Applications of Xanthan Gum in Fluid-Loss Control and Related Formation Damage

Xanthan gum solutions have gained increasing interest for their use as environmentally friendly chemicals in the oil industry. Xanthan is compatible with most concentrate brines used for controlling formation damage and fluid loss. Particularly, formate brines reinforce the ordered structure of the biopolymer in solution, gel strength, and the specific gravity of the resulting fluid. In this paper, we studied the effect of thermal aging on the rheological behavior of xanthan solutions as a function of the concentration in potassium formate. Ionic strength below a threshold concentration does not prevent the degradation of the structure of xanthan after being submitted to aging at 165 °C. Aged solutions show an important loss of strength in their mechanical properties, lower pH, and higher content in furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural. Highly concentrated formate brines are necessary to maintain the strength of the rheological properties after exposure to high-temperature environments.

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An experimental study on performace of starch extracted from wheat flour as filtration control agent in drilling fluid

International Journal of Advances in Applied Sciences ◽

10.11591/ijaas.v9.i4.pp255-260 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 255

Author(s):

Raheel Iqbal ◽

Fawad Pirzada ◽

Muhammad Zubair ◽

Ameer Mehmood

Keyword(s):

Wheat Flour ◽

Drilling Fluid ◽

Low Cost ◽

Control Agent ◽

The Other ◽

Formation Damage ◽

Fluid Loss ◽

Environmentally Safe ◽

Loss Control ◽

Mud Filtrate

<span>The phenomenon of lost of mud filtrate into a porous permeable formation due to high hydrostatic pressure compared to the formation pressure is known as fluid loss. This cause some major problems in well during drilling as poor cementing job, pipe stuck, and formation damage. Thus, to safe the well from such problems and in order to make safe and effective drilling an additive from wheat flour is extracted which is starch, and acting as a fluid loss control agent. The purpose of this research is to investigate the potential of utilizing this additive to form environmentally safe, non-toxic, high biodegradability and low-cost water-based drilling fluid samples with varying the amount of starch. Experimental results showed that Efficiency of starch obtained from wheat-flour is showing increment in rheological properties as compare to starch present in market by using same and varying quantity of both and observed that wheat-flour starch is more efficient as compare to starch in market. On the other hand, the efficiency of starch is good but it has been also improved by the extraction of starch from wheat-flour by the centrifugation process.</span>

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Fracture plugging optimization for drill-in fluid loss control and formation damage prevention in fractured tight reservoir

Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering ◽

10.1016/j.jngse.2016.09.059 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 1216-1227 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Chengyuan Xu ◽

Yili Kang ◽

Fei Chen ◽

Zhenjiang You

Keyword(s):

Formation Damage ◽

Fluid Loss ◽

Tight Reservoir ◽

Loss Control ◽

Damage Prevention

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An Organosoluble Polymer for Outstanding Fluid Loss Control with Minimum Formation Damage

10.2118/107281-ms ◽

2007 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Bertrand Guichard ◽

Andrea Valenti ◽

James E. Friedheim ◽

John Lee

Keyword(s):

Formation Damage ◽

Fluid Loss ◽

Loss Control

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Lost-Circulation Control for Formation-Damage Prevention in Naturally Fractured Reservoir: Mathematical Model and Experimental Study

SPE Journal ◽

10.2118/182266-pa ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (05) ◽

pp. 1654-1670 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Chengyuan Xu ◽

Yili Kang ◽

Lijun You ◽

Zhenjiang You

Keyword(s):

Mathematical Model ◽

Laboratory Data ◽

Fracture Propagation ◽

Formation Damage ◽

Fluid Loss ◽

Fractured Reservoir ◽

Geometrical Properties ◽

Lost Circulation ◽

Tight Reservoirs ◽

Loss Control

Summary Drill-in fluid loss is the most important cause of formation damage during the drill-in process in fractured tight reservoirs. The addition of lost-circulation material (LCM) into drill-in fluid is the most popular technique for loss control. However, traditional LCM selection is mainly performed by use of the trial-and-error method because of the lack of mathematical models. The present work aims at filling this gap by developing a new mathematical model to characterize the performance of drill-in fluid-loss control by use of LCM during the drill-in process of fractured tight reservoirs. Plugging-zone strength and fracture-propagation pressure are the two main factors affecting drill-in fluid-loss control. The developed mathematical model consists of two submodels: the plugging-zone-strength model and the fracture-propagation-pressure model. Explicit formulae are obtained for LCM selection dependent on the proposed model to control drill-in fluid loss and prevent formation damage. Effects of LCM mechanical and geometrical properties on loss-control performance are analyzed for optimal fracture plugging and propagation control. Laboratory tests on loss-control effect by use of different types and concentrations of LCMs are performed. Different combinations of acid-soluble rigid particles, fibers, and elastic particles are tested to generate a synergy effect for drill-in fluid-loss control. The derived model is validated by laboratory data and successfully applied to the field case study in Sichuan Basin, China.

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