COVENANT UNIVERSITY

CANAAN LAND, OTA

PETROLEUM ENGINEERING LABORATORY

SAND CONTENTS OF DRILLING FLUIDS

BY

ANTOINE PIUS

DATE PERFORMED: 30-04-2022

DATE SUBMITTED: 03-05-2022

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 ABSTRACT

When drilling, the determination of the sand content of drilling mud is

necessary because these particles can be highly abrasive, and can cause
excessive wear of pump parts, drill bits, and pipe connections, so if the
drilling fluid has a large percentage of sand content it may result in the
deposition of a thick filter cake on the walls of the hole, or it may settle
in the hole around the tools when circulation is temporarily halted and it
can get your pipe stuck,interfering with the successful operation of
drilling tools or settling of casing. So it is better when the sand content in
the drilling fluid is not too high. In this experiment we’ll determine the
amount of sand content in the drilling fluid. The equipment that would
be used to determine this is the sand content kit.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................................................2

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................4

CHAPTER 2 THEORY...........................................................................................................................5

CHAPTER 3 EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS..................................................................................6

CHAPTER 4 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES.............................................................................10

CHAPTER 5 RESULTS........................................................................................................................12

CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION..................................................................................................................13

CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................14

REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................15

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
Drilling fluid is a critical component in the rotary drilling process. Its
primary functions are to remove the drilled cuttings from the borehole
whilst drilling, and to prevent fluids from flowing from the formations
being drilled, into the borehole. The main objective of drilling fluids is
the successful completion of oil & gas wells. Since it is such an integral
part of the drilling process many of the problems encountered during
the drilling of a well can be directly, or indirectly, attributed to the
drilling fluids. These fluids must therefore be carefully selected and/ or
designed to fulfill their role in the drilling process. The cost of the mud
can be as high as 10-15% of the total cost of the well. Although this may
seem expensive the consequences of not maintaining good mud
properties may result in drilling problems which will take a great deal of
time and cost to resolve. In view of the high cost of not maintaining
good mud properties an operating company will usually hire a service
company to provide a drilling fluid specialist (mud engineer) on the rig to
formulate, continuously monitor, and if necessary modify the mud. Just
as drilling fluids are integral to the bore well drilling process, additives
that are very much a part of their composition, have a unique role to
play. Most of these additives have distinct properties that specifically
help in countering specific challenges encountered during the drilling
process. They help in accomplishing the drilling work with efficiency and
precision. They also help in minimizing human hazards. The drilling fluid
must be selected or designed so that the physical and chemical
properties of the fluid allow these functions to be fulfilled. However,
when selecting the fluid, consideration must also be given to: The
environmental impact of using the fluid. The cost of the fluid. The impact
of the fluid on production from the pay zone. It’s necessary to know the
properties of drilling fluid, like the mud density, the rheological
properties, it’s filtration properties, the sand content which would be
determined in this experiment using the the sand content kit. It is
important to know how much sand is in the drilling fluid cause if it is too
high it can deposition of thick filter cakes in the hole and cause a stuck
pipe. The sand content kit contains a graduated tube, a funnel attached
to a part of cylindrical mesh, a wash bottle and a carriage.

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 CHAPTER 2

THEORY
The sand sized particles in drilling fluid defined as particles larger than
74 μm in size. The sand volume addition to void spaces between grains
usually measured as volume percentage. Because of reliability and test
simplicity of equipments the sieve analysis is preferred method for
determining the sand content (Pitt, 2000). Large amount of sand may
result in the thick wall filter cake deposition, or settle down at the
bottom of hole while circulation is stopped. Also, high sand content may
cause high abrasion of pump parts and pipe line connections. The Sand
Content Equipment has a developed sieve consist of a special mesh size
0.08 mm (200-Mesh), proper plastic funnel, and a special developed
measuring tube. The measuring tube has some marks that indicate the
amount of filled drilling fluid and water. Since the percentage of sand
can be read directly from the measuring tube from 0 – 20 % (Kate et al,
1998). The amount and type of solids in a drilling fluid are main source
to controlling rheological and filtration properties of a drilling mud. The
amount of each various types of solids is necessary to properly control
the sold particles (Kruse et al, 1975).

