An historical overview over the development of the drilling mud fluids technology in Europe and the United States

This manuscript aims to frame the events and characters that contributed to the development of drilling fluid technologies in the modern petroleum history until the early 20th century, when they established as an essential component for the rotary drilling practice. Drilling fluids, or drilling muds, are used since the early 20th century primarily in rotary drilling, which is the practice of boring a well implemented by means of a rotating bit/chisel capping off the drill string (drilling column composed of rigid rods) and supported by a derrick; encompassing the drilling process is drilling fluid, which helps to provide buoyancy to the drill string, lubricates and cools the bit, and remove cuttings from the wellbore. In the history of drilling fluids, the 1901’s petroleum gushing well completed at the Spindletop Hill field near Beaumont, TX, is credited with being the first to be drilled using that technology. This event is a watershed in the history of petroleum technology, however this achievement was more a climax rather than a start from the scratch. Wells had been drilled since mid-19th century by combining rotary equipment with muds. But, in
Spindletop the drilling team took advantage of a mixture of water and mud that proved to be more efficient. Since then, it started a cumulative process of know-how and practices developed from an age-old empirical practice made up of trials and errors developed between Asia, Europe and North America.