Improving the anti-collapse performance of water-based drilling fluids of Xinjiang Oilfield using hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticles with cationic surfactants

Wellbore instability,especially drilling with water-based drilling fluids(WBDFs)in complex shale for-mations,is a critical challenge for oil and gas development.The purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility of using hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticle(HMN)to enhance the comprehensive performance of WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield,especially the anti-collapse performance.The effect of HMN on the overall performance of WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield,including inhibition,plugging,lu-bricity,rheology,and filtration loss,was studied with a series of experiments.The mechanism of HMN action was studied by analyzing the changes of shale surface structure and chemical groups,wettability,and capillary force.The experimental results showed that HMN could improve the performance of WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfeld to inhibit the hydration swelling and dispersion of shale.The plugging and lubrication performance of the WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield were also enhanced with HMN based on the experimental results.HMN had less impact on the rheological and filtration performance of the WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield.In addition,HMN significantly prevented the decrease of shale strength.The potential mechanism of HMN was as follows.The chemical composition and structure of the shale surface were altered due to the adsorption of HMN driven by electrostatic attraction.Changes of the shale surface resulted in significant wettability transition.The capillary force of the shale was converted from a driving force of water into the interior to a resistance.In summary,hydrophobic nanoparticles presented afavorable application potential for WBDFs.

Hydrophobic Small-Molecule Polymers as High-Temperature-Resistant Inhibitors in Water-Based Drilling Fluids

Water-based drilling fluids can cause hydration of the wellbore rocks,thereby leading to instability.This study aimed to synthesize a hydrophobic small-molecule polymer(HLMP)as an inhibitor to suppress mud shale hydration.An infrared spectral method and a thermogravimetric technique were used to characterize the chemical composition of the HLMP and evaluate its heat stability.Experiments were conducted to measure the linear swelling,rolling recovery rate,and bentonite inhibition rate and evaluate accordingly the inhibition performance of the HLMP.Moreover,the HLMP was characterized through measurements of the zeta potential,particle size distribution,contact angles,and interlayer space testing.As confirmed by the results,the HLMP could successfully be synthesized with a favorable heat stability.Furthermore,favorable results were found for the inhibitory processes of the HLMP on swelling and dispersed hydration during mud shale hydration.The positively charged HLMP could be electrically neutralized with clay particles,thereby inhibiting diffusion in the double electron clay layers.The hydrophobic group in the HLMP molecular structure resulted in the formation of a hydrophobic membrane on the rock surface,enhancing the hydrophobicity of the rock.In addition,the small molecules of the HLMP could plug the spaces between the layers of bentonite crystals,thereby reducing the entry of water molecules and inhibiting shale hydration.

A new environmentally friendly water-based drilling fluids with laponite nanoparticles and polysaccharide/polypeptide derivatives

Considering the increasing environmental pressure,environmentally friendly and high-performance water-based drilling fluids(WBDFs)have been widely studied in recent years to replace the commonly used oil-based drilling fluids(OBDFs).However,few of these drilling fluids are entirely composed of natural materials,which makes it difficult to achieve real environmental protection.Using laponite nanoparticles and various derivatives of natu ral mate rials,including cro sslinked starch,cellulose composite,gelatin ammonium salt,poly-l-arginine,and polyanionic cellulose,a kind of environmentally friendly water-based drilling fluid(EF-WBDF)was built for drilling in environment-sensitive areas.The properties of this EF-WBDF were evaluated by thermal stability tests on rheology,filtration,inhibition,and salt contamination.Besides,biological toxicity,biodegradability,heavy mental content and wheat cultivation tests were conducted to investigate the environmental factor of EF-WBDF.Results showed that EF-WBDF displayed satisfactory thermal resistance up to 150℃,and the rheological properties did not suffer significant fluctuation,showing potential application in high-temperature wells.The optimal rheological model of EF-WBDF was Herschel-Bulkley model.This EF-WBDF performed an eligible filtration of 14.2 mL at 150℃and a differential pressure of 3.5 MPa.This fluid could still maintain colloidal stability after being contaminated by 7.5%NaCl or 0.5%CaC1_(2).Meanwhile,rather low clay swelling degree of 2.44 mm and high shale recovery of more than 95%ensured the inhibitive capability of EF-WBDF.Furthermore,EF-WBDF presented a half maximal effective concentration(EC_(50))of51200 mg/L and a BOD/COD ratio of 47.55%,suggesting that EF-WBDF was non-toxic and easily biodegradable.The wheat cultivated in EF-WBDF could grow healthily,beneficial for reducing the adverse impact on ecological environment.The formed EF-WBDF has a promising future for drilling in environment-sensitive and high-temperature areas.

