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3 Status Quo of Methods for Evaluating Filtration Performance and Mud Cake Quality of Drilling Fluid
4 Progresses in Studying Drilling Fluid Nano Material Plugging Agents
5 Drilling Fluid Technology for “Three High” Wells in Qaidam Basin in Qinghai
6 Synthesis and Evaluation of A Primary Emulsifier for High Temperature Oil Base Drilling Fluid
7 A New Fracturing Fluid with Temperature Resistance of 230℃
8 Plugging Micro-fractures to Prevent Gas-cut in Fractured Gas Reservoir Drilling
9 Development of Extreme Pressure Anti-wear Lubricant MPA for Water Base Drilling Fluids
10 Progress in Studying Cement Sheath Failure in Perforated Wells
2 Study and Performance Evaluation of Ultra-High Temperature High Density Oil Based Drilling Fluids
3 Synthesis and Evaluation of A Primary Emulsifier for High Temperature Oil Base Drilling Fluid
4 Hole Cleaning Technology for Horizontal and Deviated Drilling: Progress Made and Prospect
5 Progresses in Studying Drilling Fluid Nano Material Plugging Agents
8 High Performance Water Base Drilling Fluid for Shale Gas Drilling
9 Challenges, Developments, and Suggestions for Drilling Fluid Technology in China
10 A New Fracturing Fluid with Temperature Resistance of 230℃
In response to the need for safe, fast, and efficient drilling, a series of research and applications in drilling fluids have been carried out in China in recent years, and new progress has been made.To facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the current status of drilling fluid technology, promote the continuous standardization of drilling fluid systems, and improve the functionality, performance, and usage level of drilling fluids, this article summarizes the recent research and application of water-based drilling fluids, oil-based drilling fluids and synthetic based drilling fluids, Among them,water-based drilling fluid mainly includes high-performance drilling fluid, ultra-high temperature ultra-high density drilling fluid, foam drilling fluid, environmental protection and reservoir protection drilling fluid,oil based drilling fluids mainly include pure oil-based drilling fluids, water in oil emulsion drilling fluids, and soilless oil-based drilling fluids, synthetic based drilling fluids mainly include Hydrocarbon based synthetic drilling fluids, ester based drilling fluids, and biomass based synthetic drilling fluids, these drilling fluid systems meet the needs of drilling deep and ultra deep wells as well as shale oil and gas horizontal wells.An analysis was conducted on the problems and their causes in the research and application of drilling fluids, And based on the existing problems, propose suggestions for the development of drilling fluid.This review has a certain reference value for the research, application, and standardization of drilling fluids in china.
Global deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil and gas resources account for 44% of total reserves, making their development a crucial pillar of energy supply. In recent years, 70% of major new oil and gas discoveries worldwide have originated from deepwater areas. The South China Sea holds abundant deepwater oil and gas resources, and their development is essential for enhancing China's energy self-sufficiency and ensuring national energy security. However, challenges such as high temperature and high pressure, complex geology, hydrate formation, and wellbore stability impose higher demands on deepwater drilling fluid technology. International oil service companies such as Schlumberger, Halliburton, and BP have made breakthroughs in deepwater water-based, synthetic-based, and high-density drilling fluids, which have been widely applied in deepwater blocks such as the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil's pre-salt oil fields. Domestically, China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) has promoted independent innovation based on multiple oilfields in the South China Sea, developing key technologies such as deepwater hydrate prevention, high-performance water-based drilling fluids, and flat rheology synthetic-based drilling fluids, significantly improving the safety and efficiency of deepwater drilling. This paper reviews recent advancements in deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling and completion fluid technologies, with a focus on the latest developments in water-based, synthetic-based, and high-density drilling fluid systems, as well as their applications in deepwater oil and gas development, providing a reference for future deepwater drilling and completion fluid technology development.
