OIL-BASED MUDS & SYNTHETIC-BASED MUDS:

Formulation, Engineering, Field habits and Recommendations.

Through this memo, we expect:
to present the materials oil-based muds (OBMs) or synthetic-based muds (SBMs) are made of
(most of the time, such muds are water-in-oil, 'invert', emulsions),
to give information about basic engineering calculations in the lab, including units conversions,
to give adequate information and field habits to effectively solve formulating problems.

Some of these information are also included in an XL-based program (currently under
development) to design drilling fluids.


I. Applications of OBMs.


OBM offers many advantages over water muds. Cost and environmental disposals can be factors in
not selecting this type of mud system.
Some of the advantages of OBMs are described in table 1.

Some information have been
removed to respect confidentiality
(e.g. structure shown in picture 1)
Do not hesitate to contact me at
tmaysounabe@petroleum.org for
additional information or details.
Shale stability
Oil-muds are most suited for drilling water sensitive shales. Indeed, oil is the
continuous phase and water is dispersed in it: the whole mud results non reactive
towards shales.
Even if water is dispersed, it is however desirable to have enough salinity to
prevent water migration into the shale without dehydrating it. This is the
"balanced activity" concept
(1)
. The adequate salinity is to be determined through
field experience.
Penetration rate
Oil-muds usually allows to drill faster than with water-muds, still providing
excellent shale stability.
High
Temperatures
Oil-muds are suited to drill formations where BHT
(2)
exceeds WBMs tolerances,
especially in the presence of contaminants, e.g. water, gases, cement, salts, up to
550 F.
Drilling salts
Invert oil-muds do not leach out formation salts. The addition of salt to the water
phase prevents the formation salts from dissolving into the emulsified water
phase.
Lubricity
An oil-mud has a thin filter cake and the friction between the pipe and the
wellbore is minimized, thus reducing the risk of differential sticking.
Especially suited for highly deviated and horizontal wells.
Low pore
pressure
formations
The ability to drill low pore pressure formations is easily accomplished since the
mud weight can be maintained at a weight less than that of water (as low as 7.5
ppg).
Corrosion
control
Corrosion of pipe is controlled since oil is the external phase and coats the pipe.
The most interesting properties regarding corrosion are that oils are non-
conductive, additives are thermally stable and do not form corrosive products,
and bacteria do not thrive in oil-muds.
Re-Use
Oil-muds are well-suited to be used over and over again. They can be stored for
long periods of time since bacterial growth is suppressed.

Packer fluids
Oil-mud packer fluids are designed to be stable over long periods of time even
when exposed to HT
(3)
. Oil-muds provide long-term stable packers since the
additives are extremely temperature-stable.
Since oil is the continuous phase, corrosion is almost negligible compared to
WBMs in the same conditions. Properly designed, such packer fluids can
suspend weighting materials over long periods of time.
Table 1: Some advantages of Oil-Based Muds.


II. OBMs Basic Chemistry.


Invert emulsions (the most common OBMs) are formulated to contain moderate to high
concentrations of water (up to 60% in extreme conditions).
Special emulsifiers are added to emulsify the water as the internal phase and prevent the water from
breaking out and coalescing into larger droplets.
These water droplets, if not tightly emulsified, can water-wet the already oil-wet solids and
dramatically affect the emulsion stability.

(1)
The balanced activity concept is shortly described in annex 1. Shale swelling is a required notion to explain the need
of this concept: it is briefly explained in annex 2.
(2)
BHT =Bottom Hole Temperature.
(3)
HT =High Temperatures.
Tables 2 and 3 present chemicals entering in the composition of OBMs.

Base Oil
In many areas, though quite detrimental to environment, diesels were used to
formulate and maintain OBMs. Crude oils had sometimes been used too, instead
of diesel, but posed tougher safety problems.
Thus today, mineral oils & new synthetic fluids replace diesel and crude due to
their lower toxicity, new synthetic fluids being of course farther less toxic than
any other base oil.
Water
Water is an integral part of the invert emulsion and can contain salts such as
calcium or sodium chloride. Sea-Water is often used offshore.
Table 2: continuous and dispersed phases of OBMs.


Oil muds require special products to ensure that the emulsion is extremely stable and can
withstand conditions of HT and contaminants. Every single product must be dispersible in the
external oil phase.


Emulsifying
Systems
Calcium soaps are the primary emulsifier in oil muds. These are made in the
mud by reaction of lime and long-chain fatty acids. Soap emulsions are strong
emulsifying agents but may take reaction time before emulsion is actually
formed.
Thus secondary emulsifiers are used : they consist in very powerful oil-wetting
chemicals which generally do not form emulsions but wet solids before the
emulsion is formed. Also used to prevent from any water intrusion.
Lime
Lime is essential in OBMs. It neutralizes fatty acids in the fluid, stabilizes the
emulsion when present in excess, and controls alkalinity. In the field, it also
neutralizes acid gases (H
2
S and/or CO
2
)
Fluid Loss
Reduction
Additives
Many types of chemicals can be used as Fluid Loss control agents. They are
usually organophilic lignites (amine-treated lignites), Gilsonite or Asphalt
derivatives, or special polymers (polyacrylates, ...).
The impact of such products on rheology depend on their nature. For instance,
lignites (even used at high concentration) do not affect viscosity, whereas asphalt
derivatives can cause excessive viscosity and/or gelation.
Wetting Agents
Supplemental additives to quickly and effectively oil-wet solids that became
water-wet.
Chemicals to
control rheology
Additives that build the viscosity of the mud.
Bentonite, hectorite or attapulgite, treated with amine to make them oil-
dispersible, are the commonly used organophilic gellants. When their properties
are reduced by HT, polymeric viscosifiers are added.
Other rheological modifiers increase the viscosity at low shear without
increasing total mud viscosity, e.g. low molecular weight fatty acids. Deviated
wells are good conditions of use for such products.
Weighting
agents
Used to increase the density of the oil mud. The most commonly used are
Calcite (M.W. up to 10.8 ppg), Barite (M.W. up to 21 ppg), and Hematite (M.W.
up to 24 ppg).
Table 3: main chemicals to prepare OBMs.




III. Synthetic-Based Fluids for Oil Muds Replacement.


The first use of oil as a drilling fluid is not known. It is likely, however, that someone thought of
using produced crude to drill the well, assuming that this would eliminate wellbore damage that can
occur with water contact.

Crude oils were difficult to use as drilling fluids, so refined oils and processed asphalts replaced
them. A number of mud products came into, being to control the normal mud properties of viscosity
and fluid loss and to emulsify water.

