Drilling/completion fluids
This paper highlights nontraditional methods to cure oil-based-mud losses in horizontal wells drilled in unconventional plays.
This paper evaluates the effect of rapid cooling on the rock-cutting process and incorporates this effect as a component of drilling-performance optimization.
Advancements in new technologies and rigorous testing methods have enabled the authors of the three SPE papers featured this year to outline a path forward, offering new possibilities that uphold the core objectives of safety and productivity.
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A supramolecular viscosifier package has been developed that uses noncovalent associations between additives to enhance the thermal resilience of divalent brine fluids. -
Drilling in high-pressure/high-temperature conditions poses numerous challenges. Drilling fluid is subjected to extreme pressure and temperature, and its properties such as viscosity are affected strongly by pressure and temperature. Viscosity decreases with temperature and increases with pressure.
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Recent studies have found that the viscosities of borate gels at actual downhole pressure conditions may be 80% less than those from standard high-pressure/high-temperature rheometer measurement (which uses 400-psi top pressure).
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This paper examines the chemistry of developing seawater-based fracturing fluids using two types of polymers as gelling agents and compares results to existing fresh-water-based-fracturing-fluid data under different conditions.
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Always recorded but almost never used, the water hammer signal could offer completions engineers another set of insightful data if petroleum engineers can crack its code.
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For nanotechnology-based drilling fluids, acceptance means proving they can outperform other drilling fluids. Initial results have been encouraging enough to move toward commercialization.
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With shrinking budgets and limited resources, partnerships and collaboration are considered the best options. It is no secret that universities and industry have a special platform to work hand-in-hand.
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The wireline formation tester (WFT) is a well-developed technology used to collect representative downhole fluid samples. The authors introduce a simple but effective method for monitoring WFT sampling when targeting the low levels of contamination needed for asphaltene-onset-pressure analysis.
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This work focuses on the laboratory techniques for developing, assessing, and analyzing innovative water-based drilling fluids containing iron oxide (Fe2O3) and silica (SiO2) nanoparticles.
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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. Silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanopowder (nanosilica) holds the potential for performance improvement.
