DRILLING FLUID FUNCTIONS

Although originally designed to bring the drilled cuttings from the bottom
of the hole to
surface, drilling fluid now serves at least twelve important functions in
modern drilling
operations.
Drilling fluid assists in making hole by :
1. Removing the cuttings
2. Cooling and lubricating the bit and drillstring
3. Transmitting power to bit nozzles or turbines
It assists in hole preservation by :
4. Supporting and stabilising the borehole wall
5. Minimising hole wash outs due to turbulence or dissolution
It also :
6. Produces sufficient pressure within the borehole to prevent the inflow
of formation
fluids
7. Supports the weight of pipe and casing
8. Serves as a medium for formation logging
9. Must be compatible with drilled formations and encountered formation
fluids.
It must not :
10. Corrode the bit, the drillstring, the casing or surface facilities
11. Impair the productivity of the productive intervals
12. Pollute the environment

I.1.2 Fonctions des fluides de forage

La plupart des manuels sur les fluides de forage énumèrent entre 10 et
20 fonctions assurées
par ces fluides dans le puits
(Chillingarian et Vorabutr, 1983; Darley et Gray, 1988). En général,
les principaux rôles du fluide de forage sont:
►Assurer la remontée des déblais du fond du puits jusqu’ à la surface
par la circulation d’un fluide
visqueux dans l’espace annulaire. Ces déblais donnent des informations
géologiques sur les
formations traversées lors du forage.
►Maintenir les déblais en suspension lors d’un arrêt de circulation dans
le but d’empêcher la
sédimentation des déblais afin de redémarrer le forage sans coincement
et ceci est possible grâce
à la nature thixotrope du fluide.
►Refroidir et lubrifier l’outil pour éviter l’usure rapide des pièces
métalliques en mouvement.
►Maintenir les parois du puits en raison de la pression hydrostatique
exercée par le fluide en
écoulement et permettre de contrôler la venue des fluides des formations
rocheuses traversées.
Du fait de cette différence de pression, le fluide va "filtrer" dans les
formations perméables et
déposer un film sur la paroi appelé "cake de filtration". Ce gâteau
permet de réduire la
perméabilité des parois et d’isoler le fluide de forage de la formation mais
ne doit pas être épais
afin d’éviter une diminution du diamètre nominal du trou et un risque de
coincement de l’outil. Le
fluide de forage joue donc un rôle déterminant dans la résolution du
problème de stabilité des
parois du puits de par sa densité mais également de par sa capacité à
former une barrière limitant
les transferts de fluides entre l’espace annulaire et la formation.
►Enfin la boue ne doit être ni corrosive ni abrasive pour l’équipement, ni
toxique ou dangereuse
pour le personnel et elle ne doit pas présenter de risque d’incendie.
A la fin des années 1950, l’utilisation sur chantier d’une grande variété
de produits soumis à des
spécifications rigoureuses réglementant les propriétés des fluides, a
permis de développer la
chimie des fluides de forage. Cependant, il a été impossible de lier
automatiquement les
problèmes du forage aux fluides, vu la complexité des problèmes liés
aux argiles.
Depuis les années 1990, les contraintes environnementales et les
restrictions gouvernementales
limitant l'utilisation des produits toxiques et non biodégradables , un
intérêt particulier a été apporté à de nouveaux types de fluides.
1.3 Functions of Drilling Fluids.
1 Removal of cuttings from well
Drilling fluids carry the rock excavated by the drill bit up to the surface and its ability to
perform this function is greatly vested on fluid viscosity, density as well as size and shape
of cuttings.
2 Suspension and release of cuttings
Drilling fluids are required to be able to suspend drill cuttings, weighting materials as
well as mud additives under a wide range of pressure, temperature and formation
conditions. The settlement of drill cuttings in the well can cause bridges and fill which
can invariably translate into drill pipe sticking and lost circulation. High accumulation of
drill solids in the well reduces drilling efficiency and adversely affect rate of penetration
(ROP) by increasing horse power requirement for circulation.
3 Formation pressure monitoring
The formation pressure is the pressure of the fluid within the pore spaces of the formation
rock while the hydrostatic pressure is the total fluid pressure created by the weight of a
column of fluid acting on any given point in a well and it is mathematically represented
by equation 1 and 2. The fluid formation pressure must be kept and maintained at a level
that is sufficiently lower than the fluid hydrostatic pressure in order to prevent the inflow
of formation fluid into the well bore. Uncontrolled fluid formation pressure can result in
formation fracture, abnormal inflow of formation fluid into the wellbore (Kick) and an
