Site U1322 is the easternmost site drilled in the Ursa basin by Expedition 308. Of the three sites in the Ursa Basin, Site U1322 has the thinnest sediment cover above the permeable Blue Unit. The principal objectives of drilling Site U1322 were to document rock physical properties at the location of minimal overburden in the Ursa Basin, measure in-situ formation temperature and pressure, docume...

Esters were found to be promising alternatives oil, as a constituent of drilling fluids, due their biodegradability and bioaccumulation attributes. In this study, we used ethyl octanoate ester (EO) low molecular weight synthetic oil for formulating an ester-based fluid (EBDF). Aluminum oxide nanorods (nanoparticles) introduced Pickering emulsion stabilizer. Like the commercial emulsifiers, they...

Site U1324 is the westernmost site drilled in the Ursa basin by Expedition 308. Of the three sites in the Ursa Basin, Site U1324 has the thickest sediment loading above the permeable Blue Unit. The principal objectives of drilling Site U1324 were to document rock physical properties at the location of maximal overburden in the Ursa Basin, measure in-situ formation temperature and pressure, docu...

In order to achieve the offshore petroleum industries "zero harm" goal to the environment, the environmental impact factor for drilling discharges was developed as a tool to identify and quantify the environmental risks associated with disposal of drilling discharges to the marine environment. As an initial step in this work the main categories of substances associated with drilling discharges ...

Critical events in industrial drilling should be overcome by engineers while they maintain safety and achieve their targeted operational drilling plans. Geophysical drilling requires maximum awareness of critical situations such as “Kicks”, “Fluid loss” and “Stuck pipe”. These may compromise safety and potentially halt operations with the need of staff rapid evacuations from rigs. In this paper...

The rheological and filtration properties of drilling mud under down-hole conditions may be very different from those measured at ambient pressures and temperatures at the surface. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation into the temperature and salinity and pH effects on drilling mud rheological and filtration properties. Results are given from tests on water base mud ...

In this study, predictive capabilities of apparent viscosity of oil-based drilling fluids which is used in National Iranian South Oilfields Company (NISOC) were evaluated using Newtonian and non-Newtonian models to drive a new suitable equation. The non-Newtonian models include Bingham plastic, Power law, Herschel-Bulkley, Casson, and Robertson-Stiff. To validate the results, the calculated vis...

A synthesis of well logs was carried out and drilling mud weight data were analyzed to figure out anomalous high fluid pressure within the Triassic evaporitic cap rock (the Dashtak formation) and study its impact on the geometry of anticlinal traps in the gas rich Gavbandi province located in the southeast part of the Zagros Mountains. The results indicated that the location of anticlinal traps...

Drilling cost optimization has always been an important issue in the petroleum industry. In order to save costs and create new markets for local materials, Ofo (D. micocarpum) and food gum (C. populnea) powders were evaluated in this study at high temperature as alternative to imported chemical additives in water based drilling fluid. The base mud composed of alkali beneficiated local clay, ach...

Although oil-based drilling fluids are of paramount practical and economical interest, they represent a serious source of pollution, once released into the environment as drill cuttings. The aim of this study is to assess the capability of isolated microorganisms to degrade gasoil fuel. The commonly used physicochemical and biodegradation remediation techniques of petroleum contaminated soil we...