Comparison of rheological and lubricity properties of polymer beads and glass beads in water-based mud

Abstract

Torque and drag become a major problem in succeeding the extended reach drilling (ERD). One of the techniques used to mitigate torque and drag is using lubricant in water-based mud. In this study, the solid lubricants used were glass beads as it is chemically inert, non-toxic, and non-abrasive, and also the polymer beads of improved physical properties, namely tensile strength and izod impact strength. This study was performed in order to determine the most suitable size of glass and polymer beads that could give the optimum performance of lubricity in drilling mud. The experimental results showed that the rheological properties of water-based mud with glass