Preliminary Test Results of Nano-Based Fluids Reveal Benefits for Field Application

Abstract

This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper SPE 139534, ’Preliminary Test Results of Nano-Based Drilling Fluids for Oil- and Gasfield Application,’ by M. Amanullah, SPE, Mohammad K. Al-Arfaj, and Ziad Al-Abdullatif, Saudi Aramco, prepared for the 2011 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, 1-3 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. The oil and gas industry is looking for small, chemically and thermally stable, biologically degradable, environmentally benign material to use in the design of smart fluids. Because of highly enhanced physiochemical, electrical, thermal, and hydrodynamic properties, nanomaterials are considered a promising material. Recently developed nano-based fluids were formulated to study the rheological and filtration properties and evaluate fluid suitability for oil- and gasfield application. Initial test results indicate that the newly developed nano-based drilling mud produces suitable high- and low-end rheological properties. Introduction Water- or oil-based drilling fluid is the first foreign fluid that contacts the reservoir zone of a borehole. Most muds contain particles that are part of the mud formulation. These desirable mud solids can cause severe formation damage in the presence of a poor quality mudcake. Moreover, the cutting debris generated while drilling may produce enough microsized and colloidal particles to cause severe formation damage if a poor quality mudcake is deposited on the borehole wall. Hence, drilling muds that are unable to form a well-dispersed, tight, thin, plaster-like external mudcake on the borehole wall can cause serious formation damage because of the formation of an internal mudcake. Spurt loss associated with most of the mud systems is one of the notorious sources of solid-particle and particulate invasion in the vicinity of the wellbore. Fine particles coming into the drilling mud as a part of drill solids may also cause severe formation damage if the mudcake formed on the borehole wall is poorly dispersed, is very thick because of particle flocculation, and has highly porous fabric because of loose-fabric formation by the flocs, aggregates, and particles. The thickness of the deposited mudcake is also a critical factor in many drilling and reservoir-engineering problems. Muds producing soft and thick cakes increase the potential of differential sticking and, thus, are not desirable for geological formations highly prone to differential sticking.