Drilling/completion fluids

Optimal Nanosilica Concentration in Synthetic-Based Mud for HP/HT Wells

At certain conditions, the good performance of synthetic-based mud (SBM) will degrade, particularly because of the effect of chemical instability under high temperature. Silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanopowder (nanosilica) holds the potential for performance improvement.

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At certain conditions, the good performance of synthetic-based mud (SBM) will degrade, particularly because of the effect of chemical instability under high temperature. The study of nanoparticles in smart fluids in drilling operations has been gaining attention worldwide. This study intends to describe the improvement in performance of SBM with silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanopowder (nanosilica) at different concentrations.

Introduction

Recently, research into the use of nanotechnology to design smart fluids containing nanoparticles has been conducted. This enhanced formulation with nanoparticles is intended to become a system optimizer, particularly with an aim toward enhancing filtration performance and providing better rheological behavior.

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