MUDS 101

WHAT IS THE PRIMARY JOB OF “MUDS”?

EXCAVATION

WHAT IS THE PRIMARY JOB OF “MUDS”?

THE DRILL CUTS THE HOLE,THE MUDS REMOVE THE

CUTTINGS

Five Steps to a Successful Borehole Soil

Identification

DrillingFluids

Bits&

Reamers

Planning

Volume

SuccessfulBorehole

Soil IdentificationReactive (Fine Soils)

Clay Shale

Non-Reactive (Coarse Soils)

SandGravelCobbleRock

EVERY MIX SHOULD HAVE A BASE MIX OF:

Soda Ash BentoniteRel-Pac (insurance)

Bad Water = Bad Drilling Fluids

It All Starts With “Good Water”

Sodium bentonite does not work with salt water

Calcium (which creates hard water) disrupts the electrical stability of bentonite clay, resulting in lower yield/viscosities, lower gel strength (suspension), and poor water loss (bore-hole stability).

Do These Problems Sound Familiar? Bentonite

doesn’t mix well and looks “clumpy”

Do These Problems Sound Familiar?After shutting off equipment, the

bentonite settles and leaves water on the

surface?

Do These Problems Sound Familiar?

It takes a lot more bentonite to get

the same viscosity?

Do These Problems Sound Familiar?

The pump makes all kinds of noise when pumping

slurry?

Soda Ash + = Higher PH (9.5+)

It Takes “Good PH”

Raising the PH lowers the Acid level and allows chemicals to mix and stay mixed.

Add 1-2 cups per 1000 gallons

Check Mix Water pH with pH Strips

If you aren’t checking the PH, how do you know how much soda ash to put?

15 minutes = Proper Yielding

It Takes “Good Mixing”

It takes at least 15 min of mixing (full throttle) to let the bentonite thoroughly yield (let water absorb into it).

Venturi Pipe Ensures Proper Shearing

Hopper Jet

Bentonite going intohopper @ 200 mesh (74 Microns)

Bentonite platelets (1/2 Micron) mechanically separated by high velocity fluid from jet hopper

Venturi Style Mixing Hopper

Typical Mixing System

Water only = Wet Dirt

NEVER DRILL WITH “Just Water!”

Wet dirt will collapse your hole (in coarse soils)Wet dirt will swell up and close your hole (in fine soils)Wet dirt will wipe out your tooling and leave $ in the groundWet dirt will grip your pull back product and cause break offs

“Ever play tug of war with your pipe?”

The Bentonite Of Choice:

• Hole Stabilizer• Lubricant• Has 4 extra

properties than just bentonite alone

Functions of HYDRAUL-EZ Drilling FluidCool bit & lubricate the hole

Control sub-surface pressure

Control fluid-loss, loss circulation, and frac-outs

Hold the hole open, stabilize the hole

Clean the hole, suspend & transport cuttings

Reduce torque associated with sticky soil

HYDRAUL-EZ Drilling Fluid Seals Borehole SidewallBentonite Suspension

Hydrostatic

Pressure

Bentonite ParticlesBentonite Filter Cake Formed by Clogging and Bridging

Soil Grains

Holding The Hole Open Is TheKey!

Wrong Viscosity = Bad Hole

VISCOSITY MUST BE RIGHT! “Always Check!”

• Too high of a vis will slow down “excavation”• Too high of a vis will increase PSI down hole• Too high of a vis will overwork your mud pump (65 vis

max)• Too high of a vis will increase your costs• Too low of a vis will collapse your hole (in collapsible

soils)• Too low of a vis will not create a filter cake (seal any gaps)• Too low of a vis will not encapsulate cuttings and float

them out of the hole and increase your vacuum trips“If you don’t check, how do you know?”

The resistance of a fluid to flow; the greater the resistance, the greater the viscosity or thickness

Measured with a marsh funnel and cup

Viscosity only tells us the thickness of a fluid

Two fluids with the same viscosity don’t necessarily have the same Gel Strength

Viscosity

Marsh Funnel and Cup - Viscosity

Add A Sealer To EVERY Mix:

• Moisture Inhibitor

• Greatly reduces fluid loss

• This cuts off water to surrounding sand or gravel

Fluid LossCoarse Soils (sands,

gravels)If water permeates

outside the hole, it will allow the walls to collapse

Fine Soils (clays, silts)If water permeates

outside the hole, the clay will react and swell and squeeze down your hole.

