Application of In-House Prepared Nanoparticles as Filtration Control Additive to Reduce Formation Damage

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) are currently being studied as a drilling fluid additives especially for application in very lowpermeability formations such as shales. Application for conventional permeable rocks is still a subject of discussion. In this work, successful application of in-house prepared iron-based nanoparticles (NP1) and calcium-based nanoparticles (NP2) to reduce filtration loss in conventional permeable media has been experimentally quantified for oil-based mud (OBM) utilizing the high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) filter press at 500 psi and 250°F. Ceramic discs were used as the filtration medium in this application to test the performance of the NPs and glide graphite as a conventional lost circulation material (LCM) for porous media. These experiments were carried out in the presence of graphite at low and high concentrations. Filtration reduction trends were observed and a reduction up to 76% was achieved. API filter press was also used to investigate the behavior of NPs and graphite under low pressure and temperature conditions (LPLT). NP1 and NP2 at the two graphite concentrations showed a reduction up to 100%. NP1 gave higher reduction especially at low concentrations under HPHT conditions, while NP2 yielded significant reduction at high concentration under HPHT. These trends were reversed under LPLT, giving a new insight on NPs performance under different pressure and temperature conditions. At HPHT and LPLT, the effect of graphite as a filtrate reduction agent is less significant as the NPs concentration increases. High graphite level had a positive effect on filtration reduction in combination with NP1 at HPHT and LPLT. This was not the case for the blends containing NP2 at HPHT. The effect of NPs and graphite was tested individually showing a different performance compared to the combination of them. Impact of NPs and graphite on rheology was also quantified allowing identification of the more sensitive parameters in the blends. It is concluded from this study that blends containing NPs and graphite can be successfully implemented in OBM to minimize formation damage in porous media.

Nano-Based Drilling Fluids: A Review

“…Finally, the authors proposed that the improved filtration performance by adding ASCH could be attributed to the low permeability filter cakes which were built due to the strong electrostatic repulsion between the hybrid particles and clay platelets which provided good dispersion and prevented coagulation and flocculation. Contreras et al [14] investigated the use of in-house prepared iron-based and calcium-based nanoparticles with glide graphite as a conventional lost circulation material (LCM) in oil-based mud in order to minimize formation damage in porous media. The rheological properties were measured at 120 °F and atmospheric pressure.…”

“…Contreras et al [14] investigated the use of in-house prepared iron-based and calcium-based nanoparticles with glide graphite as a conventional lost circulation material (LCM) in oil-based mud in order to minimize formation damage in porous media. The rheological properties were measured at 120 • F and atmospheric pressure.…”

“…They concluded that optimal rheological as well as filtration properties were obtained at higher concentrations of MWCNTs (0.1 ppb = 0.0285 wt %). Contreras et al [14] investigated the gel strength values of an oil based-mud containing 0.5 wt %, 1 wt % and 2.5 wt % calcium and iron nanoparticles at different concentrations of glide graphite as a conventional lost circulation material (0.5 wt % and 2 wt %). They noticed that the samples containing calcium NP almost doubled their gel strength values compared to the control sample at 10 s and 10 min, while the samples with iron NP showed tremendous increases in the gel strength values of 10 min with almost no change in the values obtained at 10 s. Finally, they stated that addition of graphite did not significantly impact the gel strength of the fluids containing iron NP, while it had a moderate impact in the fluids containing calcium NP.…”

Nanoparticle-Based Drilling Fluids for Minimizing Formation Damage in HP/HT Applications

“…Small particle size results in a high surface area-to-volume ratio, which leads to changes in interatomic spacing and gives superior functions (Lu et al 2007;Behari 2010). Different types of NPs have been tested for enhancing and controlling the rheology of drilling fluids (Agarwal et al 2011;Amanullah et al 2011;Abdo and Haneef 2013;Ismail et al 2014), and for fluid loss mitigation (Javeri et al 2011;Cai et al 2012;Manea 2012;Srivatsa and Ziaja 2012;Zakaria et al 2012;Contreras et al 2014). A brief overview of the application of nanotechnology in drilling fluids has also been provided in the literature (Friedheim et al 2012;Hoelscher et al 2013).…”

Analiza wpływu nanomateriałów na właściwości osadu filtracyjnego

“…Badania przeprowadzone przez M. Adela i innych [3,6,9,10,17,19] potwierdzają wysoką skuteczność nanomateriałów w obniżaniu filtracji płuczek wiertniczych oraz zmniejszaniu uszkodzenia naturalnej przepuszczalności skał zbiornikowych. W badaniach zastosowano nanokrzemionki o rozmiarach: 5÷15 nm, 10÷25 nm i 70÷95 nm.…”