AIM OF THE EXPERIMENT

To determine the percentage volume of contained sand-sized particles

in the drilling fluid using the sand content kit.

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 CHAPTER 3

EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS

The various apparatus used in this experiment include:

1. The sand content kit: This is a simple, accurate and inexpensive sieve
analysis apparatus for determining the sand content of drilling muds
Sieve analysis is the preferred method for sand content determination
because of the reliability of the test and simplicity of equipment. The
volume of sand, including that of void spaces between grains, is usually
measured and expressed as a percentage by volume of the drilling fluid.
The sand content kit consists of a special 200-mesh sieve 2½ inches in
diameter, fastened inside a collar upon which a small funnel is fitted on
either end. This is used with a 10 ml glass measuring tube, graduated to
read from 0 to 20% the percentage sand by volume. The collar and
funnel are made of polyethylene and the screen is made of brass. A
500ml wash bottle and carrying case are included.

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2. Measuring Cylinder: The measuring cylinder is a piece of laboratory
equipment used to measure the volume of a liquid. In this experiment it
used in measuring 400ml of water.

3. Bentonite: a material composed of clay minerals commonly used in

drilling mud. Bentonite is used to lubricate, cool the cutting tools and
help to prevent corrosion and blowouts when used in drilling mud.
Much of bentonite's usefulness in the drilling and geotechnical
engineering industry comes from its unique rheological properties.
Relatively small quantities of bentonite suspended in water form a
viscous, shear-thinning material.

4. Barite: this material is an additive that serves as a weighting agent

when added to the mud. This helps to add density to the mud sample.
77% of barite worldwide is used as a weighting agent for drilling fluids in
oil and gas exploration to suppress high formation pressures and
prevent blowouts. As a well is drilled, the bit passes through various
formations, each with different characteristics. The deeper the hole, the
more barite is needed as a percentage of the total mud mix. An
additional benefit of barite is that it is non-magnetic and thus does not
interfere with magnetic measurements taken in the borehole, either

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during logging-while-drilling or in separate drill hole logging. Barite used
for drilling petroleum wells can be black, blue, brown or gray depending
on the ore body. The baryte is finely ground so that at least 97% of the
material, by weight, can pass through a 200-mesh (75- μm) screen, and
no more than 30%, by weight, can be less than 6 μm diameter. The
ground baryte also must be dense enough so that its specific gravity is
4.2 or greater, soft enough to not damage the bearings of a tricone drill
bit, chemically inert, and containing no more than 250 milligrams per
kilogram of soluble alkaline salts.

5. Stopwatch: It is used to measure the amount of time that elapses

between period of activation and deactivation.

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6. Electronic mud mixer: It is a device used to mix liquid with solid
particles. In the experiment it is used to mix water with bentonite and
barite to prepare the drilling mud.

7. Water: this is the solvent in which a solute (e.g. barite and bentonite)
is dissolved to form a solution. The solution being the mud in this
experiment.

8. Electronic balance: this is a device used to find accurate measurements of

weight in grams. In this experiment, the electronic balance is used to measure
the weight of the bentonite and barite needed to prepare the mud samples.
Electronic balances provide their readings digitally, making them an easy tool
to use.

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 CHAPTER 4

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Mud preparation
1. Place a clean and dry paper on the electronic balance and set to zero.
Then measure the quantity (in grams) of bentonite required to prepare
the mud sample.
2. Using the measuring cylinder, measure the volume of water required
to prepare the mud sample.
3. Pour the water into the steel (cup) vessels of the mud mixer. Then
plugin and switch on the mud mixer after the steel cup has been
properly attached.
4. As the mixer spins the water in the steel vessel, begin to add the
weighed bentonite in small quantities. This is to ensure that the mixing is
done thoroughly.
5. The mixer is left to mix for about 2-3 minutes after which the steel cup
is detached from the mud mixer.
6. Place the steel cup containing the recently mixed mud sample on the
table and use a spatula to check if there are any lumps in the mud.
7. Attach the steel cups back to the mixer if there are any lumps found,
to mix thoroughly. Then after another 2-3 minutes, check using the
spatula to see if there are no lumps in the mud sample.
8. If there are no lumps found in the mud, then pour the mud into the
mud balance.