Drilling fluid additives function less effectively or even lose their functions at high calcium content. To deal with this problem, many researchers, both in China and from abroad, tried to improve the calcium resistance of drilling fluids and have made some progresses. These researches were mainly focused on filter loss reducers, viscosifiers, shale inhibitors, lubricants as well as thinners. Products resistant to contamination by 25% calcium at 150℃ and resistant to contamination by 11% calcium at 180℃ have been developed. Part of these products have been successfully used in field operations, most of the additives are still in laboratory research though, and are still having difficulties in simultaneously possessing good calcium resistance and high temperature stability. Drilling fluid additives capable of resisting contamination by greater than 200,000 ppm calcium (≥ 20% calcium chloride) are rarely seen. In studying calcium resistant drilling fluid additives, focus should be placed on the prompt conversion of the laboratory research achievements, and cost-effective additives with both good calcium resistance and high temperature stability should be developed from low-cost and easily available biomass resources. In designing the molecular structures of polymer drilling fluid additives, special molecular structures instead of only the traditional ones, such as branched polymers, star polymers and dendrimers should be used. Attentions should be paid to the development of new monomers and the introduction of new materials. AI technology in material science can also be used to help further increase the high temperature stability and calcium resistance, enhance the development efficiency, and improve the compatibility of the drilling fluid additives.
An ultra-high temperature micro-nano organic plugging agent TSF is developed through a two-step reaction (pre-hydrolysis followed by free radical polymerization) with organic hydrolysable monomers and polymerization monomers such as AMPS, DMAA and BA. Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis shows that the initial thermal decomposition temperature of TSF is 240℃, indicating that TSF has excellent thermal stability. Before and after aging at 220℃, the particle sizes of TSF remain between 342 nm and 825 nm, indicating that TSF has dispersion stability. TSF has a glass transition temperature of 192℃, and can transform from the glassy state to the viscoelastic rubbery state, meaning that it has both plugging capacity through deformation and borehole wall strengthening capacity through adhesion. At 4% TSF treatment, a base drilling fluid, after aging at 220℃ for 16 hours, can have its HTHP filter loss reduced by 43.1%, and have its HTHP filter losses tested on 5 μm and 10 μm ceramic sand discs reduced by 37.1% and 34.5%, respectively. These data show that TSF has excellent filtration control capacity through plugging. At 220℃, TSF produces no H2S, indicating that TSF has good safety performance at ultra-high temperatures. After aging at 220℃, the drilling fluid produced mud cakes whose permeability was reduced by 50.8%. Borehole wall strengthening effect through adhesion of TSF can increase the compressive strengths of core columns by 12.6-17 times, showing that TSF can enhance its ability to plug the fractures in the formations in ultra-deep wells through self-adaptability and to strengthen the borehole wall. These characteristics of TSF have been successfully applied in drilling the ultra-deep well A.
The failure of a drilling fluid at high temperatures is one of the main causes of complex downhole accidents. The depths of wells around the Bohai Bay are close to 6,000 m, and the bottom hole temperatures are expected to exceed 200℃. To prevent wellbore collapse and the failure of the drilling fluids, protect the oil and gas reservoirs and the marine environment, high-temperature resistant drilling fluid additives were optimally selected, the high-temperature resistance mechanisms of the additives were explored, and as a result of these researches, an environmentally friendly ultra-high temperature low-solids seawater-based drilling fluid with a temperature resistance of 200℃ and a density of 1.9 g/cm3 was formulated and applied in the well Gaitan-1. The research results and field application effects show that after hot rolled at 200℃ for 16 hours, the filtration rate of this drilling fluid is only 15 mL. It has many advantages such as low filtration rate, high inhibitive capacity, good lubricity, good suspending and carrying capacity, as well as reservoir protection capability. The well was drilled successfully, the rate of wellbore enlargement was small, and the composition of the drilling fluid was simple and environmentally friendly, satisfying the requirements of marine environmental protection. This drilling fluid has helped solve the technical difficulties encountered in oil and gas drilling in deep high-temperature and high-pressure formations in the Bohai Sea area, providing technical support for the exploration and development of deep oil and gas in this area in the future, and also providing a sample for the application of ultra-high temperature low-solids drilling fluids in other deep formations and environmentally sensitive areas.
