo r viscosity;
high-m ole cula r-weight soaps; surfacta nts; am ine treate d organic
m ate rials; organo clays and lim e for alk a linity.
 m ate rials; organo clays and lim e for alk a linity.

COMPLETION FLUIDS
So lids-free a nd typica lly fo rm ulated with aqueous salts, these fluids can
achieve a wide density range by incorpo rating the appropriate salt (halides,
bro m ide s and fo rm ate brine) witho ut using conve ntional weighting m ate rials.
They are usually designed to m atch spe cific rese rvoir crite ria, tak ing into
account critical fa ctors lik e ESD, contam inatio n risk s a nd crystallization
tem perature s.

HPHT SPECIA LTY PRODUCTS

Specifically designed for high-pressure, high-tem pera ture and hostile
environm ents where conve ntio nal drilling fluids a re im practical or
uneconom ical. T hey a ddre ss safety and environm enta l com plia nce, lost
circulation, decre ased penetration rates, acid gases, a nd determ ina tion of
do wnho le pressure, while allowing for m ore flex ible to ol and do wnho le-
equipm ent selection.

RESERVOIR DRILL-IN FLUIDS (RDF)

These have the prope rties of a goo d drilling fluid and a co m ple tion fluid. Its
prim ary attribute is the de velo pm e nt of a filter ca k e which effe ctively
pre vents form ation dam age and is easily rem ove d, with filtrate and filte r
cak e be ing com patible with the com pletion proce ss. T hey are usually
com posed o f bio polym ers and bridging m ate rials and are designed to m atch
spe cific rese rvoir crite ria.

SYNTHETIC FLUIDS (SBM)

These a re designed to m irror o il-ba sed m ud perform a nce, without the
environm ental hazards. P rim ary synthetic fluids a re e sters, ethers, poly
alpha o lefins and iso m erized a lpha olefins. They can be discha rged offshore ,
and are non-she ening and bio degradable.

WELLBORE CLEA N-UP

These products a re designed to rem ove m ud and m ud pa rticle s tha t are
attache d to the casing or beco m e a part of the filter cak e while drilling. They
are usually part of aqueous and no n-aqueous spacers and clea ners to
ensure sm o oth displa cem ent, optim al conta ct tim es a nd reduced disposal
costs.

IR, MIST, FOA M A ND GA S

Four ba sic o pera tions are included in this specialized category. These
include: 1) Dry a ir drilling, which involve s inje cting dry air o r ga s into the
we llbore at rates capa ble of achieving a nnula r ve locities that will rem ove
cuttings; 2) Mist drilling, which invo lves injecting a foa m ing age nt into the air
stream that m ix e s with produced water and coats the cuttings to pre vent
m ud rings, a llowing drill so lids to be rem ove d; 3) Foa m uses surfactants and
po ssibly clays or polym ers to form a high ca rrying-capacity foam ; a nd 4)
Ae rated fluids re ly on m ud with inje cted air (which reduces hydrosta tic he ad)
to rem o ve drilled solids from the wellbo re.

Functions of Additives
The pro duct function classifications are those generally accepte d by the IADC
Subcom m ittee o n Drilling Fluids. So m e additives have m ultiple uses, and for
tho se a prim ary and two secondary function categorie s are liste d.

A lkalinity, pH control additives. Pro ducts use d to control the de gree of

acidity o r alk alinity of a fluid include lim e, ca ustic soda, so da a sh a nd
bicarbo nate of so da, as well as other co m m o n acids a nd bases.

Bactericides. Used to prevent bacte rial degradation o f natural orga nic

additive s, such a s sta rch a nd x anthan gum .

Calcium reducers. So da ash, bicarbonate of soda , caustic soda and certa in

po lypho spha tes are used to re duce calcium in se awater, treat cem e nt
contam inatio n, a nd o verco m e conta m inating effe cts o f anhydrite and
gypsum , bo th fo rm s of ca lcium sulfates.

Corrosion inhibitors. pH co ntro l, alo ng with a n appropriate corro sion inhibitor,

is used to co ntro l corrosio n, ne utra lize hazardous acid gases a nd prevent
sca le. C om m on corro sion inhibitors are am ine- o r pho spha te-based
pro ducts, and other specia lly fo rm ulated che m ica ls.

Defoamers. Products are designed to re duce foa m ing action, particularly in

bra ck ish and saturate d sa ltwater m uds.

Emulsifiers. These products cre ate a he terogene ous m ix ture (e m ulsion) of

two inso luble liquids. They include fatty acids and am ine-based che m ica ls fo r
oil-base d m uds a nd detergents; so aps; orga nic a cids; and water-ba sed
surfacta nts for water-base d m uds. Products m ay be a nionic (ne gatively
cha rged), no n-io nic (neutral) o r cationic (positive ly charged) chem icals,
de pending o n the application.

Filtrate reducers. Bentonite cla ys, lignite, CMC (sodium

carbox ym ethylce llulose), polya cryla te and pregelatinized starch all serve to
de crease fluid lo ss, a m ea sure of the te ndency o f the drilling fluid’s liquid
phase to pa ss through the filte r cak e into the form ation.

Flocculants. The se are used to increase viscosity for im pro ved hole clea ning,
to incre ase bento nite yield and to clarify or de-wa ter low-solids fluids. Sa lt (o r
brine), hydra ted lim e , gypsum , soda ash, bicarbo nate of soda, sodium
tetraphosphate a nd a cryla m ide -based polym ers m ay be used. They cause
colloida l particles in suspe nsio n to group into bunches or “flocs,” ca using
solids to settle o ut.

Foaming agents. Most often, these are chem icals tha t also act as surfactants
(surface active a gents) to foam in the prese nce o f wa ter. T hese foa m ers
pe rm it air or gas drilling through wa ter-bearing fo rm a tions.

Hydrate suppressants. These are usually alcohol-based a dditives, prim a rily

for use in de epwater/coldwater/rise r environm ents.

Lost circulation materials. The prim ary function o f a lost circula tion additive
is to plug the zo ne of loss back in the form a tion, awa y fro m the bo reho le
face, so tha t subsequent opera tions will not result in additiona l drilling fluid
losses. LCM is fo und in three form s: fiber, flak e, and granular/chem ical