Drilling Fluid Contamination: Salt
If salt enters a bentonite based mud, the clay platelets will flocculate resulting in gellation and increasedfluid loss (>10ml).
Polymer systems are tolerant to salt contamination. However, the salt acts to reduce the yield of most polymers (not Starch), and in practice, high salt concentrations will require a higher concentration of polymer for the same effect.
Sources of Salt Contamination
- Drilling of salt formations
- Contamination from salt water aquifers.
Diagnosis
Salt contamination will result in:
- an increase in Chlorides