A Middle East operator planned to drill a single lateral well through carbonate layers with various porosities and pore pressures, so there would be a considerable risk of overbalance, sticking, kicking, and losses in one or more of the carbonate layers. Due to these risks, it was essential to pay close attention to fluids, especially the rheology profile as it has direct influence on hole cleaning, equivalent circulating density, and pore pressure.

The section was drilled with 13.1 lb/galUS of the RHELIANT™ thermally stable, flat-rheology drilling fluid system. Data was streamed to the drilling fluid advisor with time-stamped records of mud weight and rheology and was checked by the customer and fluid project engineer to ensure data accuracy. As a result, the section was drilled smoothly without sticking or losses.