Calcium Carbonate Particles as Additive in Water-Based Drilling Fluids for Unconventional Formations

YURANY VILLADA; CARLOS BUSATTO; NATALIA CASIS; DIANA ESTENOZ

Medellín

Otro; 8 Summer School in Colombia: The role of conventional and unconventional resources in the energy transition (Virtual); 2021

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

The use of calcium carbonate particles as additive in WBMs is a promising alternative because of their environmentally friendly nature and low synthesis costs. The investigation supports that CaCO3 particles can be used as a viscosifier and filtration loss control additive in WBMs improving rheological, filtration, thermal and structural properties. In particular, fluids containing xanthan gum and CaCO3 particles exhibited significant improvements of their functional properties. This behavior was related with the specific polymer characteristics (structure, rheological and thermal properties, morphology, and surface characteristics), as well as its interaction with BT. For all evaluated systems, the filtrate volume was reduced with the addition of particles. In particular, for WBMs containing xanthan gum, the filtrate volume decreased from 14 to 10 mL, indicating that CaCO3 particles are a good filtration agent. This technology could eventually be applied in other shale formations and hydraulic fracturing fluids. In a future work, environmental impact and economic studies will be attempted for a complete evaluation of the application of CaCO3 particles in WBMs for shale formations.