| Hole cleaning is one of the most important aspects of extractive drilling operations. When drill cuttings combine with drilling fluids, cutting bed gel is created, which becomes extremely challenging to remove while drilling. One of the functions of drilling fluid when the flow is static is to maintain the drill bits' suspension. However, the settling of drill bits makes this nearly impossible. In this paper, the influence of fluid viscosity on hole cleaning performance was critically studied through a series of laboratory experiments. The effects of different viscosity levels on hole cleaning were investigated. This paper evaluated the use of lecithin and carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (CMHEC) as a viscosifier and fluid loss agent in oil-based drilling fluid. The rheological properties of the formulated drilling fluids were determined at various temperatures according to the API 13B-2 specifications in order to identify the most suitable mud type for high-temperature drilling operations. From this study, it was discovered that Formulation B has the best rheology, with a plastic viscosity (PV) of 12, 7, and 7 cP at 30, 40, and 50 °C, respectively, while its yield point (YP) was found to be 30, 24, and 16, respectively. These values were compared with the generic oil-based formulation (A), which had a plastic viscosity (VP) of 43, 39, and 22 cP at 30, 40, and 50 °C, respectively, while its yield point (YP) was found to be 38, 20, and 26, respectively. The findings show that formulation B has a significant resistance to high temperatures, which means that it can be applied to drilling operations in reservoirs with high temperatures. It is more environmentally friendly. Furthermore, this paper explores the implications of the results in terms of the efficiency of hole cleaning and the drilling process relative to the viscosity of oil-based drilling fluid. This paper concludes by providing suggestions for improving drilling efficiency through the selection of an appropriate drilling fluid viscosity. |
- American Petroleum Institute. (2021). Introduction to Drilling. American Petroleum Institute. Retrieved from https://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas/exploration-production/drilling
- Mozaffarian, F., & Choo, C. (2016). Introduction to extractive industry. In Petroleum and Extractive Industry (pp. 1-6). Springer, Cham.
- Dabkowski, A. and Peczkowski, S. (2014). Drilling Mud—Part 1: Properties and Composition. Petroleum & Coal, 56(3), pp.280-289.
- Growcock, F. and Harvey, T. (2005), Drilling Fluids. In ASME Shale Shaker Committee, Drilling Fluids Processing Handbook. Elsevier.
- Rabia, H. (2000), Well Engineering and Construction, Graham and Trotman Publication. 1(1):1–265.
- Kesarwani, H., Saxena, A., & Sharma, S. (2020). Novel Jatropha Oil Based Emulsion Drilling Mud Out performs Conventional Drilling Mud : A comparative study. Energy Sources. Part a, Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2020.1827095
- U. S et al (2021) Performance evaluation of oil based drilling fluid formulated with castor oil. J Pet Gas Eng 12(1):8–22. https://doi.org/10.5897/JPGE2021.0348
- Onuh, C. Y., Dosunmu, A., Anawe, P. a. L., Bolujo, E. O., Olabode, O. A., & Ogunkunle, T. F. (2019). Investigating the potential of Calophylluminophyllum plant base oil for oil and gas drilling mud operations. Journal of Physics. Conference Series, 1299(1), 012069. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1299/1/012069
- Kumar, P., and Hasnain, M. (2017). Hole Cleaning in Oil and Gas Wells: A Review. International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 15(2), 97-118. doi:10.1504/IJOGCT.2017.085475.
- Barnes, H. A., Hutton, J. F., & Walters, K. (2005). An introduction to rheology (Vol. 3.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
- Ochoa, V. M. (2006). Analysis of drilling fluid rheology and tool joint effect to reduce errors in hydraulics calculations (dissertation). Texas A & M University, College Station, TX.
- Sidky, M., Aly, M., and Osman, A. (2005). Effect of Temperature on Rheological Properties of Oil-Based Drilling Fluids. Petroleum Science and Technology, 23(3–4), 648–659.
- Zhang, M., Xie, Y., Liu, Y., and Zhang, J. (2014). Rheological Properties of Oil-Based Drilling Fluids as a Function of Temperature, Pressure and Base Oil Content. Petroleum Science and Technology, 32(19), 2214–2220.
- Liu, J., Cai, W., He, K., and Song, F. (2021). Rheological Behavior and Its Relation to the Mineral Content of Oil-Based Drilling Mud. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 199, 106241.
- Oseh, J. O., Norddin, M. N. a. M., Ismail, I., Gbadamosi, A. O., Ogiriki, S. O., Agi, A., & Ismail, A. R. (2019). Performance Evaluation of a Benign Oil-Based Mud from Non-Edible Sweet Almond Seed Oil. SPE Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition. https://doi.org/10.2118/198717-ms
- Abduo, M. I., Dahab, A. S., Abuseda, H., AbdulAziz, A. M., & Elhossieny, M. S. (2016). Comparative study of using water-based mud containing multiwall carbon nanotubes versus oil-based mud in HPHT Fields. Egyptian Journal of Petroleum, 25(4), 459–464. https://doi:10.1016/j.ejpe.2015.10.008
- Jones, L., & Patel, K. (2023). Enhancing drilling mud performance: The role of natural surfactants. International Journal of Drilling Technology, 58(3), 455-469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdt.2023.45678
- Ali, I., Ahmad, M., & Ganat, T. A.-A. (2022). Experimental study on water-based mud: Investigate rheological and filtration properties using cupressus cones powder. Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, 12(10), 2699–2709. https://doi:10.1007/s13202-022-01471-8
- Rafieefar, A., Sharif, F., Hashemi, A., & Bazargan, A. M. (2021). Rheological behavior and filtration of water-based drilling fluids containing graphene oxide: Experimental measurement, mechanistic understanding, and modeling. ACS Omega, 6(44), 29905–29920. https://doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c04398
- Adesina, F., Patrick, O., Temitope, O., & Adebowale, O. (2017). Formulation and evaluation of synthetic drilling mud for low temperature regions. Covenant journal of Engineering Technology.
- Saboori, R., Sabbaghi, S., Kalantariasl, A., & Mowla, D. (2018). Improvement in filtration properties of water-based drilling fluid by nanocarboxymethyl cellulose/polystyrene core–shell nanocomposite. Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, 8(2), 445–454. https://doi:10.1007/s13202-018-0432-9
|
