Chemical modification of barite for improving the performance of weighting materials for water-based drilling fluids

With increasing drilling depth and large dosage of weighting materials,drilling fluids with high solid content are characterized by poor stability,high viscosity,large water loss,and thick mud cake,easier leading to reservoir damage and wellbore instability.In this paper,micronized barite(MB)was modified(mMB)by grafting with hydrophilic polymer onto the surface through the free radical polymerization to displace conventional API barite partly.The suspension stability of water-based drilling fluids(WBDFs)weighted with API barite:mMB=2:1 in 600 g was significantly enhanced compared with that with API barite/WBDFs,exhibiting the static sag factor within 0.54 and the whole stability index of 2.The viscosity and yield point reached the minimum,with a reduction of more than 40%compared with API barite only at the same density.Through multi-stage filling and dense accumulation of weighting materials and clays,filtration loss was decreased,mud cake quality was improved,and simultaneously it had great reservoir protection performance,and the permeability recovery rate reached 87%.In addition,it also effectively improved the lubricity of WBDFs.The sticking coefficient of mud cake was reduced by 53.4%,and the friction coefficient was 0.2603.Therefore,mMB can serve as a versatile additive to control the density,rheology,filtration,and stability of WBDFs weighted with API barite,thus regulating comprehensive performance and achieving reservoir protection capacity.This work opened up a new path for the productive drilling of extremely deep and intricate wells by providing an efficient method for managing the performance of high-density WBDFs.

Natural rubber latex as a potential additive for water-based drilling fluids

The environmental hazards and"carbon footprint"of oil and gas drilling can be significantly reduced by replacing traditional petroleum-based chemical additives with natural materials derived from plants and animals.This paper explored for the first time the interaction mechanism between natural rubber latex(NRL)and bentonite suspensions(BTs)through a series of characterization experiments,as well as the potential applications in water-based drilling fluids(WBDF).The gel viscoelasticity experiments showed that NRL could decrease the consistency coefficient(k)and flow index(n)of BTs,and enhance the shear thinning performance of BTs as pseudo-plastic fluids.In addition,0.5 w/v%NRL not only increased the critical yield stress and strengthened the structural strength between the bentonite particles,but also facilitated the compatibility of pressure loss and flow efficiency.The evaluation of colloidal stability and WBDF performance indicated that NRL particles could promote the hydration and charge stability on the surface of BTs particles,and optimize the particle size distribution and flow resistance of WBDF under the"intercalation-exfoliation-encapsulation"synergistic interaction.Moreover,NRL can improve the rheological properties of WBDF at high temperatures(<150.C),and form a dense blocking layer by bridging and sealing the pores and cracks of the filter cake,which ultimately reduces the permeability of the cake and the filtration loss of WBDF.

Gas-hydrate formation,agglomeration and inhibition in oil-based drilling fluids for deep-water drilling

One of the main challenges in deep-water drilling is gas-hydrate plugs,which make the drilling unsafe.Some oil-based drilling fluids（OBDF） that would be used for deep-water drilling in the South China Sea were tested to investigate the characteristics of gas-hydrate formation,agglomeration and inhibition by an experimental system under the temperature of 4 ？C and pressure of 20 MPa,which would be similar to the case of 2000 m water depth.The results validate the hydrate shell formation model and show that the water cut can greatly influence hydrate formation and agglomeration behaviors in the OBDF.The oleophobic effect enhanced by hydrate shell formation which weakens or destroys the interfacial films effect and the hydrophilic effect are the dominant agglomeration mechanism of hydrate particles.The formation of gas hydrates in OBDF is easier and quicker than in water-based drilling fluids in deep-water conditions of low temperature and high pressure because the former is a W/O dispersive emulsion which means much more gas-water interfaces and nucleation sites than the later.Higher ethylene glycol concentrations can inhibit the formation of gas hydrates and to some extent also act as an anti-agglomerant to inhibit hydrates agglomeration in the OBDF.

