# US 12,222,343 B2 · Drilling mud management system and method

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- Number: US 12,222,343 B2
- Document ID: US12222343B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/127,800
- Filed: 2023-03-29
- Published: 2023-07-20
- Granted: 2025-02-11
- Earliest claimed: 2017-09-08
- Assignees: Australian Mud Company Pty Ltd
- Applicants: Australian Mud Company Pty Ltd
- Inventors: Frans Christiaan Havenga; Storm Kyle Burnham; Shaun David Wilson
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12222343B2

## CPC

- G01N 33/2823: {Raw oil, drilling fluid or polyphasic mixtures}
- E21B 21/01: Arrangements for handling drilling fluids or cuttings outside the borehole, e.g. mud boxes
- E21B 21/062: {by mixing components}
- E21B 44/00: Automatic control systems specially adapted for drilling operations, i.e. self-operating systems which function to carry out or modify a drilling operation without intervention of a human operator, e.g. computer-controlled drilling systems; Systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions
- G01F 23/292: Light {, e.g. infrared or ultraviolet}
- G01N 1/14: Suction devices, e.g. pumps; Ejector devices
- G01N 9/26: by measuring pressure differences
- G01N 11/00: Investigating flow properties of materials, e.g. viscosity, plasticity; Analysing materials by determining flow properties
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)
- E21B: EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- G01F: MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME

## Abstract

An automated batch sampling drilling mud management system includes a portable mud measurement system and a communications system. The portable mud measurement system has or more measurement devices arranged to measure at least one property and/or characteristic of drilling mud; and a pumping system arranged to pump a batch sample of drilling mud from a supply of drilling mud to the one or more measurement devices. The pumping system is also able to subsequently flush the batch sample of drilling mud from the one or more measurement devices. The communications system enables bidirectional communications between the mud management system and a remote location to enable transfer of data therebetween and the exertion of control from the remote location to the mud management system.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for automatic batch sampling of drilling mud comprising:
measuring at least one property and/or characteristic of drilling mud with one or more measurement devices in a portable mud measurement system by:
pumping a batch sample of drilling mud from a supply of drilling mud to the one or more measurement devices with a reversible pump operating in a first direction;
introducing a flushing fluid into the one or more measurement devices using a flushing fluid pump;
flushing the batch sample of drilling mud from the one or more measurement devices using the reversible pump operating in a second direction and
bidirectionally communicating between the mud management system and a remote location to transfer data from the one or more measurement devices therebetween and
exerting control from the remote location to the mud management system.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one property and/or characteristic of drilling mud is selected from the group consisting of filtrate measurement, pH range, Chloride ion concentration, total hardness, potassium ion concentration, calcium ion concentration, selective ion determination, viscosity characteristics, density, solid percentage and solids removal efficiency.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 further comprising comparing the data from the one or more measurement devices with reference data, and providing information indicative of (a) the properties and or/characteristics of the drilling mud and or (b) one or more differences between the measurement data and reference data.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 further comprising dosing a drilling mud supply with one or more drilling mud ingredients.