Dry drilling fluid additives and methods relating thereto

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9567508-B2
Application number	US-201514889915-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 5, 2015
Priority date	Jan 5, 2015
Publication date	Feb 14, 2017
Grant date	Feb 14, 2017

Abstract

Dry drilling fluid additives may include a dry mixture that comprises a clay stabilizing agent at about 76% to about 93% by weight of the dry mixture, a dispersant at about 3% to about 6% by weight of the dry mixture, and a surfactant at about 4% to about 18% by weight of the dry mixture. Such dry drilling fluid additives may be useful in methods and systems for drilling wellbore penetrating subterranean formations, especially deviated and highly-deviated wellbores.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
providing a dry mixture comprising a clay stabilizing agent at about 76% to about 93% by weight of the dry mixture, a dispersant at about 3% to about 6% by weight of the dry mixture, and a surfactant at about 4% to about 18% by weight of the dry mixture;
mixing the dry mixture into an aqueous fluid, thereby producing a drilling fluid; and
drilling at least a portion of a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation with the drilling fluid.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the wellbore is deviated.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the wellbore is highly deviated.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the clay stabilizing agent is selected from the group consisting of: polyacrylamide, partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, polyethylene glycol, polydialllyldimethylammonium chloride, and any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the clay stabilizing agent may have a molecular weight of about 10,000 g/mol to about 20,000 g/mol.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dispersant is selected from the group consisting of: polyacrylate, sodium acid polyphosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, lignosulfonate, humic acid, tannic acid, and any combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dispersant may have a molecular weight of about 10,000 g/mol or less.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is selected from the group consisting of: a polyethylene glycol/polypropylene glycol copolymer, cetylpyridinium chloride, benzalkonium chloride, sodium dodecylsulfate, sodium stearate, a fatty alcohol ethoxylate, a secondary alcohol ethoxylate, and any combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant may have a molecular weight of about 25,000 g/mol or less.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dry mixture is included in the drilling fluid at about 0.1 pounds per barrel to about 5 pounds per barrel of the aqueous fluid.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the drilling fluid has a viscosity of about 50 cP or less at 300 rpm.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dry mixture is American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Sanitary Foundation (NSF) certified for ANSI/NSF 60.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dry mixture is American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Sanitary Foundation (NSF) certified for ANSI/NSF 61.

14. A drilling fluid additive comprising:
a dry mixture that comprises a clay stabilizing agent at about 76% to about 93% by weight of the dry mixture, a dispersant at about 3% to about 6% by weight of the dry mixture, and a surfactant at about 4% to about 18% by weight of the dry mixture.

15. The drilling fluid additive of claim 14 , wherein the clay stabilizing agent is selected from the group consisting of: polyacrylamide, partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, polyethylene glycol, polydialllyldimethylammonium chloride, and any combination thereof.

16. The drilling fluid additive of claim 14 , wherein the dispersant is selected from the group consisting of: polyacrylate, sodium acid polyphosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, lignosulfonate, humic acid, tannic acid, and any combination thereof.

17. The drilling fluid additive of claim 14 , wherein the surfactant is selected from the group consisting of: a polyethylene glycol/polypropylene glycol copolymer, cetylpyridinium chloride, benzalkonium chloride, sodium dodecylsulfate, sodium stearate, a fatty alcohol ethoxylate, a secondary alcohol ethoxylate, and any combination thereof.

18. A system comprising:
a drilling assembly with a drill string extending therefrom and into a wellbore in a subterranean formation with at least one depleted zone having a plurality of fractures extending from the wellbore into the at least one depleted zone; and
a pump fluidly coupled to the drill string, the drill string containing a drilling fluid prepared by mixing an aqueous fluid with a dry mixture that comprises a clay stabilizing agent at about 76% to about 93% by weight of the dry mixture, a dispersant at about 3% to about 6% by weight of the dry mixture, and a surfactant at about 4% to about 18% by weight of the dry mixture.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the portion of the wellbore is highly deviated.

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Cortner Thomas Scott
• May Preston Andrew
• Collins Ryan Patrick

Classifications

• C09K8/04 Primary

  Aqueous well-drilling compositions · CPC title

• E21B7/04

  Directional drilling · CPC title

• C09K2208/12

  Swell inhibition, i.e. using additives to drilling or well treatment fluids for inhibiting clay or shale swelling or disintegrating · CPC title

• C09K8/035 Primary

  Organic additives · CPC title

• C09K8/12

  containing synthetic organic macromolecular compounds or their precursors · CPC title