Oil-based drilling fluid compositions which include layered double hydroxides as rheology modifiers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10745606-B2
Application number	US-201816059558-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 9, 2018
Priority date	Aug 15, 2017
Publication date	Aug 18, 2020
Grant date	Aug 18, 2020

Abstract

The present application discloses drilling fluid compositions, methods for making drilling fluids, and methods for drilling subterranean wells utilizing the drilling fluids. According to one embodiment, a drilling fluid composition may include an oil phase, an aqueous phase, and a rheology modifier. The rheology modifier may include a layered double hydroxide, such as Mg/Al-Myristate layered double hydroxide.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An oil-based drilling fluid composition comprising:
base oil in an oil phase;
water in an aqueous phase;
a rheology modifier comprising a layered double hydroxide comprising a myristate; and
one or more additives chosen from emulsifiers, wetting agents, fluid-loss control additives, and weighting additives.

2. The oil-based drilling fluid composition of claim 1 , where the oil-based drilling fluid comprises the layered double hydroxide comprising the myristate in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid.

3. The oil-based drilling fluid composition of claim 1 , where the oil-based drilling fluid comprises one or more of:
the base oil in an amount of from 10 wt. % to 20 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid;
one or more wetting agents in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid;
one or more emulsifiers in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 5 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid;
one or more fluid-loss control additives in an amount of from 0.5 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid; or
one or more weighting additives in an amount of from 50 wt. % to 90 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid.

4. The oil-based drilling fluid composition of claim 1 , where the layered double hydroxide is Mg/Al-Myristate layered double hydroxide.

5. The oil-based drilling fluid composition of claim 1 , where the layered double hydroxide comprises one or more of Aluminum cations or Magnesium cations.

6. The oil-based drilling fluid composition of claim 1 , where the layered double hydroxide is Mg/Al-Myristate layered double hydroxide, and where the oil-based drilling fluid comprises the layered double hydroxide in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid.

7. A method for making an oil-based drilling fluid composition comprising:
mixing a base oil, a water-containing component, and a rheology modifier to form an oil-based drilling fluid composition, where:
the oil-based drilling fluid composition comprises an oil phase comprising the base oil and an aqueous phase comprising the water; and
the rheology modifier comprises a layered double hydroxide comprising a myristate.

8. The method claim 7 , where the oil-based drilling fluid comprises Mg/Al-Myristate layered double hydroxide in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid.

9. The method claim 7 , the method further comprising mixing one or more additives chosen from emulsifiers, wetting agents, fluid-loss control additives, and weighting additives with the base oil, the water-containing component, and the rheology modifier.

10. The method of claim 7 , where the oil-based drilling fluid comprises one or more of:
the base oil in an amount of from 10 wt. % to 20 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid;
one or more emulsifiers in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 5 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid;
one or more wetting agents in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid;
one or more fluid-loss control additives in an amount of from 0.5 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid; or
one or more weighting additives in an amount of from 50 wt. % to 90 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid.

11. The method of claim 7 , where the oil-based drilling fluid comprises the layered double hydroxide in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid.

12. The method of claim 7 , where the layered double hydroxide comprises one or more of Aluminum cations or Magnesium cations.

13. The method of claim 7 , where the layered double hydroxide is Mg/Al-Myristate layered double hydroxide.

14. A method for drilling a subterranean well, the method comprising:
providing an oil-based drilling fluid composition, where the oil-based drilling fluid composition comprises:
base oil in an oil phase;
water in an aqueous phase;
a rheology modifier comprising a layered double hydroxide comprising a myristate;
one or more additives chosen from emulsifiers, wetting agents, fluid-loss control additives, and weighting additives; and

operating a drill in a wellbore in the presence of the oil-based drilling fluid composition.

15. The method of claim 14 , where the wellbore comprises one or more of:
a wellbore temperature greater than 300° F.;
a wellbore pressure greater than 10,000 psi; or
a surface temperature of 0° C. or less.

16. The method of claim 14 , where the oil-based drilling fluid comprises Mg/Al-Myristate layered double hydroxide in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid.

17. The method of claim 14 , where the oil-based drilling fluid comprises one or more of:
the base oil in an amount of from 10 wt. % to 20 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid;
one or more emulsifiers in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 5 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid;
one or more wetting agents in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid;
one or more fluid-loss control additives in an amount of from 0.5 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid; or
one or more weighting additives in an amount of from 50 wt. % to 90 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid.

18. The method of claim 14 , where the oil-based drilling fluid comprises the layered double hydroxide in an amount of from 0.1 wt. % to 2 wt. % based on the total weight of the oil-based drilling fluid.

19. The method of claim 14 , where the layered double hydroxide comprises one or more of Aluminum cations or Magnesium cations.

20. The method of claim 14 , where the layered double hydroxide is Mg/Al-Myristate layered double hydroxide.

Assignees

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co
• Univ Durham
• M-I Drilling Fluids Uk Ltd

Inventors

• Mohammed Musarrat Halima
• Whiting Andrew
• Veerabhadrappa Manohara Gudiyor
• Greenwell Hugh Christopher
• Hall John Adrian
• Alabedi Gasan Selman
• Hodder Michael Hayward

Classifications

• E21B43/00

  Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells (applicable only to water E03B) · CPC title

• C09K8/36 Primary

  Water-in-oil emulsions · CPC title

• C09K8/32 Primary

  Non-aqueous well-drilling compositions, e.g. oil-based · CPC title

• C09K8/03

  Specific additives for general use in well-drilling compositions · CPC title

• C09K8/032

  Inorganic additives · CPC title