However, even mineral oils were cast in unfavourable light as being non-biodegradable, and indeed
some regulators did not like the use of any petroleum hydrocarbon oil in offshore drilling, both
from a spill standpoint and due to discharges of oil-covered cuttings. For instance:

discharge of oil-wet cuttings is not tolerated anyway in the North Sea Regions

in the Gulf of Mexico, discharge of oily cuttings is more or less tolerated depending on the
amount and the type of oil that wets the particles:

not tolerated if the oil is mineral oil or diesel,

tolerated for Internal Olefins (IO) if cuttings are covered with a maximum of 6% of oil,

tolerated for esters oils if cuttings are covered with a maximum of 9% of oil.

A variety of synthetic materials have been developed since 1993 to replace diesel and mineral oils.
Some of these newer materials sometimes behave more as water-based muds than oil-based muds.
The particular type of fluids chosen is based upon many factors, not the least of which is cost.


Chemistry.


The toxicity of diesel oil is due to its high aromatic hydrocarbon content. All of the diesel
replacements either eliminate or minimize the aromatic content, thereby making the material non-
toxic or less toxic. As long as the material is within the guidelines established by regulatory toxicity
tests, the material can be used.

Biodegradation and bioaccumulation, however, depend more on the chemistry of the molecular
character of the base fluid. In general, those green materials containing oxygen within their
structure degrade easier.

Degradation, though, is highly dependent upon the specific conditions impacting the fluid.
Laboratory tests do not necessarily reflect the conditions found at the bottom of the ocean. A lab
test is however the only way we have of judging these materials and determining relative rankings.




The following are basic descriptions of the chemical characteristics of the synthetic base fluids used
to make a SBM:

water insoluble:
Ester: made from vegetable oil by reacting the fatty acid with an alcohol, e.g.:
PETROFREE
FINAGREEN (fatty acid esterified with 2-ethylhexanol, R #C
18
including one
double-bond C=C)







Picture 1: FINAGREEN chemistry.

ECOGREEN
Di-ether: ethers are made by reacting the proper alcohols to give the mono-ether which is
then converted into the di-ether, e.g. AQUAMUL II,
PAO: polyalphaolefin is a straight chained hydrocarbon made from ethylene (in fact, from
the catalytic dimerization of LAOs such as 1-octene see below). The resulting product
has no aromatic content, e.g. NOVADRIL,
Linear Alpha Olefin (LAO): LAOs are the result of the oligomerization (low molecular
weight polymerisation) of ethylene molecules,
Internal Olefin (IO): IOs are isomers (same chemical formula with different structures,
e.g. the position of or carbon double-bond) of the LAOs, e.g. NOVAPLUS,
Linear Paraffin (LP) are saturated linear polymers made from ethylene, e.g.
PARADRIL,
Detergent alkylate: also known as a linear detergent alkylate (Linear Alkyl Benzene,
LAB), these materials are widely available and do not cost as much as the other synthetics.
They are used as an intermediary in the production of various detergents. LABs are
manufactured by reacting a saturated hydrocarbon with benzene. They do contain a small
amount of aromatics.

water soluble or partially soluble:
Polyols: polyhydric alcohols, chemicals with multiple OH groups attached, include glycols
(dihydric) and glycerols (trihydric) as well as a variety of sugar alcohols. Polyols for mud
use refer to the polymeric form of these polyhydric alcohols. They can be manufactured to
a variety of molecular weights from a variety of raw materials. Some commercial products
are BIO-DRIL 1402 or HYDRA-FLUIDS HF-100,
Methyl Glucoside (MEG): This product is a derivative of the sugar glucose. It has a
methoxy side group (-OCH
3
) on the glucose ring that stabilises the molecule. The molecule
itself has four hydroxyl groups (OH) attached to the ring. Example: GEO-MEG.

Any of these materials can be manufactured to varying carbon chain lengths and differing amounts
and types of side chains and hydroxyl, oxygen, ester or ether components.

Amoco researchers in various IADC/SPE Drilling Conferences and papers
(4)
stated that: "SBMs are
safer to work with, more biodegradable in seawater than conventional OBMs. On the other hand,
SBMs are more viscous at low temperatures, thin more with increasing temperature, have lower
thermal stability and do not dehydrate shales as readily as conventional OBMs. By adjusting the
emulsifier package in each mud, these properties may be brought more in line with those of
conventional OBMs."


Solubility, Dispersibility and Field Use.


The functionality of these synthetics and the manner in which muds are formulated and handled
depend primarily upon their solubility in water.
The water insoluble chemicals are more analogous to conventional oil muds in that they are run as
water emulsions in the synthetic fluid. They need additives similar to the OBMs' emulsifier package
and special viscosifiers.
The water soluble chemicals, however, can be run like WBMs, using regular fluid loss additive and
polymer viscosifiers.

Bentonite will not yield in these fluids, but can be used in the water soluble SBMs if pre-hydrated.

SBMs were proved to all be more dispersible in sea water than mineral or diesel muds. This is very
positive since it allows easier removal of the SBMs from drilled cuttings. Lab tests gave relative
ease-to-removal rankings of:

Ester > Di-ether > LAB > PAO > mineral oil > diesel > Crude oil

The polyols and MEG are different in that they are either soluble or partially soluble in water. This
means they are more like WBMs in how they are handled and in the additives used to make a mud
formulation.
Lab tests have shown that formulating muds with greater than 60 v. % MEG stabilises in a manner
similar to OBMs, but still gives the handling properties of WBMs. We do not have any information
about potential field tests using such fluids.

Cost factors.

From the point of view of the cost of raw materials to prepare muds, SBMs are significantly more
expensive than either diesel oil or mineral oils on initial purchase: SBMs per-barrel costs are four to
five times greater than that for OBMs. The initial cost of muds can be ranked as shown below:

Water-Based Muds < Oil-based Muds < Synthetic-Based Muds


On the other hand, SBMs are less toxic and thus less restrictive towards regulation. Therefore, they
induce lower costs for cleaning, disposal of leftover mud, etc Moreover, SBMs can be reused
much as OBMs are reused, as long as care is taken with fine solids loading, etc


(4)
especially in "Physiochemical properties of synthetic drilling fluids," by Growcock & Andrews, Amoco (918-660-
4224), IADC/SPE paper 27450, 1994 Drilling Conference; see also IADC/SPE paper 27496, 1994 Drilling Conference;
and IADC/SPE paper 2714, 1994 HS&E Conference, J akarta.
Conclusion is that many parameters linked to the mud impact the total cost of a drilling operation:
nature of the base fluid, ROP allowed due to the fluid, safety and environmental problems, nature of
the formation, etc Every drilling operation is a single case to be considered individually.


Other factors.

Rheology: At ambient temperatures, SBMs base viscosity is 2 to 4 times higher than
mineral oil.
At increasing temperatures, however, SBMs thin significantly more than the oils. The
insoluble SBMs rely on regular oil mud additives for viscosity control, whereas the polyols
and MEG can be viscosified with materials such as xanthan gum.

Shale dehydration potential: Available SBMs, but MEG ones, do not dehydrate shales as
readily as OBMs.

Materials compatibility:

Di-ethers and PAO react to elastomers exactly as mineral oils do.

