Clay minerals in drilling fluids: functions and challenges

Clay Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Jun Rui Zhang ◽  
Meng Dan Xu ◽  
Georgios E. Christidis ◽  
Chun Hui Zhou
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Surface Chemistry ◽  
Rheological Properties ◽  
Clay Minerals ◽  
Specific Structure ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Slurry Walls

AbstractThe addition of clay minerals in drilling fluids modifies the dispersion's viscosity. In this article, scientific advances related to the use of clays and clay minerals (bentonite, palygorskite, sepiolite and mixtures of clay minerals) in drilling fluids are summarized and discussed based on their specific structure, rheological properties, applications, prevailing challenges and future directions. The rheological properties of drilling fluids are affected by the temperature, type of electrolytes, pH and concentration of clay minerals. Bentonites are smectite-rich clays often used in drilling fluids, and their composition varies from deposit to deposit. Such variations significantly affect the behaviour of bentonite-based drilling fluids. Palygorskite is suitable for use in oil-based drilling fluids, but the gelation and gel structures of palygorskite-added drilling fluids have not received much attention. Sepiolite is often used in water-based drilling fluids as a rheological additive. Dispersions containing mixtures of clays including bentonite, kaolin, palygorskite and sepiolite are used in drilling fluids requiring specific features such as high-density drilling fluids or those used in impermeable slurry walls. In these cases, the surface chemistry–microstructure–property relationships of mixed-clay dispersions need to be understood fully. The prevailing challenges and future directions in drilling fluids research include safety, ‘green’ processes and high-temperature and high-pressure-resistant clay minerals.

scholarly journals High temperature and high pressure rheological properties of high-density water-based drilling fluids for deep wells

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 354-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuhua Wang ◽  
Xuechao Tan ◽  
Ruihe Wang ◽  
Mingbo Sun ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Rheological Properties ◽  
High Density ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Deep Wells ◽  
Water Based

Rheological Properties of Water-Based Drilling Fluids in Deep Offshore Conditions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Ding ◽  
Baojiang Sun ◽  
Zhiyuan Wang ◽  
Yonghai Gao ◽  
Yu Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Rheological Properties ◽  
Apparent Viscosity ◽  
Drilling Fluid ◽  
Plastic Viscosity ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Temperature And Pressure

Abstract In deep-water drilling, the drilling fluid is affected by the alternating temperature field derived from the low temperature of the seawater and the high temperature of the formation. The complicated wellbore temperature and pressure environments make the prediction of rheological properties of the drilling fluid difficult. In this study, the rheological properties of water-based drilling fluid in full temperature and pressure range of deep-water conditions were tested from 2 to 150 °C (35.6 to 302 °F) and 0.1 to 70 MPa (14.5 to 10000psi). The experiment was carried out by the OFI130-77 high temperature and high pressure rheometer. The experimental data were processed by multiple regression analysis method, and the mathematical model for predicting the apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity and yield point of water-based drilling fluid under high temperature and high pressure conditions was established. The experimental results show that when the temperature is lower than 65 °C (149 °F), the apparent viscosity and plastic viscosity of the water-based drilling fluid decrease significantly with increasing temperature. When the temperature is higher than 65 °C (149 °F), the apparent viscosity and plastic viscosity decrease slowly. Under low temperature conditions, the effect of pressure on the apparent viscosity and plastic viscosity of water-based drilling fluids is relatively significant. The calculated values of the prediction model have a good agreement with the experimental measurements. Compared with the traditional model, this prediction model has a significant improvement in the prediction accuracy in the low temperature section, which can provide a calculation basis for on-site application of deepwater drilling fluid.

