Mudlogging is one of the many important activities during drilling, especially in exploration drilling. Third-party service providers make up about half of the workforce on an offshore rig. With so many hi-tech and specialized operations being performed at all stages of the drilling operations it’s imperative that experts in their field perform these tasks.

The job of the “mudloggers” is to monitor the drilling operations from the time the well is spudded to the time the well is safely drilled, tested and secured for either production or abandonment.

“Mudlogger” is the generic term used to describe the field specialists who monitor the well and also collect samples for the geologist. The career progression for a mudlogger is to generally start as a sample catcher while they learn about the drilling operations, then progress to a mudlogger and with further experience, become a data engineer.

Sample Catchers

Dedicated sample catchers aren’t always part of the team but they often get “thrown in” as a complementary part of the mudlogging services. They don’t need to have any prior experience in working offshore or as a mudlogger, so it’s a very good entry-level job and is generally the starting position for a graduate geologist (or anyone else) who wishes to work offshore. Although you don’t need to be a geologist to be a sample catcher, most of them will be and will go on to get trained as a mudlogger.

Sample catching is without a doubt the least glamorous and lowest paid of all jobs on the rig…but you have to start somewhere! The role of a sample catcher is to provide the most basic geological data acquisition on the rig and to assist with all general activities when possible. The main duties of the sample catcher are:

• Ensuring that representative geologic samples are caught throughout the drilling or reaming phases of the well program. This is done by collecting cuttings (drilled rock) samples, from the proper “lagged” (explained below) depths and at the proper intervals as required for evaluation. These samples are collected off the shale shakers, screened and washed, divided into correct portions, and packed into sets for the Client, partners, and government agencies. They may also have to assist in core recovery and packaging as required.
• Preparing a clean “cuttings” sample on a sample tray for the wellsite geologist and mudlogger, who will then examine it under the microscope and describe the lithology of the drilled formation.
• Assisting mudloggers and data engineers to perform regular and frequent calibration checks of instruments, perform normal routine maintenance of sensors and other equipment and also assist logging crew with rig-up/rig-down procedures.

The sample catcher reports directly to the mudlogging crew who will ensure his duties are performed correctly. This may include on-the-job training as required. They work out of the mudlogging unit, which is always close to the shale shakers and these are generally one or two levels below the drill floor.

The shale shakers are vibrating screens that separate the drilling fluid from the drilled rock cuttings. The “shaker house” is a very noisy place and double hearing protection must always be worn. There will be multiple shakers to accommodate the large volume of cuttings that can be produced when the drilling rate of penetration is high (i.e. they are drilling fast!). It’s a very “dirty” job and multiple layers of personal protective equipment need to be worn to prevent skin contact with the drilling mud, which can cause serious skin inflammation.

Mudloggers and Data Engineers (DE)

Mudloggers and data engineers are responsible for gathering, processing and monitoring information pertaining to drilling operations. They don’t only collect data using specialist data acquisition techniques – they also collect oil samples and detect gases using state-of-the-art equipment.

The information amassed by these guys is analyzed, logged and then communicated to the team that is responsible for the physical drilling of the well. Without the help of the mudlogger, the drilling operations would be less efficient, less cost-effective and much more dangerous. The mudlogger is vital for preventing hazardous situations, such as well blowouts.

They also provide vital assistance to wellsite geologists and write detailed reports based on the data that is collected. Being an entry-level position, employees will be given a mixture of ‘on-the-job’ training and expert in-house training courses, which cover different aspects of drilling operations. A major part of the training will focus on the use of specialist computer software.

Typically, you will need a degree in geology to start a career as a mudlogger. However, candidates with degrees in physics, geochemistry, chemistry, environmental geoscience, maths or engineering may also be accepted.

Along with the sample catchers and data engineers, the mudloggers work out of the mudlogging unit, which is a pressurized sea container-type of office, which is positioned close to the drill floor and shaker house.

The unit will have an air-lock compartment when you first enter it so as to maintain the positive pressure within the unit whenever somebody leaves or enters the unit.

This is the main control room for monitoring the drilling operations and is full of sophisticated and delicate equipment and computer systems. Positive pressure needs to be maintained to ensure the air pressure inside the container is higher than that of the outside area to prevent contamination of sensitive monitoring equipment – and also to ensure the safety of the crew working inside the unit should the outside air become contaminated through uncontrolled releases of hydrocarbons from the well.

One of the most important tasks of the mudlogger is to oversee the collection of not only geological samples but also mud and gas samples from the well during drilling operations. To be able to do this accurately they have to know the exact “lag time” (or “bottoms-up time”) that it will take for the drilled cuttings or mud and gas to arrive at the surface after being drilled and circulated up the outside of the drill hole (annulus) while suspended in the drilling mud. The lag time maybe a few minutes in a shallow hole or as much as several hours in deep wells with low mud flow rates. To be able to work this time out accurately there are many factors that have to be taken into consideration. The lag time depends on:

• the annular volume fluid
• flow rate, which in turn requires knowledge of:
• dimensions (internal diameter (ID) and outside diameter (OD)) of surface equipment, drill string tubular, casing and riser.
• mud pump output per stroke, pumping rate, and efficiency.

While the computer’s software will work this out automatically, the calculated value may be incorrect if the operator has entered erroneous or incomplete values for the pipe or hole dimensions, or if the hole is badly washed out. This has to be monitored very carefully to avoid catching mud, gas and cuttings samples at incorrect depths.

Sensors

The mudloggers and DE’s monitor the drilling operations via a series of sensors that are placed at various locations around the drill floor, pit room, and shaker house.

The main drilling and mud parameters that are recorded are: hook movement, weight on hook, standpipe pressure, wellhead pressure, rotary torque, pump strokes, RPM, mud pit levels, mud density, mud temperature, mud resistivity, and mudflow.

These parameters are monitored in real-time and any deviances from the expected normal values must be immediately reported to the driller. The DE will view and monitor all the drilling parameters on a screen as shown below.

The five most important monitoring tasks that the mudlogger and DE must watch out for are:

• Rate of penetration increase, which could indicate they have drilled into a reservoir formation
• Mud pit volume gain or loss, which could indicate the well is taking a kick, or losing fluid into the formation
• Mudflow rate change
• Mud density variation
• Indication of oil or gas.

The mudlogging unit is a very confined workplace and there may be up to several people working in there at any one time, especially if it’s a “combo” unit, which houses the mudloggers, MWD engineers and possibly also the directional drillers.

Generally (but not always), the same service provider company performs all of these roles so it is quite common for data engineers to progress into a role as an LWD/MWD engineer. Other common career progressions for mudloggers/data engineers are as a wellsite geologist or drilling fluids engineer (mud engineer).

The complete list of responsibilities of the mudloggers is too exhaustive to detail in this article but the above-mentioned roles are the main ones. Like most jobs on the rig, daily reports are a big part of the data engineer’s responsibilities.

The mudloggers report directly to the wellsite geologist, who are generally working in the mudlogging unit alongside them. Because the mudloggers are required to monitor the drilling operations from the commencement of drilling they will always be employed on a permanent rotating roster, which is generally 4-weeks on, 4-weeks off.

This article was written by Amanda Barlow, a wellsite geologist and published author of “Offshore Oil and Gas PEOPLE – Overview of Offshore Drilling Operations” for a beginner guide to working in offshore drilling operations, and “An Inconvenient Life – My Unconventional Career as a Wellsite Geologist”

Another great book you may want to read if you like to get an overview of oil exploration, drilling and production is “The Story of Oil and Gas”: How Oil and Gas Are Explored, Drilled and Produced”.