Drilling Mud - Formulation, Selection and Maintenance - PTRL6012
Faculty: Faculty of Engineering
School: School of Petroleum Engineering
Course Outline: http://www.pv.unsw.edu.au//
Campus: Sydney
Career: Postgraduate
Units of Credit: 6
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 0
Enrolment Requirements:
Prerequisite: enrolment in Petroleum Open Learning program
CSS Contribution Charge: 2 (more info)
Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule
Further Information: See Class Timetable
View course information for previous years.
Description
Course covers: Basics of water- and oil-based drilling and completion fluids. API mud properties & testing procedures and chemical analysis. Clay and polymer chemistry and their applications to drilling fluid formulations. Classification and structure of clays. Hydration mechanism of clays. Cation exchange capacity of clays and influence on clay properties. Rheology of clay suspensions, yield of clay. Structure and properties of polymers used in drilling fluids. Fluid-loss additives. Viscosifying agents. Surface active agents used in drilling fluids. Drilling fluid filtration - bridging mechanism, filtration-control materials and techniques, prevention of formation damage, filtration effect on drilling rate. API mud properties. Mud systems and treatments for hole conditions - torque and drag, stuck pipe, lost circulation and borehole instability. Prevention of corrosion. Mud program design - Mud weight, weighting materials, and mud weight calculations.