International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering

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Performance Evaluation of Synthetic-Based Drilling Fluid with Flat Rheology

Received: Oct. 12, 2018    Accepted: Oct. 31, 2018    Published: Nov. 19, 2018
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Abstract

In offshore deepwater drilling, because of the low temperature aroud seafloor, the conventional synthetic-based drilling fluid becomes very thick, resulting in severe loss of drilling fluid during drilling through the deepwater formations with a narrow safe-density window. Therefore, it is important to improve the rheological properties of drilling fluid at deepwater drilling conditions. In this work, by investigating the effects of the key components including the base oil, emulsifier, wetting agent and rheology modifier on the rheological properties of synthetic-based drilling fluid at 4°C to 65°C, the optimal additives were selected, and a synthetic-based drilling fluid with flat-rheology characteristics was developed. It was found that the gas-to-liquid oil had low viscosity at a low temperature, and was suitable for preparing deepwater drilling fluids. The evaluation experiments show that at 4°C to 65°C, the drilling fluid could maintain stable yield point, 10-min Gel and 6 r/min reading value at a density of 0.9-1.5 g/cm3 even after high temperature aging, while the rheological properties of the conventional synthetic-based drilling fluid were significantly influence by the low temperature. Moreover, it showed excellent performance in filtration reduction and shale inhibition, and could maintain good properties even being contaminated by seawater. Therefore, its stable rheological properties at the deepwater drilling temperature range can effectively control the equivalent circulating density, thus reducing the risk of drilling fluid loss during deepwater drilling.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijepe.20180705.11
Published in International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering ( Volume 7, Issue 5, October 2018 )
Page(s) 54-58
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Flat-Rheology, Synthetic-Based Drilling Fluid, Deepwater Drilling, Low Temperature

References
[1] Zhao X, Qiu Z, Huang W, et al. Mechanism and method for controlling low-temperature rheology of water-based drilling fluids in deepwater drilling. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2017, 154: 405-416.
[2] Davison J M, Clary S, Saasen A, et al. Rheology of various drilling fluid systems under deepwater drilling conditions and the importance of accurate predictions of downhole fluid hydraulics. SPE 56632. SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, 3-6 October, Houston, Texas, USA, 1999.
[3] Zamora M, Broussard P N, Stephens M P. The top 10 mud-related concerns in deepwater drilling operations. SPE 59019. SPE International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition in Mexico, 1-3 February, Villahermosa, Mexico, 2000.
[4] Herzhaft B, Peysson Y, Isambourg P, et al. Rheological properties of drilling muds in deep offshore conditions. SPE/IADC 67736. SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, 27 February-1 March, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2001.
[5] Dokhani V, Ma Y, Yu M. Determination of equivalent circulating density of drilling fluids in deepwater drilling. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2016, 34, 1096-1105.
[6] Van Oort E, Lee J, Friedheim J, et al. New flat-rheology synthetic-based mud for improved deepwater drilling. SPE 90987, 2004.
[7] Rojas J C, Bern P, Plutt L J, et al. New constant-rheology synthetic-based fluid reduces downhole losses in deepwater environments. SPE 109586. SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 September, Houston, Texas, USA, 2007.
[8] Knox D, Bulgachev R, Cameron I. Defining Fragile-The Challenge of Engineering Drilling Fluids for Narrow ECD Windows. SPE/IADC 173059. SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, 17-19 March, London, England, UK, 2015.
[9] Schlemmer R, Phoon G, Lumpur K. A new generation associative polymer extends temperature stability of deepwater drilling fluid. IPTC 15383. International Petroleum Technology Conference, 15-17 November, Bangkok, Thailand, 2011.
[10] Young S, Friedheim J, John Lee, et al. A new generation of flat rheology invert drilling fluids. SPE 154682. SPE Oil and Gas India Conference and Exhibition, 28-30 March, Mumbai, India, 2012.
[11] Huang W, Leong Y K, Chen T, et al. Surface chemistry and rheological properties of API bentonite drilling fluid: pH effect, yield stress, zeta potential and ageing behaviour. J. Petro. Sci. Eng. 2016, 146, 561-569.
[12] Zhao X, Qiu Z, Xu J, et al. Flat-rheology oil-based drilling fluid for deepwater drilling. International Journal of Heat and Technology, 2017, 35(1): 19-24.
[13] Zhong H, Qiu Z, Huang W, et al. Bis (hexamethylene) triamine as potential shale inhibitor in water-based drilling fluid. Open Petroleum Engineering Journal, 2013, 6(1), 49-56.
[14] Zhong H, Sun D, Huang W, et al. Effect of cycloaliphatic amine on the shale inhibitive properties of water-based drilling fluid. The Open Fuels & Energy Science Journal, 2015, 8, 19-27.
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  • APA Style

