A NEW ECO-FRIENDLY AND LOW COST ADDITIVE IN WATER-BASED DRILLING FLUIDS

Abstract

This study investigates the possibility of using rice husk ash as an additive to develop an environmentally friendly and low-cost drilling fluid system. Rice husk ash was added as an additive to water-based bentonite drilling fluids at different concentrations ranging from 2 wt% to 15 wt%. The rheological and filtration properties of each developed drilling fluid were measured by using a viscometer and standard low-pressure low-temperature filter press. Subsequently, the cutting carrying index, the minimum annulus velocity required to clean the bottom of the well efficiently, the flow behaviour index and the permeability of mud cakes of the formulated systems were calculated in order to assess the performance of the systems. The results demonstrated that the rheological and properties were improved depending on the concentration of the rice husk ash introduced. With the introduction of 15 wt% concentration of rice husk ash, while apparent viscosity and yield point increased by 60% and 183%, respectively, thixotropy and plastic viscosity decreased by 29% and 63%, respectively. On the other hand, drilling fluid with 4% wt% content of rice husk ash reduced the fluid loss by 10%. Moreover, the results showed that cutting the carrying index, the minimum annulus velocity required to clean the bottom of the well efficiently and the flow behaviour index of the enhanced with the exploitation of the rice husk ash in the drilling fluid. This study showed that rice husk ash is a promising additive to use in water-based bentonite drilling fluids when properly implemented, and hence reduces the impact on the environment, and the total cost for drilling.

Keywords

• drilling fluids
• rice husk ash
• environmental friendly
• cutting carrying capacity
• rheology
• filtration