LABORATORY PROCEDURES
1. Fill the rest of the graduated glass tube with clean water to the line
marked, “Water to Here”.

2. Place a thumb over the mouth of the glass tube and shake vigorously.

3. Pour the contents of the graduated glass tube onto the 200-mesh
sieve, tapping the side of the sieve to improve flow and discarding
everything that passes through the screen.

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4. Refill the graduated glass tube with clean water and repeat the
process until all residual solids have been removed from the glass tube.

5. Wash the sand particles trapped in the sieve under running water,
gently rubbing the sand particles with the tip of a finger to break up and
flush away any clay particles.

6. Place the funnel over the sieve and then place the tip of the funnel in
the mouth of the clean, empty graduated glass tube.

7. Use gentle running water on the reverse side of the sieve to flush all
the sand particles into the graduated glass tube without over-filling.

8. Allow time for the sand to settle at the bottom of the graduated glass
tube and record the sand content as a percentage of the mud volume;
along with the mud sampling location (e.g. flow line, active tank, etc.).

9. Wash the components of the sand content kit and leave to drain.

MAINTENANCE

Wash any sand or drilling mud from the screen,tube and funnel
thoroughly after each use. Dry all equipments. Take special care to clean
and dry the 200-mesh screen.

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 CHAPTER 5

RESULTS
In this experiment two mud samples were prepared and the percentage
of sand content in each sample was measured. The following are the
two mud samples to be measured

Sample A: Bentonite 1 + 400ml of Water

Sample B: Bentonite 2 + 400ml of Water

The table below shows the sand content percentage obtained for each
of the different mud samples prepared
SAMPLES PERCENTAGE %
Sample A 0.7
Sample B 0.5

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 CHAPTER 6

DISCUSSION

The sand content of the drilling fluid is measured using the sand content
kit. After the mud was prepared, in the graduated tube there’s a part
were you have water level and mud level, after preparation(freshly
mixed), the drlling mud was filled in mud level of the tube and water to
the water level of the tube, then it was shaken properly to make sure it
is was homogenously mixed. After that the sand grains were drained out
using the funnel and the the wash bottle to wash down the sand that
remained in the funnel, the grains were suspended on the mesh then
the graduated tube was used to read out the percentage of the sand.
The sand content percentage for the first sample was 0.7% while the
percentage for the second sample was 0.5%. Sample A had a higher sand
content percentage than that of sample B. Hence in drilling, Sample A
would be less efficient than that of sample b because drilling mud with
excess sand content can cause thick mud cakes to settle in the wellbore.

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 CHAPTER 7

CONCLUSION

This experiment can conclude that, a drilling mud may contain some
sand sized particles which they should remove if exceeded a specified
range. In the experiment conducted sample A was the volume
percentage of sand content of sample A was higher than thet of sample
b. Hence Sample B is more efficient for drilling than sample A. However,
the volume percentage of sand content is measured with a device
named Sand Content Kit.

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 REFERENCES

1. Kate, V.D. (1998): Drilling Fluids, Mud Pumps and Conditioning

Equipment.
2. Kruse, C.F. (1975): Lessons in Rotary Drilling, Unit II-Lesson 2 “Drilling
Mud”. 12th Edition. Published by Petroleum Extension Service Industrial
and Business Training Bureau Division of Extension, The University of
Texas.
3. M.J. Pitt. (2000): The Marsh Funnel and Drilling Fluid Viscosity: A New
Equation for Field Use. 15th ed. Leeds: Society of Petroleum Engineers.
4. PDSco Drilling Fluids & Additives. (2019). Testing Equipment | PDSco
Drilling Fluids & Additives. [online] Available at:
https://pdscoinc.com/field-testing-equipment/ [Accessed 17 Nov. 2019].

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