Drilling Fluids and Cement - Drilling Mud Control in the Southwest Louisiana Coastal Area

Since March. 1945, the Magnolia Petroleum CO. has drilled 39 wells in Southwest Coastal Louisiana. All wells were drilled within a comparatively small radius, but the area provides a large variety of problems. The deepest well drilled was 13,518 ft, and the total depth averaged 10,977 ft. Throughout this period drilling mud control and types of mud handled were: (I) phosphate, (2) red lime (late conversion), (3) red lime starch (early conversion), (4) red lime starch oil emulsion, (5) precision controlled low alkalinity-low lime content. and (6) gel muds for completion purposes. Improvement has been obtained in effecting some or all of the following: (I) more rapid penetration, (2) reduction in drilling hazards, (3) better evaluation of cores and logs, and (4) better completions. The geological sequence of zones penetrated range from recent sediments at the grass roots through the Frio section. Anticipation of high-pressure zones and incompetent formations entails precision control of drilling mud weights, and the unconsolidated nature of the various zones requires constant attention to the filtrate, viscosity, and gel strength values. In the Chalkley field, particularly, this combination of problems exists, where the formation pressures and overburden weight density values are in very close proximity. Design of casing and drilling mud programs must be modified to fit each well. INTRODUCTION Field and research work on drilling fluids has made constant progress, enabling operators to prospect progressively deeper horizons. Numerous papers have been written on the theoretical aspects of drilling fluid devel- opment, but in the field engineers have found it difficult to evaluate the role of specific mud constitutents when dealing in terms of thousand barrel mud systems. For that reason field data is somewhat lagging in technical report writing. However, applications of new techniques in the field have usually paralleled, and in numerous instances preceded, research work. The information obtained by Magnolia Petroleum Co. in the course of drilling 39 wells within a comparatively small area in Southwest Coastal Louisiana provides an excellent opportunity of reviewing a specific example of drilling mud evolution. A large variety of problems has been coped with, the most important result being that every well was successfully drilled to its projected total depth. The discussion begins with the advent of deep drilling in this area in March, 1945, and is concluded with a resume of recent drilling operations in the Chalkley field. The primary purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution in types of drilling fluids as it occurred and its application in the solution of various drilling problems. All of this information and experience resulted in the successful drilling of the three wells in the Chalkley field, where a combination of the most sound techniques was necessary in carrying drilling operations to the projected total depths. Other operators along with service company engineers have contributed considerably through the interchange of ideas and information to this paper, but the data and conclusions which are contained are based on first-hand observation of Magnolia Petroleum Company's drilling operations. The 39 wells drilled by Magnolia Petroleum Co. average in depth 10,977 ft per well, while the maximum depth penetrated was 13,518 ft. The cost of drilling fluids have varied from $8,700 to $165,000, with the over-all drilling costs ranging from $74,000 to $543,000 per well. This wide variance illustrates the unpredictable nature of each well and the effects on over-all cost when high density muds are required to control