Drilling Fluids Selection Criteria
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Mohamed AbozeimaDrilling Fluids Selection Criteria
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Mohamed AbozeimaSection-1
Drilling Fluids Criteria
2 SECTION 1 – DRILLING FLUIDS CRITERIA
Drilling Fluids Selection Criteria
The selection criteria for drilling fluids, in addition to lithology, hydraulic,
temperature, and pressure considerations, include the type of well (wildcat,
delineation, development, etc.), wellbore profile (vertical, directional,
horizontal, etc.), casing and hole size program (conventional, slim-hole,
continuous coring, etc.), well depth, logistical and environmental restrictions.
Drilling fluids can be and have been developed with specific
characteristics and rheological properties required for most drilling operations.
All these considerations must ultimately be balanced with costs.
Well Type
The proper selection of a drilling fluid is ultimately based on the type,
quantity and quality of lithological information available. Obviously, more
information is available for development wells than would be for rank wildcat
wells. The availability or lack of good, reliable information will significantly affect
the selection of drilling fluids. Mud systems for delineation or development wells
can be optimized with very specific properties identified. However, for wildcat
wells, a basic, conservative drilling fluid system with sufficient latitude in
properties is recommended.
Wellbore Profile
The profile of the well greatly determines which property or properties of
the drilling fluid are critical and which are of lower priority. Different fluid
properties and rheological characteristics are needed for vertical wells than
are needed for directional or horizontal wells.
Selecting Mud Properties
Selection of both the physical and Theological properties of drilling fluids is
essential and should address the following borehole problems:
Borehole Erosion; limit the near-wellbore fluid velocity and resulting shear
stress on the formation wall to minimize borehole erosion
Borehole Stability; Limit adverse chemical and pressure effects on the
formation to minimize potential wellbore instability
Cementing: Control filter-cake formation, chemical properties, and fluid
density
to maximize mud displacement efficiency, cement strength and cement
bonding.
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Transport: Control mud density and viscosity for efficient cuttings removal
from beneath the bit and out of the hole.
Differential Sticking: Control filter-cake formation and differential pressure to
minimize differential sticking
Drilling Rate: Maximize cuttings removal from the face of the bit, minimize
hydrostatic overbalance at the formation face, and provide adequate
hydraulic power to down hole motors
Filtration Control: Create a thin, tough, effective filter cake to minimize fluid
filtrate losses to permeable zones and control filtrate chemical composition to
minimize adverse chemical reactions with formation fluids
Formation Damage: limit adverse chemical reactions with formation fluids,
mineralization, and invasion of solids into the formation
Lubricity; Add liquid or solid lubricants to reduce friction between the drill
string and the formation or casing
Pressure Control: Maintain the appropriate mud density and hydrostatic
pressure to control pore pressure; minimum gel strengths to reduce pressure
surges (positive and negative) while tripping
Pressure Losses: Control rheology to reduce system pressure losses
Solids Retention: Maintain gel strength and viscosity to suspending drilled
cuttings and additives when circulation is stopped
Drilling Time
Drilling a horizontal well requires different drilling fluid selection criteria
than a vertical well. The main consideration is that an extended section of
the wellbore is drilled in the reservoir for horizontal wells and only a short
section (reservoir thickness) for vertical wells. This results in a longer exposure of
the pay zone to drilling fluids and an increasing equivalent circulating mud
density (ECD) with longer horizontal lengths. As a result, horizontal,
conventional or slim-hole wells should be drilled with a completion fluid rather
than mud in order to minimize the potential of adverse effects of mud
additives.
Compressible or Non-Compressible
Drilling fluids can be either incompressible (water or oil base) or
compressible (air, foam, or mist) with incompressible fluids being classified as
newtonian or non-newtonian. Newtonian fluids (e.g., water, brine, glycerin,
light oils, acids, and thin biopolymer mixtures) are generally in turbulent flow
both inside the drill string and in the annulus. Non-newtonian fluids (e.g., drilling
4 SECTION 1 – DRILLING FLUIDS CRITERIA
mud, viscous gels, and complex gels), which typically have better solids
carrying capacity, are generally in turbulent flow inside the drill string and in
laminar flow in the annulus.
Compressible fluids used in drilling operations include nitrogen, air, foam,
or mist. Nitrogen is often a good option because it is inert, non-toxic, non-
reactive, and relatively non-soluble and is typically used to lift solids from low-
pressure, liquid-sensitive wells. Foams, which consist of a liquid and gas phase,
provide excellent solids suspension capability (i.e., up to ten times that of
liquids or gels). Both nitrogen and foam systems require careful program design
to be used effectively at all wellbore conditions.
The safe mud density range depends on the stress state (orientation,
magnitude and differences), the strength of the rock, and the inclination of
the well. Figure 3 shows an example of an acceptable range of drilling fluid
densities versus well inclination.
