Articles
Why A Mud Engineer Is Critical
In March 2019, a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) contractor was attempting 2 side by side HDD’s each 5,800ft long of 20″ diameter pipe. After multiple inadvertent returns in the refinery, losing mud returns, all adding days of downtime, the contractor finished the HDD in 9 weeks. Given the problems, a mud engineer was required to proceed with the following HDD. The contactor contacted TEG for a mud engineer, for onsite service. By optimizing the fluid hydraulics, our mud engineer was able to complete the 2nd HDD in 20 work days, leading to great success for the contractor and the project.
This was submitted to Trenchless Technology Magazine, and published in August 2020
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The Science Of Slurry Solidification
In drilling, waste is part of the job. We are mechanically displacing earth with a fluid to excavate a hole for pipe or a tunnel, etc. That waste whether its liquid, solids or from digging pits is a daily part of the job.
In this special for the 2024 HDD Guide, TEG broke down the science and various methods of solidification to help educate project owners and customers about different compounds and products without naming specific brands.
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Managing Downhole Pressures
Managing downhole pressures for the prevention of inadvertent returns (frac-outs) has become a critical part of the HDD process, and has come under increasing scrutiny over the years. This is one of the key responsibilities for mud engineers, and in a lot of instances IR prevention can justify the expense of a mud engineer. In this article we discuss how mud engineers manage downhole pressure to prevent advertent returns, and some rules of thumb for contractors to mitigate them, if possible.
This was submitted to Trenchless Technology Magazine, and published in April 2025
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