Application of sustainable basil seed as an eco-friendly multifunctional additive for water-based drilling fluids

Basil seed,containing anionic heteropolysaccharides in its outer pericarp,swells as gelatinous hydrocolloid when soaked in water.In this study,basil seed powder(BSP)was used as a multifunctional additive for water-based drilling fluids.The chemical composition,water absorbency,rheological properties of aqueous suspension of BSP were tested.The effect of BSP on the rheological and filtration of bentonitebased drilling fluid before and after thermal aging was investigated.The inhibition characteristics were evaluated by linear swelling,shale cuttings dispersion and shale immersion test.Lubricity improvement by BSP was measured with extreme pressure lubricity test.The results revealed that incorporation of BSP into bentonite suspension improved rheological and filtration properties effectively after thermal aging of 120℃.BSP exhibited superior inhibitive capacity to xanthan and synergistic effect with KCl.BSP could reduce friction by forming hydration layer.The nanoscale three-dimensional network structures enable BSP to maintain high water retention and absorb strongly on bentonite and metal surface,contributing to enhanced rheology,filtration,inhibition and lubrication properties.The versatile characteristic of BSP,as well as biodegradation makes it a promising additive using in high performance water-based drilling fluid and a potential alternative to conventional synthetic polymers.

Investigation of regulating rheological properties of water-based drilling fluids by ultrasound

Regulating rheological properties of water-based drilling fluids has always been a hot topic.This paper proposed a new method for regulating rheological properties of water-based drilling fluids by ultrasonic field.The experimental results showed that the ultrasound increased the viscosity and yield point of bentonite suspension by reducing the particle size of clay,destroying the network structure between clay particles,increasing the mud yield and the cation exchange capacity of bentonite,and promoting the hydration dispersion of bentonite.The change of rheological property showed a memory effect at room temperature and high temperature.Besides,the ultrasonic energy affected the network structure between clays and polymer chains,thus regulating the rheological properties of the bentonite-polymer system.For two types of drilling fluids investigated,the rheology of the poly-sulfonate drilling fluid was regulated by damaging the grid structure between additives and clays by low-power ultrasound and reducing the clay particle size by high-power ultrasound,while the rheology of the deep-water drilling fluid was mainly regulated by disentangling the spatial grid structure between additives.Additionally,ultrasound showed no effect on the lubricity,inhibition and stability of drilling fluids,which proved the feasibility of ultrasound to regulate rheological properties of water-based drilling fluids.

Super-amphiphobic, strong self-cleaning and high-efficiency water-based drilling fluids

Based on the amphiphobic theory on underground rock surface, a super-amphiphobic agent is developed and evaluated which can form nano-micro papilla structure on rock, filter cake and metal surface, reduce surface free energy, prevent collapse, protect reservoir, lubricate and increase drilling speed. With this super-amphiphobic agent as the core agent, a super-amphiphobic, strong self-cleaning and high-performance water-based drilling fluid system has been developed by combining with other agents based on drilled formation, and compared with high-performance water-based drilling fluid and typical oil based drilling fluid commonly used in oilfields. The results show that the super-amphiphobic, strong self-cleaning and high-performance water-based drilling fluid has better rheology, and high temperature and high pressure filtration similar with that of oil-based drilling fluid, inhibiting and lubricating properties close to oil based drilling fluid. Besides, the super-amphiphobic system is non-toxic, safe and environmentally friendly. Field tests show this newly developed drilling fluid system can prevent wellbore collapse, reservoir damage and pipe-sticking, increase drilling speed and lower drilling cost, meeting the requirement of safe, high efficient, economic and environmentally friendly drilling. Compared with other drilling fluids, this new drilling fluid system can reduce downhole complexities by 82.9%, enhance the drilling speed by about 18.5%, lower drilling fluid cost by 39.3%, and increase the daily oil output by more than 1.5 times in the same block.

