Abstract
Drilling mud is used in drilling operations to ensure well stability and to transport the cut-offs to
 the surface and is generally classified as; Spud, Lignosulfonate and Polymer types. Spud Mud is
 the simple mud and mostly used at the beginning of drilling operations. It is mainly composed of
 bentonite and water. With increasing depth, It is hard to keep well stability and to carry cuttings
 from the bottom of hole to the surface with the basic drilling fluid. Thus, some materials are used
 to maintain the rheological and filtration properties of the mud. One of them is vermiculite that is
 a general name of the hydrated ferromagnesian aluminium silicate group. It has expanded
 properties when heated. Like all clay minerals, the cation exchange capacity is very high and very
 similar to the montmorillonites in terms of high cation exchange capacity. In this study, the usage
 of vermiculite as an additive material in drilling muds was investigated. Spud muds containing
 vermiculite in different amounts were prepared. Then rheological and filtration analysis of the
 muds were done according to American Petroleum Institute (API) RP-13B-1 Standard. When
 evaluated the results, AV reached 41cP, PV 27cP, YP 28lb/100ft2
 , 10 sec. gel strength
 17lb/100ft2
 , 10 min. gel strength 26 lb/100ft2
 and filtration 9cc. The results showed that the
 vermiculite can might be used as a viscosifier and fluid loss reducing additive material in the
 drilling mud. 
Highlights
Water-based Spud mud is among the mainly drilling fluids
The results showed that the vermiculite can might be used as a viscosifier and fluid loss reducing additive material in the drilling mud
Particle size of the vermiculite was found between 0.35mm and 1mm, so it was named as super fine vermiculite (Fig. 2)
Summary
Water-based Spud mud is among the mainly drilling fluids. it’s mostly important for drilling operations. In order to improve rheological properties of drilling mud, different additive, chemicals and polymers are used. These are generally CMC, PAC, XCD, Modified Starch and clay minerals as viscosifier and fluid loss reducer additive material (Dyke, 2000). Vermiculite is a general name of the hydrated ferromagnesian aluminium silicate group. It shows similar properties with mica group minerals. The layer structure is 2:1 and there are four type. Samples containing vermiculite in different concentrations (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6 % w/v) were prepared Rheological properties such as apparent viscosity (AV), plastic viscosity (PV), yield point (YP), sec.
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