Which device can be used to prevent differential sticking?

Which device can be used to prevent differential sticking?

• A. Float Collar
• B. Surface Casing
• C. Centralizer
• D. Guide Shoe

Answer: (C)

Keeping the drill string centered in the wellbore is the key idea. Differential sticking happens when pressure from the drilling mud and formation fluids pushes the pipe against the wall, and the contact points trap it there. Centralizers hold the string in the middle of the hole, creating an even annulus around the pipe. That improves mud circulation, reduces mud cake buildup at a single spot, and minimizes friction that could push the string into the wall. Other devices serve different roles—float collars isolate fluids and prevent backflow, surface casing provides structural and zonal isolation, and guide shoes help steer casing into the hole—but they don’t specifically address the centering needed to prevent differential sticking. So centralizers are the device that best prevents it.

Keeping the drill string centered in the wellbore is the key idea. Differential sticking happens when pressure from the drilling mud and formation fluids pushes the pipe against the wall, and the contact points trap it there. Centralizers hold the string in the middle of the hole, creating an even annulus around the pipe. That improves mud circulation, reduces mud cake buildup at a single spot, and minimizes friction that could push the string into the wall. Other devices serve different roles—float collars isolate fluids and prevent backflow, surface casing provides structural and zonal isolation, and guide shoes help steer casing into the hole—but they don’t specifically address the centering needed to prevent differential sticking. So centralizers are the device that best prevents it.