Enhancing the Stability of Invert Emulsion Drilling Fluid for Drilling in High-Pressure High-Temperature Conditions
Drilling in high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) conditions is a challenging task. The drilling fluid should be designed to provide high density and stable rheological properties. Barite is the most common weighting material used to adjust the required fluid density. Barite settling, or sag, is a c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/9/2393 |
| _version_ | 1798039597273317376 |
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| author | Salaheldin Elkatatny |
| author_facet | Salaheldin Elkatatny |
| author_sort | Salaheldin Elkatatny |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Drilling in high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) conditions is a challenging task. The drilling fluid should be designed to provide high density and stable rheological properties. Barite is the most common weighting material used to adjust the required fluid density. Barite settling, or sag, is a common issue in drilling HPHT wells. Barite sagging may cause many problems such as density variations, well-control problems, stuck pipe, downhole drilling fluid losses, or induced wellbore instability. This study assesses the effect of using a new copolymer (based on styrene and acrylic monomers) on the rheological properties and the stability of an invert emulsion drilling fluid, which can be used to drill HPHT wells. The main goal is to prevent the barite sagging issue, which is common in drilling HPHT wells. A sag test was performed under static (vertical and 45° incline) and dynamic conditions in order to evaluate the copolymer’s ability to enhance the suspension properties of the drilling fluid. In addition, the effect of this copolymer on the filtration properties was performed. The obtained results showed that adding the new copolymer with 1 lb/bbl concentration has no effect on the density and electrical stability. The sag issue was eliminated by adding 1 lb/bbl of the copolymer to the invert emulsion drilling fluid at a temperature >300 °F under static and dynamic conditions. Adding the copolymer enhanced the storage modulus by 290% and the gel strength by 50%, which demonstrated the power of the new copolymer to prevent the settling of the barite particles at a higher temperature. The 1 lb/bbl copolymer’s concentration reduced the filter cake thickness by 40% at 400 °F, which indicates the prevention of barite settling at high temperature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:56:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b045b4504c740bf8f8be47e22d78db7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:56:05Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b045b4504c740bf8f8be47e22d78db72022-12-22T04:01:06ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732018-09-01119239310.3390/en11092393en11092393Enhancing the Stability of Invert Emulsion Drilling Fluid for Drilling in High-Pressure High-Temperature ConditionsSalaheldin Elkatatny0Department of Petroleum Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi ArabiaDrilling in high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) conditions is a challenging task. The drilling fluid should be designed to provide high density and stable rheological properties. Barite is the most common weighting material used to adjust the required fluid density. Barite settling, or sag, is a common issue in drilling HPHT wells. Barite sagging may cause many problems such as density variations, well-control problems, stuck pipe, downhole drilling fluid losses, or induced wellbore instability. This study assesses the effect of using a new copolymer (based on styrene and acrylic monomers) on the rheological properties and the stability of an invert emulsion drilling fluid, which can be used to drill HPHT wells. The main goal is to prevent the barite sagging issue, which is common in drilling HPHT wells. A sag test was performed under static (vertical and 45° incline) and dynamic conditions in order to evaluate the copolymer’s ability to enhance the suspension properties of the drilling fluid. In addition, the effect of this copolymer on the filtration properties was performed. The obtained results showed that adding the new copolymer with 1 lb/bbl concentration has no effect on the density and electrical stability. The sag issue was eliminated by adding 1 lb/bbl of the copolymer to the invert emulsion drilling fluid at a temperature >300 °F under static and dynamic conditions. Adding the copolymer enhanced the storage modulus by 290% and the gel strength by 50%, which demonstrated the power of the new copolymer to prevent the settling of the barite particles at a higher temperature. The 1 lb/bbl copolymer’s concentration reduced the filter cake thickness by 40% at 400 °F, which indicates the prevention of barite settling at high temperature.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/9/2393barite sagginginvert emulsionhigh-pressure high-temperaturestorage modulussag factor |
| spellingShingle | Salaheldin Elkatatny Enhancing the Stability of Invert Emulsion Drilling Fluid for Drilling in High-Pressure High-Temperature Conditions Energies barite sagging invert emulsion high-pressure high-temperature storage modulus sag factor |
| title | Enhancing the Stability of Invert Emulsion Drilling Fluid for Drilling in High-Pressure High-Temperature Conditions |
| title_full | Enhancing the Stability of Invert Emulsion Drilling Fluid for Drilling in High-Pressure High-Temperature Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing the Stability of Invert Emulsion Drilling Fluid for Drilling in High-Pressure High-Temperature Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing the Stability of Invert Emulsion Drilling Fluid for Drilling in High-Pressure High-Temperature Conditions |
| title_short | Enhancing the Stability of Invert Emulsion Drilling Fluid for Drilling in High-Pressure High-Temperature Conditions |
| title_sort | enhancing the stability of invert emulsion drilling fluid for drilling in high pressure high temperature conditions |
| topic | barite sagging invert emulsion high-pressure high-temperature storage modulus sag factor |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/9/2393 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT salaheldinelkatatny enhancingthestabilityofinvertemulsiondrillingfluidfordrillinginhighpressurehightemperatureconditions |