Page 12 - The Rotary Rig and Its Components

THE CIRCULATING SYSTEM

Petroleum Extension-The University of Texas at Austin

The Circulating

System

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In this chapter:
• Cooling the bit, cleaning the hole, and balancing formation
pressure in the well
• Moving the mud
• Mixing and storing the mud

• Cutting rock and circulating mud
• Types of drilling fluids

he circulating system circulates drilling fluid to the bit and back
Tto the surface for cleaning and recirculation (fig. 41). For the For more information on
rotary drilling system to function, fluid must be circulated downward the circulating system,
through the drill stem, around the bit, and upward in the annular space see the Rotary Series,
Unit I, Lesson 7: Drilling
between the drill stem and the wall of the hole or the casing (fig. 42). Fluids, Mud Pumps, and
A circulating system uses the following components to circulate, clean, Conditioning Equipment.
and recirculate drilling fluid:
• Mud pumps

• The rotary hose
• The swivel or top drive
• The drill stem
• The bit
• The mud return line

• Mud tanks
• Compressors, if the circulating system uses air or gas

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