A mud logging engineer monitors the drilling mud – a fluid mixture that is pumped down the drill string to cool the drill bit, bring the cuttings to the surface, and control pressure in the well – and oversees its characteristics and samples that are brought up to the surface. The engineer collects, analyses, and interprets data on the geological formations that are encountered while drilling. A mud logging engineer is responsible for making real-time decisions that influence the safety and efficiency of drilling operations.

The equipment that the engineer can call on allows them to monitor the drilling these days, 24/7. Advanced software can read data that comes from the sensors in the drill and inform about imminent dangers – from gas in the hole to formation failure where the rock can’t withstand the stress from the weight on top and starts to break. The engineer can reinterpret the analysis of the cuttings that come from the hole and the gas concentration in the return part of the mud. These numbers provide information about which kind of rock is being drilled and whether there is hydrocarbon in it.

This requires them to keep a careful eye on the data, to help the drilling team to avoid expensive delays, avert accidents, and optimize the drilling process. Mud logging engineers keep drilling safe and simple. They track data in real-time to prevent blowouts and other ‘kicks’, where lost circulation Disclosure: this feature looks at the origins of controversy and is not an endorsement of the position or view of the source.