Oil & Gas Glossary 1.0

The initial loss of mud solids by filtration, making formations easier to drill. See filtration loss.

The flux of fluids and solids that occurs in the initial stages of any filtration before pore openings are bridged and a filter cake is formed. Also called spurt loss.

See fluid loss.

The escape of the liquid part of a drilling mud into permeable formations.

A complex carbohydrate sometimes added to drilling fluids to reduce filtration loss.

The filtration characteristics of a drilling mud. In general, these qualities are inverse to the thickness of the filter cake deposited on the face of a porous medium and the amount of filtrate allowed to escape from the drilling fluid into or through the medium.

The pressure lost in a pipeline or annulus due to the velocity of the liquid in the pipeline, the properties of the fluid, the condition of the pipe wall, and the alignment of the pipe. In certain mud-mixing systems, the loss of head can be substantial

The process of filtering a fluid.

A device used in the testing of filtration properties of drilling mud. See mud.

See invert-emulsion mud, water loss, fluid loss.

A reduction in the pressure of a fluid caused by its motion against an enclosed surface (such as a pipe). As the fluid moves through the pipe, friction between the fluid and the pipe wall and within the fluid itself creates a pressure loss. The faster the fluid moves, the greater are the losses.

Porous unsized paper for filtering liquids. API filtration test specifies one thickness of 9-cm filter paper Whatman No. 50, S & S No. 576, or equivalent.

1. compacted solid or semisolid material remaining on a filter after pressure filtration of mud with a standard filter press. Thickness of the cake is reported in thirty-seconds of an inch or in millimeters.

A synthetic high-molecular-weight polymer of acrylonitrile used primarily as a fluid loss control agent

2. a device fitted to the gauging hatch on a pressure tank that enables manual dipping and sampling without loss of vapor.

The amount of fluid that can be delivered through a permeable filter medium after being subjected to a set differential pressure for a set length of time.

A loss of pressure that results from friction sustained by a fluid passing through a line, valve, fitting, or other device.

A non-fermenting cellulose product used in drilling fluids to combat contamination from anhydrite (gypsum) and to lower the water loss of the mud.

A substance added to cement slurries or drilling mud to prevent the loss of cement or mud to the formation. See bridging materials.

In general, the higher the valence of an ion, the greater the loss of stability to emulsions, colloidal suspensions, etc., these polyvalent ions will impart

A substance added to cement slurries or drilling mud to prevent the loss of cement or mud to the formation. See bridging materials.

In drilling-fluid terminology, a chemical is any material that produces changes in the viscosity, yield point, gel strength, fluid loss, and surface tension.

The unwanted migration of the liquid part of the drilling mud or cement slurry into a formation, often minimized or prevented by the blending of additives with the mud or cement.

Any tough, stringy material of threadlike structure used to prevent loss of circulation or to restore circulation in porous or fractured formations.

2. an annual reduction of income reflecting the loss in useful value of capitalized investments by reason of wear and tear. The concept of depreciation recognizes that the purchase of an asset other than land will benefit several accounting cycles (periods) and should be expensed periodically over its useful life.

1. a reduction in the amount of force a fluid exerts against a surface, such as the walls of a pipe. It usually occurs because the fluid is moving against the surface and is caused by the friction between the fluid and the surface.

Dissolved calcium ions in sufficient concentration to impart undesirable properties, such as flocculation, reduction in yield of bentonite, and increased fluid loss, in a drilling fluid. See also calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, gypsum.

2. the amount of pressure indicated by a drill pipe pressure gauge when drilling fluid is being circulated by the mud pump. Pressure losses occur as the fluid is circulated.

The liquid circulated through the wellbore during rotary drilling and workover operations. In addition to its function of bringing cuttings to the surface, drilling mud cools and lubricates the bit and drill stem, protects against blowouts by holding back subsurface pressures, and deposits a mud cake on the wall of the borehole to prevent loss of fluids to the formation. See drilling fluid.

The apparent loss of weight of an object immersed in a fluid. If the object is floating, the immersed portion displaces a volume of fluid the weight of which is equal to the weight of the object.

The increase in bottomhole pressure expressed as an increase in pressure that occurs only when mud is being circulated. Because of friction in the annulus as the mud is pumped, bottomhole pressure is slightly, but significantly, higher than when the mud is not being pumped. ECD is calculated by dividing the annular pressure loss by 0.052, dividing that by true vertical depth, and adding the result to the mud weight.