Application of Water Based Drilling Fluid Management

Method for efficiently recycling water based drilling fluids has been developed. This recycling is conducted in a way beneficial both for the drilling fluid supplier and the operator. Contaminated fluid (slop) is brought back onshore for treatment and reusable fluids from the slop treatment are brought back into the drilling fluids.

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Evaluate the Formation-Damage Potential of Drilling Fluids

Solids and the liquid phases of drilling muds invade and interact with reservoir formations. This invasion and interaction changes formation permeability and can prevent fluid flow from the reservoir into the wellbore. Damage caused by mud spurt and drilling-mud filtrate can influence log response. The full-length paper describes a novel method to determine the formationdamage potential of drilling muds by evaluating the erosional characteristics of mudcakes formed by different mud systems.

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Waste Recycle And Disposal Guidelines

Class 1 waste is any material that, because of its concentration or physicochemical characteristics, is considered “toxic, corrosive, flammable, a strong sensitizer or irritant, a generator of sudden pressure by decomposition, heat or other means, or may pose a substantial present or potential danger to human health or the environment when improperly processed, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed,” as further defined in 30 TAC 335.505 [Texas Administrative Code].

Class 2 waste is any material that cannot be described as hazardous, as class 1, or as class 3.

Class 3 wastes are inert and essentially insoluble materials, usually including, but not limited to, “materials such as rock, brick, glass, dirt and certain plastics and rubber, etc., that are not readily decomposable.”

Table 2.4
Waste Recycle/Disposal Guidelines

M Recycle / Disposal Class
Acids (undiluted) Disposal Haz
Acids (spent, except hydrofluoric acid) Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
Barite, finished or crude Recycle
Bentonite clays and test fluids Recycle
Biocides Disposal per MSDS 1, 2, or Haz
Bleach Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
Brines, high-density, new Reclycle
Brines, high-density, used Disposal 2
Brine/oil mixtures (emulsion testing, etc.) Disposal 1
Broken glass Disposal 2
Buffer solution Dilute and dispose of down sink drain 2
Calcium carbonate Disposal 2
Calcium chloride (solid) Disposal 2
Calcium chloride (solution) Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
Chemical spill kits Disposal per kit directions 1, 2, or Haz
Cleaning service rags Disposal 2
Freshwater test fluids Recycle
Corrosion inhibitors Corrosion inhibitors 1, 2, or Haz
Culture waste (filter media, gravel, etc.) Disposal 2
Cuttings, neat Disposal 2
Cuttings, with oil Disposal 1
Empty containers, hazardous Disposal 1
Empty containers,nonhazardous Disposal 2
Enzyme solutions Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
Filter cake, disks, and paper w/chrome-free mud Recycle
Field product samples Disposal 1, 2, or Haz
Filter cake, disks, and paper w/chrome-containing mud Disposal Haz
Freshwater test fluids Recycle
Hydrofluoric acid (handle with extreme care) Disposal Haz
Hydrogen peroxide Disposal 2
Hydroxy ethyl cellulose Disposal 2
Lignosulfonate and lignite product test muds Disposal
Mercury thermometers Disposal haz
Well-cleaning chemicals Disposal per MSDS 1, 2, or Haz
Mud additives Disposal per MSDS 1, 2, or Haz
Emulsifiers
Fluid loss control
Lignosulfonates
Lubricants
Shale inhibitors
Shale stabilizers
Surfactants
Wetting agents
Mud filtrates, oil-based/synthetic-based mud Disposal 1
Mud filtrates, water-based mud Recycle
Oil, with non-OBM constituents Disposal 1
Oil, with OBM constituents required for OBM conditioning Recycle
Oil, mixed with hazardous wastes Disposal 2
Oil-based/synthetic-based mud and wash chemicals Disposal 1
Organic peroxides Disposal 2
Paper towels used to clean up brines and muds Disposal 2
Persulfates Disposal Haz
pH Buffers Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
pH test solution residuals Return to original container
Polymer slurries, mineral oil or other carrier Disposal 1
Polymers, dry Disposal 2
Potassium hydroxide (solid) Disposal Haz
Potassium hydroxide (solution) Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
Retort cooked solids (chrome-containing mud) Disposal Haz
Retort cooked solids (chrome-free mud) Disposal 2
Salt gel/attapulgite Disposal 2
Silver nitrate solution Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
Sodium carbonate (solid) Disposal Haz
Sodium carbonate (solution) Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
Sodium hydroxide (solid) Disposal Haz
Sodium hydroxide (solution) Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
Solvents, chlorinated Disposal Haz
Solvents, nonchlorinated Disposal Haz
Titration residue Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
Titration solution residue Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
Wash water, laboratory equipment and general Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
WBM spent titrations Dilute and dispose of down sink drain
WBM (Cl<20,000 ppm and oil <3%) Recycle
WBM (Cl >20,000 ppm or oil>3%) Disposal 1
WBM, chrome-free saltwater Disposal
WBM, chrome-containing Disposal
WBM, all others Disposal

OBM=oil-based mud; WBM=water-based mud; MSDS=Material Safety Data Sheet