Water Base Fluids Water Base Fluid · Spud mud (Gel mud) · Gel/Polymer Fluid Increasingly · Lignosulfonate mud Inhibitive
· Calcium Base Fluids
· Salt-Saturated Muds · KCl Polymer Fluids · Glycol mud · Silicate Mud · Ultradril Intro to Drilling Fluids Water Based Muds · In the early days of the drilling business, freshwater and produced water were used as drilling fluids.
· Low annular velocities hindered cuttings from being properly
removed from wells - causing drilling problems
· In places where hydratable clays were present (termed “mud
making” shales) these tended to viscosify the water which improved hole cleaning.
· Commercially produced clays - Wyoming Bentonite were added to
drilling muds to improve viscosity and fluid loss
· Present technology has pushed the performance envelope of
drilling fluids by utilizing water soluble polymers and specialty additives to assist the drilling Intro process to Drilling Fluids Water Based Muds · Many types of water-
Mud System becoming increasingly complex
Spud based mud systems Mud
Increasing Temperature and Pressure
Dispersed · Basic systems are usually Systems converted to more complex systems as a Inhibitive well is deepened, as Polymer Muds wellbore temperatures and/or pressures increase High and formations dictate Temperature Polymer Muds
· More than one fluid Non-Damaging
system is typically used Drill in Fluids when drilling the same Intro to Drilling Fluids