SPE-178263-MS

Evaluation of the Cuttings Carrying Capacity of a Formulated

Synthetic-Based Drilling Mud
Anietie N. Okon, and Okorie E. Agwu, Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Uyo,
Uyo-AKS, Nigeria; Francis D. Udoh, Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Uyo,
Uyo-AKS, Nigeria, Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti,
Nigerian

Copyright 2015, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition held in Lagos, Nigeria, 4 6 August 2015.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
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not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
A synthetic-based drilling mud was formulated from derived ester using palm fruit pulp; with primarily
focus to evaluate its cuttings carrying potential. The formulated mud was tested for its rheological
properties and density. To evaluate its cuttings carrying capacity, the mud was flowed through cuttings
bed in a simulated wellbore using 2m (about 6.56ft) long PVC pipe with internal diameter of four inch
(4) inclined at an angle of fifteen degrees (15) to the horizontal. The results obtained from the flow loop
experiment indicate that the formulated mud has a good cuttings carrying capacity with 97% of cuttings
transported with hole cleaning potential at a flow rate of 140ft3/min; and the calculated cuttings carrying
index (CCI) was 1.35. The results further depict that an increase in the muds plastic viscosity, yield point
and density from 6cp, 10lb/100ft2 and 8.63lb/gal to 17cp, 13lb/100ft2 and 9.50lb/gal resulted in poor
cuttings carrying capacity and hole cleaning potential with less CCI value of 0.90. In addition, a sensitivity
study of the rheological properties of the formulated mud indicates that with a plastic viscosity (PV) value
of 17cp, an effective cuttings carrying capacity and hole cleaning potential was obtained at a flow rate of
180ft3/min. The sensitivity study further reveals that plastic viscosity is the predominant muds rheological property in evaluating the cuttings carrying index (CCI) of drilling fluid. Therefore, at considerable
plastic viscosity, yield point and mud density, the formulated synthetic-based mud exhibits a promising
cuttings carrying capacity and hole cleaning potential as a good drilling fluid in drilling operations.
Keywords: Synthetic-based mud Plastic viscosity Cuttings carrying index Hole cleaning potential.

Introduction
Oil well drilling exists in different stages during petroleum prospecting, be it in the exploratory phase:
exploratory well, production phase: producer well and injection phase: injector well. This is designed to
provide a conduit through which the hydrocarbon of interest can be produced. The process involves the
penetration of the earths crust to several thousands of feet to tap the accumulated hydrocarbons and bring
them to the surface of the earth. In the course of drilling, rock fragments technically referred to as drilled
cuttings are generated downhole which must be transported to the surface as the drilling operation

SPE-178263-MS

progresses. In rotary drilling, the drilling fluid has been the fluid saddled with the responsibility of
transporting the drilled cuttings to the surface and to keep the borehole clean. The inability of drilling fluid
to perform this function of cuttings removal/transportation from the wellbore to the surface could be very
detrimental to the success of the drilling operation as it may lead to costly stuck pipe incidents and
ineffective rate of penetration. Therefore, the effectiveness of drilling fluid to accomplish this function of
transporting cuttings to the surface depends largely on certain mud properties, annular fluid velocity, drill
cuttings size (shape, density and concentration), drillpipe rotary speed and annular size (drillpipe/hole
diameter ratio) (Yassin et al., 1989). In rotary drilling operation, both the drilling fluid and cuttings are
under turbulent flow in the well annulus to provide cutting removal. The situation is a complicated one,
owing to the fact that fluid velocity varies from zero at the wall to a maximum at the center of annulus.
Thus, on the basis of the extreme complexity of this flow behavior, drilling personnel have relied primarily
on observation and experience for determining the lifting ability of the drilling fluid. In practice, either the
drilling fluid flow rate or effective viscosity is increased if problems related to inefficient cuttings removal
are encountered (Petrowiki, 2014). However, this move has resulted in a natural tendency towards thick
muds and high annular velocities. Therefore, increasing the mud viscosity or flow rate can be detrimental
to the cleaning action beneath the bit and can cause a reduction in the penetration rate during drilling
operation. In addition to effective viscosity of the drilling mud, other mud properties including apparent
and plastic viscosity, yield point, among others and the mud type are important in evaluating the cutting
carrying index of the drilling fluid. The mud type categorized as oil based muds (OBMs)are advantageous
over their water based (WBMs) counterparts in the aspect of cuttings carrying capacity, but the
environmentally unfriendly and non-biodegradable nature of the OBMs make their use as circulating
fluids worrisome during drilling operations. Little wonder Adesina et al. (2013) opined that it is
imperative to promote and propagate the use of environmentally friendly drilling mud for drilling
operations. Accordingly, the modification of certain components of diesel oil-based muds led researchers
to the development of an environmentally friendly variant form of oil-based muds referred to as
synthetic-based muds (SBMs). So far, a lot of work has been done to evaluate the biodegradability and
suitability of synthetic-based mud as a substitute to oil-based mud during drilling operation. The purpose
of this paper therefore, is to evaluate the cuttings carrying index of a locally formulated synthetic-based
mud while still maintaining the desired characteristic of biodegradability.