Esters are compatible with a wide range of elastomers.

Detergent alkylates are likely to be less compatible due to their aromatic content.


IV. Basic Engineering Calculations.


This section discusses basic engineering calculations required in the lab. We do not deal with the
ones corresponding to situations at the rig.


A. Units Conversions.


At the beginning, the difficulties are the 'exotic' units used in the oilfield application. Tables 4 and 5
present conversions factors for metric and British units. This is required to better understand the
following sections.

U N I T C O N V E R S I O N S
Conversion from metric to Conversion from English to
English unit metric unit
Metr.symbol Multiply by Eng.name Eng.symbol Multiply by Metr.symbol
mm 0,03937 Inches in 25,4 mm
m 3,28084 Feet ft 0,3048 m
m 1,09361 yards yd 0,9144 m
km 0,621373 miles(land) mile(st) 1,60934 km
l 0,264178 gallons(US) gal(US) 3,78533 l
l 0,0353147 cubic feet cu.ft 28,3168 l
m
3
6,28994 barrel bbl 0,158984 m
3

N 0,224809 pounds lbs 4,44822 N
kg 2,20462 pounds lbs 0,453592 kg
kPa 0,145038 psi psi 6,894745 kPa
Mpa 145,038 psi psi 0,0068947 Mpa
bar 14,5038 psi psi 0,0689475 bar
N.m 0,737561 foot pounds ft.lb 1,35582 N.m
kg.m 7,23301 foot pounds ft.lb 0,138255 kg.m
kg/m 0,671971 pounds/foot lb/ft 1,48816 kg/m
kg/l 8,34523 pounds/gallon ppg 0,119829 kg/l
kg/l 62,4278 pounds/cu.ft pcf 0,0160185 kg/l
kg/m
3
0,3505 pounds/barrel lb/bbl 2,85307 kg/m
3

m
3
/h 150,959 barrel/day bbl/day 0,00662433 m
3
/h
l/m 0,001917 barrel/foot bbl/ft 521,601 l/m
l/m 0,0107640 cu foot/foot cu.ft/ft 92,090289 l/m
l/m 0,0805214 US gallon/foot gal/ft 12,4191 l/m
l/m 0,0062899 barrel/meter bbl/m 158,984 l/m
kPa/m 0,0442076 psi/foot psi/ft 22,62055 kPa/m
bar/m 4,42076 psi/foot psi/ft 0,2262055 bar/m
kPa/m 0,145038 psi/meter psi/m 6,894745 kPa/m
bar/m 14,5038 psi/meter psi/m 0,0689475 kPa/m
kW 1,34102 horse power hp 0,7457 kW
10
3
daN.km 0,69832 Ton.mile Ton.mile 1,43201 10
3
daN.km

Table 4: conversion factors.

U N I T C O N V E R S I O N S
Conversion between metric units
"A" "B" "C" "D" "E" "F"
Metr.symbol Multiply by Metr.symbol Metr.symbol Multiply by Metr. Symbol
bar 100 kPa kPa 0,01 bar
bar 0,1 MPa MPa 10 bar
N 0,102 kg kg 9,80665 N
daN 1,02 kg kg 0,980665 daN
N.m 0,102 kg.m kg.m 9,80665 N.m
Conversion between British units
"A" "B" "C" "D" "E" "F"
Eng.symbol Multiply by Eng.symbol Eng.symbol Multiply by Eng.symbol
in 0,0833333 ft ft 12 in
ft 0,333333 yd yd 3 ft
yd 0,0005682 Mile (stat) Mile (stat) 1760 yd
yd 0,0004929 Mile (naut.) Mile (naut.) 2029 yd
sq in 0,0069444 sq ft sq ft 144 sq in
sq ft 0,111111 sq yd sq yd 9 sq ft
sq yd 0,0002066 acre acre 4840 sq yd
acres 0,0015625 sq mile(stat) sq mile(stat) 640 acre
cu in 0,0005787 cu ft cu ft 1728 cu in
gal(US) 0,1336777 cu ft cu ft 7,48068 gal(US)
cu ft 0,1781113 bbl bbl 5,614467 cu ft
gal(US) 0,0238095 bbl bbl 42 gal(US)
oz 0,0625 lbs lbs 16 oz
lb 0,0005 sh. tn sh. tn 2000 lbs
gal/ft 0,1336777 cu.ft/ft cu.ft/ft 7,48068 gal/ft
cu.ft/ft 0,1781113 bbl/ft bbl/ft 5,614467 cu.ft/ft
gal/ft 0,0238095 bbl/ft bbl/ft 42 gal/ft
ppg 7,48068 pcf pcf 0,1336777 ppg
Table 5: conversion factors.


B. Specific Gravity.


The density of any material is derived by multiplying the specific gravity by the density of pure
water (8.32 ppg
(5)
).

Density = SG x 8.32

For example, the average specific gravity of barite is 4.2 and its density is equal to (4.2 x 8.32) #35
ppg.
Conversely, to convert from density to specific gravity, divide the density of a material or mud by
the density of pure water.
As an example, a 17.5 ppg mud has a specific gravity of 2.1 (=17.5/8.32).


(5)
ppg =pounds per gallon
To determine the weight of 1 bbl
(6)
of barite, determine the density of 1 bbl of pure water and
multiply the result by the specific gravity of barite.

weight of 1 bbl of pure water =8.32 ppg of water x 42 gal/bbl #350 lb/bbl
(7)


weight of 1 bbl of barite =350 lb/bbl x 4.2 SG #1470 lb/bbl


=> Weight of 1 bbl of material = 350 x SG
material



C. Weight up and Dilution.


1. Weight Up.

Volume increase: the general mud weight increase formula is used for any weighting material
where SG
WM
is the specific gravity of the weighting material, MW
i
and MW
f
are the initial and
final mud densities in ppg. It calculates the volume increase of mud once a weighting agent is
added.

Volume increase, bbl = total pounds weighting material / (350 x SG
WM
)

For barite, this becomes:

Volume increase, bbl = total pounds barite / 1470

No volume increase: addition of weighting agent leads to volume increase. To determine the
initial volume of mud, V
i
, to start with to attain a final volume V
f
without volume increase, the
starting volume is defined by:

V
i
/ V
f
= [(8.32 x SG
WM
)-MW
f
] / [(8.32 x SG
WM
)-MW
i
]

For barite, this becomes:

V
i
/ V
f
= (350-MW
f
) / (350-MW
i
)

To calculate the pounds of weight material required per final barrel of mud :

weight material, lb/bbl = [(350 x SG
WM
) (MW
f
- MW
i
)] / [(8.32 x SG
WM
) MW
i
]

For barite, SG
WM
=4.2, the equation becomes:

weight of barite, lb/bbl = [1470 x (MW
f
- MW
i
)] / (35.0 - MW
i
)]


2. Density reduction with oil addition.


volume of dilution, bbl = [(Vi x (MW
i
MW
f
)] / [MW
f
(SG
o
x 8.32)]


(6)
lb =pound ; bbl =barrel (blue barrel in fact)
(7)
gal =gallon
SG
o
the specific gravity of oil depends on the chemical nature of oil. For diesel it is approximately
0.84. If the specific gravity is unknown, density may be measured and substituted for (SG
o
x 8.32)
in the equation.