Rheological properties of oil-based drilling fluids at high temperature and high pressure

The rheological properties of two kinds of oil-based drilling fluids with typically composition were studied at pressures up to 138 MPa and temperatures up to 204 ℃ using the RheoChan 7400 Rheometer.The experimental results show that the apparent viscosity,plastic viscosity and yield point decrease with the increase of temperature,and increase with the increase of pressure.The effect of pressure on the apparent viscosity,plastic viscosity and yield point is considerable at ambient temperature.However,this effect gradually reduces with the increase of temperature.The major factor influencing the rheological properties of oil-based drilling fluids is temperature instead of pressure in the deep sections of oil wells.On the basis of numerous experiments,the model for predict the apparent viscosity,plastic viscosity and yield point of oil-based drilling fluids at high temperature and pressure was established using the method of regressive analysis.It is confirmed that the calculated data are in good agreement with the measured data,and the correlation coefficients are more than 0.98.The model is convenient for use and suitable for the application in drilling operations.

Comparison and application of different empirical correlations for estimating the hydrate safety margin of oil-based drilling fluids containing ethylene glycol

As the oil and gas industries continue to increase their activity in deep water, gas hydrate hazards will become more serious and challenging, both at present and in the future. Accurate predictions of the hydrate-free zone and the suitable addition of salts and/or alcohols in preparing drilling fluids are particularly important both in preventing hydrate problems and decreasing the cost of drilling operations. In this paper, we compared several empirical correlations commonly used to estimate the hydrate inhibition effect of aqueous organic and electrolyte solutions using experiments with ethylene glycol （EG） as a hydrate inhibitor. The results show that the Najibi et al. correlation （for single and mixed thermodynamic inhibitors） and the Ostergaard et al. empirical correlation （for single thermodynamic inhibitors） are suitable for estimating the hydrate safety margin of oil-based drilling fluids （OBDFs） in the presence of thermodynamic hydrate inhibitors. According to the two correlations, the OBDF, composed of 1.6 L vaporizing oil, 2% emulsifying agent, 1% organobentonite, 0.5% SP-1, 1% LP-1, 10% water and 40% EG, can be safely used at a water depth of up to 1900 m. However, for more accurate predictions for drilling fluids, the effects of the solid phase, especially bentonite, on hydrate inhibition need to be considered and included in the application of these two empirical correlations.

Development of a High Temperature and High Pressure Oil-Based Drilling Fluid Emulsion Stability Tester

When drilling deep wells and ultra-deep wells, the downhole high temperature and high pressure environment will affect the emulsion stability of oil-based drilling fluids. Moreover, neither the demulsification voltage method nor the centrifugal method currently used to evaluate the stability of oil-based drilling fluids can reflect the emulsification stability of drilling fluids under high temperature and high pressure on site. Therefore, a high-temperature and high-pressure oil-based drilling fluid emulsion stability evaluation instrument is studied, which is mainly composed of a high-temperature autoclave body, a test electrode, a temperature control system, a pressure control system, and a test system. The stability test results of the instrument show that the instrument can achieve stable testing and the test data has high reliability. This instrument is used to analyze the factors affecting the emulsion stability of oil-based drilling fluids. The experimental results show that under the same conditions, the higher the stirring speed, the better the emulsion stability of the drilling fluid;the longer the stirring time, the better the emulsion stability of the drilling fluid;the greater the oil-water ratio, the better the emulsion stability of the drilling fluid. And the test results of the emulsification stability of oil-based drilling fluids at high temperature and high pressure show that under the same pressure, as the temperature rises, the emulsion stability of oil-based drilling fluids is significantly reduced;at the same temperature, the With the increase in pressure, the emulsion stability of oil-based drilling fluids is in a downward trend, but the decline is not large. Relatively speaking, the influence of temperature on the emulsion stability of oil-based drilling fluids is greater than that of pressure.

