Published 12/2/2008
With assistance from six other divisions, Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids successfully remediated three under-performing wells in Congo. With just one day’s notice and no previous set-up in place for each job, BHDF fluids personnel mobilized and treated the impacted wells using the MICRO-WASH high-definition wellbore remediation system. The jobs were successfully performed with no rig delays or HS&E issues. The offshore supervisors were brought in on very short notice and were able to pull the necessary resources together to achieve the project objectives. The logistics for equipment and blending of chemicals, along with rig support, were provided by personnel from other BHI divisions, including Centrilift, Baker Petrolite, Baker Atlas, Hughes Christensen, and Baker Oil Tools.

Published 11/25/2008
Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids was successful in helping an operator overcome a stuck pipe situation when a competitor product was unable to solve the problem. While drilling in Southeast Texas, the drilling contractor experienced differentially stuck pipe in highly depleted sands at around 13,000 ft (3,962 m). A competitor product was spotted without success. The contractor then contacted BHDF and requested Black Magic, BHDF’s spotting fluid for freeing stuck pipe. After spotting a Black Magic pill, the pipe came free four hours later. After moving to the next well and drilling in the same location, another stuck pipe incident occurred. This time, without hesitation, Black Magic was requested. The BHDF warehouse in Van Vleck sent out 60 barrels of 17.2 lb/gal Black Magic which was spotted and able to free the pipe in just two hours, allowing the contractor to continue drilling.

Published 11/18/2008
Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids recently played a significant role in a major discovery in the western Egyptian desert with local oil company. The MAX-BRIDGE custom bridging package was used for the first time in this country to replace the conventional polymer system that had been used in previous wells in this area. Typical wells had experienced problems with major wellbore instability combined with severe losses that often required packing off holes and sidetracks. MAX-BRIDGE fluid was used in a 12¼” section to drill 9,492 ft (2,893 m) of challenging open hole trouble free with an 11.2 lb/gal mud weight. The MAX-BRIDGE system also was used in the 8½” section to drill 1,524 ft (465 m), including a production zone, reaching TD at 14,600 ft (4,450 m) without problem. The system was supported with a full engineering application package (ADVANTAGE engineering, DISPLEX, and BRIDGEWISE software) to ensure successful execution. The well set a production record in the western Egyptian desert of 5,000 BPD and 4.3 M ft3 of gas. The customer recognized the accomplishment in a major Egyptian newspaper. This MAX-BRIDGE success has led to increased interest in BHDF within Egypt.

Published 11/04/2008
Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids recently completed a series of successful MICRO-WASH high-definition wellbore remediation system jobs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After two initial test trials of the MICRO-WASH system showed significant improvement to reservoir production and remediation of skin damage, this company expressed considerable interest in BHDF’s mesophase technology. Within a four month period, BHDF has completed 25 successful MICRO-WASH jobs in which the MICRO-PRIME spacer system was pumped ahead of MICRO-WASH to displace the oil-based mud. To date, results have shown incremental production increases up to 75%. In one case, a non-producing well is currently producing at 1,000 bopd after being treated with MICRO-WASH.

Published 10/28/2008
X-LINK lost circulation material was used to successfully control lost returns for an operator in the South China Sea. While drilling at 5,302 ft. (1,616 m), the operator experienced total loss of returns. After several LCM pills were spotted with only a minimal degree of success, the decision was made to use X-LINK. A pill consisting of 90 barrels of water and 90 sacks of X-LINK were mixed and the pipe was run in the hole to 5,302 ft. (1,616 m). The X-LINK pill was displaced into the hole, the pipe pulled to 4,396 ft. (1340 m), and 100 psi applied to the formation for six hours. Circulation was then started with no losses observed. The pipe was then pulled to the surface and a new BHA installed and run in the hole to 1,099 ft. (335 m). Washing and reaming began at 5,082 ft. (1,549 m) with minimal losses observed. Drilling continued to 9,596 ft. (2,925 m) with losses of only 25-30 bbls/hour with no additional LCM added to the system. The operator considered the job a success as drilling was able to continue to the casing point with only minimal losses despite having no additional LCM added to the system while drilling.