Synergistic inhibition of polyethylene glycol and potassium chloride in water-based drilling fluids

Mud shale hydration and swelling are major challenges in the development of water-based drilling fuids(WBDFs).In this work,the inhibition performance and inhibition mechanism of polyethylene glycol(PEG)and potassium chloride(KCl)were investigated by hot rolling recovery tests,linear swell tests,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,X-ray difraction,atomic absorption spectrophotometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.The experimental results show that the combination of PEG and KCl achieved higher recovery and lower linear swelling rate than those obtained by individual PEG or KCl.Compared to the d-spacing of Na-montmorillonite(Na-Mt)with PEG or KCl,the d-spacing of Na-Mt with PEG+KCl was lower,which indicates that KCl and PEG have synergistic inhibition efect.This synergistic efect can replace sodium ions and water molecules from the interlayer space of Na-Mt and decrease the d-spacing of Na-Mt.Based on the above experimental results and analysis,a method for optimizing PEG and KCl concentrations was proposed and further verifed by rheological and hot rolling recovery tests of WBDFs.Hence,the results of this work can provide valuable theoretical guidance for developing other synergistic inhibitors.

High temperature and high pressure rheological properties of high-density water-based drilling fluids for deep wells

To maintain tight control over rheological properties of high-density water-based drilling fluids, it is essential to understand the factors influencing the rheology of water-based drilling fluids. This paper examines temperature effects on the rheological properties of two types of high-density water-based drilling fluids (fresh water-based and brine-based) under high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) with a Fann 50SL rheometer. On the basis of the water-based drilling fluid systems formulated in laboratory, this paper mainly describes the influences of different types and concentration of clay, the content of a colloid stabilizer named GHJ-1 and fluid density on the rheological parameters such as viscosity and shear stress. In addition, the effects of aging temperature and aging time of the drilling fluid on these parameters were also examined. Clay content and proportions for different densities of brine-based fluids were recommended to effectively regulate the rheological properties. Four rheological models, the Bingham, power law, Casson and H-B models, were employed to fit the rheological parameters. It turns out that the H-B model was the best one to describe the rheological properties of the high-density drilling fluid under HTHP conditions and power law model produced the worst fit. In addition, a new mathematical model that describes the apparent viscosity as a function of temperature and pressure was established and has been applied on site.

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.

Laponite:a promising nanomaterial to formulate high-performance water-based drilling fluids

High-performance water-based drilling fluids(HPWBFs)are essential to wellbore stability in shale gas exploration and development.Laponite is a synthetic hectorite clay composed of disk-shaped nanoparticles.This paper analyzed the application potential of laponite in HPWBFs by evaluating its shale inhibition,plugging and lubrication performances.Shale inhibition performance was studied by linear swelling test and shale recovery test.Plugging performance was analyzed by nitrogen adsorption experiment and scanning electron microscope(SEM)observation.Extreme pressure lubricity test was used to evaluate the lubrication property.Experimental results show that laponite has good shale inhibition property,which is better than commonly used shale inhibitors,such as polyamine and KCl.Laponite can effectively plug shale pores.It considerably decreases the surface area and pore volume of shale,and SEM results show that it can reduce the porosity of shale and form a seamless nanofilm.Laponite is beneficial to increase lubricating property of drilling fluid by enhancing the drill pipes/wellbore interface smoothness and isolating the direct contact between wellbore and drill string.Besides,laponite can reduce the fluid loss volume.According to mechanism analysis,the good performance of laponite nanoparticles is mainly attributed to the disk-like nanostructure and the charged surfaces.

