Abstract
This chapter focuses on various types of drilling fluids, water-based muds, oil-based drilling fluids, and inverted emulsion drilling muds. Drilling fluids are divided into two general types: water-based drilling muds (WBMs) and oil-based drilling muds (OBMs), depending upon the character of the continuous phase of the mud. Water-based muds have water as the continuous phase. Water may contain several dissolved substances. These include alkalies, salt sand surfactants, organic polymers in colloidal state, droplets of emulsified oil, and various insoluble substances, such as barite, clay and cuttings in suspension. Oil-based drilling fluids have oil as the continuous phase. The oils most often selected are diesel oil, mineral oil, and low-toxicity mineral oil. Because some water will always be present, the OBM must contain water-emulsifying agents. Due to their continuous phase, OBMs are known to provide unequaled performance attributes with respect to the rate of penetration, shale inhibition, well-bore stability, high lubricity, high thermal stability, and high salt tolerance. Inverted emulsion muds are used in about 50% of all drilling jobs. Historically, first crude oils, then diesel oils and mineral oils, have been used in formulating invert drilling fluids.
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