Drilling fluids design

Overview

A careful consideration was taken towards drilling fluids selection, as it is the key factor in
successful drilling operation. Some of the main functions and properties of a drilling mud are
presented below ():

Remove and transport drilled cuttings

Removal increases rate of penetration
Cool and lubricate the drill bit
Increase lifespan of the bit
Seal the wall in permeable formations
Form a filter cake to reduce loss of circulation
Control pressure in the drilled formation
Stability and efficiency affected greatly by pressure
Manage gas kicks, formation liquid invasion etc.
Minimize reservoir damage
Permit formation evaluation
Maintain wellbore stability
Prevent corrosion and excessive wear
Facilitate cementing and completion
Inhibit gas hydrate formation
Neutralize corrosive gases encountered

Due to its offshore location, well muds were mainly based on sea water. The main categories
of additives used in the design are the following:

Barite was used to maintain the fluid weight

Viscosity was controlled by bentonite (gel)
High pH was achieved by adding lime and other alkali when needed
When lost circulation was observed, some of the common materials preventing this
were added, such as walnut shells or other kinds of fibrous materials

Gone are the days when used muds were discharged into the sea. In order to follow the
environmental and safety standards a mud recycling system consisting of desanders and shale
shakers was installed.

Below is the table showing main properties of drilling fluids.

Mud weight (density) was calculated based on pore pressure and formation gradient data.

Viscosity was calculated based on industrial standards and the previous data.
 Casing Mud
Casing Casing ID Casing Viscosit Rock Type
Sectio Weight
Type (in) Depth (ft) y (cp) Lithology
n (ft) (ppg)
Conductor 28.5 1000 1000 8.6 7 Shaly sandstone
Surface 18.2 5600 4600 15.5 30 Salt/anhydrite
Dolomite/anhydrit
Intermed. 14.4 7950 2350 17 37
e
Liner 9.3 8900 950 18 42 Shale/claystone
Product. 5.9 10260 1360 18.6 45 Sandstone

Table. Brief description of applied drilling fluids.

Based on the data in the table above the following decisions were made:

Conductor casing. It is a common practice that in offshore rigs conductor casing

holes are drilled with seawater. That was the case with the current project. Seawater
does not need recycling procedures and the cuttings can be discharged into the
seafloor.

Surface casing hole was drilled by a higher density mud and the Water Based Mud
was chosen as the working drilling fluid. WBM is the most common mud in the
industry which is explained by its abundancy, therefore low cost, as well as its eco-
friendly properties.

The calculations of the needed mud volumes require estimation of hole volumes and
determination of possible additives.

The hole volume of conductor and surface casings is 2200 bbl. In order to produce this
amount of mud water and NaCl were used in the proportion described in N. Addams B-5
table.

1 bbl. of mud required 61 lb NaCl and 0.94 bbl seawater. For 2200 bbl this is 134200 lb NaCl
and 2060 bbl of seawater.

An alternative to this, is the increasing the density of mud by using Barite.

 1
W 2W
,
1470
Barite (sk )/100 bbl=

Where:

W1- initial mud weight (ppg) and W2-desired mud weight (ppg).

In order to increase the density of the mud estimated 853 sacks (83594 lb) of barite were used
for 2200 bbl volume of mud. Simultaneously, adding bulk Barite increased the final volume
of the mixture increases.

1
W 2W
, which gives 2.7 bbl increase
100
Volume increase per 100 bbl=

So, the final amount of mud used in the design was 2133 57.6 =2075.4 bbl of sea water
mixed with 853 sacks of Barite that resulted in 2200 bbl. of 8.6 ppg. of mud.

Intermediate casing and all the remaining casings. It was decided that all casings
after surface casing would use water based systems, with some variation according to
depth specifications. This is mainly caused by the fact that higher density muds are
needed as the pore pressure and fracture gradient increase quite substantially. All
specifications are given in the table in the next section.

Mud Additives and cost estimation

The main objectives addressed while choosing additives were discussed in the overview for
the drilling fluids. Below is the table showing particular additives used in different sections.

Casing type Mud additives Amount Cost estimation

 ($)

Soda ash (alkalinity agent) 130 kg 40

Conductor
Barite (weighting agent) 15 MT 1272
casing
Caustic soda (alkalinity agent) 330 kg 66

CON DET (wetting agent) 700 kg 1038

Surface casing Barazan D (viscosifier) 300 kg 1919

BAROFIBRE (Loss circulate) 35 lb 56

BARACARB (Bridging agent) 0.5 MT 386

Intermediate
Geltone V (Gelling agent) 65 kg 235
casing
Coldtrol (thinner) 150 gallons 11454

Lime (pH alkalinity) 3775 kg 1510

Liner Geltone V (Gelling agent) 90 kg 325

STEELSEAL 275 kg 990

BARABLOK 235 lb 282

Production
Rhemod L 275 gallons 6070
casing
ESCAID 875 bbl 201250

Table. Mud additives and cost estimation.

Total estimated cost of additives resulted in $226,893. In addition to that, considering barite
used in surface casing, the price rose to $231,143

Drilling Fluids Hydraulics

The objective of a drilling hydraulics program is to specify the operating conditions which
will maximize the bottom hole cleaning effect and hence penetration rate; while effectively
removing the drilled cuttings from the hole.

The main equation that was used for drilling cuttings hydraulics control is the following
Where Vc cuttings volume (bbl/hr), average formation prosity, d - hole diameter (in) and
ROP rate penetration (ft/hr).
This equation was used during the operations when the cuttings were of significant sizes and
had to be taken into consideration.