DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM
ENGINEERING

COVENANT UNIVERSITY

PET327

PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
LABORATORY

DENSITY TEST

GROUP G

OLUWATOTAN OLATUNJI
DANIEL

15CN03290

 

DATE PERFORMED :19-01-2018

DATE SUBMITTED :21-01-2018

 

ABSTRACT

The mud
density is important to the drilling operation to maintain well control and
also the hydrostatic pressure in the well bore .in petroleum engineering this
is carried out to control not just the hydrostatic pressure but also the influx
. The importance of the mud density test is to know the weight per unit volume
of the drilling mud .The major equipment that would be used in this experiment
will be mud balance . This various test to determine the density would be
expressed in various units which are subjected to different   field uses

                                     This
report will explain and show the various steps and processes involved when
carrying out the experiment on the mud balance as well as the results gotten
from this experiment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENT

1                                                                           
ABSTRACT

 

2                                                                           
INTRODUCTION

 

3                                                                           
EQUIPMENT AND APPARATUS

 

4                                                                           
PROCEDURE

 

5                                                                           
RESULTS /ANALYSIS

 

6                                                                           
PRECAUTIONS

 

7                                                                           
CONCLUSSIONS

 

8                                                                           
REFERENCES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 The Density of a mud  is the weight per unit volume expressed either
in pounds per gallon or pounds per cubic foot. The density of the mud is
important in order to maintain both the hydrostatic pressure as well as the
pressure exerted by the static mud column the hydrostatic pressure is
maintained in order to prevent a kick or ultimately a blow out . the mud weight
is a function of both the density and the depth of the mud . This weight (mud
weight) is what will determine ,with conjunction with the depth ,the pressure
that will be exerted on the formation while drilling this experiment will be
carried out using a mud balance (4 scale metal mud balance)

The ranges
of the scale are:

6.5 -23.0
lbs/gal (ppg)

0.79 -2.72
specific gravity (s.g)

49 – 179
lbs/ft3

340 – 1190
psi/1000ft

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EQUIPMENT
/APPARATUS

1)  
 4
scale mud balance with carrying case

 

2)  
Electric mixer

 

3)  
Weighing balance

 

4)  
Measuring cylinder

 

5)  
Spatula

 

6)  
Beaker

 

 

 

 

 

electric  mixer

Procedures (sample 1)

1)  
 Measure 350ml of water in a measuring cylinder

 

2)  
Measure 35g of bentonite on a weighting
balance

 

3)  
Add the 35g of bentonite to the 350ml of
water

 

4)  
Using a mixer ,mix  the water and the bentonite

 

5)  
Stop the mixer and pour the mixture into the
4 scale mud balance cup until it is full

 

6)  
Cover the with the lid

 

7)  
Adjust the rider until the mud balance is at
equilibrium

 

8)  
Take readings in ppg ,sg ,lb/ft3 ,psi/1000ft

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROCEDURES (SAMPLE 2)

1)  
Measure 10g of barite on the weighing balance

 

2)   Add the 10g of barite to the prepared
sample 1

 

3)   Put it into the mixer to mix the
homogeneous mixture

 

4)   Pour the mixture of sample  2 into the 4 scale mud balance cup until it
is full

 

5)   Cover the cup with the lid

 

6)   Adjust balance until its balance and
then take the readings

 

7)   Take readings in ppg ,sg ,lb/ft3 ,psi
/1000ft

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

 

READINGS
 

(DENSITY)
PPG
 

 
S.G

 
Lb/ft3

 
Psi/1000ft

SAMPLE 1
 

8.7

1.04

65
 

455

SAMPLE 2
 

8.8

1.06

66

460

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION

 

After the
experiment has been carried out ,and the following results has been obtained
for the experiment to  determine the
density we  discovered that sample 1
(mixture of bentonite ) our mud had a lower density than  sample 2 which is a mixture of the mud and
barite .this is because barite is a weighing agent that is used to increase the
weight of mud ,therefore the sample 2 is to have a higher density as sample 1
because of the presence of barite

 

 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion , the mud density test is a very important
test that is carried out to determine the density of mud, from this experiment
we also observed  that the density of
sample 2 (mixture of barite bentonite and water )has a heavier density that
sample 1(mixture of bentonite and water ) because of the presence of barite
which acts as a weighing agent and it increses the density

 

 

 

                                   PRECAUTIONS

1)  
I avoided error due to parallax by taking my
reading at the lower meniscus

 

2)  
I ensured 
that my 4 scale mud balance was calibrated before my measuring commenced

 

3) I ensured that the cup of mud of the
mud balance was wiped dry before I balanced it on the knife edge

 

4)I ensured the mixer cup did not come in contact with the blade to
avoid mud from splashing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 REFERENCES

Drilling fluid technology by engr .dr.e.e.okoro

Drilling mud manual 
by engr seteyeobot ifeanyi