The second member of the Huangliu Formation in the Dongfang F gas field in the western South China Sea is a reservoir with ultra-high temperature, low porosity and low permeability, the temperature which is as high as 205℃. The solid-free drilling fluid used in the previous drilling operations degraded at elevated temperatures, negatively affected field operations and caused water lock damage to the reservoir. To deal with this problem, a temperature-sensitive polymer viscosifier, a viscosity increasing filter loss reducer, and an ultra-high temperature modified starch were selected to formulate a new high temperature solid-free drill-in fluid. The three additives work synergistically in the new drilling fluid to resist the action of ultra-high temperature. The drill-in fluid is stable at 210℃, the filtration rate is less than 10 mL at 150℃, the permeability recovery of the core contaminated with the drill-in fluid is greater than 90%, and the filter cake is easy to break and remove. Meanwhile the selected supporting ultra-high temperature water lock inhibitor does not foam, and can reduce the gas-liquid surface tension and oil-liquid interfacial tension of the drill-in fluid filtrate to 27.7 mN/m and 5.9 mN/m respectively. The new ultra-high temperature solid-free drill-in fluid has been successfully applied on the X2 adjustment well in the Dongfang F gas field. During the operation, the viscosity and gel strength of the system were stable, the filtration rate was small, the hole diameter was regular, the operation was smooth, and the test and production effect was good. The skin factor of this well was only 0.13. The new ultra-high temperature solid-free drill-in fluid is of great significance for reducing the drilling and development risks of such offshore reservoirs and for ensuring the production capacity.
lost circulation has long been a major challenge affecting the safety and efficiency of drilling operations. In this study, a gel plugging agent (LAS) was synthesized via free radical polymerization using lauryl methacrylate (LMA) as the hydrophobic monomer and acrylamide (AM), 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS), and acrylic acid (AA) as hydrophilic monomers. The mechanical properties of the gel were enhanced by the coordination interaction between Al3+ metal ions and carboxyl groups on the polymer molecular chains. The results demonstrated that the LAS gel exhibited re-crosslinkable characteristics, along with excellent plugging performance and self-adaptive properties under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. Under conditions of 120℃ and 6 MPa pressure, the leakage volumes of 2% LAS gel for simulated fracture sand beds with particle sizes of 20-40 mesh, 40-60 mesh, and 60-80 mesh were 69.5 mL, 58.3 mL, and 41 mL, respectively. This plugging performance significantly surpassed that of conventional gels and traditional plugging agents. Additionally, the LAS gel demonstrated superior swelling and rheological properties across varying temperatures and salinity levels. It could form a stable plugging layer under formation temperature activation, effectively reducing leakage volume. The dynamic re-crosslinking capability of the LAS gel ensured robust plugging effects even in extreme high-temperature and high-pressure environments, highlighting its potential for application in workflow leakage control.
In developing deep acidic gas reservoirs, CO2 invasion and contamination cause the properties of high density drilling fluids, especially their ability to control filtration rate, to remarkably deteriorate at elevated temperatures. A new method has been developed to evaluate the contamination of a drilling fluid by CO2 in laboratory, and several typical high temperature filtration control agents were evaluated at 150℃ for their ability to resist CO2 contamination. Based on the macro and micro analyses of the performance of a “filtration control agent + bentonite slurry” system, the mechanisms with which CO2 causes the performance of a filtration control agent to deteriorate were systematically studied. The results of the study show that after being contaminated by CO2, the water solubility of the sulfonate type filtration control agents SAS and SMP-III was reduced, resulting in low viscosity, poor filtration property and reduced colloidal stability of the system. Acrylonitrile filtration control agent NH4-HPAN and cellulose filtration control agent PAC-LV, on the other hand, cause the system to viscosify after being contaminated by CO2. Compared with other filtration control agents, NH4-HPAN performs much better in resisting CO2 contamination, its properties in controlling filtration rate, stabilizing colloid and maintaining good particle size distribution of the system all remain stable.
