Your drilling efficiency is suffering. How can you fix it with the right drilling fluid additives?

1 What are drilling fluid additives?

Drilling fluid additives are substances that are added to the base fluid to modify its properties and enhance its performance. They can be classified into three main categories: rheological additives, filtration control additives, and specialty additives. Rheological additives control the viscosity, density, and gel strength of the fluid, which affect the fluid flow, hole cleaning, and pressure control. Filtration control additives reduce the fluid loss to the formation, which prevents formation damage and borehole instability. Specialty additives address specific issues, such as shale inhibition, lubricity, pH control, and corrosion inhibition.

2 How to choose the right drilling fluid additives?

The choice of drilling fluid additives depends on several factors, such as the type of base fluid, the wellbore conditions, the drilling objectives, and the environmental regulations. You need to consider the compatibility, stability, and performance of the additives with the base fluid and the formation. You also need to balance the cost and benefits of the additives, as well as their availability and handling. To choose the right drilling fluid additives, you need to conduct a thorough analysis of the well design, the drilling program, and the fluid requirements.

5 How to troubleshoot the problems caused by drilling fluid additives?

Sometimes, drilling fluid additives can cause problems instead of solving them. For example, they can create unwanted interactions with the base fluid or the formation, degrade under high temperature or pressure, or lose their effectiveness over time. To troubleshoot these problems, you need to identify the root cause, isolate the affected fluid, and apply the appropriate corrective action. Common corrective actions include diluting the fluid with fresh base fluid or water to reduce the concentration of the additives, adding new additives or changing their type to counteract the negative effects of the existing ones, modifying the fluid system or changing the base fluid to improve compatibility and stability, and replacing the fluid or additives with alternative ones that have better performance and lower cost.