LABORATORY INVESTIGATION OF IMPROVING DRILLING FLUID PERFORMANCE OF WATER BASE MUD USING OILY GRAPHITE SILICATE AND NANO SILICA PARTICLES AS ADDITIVES
Okoro Fabian Rukevwe1, Akpoturi Peters2, Reuben-Ugwoha Esoh Theophilus3
1,2,3DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERING, FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES EFFURUN, DELTA STATE – NIGERIA
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Abstract - Drilling performance is enhanced by the use of a mud system that prevents or retards the dispersion of formation and cuttings and minimizes torque and drag on the drill string, water base drilling fluids for adaptability with environment and ease of operation. A water base drilling fluid can have a significant role in drilling operations with its desirable properties including rheology, fluid loss, coefficient of friction (CF), PH, and fluid weight. This work studies the effect of nanoparticles and oily graphite silicate on improving the properties of water-based drilling fluid in various laboratory experiments using rotary viscometer, standard filter press, lubricity meter, Ph- meter and mud balance.
In addition, fluid loss control additives were used as a control to compare the obtained results from application of nanoparticles and oily graphite and understanding the various effects of their presences in experiments. The results show a positive influence in drilling performance when compared against estimated drilling rate, which can lead to substantial savings in drilling costs, were observed. Torque values in the wells tested were generally low (between 250 and 450 Amps) drilling days were reduced by more than 20% of programmed. The compound also showed cost effectiveness in stabilizing the mud properties by eliminating the need for a defoamer. Results finding also showed that these compounds can increase yield point (YP) in mud (increased from 101b/100f12 to 121b/100ft2), findings also indicate that oily graphite/nanoparticles can reduce drilling fluid loss in 100psi and T = 75of about 22% (from 4.5cc to 3.5cc during 30min).
Key Words: Drilling fluid, drilling performances, nano silica particles, oily graphite silicate, water base mud, fluid loss, cost effectiveness, fluid properties and drilling parameters
