Air drilling

A method of rotary drilling that uses compressed air as the circulation medium. The conventional method of removing cuttings from the wellbore is to use a flow of water or drilling mud. Compressed air removes the cuttings with equal or greater efficiency. The rate of penetration is usually increased considerably when air drilling is used; however, a principal problem in air drilling is the penetration of formations containing water, since the entry of water into the system reduces the ability of the air to remove the cuttings.

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