Abstract. In the oil and gas industries, understanding the behaviour of a flow through an annulus gap in a vertical position, whose outer wall is stationary whilst the inner wall rotates, is a significantly important issue in drilling wells. The main emphasis is placed on experimental (using an available rig) and computational (employing CFD software) investigations into the effects of the rotation speed of the inner pipe on the axial velocity profiles. The measured axial velocity profiles, in the cases of low axial flow, show that the axial velocity is influenced by the rotation speed of the inner pipe in the region of almost 33% of the annulus near the inner pipe, and influenced inversely in the rest of the annulus. The position of the maximum axial velocity is shifted from the centre to be nearer the inner pipe, by increasing the rotation speed. However, in the case of higher flow, as the rotation speed increases, the axial velocity is reduced and the position of the maximum axial velocity is skewed towards the centre of the annulus. There is a reduction of the swirl velocity corresponding to the rise of the volumetric flow rate.