Itabirite: An Alternative Weighting Material for Heavy Oil-Base Muds

Scharf, Allan; Watts, Rick

doi:10.2118/13159-ms

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The weighting material is simply a material with high specific gravity, which is used in the drilling fluid or cementing slurry to increase the density. There are several examples of weighting materials including ilmenite, hematite, barite, calcium carbonate, ferromagnetic magnetite, siderite, galena, anhydrous calcium sulfate, and so forth. ,− The criteria for choosing the weighting material include the availability, cost, removal process, compatibility with other components in the drilling fluid, formation type that will be drilled, and so forth. The most common weighting material is barite …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary Investigation of Barite-Weighted Water-Based Drilling Fluid Properties

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drilling fluid is a critical component in drilling operation due to its various functions. It consists of many elements, and one of the main components is the weighting material which controls the mud density. The weighting material type and concentration have a significant impact on the drilling fluid properties. A common weighting material used in the oil and gas industry is barite. In this work, the impact of barite concentration on water-based drilling fluid was evaluated. The investigated drilling fluid properties are density, pH value, filtration behavior, and rheological parameters. An intense investigation was carried out to evaluate the impact of barite concentration on the filtration and filter cake sealing properties. The density and pH values were measured at room temperature, filtration test was performed at room temperature, and differential pressure was equal to 100 psi. The rheological parameters were determined after hot rolling for 16 h at a temperature of 250 °F. The results showed that both the density and pH value increased linearly with barite dosage. The filtration volume, filter cake thickness, and permeability increased with the incremental increase in barite dosage, and the exponential relationship was the best in describing the relation with barite concentration. However, the filter cake porosity had an inverse proportional relation with barite dosage. In the case of rheological properties, all the investigated properties including the plastic viscosity, yield point, ratio of yield point to plastic viscosity, and gel strength at two different times (i.e., 10 s and 10 min) increased in general as the barite concentration increased.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary Investigation of Barite-Weighted Water-Based Drilling Fluid Properties

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The resulting inconsistent drilling fluid properties will eventually lead to wellbore instability, pipe sticking, circulation losses, and significant increase in drilling costs [15][16][17][18]. Accordingly, the industry seeks for practical solutions to mitigate these serious issues using alternative applicable weighting materials that provide high-density mud such as hematite, ilmenite, and Micromax [19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is known as an absorbent, blasting, and adhesive agent. Hematite was firstly proposed as a weighting agent by Haaland et al [26]; then, its utilization in drilling fluids grows significantly showing lower solid content, significant ROP improvement, acid solubility, and low toxicity [19][20][21][22][23]. The relatively high abrasiveness of hematite is reduced by micronizing its particles [27], which helps in improving the filtration and rheology performance as well [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ilmenite Inclusion: A Solution towards Solid Sagging for Hematite-Based Invert Emulsion Mud

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The sagging tendency of hematite in drilling mud is a common challenge occurring at high-pressure and high-temperature (HP/HT) applications. This work studies the performance of hematite-based invert emulsion mud for HP/HT conditions and provides a solution to prevent the hematite settlement using a combination of ilmenite with hematite. Practical mud formulation was utilized over a range of ilmenite/hematite ratios (0/100, 20/80, 40/60, and 50/50%) to study sagging behaviour. From the sag tests, the optimum combination proportion was determined. Thereafter, the density, emulsion stability, rheological and viscoelastic properties, and filtration conduct for the formulated mud were evaluated. The experiments were conditioned as per the standards of the American Petroleum Institute. The obtained results of sagging experiments indicated that including 50% of ilmenite mitigated the hematite settling and reduced the sag tendency towards the safe range. A slight drop (4%) in mud weight was noticed upon adding the ilmenite, whereas the emulsion stability was enhanced from 551 to 574 volts with the 50% ilmenite content. The rheology and viscoelasticity measurements showed that 50/50% combination improved the yield point (YP) by 50% with a trivial 1 cP increment on plastic viscosity (PV), hence enhancing the YP/PV ratio by 46%. Also, the gelling strength was enhanced resulting in flat rheology and better gel structure. The filtration behaviour of 50% ilmenite mud was improved compared to blank hematite as it resulted in 21, 15, and 17% reduction on the filtrated volume, filter cake weight, and thickness, respectively. This study provides a solution for hematite sagging issue at HP/HT using combined weighting agents, which contributes to enhancing the mud stability and avoiding several well control issues and related operational and technical challenges that eventually will economize the drilling cost and time.

show abstract

“…Hematite (Fe 2 O 3 ) is a reddish-brown powder and electrically conductive with a molecular weight of 159.69 and a specific gravity of 4.9–5.3 g/cm 3 . It is commonly used as a blasting agent, absorbent, and adhesive agent and was recently introduced and applied as a weighting material showing technical benefits with a low solid content, as the field and laboratory implementation validated the low toxicity, ROP improvement, and acid-solubility of hematite. − Moreover, the micronized particles of hematite showed a positive impact on rheology and filtration performance besides the advantages of iron oxide existence . However in HP/HT wells, solid sagging was still encountered, particularly, at mud density higher or equal to 14 ppg and temperature greater than or equal to 250 °F for different applied pressure ranges. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevention of Hematite Settling in Water-Based Mud at High Pressure and High Temperature

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hematite was recently introduced as a weighting agent in drilling fluids; however, its use has some problems because of the settlement of solid particles (solid sagging). Particularly when it comes to high-pressure high-temperature (HP/HT) wells, sagging causes inconsistency in the drilling fluid and gives rise to serious drilling operational and technical challenges. This work provides a solution to this challenge via a thorough investigation of hematite sagging in water-based mud for HP/HT applications where ilmenite is combined with hematite. The particles of both hematite and ilmenite were first characterized to address their mineralogical and textural features. Field mud formulation was employed using several ilmenite/hematite contents (i.e., 0/100, 25/75, and 50/50% ilmenite/hematite). Then, laboratory experiments were conducted to study the density, pH, and sag performance of the produced drilling fluids. From the sagging tests, the optimal ilmenite/hematite ratio was determined, and rheology, viscoelastic behavior, and filtration properties of the formulated mud were addressed. The tests were conditioned to 300 psi and 250 °F. The results showed a reduction in mud density and pH with increasing ilmenite content, as the density reduced from15 ppg with base hematite until 14.2 ppg for the 50% ilmenite mixture and the pH reduced from 10.5 to 9.3. The static and dynamic sag tests indicated that the addition of 25% of ilmenite solved the hematite-incorporated sagging issue by well placing the sag tendency within the recommended safe range. The 25/75% combination enhanced the yield point (YP) by 37% with only 1 cP increment in plastic viscosity (PV) and an insignificant effect on the gel strength. The YP/PV ratio was improved by 31% indicating better hole cleaning and solid suspension. The filtration behavior of the 25% ilmenite mixture was superior compared to that of the blank hematite because it resulted in 35, 39, and 35% reduction in the filtrate volume, filter-cake weight, and thickness, respectively. This work contributes to improving and economizing the drilling cost and time by the formulation of a stabilized and distinguished-performance drilling mud using combined weighting agents at HP/HT.

show abstract

Itabirite: An Alternative Weighting Material for Heavy Oil-Base Muds

Cited by 17 publications

References 1 publication

Primary Investigation of Barite-Weighted Water-Based Drilling Fluid Properties

Primary Investigation of Barite-Weighted Water-Based Drilling Fluid Properties

Ilmenite Inclusion: A Solution towards Solid Sagging for Hematite-Based Invert Emulsion Mud

Prevention of Hematite Settling in Water-Based Mud at High Pressure and High Temperature

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About