Mud Training Curriculum 101 2014

2. WHAT IS THE PRIMARY JOB OF “MUDS”?

3. WHAT IS THE PRIMARY JOB OF “MUDS”?

4. Five Steps to a Successful Borehole
Soil
Identification
Drilling
Fluids
Bits
& Reamers
Planning
Volume
Successful
Borehole

5. Soil Identification
Reactive
(Fine Soils)
 Clay
 Shale
Non-Reactive
(Coarse Soils)
 Sand
 Gravel
 Cobble
 Rock

6. EVERY MIX SHOULD HAVE A
BASE MIX OF:
Soda Ash
Bentonite
Rel-Pac (insurance)

7.  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).

8. Do These Problems Sound
Familiar?

9. Do These Problems Sound
Familiar?

10. Do These Problems Sound
Familiar?

11. Do These Problems Sound
Familiar?

12.  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

13. Check Mix Water pH with pH Strips
If you aren’t checking the PH, how do you know how
much soda ash to put?

14.  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).

15. Venturi Pipe Ensures
Proper Shearing
Hopper Jet
Bentonite going into
hopper @ 200 mesh
(74 Microns)
Bentonite platelets (1/2 Micron)
mechanically separated by high
velocity fluid from jet hopper
Venturi Style Mixing Hopper

16. Typical Mixing System

17.  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 ground
Wet dirt will grip your pull back product and cause break offs

19. The Bentonite Of Choice:
• Hole Stabilizer
• Lubricant
• Has 4 extra
properties
than just
bentonite
alone

20. Functions of HYDRAUL-EZ Drilling Fluid
Cool 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

21. HYDRAUL-EZ Drilling Fluid Seals Borehole Sidewall
Bentonite Suspension
Hydrostatic
Pressure
Bentonite Particles
Bentonite Filter Cake Formed by
Clogging and Bridging
Soil
Grains

23.  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

24.  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

25. Marsh Funnel and Cup - Viscosity

26. Add A Sealer To EVERY Mix:
• Moisture
Inhibitor
• Greatly
reduces fluid
loss
• This cuts off
water to
surrounding
sand or gravel

27. Fluid Loss
 Coarse 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

28. Reducing Fluid Loss REL PAC
40 Viscosity
HYDRAUL-EZ fluid
40 Viscosity
HYDRAUL-EZ fluid
with REL PAC

30. Minimal Fluid Loss = Borehole Stability
Hydraul EZ & Rel-Pac:

31. 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

32.  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

33. 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

34. Clay & Water (Reactive Soils)
Mixing clay
with water
Clay will hydrate
causing sticking
and swelling
Polymer and
water
Polymer coats clay
particles and
delays hydration

36. CLAY CUTTER
 A 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

37. 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.

38. 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

40. SUSPEND-IT
DRILL-TERGE

41. Natural, Biodegradable Polymers
No 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

42. Detergent
Lubricates 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.

43. Prevents “Tool Balling”

44. Steps to a Successful Bore
Bits & Reamers
 No universal soils
 No universal drilling
fluids
 No universal bits &
reamers
 Match downhole
tooling to the soil type
Bits
Duckbill
Roller Cone
Geo-Head
Reamers
Barrel/Packer
Spiral/Fluted
Winged/Open
Roller Cone/Hole
Opener

45. Pilot Hole
 Use 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

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

47. Reamer Selection
 Reamer 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

48. 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

49. Reaming / Pullback
 Use 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.

50. Spiral or Fluted Reamer
 Versatile type of
reamer
 Used in sand, silty
soils, and rocks &
cobbles
 Avoid using spiral or
fluted reamers in clay

51. Winged or Open Reamer
 Used 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)

52. Preventing Frac-Outs
Frac-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

53. Frac-Outs and Bulging
Pavement
No space between formation and drill
pipe for drilling fluid to return
Reamers such as fluted and spiral ball up
with clay and restrict flow to exit side
Drilling fluid has nowhere else to
go but into the formation
Annular space is maintained through proper drilling
fluid 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

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

56. Damage Repair is Costly

57. Calculating Drilling Fluid Volumes
Volume of hole = Diameter2 ÷ 24.52 = gals/ft
Example: 8” backream and 200 ft bore
8x8=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 hole
Clays: 3-5 x volume of hole

58. Calculating Drilling Fluid Volumes
Estimating bore time based on pump capacity
Example: 200 ft bore x 8” hole; sandy soils
2.61 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.

59. HDD Pumping Volume Requirements
Hole 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

60. Let the Exit Flow Be Your Guide

61. 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

62. THANK
YOU