This disclosure provides a pre-mixed lost circulation treatment that can be pre-mixed ahead of time at a plant and delivered to a drilling site in one or more transport containers because the pre-mixture having a shelf life of at least one month and possibly longer. Because the components of the lost circulation treatment are mixed at a controlled mix site, the consistency of the lost circulation treatment is improved and can be better maintained from one lost circulation treatment to another. Further, one or more of the components of the pre-mixed treatment can be placed in a portable tote container that can be quickly and easily transported to the drilling site upon demand, or the tote can be delivered to the drilling site before a lost circulation zone is actually encountered.

A method of drilling a wellbore includes pumping an oleaginous wellbore fluid into a wellbore, the oleaginous wellbore fluid including an oleaginous continuous phase; a non-oleaginous discontinuous phase; an emulsifier stabilizing the non-oleaginous discontinuous phase in the oleaginous continuous phase; an organophilic clay; a weighting agent; and a wetting agent having an HLB ranging from about 4 to 10.5 that it selected such that the oleaginous wellbore fluid has a 600 rpm dial value at 40° F. of less than about 300 and a 10 minute gel strength of less than about 40 lbf/100 ft.sup.2.

A very light weight, noncompressible drilling fluid including a very light weight hydrocarbon base liquid, and a styrenic butadiene diblock copolymer is heated to achieve excellent rheology including thixotropicity, making an effective drilling fluid with a density of 8 pounds per gallon or less. Densities as low as 4 pounds per gallon are achieved with the addition of glass bubbles. The glass bubbles may, but normally will not, exceed 50% by volume. A method of making the drilling fluid includes passing the light weight liquid and the copolymer through a cavitation device. The invention includes drilling and with and recirculating the fluid to maintain the desired density, viscosity and rheology by adjusting the ingredients accordingly. A method of managed pressure drilling employs the novel fluid, enabling control of drill pressure and physical properties of the fluid including equivalent circulating density.

A shaker assembly and method, of which the shaker assembly includes a shaker tank, a mixing tank in fluid communication with the shaker tank and positioned adjacent thereto, an overflow weir positioned between and separating the shaker tank and the mixing tank, a first shaker positioned over the shaker tank, and a second shaker. The first and second shakers are configured to operate in parallel to partially separate a solid from a liquid of a drilling waste fluid. During normal operation, at least some of the liquid flows from the first and second shakers to the shaker tank, and from the shaker tank over the overflow weir and into the mixing tank.

A drilling fluid and method for drilling in a coal containing formation. The method includes: providing a mixed metal-viscosified drilling fluid including at least 1% potassium salt; circulating the drilling fluid through the well; and drilling into a coal seam.

In one example, a liquid mixture nozzle for flowing a liquid mixture therethrough includes a body having a flow inlet and a flow outlet. The flow inlet is configured to couple to a first piece of piping and the flow outlet is configured to couple to a second piece of piping. The liquid mixture nozzle also includes a converging section having a decreasing diameter positioned adjacent the flow inlet, an orifice positioned at a narrow end of the converging section, an intermediate section having a constant diameter positioned adjacent the orifice, a diverging section having an increasing diameter positioned adjacent the intermediate section and the flow outlet.

An additive composition includes a rheology modifier selected from alcohol ethoxylates, amine ethoxylates, or ethylene oxide/propylene oxide copolymers, wherein the rheology modifier has an HLB ranging from about 4 to 10; and a winterizing agent that is at least one aliphatic non-ionic surfactant that has a branched structure and/or includes at least one unsaturation, wherein the winterizing agent has an HLB value between about 8 and 10.5.

A dry product additive system includes a skid, a hopper, a pickup funnel, a feeder system, a supply pump, and an eductor assembly. The feeder system may be configured to transport product from the hopper to the pickup funnel. The eductor assembly including a suction inlet, a motive inlet, and an outlet. The suction inlet may be coupled to the pickup funnel by a suction hose. The motive inlet may be coupled to the supply pump by a motive fluid hose.

A system and method for independent control of simultaneous fracturing for multiple wellbores is disclosed. In certain embodiments, a first clean pumping unit and a first dirty pumping unit are fluidically coupled to a first wellbore, wherein the first clean pumping unit pumps a first fluid to the first wellbore and the second clean pumping unit pumps a second fluid to the first wellbore. In certain embodiments, a second clean pumping unit and a second dirty pumping unit are fluidically coupled to a second wellbore, wherein the second clean pumping unit pumps the first fluid to the second wellbore and the second dirty pumping unit pumps. In certain embodiments, a controller controls a pumping rate of at least one of the first clean pumping unit and the first dirty pumping unit based on a desired parameter of a combined fluid pumped to the first wellbore.

Disclosed are systems and methods for detecting the beginning of a flush volume. A blended fluid is output by a fluid blending apparatus and pumped into a wellbore. The blended fluid transitions from a first composition to a second composition. A blending signal comprising time-varying data relating to characteristics of the blending apparatus or measured from sensors associated with the blending apparatus is received. Based on a first portion of the blending signal corresponding to the first composition, a calibration profile is generated. Based on the calibration profile and a second portion of the blending signal corresponding to the second composition, a transition indicator corresponding to a change in the blended fluid from the first composition to the second composition is determined. Based on the transition indicator, a flush signal indicating the beginning of a flush volume being output by the blending apparatus and pumped into the wellbore is generated.