Development of key additives for organoclay-free oil-based drilling mud and system performance evaluation

Traditional oil-based drilling muds(OBMs) have a relatively high solid content, which is detrimental to penetration rate increase and reservoir protection. Aimed at solving this problem, an organoclay-free OBM system was studied, the synthesis methods and functioning mechanism of key additives were introduced, and performance evaluation of the system was performed. The rheology modifier was prepared by reacting a dimer fatty acid with diethanolamine, the primary emulsifier was made by oxidation and addition reaction of fatty acids, the secondary emulsifier was made by amidation of a fatty acid, and finally the fluid loss additive of water-soluble acrylic resin was synthesized by introducing acrylic acid into styrene/butyl acrylate polymerization. The rheology modifier could enhance the attraction between droplets, particles in the emulsion via intermolecular hydrogen bonding and improve the shear stress by forming a three-dimensional network structure in the emulsion. Lab experimental results show that the organoclay-free OBM could tolerate temperatures up to 220 ?C and HTHP filtration is less than 5 m L. Compared with the traditional OBMs, the organoclay-free OBM has low plastic viscosity, high shear stress, high ratio of dynamic shear force to plastic viscosity and high permeability recovery, which are beneficial to penetration rate increase, hole cleaning and reservoir protection.

Research on High Temperature and High Density White Oil Based Drilling Fluid and Its Application in Well 201H7-6

As the depth and horizontal length of shale gas development wells increase,the requirement for the temperature resistance and the ability of the drilling fluids to stabilize the shale formation becomes higher.A new type of high temperature and high density white oil based drilling fluid system has been developed in laboratory.Research shows that the drilling fluid system has good rheological property,low filtration loss,strong anti-debris pollution capability and good plugging performance at high temperature and high density.The system has been successfully applied in the 201H7-6 well.Application results show that the drilling fluid rheology,high temperature and high pressure fluid loss and demulsification voltage meet the field requirements.The drilling fluid performance is stable in drilling an 1800 m horizontal section,and no stuck or shale swelling and wellbore collapsing are induced.It is the first well drilled successfully with domestic white oil-based drilling fluid in Zigong Region.It also sets several new records including the deepest well,the shortest drilling cycle,and the fastest drilling speed in that region,which provides valuable experience for the future drilling activities.

The utilization of spent palm cooking oil for formulating oil-based drilling muds with excellent H_(2)S scavenging capability

In this study,a spent palm cooking oil-based mud with an excellent H_(2)S scavenging capability induced by the inclusion of a small quantity of potassium permanganate is formulated and tested for the first time.The mud formulation,containing the spent palm oil as the continuous phase and water as the dispersed phase,respectively,was stabilized by Span 80 and rhamnolipid biosurfactant as primary and secondary emulsifiers,respectively,while hydrophobic zinc nanoparticles(NPs)were used as weighting agent.The results showed that H_(2)S scavenging capacity at the breakthrough time reached 182.4 g H_(2)S/barrel mud,which increased to 417.9 g H_(2)S/barrel mud at the saturation time,demonstrating the effective H_(2)S scavenging performance of the formulated mud.The spent palm oil-based mud(SPOBM)also showed a good flow behavior that could be well fitted using the Herschel-Bulkley and Casson models.The effect of temperature on the apparent viscosity of the SPOBM has been investigated,and the fitting of the viscosity-temperature data provided an estimate of the activation energy as 23.53 kJ/mol.The findings reported in this article reveal the feasibility of transforming the spent/waste cooking oils into a valuable commodity for formulating greener drilling fluids with acceptable rheology and excellent H_(2)S scavenging performance.

