Defoamer / Foam Preventer Typr Oil Base & Silicone Base

When an oil well is being drilled, the drill bit is at the end of a long hollow pipe. A liquid called drilling fluid, or drilling mud, is pumped down this pipe, emerges at the bottom, and flows back to the surface in the space between the pipe and the sides of the hole being drilled. Drilling fluid contains a variety of chemicals and solids, depending on the rocks being drilled through and the environmental conditions in the area.

The drilling fluid serves several purposes. One is to remove cuttings—the pieces of rock that are cut from the rock formation being drilled—from the borehole. The cuttings are carried to the surface by the flow of the drilling fluid. This prevents the cuttings from accumulating at the bottom, where they would jam the drill bit and prevent further drilling.

Drilling fluid also maintains a proper pressure balance inside the borehole. There must be enough pressure to prevent oil or water from flowing into the borehole—but not so much that it causes the drilling fluid itself to be lost into the rock formation.

At times drilling fluid foams as it reaches the surface. The reason: gas bubbles that form as the pressure decreases near the surface. This is similar to what happens when you open a can or bottle of a carbonated drink—the gas bubbles come out of solution as the pressure drops when the container is opened. Foaming drilling fluid can be difficult to pump and messy to clean up. The solution is to use defoamers.