Usage of Nano Silica in Synthetic Based Mud: A Comparison Study for High Temperature High Pressure Well

Abstract

Synthetic based mud has been widely used in the drilling operation because of its good properties. However, prolonged exposure of the mud in high temperature causes degradation of the good mud properties because of chemical instability. Because of that concern, this study intends to improve the performance of SBM with nanosilica at different concentration in high temperature high pressure (HTHP) applications. nanosilica with size of 10-20 nm has been selected for this study. The involving parameters in this study include the manipulation of nanoparticles concentration by total mud weight between 0 to 1.78 wt. %, and performance at temperature up to 350°F. The enhanced formulation has given significant benefits by reducing the filtration up to 41.67% and act as the rheology modifier in HTHP condition. Moreover, the optimum amount of nanosilica is 0.71% of total mud weight to avoid further rheological and filtration degradation.