20 AUGUST 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® www.starironworks.com 257 Caroline Street Punxsutawney, PA 15767 800-927-0560 • 814-427-2555 Fax: 814-427-5164 SERVING THE WATER WELL INDUSTRY Serving the Drilling Industry Limitations or Challenges by Ronald B. Peterson - Drilling Products Specialist, Mountainland Supply Company One of my favorite quotes is, “A man has to know his limitations.” Knowing your limitations, however, does not mean you have to be defined or controlled by them. To some people, a limitation is simply an identified challenge to be dealt with. Something I have become aware of is drilling professionals don’t admit to any limitations. I have learned if you tell them they cannot do something, they will take it as a challenge and find a way to prove you wrong - regardless of the effort, or the cost. I was on a location recently that reinforces this viewpoint. The project was a 12¼-inch hole, 600 feet deep, to be drilled single pass. The drilling contractor, because of the limitations of his equipment, was going to drill this hole using conventional mud rotary circulation. Knowing it was going to be difficult to control the weight, he had purchased a very nice, well-designed solids control and drilling fluid handling system. The hole was being drilled in the valley and the formations were characteristically valley fill, mostly sandy clay, with some gravel zones that were potential aquifers. He was having trouble removing the cuttings and they were hanging down around the bit, being ground up and entrained in the drilling fluid. He had chosen to drill using only high-yield bentonite. It was difficult to control the viscosity or the mud weight and, as a result, he was having a vac truck haul the mud away at least once a day, and mixing new mud. We like to see an annular uphole velocity of 90 to 100 feet per minute. He was pumping 250 gallons per minute and had an annular velocity of 47 feet per minute. It would require at least 500 gallons per minute to get into the 90 to 120 feet per minute range - if he could even get that volume through the rig plumbing. He was inadvertently overdrilling his ability to clean the hole. What’s a poor fellow to do? We talked for some time and agreed he needed to raise the viscosity to help clean the hole due to the velocity limitations. He also needed to slow down his drilling rate (I often hurry faster when I go slow) so the cuttings could be removed from the hole and then processed through the mud cleaning system. He needed some polymer in the system to try to keep the clay from dissolving and retain the cuttings size so the solids control equipment could remove them. Making these adjustments, he was able to better process the fluid, haul less junk mud away, and complete the hole. In any drilling operation, it is always a good idea to get with your provider of products and equipment and make sure you are aware of what is new and may improve your operations. Try it, maybe it will help you avoid being stuck in a rut and you can enjoy the benefits of new products and methods. Always remember, “A man has to know his limitations,” but he doesn’t have to be defined by them. He can raise the bar. Working together, it is amazing where we can go. Let’s enjoy the trip! If you have any questions on drilling fluids or if you have another topic you would like addressed, remember this column is ours. Your input helps me make it of value to you. It needs to be an interactive tool. I need your feedback. Please send your suggestions to Michele (below) and she will get them to me. Ron Ron Peterson may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com WTR
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