Mud engineer job on offshore oil rigs

 

What is a mud engineer

The mud engineer (correctly called a Drilling Fluids Engineer, but sometimes referred to as the “Mud Man”, though women also do this job today) is the person responsible for fluids that are being used for the drilling process on oil well drilling rigs.

Mud engineer’s duty

The mud engineer’s duties are to stay on the rig site (usually) and constantly monitor and readjust the properties and weight of the drilling fluid or “mud”.

The mud or drilling fluid is what lubricates the drill bit, keeps it cool, flushes cuttings from the hole being drilled and holds back underground pressure from dangerous zones that contain natural gas.

If the mud weight is not heavy enough or is “underbalanced” a blowout can occur, burning down the rig and casing an out of control wild well and loss of life.

If the mud or drilling fluid is too heavy it can flush out into the formation causing a “lost circulation” situation which can ruin the well being drilled.

The mud engineer adds weight to the drilling fluid or mud by means of adding the mineral barite. Barite is a heavy mineral that mixes with oil and water based muds. The weight of the drilling fluid is measured in PPG or pounds per gallon. Ten pound mud would weight ten pounds to the gallon.

The mud enginner uses a set of scales to constantly weight the mud and make sure that it is heavy enough for the pressures that are expected at a certain depth.

An influx of gas or water, mixing with the drilling mud can cause it to suddenly get light, causing an under-balanced situation so the process of monitoring the weight of the mud is constant during the drilling of the well.

Mud engineer’s salary

The position of mud engineer carries a salary of around $72,500 and involves setting up a ‘mud program’ according to the geology of the project.

Mud engineer’s qualification

The Mud Engineer is likely to have a degree in chemistry or some secondary chemistry qualification and an excellent understanding of the drilling procedures. The Mud Engineer should be good at math and science.

Before taking up the position, a special training course needs to be completed.

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