Title: Experimental study of the effect of temperature on the flow behaviour of oil-based muds in Niger delta formation

Authors: Olufemi Adekomaya; Olalekan Olafuyi

Addresses: Department of Petroleum and Gas Engineering, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria. ' Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract: The behaviour of the drilling fluids under high temperature is extremely important for drilling deep wells. Most commercial oil-base drilling fluid systems have limitations such as reduced rheology and filtration control if the fluid is exposed to higher temperature for prolonged periods of time. Formulating a drilling fluid system that can adequately withstand drilling in a high temperature environment is very challenging but very often little attention is given to proper fluids design. In this research, two oil-based mud suitable for Nigerian formation were formulated and aged under high temperature conditions for 16 hours. The effect of aging on the properties of the proposed drilling fluid and the widely accepted fluid at high temperature was studied. From the study, it is observed that the proposed fluid was able to withstand high temperatures in a deep well than the widely accepted fluid. [Received: November 10; Accepted: March 23, 2011]

Keywords: yield point; drilling mud; plastic viscosity; gel strength; fluid loss; high temperature; rheology; filtration; emulsion; viscosifier; temperature; flow behaviour; coal technology; aging; drilling fluids; Nigeria; oil-based muds; Niger delta formation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2011.043715

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2011 Vol.4 No.4, pp.322 - 334

Published online: 29 Jan 2015 *

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