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Pinedale Online > News > September 2011 > Tour of the Jonah and NPL > Separating the cuttings |
Back to Article © Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online |
The cuttings are the solids removed from the borehole during the well-drilling process. It is usually made up of sands, shales and the other rock encountered as the drill bit moves through the underground rock formations. The drill cuttings are removed by circulating the drilling fluid over shale shakers. The shaker typically consists of large, flat sheets of wire mesh screens or sieves of various mesh sizes that shake or vibrate the drill cuttings across and off of the screens as the drilling fluid mud flows through them and back into the drilling fluid system. This separates the solid drill cuttings from the fluid so that it can be recirculated back down the wellbore. |
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