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.

Systematic experimental study of the temperature dependence of viscosity and rheological behavior of water-based drilling fluids with nano-additives

The paper presents the results of a systematic study of the influence of nano-additives of various concentrations,average sizes and composition on the temperature dependence of the viscosity and rheological behavior of water-based drilling fluids.Typical compositions of drilling fluids,such as water suspensions of various clay solutions and gammaxan-based polymer solutions,were considered.Hydrophilic nanoparticles of silicon and aluminum oxides were used as nano-additives at concentrations ranging from 0.25 to 3 wt%.The average nanoparticle size varied from 10 to 151 nm.The temperature of drilling fluids varied from 25℃ to 80℃.It is shown that the addition of nanoparticles to drilling fluids leads to a significant change in their rheological properties depending on the temperature.It was found that with increasing temperature,the yield stress and consistency index of drilling fluids with nanoparticles increase,while the behavior index,on the contrary,decreases.This behavior depends on the size of the nanoparticles.As the particle size increases,their influence on the temperature dependence of the drilling fluids’viscosity increases.In general,it is shown that the addition of nanoparticles makes the viscosity of drilling fluid more stable with regard to the temperature.This is an essential fact for practical application.

The Conversion of Non-Dispersed Polymers into Low-Potassium Anti-Collapse Drilling Fluids

Different drillingfluid systems are designed according to mineral composition,lithology and wellbore stability of different strata.In the present study,the conversion of a non-dispersed polymer drillingfluid into a low potas-sium anti-collapsing drillingfluid is investigated.Since the two drillingfluids belong to completely different types,the key to this conversion is represented by new inhibitors,dispersants and water-loss agents by which a non-dispersed drillingfluid can be turned into a dispersed drillingfluid while ensuring wellbore stability and reason-able rheology(carrying sand—inhibiting cuttings dispersion).In particular,the(QYZ-1)inhibitors and(FSJSS-2)dispersants are used.The former can inhibit the hydration expansion capacity of clay,reduce the dynamic shear force and weaken the viscosity;the latter can improve the sealing effect and reduce thefiltrate loss.The results have shown that after adding a reasonable proportion of these substances(QYZ-1:FSJSS-2)to the non-dispersed polymer drillingfluid,while the apparent viscosity,plastic viscosity,structural viscosity andfluidity index under-went almost negligible changes,the dynamic plastic ratio increased,and thefiltration loss decreased significantly,thereby indicating good compatibility.According to the tests(conducted in the Leijia area),the density was 1.293 g/cm3,and after standing for 24 h,the SF(static settlement factor)was 0.51.Moreover,thefiltration loss was reduced to 4.0 mL,the rolling recovery rate reached 96.92%,with excellent plugging and anti-collapse performances.

A natural dye in water-based drilling fluids: Swelling inhibitive characteristic and side effects

The development of eco-friendly shale inhibitors is still an area which has attracted a lot of attention in the drilling industry.Henna extract is a natural dye which has recently shown considerable inhibition and weak deflocculation properties in clay-water system.This study aims to investigate swelling inhibitive feature and side effects of Henna extract in water-based drilling fluids(WBDFs).It was carried out through extensive experiments including adsorption measurements on shale by batch equilibrium,inhibition evaluation by dynamic linear swelling and cuttings dispersion,wettability alteration via contact angle measurements,compatibility by rheological properties determinations and fluid loss measurements,and lubricity.Both in natural pH and adjusted pH to 9,Linear adsorption model was more suitable for anticipating the adsorption behavior of Henna extract on the given shale sample.The results of the linear swelling and cuttings dispersion tests demonstrated that Henna extract in drilling fluid formulations diminished the swelling and dispersion characteristics of the addressed shale sample.Moreover,contact angle measurements showed that Henna extract expanded the hydrophobicity of shale formations,preventing and promoting water adsorption and shale stability respectively.This issue definitely introduces wettability alteration as a mechanism for shale stability by Henna extract.Compatibility determinations additionally uncovered that Henna extract is compatible with common WBDFs additives.As indicated by the lubricity tests,Henna extract enhanced the lubricity of WBDFs,a finding which can be of an incredible significance in directional drilling.Among others,advantages such as environmental friendliness,low cost,accessibility,and the counter corrosion property make the applicability of Henna extract in WBDFs profoundly suitable.

