ABSTRACT Five commercial salt inhibitors were laboratory tested in NaCl solutions to evaluate their effectiveness in maintaining salt (NaCl) saturations over the temperature ranges encountered from the bottom of the hole to the surface when drilling through salt formations. The effect of salt inhibitors was also studied in NaCl solutions with high Ca++ and Mg++ contamination. Three of the inhibitors were found to be effective in maintaining a supersaturation condition while two were not. Effectiveness was shown to be significantly reduced in the presence of high hardness. The test results were successfully applied to a drilling program in the Williston Basin to eliminate salt zone washouts with the use of a supersaturated salt mud. Comparison of caliper logs and cement bond logs from previously drilled wells to those of the test wells shows significant reduction in hole enlargement through the salts and improvement in the quality of the cement bond.