Materials and Methods

Sample Preparation
The synthetic-based mud used in this work was formulated with palm-oil derived ester using about
100g (MUD-A) of palm fruit pulp to 350mL of water; for detailed derivation of the ester and mud
formulation see Udoh et al. (2012). The formulated MUD-A has no barite (BaSO4) and no soda ash
(Na2CO3) content. Drilling MUD-B was formulated with 5g barite (BaSO4) and 10g soda ash (Na2CO3)
content per 350mL mud.
Determination of Basic Mud Properties
The basic mud properties required in this study are the density and rheological properties of the
formulated synthetic-based mud. The mud rheological properties: plastic viscosity (PV) and yield point
(YP) are evaluated based on two data point approach from the viscometer (Fann V-G) dial readings
presented in Table 1. In addition, the formulated MUD-A and MUD-B viscometer dial reading () was
converted to shear stress () in lb/100ft2; as presented in Table 1 using equation 1:
(1)
Where:
Dial reading.

SPE-178263-MS

Table 1Viscometer Readings of the Formulated Muds

From the obtained shear stress in Table 1, the rheological regime of the formulated MUD-A and
MUD-B is presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1Rheological regime of the formulated mud

As earlier alluded to, the formulated mud plastic viscosity (PV) and yield point (YP) were evaluated
from 300 and 600 rpm (revolutions per minute) viscometer dial reading using the expanded equations 2
and 3; based on API Recommended practice of standard procedure for field testing drilling fluids
(Recommended Practice, 1988 in Mahto and Sharma, 2004). Therefore, the basic required mud properties
of the formulated synthetic-based mud are presented in Table 2.
(2)
(3)
Where:

SPE-178263-MS

Table 2Basic Properties of Formulated Synthetic-Based Muds

PV Plastic Viscosity
600 Dial reading at 600 revolutions per minute
300 Dial reading at 300 revolutions per minute
YP Yield Point
In addition, the flow behavior index (n) and consistency index (K) of the formulated MUD-A and
MUD-B are evaluated using equations 4 and 5.
(4)
(5)
Thus, the result of the computations for the PV, YP, n and K as well as the measured density of the
formulated mud is presented in Table 2.
Determination of Cuttings Carrying Index (CCI)
Flow loop description The flow loop experimental apparatus consists of a 2m long transparent PVC
pipe with internal diameter of 4 inches to represent a wellbore. The transparent nature of the pipe makes
it possible for the fluid flow visualization. The flow loop was supported by a structure that can be tilted
from horizontal to about an angle of fifteen degrees (15). A fluid (mud) tank holding about 100 litres of
the formulated synthetic mud (MUD-A) was connected to the PVC pipe through horse and mud pump
with a collector tank at the receiving end. Thus, the schematic diagram of the flow loop set-up is presented
in Figure 2.

Figure 2Schematic of flow loop used for the experiment

Test Procedure The flow loop experiment was set-up as presented in Figure 2. The test (transparent
PVC) pipe was filled with a determined volume of cuttings size ranging from 0.1 1.0mm in diameter
to about 50% of its internal pipe (hole) diameter, to form a bed of constant height along the test section.
The pump rate was initially kept at 10ft3/min and held constant for two (2) minutes to initiate flow in both
the simulated wellbore and the cuttings. Thereafter, the cuttings bed erosion was initiated with mud flow
rate of 50ft3/min and increased to 100ft3/min and allowed to flow for five (5) minutes; as the cuttings

SPE-178263-MS

removal flow pattern was observed. The mud pump was shut down and the obtained cuttings volume at
the collector tank was determined. Later on, the entire procedure was repeated but with cuttings bed
erosion initiated with 50ft3/min flow rate then increased to 140ft3/min. Afterwards, the cuttings carrying
capacity of MUD-B was performed, using the aforementioned experimental procedures.
The CCI of the formulated synthetic-based mud was reported as a percentage of the volume of cuttings
transported from the annulus after the specified flow time of five minutes. Thus, the experimental results
of the formulated muds CCI are presented in Table 3. In addition to the experimental CCI results,
equation 6 was used to calculate the CCI of the formulated synthetic mud. The calculated CCI result is
also presented in Tables 3 as well.
(6)
Where:
q Flow rate (ft3/min)
m Mud weight (lb/gal)
K Fluid consistency index.
D Internal diameter of the pipe (inches)

Table 3Experimental and Calculated CCI of the Formulated Synthetic Mud

Flowing from the obtained CCI results, thus, the yardstick for evaluating the hole cleaning potential of
the formulated synthetic mud is depicted in Table 4.

Table 4 Criteria for assessing hole cleaning [Coleman, (online).www.drillingformulas.com]

Sensitivity Analysis
Sensitivity analysis is an analysis that finds out how sensitive an output is to any change in an input
while keeping other inputs constant (Jan, 2013). In this study, sensitivity analysis of the formulated
synthetic muds CCI at different flow rate and plastic viscosity was performed based on equations 4
through 6. This sensitivity study was performed bearing in mind the plastic viscosity values of MUD-A
and MUD-B. The result of the sensitivity study is presented in Table 5 and Figure 3.

SPE-178263-MS

Table 5Effect of Viscosity on Cuttings Carrying Index (CCI)

Figure 3Effect of plastic viscosity on cuttings carrying index (CCI)

In addition to the plastic viscosity studies, the effect of yield point (YP) and mud weight (MW) on the
cuttings carrying index (CCI) of the formulated synthetic-based mud were examined and presented in
Table 6. Additionally, Figure 4 depicts the three dimensional representation of the effect PV, YP and MW
on the formulated synthetic-based mud cuttings carrying index (CCI).

SPE-178263-MS

Table 6 Effect of PV, YP and MW on Cuttings Carrying Index (CCI)

Figure 4 Effect of PV, YP and MW on Cuttings Carrying Index (CCI)

Discussion of Results
Rheology of the Formulated Mud
The rheological regime of the formulated synthetic-based mud as presented in Figure 1 shows that the
formulated mud exhibits a pseudo-plastic behavior, which is a typical characteristic of drilling fluid used
in drilling operations. From the results as presented in Table 2 indicates that the mud density and
rheological properties: plastic viscosity (PV) and yield point (YP) of the formulated mud can be
beneficiated with barite and soda ash content as observed in increased mud density from 8.63lb/gal to
9.50lb/gal and increased plastic viscosity (PV) and yield point (YP) from 6.0cp to 17cp and 10lb/100ft2
to 13lb/100ft2 respectively. The obtained PV and YP results indicate that there is tendency to overcome
the static flow resistance (yield point) of the formulated synthetic mud with less pump power.
Formulated Mud Hole Cleaning Potential
In the literature, the cuttings carrying potential of drilling mud is contingent upon the cuttings and other
factors. The cuttings parameter include: cuttings size, shape, density and concentration, whilst the other
factors are flow rate, annular velocity, mud properties, penetration rate, among others. To assess the hole
cleaning potential of the formulated synthetic mud, both the experimental cuttings carrying capacity and
calculated CCI were used as the yardstick. The obtained results are compared with the CCI hole cleaning
ranges presented in Table 4. Therefore, the formulated synthetic-based mud (MUD-A) indicates (as
presented in Table 3) that at flow rate of 100ft3/min, the experimental cuttings carrying capacity of the
mud was 0.62 (representing 62% of cuttings transported) and calculated cuttings carrying index (CCI) of
0.96. This indicates inadequate hole cleaning as the CCI value was less than one (1). Interestingly, at flow