    Tie Geng, Zhengsong Qiu, Hailong Miao, Wei Zhang, Ke Lei. (2018). Performance Evaluation of Synthetic-Based Drilling Fluid with Flat Rheology. International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering, 7(5), 54-58. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20180705.11

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    ACS Style

    Tie Geng; Zhengsong Qiu; Hailong Miao; Wei Zhang; Ke Lei. Performance Evaluation of Synthetic-Based Drilling Fluid with Flat Rheology. Int. J. Energy Power Eng. 2018, 7(5), 54-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepe.20180705.11

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    AMA Style

    Tie Geng, Zhengsong Qiu, Hailong Miao, Wei Zhang, Ke Lei. Performance Evaluation of Synthetic-Based Drilling Fluid with Flat Rheology. Int J Energy Power Eng. 2018;7(5):54-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepe.20180705.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijepe.20180705.11,
      author = {Tie Geng and Zhengsong Qiu and Hailong Miao and Wei Zhang and Ke Lei},
      title = {Performance Evaluation of Synthetic-Based Drilling Fluid with Flat Rheology},
      journal = {International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering},
      volume = {7},
      number = {5},
      pages = {54-58},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijepe.20180705.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20180705.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepe.20180705.11},
      abstract = {In offshore deepwater drilling, because of the low temperature aroud seafloor, the conventional synthetic-based drilling fluid becomes very thick, resulting in severe loss of drilling fluid during drilling through the deepwater formations with a narrow safe-density window. Therefore, it is important to improve the rheological properties of drilling fluid at deepwater drilling conditions. In this work, by investigating the effects of the key components including the base oil, emulsifier, wetting agent and rheology modifier on the rheological properties of synthetic-based drilling fluid at 4°C to 65°C, the optimal additives were selected, and a synthetic-based drilling fluid with flat-rheology characteristics was developed. It was found that the gas-to-liquid oil had low viscosity at a low temperature, and was suitable for preparing deepwater drilling fluids. The evaluation experiments show that at 4°C to 65°C, the drilling fluid could maintain stable yield point, 10-min Gel and 6 r/min reading value at a density of 0.9-1.5 g/cm3 even after high temperature aging, while the rheological properties of the conventional synthetic-based drilling fluid were significantly influence by the low temperature. Moreover, it showed excellent performance in filtration reduction and shale inhibition, and could maintain good properties even being contaminated by seawater. Therefore, its stable rheological properties at the deepwater drilling temperature range can effectively control the equivalent circulating density, thus reducing the risk of drilling fluid loss during deepwater drilling.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Performance Evaluation of Synthetic-Based Drilling Fluid with Flat Rheology
    AU  - Tie Geng
    AU  - Zhengsong Qiu
    AU  - Hailong Miao
    AU  - Wei Zhang
    AU  - Ke Lei
    Y1  - 2018/11/19
    PY  - 2018
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20180705.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijepe.20180705.11
    T2  - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering
    JF  - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering
    JO  - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering
    SP  - 54
    EP  - 58
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2326-960X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20180705.11
    AB  - In offshore deepwater drilling, because of the low temperature aroud seafloor, the conventional synthetic-based drilling fluid becomes very thick, resulting in severe loss of drilling fluid during drilling through the deepwater formations with a narrow safe-density window. Therefore, it is important to improve the rheological properties of drilling fluid at deepwater drilling conditions. In this work, by investigating the effects of the key components including the base oil, emulsifier, wetting agent and rheology modifier on the rheological properties of synthetic-based drilling fluid at 4°C to 65°C, the optimal additives were selected, and a synthetic-based drilling fluid with flat-rheology characteristics was developed. It was found that the gas-to-liquid oil had low viscosity at a low temperature, and was suitable for preparing deepwater drilling fluids. The evaluation experiments show that at 4°C to 65°C, the drilling fluid could maintain stable yield point, 10-min Gel and 6 r/min reading value at a density of 0.9-1.5 g/cm3 even after high temperature aging, while the rheological properties of the conventional synthetic-based drilling fluid were significantly influence by the low temperature. Moreover, it showed excellent performance in filtration reduction and shale inhibition, and could maintain good properties even being contaminated by seawater. Therefore, its stable rheological properties at the deepwater drilling temperature range can effectively control the equivalent circulating density, thus reducing the risk of drilling fluid loss during deepwater drilling.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, China; Oilfield Chemicals R&D Institute, COSL, Sanhe, China

  • School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, China

  • Oilfield Chemicals R&D Institute, COSL, Sanhe, China

  • Oilfield Chemicals R&D Institute, COSL, Sanhe, China

  • Oilfield Chemicals R&D Institute, COSL, Sanhe, China

  • Section