Hyperdynamics Corp (HDYNQ)

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Some may see it that way. Usually I hear it as the very start of drilling.

Spudding in

"Spudding in," or to "spud" a well, means to begin drilling operations. The drill string, consisting of a drill bit, drill collars, drill pipe, and kelly, is assembled and lowered into the conductor pipe. Drilling fluid, better known as drilling mud, is circulated through the kelly and the drill string by means of pipes and flexible hose connecting the drilling fluid or mud pumps and a swivel device attached to the upper end of the kelly. The swivel device enables drilling mud to be circulated while the kelly and drill string are rotated. The mud pump draws fluid from mud tanks or pits located nearby. The drilling mud passes through the kelly, drill pipe, drill collars, and drill bit. It is returned to the surface by means of the well bore and the conductor pipe where it is directed to a device called a shale shaker. The shale shaker separates the drill cuttings and solids from the drilling mud, which is returned to the mud tanks to be circulated again (fig. 23). As the drill string is rotated in the well bore, the drill bit cuts into the rock. The drilling mud lubricates and cools the drill bit and drill string and carries the drill cuttings to the surface (fig. 23).



And:


Drilling the surface hole

When a well is spudded in, a large-diameter drill bit is used to drill to a predetermined depth. This is for the purpose of drilling the surface hole. The surface hole is lined with casing. The casing protects aquifers which may contain freshwater, provides a mounting place for the blowout preventer, and serves as the support for the production casing that will be placed in the well bore if the drilling program is successful. The surface hole may be several hundred or several thousand feet deep. When the predetermined depth is reached, the drill string will be removed from the well bore. Steel casing of the proper diameter is inserted. Sufficient cement is pumped down the surface casing to fill the space between the outside of the casing and the well bore all the way to the surface. This is to insure the protection of freshwater aquifers and the security of the surface casing (fig. 24). The casing and the cement are tested under pressure for a period of 12 hours before drilling operations may be resumed. A piece of equipment known as a blowout preventer is attached at the top of the surface casing. This device is required to control the well in the event that abnormal pressures are encountered in the bore hole that cannot be controlled with drilling fluid. If high-pressure gas or liquid blows the drilling fluid out of the well bore, the blowout preventer can be closed to confine the gas and fluids to the well bore.

http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/Oil/primer12.html