Rheological impact and economic implications of partial to total substitution of imported bentonite clay for oil and gas drilling operations in Nigeria

Abstract

In less than a decade, there have been two global meltdowns of crude oil price and the latest was caused by the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020. This is expected to have a negative impact on the global economy, especially on those countries that depend more on the revenue from sales of crude oil. One of the measures that can be taken to survive this kind of situation in the future is to reduce the unit technical cost for producing a barrel of oil by using locally available materials. This research investigated a local clay sourced from Ropp in Plateau State, Nigeria, by considering its rheological characteristics and economic implications of using it for partial to total substitution of imported bentonite clay for oil and gas drilling operations. The local clay was termed as Ropp bentonite clay (RBC). Various spud mud samples were prepared by dispersing a mixture of imported bentonite clay (IBC) and RBC (0–100%) in 350 ml of water. Certain quantity (0–1 g) of polyacrylamide cellulose was added to the mud samples before rheological and physical properties were determined using the standard API procedure. An economic model was built to determine the cost implications of using any of the mud formulations at different consumption rates. The results show that IBC–RBC blend in the right proportion could save Nigeria 12 to 36% of the cost of bentonite clay used to drill wells in the country.

Thermochemical Treatment of Nigerian Raw Clays for Oil and Gas Drilling Operations

“…The thermochemical treatment of Pindinga clay improved the viscosity of the mud (sample P3,3) comparably with that of finished bentonite clay (26 cP) [34]. Hence, Pindinga raw clay can also be used for drilling operations after being treated thermochemically.…”

Characterization of Local Clay for Drilling Mud Production

“…Studies on beneficiating our local bentonite to see if they can compare with the imported bentonite have been suggested by researchers [10, 12,]. Among the recent studies on beneficiation of Nigeriabentonites using local materials are [17,18].…”

“…They concluded from their result that the rheological properties of Ishiagu local clay can be improve and be a good substitute for the foreign imported bentonite when beneficiated with soda ash, potassium chloride and Pac R at their right concentration. Greatest percentage of bentonite used within Nigeria are imported due to the deficiency of the local clays in rheological and fluid loss properties [17] but studies has shown that imported bentonite-local clay blend in the right proportion could save Nigeria 12 to 36% of the cost of bentonite clay used to drill wells in the country [18].…”