D. Concentrations Weight percent and volume percent.


The concentrations of components in mixtures or solutions can be expressed as weight percent or
volume percent.
Percentages of components in a mud can be calculated if the mud density and the specific gravity of
the components are known for a two-part system (liquid +solids). An average specific gravity of
solids must be assumed for calculating percent solids in a mud. The following are general equations
for volume percent (v.%) and weight percent (w%).

volume percent of solids (S =solids, l =liquid).

v.%
S
= [12 x (MW 8.32 SG
l
)] / (SG
S
SG
l
)

weight percent of solids.

w.%
S
= (8.32 x SG
S
x v.%) / MW

Example: In a sea water (SW) mud, calculate the v.% and w.% of the solids assuming that
MW=10.4 ppg, SG
SW
= 1.04, SG
S
= 2.6.

v.% =[12 x (10.4 8.32 x 1.04)] / (2.6 1.04) =13.4
w.% =(8.32 x 2.6 x 13.4) / 10.4 =27.8

Parts per Million (ppm) and Milligrams per liter (mg/l).

Milligrams per liter is a weight per volume measurement. On the other hand, parts per million refers
to a weight per specified weight measurement or a volume-per-volume measurement. Basically,
ppm is a ratio. It is very important to understand the difference between the two units. The
following equations will contrast the difference in the two measurements.

ppm = (mg/l) / SG
w


SG
w
= 1 + (1.94 10
-6
[Cl
-
]
0.95
), where [Cl
-
] is expressed in mg/l

Example: How many ppm of NaCl are in 1 cm
3
of filtrate that contains 140 000 mg/l chlorides ?

SG
w
=1 +(1.94 10
-6
x 140000
0.95
) =1.1502

[Cl
-
] =140 000 / 1.1502 =121 718 ppm.

NaCl =121 718 x 1.65 =200 835 ppm.




E. Material Balance.


Material balance concepts are useful to the driller for solving many field problems that can be
represented as simple mathematical balance method are :
weight up,
dilution,
mixing two fluids,
system building,
solid analysis.

Weight up Volume increase.

old fluid weight material new fluid
Volume, bbl V
i
X -
Density, ppg MW
i
MW
WM
MW
f


Since it is not known how much weighting material will be needed, its volume is represented by X.
Thus the new fluid volume equals V
f
=V
i
+X

old fluid + weight material = new fluid
V
i
MW
i
+ X MW
WM
= (V
i
+X) MW
f


X, bbl = Vi (MW
f
-MW
i
)/(MW
WM
-MW
f
)

For barite this becomes, X, bbl barite =Vi (MW
f
-MW
i
)/(35.0-MW
f
)

1 bbl of barite 1470 lb

Weight up No volume increase.

old fluid weight material new fluid
Volume, bbl V
i
X V
i

Density, ppg MW
i
MW
WM
MW
f


Since it is not known how much weighting material will be needed, its volume is represented by X.

old fluid + weight material = new fluid
(V
i
-X) MW
i
+ X MW
WM
= V
i
MW
f


X, bbl = Vi (MW
f
-MW
i
)/(MW
WM
-MW
i
)

For barite this becomes, X, bbl barite =Vi (MW
f
-MW
i
)/(35.0-MW
i
)

1 bbl of barite 1470 lb





F. Oil Mud calculations.


The following set of calculations describes how to either raise or lower the oil/water (O/W) ratio of
an oil-based mud. If water enters an oil mud, the O/W ratio will decrease and if the O/W ratio is to
be raised, then oil will have to be added. The amount of oil required to raise the O/W ratio can be
calculated as follows:
Raise O/W ratio addition of oil.

(%
oil
+ x) / %
water
= O/W desired

If the O/W ratio is desired to be lowered, then water must be added based on the following
equation:

(%
water
+ x) / %
oil
= O/W desired

Example: a retort analysis gives : 52% v. of oil and 10% v. of water. How much oil is needed to
increase the O/W ratio to 88/12 ?

Therefore, (52+x) / 10 =88 / 12
x =21.3 %, i.e. 0.213 bbl oil / bbl mud

The resulting volume is 1 bbl mud +0.213 bbl oil =1.213 bbl.

To get one barrel of the final mud, we then need :
1 / 1.213 =0.82 bbl mud
0.213 / 1.213 =0.18 bbl mud.


V. Oil-Muds Formulating Problems.


The difficulties encountered when formulating both OBMs and SBMs are essentially linked to the
presence of a dispersed phase (brine) in the oily continuous phase. Moreover, every single OBM is
different from the other and require a dedicated mixing procedure.


We decided to write this document in order to assist people when formulating OBMs. The set of
problems encountered when preparing SBMs are the same than those met with OBMs. Though they
are chemically and environmentally very different, we do not distinguish SBMs from OBMs in the
next sections.


A Mixing Procedure.


The addition of components in their proper sequence when initial mixing an oil mud, will optimize
the performance of each product. The order of addition as listed later in this paragraph is the most
common procedure for the preparation of oil-based muds, though each mud system may require
some modifications of the procedure:
the mixing time may vary depending upon the amount of shear either at the rig or at the liquid
mud plant,
organophilic viscosifiers require considerable quantity of shear to fully develop their viscosity.
Therefore, more of this additive may be required on initial mixing.
as the oil mud is used over the first couple of days, the emulsion stability and fluid loss control
for instance will vastly improve compared to what the mud was when initially mixed.
this list of optimizations is not exhaustive and will be discussed later in this document.

General trends to prepare oil-based muds are:
Add the required quantity of base oil to the mixing vessel,
add the primary and secondary emulsifiers as required,
add the organoclay gellant as required,
add filtration control additives,
add lime in excess,
add required amount of brine,
mix for a long time to ensure a good emulsion is formed. At the rig, this can be several hours,
add weighting material as required for the desired density,
note that other chemicals may added before brine (drilled solids simulator, TEA, ) or once the
emulsion is formed (thinners, corrosion inhibitors, ).


B Optimizing the rheology.


The first parameter to control is obviously the rheology.

The presence of an organoclay (it can be hectorite, montmorillonite, but most of the time, it consists
of treated hectorite of which most common product is known as bentone 38), is essential in a
design.
However, bentone 38 does not develop viscosity when dispersed in the oil phase. Viscosity
actually increases when the invert emulsion is formed, the organoclay being dispersed at the
interface between oil and water droplets.

Four components are then essential to develop viscosity:
the oil phase,
the water phase,
the emulsifying package,
the organoclay.

Usual concentrations for the organoclay are 3-6 lb/bbl. Once brine is added, the viscosity increases.