As a new type of drilling fluid, bring-based drilling fluid manifests its significance in replacing oil-based and conventional water-based drilling fluids. To deal with the serious borehole wall collapse and reservoir protection problems encountered in drilling the Permian system reservoir in Tuha oilfield, a chloride brine was chosen as the base fluid for drilling fluid development. By selecting high efficiency drilling fluid additives, a highly inhibitive low solids low activity brine-based drilling fluid was formulated. This drilling fluid has simple composition and strong inhibitive capacity. Laboratory researches show that this drilling fluid has good high temperature stability and contamination resistance, and results of corrosion test with steel plate and rubber satisfy the standard requirements. This drilling fluid was successfully used in the Qitan-1 block in Tuha oilfield, the average percent hole enlargement of the target zone sections was 3.44%, and no downhole troubles were encountered during drilling, demonstrating that the highly inhibitive low solids low activity brine-based drilling fluid can satisfy the requirements of drilling in the Permian basin. The application of the chloride brine-based drilling fluid is the first in China, and is worth further optimization and promotion.
In order to address the challenges of annular blockage and borehole instability during the drilling process of long horizontal wells in western Sichuan, this study analyzed the geological characteristics of the formation. Experimental research was conducted to understand the mechanism behind borehole instability. The findings revealed that in sea-related geological formations in Western Sichuan Basin, the risk of borehole instability is higher in the direction of minimum principal stress compared to that of maximum principal stress. The reservoir rock exhibits hard brittleness, fractured formations, developed microfractures, poor interlayer cementation, and a tendency for drilling cuttings deposition leading to annular blockage. Under pressure excitation, fractures further expand causing borehole instability. Based on these findings, flow type stabilizer SMRS-1 