Effects of nano-sepiolite on rheological properties and filtration loss of water-based drilling fluids

This work deals with the synthesis of nano-sepiolite (NSP) and its evaluations as potential drilling fluids (DF) additive for improvement of DF rheological properties and filtration loss. Results show that addition of NSP to the base drilling fluids stabilized its rheological properties (plastic viscosity and yield point) and improved its gel strength at normal and increased temperature and pressure. The effect of NSP on fluid loss was also investigated, and results show that NSP stabilized and improved fluid loss for both normal and high pressure and temperature conditions.