How to deal with geothermal well mud?

• Sep 15, 2021
• The most prominent feature of geothermal well mud is its resistance to high temperature. High temperature will cause mud clay to disperse, thicken, and even solidify due to high temperature, which will damage the performance of the mud. Bloc...

The most prominent feature of geothermal well mud is its resistance to high temperature. High temperature will cause mud clay to disperse, thicken, and even solidify due to high temperature, which will damage the performance of the mud. Block the closed production layer and so on. Therefore, mud treatment of geothermal wells is a key problem in geothermal drilling. The mud treatment process of geothermal wells must be equipped with corresponding professional solid-phase control equipment. The use of geothermal well mud is mainly determined by the specific temperature of the geothermal well.

Characteristics of mud treatment in geothermal wells:

1) Control blowout: not suitable for high-density mud

2) Mud treatment agent: Due to the high temperature of the geothermal well, the mud treatment agent should be guaranteed to be above 150°C to maintain stable mud performance.

3) Heavy metal preparations: it is strictly prohibited to use to prevent environmental pollution.

4) Fine solid phase particles: ensure that the content of solid phase particles is the lowest value.

5) Mud treatment equipment: must be equipped with solid control equipment

Requirements for the mud use system of geothermal wells:

1) Conventional mud is used for drilling into the surface overburden.

2) Use low-solid mud from the bottom of the surface to above the thermal reservoir.

3) Use high-quality mud for drilling through hot water-type thermal reservoirs, use low-end bentonite mud for well temperatures below 200°C; use sepiolite mud for well temperatures greater than 200°C.

According to the above-mentioned characteristics and use requirements of geothermal well mud, the most important principle of geothermal well mud treatment is to meet the temperature resistance requirements of the mud.