Sometimes a very strong gel develops, depending upon the chemistry of the surfactants and/or the
nature of the oil. The mudman must then decide to act in one of the following way:
if the mud has already been prepared and if it is not possible (cost, volumes, environment, )
to prepare the whole mud again, then alternatives are:
to add some thinners, preferably chrome-free; these additives reduce interactions at the
interfaces, but are often used as the last solution,


to add some emulsifying surfactants to thin the emulsion. This is effective only if the
emulsion is quite big because one of the critical limitation is the mixing equipment
available at the rig. It must be kept in mind that muds designed in the lab must be easily
reformulated on the field.
to remove low gravity solids with solids control equipment and/or to dilute the mud,
to increase the O/W ratio if water content is too high.
if the mud has not been prepared yet and if gelation is supposed to occur, the solution is to add
the organoclay once the emulsion is formed. This helps reducing the strength of the gel
developed. The role of the salt (nature, amount) which is contained in the water phase is critical
in the process of gel strength reduction.
Bivalent and trivalent ions-based brines are then more effective than monovalent brines. But
usually, on the field, invert emulsions are Sea Water-based. The complex and various
compositions of Sea Waters make this Gel-Strength reduction process very effective most of
the time.

On the other side, if viscosity is too low, it is to:
add water, emulsifier and gellant,
if temperature is very high, add polymeric viscosifier.
All of these affect the low-shear viscosity, gel strength and yield-point farther more than the plastic
viscosity.


C Stability of the emulsion.

1. Tests and definitions.

The stability of the mud is the critical parameter for mudmen.
Rheology: there are different ways to check the stability but the first one is the rheology.
Procedures are those described by the API Recommendations 13B-2 (available in the lab).
Settling: another key-point is settling . Practically, we can consider that if no sag appears when
the mud is heated at 120 F in the cup before measuring the rheology, the mud is considered as
stable regarding settling (see picture 2).
This test is, most of the time, sufficient to check potential sag.

Picture 2: photo and schematic representation of sag in a well.

Suspending Ability: An additional test using a sand tube ("sand content kit") can be set up to
evaluate the ability of the mud to suspend sand grains. This can be a good way to study settling.
The principle is to measure the time a determined quantity of calibrated sand needs to settle
down. The sand tube is graduated in volume fraction.
Clarified Fluid
Suspension Zone
Sag (Sediment) Bed
Slump
Barite bed formed in an inclined wellbore
The Electrical Stability (ES) is the standard procedure to decide whether an emulsion is stable
or not. One will refer to the API 13B-2 for additional information.
We can consider a mud is stable when its ES is above 700 V, but this is only a relative
indication which depends on the nature of the oil, and thus has no significant meaning.
It is possible to check visually the stability of the mud. Of course, if the emulsion is clearly
broken, the design must be optimized, but that is not the only observation to be made. Visual
indicators can also prove a mud is dramatically weakened:
A very bright mud is up to break,
If grains or flocs are visible, the mud must be considered as unstable.
The Bentonite contamination is not a very famous test but it is very useful to check the
stability of the emulsion as it is consistent, most of the time, with stability field observations.
The procedure is the following:
for 1 liter of mud, add 75 g/l of bentonite and mix for 5 min with the Hamilton Beach,
go on adding bentonite, mixing for 5 min when 75 g/l have been added. Do it again, until
the mud becomes unstable.
it is of convenience that if the tolerance of an emulsion (no breaking) is at least 225 g/l of
bentonite, this emulsion is stable.


2. How to control stability ?


As previously seen, the stability is linked to various aspects of the design. We can however define a
few key-points:
Check the amount of surfactants: the first key-point is to check the amount of surfactants
(and their nature) used to make the invert emulsion.
Check Lime content: once the amount of emulsifiers is designed it is of primary importance to
optimize the lime content of the mud. Lime is essential to the mud stability and mudmen use to
say that excess of lime benefits the mud whereas lack is detrimental to its stability.
It is thus to calculate the amount of lime required to both neutralize the acid functions of the
surfactants and control the alkalinity. It is easier to first express the amount of lime as a
function of the volume of brine, for the calculation, before converting it into ppb of mud for the
design; this is usually done because lime is actually essentially stored in the water phase.
Nowadays, some contractors may use TEA
(8)
to assist or even replace lime.
Settling: if sag is observed while the viscosity is sufficient, the solution is to add some wetting
chemicals. Indeed, in this situation, settling means most of the time that solids are water-wet.
We have to keep in mind that, in OBMs, every particle must be oil-wet. Sometimes a dilution
of the mud in oil is required before treating with wetting agents.
Low Electrical Stability: water-wet solids, undissolved solids, inadequate concentration of
emulsifiers, inadequate concentration of lime for emulsifiers, and some weighting materials
(such as hematite) generate low ES readings. All except hematite require chemical treatment.
However:
most muds made with mineral oil will have lower electrical stability than those made with
diesel.
Low viscosity muds usually have low ES readings.
Presence of gas: Another problem linked to the stability of the mud is the presence of bubbles,
whatever they are air or acid gas. To face this problem, we can use scavengers (e.g. zinc oxide)
to degas the mud, or dilute the mud to proceed a spontaneous degassing.

(8)
TEA =TriEthanolAmine
Gas solubility is the other problem as it is many times greater in OBMs than in WBMs. Gas
solubility is indeed a function of the amount of the oil phase, and once saturation is reached, no
further gas will go into solution. Further influx of gas will behave like a gas kick in a water
mud.
If Garrett Gas Train
(9)
(see API Recommendations 13-B2) detects H
2
S, increase lime additions.
If carbon dioxide is present, lime is again the best solution.


D Alkalinity Control.


Every fluid pumped in the well must be alkaline. The additives used to control alkalinity are lime,
TEA, soda ash or potash, essentially.
The difficulty in invert emulsion is that we can not measure pH (it has no sense !) directly as the
continuous phase is oil. Below is a standard procedure to titrate the alkalinity of the mud:
In a 250 ml beaker, add 20 ml of a blend of toluene/IPA
(10)
(1/1). Disperse 1 ml of mud and add
75 ml of de-ionized water.
Add 10 droplets of phenolphthalein and homogenize.
Titrate slowly with a N/10 sulfuric acid solution, until the red color of the chemical in water is
observed.
The alkalinity can be expressed:
in ml of H
2
SO
4
,
in lb/bbl of lime: 1.3 x V
H2SO4, N/10
, V being in ml,
in kg/m
3
of lime: 3.7 x V
H2SO4, N/10
, V being in ml.


E Loss circulation & Fluid loss.


A low filtration rate and water-free filtrate are critical properties of oil muds to ensure the well is
stable (no fluid invasion through the formation, no shale swelling, ).
Fluid loss control agents are used in muds to get good filtration properties and these chemicals are
most of the time very effective.