Performance of water-based drilling fluids for deepwater and hydrate reservoirs:Designing and modelling studies

In deepwater drilling,the properties of water-based drilling fluids change remarkably due to low temperature and high pressure,which have a significant effect on lost circulation,wellbore instability and the window between pore pressure and fracturing pressure.The present work investigates the influence of low temperature and high pressure on polymer and nanoparticle(boron nitride(BN))based drilling fluids with an aim to improve their rheological properties and fluid loss control.The amplitude and frequency sweep tests were conducted to understand the viscoelastic nature of the samples.The amplitude sweep tests confirmed the structural stability of the designed fluid within the studied sweep frequency.The study reveals that storage modulus(G')and loss modulus(G")of the samples are enhanced with increasing concentration of BN nanoparticles.Their viscoelastic range also increases due to the intermolecular interaction within the structure of the fluid in the presence of the nanoparticles.Within the linear viscoelastic range(LVER),all the samples show the dominance of elastic modulus than viscous modulus which delineates the solid-like behaviour.The results of rheological tests of drilling fluid containing BN nanoparticles indicate a significant reduction in plastic viscosity(PV),yield point(YP)and apparent viscosity(AV).The rheological studies conducted at different temperatures(from 10℃to-5℃)and pressures(from 7.8 MPa toll MPa)reveal the minimum effect of pressure and temperature on the rheology of samples,which are desirable for their applications in hydrate and deepwater drilling.The filtration loss experiments conducted at 30℃and 0.69 MPa show a large reduction in fluid loss volume(60.6%)and filter cake thickness(90%)for the sample with 0.4 wt%BN nano particles compared to that of the sample without nanoparticles.The filter cake permeability is also in the favourable range with0.008 mD which shows a 94%reduction compared to the sample without nanoparticles.A regression model was developed to mathematically describe the experimental results,which demonstrates a good fitting with the statistical data of fluid loss volume,thickness and permeability of the filter cake.

Development and Performance Evaluation of a Deep Water Synthetic Based Drilling Fluid System

With the enhancement of environmental protection awareness, the requirements on drilling fluid are increasingly strict, and the use of ordinary oil-based drilling fluid has been strictly restricted. In order to solve the environmental protection and oil-gas reservoir protection problems of offshore oil drilling, a new synthetic basic drilling fluid system is developed. The basic formula is as follows: a basic fluid (80% Linear a-olefin + 20% Simulated seawater) + 2.5% nano organobentonite + 3.5% emulsifier RHJ-5# + 2.5% fluid loss agent SDJ-1 + 1.5% CaO + the right amount of oil wetting barite to adjust the density, and a multifunctional oil and gas formation protective agent YRZ has been developed. The performance was evaluated using a high-low-high-temperature rheometer, a high-temperature and high-pressure demulsification voltage tester, and a high-temperature and high-pressure dynamic fluid loss meter. The results show that the developed synthetic based drilling fluid has good rheological property, demulsification voltage ≥ 500 V, temperature resistance up to 160°C, high temperature and high pressure filtration loss < 3.5 mL. After adding 2% - 5% YRZ into the basic formula of synthetic based drilling fluid, the permeability recovery value exceeds 90% and the reservoir protection effect is excellent. The new synthetic deepwater drilling fluid is expected to have a good application prospect in offshore deepwater drilling.

Numerical analysis of the effects of downhole dynamic conditions on formation testing while drilling

Formation testing while drilling is an innovative technique that is replacing conventional pressure testing in which the fluid sampling is conducted in a relatively short time following the drilling. At this time, mud invasion has just started, mudcake has not formed entirely and the formation pressure is not stable. Therefore, it is important to study the influence of the downhole dynamic environment on pressure testing and fluid sampling. This paper applies an oil-water two phase finite element model to study the influence of mudcake quality and mud filtrate invasion on supercharge pressure, pretest and sampling in the reservoirs of different permeability. However, the study is only for the cases with water based mud in the wellbore. The results illustrate that the mudcake quality has a significant influence on the supercharge pressure and fluid sampling, while the level of mud filtrate invasion has a strong impact on pressure testing and sampling. In addition, in-situ formation pressure testing is more difficult in low permeability reservoirs as the mud filtrate invasion is deeper and therefore degrades the quality of fluid sampling. Finally, a field example from an oil field on the Alaskan North Slope is presented to validate the numerical studies of the effects of downhole dynamic conditions on formation testing while drilling.

