Effect of Nanoparticles
on the Performance of Drilling Fluids
Gomathi Rajalakshmi Seetharaman and Jitendra S. Sangwai
Abstract Owing to the extinction of conventional reservoirs, it is imperative for
engineers to find the unconventional oil and gas resources. Drilling an unconventional
field requires engineered drilling fluids because an efficient drilling operation purely
depends upon the performance of drilling fluid. Drilling fluid which is a combination
of solids and fluids performs many functions, such as cooling the drill bit, cleaning
the wellbore, maintaining the wellbore pressure and development of a filter cake to
prevent the invasion of fluid into the formation. The drilling fluid can be classified into
oil-based mud (OBM), water-based mud (WBM) and pneumatic fluid (or) air-based
fluid. Conventional drilling fluids which are in use lose their efficacy during drilling
a complex reservoir, like high temperature high pressure (HTHP) and highly saline
reservoir. Nanomaterials which are unique due to their distinctive properties, like high
surface to volume ratio, thermal stability and conductivity, found their application
in almost all fields of engineering. Many studies have been conducted to analyse the
enhancement of drilling fluids through the application of nanoparticles. The studies
resulted in enhancement in rheological, filtration, thermal properties of the drilling
mud and also improved the wellbore stability. This chapter elaborately discusses
about how the application of various types of nanoparticles/nanocomposites helps to
enhance the rheological and filtration properties of the drilling mud.
Keywords Drilling fluids · Rheological properties · Nanoparticles · High
temperature high pressure
G. R. Seetharaman · J. S. Sangwai (B)
Gas Hydrate and Flow Assurance Laboratory, Petroleum Engineering Program, Department of
Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
e-mail: jitendrasangwai@iitm.ac.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Ledwani and J. S. Sangwai (eds.), Nanotechnology for Energy and Environmental
Engineering, Green Energy and Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33774-2_12
279
on the Performance of Drilling Fluids
Gomathi Rajalakshmi Seetharaman and Jitendra S. Sangwai
Abstract Owing to the extinction of conventional reservoirs, it is imperative for
engineers to find the unconventional oil and gas resources. Drilling an unconventional
field requires engineered drilling fluids because an efficient drilling operation purely
depends upon the performance of drilling fluid. Drilling fluid which is a combination
of solids and fluids performs many functions, such as cooling the drill bit, cleaning
the wellbore, maintaining the wellbore pressure and development of a filter cake to
prevent the invasion of fluid into the formation. The drilling fluid can be classified into
oil-based mud (OBM), water-based mud (WBM) and pneumatic fluid (or) air-based
fluid. Conventional drilling fluids which are in use lose their efficacy during drilling
a complex reservoir, like high temperature high pressure (HTHP) and highly saline
reservoir. Nanomaterials which are unique due to their distinctive properties, like high
surface to volume ratio, thermal stability and conductivity, found their application
in almost all fields of engineering. Many studies have been conducted to analyse the
enhancement of drilling fluids through the application of nanoparticles. The studies
resulted in enhancement in rheological, filtration, thermal properties of the drilling
mud and also improved the wellbore stability. This chapter elaborately discusses
about how the application of various types of nanoparticles/nanocomposites helps to
enhance the rheological and filtration properties of the drilling mud.
Keywords Drilling fluids · Rheological properties · Nanoparticles · High
temperature high pressure
G. R. Seetharaman · J. S. Sangwai (B)
Gas Hydrate and Flow Assurance Laboratory, Petroleum Engineering Program, Department of
Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
e-mail: jitendrasangwai@iitm.ac.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Ledwani and J. S. Sangwai (eds.), Nanotechnology for Energy and Environmental
Engineering, Green Energy and Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33774-2_12
279