However troubleshootings may occur depending on the pertinence of the formulation, on the mud
history, or on the operating conditions of the well (temperature, pressure). Here are some examples:
If the emulsion is too weak, the filtration rate increases dramatically and moreover some water
can be found in the filtrate. The solution is then to treat the mud with the primary emulsifier
and lime (systematically, when a mud is treated with the primary emulsifier, lime must be
added).
Organolignites will also emulsify water and lower filtrate, but are not effective when BHT is
lower than 150 F.

(9)
An instrument used for quantitative analyses of sulfides and carbonates. Specific test methods have been published by
API. The oil-mud procedure analyzes active sulfides and uses whole mud samples, whereas the water-base mud
procedure tests filtrate. The GGT unit is a clear, plastic block (2.5 in. x 4 in. x 6 in.) that contains three interconnected
chambers. A carrier gas is used to flow an inert gas through the chambers. The sample is placed in chamber #1 and is
acidified to release sulfides as H
2
S and carbonates as CO
2
. The appropriate Drdger tube is used to measure the effluent
gas that is evolved from the sample
(10)
IPA =Iso Propylic Alcohol.
If the filtration properties were good and that, due to the high temperature downhole, the rate
increases, then the mud needs to be stabilized. Usual treatment is to add some emulsifier,
eventually combined with a wetting agent, plus lime and an organophilic fluid loss control
agent (polymer). The habits must be similar when ageing the mud at quite high temperatures.
It is not possible to predict the respective amounts of additives as every single situation requires
a specific study.
One of the process involved in the loss circulation control is the presence of particles which
make the filtration cake poorly porous. Sometimes particles are not well-sized and the filtration
rate is huge. One solution is then to combine the action of a fluid loss control additive with
bridging (or even weighting) materials one.

If loss is not complete, use oil-wettable fibrous material or solid bridging material (such as calcite).
Use same technique for seepage losses to minimize thick filter cake and differential sticking.
If losses are complete, consider organophilic clay squeeze, cement or displacement to water-based
muds until loss zone is cased off.


F Free Top-Oil.


After periods of inactivity, free oil may cover the surface of the pits. Agitate the mud in the pits or
add organophilic clay to increase viscosity if required.
The situation is the same in the lab.


VI. Comparative oil mud products by function and company.


Table 6 presents a non exhaustive list of OBM products by function in the three majors drilling
companies.

Function M-I BHI BAROID
Primary emulsifier VERSAMUL CARBOTEC L INVERMUL
Secondary emulsifier VERSACOAT CARBOMUL EZ MUL
Organolignite VERSALIG CARBOTROL A9 DURATONE E
Asphaltic FLA
Gilsonite
VERSATROL CARBOTROL BARABLOK
Organophilic bentonite VG-69 CARBO VIS GELTONE II
Organophilic hectorite - CARBOGEL BENTONE 38
Wetting agent VERSAWET SURFCOTE DRILTREAT
Rheological modifier VERSAMOD SIX-UP RM 63
Polymeric viscosifier VERSA HRP CARBOVIS HT X-VIS
oil mud thinner VERSA THIN SURFCOTE OMC
Table 6: most famous OBM commercial products Cross Table.

Below are brief descriptions of some of the chemicals presented in table 6.


M-I Chemicals.


VERSAMUL multi-purpose emulsifier is a liquid blend of selected emulsifiers, wetting agents,
gelling agents and fluid stabilizers in a mineral oil base. VERSAMUL is used as the basic
emulsifier for the VERSADRIL, VERSACLEAN and VERSAPORT oil mud systems.
VERSAMUL provides excellent emulsion stability, secondary wetting, viscosity, filtration
control and temperature stability. Packaging: 55-gal (208.2-l) drums.

VERSACOAT organic surfactant is a multi-functional additive which serves as an emulsifier
and wetting agent in the VERSA oil mud systems. Secondary benefits include improved thermal
stability and high-temperature, high-pressure (HTHP) filtration control. The product is effective
over a wide temperature range and in the presence of contaminants, and for reducing the adverse
effects of water contamination. Packaging: 55-gal (208.2-l) drums and 5-gal (18.9-l) cans.

VERSALIG amine-treated lignite is a filtration-control additive designed for use in all VERSA
oil-base systems, as well as NOVA synthetic-base systems. It is an effective alternative to asphalt or
gilsonite where their use is undesirable. VERSALIG is effective and applicable in all oil- and
synthetic-base drilling fluids, and is compatible with other additives. Packaging: 50-lb (22.7-kg)
and 25-kg (55.1-lb) multi-wall, paper sacks.

VERSATROL gilsonite is a natural occurring asphalt used for high-temperature, high-pressure
(HTHP) filtration control in all VERSA oil-base systems. It is often used to seal low-pressure and
depleted formations. It is compatible with all VERSA systems and can be used in the initial
formulation or added later. Packaging: 50-lb (22.7-kg) and 25-kg (55-lb) multi-wall, paper sacks.

VG-69 organophilic clay is a viscosifier and gelling agent used in VERSA oil-base and NOVA
synthetic-base systems. This amine-treated bentonite is used to increase carrying capacity and
suspension properties, providing support for weight materials and improved cuttings removal.
VG-69 also aids in filter cake formation and filtration control. Packaging: 50-lb (22.7-kg) multi-
wall, paper sacks.

VERSAWET organic surfactant is a concentrated and powerful oil-wetting agent for oil-base
muds. It is used primarily in relaxed-fluid-loss, lower-lime VERSA oil mud systems which use
VERSACOAT as the emulsifier. VERSAWET is an excellent wetting agent which is
especially effective in systems using difficult-to-wet solids (e.g. hematite). It is also effective at oil-
wetting barite and drill solids, and at reducing the adverse effects of water contamination.
Packaging: 55-gal (208.2-l) drums and 5-gal (18.9-l) cans.

VERSAMOD organic gelling agent is a liquid rheology modifier used in VERSADRIL and
VERSACLEAN oil-base mud systems. It increases low-shear-rate viscosities (LSRV) and gel
strengths for improved hole cleaning. The primary application for VERSAMOD is in large-
diameter, high-angle, horizontal and extended-reach wells to increase cuttings-carrying capacity.
This permits higher rates of penetration while maintaining wellbore stability. Packaging: 55-gal
(208.2-l) drums and 5-gal (18.9-l) cans.
VERSA-HRP polymeric viscosifier provides elevated yield-point and gel strengths with minimal
increase in plastic viscosity for all VERSA and NOVA systems. It is frequently used to increase the
hole-cleaning capacity, for sweeps in directional or horizontal wells and for gelling freshly prepared
muds being transported to the well. VERSA-HRP is a versatile additive which works in
conjunction with organophilic clay and can be used to minimize the amount of clay in a particular
formulation. Time and shear or chemical treatments can be used to later thin a fluid treated with
VERSA-HRP. The product increases low-shear-rate viscosity (LSRV) to improve shear thinning
and thixotropic characteristics. Packaging: 5-gal (18.9-l) cans and 55-gal (208.2-l) drums.

