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 long-time energy industry executive and chemical engineer has built a new water treatment system that he says can increase recovery rates from shale wells without using chemicals and will recycle all the water used in the process. -
The inventor of a new water-based drilling fluid believes the chemical process involved with his technology opens up natural fractures as drilling takes place to increase production in shale formations.
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A challenge in many permeable, water-sensitive, subhydrostatic reservoirs is avoiding the loss of completion fluid when completing or working over wells.
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The strength and conductivity of proppant packs are key parameters for assessing their performance. This paper introduces a new analysis technique based on interpretation of acoustic measurements to quantify mechanical damage in propping agents.
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This paper presents experimental research in which a significant fracture-pressure increase was achieved in shale and the predominant wellbore strenghtening mechanism was identified.
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Despite hostile wellbore conditions, an operations team overcame challenges of drilling-fluid design and management to drill the first ultrahigh-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT), deep-gas well offshore Malay Peninsula.
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In an effort to optimize drilling operations and economics, an operator examined the effect of adding hollow glass spheres (HGSs) directly to the drilling fluid instead of performing underbalanced drilling.
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Technology developers are working on a new ultrasonic flowmeter for drilling fluids aimed at obtaining better measurements than current systems with far fewer disruptions to rig systems.
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Making hole has become a more difficult and complex operation as operators move into untapped horizons, especially deepwater and unconventional fields.
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This paper discusses the laboratory evaluation of potential high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) drilling-fluid designs considered for a deep gas exploration well in Malaysia.
