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.