VERSATHIN deflocculant is used as a thinner and conditioner for oil-base muds and has
application in all VERSA systems. It reduces viscosity and gel strengths through the action of
macro-molecules which deflocculate solids in the mud without the need for dilution or changing the
oil-to-water ratio. Packaging: 55-gal (208.2-l) drums and 5-gal (18.9-l) cans.


BAROID Chemicals.


INVERMUL, a blend of oxidized tall oil and polyaminated fatty acid, is the primary emulsifier
for Barod OBMs. It stabilizes emulsion, aid suspending properties and reduces filtration.
INVERMUL needs to be combined with lime (0.5 lb/bbl of lime per lb of INVERMUL) to
produce a calcium soap in situ. INVERMUL resists electrolyte contamination. Flash Point: 156
F. Packaging: 55-gal drums and in bulk.

EZ MUL is a polyaminated fatty acid used as secondary emulsifier in oil-based muds. It is used
to improve the fluid's oil-wetting characteristics and is designed for use in emulsions containing
high amounts of divalent salts. Combined with INVERMUL, EZ MUL aids in producing a
stable invert emulsion system with low filtration rate. Thermally stable above 500 F. Packaging: 55-
gal drums.

DURATONE E organophilic lignite is used to control filtration rates in ester and olefin based
drilling fluids. DURATONE E is stable at high temperatures and can be used to control filtration
rates in deep, hot wells. It can also be used to improve emulsification of water and to promote fluid
stability. Another advantage of DURATONE E is that it meets the environmental requirements
for the North Sea. Packaging: 50-lb sacks.

BARABLOK, a powdered hydrocarbon resin (asphaltite), is a natural bitumen with high
softening point that permits the product to extrude into formation fractures and bedding planes, and
bond the matrix to prevent sloughing. BARABLOK does not contains chemical treatment and
can be used up to 350 F. Another version of the product, BARABLOCK 400, permits
applications with temperature up to 400 F. Packaging: 50-lb sacks.

GELTONE, an organophilic clay, imparts viscosity and suspension properties to OBMs.
GELTONE is a bentonite clay that has been treated with an amine compound to promote its
dispersion/yield in oils, particularly when temperature exceeds 120 F. Packaging: 50-lb sacks.

DRILTREAT, a lecithin liquid dispersion, can quickly change the natural water-wetting
characteristics of drilled solids and weighting agents in oil muds, making them preferentially oil-
wetting. DRILTREAT is used as a supplementary additive for improving flow properties and
emulsion stability. With its oil-wetting characteristics, DRILTREAT can be used both in the
preparation and maintenance of oil-based drilling and completion fluids. It also reduces the
interparticle forces when formulating very high density OBMs. Packaging: 5-gal pails and 55-gal
drums.

RM-63, a blend of dimer and trimer fatty acids, improves rheological and suspension
characteristics of invert emulsion fluids. RM-63 increases low-shear rheological properties for
enhanced suspension with minimal effect on high shear properties. Using the RM-63 modifier
when drilling with weighted mud in deviated boreholes minimizes the tendency for sag. Stable at
temperatures approaching 450 F. Packaging: 400-lb drums.

X-VIS, dimerized fatty acids, promotes the dispersion and yield or organoclays under low shear
conditions and optimizes suspension properties of oil-muds, especially those formulated with
mineral oil. X-VIS can be used in high temperature (above 400 F) systems to improve rheological
properties, filtration control and emulsion stability. Packaging: 55-gal drums.

OMC, oligomeric fatty acid, is effective in lowering rheological properties in OBMs. OMC is
recommended for fluids containing organoclays and large quantities of drilled solids. Specially
designed for PETROFREE system, but effective with any oil-based system. Packaging: 5-gal
pails and 40-gal drums.


VII. Examples of oil-mud formulations.


Below are examples of oil-mud formulations. These formulations are based on lab conditions I used
to experience in the past.
Product requirements are listed for each company over the temperature range noted.
The field requirement is generally lower because of the incorporation of drill solids, particle size of
the weighting agent, and longer periods of shear experienced while drilling.
The formulations listed below can be either formulated in diesel or mineral oil (it was Ultidrill
C380 base oil) with very small modifications. Concentrations of products in tables 7, 8, 9 and 10
are expressed in lb/bbl.

M-I

Product 200 F 300 F 400 F
VERSAMUL 5 7 10
VERSACOAT 2 3 4
ECOTROL 2 5 10
LIME 5 5 7
Table 7: M-I oil mud.

VG-69 is used at the concentration of 3-4 lb/bbl when O/W =75/25 80/20.
VG-69 is used at the concentration of 4-6 lb/bbl when O/W =85/15 90/10.

BHI

Product 200 F 300 F 400 F
CARBOTEC 7 10 13
CARBOMUL 2 4 6
CARBOTROL 5 7 15
LIME 5 5 7
Table 8: BHI oil mud.

CARBOVIS is used at the concentration of 2-3 lb/bbl when O/W =75/25 80/20.
CARBOVIS is used at the concentration of 3-5 lb/bbl when O/W =85/15 90/10.

BAROID

Product 200 F 300 F 400 F
INVERMUL 5 8 10
EZ MUL 2 4 6
DURATONE E 5 8 10
LIME 3 5 7
Table 9: BAROID oil mud.

X-VIS is used at the concentration of 2-3 lb/bbl when O/W =75/25 80/20.
X-VIS is used at the concentration of 3-5 lb/bbl when O/W =85/15 90/10.

DOWELL-IDF

Some of the additives in table 10 seem not to exist anymore since Schlumberger and M-I entered a
J V in 1999. However, the information below may be interesting.

Product 200 F 300 F 400 F
EMUL HT 3 3 4
INTERDRILL FL 3 5 5
INTERDRILL S - 3 8
LIME 7 9 12
Table 10: DOWELL-IDF oil mud.

TRUVIS HT (=Bentone 38) is used at the concentration of 3-5 lb/bbl when O/W =75/25
80/20.
TRUVIS HT is used at the concentration of 5-7 lb/bbl when O/W =85/15 90/10.

VIII. Description of the most famous commercial synthetic-based mud systems.


Below are general information concerning NOVADRIL, PETROFREE and AQUAMUL II.

NOVADRIL (M-I Drilling Fluids):

Commercialised by M-I Drilling Fluids, this system is an emulsion which utilises a
specially manufactured polyalphaolefin (PAO) as the continuous phase and brine as the
internal phase.
The NOVADRIL drilling fluids criteria are:
benefits obtainable from a low toxic mineral oil-mud, including lubricity,
temperature stability, alkalinity tolerance and rheological stability.
success to the present day toxicity tests required to allow the discharge of the fluid on
cuttings in environmentally sensitive countries of the world.
substantial improvement over previously used mineral oils with regard to health and
safety considerations.
biodegradability and no bioaccumulation.
volumes available and prices allow it to be a cost efficient fluid.

