Proper drilling fluids planning and execution play a major role in minimizing the likelihood of drilling difficulties such as those encountered in ultra-deep waters. Deepwater drilling is inherently expensive. Because of this, the proper selection of drilling fluids and other support technologies requires careful evaluation to diminish commonly observed deepwater challenges. These challenges include hydrate suppression, shallow water flows, logistics, lost circulation mitigation, viscosity profiles. Another critical deepwater challenge is properly managing ECD to maintain optimal well site safety and environmental compliance. This paper discusses the planning and execution of a drilling fluids program for a world record ultra-deepwater well. The well was located at a water depth of 10,011 ft. (3,051 m) in the Gulf of Mexico's Alaminos Canyon (Block 951). The well was drilled to TD (22,695 ft. [6,917 m]) using an advanced synthetic-based mud that met all Gulf of Mexico compliance requirements and advanced engineering software and tools.
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