Rheological property of low-damage, ideal packing, film-forming amphoteric/sulfonation polymer drilling fluids

Abstract

Low-permeability dense reservoirs, including micro-fractured reservoirs, are commonly characterized by high content of clay substances, high original water saturation, high sensitivity to invasive fluids, high capillary pressure, complicated structure and anisotropic, high flow-resistance and micro pore throats etc,. Generally they also have lots of natural micro fractures, probably leading to stress sensibility. Main damaging factors in such reservoirs are water-sensibility and water-blocking caused by invasive fluids during drilling and production operations. Once damaged, formation permeability can rarely recovered. Numerous studies have shown that damaging extent of water-blocking ranges from 70% to 90%. Main damaging mechanisms and influencing factors of water-blocking were systematically analyzed. Also some feasible precaution or treating approaches of water-blocking were put forward. In a laboratory setting, a new multi-functional drilling fluid composed mainly of amphion polymer, sulfonation polymer, high effectively preventive water-blocking surfactants, ideal packing temporary bridging agents (TBA) and film-forming agents, etc., were developed. New low-damage drilling fluids has many advantages, such as good rheological properties, excellent effectiveness of water-blocking prevention, good temporary plugging effect, low filtration and ultra-low permeability (API filtration⩽5 mL, HTHP filtration⩽10 mL, mud cake frictional coefficient⩽0.14, permeability recovery>81%), can efficiently prevent or minimize damage, preserve natural formation and enhance comprehensive development-investment effect in TUHA Jurassic dense sandstone reservoir formation with low-permeability, the only one developing integrated condense gas field. Some references can be provided to similar reservoir formations.