摘要
The oil-in-water emulsion drilling fluids, prepared by adding 5～12% (by volume) of mineral oil (or diesel) to water-based muds, have been widely used for stuck-pipe prevention in the Shengli Oilfield. In some cases, the emulsion stability of this kind of mud system is not strong enough to meet the requirements of drilling operations. To overcome this drawback, a solid emulsifier, which is characterized by its very small particle size and special wetting behavior (slightly water-wet), has been developed and successfully applied to improve the emulsion stability and other performances of these drilling fluids. Prior to the development of this technology, an extensive study was conducted to deal with the influence of various kinds of finely divided insoluble solid particles on oil/water emulsification. The substances used include bentonite, organophilic clay, kaolinite, barite, two kinds of calcium carbonate with different particle sizes, two kinds of silica with different wetting behaviors, and a newly developed solid emulsifier. Both the emulsion stability experiments and the drop coalescence experiments are performed to evaluate the contribution of these particles to emulsification. The measured final emulsion volume disappears after 12 hours and the half-life for water and oil drops are used as the measures of emulsion stability. The experimental data show that the type, size, concentration and wettability of the particles, and the presence of some surfactants control the type and stability of emulsions for a given oil/water system, and the fine particles of the solids emulsifier provide the most effective stabilization for water-continuous emulsions compared with other kinds of particles. Meanwhile, it can be observed that these particles also stabilize oil-continuous emulsions effectively in some cases since their wetting behavior is close to neutral. The O/W emulsion mud stabilized by the newly developed solid emulsifier has become one of the major mud systems used in directional and horizontal well drilling in the Shengli Oilfield. In addition to the improvement of emulsion stability, this solid emulsifier has the advantages of improving the lubricity of mud cake and is beneficial to the control of rheological properties and filtration.
The oil-in-water emulsion drilling fluids, prepared by adding 5～12% (by volume) of mineral oil (or diesel) to water-based muds, have been widely used for stuck-pipe prevention in the Shengli Oilfield. In some cases, the emulsion stability of this kind of mud system is not strong enough to meet the requirements of drilling operations. To overcome this drawback, a solid emulsifier, which is characterized by its very small particle size and special wetting behavior (slightly water-wet), has been developed and successfully applied to improve the emulsion stability and other performances of these drilling fluids. Prior to the development of this technology, an extensive study was conducted to deal with the influence of various kinds of finely divided insoluble solid particles on oil/water emulsification. The substances used include bentonite, organophilic clay, kaolinite, barite, two kinds of calcium carbonate with different particle sizes, two kinds of silica with different wetting behaviors, and a newly developed solid emulsifier. Both the emulsion stability experiments and the drop coalescence experiments are performed to evaluate the contribution of these particles to emulsification. The measured final emulsion volume disappears after 12 hours and the half-life for water and oil drops are used as the measures of emulsion stability. The experimental data show that the type, size, concentration and wettability of the particles, and the presence of some surfactants control the type and stability of emulsions for a given oil/water system, and the fine particles of the solids emulsifier provide the most effective stabilization for water-continuous emulsions compared with other kinds of particles. Meanwhile, it can be observed that these particles also stabilize oil-continuous emulsions effectively in some cases since their wetting behavior is close to neutral. The O/W emulsion mud stabilized by the newly developed solid emulsifier has become one of the major mud systems used in directional and horizontal well drilling in the Shengli Oilfield. In addition to the improvement of emulsion stability, this solid emulsifier has the advantages of improving the lubricity of mud cake and is beneficial to the control of rheological properties and filtration.
