Solids free Brine based drilling fluids have been utilized by operators to optimize and increase drilling rates in the Canadian market for the last five years. Despite the increased drilling rate of such fluid systems, their overall performance is being hampered by their inhibitive property. In order to achieve the inhibitive property required for the various downhole formations encountered when drilling, high-salt saturation and subsequent high-density brines are regularly used. These higher salinity fluids must be purchased by the operator and have engendered increased corrosion damages and increased fluid losses due to the overbalanced pressures. The increased overbalance pressure downhole, combined with the inability to form filter cakes in solids-free fluids has led to higher loss rates, requiring more fluid to be treated and transported. Invert drilling fluids are an option in cases where the initial fluid cost is substantial, and trucking distance from the blending facility to the well location can be considerable.
Newpark’s innovative approach to utilize a unique polymeric additive (NDFT453) combined with a real-time data capture (BrineTime) has unlocked the unprecedented possibility of using produced water from local facilities and batteries as a high-performance drilling fluid. NDFT453’s distinctive ability to form protective coatings allows better inhibition in less saturated brines, opening the applications for production water usage in formations that required salt-saturated brines in the past. This coating mechanism also unlocks the rare ability to form a filter cake that substantially reduces the downhole losses. Combined with BrineTime’s continuous data capture through the use of on-site fluid sensors and software algorithms to give real-time data on key corrosion and recommended dewatering parameters, the result is a produced-water fluid that can be used with both the confidence of oil-based fluids and the cost benefit of brine.
Chemical and real-time information technology advancements were used on a 14-well pad in northeastern British Columbia, and the results were not only financially beneficial to the operator but also had a reduced impact on the environment. By evaluating BrineTime’s real-time data, Newpark was able to achieve this remarkable environmental feat while increasing drilling rates, mitigating corrosion and reducing total chemical spend through the use of information-driven chemical treatments.
The total fluid volume typically handled on a pad of this size would be 300m3 to get the project started and each subsequent well would require 175m3 to continue drilling. This amount of handling and transport of OBM from the stockpoint to the wellsite would generate approximately 470 tonnes of greenhouse gases. Using Newpark’s proprietary brine technology, NDFT453, the downhole losses to the formation while drilling was reduced by 40% compared to prior wells drilled with saturated brine. This action, coupled with using production water which was available from a battery two miles away from the well location, helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 98% to 4 tonnes.
To learn more about New Park Drilling Fluids, please visit: www.newpark.com/drilling-fluids
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