How does the drilling fluid get *out* of the hole?
When drilling a well, does the drilling fluid seep out of the hole into a puddle? Is it pumped out? No matter how much I read, I can’t seem to find this information. I have read about some systems that collect and treat it, but how does it come out? (I’m fascinated by oil and gas recovery and the equipment and processes involved, but have only the ‘Net to do any research. Someday, I’m going to visit an offshore rig, by golly!)
April 18th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
I am not an expert but I believe that in many drilling operations they use high pressure "mud" to lubricate the drilling shaft and to carry the drilling debris away from the drill bit. The mud is pumped down the center of the drill pipe and comes up around the outside of the pipe.
One thing I learned that is very interesting is that the wells do not have to go straight down. They can control what direction the drill goes so they can drill down next to a particular geologic formation and then have the drill turn and come up into an oil reservior from below.
hope this helps.