Recent Advances in Drilling Fluid Technologies

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Earth Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2024 | Viewed by 1238

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: drilling technology; competition and workover; drilling and completion fluids; waste management; deep well waste injection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: drilling technology; drilling fluids; environmental protection; waste management; well control

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: drilling technology; well cementing; drilling and completion fluids; environmental protection in petroleum engineering; waste management; deep well waste injection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Drilling fluid (mud) is an important type of fluid that must fulfill numerous important functions during drilling operations. By circulating through the well, the mud continuously removes cuttings, lubricates drilling tools, and improves wellbore stability, which enables drilling to be carried out in increasingly demanding areas through various types of rocks. Since some commercially available additives used for the optimization of drilling fluid constitute non-degradable and environmentally hazardous materials, in the last few years, research has aimed to apply a green approach and the concept of circular economy in mud design to determine whether different biodegradable waste materials can be used as efficient drilling fluid additives. Also, for drilling through unconventional reservoirs (e.g., shales), the industry is exploring the possibility of replacing existing conventional materials with those that have the ability to plug nanopores in rocks with very low permeability.

It is evident that the industry of drilling fluids has undergone significant development over the last few years, so we encourage researchers to submit scientific papers (original research or review) that present current advances in drilling fluid optimization. In addition, within the framework of this Special Issue, all other types of fluids used during drilling, completion, and workover, as well as hydraulic fracturing, are acceptable. The preferred subjects for this Special Issue include drilling fluid property optimization, testing, additives, cuttings removal, biodegradable materials, the use of waste, nanoparticles, formation damage, cement slurries, hydraulic fracturing fluids, and others.

Dr. Borivoje Pašić
Dr. Petar Mijić
Prof. Dr. Nediljka Gaurina-Međimurec
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • drilling fluid
  • additives
  • waste materials
  • nanoparticles
  • hydraulics
  • rheology
  • cutting removal
  • lost circulation
  • formation damage
  • hydraulic fracturing

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 7821 KiB  
Article
Optimizing the Influence of Fly Ash as an Anti-Sagging Additive in Highly Deviated Geothermal Well Drilling Fluids Using Surface Response Method
by Opeyemi Oni and Adesina Fadairo
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(15), 6833; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14156833 - 5 Aug 2024
Viewed by 424
Abstract
Weighting materials such as barite and ilmenite are crucial for controlling fluid density during deep or ultra-deep drilling operations. However, sagging poses significant challenges, especially in highly deviated high-pressure and high-temperature (HP/HT) wells. This leads to inadequate well control, wellbore instability, and variations [...] Read more.
Weighting materials such as barite and ilmenite are crucial for controlling fluid density during deep or ultra-deep drilling operations. However, sagging poses significant challenges, especially in highly deviated high-pressure and high-temperature (HP/HT) wells. This leads to inadequate well control, wellbore instability, and variations in hydrostatic pressure in extended-reach wells. Given the challenges of experimental research, reliable prediction models are imperative for evaluating the interaction between the ratio of anti-sagging additives, temperature, and wellbore inclination on sag factor (SF). This research presents statistical-based empirical models for predicting the SF at various wellbore inclinations (0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 70°, 80°, and 90°) and assessing the influence of fly ash on the SF. The regression equations, developed using the Response Surface Methodology in Minitab 18 software, show high reliability, with R2 values approaching unity. Contour and surface response plots provide a clear understanding of the variable interactions. The analysis reveals that sagging is most severe at 60° to 65° inclination. At 400 °F and 60° inclination, adding 4 lb/bbl of fly ash reduces sagging in barite and ilmenite-densified fluid by 63.9% and 63.1%, respectively. Model validation shows high accuracy, with percentage errors below 3%. This study offers valuable insights for optimizing drilling fluid formulations in HP/HT well environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Drilling Fluid Technologies)
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20 pages, 6523 KiB  
Article
Reducing Torque and Drag in Extended-Reach Wells Using Thermoplastic Polymers for Protective Sliding Rings
by Karim El Sabeh, Borivoje Pašić, Petar Mijić and Igor Medved
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(14), 6161; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14146161 - 15 Jul 2024
Viewed by 458
Abstract
Extended-reach drilling represents an advanced way of drilling and accessing reservoirs that were previously economically not feasible to drain, impossible to reach or in an environmentally sensitive area. One of the main issues that appears while drilling such wells is caused by the [...] Read more.
Extended-reach drilling represents an advanced way of drilling and accessing reservoirs that were previously economically not feasible to drain, impossible to reach or in an environmentally sensitive area. One of the main issues that appears while drilling such wells is caused by the high values of friction factor which cause high values of torque and drag. One of the suggested solutions is to use a protective sliding ring made from materials such as POM, Teflon and PA6 in combination with lubricants added to a polymer mud system. First, measurements were conducted on a lubricity tester to choose the best material and, after finishing, a mechanical wear test was conducted on a specially designed device to measure mechanical wear. Results showed that Teflon showed lower values of friction factor in comparison to steel and the mechanical wear was minimal. The lowest value of friction force was recorded for blocks made from Teflon in tested mud systems. It is also noticeable that, in polymer mud with weighting additives and lubricant, the value of the friction force is higher than in polymer mud with lubricant only. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Drilling Fluid Technologies)
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