Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-fmk2r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-19T15:51:04.276Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Use of palygorskite as a viscosity enhancer in salted water-based muds: effect of concentration of palygorskite and salt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2020

Vanessa Cristina Santanna Open the ORCID record for Vanessa Cristina Santanna [Opens in a new window] ,
Samara Leandro Silva ,
Rhaul Phillypi Silva  and
Tereza Neuma Castro Dantas
Vanessa Cristina Santanna*
Affiliation:
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, RN, CEP 59072-970, Brazil
Samara Leandro Silva
Affiliation:
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, RN, CEP 59072-970, Brazil
Rhaul Phillypi Silva
Affiliation:
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, RN, CEP 59072-970, Brazil
Tereza Neuma Castro Dantas
Affiliation:
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, RN, CEP 59072-970, Brazil
*
*Email: vanessa@dpet.ct.ufrn.br
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Drilling fluids are essential for the operation and productivity of petroleum wells. This study compares the efficiency of a salted water-based mud for which the viscosity has been enhanced with polymeric compounds with that of a new salted water-based mud containing palygorskite clay, which mainly functions as a viscosity enhancer. The experiment measured the density, apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, yield point, American Petroleum Institute filtrate and pH of the samples. The results indicate that the rheological properties of the fluids containing greater amounts of palygorskite were not affected significantly by the addition of salt. However, when the concentration of palygorskite was low, the rheological behaviour of the samples was appropriate to the drilling operation only with lesser amounts of salt. In addition to its good rheological properties, the filtrate volume obtained for samples containing greater concentrations of palygorskite was lower, which suggests that the filtration properties at the bottoms of the wells were controlled appropriately.

Keywords

drilling fluidspalygorskitesalted water-based mudsviscosity enhancers
Type
Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 55 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 48 - 52
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Editor: George Christidis

References

Akther, S., Hwang, J. & Lee, H. (2008) Sedimentation characteristics of two commercial bentonites in aqueous suspensions. Clay Minerals, 43, 449–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Petroleum Institute (2009) Recommended Practice 13B-1: Recommended Practice for Field Testing Water-Based Drilling Fluids. American Petroleum Institute, Washington, DC, USA, 104 pp.Google Scholar
American Petroleum Institute (2010) Specification 13A: Specification for Drilling Fluids – Specifications and Testing. American Petroleum Institute, Washington, DC, USA, 130 pp.Google Scholar
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2005) Drilling Fluids Processing Handbook. Gulf Professional Publishing, Houston, TX, USA, 700 pp.Google Scholar
Baltar, C.A.M., Luz, A.B., Baltar, L.M., Oliveira, C.H. & Bezerra, F.J. (2009) Influence of morphology and surface charge on the suitability of palygorskite as drilling fluid. Applied Clay Science, 42, 597–600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourgoyne, A.T. Jr, Millheim, K.K., Chenevert, M.E. & Young, F.S. Jr (1991) Applied Drilling Engineering. Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX, USA, 502 pp.Google Scholar
Caenn, R., Darley, H.C. & Gray, G.R. (2016) Composition and Properties of Drilling and Completion Fluids. Gulf Professional Publishing, Houston, TX, USA, 478 pp.Google Scholar
Chemeda, Y.C., Christidis, G.E., Khan, N.M.T., Koutsopoulou, E., Hatzistamou, V. & Kelessidis, V.C. (2013) Rheological properties of palygorskite–bentonite and sepiolite–bentonite mixed clay suspensions. Applied Clay Science, 90, 165–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christidis, G.E., Katsiki, P., Pratikakis, A. & Kacandes, G. (2010) Rheological properties of palygorskite–smectite suspensions from the Ventzia Basin, W. Macedonia, Greece. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece, 5, 2562–2569.Google Scholar
Dino, D. & Thompson, J. (2013) Organophilic Clay Additives and Oil Well Drilling Fluids with Less Temperature Dependent Rheological Properties. US Patent 8389447 B2.Google Scholar
Fink, J. (2015) Petroleum Engineer's Guide to Oil Field Chemicals and Fluids. Gulf Professional Publishing, Houston, TX, USA, 854 pp.Google Scholar
Hughes, T.L., Jones, J. & Houwen, O.P. (1993) Chemical characterization of CMC and its relationship to drilling-mud rheology and fluid loss. SPE Drilling & Completion, 8, 157–164.Google Scholar
Murray, H.H. (2000) Traditional and new applications for kaolin, smectite, and palygorskite: a general overview. Applied Clay Science, 17, 207–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murray, H.H. (2006) Applied clay mineralogy occurrences, processing and application of kaolins, bentonites, palygorskite-sepiolite, and common clay. Developments in Clay Science, 2, 131–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neaman, A. & Singer, A. (2004) Possible use of the Sacalum (Yucatan) palygorskite as drilling muds. Applied Clay Science, 25, 121–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, T., Li, T., Liu, Y., Li, Y., Guo, G., Cui, J. & Zhou, F. (2016) Preparation and rheological properties of attapulgite gel for aqueous suspensions. Advances in Computer Science Research, 59, 1356–1368.Google Scholar
Zhuang, G., Wu, H., Zhang, H., Zhang, Z., Zhang, X. & Liao, L. (2017a) Rheological properties of organo-palygorskite in oil-based drilling fluids aged at different temperatures. Applied Clay Science, 137, 50–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhuang, G., Zhang, Z., Jaber, M., Gao, J. & Peng, S. (2017b) Comparative study on the structures and properties of organo-montmorillonite and organo-palygorskite in oil-based drilling fluids. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 56, 248–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar