Ronald G. Bland

Trapped Annular Pressure Mitigation - A Spacer Fluid that Shrinks

Chevrons new approach to reducing trapped annular pressure uses a water-based spacer fluid that shrinks by 20%, creating room for thermal expansion.

Full-Scale Laboratory Study of the Impact of Drilling Fluid Composition and Properties on Penetration Rates in Brazilian Pre-Salt Carbonates

Massive hydrocarbon reserves exist in the pre-salt carbonate formations in deepwater offshore Brazil. Very low penetration rates, around 2 m/hr, and very high rig costs provide a strong incentive to improve drilling performance here. The work for this paper forms part of a project combining application engineering and laboratory studies to meet this objective. Full-scale laboratory drilling tests were used to benchmark the drilling performance of the drilling system preferred at the start of the project and to investigate the performance potential of new bit designs and different drilling fluids. This paper describes the drilling fluid tests, presents and analyses their results, and draws conclusions on drilling fluid formulation for high penetration rate performance in pre-salt carbonates.