Development of an expert system for selection of drilling fluids and solids control equipment

Abstract

Proper drilling fluids and a good solids control program, hold the keys to a successful drilling operation. In most of the cases the spudding of a well can be done using native water or very lightly treated bentonite muds. However, as the depth increases and the lithologies change, drilling fluid design becomes critically important. At this stage, any poorly designed fluid can lead to complications like hole washouts, stuck pipes, high torque and drag and in worst cases the well may have to be abandoned. These effects will be further magnified if the unwanted drilled solids entering the drilling fluid are not removed efficiently. Thus, considering both the effects, it is important to select the right kind of fluid and maintain the designed properties by choosing a proper solids control equipment.

An expert system is a rule based tool that can be successfully employed to provide solutions to such problems where a large number of variables are involved and more than one solution exist. Since finding out the best option for drilling fluids and solids control equipment on the rig involves a lot of factors, such a problem can be successfully handled by an expert system.

In this study a user friendly expert system, ©FLUIDSOL was developed. It is capable of providing solutions to problems related to selection of drilling fluids and solids control equipment. ©FLUIDSOL is capable of carrying out a detailed drilling fluid design and selection for situations prevailing in the field, and can also help in selection of solids control equipment for weighted or unweighted mud systems. Apart from this, its mathematical modules allow the user to carry out fluid related calculations with great ease and convenience. The database section permits the user to access the drilling fluid practices prevalent in several states in U.S and also allows him to append or edit the existing data. Lastly, ©FLUIDSOL permits the user to enter any relevant experience for future reference by other users.

The following are the major contributions of this work:

1. Development of a user friendly expert system called ©FLUIDSOL, that can be used by mud engineers at the drilling site.

2. ©FLUIDSOL provides ways to select or design drilling fluids as well as solids control equipment.