Mud Engineering Notes By / Mustafa Hamza

The main functions of a drilling fluids can be summarized as follows :

Remove cuttings from well to surface.
Suspend and release cuttings
Control formation pressures
Seal permeable formations
Maintain wellbore stability
Minimizing formation damage
Cool, lubricate, and support the bit and drilling assembly
Transmit hydraulic energy to tools and bit
Ensure adequate formation evaluation
Control corrosion (in acceptable level)
Facilitate cementing and completion
Minimize impact on environment

Drilling Fluid Classifications

a. Drilling fluids are separated into three major classifications (Figure 1):
• Pneumatic
• Oil-Based
• Water-Based

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Drilling Fluids Selection Criteria
Drilling fluids are selected on the basis of one or more of the following criteria:
• Cost
• Application and Performance
• Production Concerns
• Logistics
• Exploration Concerns
• Environmental Impact

Data Required to design Mud

1. Pore pressure /fracture gradient plots to establish the minimum / maximum mud weights to be used on the whole
well.
2. Offset well data (drilling completion reports, mud logs etc.) from similar wells in the area to help establish
successful mud systems.
3. Geological plot column, lithology.
4- Casing design program and casing seat depths. The casing scheme effectively divides the well into separate
sections; each hole section may have similar formation types, similar pore pressure regimes or similar reactivity to
mud.
5- Basic mud properties required for each open hole section before it is cased off.
6- Restrictions that might be enforced in the area i.e. government legislation in the area, environmental concerns
etc.

Mud circulation system

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 Solid control equipment's [SCE]
Can be classified as:
1- screen device like shale shaker remove large cuttings down to 150 microns.

2-centrifugal separation device like: -

I. Degasser; remove gases from mud
II. Desander : remove cuttings down to 70 microns
III. Desilter: remove cuttings down to 20 microns
IV. Mud cleaner: remove cuttings down to 7 microns
V. Centrifuge: remove cuttings down to 2 -5 microns

What is the consequences of bad efficiency of SCE?

1- Increase in solid percentage and leads to differential stuck.
2- Re-circulate solids into system and become softer and it will be harder to remove
“LGS”.
3-Increase in Mud weight, PV, Gel & YP which leads to excessive Pump pressure leads to
fracture.
4-Decrease in ROP.

What is the difference between Yield point & Gel strength

- Yield point (Yp): is used to evaluate the ability of a mud to lift cuttings out of
the annulus while circulation is running (Dynamic condition).

- Gel strength: is used to evaluate the ability of a mud to suspend cuttings/

weighting material when the circulations is stopped (Static condition/Pumps -
off).
Plastic viscosity (PV): viscosity of fluid under dynamic flowing conditions.
Calculated by measuring shear rate & shear stress >
Depend on the size, shape, & number of particles in fluid.
PV=600-300 YP= 300 - PV

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The main physical and chemical characteristics of drilling fluids are:
 Density
 Rheology
 Viscosity
 Gel Strength
 Filtration
 Alkalinity

Shear rate, γ (sec -1): It refers to the change in fluid velocity divided by the distance.
Shear stress, τ (lb/100 ft2): The force per unit area required to move a fluid at a given
shear rate.

Drilling Fluid Rheology Models

 Newtonian fluids are those in which the viscosity remains constant for all shear rates
providing temperature and pressure conditions remain constant. Examples of Newtonian
fluids are water, and light oil. In these fluids, the shear stress is directly
proportional to the shear rate, as shown in Figure.

The Newtonian fluid model is defined by the following relationship:

Shear-Stress = Absolute Viscosity x Shear-Rate
τ = µ * γ
The slope of the flow curve in the diagram is given by the absolute viscosity,
Viscosity, μ (centipoises (cP)): This is the ratio of shear stress to shear rate.

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 Non-Newtonian: Drilling fluids are, so that viscosity is not independent of
shear rate. By convention, the expression used to designate the viscosity of
non-Newtonian fluids is:

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 Material Balance Equation
Material balance concepts are useful to the mud engineer for solving many field problems that can be represented
as simple mathematical relationships. Applications for the material balance method are:

• Weight-Up
• Dilution
Mixing Two Fluids
System Building
Solids Analysis
Many of the formulas commonly used in the oil field were derived from material balance equations. Maintaining
consistent units is the key to setting up and solving material balance equations. The gen- eral material balance
equation is written as follows:

V1 D1 + V2 D2 + V3 D3 + etc. = VFDF

The following examples show how the material balance method is used for solving different
types of problems.
Nomenclature

Initial MWI Water VW

Final MWF
Solids VS
Density of Weight Material,
DWM
lb/gal Weight Material VWM

Density of Water, lb/gal DW Low Gravity Solids VLGS

Specific Gravity of Weight
SGWM Drill Solids VDS
Material
Average Specific Gravity High Gravity Solids VHGS
SGAVG
Solids
Mud System, bbl VMS
Sack SX
Initial Volume, bbl VI
Volume V
Oil VO Final Volume, bbl VF

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Weight-Up of Water-Based Muds
No Volume Increase

