Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Masjed_ Soleiman Branch,Islamic Azad university, Masjed_ Soleiman,Iran
Abstract
Among the different operating parameters that must be carefully controlled during the drilling operation, the penetration of drilling mud into a permeable zone of formations is an essential parameter that can introduce a destructive effect on the productive zone. Concerning this, the current investigation concentrates on investigating the effects of different nanoparticles (NPs), namely SiO2, CuO, and ZnO considering their size, type, and concentration (0.2 to 2 wt % for each nanoparticle) on drilling fluid properties, including rheology and high- and low-temperature filtration. Nanoparticles can improve the rheological properties of the mud by changing the friction coefficient favorably. Moreover, the effects of temperature and pressure as two critical thermodynamic parameters are examined. The results show that it is possible to enhance the rheological properties (viscosity) of the drilling mud to a maximum value of about 20% if nanoparticles with a concentration of 2 wt % are added to the drilling fluid. Excessive gel strength will lead to high pump initiation pressure to break circulation after the mud is in a static condition for some time. The results reveal that it is possible to reduce the gelation properties of the drilling mud using low concentrations of nanoparticles. Moreover, the obtained results demonstrate that among the examined nanoparticles, SiO2 and ZnO exhibit a lower filtration rate than CuO. Finally, the effects of temperature and pressure show that regardless of the reductive effect of nanoparticles (reducing the filtration rate from 17.7 to about 10 cm3), increasing the pressure and temperature leads to an increase in the filtration rate (reducing the filtration rate from 67 to 35 cm3). Further, mud rheological properties remain relatively constant.
Highlights
- Investigating the effect of nanomaterials on the reduction of filtration and drop of drilling fluid at high and low temperatures;
- Evaluating the thickness of the lined mud due to the presence of nanoparticles;
- Examining the effect of nanomaterials such as nono-SiO2, nano-Cu, and nano-Zn on the filtration properties of drilling fluid in high-pressure–high-temperature (HP–HT) and low-pressure–low-temperature (LP–LT) conditions.
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