Rheological and filtration properties of water based muds play vital roles in having a good drilling efficiency through hostile and harsh environments. However, there are many occasions in which controlling the variation of mud properties due to disintegration of additives is barely possible resulting in stuck pipe, kick incident or even loss of wells. The aim of this study is to propose an approach to enhance filtration characteristics of water based muds using nanoparticle additives. The results obtained from zeta potential measurements indicated that bentonite and nanosilica particles are both negatively charged with the values of-28 mV and-27 mV at the pH of 8 respectively. Evaluating rheological parameters of different mud samples revealed that the unmodified nanosilica causes reduction in the yield point of the samples rising concerns in the cuttings carrying capacity of drilling fluids. This issue was resolved by modifying the surface charge of nanosilica using a cationic surfactant. Filtration tests conducted under LPLT and HPHT conditions indicated that adding modified nanosilica into the mud samples results in formation of a thin and low permeability filter cake which can be a great asset in drilling through high permeable and small pore throat formations.
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