PET 322E - Drilling Laboratory

Course Objectives

1. Find out about the primary propeties of the drilling fluids and its functions,
2. Determine the yield of clay theoretically and experimentally,
3. Determine the API water loss experimentally,
4. Determine the solid content of unweighted drilling mud experimentally,
5. Determine the properties of low solids muds experimentally,
6. Determine the solid content of weighted drilling mud experimentally,
7. Determine the properties of salt and calcium contaminated drilling mud and treatment of these contaminated muds experimentally,
8. Determine the properties of water based inhibitive muds experimentally.

Course Description

Drilling optimization; guidelines and assumptions, and optimum drilling program. Drilling fluids; functions, selections, types, planning, and field-tested properties. Diagnostic tests; detection potential problems and identifying their causes.Pilot tests; alternative mud treatment. Clay chemistry; drilling clays, hydration mechanism, physical properties, effect ofsodium chloride, and pH. Water-base muds; low-solids nondispersed muds, dispersed muds, formulation, maintenance,chemical additives, chemical removal of contaminants, filtration-density-solids control. Inhibitive water-base muds;calcium treated muds, lignosulfonate treated muds, high salinity muds, formulation, maintenance, and treatment.