- Industry: Oil & gas
- Number of terms: 8814
- Number of blossaries: 0
- Company Profile:
A dispersion of oil droplets into an aqueous medium. This describes an emulsion mud, as contrasted with an invert-emulsion mud. The term should not be used to refer to synthetic-in-water emulsion because a synthetic fluid is not a true oil.
Industry:Oil & gas
A dilution process which involves selective dumping of the active system (such as sand traps and "bottoms up" mud) and replacement of the lost volume with fresh mud. This process has proved economical with inhibitive water-base systems and is the only method that actually removes colloidal size particles.
Industry:Oil & gas
A device used to grip the drillstring in a relatively nondamaging manner and suspend it in the rotary table. This device consists of three or more steel wedges that are hinged together, forming a near circle around the drillpipe. On the drillpipe side (inside surface), the slips are fitted with replaceable, hardened tool steel teeth that embed slightly into the side of the pipe. The outsides of the slips are tapered to match the taper of the rotary table. After the rig crew places the slips around the drillpipe and in the rotary, the driller slowly lowers the drillstring. As the teeth on the inside of the slips grip the pipe, the slips are pulled down. This downward force pulls the outer wedges down, providing a compressive force inward on the drillpipe and effectively locking everything together. Then the rig crew can unscrew the upper portion of the drillstring (kelly, saver sub, a joint or stand of pipe) while the lower part is suspended. After some other component is screwed onto the lower part of the drillstring, the driller raises the drillstring to unlock the gripping action of the slips, and the rig crew removes the slips from the rotary.
Industry:Oil & gas
A device to measure density (weight) of mud, cement or other liquid or slurry. A mud balance consists of a fixed-volume mud cup with a lid on one end of a graduated beam and a counterweight on the other end. A slider-weight can be moved along the beam, and a bubble indicates when the beam is level. Density is read at the point where the slider-weight sits on the beam at level. Accuracy of mud weight should be within +/- 0. 1 lbm/gal (+/- 0. 01 g/cm<sup>3</sup>). A mud balance can calibrated with water or other liquid of known density by adjusting the counter weight. Most balances are not pressurized, but a pressurized mud balance operates in the same manner.
Industry:Oil & gas
A device to measure density (weight) of a mud, cement or other liquid or slurry under sufficient pressure that the effect of gas bubbles in the liquid is eliminated. The balance consists of a fixed-volume mud cup on one end of a graduated beam and a counterweight on the other end. The beam has a knife-edge as a balance point and a bubble to show when it is level. The mud cup has a screw-on, sealed cap with a valve in the cap to allow connection of a small piston-type hand pump. Operation of the pressurized balance is identical to an ordinary mud balance after pressurization.
Industry:Oil & gas
A device that turns the drillstring. It consists of one or more motors (electric or hydraulic) connected with appropriate gearing to a short section of pipe called a quill, that in turn may be screwed into a saver sub or the drillstring itself. The topdrive is suspended from the hook, so the rotary mechanism is free to travel up and down the derrick. This is radically different from the more conventional rotary table and kelly method of turning the drillstring because it enables drilling to be done with three joint stands instead of single joints of pipe. It also enables the driller to quickly engage the pumps or the rotary while tripping pipe, which cannot be done easily with the kelly system. While not a panacea, modern topdrives are a major improvement to drilling rig technology and are a large contributor to the ability to drill more difficult extended-reach wellbores. In addition, the topdrive enables drillers to minimize both frequency and cost per incident of stuck pipe.
Industry:Oil & gas
A device that removes air or gases (methane, H<sub>2</sub>S, CO<sub>2</sub> and others) from drilling liquids. There are two generic types that work by both expanding the size of the gas bubbles entrained in the mud (by pulling a vacuum on the mud) and by increasing the surface area available to the mud so that bubbles escape (through the use of various cascading baffle plates). If the gas content in the mud is high, a mud gas separator or "poor boy degasser" is used, because it has a higher capacity than standard degassers and routes the evolved gases away from the rig to a flaring area complete with an ignition source.
Industry:Oil & gas
A device that can be used to quickly seal the top of the well in the event of a well control event (kick). A ram blowout preventer (BOP) consists of two halves of a cover for the well that are split down the middle. Large-diameter hydraulic cylinders, normally retracted, force the two halves of the cover together in the middle to seal the wellbore. These covers are constructed of steel for strength and fitted with elastomer components on the sealing surfaces. The halves of the covers, formally called ram blocks, are available in a variety of configurations. In some designs, they are flat at the mating surfaces to enable them to seal over an open wellbore. Other designs have a circular cutout in the middle that corresponds to the diameter of the pipe in the hole to seal the well when pipe is in the hole. These pipe rams effectively seal a limited range of pipe diameters. Variable-bore rams are designed to seal a wider range of pipe diameters, albeit at a sacrifice of other design criteria, notably element life and hang-off weight. Still other ram blocks are fitted with a tool steel-cutting surface to enable the ram BOPs to completely shear through drillpipe, hang the drillstring off on the ram blocks themselves and seal the wellbore. Obviously, such an action limits future options and is employed only as a last resort to regain pressure control of the wellbore. The various ram blocks can be changed in the ram preventers, enabling the well team to optimize BOP configuration for the particular hole section or operation in progress.
Industry:Oil & gas
A device that can be run into a wellbore with a smaller initial outside diameter that then expands externally to seal the wellbore. Packers employ flexible, elastomeric elements that expand. The two most common forms are the production or test packer and the inflatable packer. The expansion of the former may be accomplished by squeezing the elastomeric elements (somewhat doughnut shaped) between two plates, forcing the sides to bulge outward. The expansion of the latter is accomplished by pumping a fluid into a bladder, in much the same fashion as a balloon, but having more robust construction. Production or test packers may be set in cased holes and inflatable packers are used in open or cased holes. They may be run on wireline, pipe or coiled tubing. Some packers are designed to be removable, while others are permanent. Permanent packers are constructed of materials that are easy to drill or mill out.
Industry:Oil & gas
