HOLE CLEANING

Problems Related to
Poor Hole Cleaning
Stuck Pipe
Lost Circulation
Torque and Drag
Poor Cement Jobs
Loss of Well Control
High Well Costs
Loss of Well
Settling Modes

Boycott

Free Hindered

Hindered
Parameters Affecting Hole
Cleaning
Well Profile and Well Geometry
hole angle and doglegs
casing/hole and drill pipe diameters
drill string eccentricity

Cuttings and Bed Characteristics

specific gravity
particle size and shape
reactivity with mud
mud properties
Parameters Affecting Hole
Cleaning
Flow Parameters
annular velocity
annular velocity profile
flow regime
Mud Properties
mud weight
viscosity, especially at low shear rates
gel strengths
inhibition
Parameters Affecting Hole
Cleaning

Drilling Parameters
bit type
penetration rate
differential pressure
pipe rotation
eccentricity
 Hole-Cleaning - Well Profile

4 hole-angle ranges:
0-10, 10-30, 30-60, 60-
80 deg
90
Optimum hole cleaning
for one interval may be
inadequate in another
Build sections of
35 deg
directional wells most
difficult to clean
 Hole-Cleaning
Difficulty vs Angle
Difficult
Relative Difficulty

I II III IV

1
Easy
0 30 Inclination 60 90
Hole-Cleaning Flow Parameters

Av= 200 fpm

Angle = 90

Turbulent Flow cc = 4%
+ 0.5 XCD
150 rpm

High-velocities and
eddies can erode beds
and transport cuttings
Laminar Flow Angle = 55
Rotation =
150 rpm

Lower flow rates, but

rheology critical
 Hole-Cleaning
Mud Rheological Properties

Viscosity and gel

strengths provide
hole cleaning /
suspension
Desired properties
are easier to achieve
in certain muds
Hole Cleaning - Mud Properties

Hole-cleaning problems related to wellbore

stresses are best corrected by first
increasing the mud weight
Reaction between fluid and formation can
alter cuttings and cuttings-bed
characteristics
 Hole-Cleaning Eccentricity and
Rotation
Viscous muds less
effective with
eccentricity and no
rotation
Viscous muds much
more effective with
eccentricity and
rotation
Hole-Cleaning Guidelines

Laminar or
Turbulent?
Thick or
Thin?

Sweeps? Eccentricity?

High LSRV?
Short
Trips? Rotation?
Hole-Cleaning Criteria

Opinions vary on what constitutes good hole

cleaning
From a practical perspective, hole cleaning is
adequate if no operational problems are
encountered
This implies that hole-requirements vary among
different wells and even different intervals in the
same well
Hole-Cleaning Criteria

Physical indicators of poor cleaning

no cuttings over shakers
low volume of cuttings at surface compared to
hole drilled
hole fill in vertical wells,
cuttings beds in directional wells
mud rings
bridges
plugs and pack-offs around collars/BHA.
Hole-Cleaning Criteria

Guidelines for good hole cleaning

no cuttings beds in directional wells
cuttings beds in directional well moving with
flow
no operational problems related to hole
cleaning
 Hole-Cleaning - Fuzzy Logic
Approach
Depth Casing Program Angle AV (m/min) X Clean
(m) Depth Csg/H Dia 0 30 60 90 25 50 75 VG G F P

500 500 m 18-3/4"

Vertical - 1000

cuttings
concentration 1500

Intermediate - 2000

bed thickness
and slumping 2500

Horizontal - 3000

bed thickness Very Good

and plugs 3500

3698 m 9-5/8"
2914 m
8.535" ID Good
4000

4348 m 8.375"
Fair
4500 3354 m

Poor
5000
 VIRTUAL HYDRAULICS Flow (gpm) = 200 400 600 Operator: BP Exploration

CleanPro
1998 M-I L.L.C. - All Rights Reserved
Rotary (rpm) = 90
ROP (ft/hr) = 50
Well Name:
Location:
Comments:
Proposed Extended Reach
Exploratory
9.5" Interval
Depth Geom Hole/Pipe (in) Mud Wt (ppg) PV, YP, LSYP Va (fpm) Angle X-Clean Depth
0 5 10 15 16.7 16.8 16.9 17.0 0 25 50 75 0 200 400 600 0 30 60 90 V Good Good Fair PoorPipe

1000 1000

2000 2000

3000 3000

4000 4000

5000 5000

6000 6000

7000 7000

8000 8000

9000 9000

10000 10000

11000 11000

12000 12000

13000 13000

14000 14000

15000 15000

16000 16000

17000 17000

18000 18000
Hole PV 200 gpm
Pipe YP 400 gpm
19000 Davg LSYP 600 gpm 19000
 Hole-Cleaning LSRV Guidelines

Yield Point = Mud Weight (ppg)

Fann R6 or R3 > Hole Size (in)
LSYP > Hole Size (in)
2*R3 - R6
Brookfield LSRV
0.0636 s-1 > 40,000 (cp)
Field Best Practices -
General
Use highest annular velocity for hole
cleaning, regardless of flow regime
Rely on mud rheology and gel strengths for
suspension and transport capabilities
Control drill to manage difficult hole cleaning
situations only as a last resort
Take advantage of top drives if available
 Field Best Practices -
General

Continually monitor parameters affecting hole-

cleaning, and react accordingly
Measure mud rheology under downhole
conditions, especially in deepwater and HTHP
applications
For deepwater wells with large-diameter riser,
add riser pump to increase riser annular velocity
Avoid dispersive muds that help cleaning, but
may create washouts / solids problems
 Field Best Practices -
Vertical and Near-Vertical
Wells
Keep cuttings less than 5% (by volume) to
minimize drilling problems
Use lowest possible mud viscosity. Increase YP
and LSYP only when problems encountered or
imminent
Maintain LSYP 0.4 - 0.8 times hole size unless
hole dictate otherwise
Use periodic high-weight / high-vis sweeps to fix
cleaning problems
 Field Best Practices -
Vertical and Near-Vertical
Wells
Sweeps should be +0.2 - +0.4 ppg over mud weight
combined with vigorous fluid / mechanical agitation.
Use sweeps only if necessary - sweep design should be
based on true problem
Look for bridges in the first dogleg
Do not expect pipe rotation to help, especially in larger-
diameter holes
Minimize ill-effects of cuttings-bed formation and
slumping which can occur in 30 - 60o hole sections
 Field Best Practices -
Directional Wells
Drill intervals from the onset with elevated-
viscosity fluids: cuttings beds are easy to deposit
and difficult to remove
Maintain LSYP 1.0 - 1.2 times hole diameter
when in laminar flow
Treat mud for elevated, flat gels for suspension
during static and low-flow-rate periods
For visco-elastic fluids, maintain Brookfield
viscosity above 40,000 cp
 Field Best Practices -
Directional Wells
Run wiper trips and rotate when sliding operations are
extensive and bed formation is expected
Rotate pipe > 50 rpm to prevent beds and to help remove
pre-existing beds
Rotation coupled with fully eccentric pipe and proper
LSYP values provide best results
For visco-elastic fluids in coiled-tubing, run wiper trips
to remove cuttings beds
For re-entries, select best compromise to clean horizontal
and large-diameter casing
 Field Best Practices -
Directional Wells
Increase density for stress problems
masquerading as hole-cleaning problems
Recognize turbulent flow across annulus may be
difficult to achieve and maintain
Consider drilling small-diameter, competent
horizontal intervals using turbulent flow and low-
viscosity fluids
Expect little help from viscous sweeps, unless
accompanied by high flow rates and pipe
movement