Application of Cellulosic Fibrous Material from Agro Waste as Filtrate Loss Modifier in Aqueous Mud-Morphology at HTHP Conditions

Abstract

Controlling the filtration characteristics of any drilling fluid does not only include the control of the filtrate volume penetrating into the formation; but also the ability of the mud to deposit a thin low-permeability filter cake on the wall of the wellbore quickly. The permeability of the filter cake is very dependent on the particle size because when small size particles are used, the permeability decreases, because of the fact that colloidal particles get packed very tightly. This study investigated the filtration and filter cake characteristics of water-based mud (WBM) using fibrous cellulose from Tiger Nut waste and the guar gum. American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practice Standard Procedure for Field Testing Drilling Fluids, API RP 13B-1 was applied during the analysis. Statistical analysis of the experimental data was conducted and the R2 value (0.99) showed that the experimental method adopted was replicable. Mud samples B2 and C2 gave an optimum result and their mud cakes developed under High-Temperature High-Pressure (HTHP) condition were dried and further analyzed with scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the filter cakes SEM structure for cellulosic fibrous from agro waste and guar gum exhibits similar characteristics; and the mud cakes was firm after soaking with 15% HCl for thirty minutes but started dissolving after one hour. The SEM analysis inferred that the filter cake morphology shows a good particle-pore interlocking for sample C2 than B2.