From Mixing to Storage: Documenting Drilling Fluid Quality
Before a batch is transferred or released for use, the operator needs more than a final reading. The team needs to know which fluid was measured, what happened to it, and whether the required checks still support the release decision.
A connected record of measurements, additions, storage conditions and acceptance tests helps the mixing plant, fluid supplier and drilling team work from the same evidence. The value is a clearer basis for accepting, holding or reconditioning a batch—and less uncertainty at handover.
Give each batch a history
Start the record with a batch reference, fluid type, specification revision, tank identity and volume. Link each treatment or transfer to that record, including the material, amount and time. When batches are split or blended, preserve the connection between the source and receiving volumes. Otherwise, a useful trend can become detached from the fluid it describes.
This is a proposed documentation workflow. Batch references and event details can be maintained in the operator’s existing records and linked to the measurement report; they should not be assumed to be captured automatically.
Figure 1. A proposed batch-history workflow. Keep additions, measurements, gaps and release decisions linked as the fluid moves between stages.
Use mixing trends to focus the next check
During monitored mixing and conditioning, follow how the measured properties respond. Mark additions and changes in circulation or measurement source. A trend can help the team select a period for representative sampling and identify a change that needs investigation. It does not, by itself, establish that an additive is fully dispersed or that the whole tank is homogeneous.
Operator value: the next shift can see the sequence of treatment and response, rather than inheriting a final number with no explanation. Any adjustment remains subject to the agreed formulation and the mud engineer’s assessment.
Figure 2. Recorded controlled mixing test, replotted from source data. The early rise was reported during viscosifier mixing. Calendar and source identifiers are removed; no addition timestamp is inferred. Temperature ranged from 15.4 to 17.7 °C. This is mixing evidence, not a storage test. [4]
Operator value: retain the response over time, then link it to what was added and when. A final reading alone would hide that history.
Compare measurements on the same basis
Record the sampling point, collection time, test temperature and preparation method. Distinguish process temperature from the temperature used for a reference test. Agitation history and temperature affect drilling-fluid properties, so a comparison made under different conditions needs that context. API’s public description of RP 13I identifies these influences; it is not a certification of this workflow. [1]
Keep the storage interval visible
A measurement before storage and a measurement after storage describe two observed conditions. They do not show everything that happened between them. Record when the tank was circulating or agitated, when monitoring was active, and when no fresh measurements were available. Do not connect a gap in the record as though the fluid had been continuously observed.
RheoSense measures a flowing sidestream. Monitoring a storage tank therefore depends on an appropriate circulation and sampling arrangement. A stable reading at that point does not establish uniformity elsewhere in the tank. Before reuse, follow the specified conditioning and representative sampling requirements; assess settling, separation or other changes where relevant to the formulation and storage conditions. [2]
Operator value: the team can distinguish a measured change from an unobserved interval and decide what needs to be checked before returning the fluid to service.
Make release a documented decision
Use the agreed fluid specification to define acceptance. Depending on the fluid and application, the required checks may include density, rheology, gels, filtration and relevant chemical or emulsion tests. A trend in selected properties supports that assessment; it does not demonstrate that every acceptance criterion has been met.
As an industry example, Halliburton’s Global LMP Fluids Manual, Rev. F (2015), describes testing against specification before transfer and collecting labelled QC samples. This is a historical company procedure, not a universal current standard. The applicable operator and supplier procedures govern the actual release. [3]
Record the release or hold decision, responsible reviewer, test results and any conditions attached to the decision. Keep reconditioning and retest results linked to the same batch history. Later additions, blending or other changes should remain visible to the person assessing whether the earlier acceptance still applies.
Turn a change into a clearer handover
Consider a batch that meets its initial checks, is stored, then shows different density or low-shear readings when circulation resumes. The useful question is what changed in the batch or measurement conditions. Compare the new trend with the earlier record, temperature, additions and transfer history, then obtain the required representative tests. This is an illustrative workflow, not a reported IMS field outcome.
Operator value: both the sending and receiving teams can see the evidence behind the decision, the unresolved questions and the checks needed next.
How IMS supports the record
RheoSense supplies measured fluid-property data while the configured system is operating. RheoView lets rig crews and remote specialists review live and historical trends. RheoReport converts time-stamped data into reports for review and documentation, with standardized formats and cloud archiving. [2]
Link these records to the batch history and manual acceptance results. This gives the team a common timeline for reviewing a deviation and following the response to an agreed action. Release authority remains with the responsible personnel; the record described here does not imply automatic batch tracking, approval or certification.
Figure 3. Published research-pilot equipment: mixing unit (top left), RheoSense skid (top right), modelling code and control display below. Source: Skogestad et al., Drilling Contractor. This is a separate historical pilot, not the test shown in Figure 2. [5]
Operator value: connect the measurement point to the mixing and circulation arrangement, then retain the operating context with the report. The photograph illustrates the research setup; it does not establish an automated batch-release function.
A practical batch record
Suggested handover structure; adapt it to the fluid programme and site procedure.
Batch identity
Record: Batch/tank reference, fluid specification and volume; links to source batches after blending.
Operator value: Connect the result to the correct fluid.
Mixing / conditioning
Record: Additions, amounts and times; measurement source, temperature and relevant trends.
Operator value: Review treatment and response.
Storage
Record: Tank and circulation state; monitored periods, gaps and checks before reuse.
Operator value: Separate observed change from missing evidence.
Acceptance
Record: Required test results, sampling details, specification limits and unresolved deviations.
Operator value: Support a reasoned release or hold decision.
Handover
Record: Release status, responsible reviewer, transfer details and linked report/test records.
Operator value: Give the receiving team a clear starting point.
The operator gains a traceable basis for three decisions: whether the batch is ready, whether it has changed, and what the next team needs to verify. The benefit comes from connecting measurements to the fluid and the decision they support.
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