CHAPTER 3 – DRILLING FLUID PREPRATION
3.1 Oil based mud composition:
1. Base liquid:
The oil possesses kinematic viscosity and thermal/chemical stability.
The density should work better in deep zone.
Base oil (refined oil from crude oil)/ mineral oil can be used as base liquid.
2. Emulsifiers:
It acts as surfactant to reduce the surface tension between oil and water.
It stabilizes with partially soluble in water and oil form a coating around water droplets to
keep them from coalescing.
Figure 12 - Function of emulsifiers
[Link] emulsifiers:
It reacts with lime and form as calcium soap which can act as emulsifier. It is used to keep the
mud alkaline in all times.
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4. Wetting agents/ secondary emulsifiers:
It is a surface active agent which reduces the interfacial tension & contact angle between
liquid and [Link] it can keep liquid to spread over solid surface.
One end has soluble in continuous phase liquid & another end has strong affinity for solid
surfaces.
If solids are not wetted by continuous liquid phase, weighting material (drill solids, clays
and barite) will aggregate and settle.
Figure 13 - Function of wetting agents
4. Weight material:
Barite or hematite is the common mud density material.
Sometimes calcium carbonate is also used for easy suspension than barite.
5. Filtration control additives:
Oil based mud does not require any fluid loss additives upto 149 °C.
Above this temperature, gilsonite or asphalt or amine treated lignite or polymers can be
used.
6. clay:
It helps to ciscosify the mud, carry weight materials and provide gel strength.
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7. calcium chloride brine:
It controls the salinity of formation and avoids osmasis process where the formation fluid
can enter to bore hole ( osmasis process: the fluid starts to flow from higher concentration
to lower concentration through membrine.)
8. lime:
It is added to react with calcium to maintain alkalinity and encounter corrsossive gases
such as hydregen sulfide, carbon di oxide.
It helps to enhance the function of emulsifier.
[Link] carbonate:
It is used as weighting material as well as bridging material.
Bridging particles are smaller particles than the formation pores. When the mud cake is
forming, finer particles enter to formation deeper & deeper, bridged zone is created. Now
liquid only can pass through that. Bridging material helps less damage formation.
10. Rheology modifier:
This is used to enhance the low shear rheological properties. It helps to transport the drill
cuttings & to prevent barite sag in deviated wells.
[Link]/ water ratio:
O/W should be maintained as low as possible which controls flow of the mud.
Pilot testing:
1 bbl = 42 US gallons = 350 pounds of water
The unit is used to measure mud volume in the field. For testing purpose, this large
amount of mud is very expensive & time consuming process.
So the following units are used as lab bbl which will match to bbl unit.
1 lab bbl = 350 ml.
For solid addives gram (g) is used as unit, for liquid specific gravity is used.
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3.2 HTHP low toxic synthetic oil based mud formulation:
Formulation I based on Haliburton:
[Link] Function of the additive Quantity per 1 lab Mixing time
bbl (min)
1 Base oil 130.77 -----
2 Emulsifier I 5.00 3
3 Emulsifier II 0.75 2
4 Alkalinty 5.0 5
5 Brine (distilled water) 41.65 15
(Calcium chloride) 12.47
6 Viscosifier I 3.0 5
7 Organophillic clay 6.5 5
8 Viscosifier II 12.0 2
9 Fluid loss additive 4.0 3
10 Bridging agent 30.0 5
11 Rheology modifier 1.35 3
12 Weighting material 446.82 15
13 Wetting agent 1.0 2
Table 1 - Oil based mud formulation I
The mud is prepared with above specific time of each additive in silverson mixer at 6000 rpm.
Thermostability test:
The sample is hot rolled at 205 °C for 18 hours with 300 psia.
Results:
The rheology is tested at 65 ± 1 °C
S. No Rheology Value obtained
1 Mud weight 16.7 ppg
2 Plastic viscosity 67 cp
3 Yield point 22
4 Gel strength in 10 sec 08
5 Gel strength in 10 min 25
6 6 RPM 8
7 Electrical stability 537 V
8 HTHP fluid loss @ 160 °C 4.4 ml
Table 2 - results of Oil based mud formulation I
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3.5 HTHP fluid loss additive quality assurance test for water based mud:
For HTHP conditions, following composition is used for testing the quality of fluid loss
additive in ONGC with its own specification.
