Nanoparticles: Promising solution to overcome stern drilling problems

General solution to overcome stern and frequently occurring drilling problems lies in controlling the rheology of drilling fluids. Pipe sticking, lost circulation, erosion, formation damage, thermal instability, poor hole cleaning, high torque and drag are few problems that incurs enormous costs on overall drilling operations in form of expensive drilling fluids, breakdowns, fluid loss, high power requirement, and mainly limited functionality. The nanotechnological research leading to create tailored made nanoparticles is a promising step change research for smart fluids development. The nano particles based drilling mud enables the design and development of new drilling muds for efficient drilling operations at significantly low cost. Use of nano based drilling muds has long been in discussion and some researchers have tested in laboratory but no mathematical and analytical model reported. Based on initial studies and easy availability we selected Attapulgite and after milling, characterization, surface treatment, and adding into drilling muds showed useful results. We initiated developing a scheme, starting from synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles, measurement and optimization of properties by response surface technique, establishing correlation between rheological properties, ultimately leading to performance tests at well simulators. Preliminary results of Attapulgite crop up hopes of testing more nanomaterials for further improvement.