Implementing the Pressurized Mud Cap Technique for Drilling through Total Loss Zones: A Way to Improve Well Control while Drilling the Reservoir in Oil Well Reentries

摘要

Drilling through total loss zones without returns at the surface is a common practice for operating companies in the Middle East. This is known as the mud cap drilling technique, a "blind drilling" technique that has been used for a long time in the region. The lessons learned throughout these years have produced well established procedures and "rules of thumb" for estimating the mud density, volume and pumping schedule of the mud cap for different situations.