Temperature and Pressure Effects on Drilling Fluid Rheology and ECD in Very Deep Wells

摘要

The rheological properties of drilling fluids are usually approximated to be independent of pressure and temperature. In many cases this is a good approximation. However, for wells with small margins between pore and fracture pressure, careful evaluations and analysis of the effects of temperature and pressure on well bore hydraulics and kick probability are needed. In this publication, the effects of pressure and temperature are discussed and described for typical HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) wells. Laboratory measurements show that rheology is very pressure and temperature dependent. The practical implications of these observations are illustrated through a series of calculations with an advanced pressure and temperature simulator. 10 refs., 15 figs.