The petroleum drilling mud circulation system is a system used in the process of petroleum drilling to circulate and treat drilling mud. The main purpose of this system is to maintain wellbore pressure, cool the drilling bit, suspend drill cuttings, lubricate the drilling tools, and separate drill cuttings and other solid particles to ensure a smooth drilling process.
The petroleum drilling mud circulation system typically consists of wellhead equipment, solid control equipment, liquid phase treatment equipment, pump station system, and control system.
The mud returned from the wellbore is transported to the shale shaker and mud cleaner on the tank via the return line (elevated trough and support) either separately or simultaneously. After being processed by the shale shaker, the mud first goes to the sand settling tank for sedimentation. The settled mud then enters the vacuum degasser for degassing, and the degassed mud goes into the desilter. The desilter pump draws the mud from the desilter to feed the desilter cyclone, and the mud processed by the desilter cyclone enters the desander. The desander pump draws the mud from the desander to feed the desander cyclone, and the mud processed by the desander cyclone enters the mud mixing tank. The mixing pump draws the mud into the centrifuge feed pump tank, and the centrifuge feed pump supplies the mud to the centrifuge for solid-liquid separation. The mud processed by the centrifuge enters the matching tank. The mud processed by the centrifuge can be adjusted for its properties using the weighting pump and weighting hopper, and the mud with adjusted properties is then used through the mud pump pipeline and suction of the mud pump. This completes a large circulation of drilling fluid purification.
The design and configuration of the petroleum drilling mud circulation system may vary depending on different drilling conditions, well depths, and drilling objectives. Through proper system design and operation, efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly drilling processes can be achieved.