| dc.description.abstract | Drilling fluids are an essential part of a safe and successful drilling operation. They offer several
key functions such as transporting cuttings to the surface and controlling wellbore pressure.
When designing a new drilling fluid, it is important to consider its cost, performance and
environmental impact. The drilling fluid must be designed according to the expected wellbore
conditions such as the well’s design and anticipated formation pressure, temperature and
chemistry.
The focus of this thesis is to study the effects of chia, mandarin peel powder and TiN
nanoparticles. On the properties of water-based drilling fluids. Two different water-based drilling
fluid systems are utilized in this study, one that uses bentonite as a base and one that uses
potassium chloride. The reference fluids are based on a flat rheology system formulated in a
previous study. The fluids containing the ecological additives were characterized in terms of
rheological, viscoelastic and filtration properties. They were then further tested in hydraulic
simulations to evaluate their effects on the drilling fluid’s pump pressure and equivalent
circulating density. Finally, nanoparticles were added to further enhance their drilling capabilities
which were evaluated using Torque and Drag simulations.
It was found that in the bentonite-based drilling fluid, the optimum weight concentration is 0.4
wt% Chia and 0.4 wt% MPP and KCl the optimum concentration is 0.57wt% Chia and 0.2wt%
MPP. Results showed these formulations to be thermally stable, increased viscosity, reduced
friction, and reduced filtrate loss. These concentrations could also replace up to a third of Pac
and PolyPac for the Bentonite-based drilling fluid or a third of Xanthan Gum for the KCl-based
drilling fluid. | |
