Reducing Drilling Mud Losses in Well Number 8 of Siahmakan Oil Field

Pezhvak Energy Engineering Services Company has introduced an effective solution for controlling drilling mud losses in the development wells of Siahmakan oil field.

Due to the proximity of high and low-pressure layers, Siahmakan is considered as a challenging field in terms of controlling drilling mud losses during drilling. Previously, drilling was done independently in the Asmari layer and then in the underlying layers, including Pabdeh, Gourpi, Ilam, and Sarvak. However, due to restrictions on drilling and controlling mud losses in the reservoir layer of Sarvak, there have always been many challenges in drilling this layer with conventional mud control materials. These challenges have not only posed operational risks and the possibility of damaging the reservoir layer but have also imposed significant financial and time costs on the project's budget and schedule due to unexpected delays.

As a leading company in the deployment of modern technologies in the drilling industry, Pezhvak Energy Engineering Services Company has recently introduced an effective solution for controlling drilling mud losses and drilling development wells in Siahmakan oil field. In this new endeavor, engineers at Pezhvak Energy Engineering Services Company succeeded in quickly and efficiently drilling and completing the Asmari, Pabdeh, Gourpi, and Ilam layers in a unified manner by using innovative preventive products and NIF (Non-Invasive Fluid) wall-forming materials produced by EuroPean Golden Material Company, which are compatible with cutting-edge global technology and are produced in collaboration with EMC AS Norway inside the country.

This was achieved by strengthening the wellbore walls and increasing the threshold for unbalanced pressure, resulting in significantly less time spent drilling than predicted.

This not only prevented drilling mud losses and high costs due to losing a large volume of drilling fluid but also reduced and eliminated problems caused by pressure differences in the drilling string, prevented shale layers from becoming active in the Pabdeh, Gourpi, and Ilam formations, and elimination of non-productive time resulting from cement plugging operations, and as a result, there has been a significant reduction in drilling costs, time, and operational risks, while minimizing damage to the reservoir layer of Sarvak.

According to this report, the drilling operation of the 8 3/8" hole in well number 8 of Siahmakan oil field was predicted to take about 23 days from a depth of 3,511 meters to a depth of 4,621 meters, covering a length of 1,110 meters, with a minimum amount of NIF (Febricoat / X-Tra Seal R) consumables and using optimal drilling optimization services in the shortest possible time and at the highest possible speed. However, by successfully using the aforementioned materials and services, the time was reduced to 13 days, and 3,822 barrels of drilling fluid losses were prevented. Therefore, by improving and optimizing the process of controlling drilling mud losses and drilling, many financial and time benefits have been achieved in this project.