Drilling is one of the very important stages of field development. The average costs of drilling varies in different places around the world depending on types of drilling rigs, well equipment, and materials used for well construction. Drilling and well completion costs represent a very large fraction of capital expenditure on oil and gas producers. Wells are drilled to satisfy different objectives such as producing reservoir fluids, injecting different fluids, storing and disposing fluids, and gaining information about the reservoir rocks and fluids as well as the drilling bit performance. Several aspects are covered in this area including drilling management, advances in directional drilling, well integrity, completion design and smart wells, drilling string and bottom hole assembly, bit design and hydraulics, drilling fluids design and solids control, casing design, cementing operations, well intervention, workover, equipment and technology, and digitalization and automation.
This project aimed at the use of the huge iron oxides deposits in Wadi Ehsati as weighing drilling fluid material instead of the costly imported barite. The study concluded that, technically, the ore has a potential to be produced and manufactured as weighing drilling fluid material with treatment. Among the concerns is the abrasiveness nature of the practices.