Preparation and Performance of Salt Tolerance and Thermal Stability Cellulose Nanofibril Hydrogels and Their Application in Drilling Engineering

The poor salt tolerance,thermal stability,and environmental performance of petrochemicals can severely limit their applications in drilling engineering.In this study,cellulose nanofibril(CNF)hydrogels with improved salt tolerance and thermal stability were prepared,and their filtration performance was evaluated.The hydrogels were prepared through the simultaneous grafting of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid(AMPS)and butyl acrylate(BA)onto the CNF surface through ceric ammoniumnitrate-induced radical polymerization.The modified and original CNF samples were characterized using Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR)and rheological measurements.The FT-IR analysis results showed that both AMPS and BA were grafted onto the CNF backbone,affirming the successful preparation of the grafted CNFs.The rheological analysis results showed that the modified CNF hydrogels exhibited significantly improved salt tolerance,thermal stability,and“salt-thickening”effect.Moreover,the results of the fluid loss test showed that the modified CNF hydrogels exhibited a much better fluid loss control than the original CNF hydrogels.In addition,after adding 2%modified CNF hydrogels as a filtrate reducer in the drilling fluids prepared with a 6%combined salt solution,the filtrate loss was significantly reduced even after aging for 72 h at 160℃.

Calculation and application of partition coefficients of light hydrocarbons in oil-based mud system

To find out the relationship between the oil-based mud,the formation fluid and the extracted gas,we use a thermodynamic approach based on static headspace gas chromatography technique to calculate the partition coefficients of 47 kinds of light hydrocarbons compounds between nC5 and nC8 in two kinds of oil-based mud-air systems,and reconstruct the original formation fluid composition under thermodynamic equilibrium.The oil-based drilling mud has little effect on the formation fluid compositions in the range of nC5-nC8(less than 1%for low-toxicity oil-based mud and less than 10%for oil-based mud).For most light hydrocarbon compositions,the partition coefficients obtained by vapor phase calibration and the direct quantitative methods have errors of less than 10%,and the partition coefficients obtained by direct quantitative method are more accurate.The reconstructed compositions of the two kinds of crude oil have match degrees of 91%and 89%with their real compositions,proving the feasibility and accuracy of reconstructing the composition of original formation fluid by using partition coefficients of light hydrocarbon compositions between nC5 and nC8.

Synthesis and Performance Evaluation of Anti Temperature and Salt Resistant Polymer Filtrate Reducer

In the experiment,the filtrate loss of synthetic fluid loss control fluid was recorded in room temperature and high temperature in the composite brine base and sodium chloride brine base slurry,and compared with the filtrate loss before base polymer addition.In this way,the effect of filtration loss and salt resistance and temperature resistance of synthetic polymers were evaluated.The influence of the synthesized polymer on the rheological properties of the composite brine was also evaluated by determining the viscosity of the drilling fluid added to the base slurry and polymer.In the end,the structure of the synthetic polymers was characterized through the infrared spectrum,which initially analyzed through the mechanism of its function in reducing the filter loss.Finally,the products produced according to the recipe are given to the site and added to the two wells to record the drilling fluid performance data.

