Effect of Hematite Dosage on Water-Based Drilling Fluid and Filter Cake Properties

Abstract

Drilling deep wells became common in the oil and gas sector as a result of the high demand for energy in the world. This type of wells is not trivial to drill as a result several challenges that they encounter, such as harsh conditions represented by high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT), and the high hydrostatic column required to prevent the kick. Therefore, advanced materials are desired and accordingly higher concentration of weighting material is required to drill such resources. In this work, a systematic investigation of the hematite concentration effect on the water-based drilling fluid properties is performed. Three doses were overloaded to a constant drill fluid recipe. Then, the drilling fluid properties including density, viscosities, filtration, and filter cake properties were evaluated. The viscosities were assessed at the temperature of 120 °F, before and after aging in a hot rolling oven for 16 h at 250 °F and 500 psi. The American Petroleum Institute filtration test was performed at ambient temperature and 100 psi. The results showed that the hematite concentration has proportional relation to the apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, and yield point before and after the hot rolling. The YP/PV ratio was decreased as the hematite dose increased in the drilling fluid. Similarly, the gel strengths at 10 s and 10 min were increased as the concentration of hematite increased. The filter cake thinness, filtration volume, and filter cake permeability were also amplified as the hematite concentration increased, where the filter cake porosity was almost kept constant. In addition, several correlations were drawn as a function of the hematite dosage for the examined drilling properties.