Shale hydration inhibition characteristics and mechanism of a new amine-based additive in water-based drilling fluids

In this work,shale hydration Inhibition performance of tallow amine ethoxylate as a shale stabilizer in water based drilling fluid,was investigated through these tests:bentonite hydration inhibition test,bentonite sedimentation test,drill cutting recovery test,dynamic linear swelling test,wettability test,isothermal water adsorption test,and zeta potential test.The results showed that bentonite particles are not capable of being hydrated or dispersed in the mediums containing tallow amine ethoxylate;tallow amine ethoxylate had shown a comparable and competitive inhibition performance with potassium chloride as a common shale stabilizer in drilling industry.Some amine functional groups exist in tallow amine ethoxylate structure which are capable of forming hydrogen bonding with surfaces of bentonite particles.This phenomenon decreased the water adsorption on bentonite particles'surfaces which results in reduction of swelling.Tallow amine ethoxylate is also compatible with other common drilling fluid additives.

Carbon nanotube enhanced water-based drilling fluid for high temperature and high salinity deep resource development

Drilling fluids face failure during drilling deep reservoir with high temperature and high salt.The experimental results show that high temperature and salinity reduce the negative charge on the surface of bentonite in the drilling fluid and cause the coalescence of bentonite particles.As a result,the particles coalesce,the grid structure is destroyed,and the rheological properties,rock-carrying capacity and filtration properties are lost.To resolve the foregoing,in this study,0.05-wt%carbon nanotubes are introduced into a 4%bentonite drilling fluid under conditions where the temperature and concentration of added Na Cl reach 180°C and 10 wt%,respectively.The carbon nanotubes adsorb on the bentonite surface and increase the space among bentonite particles.The steric hindrance prevents the coalescence of bentonite in high temperature and high salt environment.Thus bentonite maintains the small size distribution of bentonite and supports the bentonite grid structure in the drilling fluid.As a result,the rock-carrying capacity of the drilling fluid increases by 85.1%.Moreover,the mud cake formed by the accumulation of small-sized bentonite particles is dense;consequently,the filtration of bentonite drilling fluid reduced by 30.2%.

Notoginsenoside as an environmentally friendly shale inhibitor in water-based drilling fluid

The demand for non-toxic and biodegradable shale inhibitors is growing in the drilling industry.In this paper,the effect of notoginsenoside(NS)as a new,environmentally friendly inhibitor of shale hydration is systematically studied for the first time.The inhibition performance of NS was evaluated via inhibition evaluation tests,including mud ball immersion tests,linear expansion tests,shale rolling recovery tests,and compressive strength tests.The inhibition mechanism of NS was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),contact angle measurements,particle size distribution determination,thermogravimetric analysis(TGA),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The experimental results demonstrate that NS is able to adhere to the clay surface,forming a hydrophobic film that prevents the entry of water molecules and inhibiting the hydration dispersion of the clay.Because of this,NS can maintain the original state of bentonite pellets in water,which can effectively reduce the swelling rate of bentonite,increase the recovery rate of shale drill cuttings,maintain the strength of the shale,and therefore maintain the stability of the borehole wall during drilling.In addition,NS is non-toxic,degradable,and compatible with water-based drilling fluids.The above advantages make NS a promising candidate for use as an environmentally friendly shale inhibitor.

