Section

mud testing procedures

health, safety and environment

Mud Engineers will be responsible for ensuring that all mud testing activities are carried out in a safe
and responsible manner, especially those involving high pressures, high temperatures and dangerous
chemicals. Be aware of the hazards and ensure that all risks are well managed.
Mud Engineers will be responsible for ensuring that all hazardous testing chemicals are correctly
labelled, and safely stored and handled. They will also ensure that testing chemicals sent off the rig are
correctly packaged and labelled.
MSDS sheets for all the mud testing chemicals should be available in the mud lab. Copies should also be
distributed to the Medic, client representative and the contractor representative.
Empty bottles of testing chemicals should be thoroughly flushed out with water and then returned to
the Mud Company for re-cycling or disposal.
A Hazchem poster should be posted in the lab, detailing all the mud testing chemicals:
Product Name
Colour Code
UN Code
First Aid Treatment
Fire Fighting Media
Action for Spillage
Personal Protection Recommended
It is recommended to have a pair of oven gloves available for handling hot testing equipment, eg. retort
and HTHP.
Safety glasses are mandatory when conducting any mud test. This will help protect the eyes from
broken glass, or being splashed with chemicals, mud or mud filtrate.
Pipette filling devices are recommended for titrating, as they will prevent any dangerous chemicals
being swallowed.
Mud engineers should ensure that the mud lab has an adequate method of extracting fumes from
chemicals or retorts. Either a strong extractor or a fume cupboard is recommended. If fume extraction is not
adequate then recommendations for its improvement should be submitted to the client representative.
If the mud lab is sited in a designated hazardous area the mud engineers should ensure that the mud
lab is suitably pressurised. If pressurisation is inadequate then recommendations for its improvement
should be submitted to the client representative.
An adequate number of power points of the correct voltage should be available in the mud lab.
Power points that have too many appliances running off them are a common source of fire. If there are
not enough power points often a request to the rig electrician can resolve the matter. If that is not
successful then the client representative should be consulted.
Any base oil, or synthetic or ester based mud samples that are used for testing should be kept and
disposed of in the active mud system. It should not be flushed down the sink.
If practical, the surfactant mixtures that have already been used for testing non water base muds should
be kept in a suitable container and later sent to shore for appropriate disposal.
Surgical gloves should be available for handling dangerous testing chemicals or non water base fluids.