Evaluation of Groundnut Shell and Yam Peel as a Loss Circulation Control Material in Drilling

Abstract

Abstract As a result of enormous uncertainties and high cost of materials employed in the design and formulation of drilling fluids used drilling operations in the oil and gas industry, it is important to select the most appropriate drilling materials to increase drilling efficiency, while reducing the total cost of drilling through import substitution, especially with locally available materials. In this paper, an experiment was conducted to test and investigate the suitability of Yam Peel and Groundnut Shell as loss circulation materials. The selected lost circulation material was washed, purified, dried, and crushed, thereafter the materials were characterized using the FTIR and SEM. Different mud samples were prepared using the locally sourced materials and Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC), tested for its rheological properties, and thereafter compared to ascertain the suitability of the mud prepared with the locally sourced lost circulation material drilling, in line with established API standard. Results obtained shows viable comparison between the locally sourced loss circulation material and its imported lost circulation material.