NOVADRIL has proved successful in drilling highly reactive, pressured gumbo
shales and highly depleted permeable sands with differential pressures over 4000 psi.

PETROFREE (BAROID):

PETROFREE ester-based system has been used on over 100 wells drilling over 900
000 feet of hole ranging in size from 22 to 4 inches in diameter. PETROFREE wells
have been drilled in most of the active offshore fields of the world, including the UK,
Norwegian and Dutch sectors of the North Sea, Malaysia, Australia and Western Gulf of
Mexico.
PETROFREE has proven to be a performing system due to overall savings on total
well cost (elimination of wiper trips and delays associated to reactive formations, faster
ROPs
(11)
, etc. ) and reducing long term liabilities associated with cuttings discharge
by the drilling operations.
PETROFREE offers unsurpassed lubricity and excellent hole stabilisation.
Moreover, being a vegetable derivative, PETROFREE is not classified as an oil,
passes the static sheen test
(12)
, and is both aerobically and anaerobically readily
biodegradable.

(11)
ROPs: rates of penetration.
(12)
The static sheen test determines the prohibition of the discharge of the free oil. It indicates the presence of free oil
when drilling mud, drilled cuttings, deck drainage, well treatment fluids, completion and workover fluids, produced
water or sand or excess cement slurry, are discharged into offshore waters.
The visual sheen test consists of an observation made when surface and atmospheric conditions permit watching the
ocean water for a sheen around the point where the discharge entered the water.
When the conditions do not permit visual observations, a static sheen test is conducted. This test uses sea water in a
shallow pan (not more than 30 cm deep) with 1000 cm
2
surface area. Either 15 cm
3
of fresh mud or 15 g fresh cuttings
are injected below the surface of the water. An observer watches for up to 1.0 hour for a silvery, metallic, colored or
iridescent sheen. If sheen covers 50% of the area, the mud or cuttings cannot be discharged.
However this standard test seems not to be suited for the environmental evaluation of SBMs. The presence of
contaminants in SBMs is not effectively determined because the very low molecular weight of the continuous phase can
cause the formation of a film on the water. Such a film could result in failure of the sheen test and prelude on site
discharge of the associated cuttings.

AQUAMUL II (ANCHOR Drilling Fluids):

The development of the AQUAMUL II system was approached from "the viewpoints
of drilling fluid stability and formulation flexibility as well as the environmental
impact".
The continuous phase consists of a low toxic and highly biodegradable multi-ether
(acetal). Previous version AQUAMUL I was an ether-based continuous phase.
The AQUAMUL B2 ether is a chemically pure, stable, liquid. It has been tested and
shown to be less irritating to personnel and less reactive towards elastomers and plastics
than mineral oil. The AQUAMUL system can be formulated and controlled at
extreme of ether/water ratio from 50/50 to 95/5.
Field drilling experience with the AQUAMUL II system is characterised by high
system stability, high ROPs, highly stable hole conditions and low maintenance
treatments. The stable properties of the fluid have been apparent at a wide range of
ether/water ratios and mud weights while drilling in areas with very different lithologies
(claystone intervals, complex evaporite sequences, ).

The AQUAMUL II drilling fluid can be reused on subsequent wells eliminating
dumping mud or eliminating the disposal costs associated with standard OBMs.






Water in pores
Shale formation
Brine
phase
Annex 1: BALANCED ACTIVITY CONCEPT.


This concepts deals with shale stability. Picture 1 below is a schematic representation of contacts
between an oil-muds and a shale formation.


Picture 1: schematic representation of interactions between oil-muds and shale formations.

Shale formations have a natural potential to adsorb water that is developed during the consolidation
process of the formation.
This sets up a "suction potential" also called demand for water. The surfactants around the water
droplets act as a semi-permeable membrane (osmotic membrane) and water can transfer between
the emulsified water and the water in the pores of the shale.
The solution is to balance the demand for water, i.e. the activity between the shale and the
emulsified water, and then no exchange will take place
(13)
.

The brine phase activity is thus primordial: addition of salt to water combines the water molecules
to reduce the vapor pressure (the activity !). It is to know that activity is approximately inversely
proportional to chloride content. Divalent ions (calcium and magnesium) suppress activity further
than saturated sodium ions. Because most of the time calcium soaps are major part of the
emulsifying system, calcium chloride brines are preferred brine phase.

(13)
Basic notions of shale swelling is given in annex 2.
- - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - -
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Annex 2: MECHANISMS OF SHALE SWELLING.


There are two swelling mechanisms well known today :
Osmotic swelling,
Hydration swelling.


Osmotic swelling.

As shown in picture 1 below, a clay is dispersed in water.


Picture 1 : schematic representation of a clay particle dispersed in water.

Sufficient exchangeable cations are attracted by a net-negative charge in the clay particle in order to
constitute an electrically neutral system. This system is called the clay "micelle". The ions and
water within the micelles constitute the "double layer".
Osmotic swelling occurs because the ion concentration in the double layer water of the clay
micelles is higher than the free pore water. Therefore, water is drawn towards the clay surface,
diffusing the ions and giving rise to the double layer repulsive potential, which causes the mineral
lattice to expand.
When the aqueous solution is separated from pure water by a semi-permeable membrane, the water
tends to pass through it into the solution, thereby diluting it.

Hydration swelling.

Surface hydration, also called crystallization swelling, is an interfacial phenomenon common to
many materials but especially to clays due to their high specific area. Water is absorbed between the
lattice layers of the clay crystal and also on the surface of the particles. The hydration energy of the
interlayer cations and the charge density on the clay crystal surface determines the degree of water
absorption.
Monovalent cations, particularly in the case of sodium montmorillonite, permit more fluid to be
absorbed on the outer surfaces of the clays minerals far in excess of the amount adsorbed in the
inter-crystalline swelling. With divalent cations, osmosis takes place only between the particles.

The exchangeable cations that bond the two clay platelets together are located on the surface of
each platelet.




If the crystal comes into contact with water, the water penetrates between adjacent silica layers and
spreads the platelets apart. The formation of a film of water on the outer surface and between the
layers of clay is a result of the negative distribution on the clay surface and hydration of the
exchangeable cations. This film of water that is oriented and actually bonded to the clay particle has
its greatest thickness between plates and is somewhat thinner on the outer plane surfaces.

These associated cations, depending on their charge and concentration, may be held very close to
the clay surface, causing an increase in the attractive forces between particles and allow only this
film of water to develop. However, if these cations dissociate from the particle (Ca
2+
dissociates
less than Na
+
), the attractive forces are decreased and allow large volumes of water to penetrate into
the inner layers of the clay.

The hydration of the clay particles is also determined by the cation concentration of the surrounding
fluid. When the cation concentration is too high, the associated cations are forced closer to the clay
surfaces, increasing the attractive forces between particles, thus reducing swelling.