Scleroglucan Biopolymer Enhances WBM Performances

Abstract

Thm paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Commmee following rewew of mformal!cm ccmamed m an abstract subnwled by the author(s) Con!ents of the paper, as presented, have nol been reviewed by the SO.aety of Petroleum Engineers and are $u@ect to correctmn by the author(s I The mafenal, as rrasented, does not necessarily reflect any pas!bon of the ?,ocaetyof Petroleum Engineers, Its offcers, or members Papars presented at SPE meetmgs am Sub)ect to pubhcat,on rev,ew by Edttorlal Committees of the S.xiety of Petroleum Engneem Permmmon to WY IS restrmted to an abstraci of not more than 3CY3words Illuslrabons may no! be copied The abstract should wtar conspu?dous acknOP.WdgMent of where and by whom !he paper was~esenled VWIte Llbrarlen, SPE P O Box 833636, Rchardson, TX 7W33-38M, U S A fax 01-214-952-9435 Abstract Xanthan Gum is the most popular biopolymer used today to provide hole cleaning and suspension capabilities to water based drilling fluids but it presents some limitations as regards temperature sensitivity and tolerance to field contaminants. In this paper a Scleroglucan is proposed as a better alternative to Xanthan Gum for drilling fluid compositions. Superior benefits offered by Sclerogiucan on hole cleaning, rate of penetration, temperature sensitivity and mud tolerance to shale have been demonstrated by successful field applications and by extensive laboratory studies. Low shear rate viscosities at 0.06 see-l and IJerschel & Bulkley yield stresses are used to quantify hole cleaning capabilities and critical MBT of lab formulations and field muds. Evaluation of cleaning efficiency and cutting concentration is performed with an in house developed program using the Walker and Mayes theory modified with the Herschel &Bulkley theological approach") The oscillation parameters Storage Modulus (G'). Loss Modulus (G") and Loss Tangent (G''/)') are used to characterize the "undisturbed" structure and thixotropy of the systems. According to existing theoriesq['-~) and to the results of' the authors field experience and laboratory studies with analogous form ulations~2, Loss Tangent and Storage Modulus are related to the degree of structuration and to the "strength" of the structure that develops in biopolymer solutions and muds under static conditions. As a consequence, these data are analyzed to determine the suspension capability and resistance to shale contamination of the systems, On the basis of field experience and laboratory studies the main advantages offered by Scleroglucan for drilling muds compositions are confirmed and underlined. The reported field data refer to the first application of Scleroglucan in a Potassium Formate based mud. In the same field other wells were drilled using Scleroglucan in different operative conditions and mud formulations and always with good results.The discussion of these data will be reported elsewhere~'. 105

Rheology of Laponite-scleroglucan hydrogels

“…In the field of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) scleroglucan is assessed as environmentally friendly viscosifying agent in virtue of its no toxicity and biodegradability. Indeed, it is quite suitable for formulating water based drilling muds to be employed in harsh environments owing to its good stability towards high salinities, temperatures and alkaline conditions, moderate interactions with surfactants and its robust shear tolerance (Baba Hamed & Belhadri, 2009;Gallino, Guarneri, Poli, & Xiao, 1996;Kulawardana et al, 2012;Sveistrup, van Mastrigt, Norrman, Picchioni, & Paso, 2016).…”

Drilling muds with stable rheological parameters using modified natural polymers

“…Xanthan gum (XCD) is currently the most popular biopolymer used as structuring agent to dispersed water-base drilling muds. As the bibliographical data shows (Cannell et al, 1988;Kalpakci et al, 1990;Riverq and Nolk, 1992;Gallino et al, 1996;Navarrete and Coffey, 2000;Lange and Keilhofer, 2004;Howard et al, 2015, Fortenberry et al, 2017 the alternative structuring agent that might be employed in drilling muds composition is scleroglucan bio synthesized with the participation of fungi of the genus Sklerotinum. Its chemical structure determines high thermal resistance and multivalent metal cations resistance and salinity.…”

“…There are two features of the scleroglucan structure determining its special properties, the nonionic character and the twisted polymer chains into the triple helical structure. All authors of the publication (Kalpakci et al, 1990;Rivenq and Nolk, 1992;Fjelde and Stavland, 1995;Gallino et al, 1996;Navarreta et al, 2000) agree on the unique thermal resistance of scleroglucan but the results they present often differ. Their studies confirmed the thermal stability of scleroglucan at 90°C for 500 days and at 100°C for 60 days.…”

Drilling muds

“…Scleroglucan has been proposed as a better alternative to xanthan gum for drilling fluid compositions [228]. It is produced by aerobic fermentation of d-glucose by such microorganisms.…”