was developed. Emulsifying agents and nano-micron sealing agent SMNR-2 were carefully selected to construct a high-temperature long-term stable white oil-based drilling fluid system. After 7 days of rolling aging at 160℃, this system exhibited good high-temperature long-term stability with a dynamic viscosity ratio ≥0.20 and a high-temperature high-pressure filtration loss <4.0 mL at 160℃ along with breakdown voltage >600 V. The successful application of this drilling fluid in well PZ5-3 effectively resolved issues related to annular blockage and borehole instability encountered during long horizontal well drilling operations within western Sichuan.
以妥尔油脂肪酸和马来酸酐为主要原料合成了一种油基钻井液抗高温主乳化剂HT-MUL,并确定了妥尔油脂肪酸单体的最佳酸值及马来酸酐单体的最优加量。对HT-MUL进行了单剂评价,结果表明HT-MUL的乳化能力良好,配制的油水比为60:40的油包水乳液的破乳电压最高可达490 V,90:10的乳液破乳电压最高可达1000 V。从抗温性、滤失性、乳化率方面对HT-MUL和国内外同类产品进行了对比,结果表明HT-MUL配制的乳液破乳电压更大、滤失量更小、乳化率更高,整体性能优于国内外同类产品。应用主乳化剂HT-MUL配制了高密度的油基钻井液,其性能评价表明体系的基本性能良好,在220℃高温热滚后、破乳电压高达800 V,滤失量低于5 mL。HT-MUL配制的油基钻井液具有良好的抗高温性和乳化稳定性。
综述了国内外页岩气井井壁失稳机理、稳定井壁主要方法及水基钻井液技术研究与应用现状,讨论了当前中国页岩气井钻井液技术面临的主要技术难题,分析了美国页岩气井与中国主要页岩气产区井壁失稳机理的差异,指出了中国页岩气井水基钻井液技术研究存在的误区与不足,提出了中国页岩气井水基钻井液技术发展方向。
通常在勘探开发油气过程中会发生不同程度的油气层损害,导致产量下降、甚至"枪毙"油气层等,钻井液是第一个与油气层相接触的外来流体,引起的油气层损害程度往往较大。为减轻或避免钻井液导致的油气层损害、提高单井产量,国内外学者们进行了长达半个世纪以上的研究工作,先后建立了"屏蔽暂堵、精细暂堵、物理化学膜暂堵"三代暂堵型保护油气层钻井液技术,使保护油气层效果逐步提高,经济效益明显。但是,与石油工程师们追求的"超低"损害目标仍存在一定差距,特别是随着非常规、复杂、超深层、超深水等类型油气层勘探开发力度的加大,以前的保护技术难以满足要求。为此,将仿生学引入保护油气层钻井液理论中,发展了适合不同油气层渗透率大小的"超双疏、生物膜、协同增效"仿生技术,并在各大油田得到推广应用,达到了"超低"损害目标,标志着第四代暂堵型保护油气层钻井液技术的建立。对上述4代暂堵型保护油气层技术的理论基础、实施方案、室内评价、现场应用效果与优缺点等进行了论述,并通过梳理阐明了将来的研究方向与发展趋势,对现场技术人员和科技工作者具有较大指导意义。
页岩具有极低的渗透率和极小的孔喉尺寸,传统封堵剂难以在页岩表面形成有效的泥饼,只有纳米级颗粒才能封堵页岩的孔喉,阻止液相侵入地层,维持井壁稳定,保护储层。以苯乙烯(St)、甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)为单体,过硫酸钾(KPS)为引发剂,采用乳液聚合法制备了纳米聚合物微球封堵剂SD-seal。通过红外光谱、透射电镜、热重分析和激光粒度分析对产物进行了表征,通过龙马溪组岩样的压力传递实验研究了其封堵性能。结果表明,SD-seal纳米粒子分散性好,形状规则(基本为球形),粒度较均匀(20 nm左右),分解温度高达402.5℃,热稳定性好,阻缓压力传递效果显著,使龙马溪组页岩岩心渗透率降低95%。
利用自主研发的水泥环密封性实验装置研究了套管内加卸压循环作用下水泥环的密封性,根据实验结果得出了循环应力作用下水泥环密封性失效的机理。实验结果显示,在较低套管内压循环作用下,水泥环保持密封性所能承受的应力循环次数较多;在较高循环应力作用下,水泥环密封性失效时循环次数较少。表明在套管内较低压力作用下,水泥环所受的应力较低,应力水平处于弹性状态,在加卸载的循环作用下,水泥环可随之弹性变形和弹性恢复;在较高应力作用下,水泥环内部固有的微裂纹和缺陷逐渐扩展和连通,除了发生弹性变形还产生了塑性变形;随着应力循环次数的增加,塑性变形也不断地累积。循环压力卸载时,套管弹性回缩而水泥环塑性变形不可完全恢复,2者在界面处的变形不协调而引起拉应力。当拉应力超过界面处的胶结强度时出现微环隙,导致水泥环密封性失效,水泥环发生循环应力作用的低周期密封性疲劳破坏。套管内压力越大,水泥环中产生的应力水平越高,产生的塑性变形越大,每次卸载时产生的残余应变和界面处拉应力也越大,因此引起密封性失效的应力循环次数越少。