Published 10/21/2008
Drilling Fluids recently completed three MICO-PRIME applications within a four-week span for a Texas exploration and production company. One of the jobs was a conventional displacement in South Texas. The other two were in South and Central Texas and were coiled tubing clean-out operations. Due to the success of the system on these three jobs and the ability to run clean-out jobs and conventional displacements, MICRO-PRIME has become the displacement system of choice for this company.

Published 10/14/2008
Drilling Fluids recently reached a milestone with its 50th successful MICRO-WASH high-definition wellbore remediation job.  Since its introduction in late 2006, the MICRO-WASH system has established itself as an industry-leading technology for increasing production in highly damaged wells. This customized system for openhole completions is designed to remediate reservoirs previously drilled with oil-based mud.  It starts working immediately to solubilize oil and emulsions, dispersing the filter cake and altering the wettability of solids. The ultimate result is vastly improved production or injection rates in previously damaged wells. To date, MICRO-WASH fluid has been used in seven countries and has enjoyed its greatest success in West Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia. The success of MICRO-WASH fluids has been a team effort, combining the resources from BHDF R&D, technical, sales, marketing, procurement and logistics, and operations personnel across the globe.

Published 09/30/2008
Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids experienced another success recently with the TERRA-MAX high performance water-based fluid for land applications for a small US independent operator in South Texas. The TERRA-MAX system was selected as an alternative to conventional water-based systems previously used in offset wells that resulted in slow drilling rates and shale instability problems, such as washout. The well was displaced to TERRA-MAX fluid at 10,000 ft. (3048 m) after running 9-5/8” casing. The 6-1/2” hole interval was drilled to 13,200 ft. (4023 m) in fifteen days at the programmed cost with no drilling problems. Casing and logs were run without problem. Caliper logs recorded minimal washout in the interval. Offset wells drilled with WBM averaged 53 days to reach TD. This well, using the TERRA-MAX system, reached TD in 33 days, 17 days faster than the best offset well, saving the Operator $1 million in rig time.  The average ROP for the interval was 11 feet per hour.

Published 09/23/2008
Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids has just completed the first PERFORMAX high-performance water-based mud section in the UK Central North Sea sector. PERFORMAX was used for the 12¼" section and was chosen based on its proven track record and total inhibition approach to control problem clays and shales. Following the successful utilization of PERFORMAX, the well section was drilled and cased per the program specs.

Published 09/16/2008
TERRA-MAX high-performance water-based fluid system for land was successfully used to drill the 17.5” section of the Khulud 2 well in Oman.  Previous wells in this field had encountered swelling shales and tight hole while drilling through the Shargi formation.  The TERRA-MAX system was used to displace the spud mud employed to drill the previous section while installing the BOP’s.  3,593 ft. (1,095 m) were drilled through the Shargi, Natih, and Nahr Umr formations with no shale breakout or tight hole while running short trips.  Casing was set at 6,801 ft. (2,073 m) with no problems. The well marked the first time TERRA-MAX has been used in the Middle East.

Published 09/09/2008
TERRA-MAX high-performance water-based fluid system for land was successfully used on a directional well located in Colorado. TERRA-COAT™ additions were used in the system to reduce pore pressure transmission and allow the operator to successfully drill, stabilize, and case this 9,700 ft (2,957 m) hole. The production section was drilled using the TERRA-MAX mud system with SULFATROL™ and SHALE-BOND™ additions to effectively stabilize the wellbore. TERRA-RATE™ was added from 3,000 ft (914 m) to 7,000 ft (2134 m) to enhance the rate of penetration and assist with sliding. Rates-of-penetration with TERRA-RATE were noticeably faster and made sliding much easier for directional drilling. Excellent wellbore stability was sustained throughout the problem sections.

Published 8/20/2008
Success Story For almost 10 years Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids Environmental Services (FES) has been working on a Cuttings Re-injection (CRI) job for a company on three of its platforms off the environmentally sensitive coast of California. A number of records have been set on these platforms, including deepest hole drilled, fastest hole drilled, and greatest amount of open hole. During this extended period, Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids Environmental Services (FES) has pumped over a half-million barrels of fluid in one injection well with no recorded problems. The performance, teamwork, and dedication of the FES group have been outstanding, resulting in zero rig downtime, zero