BAKER HUGHES - Drilling Fluids Reference Manual

TABLE OF CONTENTS
AQUEOUS SYSTEMS AND ADDITIVES
Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids is constantly striving to develop water based fluids capable of
replacing invert emulsion fluids for application on deep water drilling operations. Recent
developments include a calcium chloride based system, CLAY-TROL®, a clay inhibitor additive
and PERFORMAX, a new high performance water based drilling fluid. Additionally, Baker
Hughes Drilling Fluids is the leader in glycol technology, being the first to introduce a deepwater
system in 1991 - AQUA-DRILL - based on cloud-point glycol technology. A short discussion on
various aqueous systems and products which have proven suitable for deepwater operations
follows. Further information on these products and systems is available elsewhere in this manual.
AQUA-DRILL is a cloud-point glycol system which slows or prevents pore pressure transmission
in its clouded state and enhances cuttings integrity while in solution. These characteristics are known
to benefit wellbore stability and enhance SRE, major assets of a non-aqueous fluid. The ability to run
salt - NaCl or KCl - in this system addresses both added inhibition and gas hydrate suppression needs.
PERFORMAX is Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids new 3 rd generation high-performance water-base
drilling fluid that is designed to emulate performance characteristics previously achieved only with
emulsion based drilling fluids. These attributes include shale inhibition (reduced pore pressure
transmission), cuttings integrity, high rates-of-penetration, and reduced torque and drag. Two features
of PERFORMAX that contribute to wellbore stability are: ultra-fine, deformable sealing polymer
particles in MAX-SHIELD (diameter: ~ 0.2 µm) mechanically seal shale micro-fractures, which
physically block further intrusion of drilling fluid filtrate into the shale matrix; the resin and
aluminum complexes in MAX-PLEX, in combination with MAX-SHIELD, can produce a
semi-permeable membrane at the shale surface and chemically improve the osmotic efficiency, and
reduce pressure transmission into shales. Pore pressure transmission tests clearly show that MAX-
SHIELD effectively works in combination with MAX-PLEX to achieve pore pressure
transmission characteristics previously achieved only with emulsion-based drilling fluids (oil-based
or synthetic-based).
BAKER HUGHES DRILLING FLUIDS
REFERENCE MANUAL
REVISION 2006 13-6