Suitability of Nigerian barite as a weighting agent in drilling mud Online publication date: Sun, 07-Feb-2016
by Kenneth A. Ibe; Doris F. Ogeleka; Ifeanyi C. Ani; Gift O. Uyebi
International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering (IJMME), Vol. 7, No. 1, 2016
Abstract: The suitability of local barite as weighting agent in drilling mud was appraised using some physico-chemical parameters. Thirty samples, A, sourced from Obi in Nasarawa State, Nigeria; and 10 imported samples, N, in use in drilling mud, were analysed. The mean pH of the local samples ranged from 5.13 ± 0.12-6.25 ± 0.05; the specific gravity, 3.95 ± 0.16-4.20 ± 0.06; the moisture content, 0.64 ± 1.15-0.95 ± 0.15%; the Mohr's hardness, 3.0 ± 0.05-4.0 ± 0.05 while the imported samples had mean pH 8.04 ± 0.05; specific gravity, 4.25 ± 0.95; moisture content, 0.10 ± 0.01 and Mohr's hardness, 4.0 ± 0.07. The mean concentration of the metals is 1.6 ± 0.05 in Zn to 3760 ± 9.95 mg/Kg in Ba for local samples and 1.60 ± 0.65 in Cd to 2960 ± 7.75 mg/Kg in Ba for imported samples. The values for most of the locally sourced samples compared well with those of the imported ones. Therefore, the local barite samples could be used as weighting agent in drilling mud additive with little modification.
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