1. Bentonite suspension: (4 – 5 cp)
It gives generally viscosity, gel structure, fluid loss control and carrying weighting agent.
But this Suspension is prepared with very lower viscosity because here it is used for
carrying weighting agent only (barite). If it is too viscous, mud starts to flocculate at
HTHP.
2. Weighting agent:
Barite is used as mud weighting agent.
Bentonite suspension is loaded with barite upto 2.05 (specific gravity) or 17 ppg because
HTHP is deeper formation which needs higher density to control the formation pressure.
3. pH maintenance:
It should be 10 – 10.5 by 10% NaOH
If it is lower than mentioned range, thinners wont able to work because hydroxide ions
starts to react with clay. So thinner may lose its thermal stability.
At pH 10.5, calcium is nearly insoluble in the mud, so calcium hydroxide can encounter
the corrosive gases such as carbon di oxide, hydrogen sulfide
4. Lignite powder:
It provides
Filtration control, extension of thermal limitation for water based mud
Reduce gel strength, viscosity at HTHP.
Works in presence of large amount of contaminations.
Improves quality of mud cake with lower permeability.
Controls HTHP fluid loss
Emulsifies oil & stabiles the mud.
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5. Sulfonated asphalt:
Improves lubricity which helps to reduce torque & drag of drill string.
Helps to seal the low fractured/stressed shale formation.
Helps to lower BHA temperature, improves corrosion inhibition.
Reduces high temperature water loss
Inhibits clay swelling & shale water wetting
Controls HTHP fluid loss & improves mud cake quality.
6. Fluid loss control agent:
It provides viscosifying mud, solids absorption and lower permeable mud cake.
7. Thinners:
It is used
To reduce viscosity/thixotropic property of mud at HTHP condition.
To reduce gel strength & assist in solid settling
To disperse filter cake from drilling fluid.
Procedure:
S. No Additives/composition Range/quantity Mixing time (min)
1 Bentonite suspension 4 – 5 cp ---
2 barite 2.05 ---
(specific gravity)
3 pH 10 – 10.5 ---
4 Lignite powder 1.5% 15
5 Sufonated asphalt 2% 30
6 Fluid loss additive 1.5% 30
7 thinner 0.5% 15
Table 13 - HTHP fluid loss additive thermostability test for water based mud
With above composition and procedure, mud can be prepared in heavy duty mixer with
maximum speed.
Thermostability test:
The sample is hot rolled at 225 °C/200°C/ 175°C for 18 hours with 300 psia.
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Fluid loss Polydrill/ Polythin Flodrill ( (SNF (United mud SHANGAI
additives/thinners (O BASF) Floerger) [Link] ltd EVERBRIGHT
details
S. additives/ hot 225°C 200°C 175°C 225°C 200°C 225°C 200°C 225°C 200°C
No roll temperature
1 Bentonite 4–5 4–5 4–5 4–5 4–5 4–5 4–5 4–5 4–5
suspension(cp)
2 Loading Barite 2.05 2.05 2.05 2.05 2.05 2.05 2.05 2.05 2.05
([Link])
3 pH by 1N NaoH 10 – 10 – 10 – 10 – 10 – 10 – 10 – 10 – 10 –
10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5
4 Lignite powder 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%
5 Suphonated 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%
asphalt
6 Fluid loss 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%
additive
7 thinner 0.5% 1.0% 1.0% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5%
8 Φ - 600 149 154 245 185 262 153 134 94 59
9 Φ - 300 129 124 215 107 154 91 77 57 34
10 YP 109 94 185 29 46 29 20 20 9
11 API fluid loss 5.2 3.8 4.5 2.9 2.5 4.4 3.3 7 6.3
In ml
12 HTHP fluid loss 75*2= 13*2= 13*2= 16*2= 10*2= 23*2= 22*2= 90*2= 86*2=
In ml @ 160 °C 150 26 26 32 20 46 44 180 172
13 Result as per Fail Fail Fail Pass may Fail Fail Fail Fail
ONGC spcif work
Table 14 - Different types of fluid loss additives for water based mud @ HTHP
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