Novel Water-Based Drilling and Completion Fluid Technology to Improve Wellbore Quality During Drilling and Protect Unconventional Reservoirs

The efficient exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas are critical for increasing the self-sufficiency of oil and gas supplies in China.However,such operations continue to face serious problems(e.g.,borehole collapse,loss,and high friction),and associated formation damage can severely impact well completion rates,increase costs,and reduce efficiencies.Water-based drilling fluids possess certain advantages over oil-based drilling fluids(OBDFs)and may offer lasting solutions to resolve the aforementioned issues.However,a significant breakthrough with this material has not yet been made,and major technical problems continue to hinder the economic and large-scale development of unconventional oil and gas.Here,the international frontier external method,which only improves drilling fluid inhibition and lubricity,is expanded into an internal-external technique that improves the overall wellbore quality during drilling.Bionic technologies are introduced into the chemical material synthesis process to imitate the activity of life.A novel drilling and completion fluid technique was developed to improve wellbore quality during drilling and safeguard formation integrity.Macroscopic and microscopic analyses indicated that in terms of wellbore stability,lubricity,and formation protection,this approach could outperform methods that use typical OBDFs.The proposed method also achieves a classification upgrade from environmentally protective drilling fluid to an ecologically friendly drilling fluid.The developed technology was verified in more than 1000 unconventional oil and gas wells in China,and the results indicate significant alleviation of the formation damage attributed to borehole collapse,loss,and high friction.It has been recognized as an effective core technology for exploiting unconventional oil and gas resources.This study introduces a novel research direction for formation protection technology and demonstrates that observations and learning from the natural world can provide an inexhaustible source of ideas and inspire the creation of original materials,technologies,and theories for petroleum engineering.

Mechanism of shales stabilization by hydrophobized poly(ethylene glycol)/K^(+) in water-base drilling fluids

The mechanism of the hydrophobized poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG)/K^(+) system inhibiting shale hydration was studied by laboratory experiment. The inhibition performance was evaluated through cuttings hot-rolling dispersion, bentonite inhibition and contact angle tests. The inhibition became stronger as contact angle and PEG concentration increased. A modified cuttings hot-rolling dispersion experiment suggested that these molecular systems did not act through the thermally activated mud emulsion(TAME) mechanism. The interaction of the PEG/K^(+) with clay samples was investigated through adsorption studies and by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA). The adsorption isotherms showed that the presence of K^(+) increased the PEG affinity for the clay surface. This inhibition effect was accompanied by a reduction of the bentonite hydration with PEG adsorption, evidenced by FT-IR, TGA and differential thermogravimetric(DTG) curves. XRD patterns were conclusive in showing that the presence of K^(+) ions limited the expansion of the clay interlamellar region to only one PEG layer, and the terminal hydrophobic segments of the PEG chains turned out to be determinant in enhancement of the inhibitory efficiency. The cuttings hot-rolling dispersion was carried out on water-base drilling fluid with PEG/K^(+), which proved the inhibition performance of PEG/K^(+) in oil field drilling.

Preparation and Performance of the Hyperbranched Polyamine as an Effective Shale Inhibitor for Water-Based Drilling Fluid

Seeking effective solutions to control and mitigate the interaction between drilling fluids and clay formations has been a challenge for many years, and various shale inhibitors have shown excellent results in problematic shale formations around the world. Herein, the hyperbranched polyamine (HBPA) inhibitor with a higher ratio of amine groups and obvious tendentiousness in protonation was successfully synthesized from ethylenediamine, acryloyl chloride and aziridine by five steps, in which the metal-organic framework (MOF) was employed as a catalyst for ring-open polycondensation (ROP). The structure and purity were confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) respectively. The HBPA displays more excellent performance than EDA and KCl widely applied in the oil field. After aging at 80°C and 180°C, the YP of a slurry system containing 25 wt.% bentonite and 2 wt.% HBPA are just 8.5 Pa and 5.5 Pa (wt.%: percentage of mass), respectively. The swelling lengths of 2 wt.% HBPA are estimated to be 1.78 mm, which falls by 70% compared with that of freshwater. Under a hot rolling aging temperature of 180°C, the HBPA system demonstrates a significant inhibition with more than 85% shale cuttings recovery rate and is superior to conventional EDA and KCl. Mechanism analysis further validates that the HBPA can help to increase the zeta potential.