Garfield County News | 1955-02-24 | Page 97 | Mud for Wells, Too

Mud For Wells, Too The mud in which small children like to play is a very Important factor in oil well drilling although it may contain more than just dirt. An oil well drill bit, no matter how tough the steel, would quickly wear out if it were to try to bore unaided through heavy rock formations. So behind the derrick is a pit full of mud. It may be thin or it may be thick. It may contain clay, pulverized leather, soda, cornstarch or saw dust, but to the driller it is mud. A pump forces it under pressure into a connection that takes the mud to the drill bit at the bottom of the hole being drilled. It leaves the drill head through jets behind the cutters on the bit, and the mud jets, spurting out with tremendous force and at speeds up to 500 feet per second, lubricate and cool the bit. The pressure forces mud and cuttings upward between the outside of the drill pipe and the walls of the hole, and out at the top where the cuttings are screened out and the mud recirculated.