
In the
oil drilling
An oil well is a drillhole boring (earth), boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produ ...
industry, effective
solids control can be attributed to the overall performance of all the components of the mud systems. Conditioning the
drilling fluid
In geotechnical engineering, drilling fluid, also known as drilling mud, is used to aid the drilling of boreholes into the earth. Used while drilling oil and natural gas wells and on exploration drilling rigs, drilling fluids are also use ...
with the goal of dramatically lowering maintenance cost, avoiding excessive chemical treatment and maintaining mud systems volume will decrease the chance of equipment failure, unnecessary high mud costs, hole and drilling problems.
In the early oil industry open earthen pits were used as settling area to separate solids and mud thereby acting as a solids control equipment. Now, with the stringent environmental regulations and high mud costs, the economics of an effective mud system come into consideration. Differen
solids controlcompanies introduce zero-discharge systems, closed-loop systems
technology, screening technology, disposal options etc.
Sections of surface mud systems
#''Removal Section.'' Separation of undesirable drilled solids and even gas occurs in this section.
#''Addition Section.'' Commercial chemicals are being added and agitated to control and condition the mud.
#''Suction and Testing Section.'' This is the last part of the mud systems wherein the evaluation and testing procedures are conducted before re-circulating the fluid to downhole.
Major components
*
Mud gas separator
*
Shale shakers
Shale shakers are components of drilling equipment used in many industries, such as coal cleaning, mining, oil and gas drilling.They are the first phase of a solids control system on a drilling rig, and are used to remove large solids (Drill cutt ...
* Sand Trap
*
Desander
*
Desilter
*
Degasser
A degasser is a device used in the upstream oil industry to remove dissolved and entrained gases from a liquid. In drilling it is used to remove gasses from drilling fluid which could otherwise form bubbles. In a produced water treatment plant i ...
*
Mud cleaner
*
Decanting centrifuge
*
Mud agitator A mud agitator is used in surface mud systems to suspend solids and maintain homogeneous mixture throughout the system. A mechanical agitator is driven by an explosion-proof motor, coupled to a gear box that drives the impeller
An impeller, or i ...
*
Tanks/Compartments
* Mud Guns
* Mixing Hopper
*
Centrifugal Pumps
*
Mud Pumps
*Others:
:
Screw Conveyor
A screw conveyor or auger conveyor is a mechanism that uses a rotating helical screw (simple machine), screw blade, called a "''flighting''", usually within a tube, to move liquid or granular materials. They are used in many bulk handling in ...
:
Mud Ditch
:Trip Tank
:
Water Tanks
A water tank is a container for storing water, for many applications, drinking water, irrigation, fire suppression, farming, both for plants and livestock, chemical manufacturing, food preparation as well as many other uses. Water tank paramete ...
:
Atmospheric Degasser
:
Cutting Driers
[Mud Equipment Manual ]
Notes
Manufacturers
Tri-Flo International–
NRG Manufacturing–
Task Environmental Services Worldwide BV–
Drilling Fluid Equipment–
OGEM Equipment–
FP Marangoni–
ITE GmbH–
NGM–
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mud Systems
Drilling technology