Wettability alteration to maintain wellbore stability of shale formation using hydrophobic nanoparticles

Li, He; Sun, Jinsheng; Lv, Kaihe; Huang, Xianbin; Zhang, Pengxin; Zhang, Zhen

doi:10.1016/j.colsurfa.2021.128015

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In contrast, after being immersed in 2% SA suspensions, the compressive pressure even increased by 2.22%, suggesting that SA could outstandingly alleviate the mechanical stability deterioration of shales and even increase it at higher concentrations of SA. (5) The mechanism of SA in strengthening the wellbore stability includes three aspects: First, by absorbing on the shale surface, SA reduced the shale's surface energy, substantially reducing water absorption amount on the surface to inhibit surface hydration. In addition, combined with building a nanoscale roughness, SA changed the wettability of the shale surface to be hydrophobic, making water hard to tile on the surface, further limiting the water to absorb on the shale surface, effectively inhibiting surface hydration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…21,26 Nevertheless, the organic inhibitors are far from satisfactory because of the poor high-temperature resistance, pH sensitivity issues, and compatibility issues of some quaternary salts. 5,27 More importantly, the existing shale inhibitors all focus on inhibiting osmotic hydration and perform poorly at inhibiting surface hydration. 12 Apart from shale hydration, the inefficiency of the plugging property for the nanoscale pores and microfractures inside the shale further exacerbates wellbore instability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent years have witnessed a rapid natural gas development in China due to its low release of dioxide, oxynitride, and other pollutants compared with coal and petroleum. , As an essential part of natural gas, shale gas has drawn lots of attention and is undergoing considerable development in Sichuan and Chongqing provinces in China. , However, most shale gas wells encounter wellbore instability problems when drilling with water-based drilling fluids (WBM), leading to wellbore collapse, stuck pipes, tight holes, and even well abandonment and causing severe economic loss . Shale wellbore instability is mainly attributed to the fact that shale is abundant in clay minerals that are accessible to hydrate, swell, and disperse when contacting water, causing a substantial deterioration of the mechanical stability of the wellbore. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meanwhile, the hydrocarbyl group from polyamines would reduce the hydrophilicity of the clay surface and weaken the hydration. , Nevertheless, the organic inhibitors are far from satisfactory because of the poor high-temperature resistance, pH sensitivity issues, and compatibility issues of some quaternary salts. , More importantly, the existing shale inhibitors all focus on inhibiting osmotic hydration and perform poorly at inhibiting surface hydration …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, how these modified nanomaterials inhibit shale hydration was not fully discussed. Third, in Huang’s and Li’s respective studies, the low surface energy modifier was grafted onto the nanosilica by electrostatic adsorption, , which was liable to desorb at high temperatures. So, these products did not perform well at high temperatures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Novel Use of a Superhydrophobic Nanosilica Performing Wettability Alteration and Plugging in Water-Based Drilling Fluids for Wellbore Strengthening

et al. 2022

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Severe shale wellbore instability accidents in water-based drilling fluids encourage research and development of new inhibitors and nanoplugging agents. In this work, we synthesized a multifunctional superhydrophobic nanosilica (SA), which could form a hydrophobic film on the shale surface, imparting inhibiting and plugging properties. The composition and surface morphology of SA were characterized, and the results showed that SA was spherical at around 30 nm. The inhibiting performances were evaluated by hot-rolling recovery, linear swelling, and water spontaneous imbibition tests. The plugging performance of SA was appraised by the filtration test with nanofilter paper and pressure transmission tests. The strengthening of shale core mechanical stability properties of SA was also appraised by the uniaxial compressive tests. The results showed that SA performed excellently at inhibiting shale hydration. The recovery rate of shale cuttings at 180 °C reached 64.8%. In addition, due to the low surface energy, SA particles could disperse stably at the nanoscale and perform well at plugging the nanopores and fractures, effectively reducing the filtration loss by 75% compared with the base fluids and limiting the pressure transmission through the shale. The compressive tests showed that after the shale cores were immersed in deionized (DI) water, 2% SA, and 3% aqueous suspensions at 150 °C for 48 h, the compressive strength of the shale cores decreased by 26.69, 3.88, and −2.22%, respectively, proving that SA could effectively alleviate the decrease of shale strength and even increase it at higher concentrations. The mechanism research showed that SA could decrease the surface energy of the shale from 81.86 to 1.15 mN/m and change its wettability to superhydrophobic, significantly inhibiting surface hydration. By changing the wettability, SA reversed the direction of the capillary force to offset the osmotic pressure, thereby decreasing the amount of water entering the shale through the nanopores or fractures and effectively inhibiting osmotic hydration. In addition, SA could accumulate on the surface of the shale and form a dense superhydrophobic membrane, providing proper plugging properties.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Novel Use of a Superhydrophobic Nanosilica Performing Wettability Alteration and Plugging in Water-Based Drilling Fluids for Wellbore Strengthening

et al. 2022

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A Review in Polymers for Fluid Loss Control in Drilling Operations

Li,

Gao,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Macro Chemistry & Physics

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The ever‐increasing consumption of fossil energy highlights the urgent need to develop technologies to ensure the efficient drilling and exploration of oil and gas resources mainly distributed in deep and ultra‐deep layers. The complex geological conditions in deep formations with the feature of high temperature, high pressure and high salinity result in some very high requirements for the performance of drilling fluids. Various additives were demonstrated to decide the physicochemical properties and functional characteristics of water‐based drilling fluids that have been widely used to drill over 80% of wells. As one of the most crucial and most widely used additives in water‐based drilling fluids, various polymeric filtrate reducers play an important role in minimizing fluid loss, maintaining wellbore stability, ensuring drilling safety and efficiency as well as avoiding formation damage. Herein we comprehensively summarized the design, preparation and applications of polymer‐based filtrate reducers for fluid loss control in drilling operation. The spotlight is centered on the design strategies and structure‐property‐performance relationships of polymeric filtrate reducers to minimize fluid loss under high temperature, high pressure, and high salinity conditions in the deep formation. Future perspectives for achieving excellent comprehensive performance are also discussed to motivate new strategies and technologies to design and develop high‐performance water‐based drilling fluids with optimal rheological and filtration properties.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

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Amine-Terminated Acrylamide Polymer as a Shale Inhibitor for Water-Based Drilling Fluids

Sun

et al. 2023

Springer Series in Geomechanics and Geoengineering

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Wettability alteration to maintain wellbore stability of shale formation using hydrophobic nanoparticles

Cited by 15 publications

References 38 publications

Novel Use of a Superhydrophobic Nanosilica Performing Wettability Alteration and Plugging in Water-Based Drilling Fluids for Wellbore Strengthening

Novel Use of a Superhydrophobic Nanosilica Performing Wettability Alteration and Plugging in Water-Based Drilling Fluids for Wellbore Strengthening

A Review in Polymers for Fluid Loss Control in Drilling Operations

Amine-Terminated Acrylamide Polymer as a Shale Inhibitor for Water-Based Drilling Fluids

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