Abstract
Water based mud is the most commonly used mud in drilling operation. However, it is ineffective when dealing with water-sensitive shale that can lead to shale hydration, consequently wellbore instability is compromised. The alternative way to deal with this kind of shale is using synthetic-based mud (SBM) or oil-based mud (OBM). OBM is the best option in terms of technical requirement. Nevertheless, it is toxic and will create environmental problems when it is discharged to onshore or offshore environment. SBM is safer than the OBM. The aim of this research is to formulate a drilling mud system that can carry out its essential functions for shale gas drilling to avoid borehole instability. Ester based SBM has been chosen for the mud formulation. The ester used is methyl-ester C12-C14 derived from palm oil. The best formulation of ester-based drilling fluid was selected by manipulating the oil-water ratio content in the mud which are 70/30, 80/20 and 90/10 respectively. The feasibility of using this mud for shale gas drilling was investigated by measuring the rheological properties, shale reactivity and toxicity of the mud and the results were compared with a few types of OBM and WBM. The best rheological performance can be seen at 80/20 oil-water ratio of ester based mud. The findings revealed that the rheological performance of ester based mud is comparable with the excellent performance of sarapar based OBM and about 80% better than the WBM in terms of fluid loss. Apart from that, it is less toxic than other types of OBM which can maintain 60% prawn's survival even after 96 hours exposure in 100,000 ppm of mud concentration in artificial seawater.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.