SPE-178263-MS

rate of 140ft3/min, the mud (MUD-A) results in experimental cuttings carrying capacity of 0.97 (showing
97% of cuttings transported) and calculated cuttings carrying index (CCI) of 1.35; which is an indication
of good hole cleaning. These results depict that flow rate is essential in cuttings carrying capacity and hole
cleaning potential of drilling mud during drilling operation. Additionally, the formulated MUD-B showed
an experimental cuttings carrying capacity of 0.45 (showing 45% of cuttings transported) and calculated
cuttings carrying index (CCI) of 0.64 at flow rate of 100ft3/min. Furthermore, at flow rate of 140ft3/min,
the experiment cuttings carrying capacity was 0.70 (showing 70% of cuttings transported) and calculated
carrying index of (CCI) of 0.90. These results indicate that the cuttings carrying capacity and hole cleaning
potential of MUD-B at both flow rates (i.e., 100ft3/min and 140ft3/min) were inadequate, as indicated in
the CCI values. A comparison of the two formulated muds: MUD-A and MUD-B experimental cuttings
carrying capacities and calculated cuttings carrying indexes indicate that MUD-A resulted in better
cuttings carrying capacity and hole cleaning potential at flow rate of 140ft3/min, as indicated in its CCI
value of 1.35 compared to MUD-Bs CCI value of 0.90. Consequently, this cuttings carrying and hole
cleaning potential of MUD-A is attributed to its low plastic viscosity (6cp) and low mud density
(8.63lb/gal) compared to MUD-Bs plastic viscosity of 17cp and density of 9.50lb/gal. The observed
results could be owing to the fact that there was much pressure loss to overcome the flow resistance and
mud weight of MUD-B than in MUD-A.
Cuttings Carrying Index Sensitivity Studies
Effect of Mud Flow Rate and Plastic Viscosity on CCI As earlier mentioned, the CCI sensitivity
study of the formulated synthetic-based mud at various flow rate and plastic viscosity was performed
based on expanded equations 4 through 6. From Table 5 and Figure 3, it is observed that between flow
rate of 110ft3/min through 180ft3/min, an effective cuttings carrying capacity that resulted in proper hole
cleaning was better achieved with 6cp plastic viscosity mud; as indicated in the CCI values. On the other
hand, the CCI results of the 17cp and 24cp plastic viscosity mud at flow rate range of 110ft3/min
160ft3/min indicate an insufficient hole cleaning owing to their plastic viscosities value; as it makes the
mud unsusceptible to turbulent flow. But then, at flow rate of 180ft3/min the 17cp and 24cp plastic
viscosity mud exhibits adequate hole cleaning potential, based on their CCI values. In a nutshell, it is
noted that with a plastic viscosity of 6cp, the formulated synthetic-based mud resulted in effective cuttings
carrying capacity and hole cleaning potential compared to plastic viscosities of 17cp and 24cp respectively. This result is predicated on the fact that at low plastic viscosities, the drilling mud is susceptible
to change from laminar to turbulent flow which would result in efficient cuttings carrying capacity.
Furthermore, the sensitivity study reveals that, despite the MUD-B resulted in inadequate hole cleaning
potential at flow rate of 100ft3/min 140ft3/min; as presented in Table 3, at flow rate of 180ft3/min
MUD-B resulted in promising hole cleaning potential; based on the obtained CCI value.
Effect of Plastic Viscosity, Yield Point and Mud Weight on CCI The sensitivity evaluation of the
plastic viscosity (PV), yield point (YP) and mud weight effect on the CCI of the formulated synthetic mud
as presented in Figure 4 and Table 6 indicate that, as the yield point-plastic viscosity (YP-PV) ratio
increases, a better CCI value is obtained. This is as a result of the flow profile flattening out and then the
muds CCI increases resulting in adequate hole cleaning capacity; as observed in the case of 6cp plastic
viscosity mud (MUD-A) with YP-PV ratio of 1.67 compared to 17cp plastic viscosity mud (MUD-B) and
24cp plastic viscosity mud of 0.77 and 0.58 respectively. Mention is also made to the fact that, the mud
weight of the formulated synthetic mud affects the obtained CCI value; as more pump power or flow rate
is required to overcome the high mud weight to have sufficient CCI value that will result in adequate hole
cleaning potential. This assertion is noted in Table 6. Therefore, the plastic viscosity, yield point and mud
weight of the formulated synthetic-based mud are considerable factors to reckon with in its cuttings
carrying capacity and hole cleaning potential as a drilling mud for drilling operations.

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Conclusion
As stricter environmental laws are put in place worldwide in the oil and gas industry for the use of
oil-based mud (OBM), intensified efforts in drilling mud technology to replace the OBMs is ongoing. This
led to the evaluation of the cuttings carrying capacity of a formulated synthetic-based drilling mud from
derived ester using palm fruit pulp. Based on the results of the flow loop experiment performed on cuttings
bed in a simulated wellbore to evaluate the cuttings carrying capacity and hole cleaning potential of the
formulated synthetic-based mud, the following conclusions are drawn:
1. The formulated synthetic-based mud with mud weight, plastic viscosity and yield point of
8.63lb/gal, 6cp and 10lb/100ft2 respectively has a better cuttings carrying capacity and hole
cleaning potential at a flow rate of 140ft3/min.
2. Increase in the plastic viscosity, yield point and mud density of the formulated synthetic-based
mud requires more pump power; flow rate of 180ft3/min to achieve adequate cuttings carrying
capacity and hole cleaning potentials.
3. The plastic viscosity of the mud was observed to be the most critical rheological parameter in the
evaluation of the cuttings carrying capacity and hole cleaning potential of the formulated
synthetic-based drilling mud during drilling operations.

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