uncontrolled kick will eventually lead to blow out [Rabia 1986]. One common method
of increasing the hydrostatic pressure is by increasing the drilling mud density. Drilling
muds are typically required to have moderately high densities that provides sufficient
hydrostatic pressure to prevent influx of formation fluids into the well bore, counter
abnormal formation pressure and to mechanically stabilize unstable formation.
Excessively high density can result in loss of circulation, damage to the drilled formation
and lower drilling rate.
_______ _________ _ ________ _ __________ ____ _ _________ ______ (1)
Substituting the conversion factor into equation 1, we have,
_______ ______________ _ _________ _ __
___
_ _ _____ _ ________ ___________ (2)
__
_
4 Sealing of permeable formation
During oil and gas drilling activities, the mud filtrate invades the porous and permeable
formation that is being drilled because the mud column pressure is higher than the
formation pressure and the filtrate invasion process continues until the solid components
of the mud form a thin low permeability filter cake on the wellbore wall that forms a seal
and thus prevents further invasion. Drilling mud system must be carefully formulated to
prevent the deposition of thick filter cake that unarguably cause tight holes, poor log
result quality, stuck pipe, lost circulation and potential damage to the formation [Anawe
and Folayan,2018a].
5 Maintenance of well bore stability.
Drilling fluid plays a critical role in the maintenance of a stable well bore by providing
the required weight that is needed to mechanically stabilize the formation. Well bore
stability requires a proper balance between the reservoir rock properties such as rock
strength, earth stresses and pore pressure which to a large extent are uncontrollable and
well bore fluid pressure as well as mud chemical compositions which can be controlled.
Well bore instability issues can take the following forms and sources among several
others [Cheatham 1984].
_ Hole size reduction which can occur when plastic rock is squeezed into the hole
while caving shales or hard rock spalling result in hole enlargement.
_ Lost circulation occurs as a result of inadvertent hydraulic fracturing of the
formation due to well bore fluid pressure that is too high with eventual hole
collapse.
_ Solid particle influx can occur as a result of excessive production rates.
Hole instability can cause stuck drill pipe as well as casing or liner collapse and
eventually result in side tracked holes and abandoned wells.
6 Minimization of formation damage.
Formation damage is defined as the impairment to reservoir (reduced production) caused
by wellbore fluids used during drilling/completion and workover operations. It is a zone
of reduced permeability within the vicinity of the wellbore (skin) as a result of
foreignfluid
invasion into the reservoir rock (Fig.1-1) [petro wiki 2018].
__
_
Drilling fluids can be properly designed and tailored towards the reduction of damages
to reservoir porosity and permeability as result of invasion of drilling mud into the
formation matrix. Formation damage can take several forms such as reduced permeability
which occur as a result of formation clay swelling within the reservoir, reduced reservoir
porosity as a result of emulsion formation between mud filtrate and formation fluid and
pressure drop resulting from drill solids residual accumulation on the perforations. The
incorporation of clay swelling inhibitor such as high concentration of potassium chloride
(Kcl) into the mud components is a viable measure to forestall formation damage.
In summary, formation damage can occur as a result or combination of the following
mechanisms [petrowiki 2018]. These are: clay particle swelling, plugging of reservoir
rock pore spaces by solids, wettability reversals, saturation changes, emulsion blockage,
aqueous-filtrate blockage, mutual precipitation of soluble salts in well bore fluid filtrate
and formation water, deposition of paraffins or asphaltenes in tubings and pores of
reservoir rock, fines migration and finally condensate banking around the well bore.
Other functions of drilling fluids include facilitation of adequate formation evaluation,
transmission of hydraulic energy to tools and bits and lastly cooling, lubrication and
support of the bit and drilling assembl

Major Functions
Minimize Formation Damage
• Reduce Corrosion
• Minimize Lost Circulation
• Reduce Stuck Pipe
• Reduce Pressure Losses
• Improve Penetration Rates
• Reduce Environmental Impact
• Improve Safety
Minor functions of a drilling fluid include:
• Support Weight of Tubulars
• Cool and Lubricate the Bit and Drill String
• Transmit Hydraulic Horsepower to Bit
• Provide Medium for Wireline Logging
• Assist in the Gathering of Subsurface Geological Data and Formation Evaluation
• Cool and Lubricate the Bit