MudSim milestone: Hole cleaning simulation now integrated in the holistic drilling fluid tool

MudSim has reached an important development milestone. The hole cleaning simulation is now completed and integrated into the MudSim platform as part of our holistic drilling fluid simulation tool.

Hole cleaning remains one of the major operational challenges in modern drilling operations, especially in long horizontal wells. When drill cuttings are not effectively transported out of the wellbore, they can accumulate and form a cuttings bed. This can increase friction, affect pressure conditions, and lead to operational problems such as stuck pipe, slower drilling progress, and costly delays.

Industry experience shows that poor hole cleaning can contribute to up to 30% of non-productive time (NPT) during drilling operations. In many cases, these challenges can result in additional costs of around 30 million NOK per well.

With this new development, MudSim now improves ECD (Equivalent Circulating Density) simulations by also accounting for the cuttings bed in the wellbore. This provides a more realistic understanding of drilling conditions, particularly in extended horizontal sections where hole cleaning is critical.

By combining hole cleaning with other key drilling fluid parameters in the same platform, MudSim allows operators to simulate and optimize drilling fluid performance before drilling begins. This supports better planning decisions, reduces operational risks, and helps improve overall drilling efficiency.

This milestone represents another step toward MudSim’s vision: providing the industry with a holistic simulation tool for drilling fluids that helps operators reduce costs, improve operational performance, and lower the environmental footprint of drilling operations.