The novel approach for the improvement of fluid loss control in water-based mud using nanosilica as filler for pectin

Abstract

Fluid loss is the leakage of the liquid phase of drilling fluid, slurry or treatment fluid containing solid particles into the formation matrix. The resulting buildup of solid material or filter cake may be undesirable, as may the penetration of filtrate through the formation. Nanosilica and pectin are potential fluid loss additives used in water-based mud to reduce fluid loss and invasion of solid particles into the formation. The objective of this research work was to introduce nanosilica and pectin as fluid loss control agents in basic water-based mud at ambient condition and 250°F. The experimental results were then compared with commercial fluid loss control agent (i.e., HydroPac R) in basic water-based mud (WBM). The laboratory experiments were conducted using different concentrations ranging from 0.50 – 1.50 lb/bbl (wt. %) of nanosilica, pectin, and HydroPac R. The laboratory works were conducted as per the API Recommended Practice 13 B-1 (2009). The experimental results revealed that pectin gave a comparable fluid loss control performance as compared to HydroPac R (i.e., pectin was able to yield 7 cc of filtrate volume compared with HydroPac R which yield 6.6 cc of filtrate volume at the end of 30 minutes under low pressure of 100 psi and at ambient temperature) while nanosilica, an amorphous silica powder, produced the worst performance (i.e., 10 cc of filtrate volume at the end of 30 minutes). The experiment work was then repeated using the mixture of pectin and nanosilica as filler. The mixture yields a better reading than mud samples containing only pectin by reducing further fluid loss by 5%. The research work revealed that pectin with nanosilica as filler has the potential to be used as a fluid loss control agent in water-based mud as it produces a comparable performance with HydroPac R.