A “Pac” will inhibit water (moisture) from permeating outside the hole

Reducing Fluid Loss REL PAC

40 Viscosity HYDRAUL-EZ fluid

40 Viscosity HYDRAUL-EZ fluid with REL PAC

Minimal Fluid Loss = Borehole Stability

Hydraul EZ & Rel-Pac:

RE-CAP-

Every mix should have a base of Soda Ash, Hydraul EZ, and Rel-Pac

Coarse Soils – Need to adjust (increase) bentonite viscosity to the amount of collapsible material but do not over do it.

Fine Soils – Need to adjust (decrease) bentonite viscosity to the amount of reactive material AND add more additives (Clay Cutter, Insta-Vis, Drill-Terge) then re-check viscosity

Add these two to your base mix= Good Hole

CLAYS - “Must ALWAYS use a polymer and CLAY CUTTER!”

• This mix will not allow clays to “react” and swell the hole• This mix will chemically breakdown clay and turn clay

back into “soil”, thus the need to have bentonite in the mix• This mix will lubricate the hole and your tooling, reducing

the amount of needed torque down hole.• This mix will Suspend heavy clays and make them

buoyant enough to be flowed out of the hole• This mix will reduce the amount of clays sticking to your

tooling

Synthetic Polymers

INSTA-VIS DRY – Dry polymer for stabilizing borehole and coating clay and shale

Lubricates hole and reduces torque

Inhibits clays from swelling and reacting with eachother

Clay & Water (Reactive Soils)

Mixing claywith water

Clay will hydrate causing sticking and swelling

Polymer and water

Polymer coats clay particles and delays hydration

CLAY CUTTERA concentrated, non

hazardous, proprietary clay inhibitor that can be used with either polymer and HYDRAUL-EZ drilling fluid systems

An ideal additive for reactive clay soils

Will greatly reduce or eliminate clay cuttings from sticking to each other and to the drilling tools. Swelling of the bore will be reduced or eliminated

Rotation and pullback pressures will be significantly reduced

Can be used in antifreeze tank for easy spot treatment

Example: Alternating Clay & Sand

Sand

Reactive Clay

Products such as Clay Cutter provide a tremendous advantage when drilling through multiple soil conditions such as sand and clay. One can run a sand mixture of Hydraul-EZ and Rel-PAC, and add ClayCutter to handle the clay zones.

CLAY CUTTER Breaks Down Reactive Soils

Adding CLAY CUTTER to granular bentonite and water

Granular bentonite/reactive soils are broken down (instead of being encapsulated) and in a more flowable state

SUSPEND-IT

DRILL-TERGE

OTHER OPTIONAL ADDITIVES:

Natural, Biodegradable PolymersNo viscosity

increase with HDD designed drilling fluids

Increases gel strength

SUSPEND-IT is recommended when coarse sands and gravel are anticipated especially for long or wide diameter bores

DetergentLubricates holes in

reactive soils

Prevents clays from sticking to tooling and prevent “bit balling”.

Inhibits the hydration of clay and shale

Only use in the most sticky types of clay.

Prevents “Tool Balling”

Steps to a Successful BoreBits & Reamers

No universal soils

No universal drilling fluids

No universal bits & reamers

Match downhole tooling to the soil type

BitsDuckbillRoller ConeGeo-Head

ReamersBarrel/PackerSpiral/FlutedWinged/OpenRoller Cone/Hole Opener

Pilot HoleUse drilling fluids and additives both ways: if

you need it back-reaming, you will need it on the pilot hole

Maintain an open bore path and steady flow

Avoid over-steering

Bit Selection – The Proper Bit is Critical for a Successful Pilot Hole

Reamer SelectionReamer should always be a minimum of 1

½ times the diameter of the product line to prevent getting stuck and frack outs.

Reamer selection is critical for a successful bore

Like fluids, reamers need to be matched to soil types

Reamers should not restrict the pump’s capacity or annular flow

Don’t Forget an Important Rule of Thumb In HDD

Hole diameter must be at least 1 ½ times the diameter of the

product line

Reaming / PullbackUse drilling fluids pull back formulas and stay

consistent. Calculate how much fluids you will need.

