Synergistic Effect of Nanoinhibitive Drilling Fluid on the Shale Swelling Performance at High Temperature and High Pressure

Abstract

Borehole stability is one of the crucial success elements of the drilling operation, which is partially dependent upon the chemistry of the drilling fluid. Nanoparticles are emerging as one of the most significant additives for improving the major properties of drilling fluids. Thus, SiO2/KCl/xanthan nanocomposites (NCs) was synthesized from Euphorbia condylocarpa extract in an eco-friendly and environmentally friendly way. The synthesized NCs was used to prepare nanoinhibitive drilling fluids (NIDFs) at different concentrations to improve the rheological, filtration, and inhibition properties of the drilling fluid. All of the required experimental tests related to the rheology, filtration, and swelling measurements were performed at the ambient and high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) conditions. The obtaining results revealed that the rheological properties of the drilling fluids (plastic viscosity, yield point, and gel strength) were improved from 4 cP, 10 lb/100 ft2, and 27 lb/100 ft2 to 19 cP, 17 lb/100 ft2, and 46 lb/100 ft2 (with adding 4000 ppm of KCl) and 19 cP, 62 lb/100 ft2, and 54 lb/100 ft2 (with adding 4000 ppm of synthesized NCs), respectively. In addition, the filtration properties of the base drilling fluid were increased by adding 4000 ppm of KCl at HTHP (fluid loss from 25.85 to 36.38 mL and thickness of the filter cake from 3.4 to 5.1 mm), while the synthesized NCs was more effective in lowering the fluid loss and filter cake thickness from 25.85 mL and 3.5 mm to 2.5 mL and 0.33 mm, respectively. Moreover, NIDFs were favorable in decreasing shale swelling that was 52.2%, but conventional inhibitive drilling fluids could lower shale swelling by 41%. It can be stated that NIDFs are highly applicable toward the successful drilling operation as a result of their abilities in reducing shale swelling, improving rheological properties, and decreasing the filtration properties.

Development of a Nanobiodegradable Drilling Fluid Using Prosopis farcta Plant and Pomegranate Peel Powders with Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

“…The viscosity is reduced with an increase in the shear rate from 170 to 1000 –1 for all used samples of drilling fluids. This confirms the thinning behavior of the drilling fluids which is necessary to provide a good gelation under static conditions and a smooth flow with the minimum pressure loss during caring cutting to the surface. − The nanobiodegradable drilling fluids (PP_SNF, PP_TNF, PF_SNF, and PF_TNF) prepared from mixing PPP, PSP, TiO 2 , and SiO 2 showed the best thinning performance. The minimum shear rate viscosity of 14 cP was obtained with the PF_TNF_2 at 1000 –1 shear rate, while the maximum shear rate viscosity of 420 cP was determined at shear rate of 170 –1 with the base sample of the drilling fluid.…”

Insight into Nano-chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery from Carbonate Reservoirs Using Environmentally Friendly Nanomaterials

“…As can be seen, particles with a spherical shape were identified on both SEM images taken at different magnifications. According to Hernández et al., the detected spherical shape evidences the availability of SiO 2 , which can prove advantageous for its use in porous media. In addition, silica nanoparticles along with KCl were clearly distributed on the polymer chains of xanthan as a substrate to fabricate the nanocomposites.…”

“…Figure illustrates the procedural steps of synthesizing SiO 2 /KCl/Xanthan NCs in a green way. − In this method, 100 g of dried leaves of the Euphorbia condylocarpa plant was mixed with 500 mL of distilled water for 30 min at 80 °C to produce the extract. To develop the silica NPs, 5 g of Na 2 SiO 3 was mixed with 100 mL of the collected extract for 10 h under the experimental condition of 10 pH and 80 °C.…”

“…Schematic illustration of the procedural steps of the synthesis of NCs. Reprinted with permission from [Ali, et al, 2022] . Copyright [2022/Energy & Fuels] [American Chemical Society].…”

“…The effect of silica NPs combined with xanthan gum on the wettability of carbonate rocks with different water saturations was studied by Soliman et al In our previous publications on the synthesis and application of nanocomposites in EOR applications, the effects of salinity, pressure, and temperature were investigated. − From the outcomes of these studies, it was concluded that temperature has a direct influence on the performance of nanomaterials in reducing the IFT and altering the wettability toward water-wet. However, pressure and salinity had an inverse impact on the NP performance for EOR applications. − The ultimate goal of this study was to synthesize KCl/SiO 2 /Xanthan NCs in a green way for EOR applications. The validity of the synthesized NCs was confirmed using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analytical techniques.…”