Kuwait Oil Company and Baker Hughes - Innovation in Technology Development
Company: Kuwait Oil Company and Baker Hughes
Company Description: Both Kuwait Oil Company and Baker Hughes work alliance and cooperation to implement new technology that reduce pollution and help to reduce global warming. Kuwait Oil Company's Responsibilities under the KPC's Umbrella involve the exploration, drilling and production of oil and gas within the State of Kuwait. Baker Hughes is an energy technology company with operations in 120 countries.
Nomination Category: Technology Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Award for the Innovation in Technology Development - All Other Industries
Nomination Title: Environmentally Friendly Drilling Fluids System Unlocks a Great Success
A sustainability-driven innovation by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and Baker Hughes
Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has used historically Non-Aqueous Fluid (NAF) Diesel based to drill the challenging shale formations, mainly due to lubricity and wellbore stability requirements. As part of the government environmental improvement strategy, Kuwait Oil Company and Baker Hughes identified potentially fit for purpose High-Performance Water Base Mud (HPWBM) as the most suitable, environmentally acceptable alternative to Diesel Based Fluid.
The fluid design considered the following factors:
• Chemical inhibition to reactive shale formations
• Density profile prediction
• Bridging technology to retain wellbore strength
• Downhole fluids modeling and rheological parameters
• Highly lubricious to minimize torque and drag
• Hole cleaning
• Minimize Reservoir damage
Series of specialized tests were performed including shale analysis and inhibition efficiency tests to determine concentration of chemical inhibitor to be optimized in the fluid system.
1. X-RAY Diffraction (XRD) - X-ray diffraction analysis can be used to determine the mineralogy of cuttings and cores from a relatively small sample.
2. Cation Exchange Capacity Test (CEC) - CEC values are important because clays vary in their reactivity. Some of the cations (positively charged atoms) of the clay are easily replaced with other positively charged species.
3. Linear swelling Test LSM - The linear-swell meter apparatus is used to determine shale hydration or dehydration by measuring the increase or decrease in length over time of a reconstituted or intact shale core
4. Shale Dispersion Test or Shale erosion test - The shale dispersion test is used to measure the dispersive effect a mud will have on a specific type of shale.
The system is formulated for use with water salinities ranging from freshwater to saturated monovalent brines, including those containing sodium chloride, and potassium chloride. Each formulation delivers superior drilling performance through the combined effect of several key components.
Wellbore sealing polymer and shale control and wellbore stability additive both increase the membrane efficiency of shales in a similar manner as emulsion-based fluids
The shale control additive limits clay hydration by suppressing the clay’s water uptake, while also reducing clay plasticity to lower risks of bit balling
The proprietary rate-of-penetration (ROP) enhancer preferentially wets the surfaces of metals, drilled cuttings, and formations to reduce torque and drag while increasing ROP
The shale control additive encapsulates drilled cuttings for easier removal by the rig’s solids control equipment, with lower dilution rates.
Nano based additive to enhanced wellbore stability when drilling through shale’s
In addition to development of High-Performance water base mud, drilling practice been optimized to enhance hole cleaning and reduce ECD such as:
Utilize Circulating subs for additional circulating capacity.
Optimize drilling rate (ROP) for managing ECD.
Analyze daily hydraulics analysis to confirm appropriate Fluids parameters and decide optimum sweep strategy.
Closely monitor and control drilling parameters for any indication of cuttings overload in annulus (Torque, Drag, Pick-Up & Slack-Off weights, fluctuations in Pump Pressure etc…)
Monitor Hole cleaning with sweeps before drilling ahead. Rotate String at high RPM to disturb the cuttings bed.
Circulate with reciprocation and full available GPM before connections.
Short / wiper trips frequently to evaluate hole condition.
Baker Hughes Proprietary Software – Advantage Engineering has been used to help in optimizing drilling parameters.
In case of downhole losses appropriate software design were utilized like Baker Hughes BRIDGEWISE to determines the approximate fracture size and best LCM design could be used.
Results:
Since the initial trial that was conducted in 2015. Between 2015 - 2020 more wells been drilled using High Performance Water Base Drilling Fluids. The performance of the fluid system very much matching the Oil Base System.
In most cases the customized fluid proved its success against set KPI.