Consistency is key. Use Cruise Control (if equipped).

Its all about patience, timing and FLOW>>>>

Make sure exit pit hole cuttings are flowing “down” into the pit. Do not let exit pit get higher than the exit hole as not to create “back pressure” and cause fracking.

Maintain an open bore path and steady flow, dig “burp holes” or relief holes if needed as to not allow hydrostatic pressures to increase causing frack outs.

Spiral or Fluted ReamerVersatile type of

reamer

Used in sand, silty soils, and rocks & cobbles

Avoid using spiral or fluted reamers in clay

Winged or Open ReamerUsed in reactive soil

conditions (i.e. clays)

Minimal surface area for clay to stick and cause blockage of annular flow

Good chopping action (required in reactive soils)

Preventing Frac-OutsFrac-outs occur when the circulating pressure in the wellbore exceeds the formation strength

Build-up of solids in drilling fluid lead to really high mud viscosities, low pump rates, and/or “out-running mud”

Solution is more drilling fluid and or higher circulation rates to reduce solids content in returns

Frac-Outs and Bulging Pavement

No space between formation and drillpipe for drilling fluid to return

Reamers such as fluted and spiral ball upwith clay and restrict flow to exit side

Drilling fluid has nowhere else togo but into the formation

Annular space is maintained through proper drillingfluid additives and good drilling techniques

-Open type of back reamers reduce balling of clays and provide a chopping/mixing action while allowing for fluid to flow to the exit side

A Little Bit of Volume and Pressure Can Cause a Lot of Damage

Damage Repair is Costly

Calculating Drilling Fluid VolumesVolume of hole = Diameter2 ÷ 24.52 = gals/ft

Example: 8” backream and 200 ft bore8x8=64 ÷24.52=2.61 gals/ft

200 ft bore x 2.61 gals/ft = 522 gals (based on 1:1 ratio)

Requirements for different soils Sands: 2-3 x volume of holeClays: 3-5 x volume of hole

Calculating Drilling Fluid VolumesEstimating bore time based on pump capacity

Example: 200 ft bore x 8” hole; sandy soils2.61 gals/ft x 2= 5.22 gals x 200 ft=1,044 gallons

Using 10 ft drill stem we need 52.2 gallons per stem:

Pumping 20 gpm takes between 2.5 and 3 minutes per 10 ft. rod.

Pumping 30 gpm takes between 1.5 and 2 minutes per 10 ft. rod.

Pumping 40 gpm takes between 1 and 1.5 minutes per 10 ft. rod.

* Given above examples, reaming time should vary between 25 and 60 minutes.

HDD Pumping Volume RequirementsHole dia.

(in.)Gal/ Lin. Ft. = (dia2 ÷24.5)

Coarse Soils (Sands)2 to 3 X Vol. Of hole

Fine Soils (Clays)3 to 5 X Vol. of Hole

2 0.16 0.32 to 0.48 0.48 to 0.8

4 0.65 1.3 to 1.95 1.95 to 3.25

5 1.02 2.04 to 3.06 3.06 to 5.10

6 1.47 2.94 to 4.41 4.41 to 7.35

7 2.00 4.0 to 6.0 6.0 to 10.0

8 2.61 5.22 to 7.83 7.83 to 13.05

9 3.30 6.60 to 9.90 9.90 to 16.5

10 4.08 8.16 to 12.24 12.24 to 20.4

12 5.87 11.47 to 17.61 17.61 to 29.35

14 8.0 16 to 24 24 to 40

16 10.44 20.88 to 31.32 31.32 to 52.2

18 13.22 26.44 to 39.66 39.66 to 66.10

20 16.32 32.64 to 48.96 48.96 to 81.6

24 23.49 46.98 to 70.47 70.47 to 117.45

30 36.73 73.467 to 110.19 110.19 to 183.65

36 52.88 105.76 to 158.64 158.64 to 264.4

Let the Exit Flow Be Your Guide

PLAN for SUCCESS!Time is Money!Planning Phase Saves Time

Jobsite Layout Needs:

Manpower Equipment Needs (Tooling, Vacs, Recycling) Product Needs

Jobsite Water Source (Fire Hydrant)Disposal Options

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