高分子纳米复合材料在水基钻井液中的研究进展

传统高分子聚合物材料难以满足日益复杂的井下环境要求,而无机纳米材料又存在分散性不足的缺陷,将纳米材料接枝到聚合物链上或将聚合物嵌入纳米材料中形成高分子纳米复合材料,可发挥两种材料的协同增效作用,进而提升水基钻井液的综合性能。文章介绍了高分子纳米复合材料在改善水基钻井液流变性、优化封堵降滤失性、增强封堵防塌性方面的应用,总结了其作用效果及作用机理。高分子纳米复合材料改善钻井液流变性的机理包括聚合物增强固体纳米颗粒在钻井液中的分散性、增加流体层间内摩擦力、通过聚合物与黏土颗粒之间的氢键和静电相互作用形成空间网络结构等。优化钻井液封堵降滤失性的机理包括利用无机纳米材料对微孔进行封堵,形成致密的泥饼,利用聚合物的强吸附性和两亲性,在泥饼表面形成疏水膜等。增强钻井液封堵防塌作用的机理包括纳米颗粒桥接和堵塞页岩纳米孔隙,形成致密屏障,阻止水分子侵入页岩;聚合物链上的多功能基团在黏土表面形成竞争吸附,降低黏土对水分子的吸附;成熟聚胺类聚合物的氨基嵌入和阳离子压缩双电层的综合作用,强化页岩水化抑制性能。提出了高分子纳米复合材料面临的挑战,如大规模生产过程中无机纳米颗粒在聚合物基质中可能出现的分散不均匀问题。最后,从降磨减阻、储层保护和可持续性3个方面对高分子纳米复合材料的研究方向进行了展望。

改性二氧化硅封堵剂的制备及性能评价

为了降低水基钻井液滤液对储层的扰动,以丙烯酰胺、苯乙烯、乙烯基三甲氧基硅烷对纳米SiO_(2)进行表面改性,将柔性链聚合物接枝在纳米刚性SiO_(2)粒子表面,形成一种新型的有机-无机复合封堵剂。实验结果发现:该封堵剂提高了泥饼的致密性和封堵性能,并对岩心孔隙进行了有效封堵,有效抑制岩屑水化现象,为水基钻井液在低渗-致密储层开发过程中的应用提供技术支持。

无黏土水基钻井液用超支化聚合物降滤失剂的合成及性能评价

在高温条件下,聚丙烯酰胺类降滤失剂分子易发生降解,导致降滤失效果大幅下降。为此,通过超支化单体季戊四醇三烯丙基醚(APE)与2-丙烯酰胺-2-甲基丙磺酸(AMPS)、丙烯酰胺(AM)、对苯乙烯磺酸钠(SSS)共聚合成了一种耐高温的超支化聚合物降滤失剂JHPAS,以JHPAS为基础配制了一种新型的无黏土水基钻井液,分析其降滤失机理,评价其在高温、高盐条件下的流变性能和降滤失性能。结果表明:JHPAS具有很好的热稳定性,在水溶液中可形成网络结构,在无黏土水基钻井液中吸附于超细CaCO 3表面形成致密滤饼,并堵塞滤饼上的孔隙,进一步降低钻井液滤失量;构筑的无黏土水基钻井液在200℃老化16 h、饱和氯化钠盐水的条件下仍具有稳定的流变性和良好的降滤失性能,API滤失量和高温高压滤失量分别为5.5 mL和7.6 mL。研究成果有助于推动超支化聚合物在深层、超深层油藏钻井液中的研究与应用。

聚合物型钻井液降滤失剂的合成及其性能研究

以N,N-二甲基丙烯酰胺(DMAM)、顺丁烯二酸酐(MA)和二甲基二烯丙基氯化铵(DMDAAC)为改性单体,与丙烯酰胺(AM)聚合,采用水溶液聚合法合成了P(AM/DMAM/DMDAAC/MA)四元共聚物钻井液降滤失剂,研究了pH、单体用量、聚合时间等因素对聚合物降滤失性能的影响。结果表明:聚合反应温度为55℃、反应时间为3 h、AM/DMAM/DMDAAC/MA单体质量比为7∶2∶2∶0.5、引发剂质量分数为0.5%时,得到的四元共聚物黏均分子量为3.98×10^(6);当温度达到180℃、四元共聚物在基浆中的加量为0.5%时,滤失量保持在7.8 mL,符合SY/T 5621—93的API滤失量标准。