Maximizing well productivity by using filter cake breaker for synthetic-based mud drill-in fluid (SBMDIF) system

Abstract

• Formation damage has a significant impact on the overall performance. • An effective filter cake breaker selection is critical to minimize formation damage. • The straightforward reaction of meso‑surfactant and nano-surfactant filter cake breakers with barite. • Surfactant-based filter cake breaker was more efficient in removing synthetic-based drilling mud. Formation damage has a significant impact on the overall performance of the well productivity. Removal of filter cake which is deemed to be the main strategy of formation damage remediation is crucial in open hole completion with pre-slotted liner or stand-alone screen (SAS) as a mean of sand control. Without proper planning, inefficient filter cake removal can lead to tremendous consequences since filter cake can plug the sand control component. Making the condition worse, sand control component is susceptible to plugging. This highlights the importance of selecting an effective filter cake breaker that can successfully remove the filter cake through dissolution of the main solids that constitute the major portions of the filter cake which could be the weighting material, barite, or calcium carbonate. Besides that, a proper understanding of the mechanism of the filter cake breaker chemical would be very beneficial to comprehend the filter cake breaker efficiency. The laboratory study attempted to emulate the reservoir condition. Regained permeability testing using High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) Filter Press aimed to test the ability of several commercial filter cake breakers in removing synthetic-based-mud drill-in-fluids (SBMDIF). Chelating-based filter cake breaker, meso‑surfactant-based filter cake breaker and nano-surfactant-based filter cake breaker were the samples to be tested in the laboratory work. The condition of the filter cake after being soaked statically was visually interpreted and the regain permeability was recorded. The mechanism of each filter cake breaker to remove the SBMDIF filter cake was also examined. Based on the experimental study, meso‑surfactant-based filter cake breaker was found to be more effective to remove SBMDIF filter cake compared to chelating-based filter cake breaker and nano-surfactant-based filter cake breaker.