分析了硬脆性泥页岩井壁失稳的原因,介绍了纳米材料特点及其应用,并概述了国内外钻井液用纳米封堵剂的研究进展,包括有机纳米封堵剂、无机纳米封堵剂、有机/无机纳米封堵剂,以及纳米封堵剂现场应用案例。笔者认为:利用无机纳米材料刚性特征以及有机聚合物可任意变形、支化成膜等特性,形成的一种核壳结构的无机/聚合物类纳米封堵剂,能够很好地分散到钻井液中,且对钻井液黏度和切力影响较小,这种类型的纳米封堵剂能够在低浓度下封堵泥页岩孔喉,建立一种疏水型且具有一定强度的泥页岩人工井壁,这不仅能够阻止钻井液侵入,而且还能提高地层承压能力,无机纳米材料与有机聚合物的结合是未来钻井液防塌剂的发展方向。
统计长庆油田罗*区块2015年存地液量与油井一年累积产量的关系发现,存地液量越大,一年累积产量越高,与常规的返排率越高产量越高概念恰恰相反,可能与存地液的自发渗吸替油有关。核磁实验结果表明,渗吸替油不同于驱替作用,渗吸过程中小孔隙对采出程度贡献大,而驱替过程中大孔隙对采出程度贡献大,但从现场致密储层岩心孔隙度来看,储层驱替效果明显弱于渗吸效果。通过实验研究了影响自发渗吸效率因素,探索影响压裂液油水置换的关键影响因素,得出了最佳渗吸采出率及最大渗吸速度现场参数。结果表明,各参数对渗吸速度的影响顺序为:界面张力 > 渗透率 > 原油黏度 > 矿化度,岩心渗透率越大,渗吸采收率越大,但是增幅逐渐减小;原油黏度越小,渗吸采收率越大;渗吸液矿化度越大,渗吸采收率越大;当渗吸液中助排剂浓度在0.005%~5%,即界面张力在0.316~10.815 mN/m范围内时,浓度为0.5%(界面张力为0.869 mN/m)的渗吸液可以使渗吸采收率达到最大。静态渗吸结果表明:并不是界面张力越低,采收率越高,而是存在某一最佳界面张力,使地层中被绕流油的数量减少,渗吸采收率达到最高,为油田提高致密储层采收率提供实验指导。
目前中国页岩气水平井定向段及水平段钻井均使用油基钻井液,但油基岩屑处理费用昂贵,急需开发和应用一种具有环境保护特性的高性能水基钻井液体系。介绍了2种高性能水基钻井液体系的室内实验和现场试验效果。在长宁H9-4井水平段、长宁H9-3和长宁H9-5井定向至完井段试验了GOF高性能水基钻井液体系,该体系采用的是聚合物封堵抑制方案,完全采用水基润滑方式;在昭通区块YS108H4-2井水平段试验了高润强抑制性水基钻井液体系,该体系采用的是有机、无机盐复合防膨方案以及润滑剂与柴油复合润滑方式。现场应用表明,定向段机械钻速提高50%~75%,水平段机械钻速提高75%~100%。通过实验数据及现场使用情况,对比分析了2种体系的优劣,找出了他们各自存在的问题,并提出了改进的思路,为高性能水基钻井液的进一步完善提供一些经验。
废弃钻井液污染大、种类多、处理难,给水质和土壤环境带来巨大的负面影响,随着近些年环保法规的日益完善,对废弃钻井液的处理技术也提出了新要求。概述了9种不同处理方法及其发展现状,重点分析了固化法、热解吸法、化学强化固液分离法、不落地技术和多种技术联用等处理技术,并对几种现行的主流处理技术进行了对比,指出了各类方法的发展前景,得出多种技术联用具有较好的发展潜力。分析认为今后的研究方向与热点在于如何低能耗、高效率地实现对废弃钻井液的资源化处理,具体工作既要包含污染物的源头、过程和结果控制,也要加强管理和相关制度的建立,综合开发新技术。
页岩气井水平井段井壁失稳是目前中国页岩气资源勘探开发的关键技术难题。通过云南昭通108区块龙马溪组页岩的X-射线衍射分析、扫描电镜(SEM)观察、力学特性分析、润湿性、膨胀率及回收率等实验,研究了其矿物组成、微观组构特征、表面性能、膨胀和分散特性,揭示了云南昭通108区块龙马溪组页岩地层井壁水化失稳机理。该地层黏土矿物以伊利石为主要组分,不含蒙脱石及伊蒙混层,表面水化是引起页岩地层井壁失稳的主要原因。基于热力学第二定律,利用降低页岩表面自由能以抑制页岩表面水化的原理,建立了通过多碳醇吸附作用改变页岩润湿性,有效降低其表面自由能、抑制表面水化,进而显著抑制页岩水化膨胀和分散的稳定井壁方法。
China National Petroleum Corporation Ltd
CNPC Bohai Drilling Engineering Co. LtdPetroChina Huabei Oilfield Company
Editorial Office of Drilling Fluid and Completion Fluid, Bohai Drilling Engineering Institute, Yanshan South Road, Renqiu City, Hebei Province