Tag Archives: drilling fluids

The Significance of Cleanups: What a difference it makes!

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Picture this: a filthy driveway that has not been washed in months, covered in dead leaves, mud, and dirt. All those lifeless bits of wilted foliage and dirt have mixed resulting in gunk being stuck to the concrete driveway. So what do you do? Dig through your garage, pull out the pressure washer and get to work! Whether it is a dirty driveway or a wellbore, in order for all things to serve their purpose, we must make sure we are able to clean out the mess and residue, to get us through to our next step.

Successful well completions rely on a lot of factors. As mentioned before, one main aspect is maintaining a clean wellbore, free of debris or any other fluid residue that has been left behind due to the nature of drilling fluids. Whether it is a dirty driveway or a wellbore, the process of cleaning highly increases the chances for us to foresee what is to come next. Enter CleanMax, the next generation of wellbore cleanup.

Avoiding mishaps is quintessential for any project we take upon ourselves. When it comes to operations, failure to conduct wellbore cleanups could lead to potential failed completions, not to mention the high costs associated with it. It is essential that we not take risks when it comes to this and use the tools that we have at hand to accurately conduct successful wellbore cleanups and safer operations. One of our most recent software, CleanMax, does just that and more. We have created the go-to software that meets the needs for both service companies and operators, helping minimize spacer interfacing and reducing rig time, pill volumes, and filtration costs.

CleanMax - Wellbore Cleanup Software

We are all cognizant that drilling comes with its complexities. During this challenging time in our industry, we have had to make crucial decisions when it comes to getting the job done efficiently while keeping costs in mind.  At PVI, we know this all too well. “How?” you may ask, and the answer is pretty straightforward: because we are the ones who create the tools to turn this into a sophisticated, yet simple process (that’s our slogan!). We are your eyes when it comes to successful drilling completions!

For more information about CleanMax and CleanMax+, please visit:

http://www.pvisoftware.com/wellbore-cleanup-software.html

The Managing of the Mud

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Drilling mud is used to assist the drilling of wellbore into the earth. Often used while drilling oil and natural gas wells and on exploration drilling rigs, mud is also used for much simpler wellbores. For instance, water wells. The three main categories of drilling fluids are water-based mud, oil-based mud, and synthetic mud. The main functions of the drilling mud include providing hydrostatic pressure to prevent formation fluids from entering into the borehole, keeping the drill bit cool and clean during drilling, carrying out drill cuttings, suspending the drill cuttings while drilling is paused, and when the drilling assembly is brought in and out of the borehole. The mud that is used for a particular job is selected to avoid formation damage and to limit corrosion.

On a drilling rig, mud is pumped from the mud pits through the drill string where it comes out of the nozzles on the drill bit, cleaning and cooling the drill bit in the process. The mud then carries the crushed or cut rock (better known as cuttings) up the annulus between the drill string and the sides of the hole

The drilling fluids carry the cuttings excavated by the drill bit up to the surface. The ability to do so depends on the cutting size, shape, density, and speed of the fluid traveling up the borehole, which is also known as annular velocity. The mud viscosity is another important property, as cuttings will settle to the bottom of the well if the viscosity is too low. Fluids that have shear thinning and elevated viscosities are efficient for wellbore cleaning. High density fluids may clean the hole adequately even with lower annular velocities, but may have a negative impact if mud weight is in excess of that needed to balance the formation pressure. For this reason, mud weight is not usually increased for hole cleaning purposes.

Mud density should be limited to the minimum necessary for well control and wellbore stability. If too great, it may fracture the formation. Depending on the mud system in use, a number of additives can improve the filter cake and therefore maintain the wellbore stability.

As we can see, mud is a vital part of drilling operations. How can mud be managed in such a way to have success in these operations? This type of mud contains carefully chosen additives to control its properties. It is the responsibility of the mud engineer to ensure that any new mud that is produced and added, meets the required specifications.

In the past, mud engineers used paper forms or Excel® spreadsheets to record mud properties, product usage, and inventory every morning. With these methods, engineers encountered problems such as disorganization of numerous daily reports and difficulty in generating end-of well recaps.

MUDPRO is a mud reporting software developed by PVI that complies with API specifications for field use.

MUDPRO - Drilling Mud Reporting Software With a backbone of databases, this all-inclusive model highly improves data gathering, sharing and management. MUDPRO is designed for mud engineers at the rig sites as well as the company men in the office. A mud engineer can use it to record mud data and generate daily reports. It can also be used by company men for reviewing and managing data, making an end-of-well recap, and comparing data between multiple wells.

Step One: Preparation

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Cementing a well is the procedure of developing and pumping cement into a wellbore. Although it is used for various reasons, cementing protects and seals the well. Very frequently, cementing is used to permanently block out water from penetrating the well. Cementing is also used to seal the annulus after the casing string has been run in the wellbore. In addition, cementing can be used to seal a lost circulation zone, or a specific area where there is a reduction or absence of flow inside the wellbore. When it comes to directional drilling, cementing is used to plug an existing well, in order to run a directional well from that point.

Cementing is performed when the cement slurries are placed into the well by pumps, displacing the drilling fluids that are still located in the well, and replacing them with the cement. The cement slurries flow to the bottom of the well through the casing, which will later be the pipe through which the hydrocarbons flow to the surface. From there it starts filling the space between the casing and the wellbore, and hardens. This permanently positions the casing in place and seals the wellbore so that outside materials cannot enter.

Preparing the Cement

When preparing a well for cementing, it’s very important to be certain of the amount of cement required for the job. This is done by measuring the diameter of the borehole along its depth. Also, to know the required properties of the cement is very essential before beginning any cementing operation. The proper set cement is good to be determined, including the density and viscosity of the material, before actually pumping the cement into the hole.

Special mixers are used to combine dry cement with water to create the wet cement that is also known as slurry. The cement used in the well cementing process is Portland cement, and it is calibrated with additives to form one of eight different API classes of cement. Each is employed for various situations.

Additives can include accelerators, which shorten the setting time required for the cement, as well as retarders, which do the opposite and make the cement setting time longer. In order to decrease or increase the density of the cement, lightweight and heavyweight additives are added. Additives can be added to transform the compressive strength of the cement, as well as flow properties and dehydration rates. Extenders can be used to expand the cement in an effort to reduce the cost of cementing, and antifoam additives can be added to prevent foaming inside the well. In order to plug lost circulation zones, bridging materials are also added. However, the critical part missing here is the management of numerous reports and search function.

Without an efficient lab database, we will face the following situations:

  1. Difficulty of designing cement slurries.
  2. Waste of resources to repeat similar tests.
  3. Lack of prove while job problems occur.
  4. Non-standard practices at various labs within a company.

To streamline the cement lab operation, PVI developed CEMLab:CEMLab - Cement Lab Data Management SoftwareThis software is an integrated database management application that:

  • Formulates slurries.
  • Calculates lab amounts for all ingredients, such as cement, dry and liquid additives, salts and water.
  • Generates weigh-up sheets.
  • Stores API test results.
  • Generates lab reports.

CEMLab, is a web based application that allows quick access to all of your slurry formulations and testing statuses from anywhere, at any time. The advanced search function allows users to find the formula and test quickly and brings the previous jobs to their screen in no time. It’s a great tool for preparation.