The safe operating range decreases as hole inclination increases due to
increased stresses at higher angles. In this example, see Figure, the safe range
in a vertical well is from 9 to 20 ppg whereas in a horizontal well, the safe
range is from 11 to 15 ppg. This shows that mud weight requires more careful
planning and control in high-angle wells than in vertical wells.
Lost Circulation
Lost circulation occurs when whole mud, as opposed to just the filtrate, is
lost to the formation due to losses into pre-existing voids in the rock, or
hydraulic fracturing of the formation due to excessive bottom-hole pressures.
Whole mud losses can occur in different types of formations.
Little can be done to prevent lost circulation in formations that contain
large voids, such as vugs, caverns, gravel beds, and large natural fractures.
Lost circulation due to hydraulic fracturing can be minimized by taking the
following precautions:
1. Maintain the bottom-hole fluid pressure below the formation fracture
pressure
while maintaining sufficient pressure to control formation fluids and
provide
borehole stability. This may involve drilling underbalanced in areas
where
formation stability is not a problem.
2. Minimize mud viscosity to reduce annular pressure losses, while
still
maintaining good hole cleaning.
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3. Generate a high-quality, thin mud filter cake to minimize annular
restrictions
and annular pressure losses.
4. Circulate at rates sufficient to clean the hole without causing excessive
ECDs.
5. Control drill string velocities when tripping in and out of the hole to
avoid
excessive surging or swabbing of the hole.
The inherently smaller annular area with slim holes makes it easier for
cuttings build-up to block the annulus and cause excessive pressure drops and
excessive ECDs, leading to high filtrate losses, jetting fluid into the formation,
and fracturing the formation. Conventional solutions are often less effective in
slim holes. Reducing the circulation rate may not be possible since fairly low
circulation rates are normally used, and adding LCMs may cause the plugging
of drill string components.
If lost circulation is a concern and must be avoided, under-balanced
drilling should be considered, equally with coiled-tubing drilling.
The inherently smaller annular area with slim holes makes it easier for
cuttings build-up to block the annulus and cause excessive pressure drops and
excessive ECDs, leading to high filtrate losses, jetting fluid into the formation,
and fracturing the formation. Conventional solutions are often less effective in
slim holes. Reducing the circulation rate may not be possible since fairly low
circulation rates are normally used, and adding LCMs may cause the plugging
of drill string components.
If lost circulation is a concern and must be avoided, under balanced
drilling should be considered, equally with coiled-tubing drilling.
Lubricity
Lubricants are used in drilling fluids to reduce drill string torque and
drag by reducing the friction factor between the drill string and the wellbore.
Both liquid and solid additives have been used with varying degrees of success.
Specific additives should be selected based on the cause and location of the
torque and drag. Some additives are designed to reduce metal-to-metal
friction (casing and drill string) while others reduce friction between rock and
metal (formation and drill string). Some additives are most effective at high
contact loads whereas other perform best at low contact loads.
Addition of lubricating agents should only be considered after other
torque and drag problems have been solved (e.g., cuttings buildup, borehole
instability, key-seating, and differential sticking) since lubricating agents would
have little or no beneficial effect on these problems.
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Filtration Control
Filtration control is critical to minimize stud: pipe and formation
damage, and to improve wellbore stability and formation evaluation. The
best option is to select drilling fluids with as low a fluid loss as possible. For
horizontal or high-angle wells, where exposure time in the productive interval is
high, the fluid loss should be maintained below the level used while drilling
vertical holes in the same zone. Creation of an impermeable or low
permeable filter cake is key for filtration control.
A filter cake is created when the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid is
greater than the pore pressure, allowing drilling fluid filtrate to enter the
permeable formation and deposit solids on the wellbore wall (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Good Filter Cake
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The filter cake should be:
• Thin — to minimize the potential of differential sticking
• Tough — to minimize removal by the circulating fluid (near wellbore
shear) and mechanical contact of the drill string
• Compressible — to minimize incremental filtrate losses when
hydrostatic pressure increases by the filter cake compressing and
becoming less permeable
Solids plating out inside the drill pipe cause problems with retrieving
wireline core barrels with continuous coring systems and by increasing pressure
losses inside the drill pipe due to reduced pipe inner diameter. AMOCO,
Texaco, and other companies have developed special no-solids mud systems
to overcome these problems.
Formation Damage
Minimizing formation damage is necessary for creating a usable hole
which can be evaluated, completed and produced. The mud filtrate and
solids present in the filtrate and in the formation fluid can both cause
damage. Damaging solids can be mud materials and drilled cuttings.
Many laboratory and field studies have been performed to determine
the various types, relative severity, and causes of formation damage. These
studies have shown that nearly all activities associated with drilling,
completing, stimulating, and producing wells can cause formation damage.
Some types of damage can be remediated (e.g., invasion of soluble solids
emulsions), while other types of damage are permanent and cannot be
remediated (chemical reactions, invasion of non-soluble solids such as barite).
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