Todd Reid

Jarrod Massam

Doug Oakley

Andrew J Bradbury

Blake Brockerville

A method to control drilling fluid properties, including: circulating a drilling fluid through a wellbore to form a suspension of drilled solids in the drilling fluid; and separating the suspension in a separator to form a particulate fraction and an effluent, wherein the particulate fraction includes at least a portion of the drilled solids and the effluent includes the drilling fluid. The particulate fraction may include particulates having a minimum particle size of 100 microns or greater, and the effluent may include a micronized weighting agent having a particle size dof 10 microns or less.

Method of improving solids separation efficiency

A method of increasing a rate of penetration when drilling as compared to drilling with a baseline drilling fluid comprising an API-grade barite weighting agent and having a given sag, settling rate, density, flow rate, and pressure drop through a wellbore, comprising: circulating a drilling fluid comprising a base fluid and a micronized weighting agent through the wellbore; wherein the drilling fluid is characterized as having an equivalent density, an equivalent or lower settling rate, and an equivalent or lower sag than the baseline drilling fluid; wherein the circulating is at a higher flow rate than the baseline drilling fluid flow rate; and wherein the circulating results in an equivalent or lower pressure drop through the wellbore.

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Mount Pearl, Canada

Todd Reid