US 12,258,823 B2
Drilling fluid temperature optimization
Rami F. Saleh, Dhahran (SA); and Mahmoud Adnan Alqurashi, Dhahran (SA)
Assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on May 26, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/324,725.
Prior Publication US 2024/0392638 A1, Nov. 28, 2024
Int. Cl. E21B 21/06 (2006.01)
CPC E21B 21/06 (2013.01) 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A drilling fluid temperature optimization system for cooling drilling fluid circulating in a wellbore drilled by wellbore drilling system, the system comprising:
a receiving tank;
one or more nozzle assemblies at least partially disposed in the receiving tank, each nozzle assembly comprising a housing enclosing an inner chamber fluidically connected to one or more nozzles, wherein each of the one or more nozzle assemblies is configured to receive within its respective inner chamber drilling fluid flowing from a wellhead of the wellbore;
an air compressor configured to inject compressed air into each inner chamber, thereby forming a mixture of air entrained in drilling fluid flowing through the inner chamber to the one or more nozzles, wherein the system is configured such that the receiving tank receives the mixture as it is expelled from the one or more nozzles; and
a pump configured to pump the drilling fluid in the mixture received in the receiving tank back into the wellbore through the wellhead.