Document Type : Research Paper

Author

• Borzu Asgari pirbalouti

Assistant Professor, 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, penetration of drilling mud into the permeable zone of formations is one of the essential ones that can have a destructive effect on the productive zone. Thus, 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 the properties of the drilling fluid, including rheology and high- and low-temperature filtration. NPs 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 NPs with a concentration of 2 wt % are added to the drilling fluid. Extreme 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 reducing the gelation properties of the drilling mud is possible using low concentrations of NPs. Moreover, the results reveal that SiO₂ and ZnO exhibit a lower filtration rate than CuO. Finally, the effects of temperature and pressure were investigated, which revealed that regardless of the reductive effect of NPs (reducing the filtration rate from 17.7 to about 10 cm³), increasing the pressure and temperature lead to an increase in the filtration rate (reducing the filtration rate from 67 to 35 cm³). Further, the rheological properties of the mud remain relatively constant.

Highlights

•  
• Investigation of the effect of nanomaterial such as nono-SiO₂, nano-Cu, and nano-Zn on filtration properties of drilling fluid under both high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) and low pressure/low temperature (LP/LT) conditions;
• Investigating the effect of nanomaterials on the reduction of filtration and loss of drilling fluid in high- and low-temperature conditions;
• Investigating the thickness of the mud cake due to the presence of nanoparticles;
• Experimental study of nano-drilling fluid based on nanotechnology.

Keywords

• Copper oxide
• Drilling mud
• Filtration
• Nanoparticles
• Silicon oxide
• Zinc oxide

Main Subjects

• Petroleum Engineering – Drilling