Given:
(VI MWI) (VWM DWM) (VFMWF)
Old Fluid Weight weight New Fluid
System Volume, bbl 500 X 500
System Density, lb/gal 9.5 35 10

The material balance approach means that to increase the density of 500 bbl of a 9.5 lb/gal
fluid to 10.0 lb/gal, without increasing the total volume of fluid, the problem can be
represented as follows:
Old Fluid + Weight Material = New Fluid
OR

VIMWI + VWMDWM = VFMWF

Old Fluid + Barite = New Fluid
(500 bbl-x) (9.5 lb/gal) + (x) (35.0 lb/gal) = (500 bbl) (10.0 lb/gal)

Solving the equation for x:

(VI)(MWI )+ (VWM)(DWM )= (VF)(MWF)
(500-X) x(9.5) + (x) ( 35) = ( 500 )x(10)
4750 - 9.5x + 35.0 x = 5000
25.5x= 250
X=9.8 bbl. of barite
500 - x = 500 - 9.8 = 490.2 bbl. of mud

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  Volume Increase
Given:
(VI MWI) (VWM DWM) (VFMWF)
Old Fluid Weight weight New Fluid
System Volume, bbl 500 X ---
System Density, lb/gal 9.5 35 10

Again, using the material balance equation:

Old Fluid + weight material = New Fluid

VIMWI + VWMDWM = VFMWF

Old Fluid + Barite = New Fluid

(500 bbl) (9.5 lb/gal) + (x) (35.0 lb/gal) = (500 bbl + x) (10.0 lb/gal)
Solving the equation for x:

VIMWI + VWMDWM = VFMWF

( 500) ( 9.5) + ( 35) ( x) = (500 +x) (10 )
4750 + 35x = 5000 +10x
25.5x = 250
X= 10 bbl. of barite
Then --
500 +x = 500 +10 =510 bbl. of new fluid

Dilution of Water-Based Muds

 Density Reduction/No Volume Increase

Once the material balance equations are mastered, density reduction becomes a simple
problem. To reduce density, a lighter fluid must be added to the existing fluid. In these
examples, fresh water will be used.

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Given:
(VI MWI) (VWM DWM) (VFMWF)
Old Fluid Weight weight New Fluid
System Volume, bbl 500 X 500
System Density, lb/gal 9.5 8.33 9

Again, using the material balance equation:

Old Fluid + Dilution Water = New Fluid

VIMWI + VWMDWM = VFMWF

Substitute the product density and volume for each term in the equation. Since it is not known how
much water will be needed, the volume of water is represented by (x).

Old Fluid + Fresh Water = New Fluid

(500 bbl - x) (9.5 lb/gal) + (x) (8.33 lb/gal) = (500 bbl) (9.0 lb/gal)
Solving the equation for x:

VIMWI + VWMDWM = VFMWF

(500-X) x (9.5) + (x) ( 8.33 ) = ( 5000) x( 9)
X= 214 bbl of Fresh Water
Thus, 214 bbl of the Old Fluid must be jetted and 214 bbl of Fresh Water must be added to have
500 bbl of 9.0 lb/gal fluid.

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  Density Reduction - Volume Increase
Given
(VI MWI) (VWM DWM) (VFMWF)
Old Fluid Weight weight New Fluid
System Volume, bbl 500 X ---
System Density, lb/gal 9.5 8.33 9

Again, using the material balance equation:

Old Fluid + weight material = New Fluid

VIMWI + VWMDWM = VFMWF

Old Fluid + water = New Fluid
(500 bbl) (9.5 lb/gal) + (x) (8.33 lb/gal) = (500 bbl + x) (9lb/gal)

Solving the equation for x:

VIMWI + VWMDWM = VFMWF

(500 ) ( 9.5 )+ ( x) ( 8.33) = ( 500+x) ( 9)

x =373 bbl of water

 Mixing Two Fluids

Mixing two fluids to achieve specific results is another application for material balance concepts.
Simple equations can be utilized for calculating desired parameters. The following examples
should help to clarify and demonstrate the use of the material balance approach.
Example Calculations
EXAMPLE #1 - A circulating system of 1000 bbl has a density of 12.0 lb/gal. There are 300 bbl of
10.0 lb/gal mud in storage on the rig site. How many barrels of 10.0 lb/gal mud are needed to reduce
the fluid density to 11.6 lb/gal?

(VI MWI) (VWM DWM) (VFMWF)

Old Fluid Weight weight New Fluid
System Volume, bbl 1000 X ---
System Density, lb/gal 12 10 11.6

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Where:
(VI) (MWI) + (VS) (MWS) = (VF) (MWF)
MWF = Final Mud Density
MWI = Initial Mud Density
MWS = Stored Mud Density
VS = Volume Stored Mud to Add
VF = Final Volume
VI = Initial Volume
Solving the equation for x (where x is volume of 10.0 lb/gal mud to be added):

(VI) (MWI) + (VS) (MWS) = (VF) (MWF)

( 1000) ( 12) + (x ) (10 ) = (1000 +x) (11.6 )
x =250 bbl. of10.0 lb/gal mud

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