Rheological properties of oil-based drilling fluids at high temperature and high pressure

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (S1) ◽  
pp. 457-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-ying Zhao ◽  
Jie-nian Yan ◽  
Yong Shu ◽  
Hong-xia Zhang
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Rheological Properties ◽  
Drilling Fluids

Improvement of Rheological and Filtration Properties of Water-Based Drilling Fluids Using Bentonite-Hydrothermal Carbon Nanocomposites Under the Ultra-High Temperature and High Pressure Conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanyi Zhong ◽  
Ying Guan ◽  
Zhengsong Qiu ◽  
Jie Feng ◽  
Wenlei Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Hydrothermal Reaction ◽  
Drilling Fluid ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Deep Drilling ◽  
Carbon Nanocomposites ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Filtration Properties ◽  
Oil Gas

Abstract With the depletion of the conventional shallow oil/gas reservoirs and the increasing demand for oil and gas, deep drilling become more and more essential to extract the oil/gas from deep formations. However, deep drilling faces many complex challenges. One of the complexities is the degradation of polymers and flocculation of bentonite particles, leading to hardly control the rheological and filtration properties of water-based drilling fluids, especially under ultra-high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) conditions. Therefore, an experimental investigation is performed to study how bentonite-hydrothermal carbon nanocomposites will influence the rheological and filtration properties of water-based drilling fluids under ultra-HTHP conditions. Bentonite-hydrothermal carbon nanocomposites are proposed as non-polymer additives to solve the ultra-HTHP challenge in water-based drilling fluid. The nanocomposites are synthesized by facile hydrothermal reaction, in which biomass starch and sodium bentonite are used as the precursor and template, respectively. In this study, the effect of the nanocomposites on the rheology and filtration properties of water-based drilling fluid are investigated before and after hot rolling at 220 °C and 240 °C. The structure characterization indicates that carbon nanospheres can successfully deposit on the bentonite surface after hydrothermal reaction and finally form as nanocomposites. The elemental carbon content, zeta potential and particle size distribution of the nanocomposites could be adjusted according to the reaction conditions. After thermal aging at 220 °C and 240 °C, addition of nanocomposites can improve the rheological properties significantly where a stable and minor change of rheological properties is observed, which is desirable for ultra-HTHP drilling. Regarding filtration control, after adding 1.0 wt% nanocomposite materials, the filtration loss is reduced by 41% and 44% respectively after aging at 220 °C and 240 °C, which is better than the conventional natural materials that lose their function in this case. The identification of microstructure shows that the hydrothermal reaction endows nanocomposites with a unique surface morphology and an improved surface charge density. The interaction between nanocomposites and bentonite particles forms a rigid connection network, which is the main mechanism to facilitate effective rheology and filtration control under ultra-HTHP conditions. The green and facile synthetic routes and environmentally friendly features of the nanocomposites, coupled with the excellent performance in ultra-HTHP rheology and filtration control, indicate that the nanocomposites have a high promise for water-based drilling fluid in ultra-HTHP drilling. Moreover, it provides a new way to design high performance additives with high temperature stability.

scholarly journals Influence of MgO and CaCl2 on the rheological properties of bentonitic clays from the new Paraíba-Brazil deposits using experimental planning and statistical analysis

Cerâmica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (377) ◽  
pp. 74-80
Author(s):  
B. M. A. B. Buriti ◽  
M. E. B. Araújo ◽  
P. M. Bastos ◽  
J. M. Cartaxo ◽  
G. A. Neves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Rheological Properties ◽  
Clay Minerals ◽  
Apparent Viscosity ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Chemical Additives ◽  
Experimental Planning ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Planning Technique ◽  
Bentonite Clays

Abstract New deposits of bentonite clays have been discovered in the Brazilian State of Paraíba; the most recent was at the municipality of Olivedos. Recent studies have discovered the presence of high levels of non-clay minerals that can produce unsatisfactory results when attempting to use these clays in drilling fluids. In order to make them suitable for this purpose, the MgO and CaCl2 as chemical additives were used and their influences on the rheological properties of these clays were analyzed, using an experimental planning technique and statistical analysis. The samples were obtained using experimental modeling by the delineation of mixtures technique; first, the clays were transformed with sodium carbonate and then dosed with MgO and CaCl2. The rheological properties, apparent viscosity (AV) and plastic viscosity (PV) were determined according to the Petrobras standard (AV≥15 cP; PV≥4 cP). The results showed that the values of AV and PV increased considerably and that MgO was the additive that contributed most to the improvement of these properties, making these additives suitable for use in water-based drilling fluids.

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