1. “Nanoparticles to Reduce Loss Circulation of Drilling Fluids”
Muhammad Said Abdallah (Supervisor: Dr. Salaheldin elkatatny)
PETE408 seminar research proposal

2. Outline Introduction Proposed Procedure Objectives
Introduction to Nanoparticles
Applications of Nanoparticles in O&G Industry
Literature Review
Proposed Procedure

3. Introduction

4. Objective
Drilling Fluid used to carry cuttings, cool bit, provide hydrostatic pressure, etc.
Loss Circulation is a common drilling problem
Drives up project costs, increases non-productive time, etc.
Typical LCMs are micro to macro sized and therefore inefficient in tight formations
Mixing drilling fluid with nano-sized particles
Objective: Investigate the fluid loss of drilling muds mixed with nanoparticles.

5. Introduction to Nanoparticles
Nanomaterials are substances that have at least one dimension smaller than about 100 nm (billionths of a metre).
Nanomaterials can be nanoscale is just one dimension (e.g. surface films), two dimensions (e.g. fibers or strands), three dimensions (e.g. tiny particles).
Muir, H. (2011). Science in Seconds. Quercus Editions.
Luthor, D. (2016, July 04). Nanoparticles: The Tiniest Toxin. Retrieved September 24, 2016, from the-tiniest-toxin/

6. Applications of Nanoparticles in O&G Industry
Loss Circulation: The control and prevention of loss circulation by micro and macro based material showed limited success.
Pipe Sticking: Produce thinner mud cakes therefore decreasing the probability of a stuck pipe. Potential to reduce the adhesive tendency of mudcakes by forming nano-film on drill string surface.
Wellbore Instability: Decrease the exposure of shale to drilling muds, and thus avoid swelling and wellbore instability.
Torque and Drag Reduction: Provide reduction of frictional resistance between pipe and borehole via formation of thin lubricating film.
Nabhani, N., & Emami, M. (2012). The Potential Impact of Nanomaterials in Oil Drilling Industry. NanoCon.

7. Literature Review
(Zakaria et al., 2012) showed that under LTLP API Standard Test, more than 70% reduction in fluid loss was achieved with NPs compared to only 9% reduction with typical LCMs.
(R. Saboori et al., 2012) showed that CMC nanoparticles resulted in desirable reduction of amount of water loss and mud cake thickness in comparison with conventional CMC.
(Contreras et al., 2014) showed that under HTHP Filter Press, filtration reduction up to 76% was achieved using NPs mixed with graphite at two different concentrations.
Zakaria, M. F., Husein, M., & Hareland, G. (2012). Novel Nanoparticle-Based Drilling Fluid with Improved Characteristics. Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE
R. Saboori et al. (2012). Decreasing of water loss and mud cake Thickness by CMC nanoparticles in mud drilling. Int. J.Nano Dimens. 3(2): , Autumn 2012.
Contreras, O., Hareland, G., Husein, M., Nygaard, R., & Alsaba, M. (2014). Application of In-House Prepared Nanoparticles as Filtration Control Additive to Reduce Formation Damage. Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE

8. Proposed Procedure

9. Nanoparticle (NP) Synthesis Prepare WBM
Rheology measurements on WBM as control
HTHP Filter Press measurements on WBM as control
Rheology measurements on WBM mixed with LCM
HTHP Filter Press measurements on WBM mixed with LCM
Rheology measurements on WBM mixed with NP
HTHP Filter Press measurements on WBM mixed with NP

10. Thank You.
Questions, comments, suggestions?