Lubricants and Specialty Chemicals
Customized Chemistry for Enhanced Operational Performance
Advanced drilling fluid systems are engineered to perform across diverse well conditions. From high-performance oil-based and synthetic muds to environmentally conscious water-based options, these tailored solutions deliver reliability, stability, and regulatory compliance in complex operations.
Lubricants
Drilling lubricants play a critical role in enhancing performance across challenging well profiles. These formulations reduce torque and drag in complex trajectories, improve weight transfer for extended laterals, assist with casing and liner deployment, and aid in freeing stuck pipe—helping ensure smoother, more efficient operations.
Our specialized family of lubricants are available for a range of drilling fluid systems—including synthetic-based mud (SBM), oil-based mud (OBM), water-based mud (WBM), and brine. In non-aqueous fluids (NAFs), these lubricants improve drilling efficiency while helping maintain the oil-to-water ratio (OWR) to control system costs. Mechanical lubricants serve as a buffer between pipe or casing and the wellbore, functioning like ball bearings to facilitate smoother movement.
Specialty Chemicals: Inhibitors
Swelling clays pose a significant drilling challenge, leading to operational inefficiencies and costly delays. Our potent clay inhibitors effectively mitigate swelling, reducing bit balling and preventing stuck pipe incidents—ensuring smoother, more efficient drilling operations.
For greater drilling performance, the Weatherford High-Performance Water-Based Mud (HPWBM) systems enhance lubricity, improve hole cleaning, and optimize the rate of penetration (ROP)—while offering an environmentally friendly alternative to non-aqueous based fluids. Click here to learn more.
Specialty Chemicals: Drag Reducing Agent
Drag reducing agents (DRAs) optimize pipeline efficiency in midstream operations. By minimizing turbulence and promoting laminar flow, DRAs reduce frictional losses and ensure the crude moves more smoothly through the pipeline. This improved flow efficiency can lead to higher throughput without needing additional pump pressure, ultimately reducing energy consumption and operational costs.
Another advantage of DRAs is their ability to extend pipeline life by decreasing wear and tear caused by turbulent flow and pressure fluctuations.