Oil by Robert D. Grace

Author:Robert D. Grace [Grace, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-12-799977-7
Publisher: Elsevier Science
Published: 2007-05-03T04:00:00+00:00

Figure 3.17 Circulating system.

When the mud is not heavy enough to contain the formation pressure, solids are added to make it heavier. The most common solid added is known as barite and is naturally occurring barium sulfate, which is mined at various locations around the world. In some instances, more exotic mud systems are used. Oil and water emulsions are used. Even more exotic mud systems are composed of basic cooking oil. Therefore, we sometimes drill with something similar to Crisco!

Drilling bits fall into two categories—the rotary bit and the drag bit. In my career, the biggest advancements in drilling have resulted from improvements in drilling bits. The first drilling bits were drag bits. Figure 3.18 is from an old oil-field journal advertisement for the first bits. They were called “fishtail bits” for obvious reasons. They are classified as drag bits because they drilled a hole in the ground by merely dragging the bottom of the hole. They did a good job but didn’t work well in harder formations such as the limestones encountered in the Seminole oil field of central Oklahoma.

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